MIAMI — Where do you go from here?
How do you get better? Do you rely on internal improvement? Do you go after a big fish in the trade market?
These are the questions the Knicks face after the most promising season of the past two decades ended Friday in Miami.
The Knicks enter the 2023 offseason without much money to spend on free agents. They’ll have the $12 million non-tax payer exception and the $4.5 million biannual exception at their disposal, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
That’s enough to improve the roster, but not in a significant way.
New York has enough evidence to bet on the internal improvement of their young players. Immanuel Quickley took a big step forward in the regular season. RJ Barrett struggled in Game 6 on Friday, but he had a very strong postseason overall. Quentin Grimes was part of the Knicks starting lineup that finished the regular season 37-22. Mitchell Robinson played at a high level in New York’s first-round series win over Cleveland. He helped the Knicks win a lot of regular season games.
So the Knicks could justify a quiet offseason by pointing to the improvements of those young players in 2022-23.
Or they could make noise this summer. For weeks, people around the league have been predicting fireworks in the trade market. The Knicks have the capital to acquire a star via trade. They have 11 first-round picks over the next seven drafts. They have young players who other teams would covet.
So they’ll have the opportunity to pursue a star this summer.
The last time the Knicks made the playoffs and entered the offseason with heightened expectations, it didn’t go well. New York struggled in 2021-22, winning just 37 games.
They bounced back this season thanks in part to the Jalen Brunson signing. Brunson gives the Knicks a steadying presence at point guard and the opportunity to build around an elite lead guard.
That in and of itself is a significant accomplishment. But it’s not enough. If you watched the Heat series, you know the Knicks need more around Brunson.
For the Knicks, there are two pathways to get there. The trade market or internal improvement. Which direction will Leon Rose and his group go? We’ll find out over the next two months.