How the New York Knicks Saved Their Franchise: The Impossible Rebuild

Patience has run out and New York Knicks fans' worst nightmare has come true. I can't think of a worse day in history for the New York Knicks

franchise

than today M I thought they were supposed to get KD and Kyrie to the Knicks. s the xra 1 team, you know how much I enjoyed watching them on TV the last time the New York Knicks won a championship. I was 5 years old, ladies and gentlemen, I'm 51. Did you see those New York Knicks last night? Did you see them? them, come on, Nicks, come on, this New York Knicks team is a legitimate title contender this season and if anyone else says anything different then they haven't been watching the Nicks play.

If you're a young basketball fan under the age of 25, then it's safe to say that for the vast majority of

their

lives, the New York Knicks have been the laughing stock of the NBA, whether it be for

their

Phil controversy in the 2000s, their failures with Carmelo Anthony in the 2010s or their free agent disaster in 2019, a feeling that has always been associated with the Knicks is a shame, however, after holding the title of the worst record of the 21st century for almost 21 years , the Knicks have finally built a contender. They have had an incredibly successful 2023 24 campaign reaching their highest winning percentage in years.

I think that since they are located in the media epicenter of the United States, they would receive more attention for this, but interestingly the increase has been relatively undocumented and unrecognized by the NBA media in the wise words of the King of New York, Trey Young , the apology should be as loud as the disrespect was and no team in recent decades has been criticized as fervently as the Knicks have been today, we will investigate the overlooked

rebuild

and explain how the New York Knicks went from from being the joke of the league to being a respected team.

Contender, the year that marked the turning point for the Knicks

franchise

was 2019, before that their organization was in shambles their draft history was disgustingly bad their free agent Sans generally aged poorly with bad contracts and most of the time were fleeced on the trade market these issues were most highlighted in the Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson blunder that spanned from 2011 to 2017. During this time, the Knicks had high expectations but never lived up to the expectations, often They left their fans dissatisfied and exhausted. A change was needed and once both Melo and Jackson. were gone, a new era was underway in New York entering the 201819 season, the Knicks were left in a desolate state winning only 17 games, the fewest in their franchises' history, the entire team was run by idiots, the owners and James Dolan embarrassed the organization on a regular basis. expelling spectators who were shouting for his dismissal David Fizdale the team's coach lost the locker room within a few months of being hired the squad from top to bottom was full of Scrubs, most of whom were out of the league within a few years from the top This salary cap situation was a complete nightmare.

Players like Andis Caner, Tim Hardaway Jr and Courtney Lee earned more than $18 million a year. The second highest paid player on the team was Jem Noah, a guy who wasn't even on the team because he was cut before the 1819 season even started to make things worse. Their only shining piece of hope in Christopher Porzingis was sidelined due to an ACL that he had suffered a year earlier, in February 2018, the Knicks were trapped in basketball hell, so how did they escape this miserable ? situation that seemed to have no light at the end of the tunnel, well it all started with a franchise trade that changed everything in February 2019, Christs Porzingis reportedly requested a trade and was immediately sent to the Dallas Mavericks in a deal that shocked to the world of basketball.

For the franchise's crown jewel, the Knicks received a handful of solid role plays and two first-round picks. New Yorkers were shocked and outraged. How could it be that Porzingis requested a trade out of the blue and was so abruptly moved by a bunch of nobodies? According to the Knicks, Porzingis was hinting at asking for a trade, so the Knicks, who already wanted to get rid of him because they refused to give him a Max contract, happily agreed to attach many other pieces to the deal along with KP, most of them which were overpaid players. The rationale behind this deal was that it would free up the Knicks' cap space that they could then use to pursue big-name free agents in the summer of 2019.

The irony of this trade is that at the time it was unanimously mocked by from analysts looking for Watch It Now, although in retrospect, it was the deal that single-handedly changed the Nick franchise amid fan anger over this trade. Optimism was in the air. Some envisioned the summer of 2019 as the exact moment the Knicks would go from Since the league disrespected him to the feared, their hopes of landing the No. 1 pick and selecting Zion Williamson, then hitting free agency and adding Kyrie and KD to form a super team, it was possible and everyone was promoting it, including James Dolan, the owner himself. and I can tell you from what we've heard that I think we're going to have a very successful offseason as far as free agents go, however, once the draft lottery hit and they ended up with only the third pick, their plan was disrupted.

