A summer of franchise-altering trades later, the 2024-25 Knicks are set to play basketball in a matter of days, and fans are eagerly awaiting a first look at this newly configured roster.
After swapping out most of their starting five for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, this incoming rotation looks nothing like prior years and offers a fresh range of new possibilities and challenges.
With that in mind, here are the five biggest questions about this Knicks team going into the preseason…
How will the Knicks defend with Towns at center?
Perhaps the biggest question that will weigh on this team from preseason to the playoffs is if they’ll be able to maintain a competitive defense centered around Towns in the middle. For all his upside as well as head coach Tom Thibodeau‘s magic and surrounding help, Towns’ rim protection and defensive instincts have been poor throughout his career.
Can a Knicks defense that thrived on its strong personnel, schemes and buy-in remain elite in a lineup featuring Jalen Brunson and now Towns as its interior anchor?
It’ll be a work in progress, and we won’t get a definitive answer until the postseason, but New York is betting on the answer being “yes.”
Thibodeau will need to pull out creative looks and maximize his defensive wings — Bridges and OG Anunoby. He’ll also need career performances from Towns on that end, but coming off a great showing against Nikola Jokic in the playoffs, there’s some warranted optimism.
Where will the depth come from?
One silver lining of preseason basketball is getting to see players who normally wouldn’t get an opportunity to play in the regular season unless injuries slammed the roster. The Knicks can use these handful of games for experimentation with their deep bench options in search of a diamond in the rough that can help fill out the rotation.
After last year was completely derailed by injuries, New York reloaded in the draft and picked up a bunch of reliable veterans in free agency in hopes of avoiding a similar fate. They’ve since lost an extra piece in the Towns trade, further emphasizing the need for somebody to step up as a dependable option deep in the rotation.
Could it be a rookie — a la 2020-21 Immanuel Quickley — in Tyler Kolek or Pacome Dadiet? Perhaps TJ Warren or Landry Shamet emerge. Whoever it is, making themselves known in the preseason will inspire more confidence in New York’s depth.
Will Bridges return to form?
This may be the question that answers all others for New York. The Knicks shipped out nearly all of their own draft capital to acquire Bridges, who’s coming off a career-low season in many respects.
The evidence seems to suggest 2023-24 was the exception, and the rest of Bridges’ body of work is more representative of what New York can expect. He was invaluable in Phoenix, terrific the year they shipped him to Brooklyn, reliable in the FIBA World Cup and only drew ire playing for the directionless and poorly-coached Nets last year.
If he continues to be the iron man he’s been that will help solve the Knicks’ health and depth issues. If he continues to develop his creation that solves their bench and over-reliance on Brunson, and if he’s still that 3-and-D stud he’ll slide into Donte DiVincenzo’s spot smoothly and help cover Towns defensively.
What will non-Brunson offense and non-Brunson minutes look like?
Even coming off a year when Brunson seemingly dragged a hodgepodge, half-broken roster to within one game of the Conference Finals, it seems like more of the responsibility is falling on Brunson than ever coming into this season. Julius Randle was an offensive engine on his own, Isaiah Hartenstein was a primary hub for Brunson to work off-ball with, and DiVincenzo was their second-leading playoff scorer — now they’re all gone.
Even with their replacements, this offseason was a clear push further into Brunson’s heliocentric ball. How will the new pieces do in picking up that slack?
Towns will need to lean more into his screening and playmaking in Hartenstein’s stead, while also putting up enough of his own numbers to help give Brunson a break and carry bench units. Bridges and Anunoby will also see more opportunities to flex their offensive abilities, and they’ll need to play up to their individual potential.
Even Josh Hart may need to step up as a primary screener and playmaker at times. Eyes should also be on Miles McBride to make another leap, especially with his ability to handle the ball and create for others.
Can they stay healthy enough?
The most important and least predictable question facing the Knicks this season: will they have enough of their potent starting seven healthy in the playoffs to sustain a run?
It’s arguable that New York would have gone to the Conference Finals or further last season with a full roster, but we’ll never know.
Now we turn to this upcoming season and whatever luck it brings them. Perhaps some factors can be controlled, but don’t expect Thibodeau to start load managing in his 13th year as an NBA head coach.
