There weren't high expectations for the New York Knicks heading into the 2022-23 NBA campaign. Entering the season, a lot of folks wrote off the Knicks and didn't think they would make the playoffs in a very formidable Eastern Conference. But fast forward to the current day, and it's evident that the Knicks proved their doubters very wrong.

The Knicks finished the 2022-23 regular season with a terrific 47-35 record, the fifth-best in the entire Eastern Conference. And in the first round of the playoffs, the Knicks flat-out outplayed the Cleveland Cavaliers and eliminated them in five games. Their first-round series win marked the first time since the 2012-13 campaign that the Knicks have won a playoff series.

Sure, the Knicks season didn't end the way fans wanted it to, as they lost to Jimmy Butler and the eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in six games in round two of the postseason. But the Knicks' second-round struggles don't change the fact that New York's season as a whole was still a huge success.

After such a successful season, a productive free-agency period could have helped fans get even more excited about the future. Unfortunately, though, the New York Knicks have been relatively inactive in free agency thus far.

The New York Knicks' lone free-agent acquisition to this point has been former Golden State Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo. It's a bit puzzling that the Knicks haven't signed a backup power forward free agent yet, considering they are light on depth at the position. With all of that said, let's look at one big mistake that the New York Knicks made in free agency:

1 big mistake by Knicks in 2023 NBA free agency

Not adding a power forward to the roster

Earlier this month, the Knicks traded their longtime backup power forward, Obi Toppin, to the Indiana Pacers for pennies on the dollar. The Knicks received just two future second-round picks in exchange for the former Dayton star. And now the Knicks have virtually no depth at the position behind Julius Randle, as Isaiah Roby is the lone other power forward currently on the roster, and he's a fringe NBA player. So the Knicks would have been wise to add a power forward to their roster earlier on in free agency before the market dried up.

One name not left on the market who would have made a lot of sense as a free-agent target is forward Torrey Craig. Craig possesses a three-and-d skill set, which is so coveted in today's NBA. He shot 39.5% from behind the three-point arc on 3.2 attempts per game with the Phoenix Suns in the 2022-23 regular season, an impressive combination of efficiency and usage rate.

While Craig can serve as a very effective floor-spacer, he's best known for being a dogged defender. Craig is a very effective defensive player who made life difficult for opposing wings this season, as he averaged 1.4 combined steals and blocks in just 24.7 minutes per game with the Suns this season.

At this juncture, only time will tell if the New York Knicks will stand pat with their current roster or decide to add more players to the team via free agency. But what's already abundantly clear is that the Knicks should have added a power forward to their roster earlier on in the NBA free agency period.