Halfway through free agency, their hearts were broken when Katie and Kyrie joined forces in Brooklyn. Nick's biggest rival, located just a few miles away, was a disaster and was so discouraging that the Knicks front office issued a public statement addressing the fan base. anger where they frantically tried to convince them that the future was still bright, this was a huge wake up call for the organization and forced them to change their entire basketball mentality now instead of praying for a lucky event to save them such as receiving the first selection or sign. a big-name star, the Knicks chose to seek success themselves and that's where the rise began.

The Knicks moved on after being snubbed by KD and Kyrie using their Newfound money to sign solid players like Julius Randall Bobby, Taj Gibson and Marcus Morris, a plethora of power forwards all signed relatively short-term deals that allow the Knicks maintain their cap space and trade flexibility. New York wasn't hiring these guys because they believed they would all contribute to a championship, they were hiring them because they later could. move them from more assets, but when the Flames calmed down, the Knick's 201920 campaign was another unimpressive product on the court, winning only 21 of 66 games, their rookie third overall pick, RJ Barrett, showed flashes, but was overshadowed by the first two draft picks in John Moran and Zion Williamson in his 5-year tenure at Nicks, Barrett proved to be a mediocre player and was ultimately a disappointment.

Another player who was a disappointment during this time was Julius Randall, the big-name free agent signing that summer was immediately vilified by the Knicks fan base for his frustrating style of play. Randall struggled in his first year with the Knicks regressing. in efficiency and scoring, as a result, many jumped to criticize his contract fearing it was another bad deal handed out by New York during the 2020 trade deadline. The Knicks were quite active in trading Marcus Morris to the LA Clippers for Mo Harkless and some selections. This was an example of the Knicks' news strategy of signing solid players on short deals and moving them around for picks.

What's incredible about this trade is that the 2020 first-round pick the Clippers got back for Morris actually turned into Emanuel Quickle, a player who would become an elite six-man for the group. Rome wasn't built in a day and even though the 21-win Knicks were still not respected for most things. Changing the team with one of the longest playoff droughts in the league was about to undergo a cultural change, all thanks to a small seed that was planted in February 2020 outside of the roster, player moves and trades. The 2019-20 season saw two key events. What changed the future of this franchise, one was the firing of their inept coach David Fizdale and the other was the resignation of team president Steve Mills.

Sports agent Leon Rose replaced Mills and Tom Fido later replaced Fizdale. The Knicks certainly improved at both positions here. This changed the entire franchise for the better. The new coach came with a system that immediately thrived by prioritizing defensive hustle and selflessness, everything the franchise had lacked for years, adding that Fido ushered in a much-desired New Era of stability in the coaching position. The case was similar with Leon Rose, who proved to be one of the most successful executives in team history within a few years of getting the job. Immediately the new executive went to work on the 2020 draft, the Knicks kept Obi Toppen and Emanuel Quickley.

Topin had a less than stellar three-year career in New York, but quickly proved to be much more valuable. They then signed some role players, bringing in Alec Burks and Noell Austin Rivers and trading for Derrick Rose a few weeks into the season. All of these moves would help. built what was an unexpected return to relevance in the 2020 21 campaign this season, the Knicks exceeded all expectations winning 41 games and finally making the playoffs in scene four, who would have thought that adding real NBA players Would you win more games, how great? Strategy The reason for the Knick's unfounded success this year can be pointed to a few factors, one of which was Julius Randall making the jump.

Randall went from being called above pay to being praised. The power forward made his first All-Star Game and won the most. improved player award, was the main anchor of the team and was helped by Steady contributors like RJ Barrett, Derrik Rose, Reggie Bullock and Emanuel, quickly looking back at this list, most of the players wouldn't even stay in the league for more time. ER which makes his sudden rise this season even more shocking. Another factor in the success of this team was Tom Fido. He immediately proved to be the most competent coach the franchise has had in years and gave them a tough identity on both sides of the ball.

The new-look Knicks went 16 and four in their final 20 games, sending their fan base into a frenzy in hopes that a deep playoff run was possible, but this feel-good story was burned in flames by Ice Trey and the Atlanta Hawks, who quickly dispatched. them at five in the first round, the Hawks, despite having an identical record to the Knicks, completely outplayed them, to put it simply, the lights were too bright, most of New York's starters crumpled under the pressure and regressed in these playoffs, especially RJ Barrett and Julius Randall. didn't show up, both were incredibly inefficient and recklessly turned the ball over, on the other hand, Trey Young and the Hawks rose to the occasion and just like that, the Knicks' promising season ended as they watched the Hawks make the Knicks so wrong as they probably did.

