Knicks did not draft this team and cultivate it over years. It was built thru saavy FA's and Trades.
We are so fortunate to have Jalen who blossumed here and with his father/Thibs/Uncle Leon along with the NOVA brothers there was a "FAMILY" thing.

It was cool. It's was not a starphuch, or obnoxious. While not thru the draft it was as organic as it could be.
How the next seaosn goes will go a long way to define the era. Given we won just 53 games THEN exploded to the chip as if it like a great tournament does it dilute it? The 1968-1974 knicks had a run of near misses and some epic victories with a core starting group. THe 90's knicks had a core of Ewing/Oak and say 2-3 different reiterations. This team? Brunson and then it keeps getting built over 4 years. Not complaining.......And the window is still open.

I did not expect this chip. It was in the realm of possiblity. 53 wins does not make for a chip season. Perhaps the lack of expectation made is less stressful and more enjoyable? A season long team of destiny winning a chip is more relief that it fulfils its potential vs. the pure joy that came form reasonable expectations? It is what it is.

The greedy part of me wants a repeat, a 62 win season and all the angst that comes with it. Even if they don't win it all there is a noblity of a champion going down.

We are no longer "chosen" to suffer. The mecca endures a 53 year gap and.....House that Willis built endures to a new king.....The one called Brunson! One day his number will follow Clydes and never to be worn again!

Centers don't age well past 30 in today's game, so the biggest spotlight is certainly how slowly KAT declines defensively. he also has a lot of miles and it would be scary to give him a 4yr extension at 60m+ AAV, which he would command. one positive I think we've seen is that I think KAT looks lighter now than ever. for a guy now over 30 that is a conscious decision and I think could mean he still has 1 more yr before his defensive stats peak. the problem with Cs in today's game when you look at defensive stats is when they start declining, they fall off a cliff. so that's something to look out for.

another important piece is how much Diawara develops. if he becomes a 10-15ppg guy next 1-2 years our odds of competing get significantly higher

if we end up maxing KAT at high AAV I would assume that the team will be forced to make a prioritization ranking on who to extend between KAT, OG, and Hart. the team will need to find a new/additional POA defender/starter within the next 1-3 years as it becomes unlikely they will be able to keep OG KAT JB (hart, mikal) all on the team without going into the second apron.

Swishfm3 wrote:

aggo wrote:it really depends on how the group ages, but I think the baseline is that the team has 1-3 more deep runs left in them before the blowup happens.

Centers don't age well past 30 in today's game, so the biggest spotlight is certainly how slowly KAT declines defensively. he also has a lot of miles and it would be scary to give him a 4yr extension at 60m+ AAV, which he would command. one positive I think we've seen is that I think KAT looks lighter now than ever. for a guy now over 30 that is a conscious decision and I think could mean he still has 1 more yr before his defensive stats peak. the problem with Cs in today's game when you look at defensive stats is when they start declining, they fall off a cliff. so that's something to look out for.

another important piece is how much Diawara develops. if he becomes a 10-15ppg guy next 1-2 years our odds of competing get significantly higher

if we end up maxing KAT at high AAV I would assume that the team will be forced to make a prioritization ranking on who to extend between KAT, OG, and Hart. the team will need to find a new/additional POA defender/starter within the next 1-3 years as it becomes unlikely they will be able to keep OG KAT JB (hart, mikal) all on the team without going into the second apron.

I don't see anyone, let alone the Knicks, handing KAT a max contract. If OG remains in this current trajectory, he may command a near max contract, but all three will be on the wrong side of 30 and, the way this FO has been operating, I dont foresee them handing out big contracts.
I do anticipate Bridges being traded before his current contract is up. I do think that both Hart and Brunson will retire as Knicks. I think out of all the current players, they have benefitted the most from outside sponsorship and endorsements and they may see it being worthwhile playing for less money in order to stay with the Knicks

if guys like butler/kawhi/trae/pg got 200m+ at 50-60m aav there is no way OG will get less when he is extension eligible

KAT is a 1 of 1 player and a lot of the guys in his cohort: Giannis, Jokic, bam, AD all have player options in 27-28. with the amount of player movement happening each year, someone is going to pay him if the knicks don't.