Projecting Knicks new-look starting 5 after Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster

The New York Knicks made several significant, win-now moves this offseason. They re-signed OG Anunoby to a five-year, $212.5 million deal in free agency, struck gold on a cross-borough trade exchange that landed them Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets and managed to extend coach Tom Thibodeau to a three-year deal.

However, even with all these noteworthy transactions, none are of the same magnitude as the club's latest splashy decision.

On Friday evening, it was announced by The Athletic's Shams Charania that the Knickerbockers had negotiated a blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves to acquire star big man, Karl-Anthony Towns.

In exchange, New York is sending a package headlined by Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick out to the Twin Cities.

A deal of such impact that involves so many moving pieces is always bound to draw in a slew of mixed reactions and spark a ton of questions.

Arguably the biggest conundrum fans and media pundits currently find themselves trying to assess in the aftermath of this shocking turn of events is what coach Thibodeau's new-look rotation could look like what with the fact that numerous core players are now heading outbound.

Perhaps even more pertinent, who will fill out the starting five for the Knicks with Towns in and Randle now out?

Projecting Knicks starting lineup following Karl-Anthony Towns trade

Point Guard: Jalen Brunson

Easily the least shocking prediction that will be made on this list today, heading into 2024-25 Jalen Brunson is the unquestioned starting point guard for this Knicks team.

Since signing with New York back in 2022, the 28-year-old has quickly and confidently become a truly elite backcourt talent, as he's posted sensational averages of 26.5 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 48.4 percent shooting from the floor and 40.7 percent from distance throughout his tenure.

As a result of his efforts, Brunson has come across an All-Star selection, an All-NBA nod, and, most recently, finished in the top-five in MVP voting while leading the Knicks on back-to-back second-round playoff runs.

Already legitimately in the conversation of being a top-tier, all-time Knick thanks to his production and his mesmerizing leadership abilities, number 11 will be leading the charge at the one spot for this title-hopeful New York team in 2024-25.

Shooting Guard: Miles McBride

Here's where things begin to get a bit more experimental when it comes to this new-look Knicks roster.

Sure, slotting in Josh Hart may be the "easy" option considering his connection with Brunson, coupled with the fact that he started in more than half of the games he played last season.

However, with the loss of Donte Divincenzo, New York's bench unit has now taken a rather sizable hit and could use a stabilizing, well-rounded force like Hart to help stave off any dips in productivity or negative side effects that could come following the departure of such a key contributor.

Because of this, coach Thibodeau should strongly consider sliding the veteran back to the second unit and promoting Miles McBride to their starting two guard slot.

In his third season with the organization, the West Virginia product proved himself to be more than capable of serving as a starter at the NBA level, as he posted 17.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals on 46.2 percent shooting from the floor and 40.7 percent shooting from deep in such a role.

He also managed to come across two starts under the bright lights of last year's postseason, where he would average a whopping 18.5 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds on 55.6 percent shooting from the field and 53.8 percent shooting from downtown.

Coming into year four, perhaps now is the time for the Knicks to see what exactly they have in this promising young 24-year-old.

Small Forward: OG Anunoby

When healthy, OG Anunoby has proven himself to be one of the best two-way wings in the entire association.

This seemed to be quite evident right from the jump after joining the Knicks back in December of last season, as he and the team ranked second in net rating during their initial 14-game slate together while rattling off a ridiculous 12-2 record along the way.

Unfortunately, this sensational run was cut short after Anunoby sustained an elbow injury that wound up holding him out for nearly two months.

Fortunately, he ended up making his way back to the lineup before season's end and contributed in a major way toward their 8-1 record during the nine games he suited up for to close out the year.

He would also serve as a key component in their playoff successes as the primary three where he dropped 15.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks on 50.5 percent shooting and 41.0 percent shooting from deep while New York would register a 6-3 record in the games he played.

Overall, with Anunoby in the starting unit, New York has managed to compile a total record (both regular season and playoffs) of 26-6.

In 2024-25, don't expect the team to go away from using him as their main small forward.

Power Forward: Mikal Bridges

Before the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, Mikal Bridges was the splashy blockbuster acquisition that the Knicks made to help strengthen their rotation and, in turn, better their odds of bringing home the franchise's third Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2024-25.

While he may no longer be the sexiest move made by the ball club this summer, he's still without question someone they're hoping will help thrust them closer to the promised land. The way he'll do that is by manning the starting four spot.

Even before Randle's exit, there was some buzz regarding Bridges' fit with the team and how he could be used as New York's primary power forward, thus sliding Julius down to the five which, especially considering Mitchell Robinson's injury status, seemed to be somewhat plausible.

Now, with the All-Star Minnesota bound, the optics of utilizing the newcomer in such a role have become much easier to envision.

From an offensive standpoint, his fit at the four and alongside those who make up this projected starting five could be absolutely sensational.

Bridges is a talent who has proven capable of excelling when playing alongside other established stars and studs (played a key role next to Chris Paul and Devin Booker during the Suns' 2021 NBA Finals run) as well as when asked to serve as a go-to bucket getter (dropped 21.2 points per night while with Brooklyn).

As far as his fit on the less glamorous side of the ball, on top of having a remarkably high defensive IQ, with him measuring in at 6-foot-6 with a ridiculous 7-foot-1 wingspan the 28-year-old has the length to make up for any possible disadvantages he may have on defense when going up against bigger and bulkier power forwards.

From his three-level scoring chops to his high-end defensive versatility, Mikal Bridges at the four seems like the right move for this new-look Knicks team.

Center: Karl-Anthony Towns

With the recent reports that stated long-tenured starting pivot, Mitchell Robinson could be sidelined for an extended time, including during the early stages of the regular season, as he rehabs from offseason ankle surgery, many believed the Knicks were in the market to add a new big man talent to their arsenal.

At first, names such as Nick Richards of the Hornets and Walker Kessler of the Jazz were floated as potential, low-cost targets Leon Rose and company could consider pursuing to fill such a rotational need.

At no point did people realistically believe New York would decide to bypass these plausible, lower-risk options and, instead, go all out for a legitimate STAR in Karl-Anthony Towns, yet here we are.

Not only is KAT by far the best center option this team has on their roster heading into the new season, but, frankly, he's widely regarded as one of the best fives in the entire league.

A four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection, Towns comes to the Knicks bringing along stellar career averages of 22.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks on 52.4 percent shooting from the floor.

What's most impressive about the 28 year old's game is that he's quite possibly the greatest long-range shooting center of ALL TIME, as he boasts a career 3-point shooting clip of 39.8 percent and is coming off a 2023-24 campaign where he splashed home 41.6 percent of his 5.3 attempts per game while registering 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds along the way.

His 7-foot, 248 pound frame easily provides an answer to the size deficiency the Knicks were left with following the departure of Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency this offseason, while his 109 defensive rating and overall positive defensive box plus minus throughout his career shows that he's far more than just a point getter and board gobbler.

With all these aforementioned attributes coupled with his proven willingness to work on his craft and alter his game and play style in the name of winning (how he managed to make his shift to power forward and awkward pairing with Rudy Gobert with the Timberwolves work last season is criminally underrated), there should be no doubts that Karl-Anthony Towns will flourish as the new star center in the Big Apple.