Most Knicks fans never wanted to watch the sport of basketball again, but for those in the fan base who participated in sports betting they still had something to keep them busy for the rest of the playoffs, this is especially relevant in the current college basketball season that has finally begun. coming to an end in March Madness, that's why the sponsor of today's video is Draft Games. This is your last chance to get in on your college basketball bets for the season and round out the year. DraftKings is offering all new customers $150 in instant bonus bets when they place their first five $5 bets using Draftking on the same parlay game.

You can use your $150 in bonus bets to combine multiple bets, such as total points scored, number of rebounds by your favorite player and more, if you are interested, download the Draftking Sportsbook app if you are a sports player. Betting is not yet available in your state, you can still join the DraftKings daily fantasy app for a chance to win cash prizes. That's the promo code. Dyan Do Basketball, just a Draftking sportsbook. Please gamble responsibly and call 1800 Gam Gambler if you have a gambling problem now where were we? While many expected New York to build on its 2020 '21 season with a strong summer, the team took a step back due to poor decision making in the 2021 offseason, the Knicks handing out a slew of sizable contracts. to unworthy players Evan forierreceived a huge contract of 73 million dollars for 4 years nerland noell received 27 million dollars in 3 years Alec Burks 3 years 30m Derek Rose 3 years 43 million kampbell Walker 2 years 18 million the Knicks gave what was equivalent to the GDP of a country small for a group of Scrubs, sorry D Rose fan club, it wasn't all bad, although they did have a good 2021 draft picking Quenton Grimes in the first round and Jericho Sims with their 58th pick, both of whom They have shown promise, but on top of this, their offseason was halfway over, leading the 2021-22 Knicks to regress to average.

His template proved to be flawed. The Knicks' lack of a point guard completely killed them. Julius Randle, the team's best player, declined immensely. His three-point shooting took a big drop, going from 41 to 30%, the most disappointing thing is that RJ Barrett did not make a jump of one or three years and often proved to be more of a problem on the court than a winning player . They were a mediocre team. Stuck in the middle, the worst position. one could be in the NBA, they tried to take chances on potentially good players, like when they traded for Cam Reddish and January 2022, but in New York it just didn't work out, he eventually fell out of the rotation and was permanently benched.

Some impatiently even started debating whether or not it was time to tear down the team and fire Coach Lio, so how did the Knicks save themselves with a little thing called preparation with some tampering at the point guard? It is a position that has the greatest importance in In the NBA, the point guard is usually the general on the court, the first to touch the ball on each possession, the tone setter and, in the case of the Knick, the missing piece For months leading up to the summer of 2022, the Knicks were closely watching Dallas Mavericks point guard Jaylen Brunson in the 2022 playoffs.

Nicks' executive sat with Julius Randle in the front row of the Dallas Mavericks' playoff game. Mavs against the Jazz a few weeks before free agency, the Knicks hired Rick Brunson's father, Jaylen, to be an assistant coach in addition to this Leon Rose, the team's general manager was Brunson's godfather, while Leon's son , Sam, was Brunson's agent. Shameless Behavior All Around with the next in care, they saw the boy's potential and went after him like a hungry lion. A snap within hours of free agency, the two sides agreed to a 4-year, $14 million deal and this turned out to be nothing short of fantastic.

This is how championship teams are built through Taking Chances and the relentless search for untapped talent. Brunson was seen as a great player, but few expected him to evolve into the Beast of the NBA. He ended up becoming New York in just a few years. The Knicks went from their highest-paid player, Andis Caner, to Jaylen Brunson H. What an improvement, but Addan Brunson was It wasn't the only great free agent move, the Knicks also swooped in and signed Isaiah Hartenstein to a 2-year deal. years and $16 million, which was a theft. at the starting spot when other players were being heard, but how did they create this cap space to sign these pieces?

For starters, it all came out of the hectic 2022 draft, where the Knicks managing and negotiating on draft night made a ton of moves first selecting Usman. Jen with the 11th pick and sent him to the Thunder for three protected first-round picks. New York then threw a first-rounder on that deal and some second-rounders to Charlotte for Jaylen Duran, a center at the 13th pick. They weren't done yet, they knew the Detroit Pistons were in love with Dur, so they sent him there along with Kembell Walker for another first rounder. It was all a sequence that helped the Knicks get some picks and get rid of Kemba's overpaid contract, freeing them up to sign the genius work of Brunson and Hartenstein, but no. no, no, they weren't done yet, they had their eyes on an even bigger fish than Brunson and with their new reinforced draft Capital they were going to try to make a splash.

