The New York Knicks were eliminated this past Sunday after an unfortunate Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks simply did not have enough as they just continued to be decimated by injury after injury after pushing Indiana to a cinematic seven game series.
Anyone who argues that injuries did not play a large role in this series, or Indiana was simply the better team is just wrong. A healthy Knicks team beats that Indiana team in 5 games and I am confident on that one. Sure injuries are apart of every sport, but this many injuries to one team in one playoff run is unheard of.
Jalen Brunson, even though most of us knew, has emerged to the rest of the basketball world as a superstar and has completely silenced the critics. He literally gave it his all as the only thing that was stopping him from giving it 100 percent was fracturing his hand in the 3rd quarter of Game 7.
The amount of injuries the Knicks had is painful to list, but next season when all the guys are back and ready, the league is going to be put on notice. Now that the offseason is upon the Knicks, they really should keep most of this squad together. We really only saw a tiny sample size of what this team can do when fully healthy and it was scary. I believe Randle, Anunoby, and Brunson played 15 games together and in that time they lost one game.
Anunoby is a pending free agent, so re-signing him I believe is the number one thing the Knicks need to be focused on. Extending Jalen Brunson should also be a topic of discussion but I believe they are close in discussion talks already. And then essentially keeping the core of this team together is what the Knicks should be focusing on as well.
I don't expect and would understand if Bogdanovic, Burks, and Achiwua all walk in free agency and find new homes. The one drastic change that the Knicks should pursue would be to trade for another star to counterpart Jalen Brunson at the right cost. If not I think keep this team the same. At the same time, there are three guys I think that would fit perfect on the Knicks right now: Donovan Mitchell, Mikal Bridges, and Devin Booker.
Knick fans have been manifesting Donovan Mitchell in the Big Apple for years now and after a couple of uneventful years in Cleveland, it could be a real possibility that he is on the move this summer. Mikal Bridges would be yet another Villanova guy coming over to the Knicks and be so impactful for not only the success of this team, but the chemistry as well. Devin Booker I think is a stretch and I feel like it would take a lot to get him, but Booker and Brunson would assert themselves as one of the best duos in the association.
The plan is simple for this offseason: keep the squad together or go after one of those guys. After years and years of misery, the Knicks finally have a bright future. No need to look at mock drafts or draft lotteries anymore, the Knicks are on the rise and I cannot wait to see what this team shapes out to be in the next couple of seasons. Let's Go Knicks.
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