The New York Knicks are one of the most interesting teams heading into the 2023-24 NBA season. Now a year into the new core spearheaded by Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and RJ Barrett, the Knicks are looking to take that next ascent in a seemingly wide-open East. Here’s the New York Knicks 2023-24 season preview:
Many would say that this team overachieved. They made it to the second round for the first time in a decade, losing in six games to the Miami Heat, who went on to win the Eastern Conference Finals. They ran it back this offseason, keeping most of the core together. Will it be enough?
Key Additions
The only addition that the Knicks made this season was bringing in Donte DiVincenzo on a four-year, 50-million-dollar contract. DiVincenzo addresses one of Knicks biggest issues, a lack of perimeter shooting. The Knicks were the 11 worst three-point shooting team last season. DiVincenzo is coming off a career year shooting the ball, where he shot nearly 40% from three. He is also a stout perimeter defender and is set to be a huge asset to this team’s depth.
Key Losses
Obviously, the biggest loss to the team’s rotation was trading away Obi Toppin after just three seasons in New York. The former 8th overall pick never truly got an opportunity to showcase his talent in the Big Apple since he was stuck behind an All-NBA player in Julius Randle. He reportedly butt heads with Head Coach Tom Thibodeau on numerous occasions due to his lack of playing time, but now he’ll get a chance to play more in Indiana.
The 2011 MVP Derrick Rose didn’t suit up in many games for the Knicks last season. But he was a well-respected locker-room presence and a knowledgeable veteran. Not to mention, he was loved universally by fans and players alike. Rose signed a two-year, 6.6 million dollar deal with the Memphis Grizzlies this offseason. He’s now expected to play a similar veteran leadership role in Memphis. But he could see his fair share of playing time with the 25-game suspension of Ja Morant.
Season Outlook
Potential Starting Lineup: Jalen Brunson, Quentin Grimes, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson
The New York Knicks will be picking up where they left off with the starting unit heading into the 2023-24 season. It seems like the biggest spotlight will be on the former third overall pick RJ Barrett and monitoring his development. Now entering his fifth season, he hasn’t made that leap into stardom that some of his peers have. Being the third option, his consistency will be a large factor in the ceiling of this team.
Bench Unit: Immanuel Quickley, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Deuce McBride, Jericho Sims
Thibodeau will most likely return to his patented 9-man rotation, with a lot more of Josh Hart playing the small-ball four. The team certainly sacrificed size for scrappiness by replacing Toppin with DiVincenzo, but it provides an opportunity for some of the younger players like Deuce McBride to leap consistent rotation minutes.
Overall, it seems like the Knicks are primed to improve on their 47-35 finish from last year, especially if Brunson looks like he did in the playoffs. With two all-stars, some of the most consistent role players in the league, the cohesion of this core, I’d think the Knicks are set for their best regular season finish since 2013.
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