Donovan Mitchell, a star guard for the Utah Jazz, was one of those big names. New York had been dreaming that he was on the trade block and attracted interest from dozens of teams, including the Knicks, in the end they were quite aggressive in pursuing him, but the deal fell through in the end due to some complications for one. According to some on the Knicks. The front office Danny and the Jazz were asking for literally everything in a potential trade package. Utah's executive reportedly refused to trade Mitchell to the Knicks in some sort of anti-New York agenda.

The Knicks tried to add valuable young players. to their package like Mitchell Robinson RJ Barrett Quenton Grimes Emanuel Quickley Obi toppen and more, but the Jazz said El o blocked his number, this frustrated the organization greatly, but in hindsight, it was the right decision for them to be patient and skip this agreement with the Knicks. but trusting in their own roster, they had already built a strategy that would pay off fast forward to the 2022 23 season and the Knicks were playing the old-fashioned way, 500 balls. Brunson and Randle were contributing well, but the team needed another piece to get them out of the end.

To play in the playoffs, the Knicks front office knew this, so they focused on a player who would fit perfectly into their ever-developing culture of hustle and toughness in Portland. Josh Hart, a Blazers wing who was up for a contract extension, wanted to go somewhere. where he would be given a bigger opportunity and an extension at the trade deadline, the Knicks moved to move a package based out of the reddish chamber and a first for him, this would be another excellent move by the team where they added one of the most valuable role players. The league for Penny on the dollar har embodied Tom Thib's tough system that constantly frustrated opposing teams with his Elite rebounding ability and his relentless hustle.

Not a flashy deadline by any means, many expected the Knicks to pursue star guard Zack LaVine. but the Knicks remained patient, proving once again that their commitment to building slowly rather than chasing stars was as disciplined as ever. As a result of gaining heart, the team gained some momentum to finish the year 17th and 8th in a stretch that included nine games. winning streak, they closed by winning 47 games in total, which wasn't groundbreaking, but it was still their most successful season of the decade. This progress was capped by an excellent first-round series where the fifth-ranked Knicks beat the fourth-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers in five.

Not only was it the first time they won a playoff series since 2013, not only did they handily eliminate their favorite opponent, but also silenced their critics who lampooned them for not trading Donathan Mitchell, they made the right decision by believing in the Jaylen Johnson roster. He also shook off his critics and dominated the series averaging 24 points per game at this point. Any talk of the Knicks overpaying him in the summer of 2022 was out of the question. Other players like Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett showed up impressively with Robinson shining. In the closing game five, where he grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the second round, although it saw the Knicks face a stronger, more disciplined and better shooting Miami Heat team, which eliminated them in six, the Knicks struggled, especially in the final quarter of these games, being outscored in decisive time.

In Games 1, 4 and 6, Jaylen Brunson once again wowed fans by averaging 30 points per game, but while some players did well, others on the team left a lot to be desired, one of those players who really was starting to irritate Nick was RJ's fans. Barrett, the former third pick, was inconsistent and shot a brutal 1-for-10 in the sixth elimination game in Miami. What hurt the most about this cell was that the Knicks had lost a winnable series. Progress had been made overall, but it was clear that some of the young players the Knicks had invested in needed to be replaced just didn't fit the system.

What system do you ask Tom Fiido's? At this point, the Knicks were beginning to create an identity around players who fit Thib's system. This meant that the team. prioritizing defensive minded guys who excelled at intangibles like rebounding or just playing hard, the more players who did these things the better and anyone who didn't work with their philosophy needed to be fired immediately, the 2023 offseason was of the utmost importance New York had no draft picks from the Josh Hart trade, so they were left with the need to add players through the trade and free agency. They did just that, trading Obi beat the former eighth overall pick in 2020 to Indiana by two meager second-round picks.

It was a bold move and meant the team was willing to move forward and admit when they had made a mistake in the draft. He was a disappointment in New York and the best example of a player who simply didn't fit into the game plan. built by Thibs is not going to work so they brought in someone who fit perfectly into their plans they signed Dante Devan Chenzo a two way guard to a 4 year contract for 50 million dollars this was the type of guy who embodied the culture of Nick in a brave way, excellent shooter, defender and winning player in a symbolic moment of how far this team had come.

