New York Knicks 2024-25 season preview: Big-time moves bring big expectations to Big Apple

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We’re breaking down the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

NEW YORK KNICKS

2023-24 finish

Offseason moves

Additions: Karl-Anthony Towns (unofficially!), Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne, Pacôme Dadiet, Tyler Kolek, Kevin McCullar Jr., Ariel Hukporti, Landry Shamet, the draft rights to James Nnaji

Subtractions: Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop, DaQuan Jeffries, Charlie Brown Jr., Duane Washington (again: unofficially!), Isaiah Hartenstein, Bojan Bogdanović, Alec Burks, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite

Complete roster

The Big Question: Will it all be worth it?

After a ton of injuries and a hail of Indiana jumpers combined to stop them short of the Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks’ front office spent big to maintain their momentum. A half-decade’s worth of first-round picks for Bridges. Five years and $212.5 million for OG Anunoby. Another $156.5 million for Jalen Brunson.

(OK, so that last one was actually the mother of all sweetheart deals.)

It all had the Knicks looking poised to enter the season with one of the NBA’s best and deepest rotations — a team that, once Randle and center Mitchell Robinson returned from surgeries, had a chance to exceed last year’s limits.

“Obviously, you would’ve liked to have seen that one more time and just get a feel for that, fully healthy,” swingman Josh Hart said Monday at media day.

Team president Leon Rose had other plans.

“You know, you’re never content,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You always want to try to improve. And when opportunities present themselves, and you feel like it can improve the team, you want to try to take advantage of that.”

Rose took advantage, punctuating New York’s offseason with a thunderbolt. Out goes Randle, who averaged nearly 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game across five seasons as a Knick, earning All-Star and All-NBA nods as the bully who helped bring the bright lights back to Broadway. Out goes ’Nova Knick DiVincenzo, who last season became the fifth player in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/new-york-knicks-2024-25-season-preview-big-time-moves-bring-big-expectations-to-big-apple-135457816.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-02 13:54:57

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