When Divon Chenzo was asked why he signed with the Knicks, his answer was simple but in the end, you know, I like it, I like winning games. basketball and watch. in the design where I was, you know I was potentially going to land, I felt more comfortable coming here, think about the meaning of this comment for a second, the team that was the laughingstock of the NBA just four years earlier was now attracting free agents because of the excellent winning culture they had built, incredible was that the roster improved, yes they were a finished product, not at all, the front office had a few names they were targeting, but decided to keep their offseason condensations, just two small moves , the big moves would end up coming to A few months later, the 2023 24 Knicks have had by far their most successful season in this new era and have become a legitimate playoff threat in the Eastern Conference to open the season in which his team struggled to play 500 balls once again.

Tom Thib's system was improving. Stronger and stronger every year, but management knew more was needed to take them to the next level, so they went ahead and swung for the fences by making the biggest trade the team had seen in years. At the end of December 2023, the Knicks achieved a blockbuster. trade move for Raptors Ford OG and anobi anobi is a fantastic 3 and wing and transformed New York's defense immediately after joining them in December, the Knicks had the worst defensive rating in the league, but after he joined the team shot to the best defensive rating. Out of every other team in the month of January on offense, nnobi has been ridiculously efficient with the Nicks, hitting his threes and having impressive pace while showing phenomenal shot creation ability that the team hasn't seen outside of his wings. dwarves.

Getting OG was quite expensive but worth it. RJ Barrett Emanuel Quickle and a second-round pick were moved in this steal. Both were important rotation players, but OG was a clear upgrade and it showed on the court that the Knicks went 12-2 with Anobi upon acquiring him before he suffered an elbow injury that sidelined him for a month and average in those 12 wins, although the team looked dominant and its most impressive victory was a nearly 40-point victory against the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the trade. deadline they upgraded the roster once again by trading a package centered around Quenton Grimes for buam bogdanovich and Alec Burks for the price of a young player in Grimes within seconds the Knicks landed two solid pieces on the bench to bolster their depth even further when they are healthy, the Knicks have been the hottest team in the league, they may not be the favorites to win the championship, but if the right pieces fall into place, they could easily go deep in the playoffs in 2019.

The Knicks were the worst team in the league in 2024. They are near the top of the East and in just half a decade they have built one of the best team cultures in the NBA, but there is still one thing that the team's fans don't understand: why not is this talked about when I? I say the Knicks were a laughing stock in 2019. I don't just say that out of hyperbole, I say it because it was certifiably true, the franchise was mocked and ridiculed by the national media for years for their incompetence, but when they finally achieved their promotion. left undocumented why the answer is simple and no, there is no secret media agenda against the Knicks, the reality of why their accomplishments have been overlooked is because they don'tThey have a superstar, there isn't a player like a Shay Guildas Alexander or an Anthony Edwards to get all the attention, it's just Jaylen Brunson, Julius Randall and the rest of the gang who make the media pay more attention to the teams with superstars, the Knicks don't have one yet and that brings me to my final point, he won't stick around.

In this way, because the Knicks are preparing for something big until 2030, the Knicks have 11 first-round draft picks. Do you think they are holding them back just for fun? No, they're holding them back so that when the next Superstar asks to leave, they'll be available. ready and I'm not talking about a B level star like Donovan Mitchell I'm talking about a level star one of the best players in the league like Joel Embiid for example six fans don't kill me part of the reason why The Knicks were never able to land free agents in the past like Kevin Durant was because their organization was a joke.

KD says it perfectly, the team just wasn't great to play with. Clarify something you said 5 years ago. He admits the Knicks are great, come on. bro, at that time they weren't, I mean, the Knicks weren't great, but they're a great brand, like when the Knicks are like now, when they're coming out now playing well, the last few years they've been playing well, but before. that they weren't playing well but you knew the brand was cool, the brand was cool, but at that moment you know I wasn't looking at the Cool brand outside of the game, I was looking at the team and the team.

The team wasn't great to play for, it wasn't great to watch, but now they have successfully transitioned their team from losers to winners and it all came from the work they dug themselves out of the imaginary hole they were stuck in, the Knicks. cool again and they will soon reap the benefits of their excellent and

rebuild