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The New York Knicks took a major step towards NBA Finals contention in the 2023-24 campaign, and at times, it felt like they were the best team in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for the Knicks, the team ran out of steam in the postseason, as they ended up getting bounced from the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Indiana Pacers.
The Knicks made some major changes over the offseason with the acquisitions of Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. While the team greatly improved their roster, they did not address the most glaring weakness on their roster, which is something that has been plaguing New York since the days of Carmelo Anthony.
Despite the high hopes surrounding the team, their season got off to a dud of a start with a 23-point blowout loss at the hands of the defending champion Boston Celtics. So with all this mind, let's take a closer look at the Knicks' biggest weakness and what the front office must do to address the problem. If this weakness isn't fixed, it will doom the team's hopes of hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the end of the season.
The Knicks need another playmaker
What the Knicks need to do is add a playmaking initiator who can create offense for himself or others from the guard or wing positions. That is because Jalen Brunson is the only player currently on the roster with that skill set. Brunson is the one who initiates the offense just about every time down the court, and he sets things in motion for his teammates or himself.
Granted, there are many teams who would be envious of the Knicks for even having one creator, and Brunson would be a welcome addition to just about any roster. The Knicks don’t want to be just any team, though. They want to compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. In order to win at the highest level, the team will need at least one other player who can make things happen when the play breaks down.
If Tom Thibodeau’s squad relies too heavily on Brunson, defenses will key in on him and make life very difficult for the team. That will hurt the former Villanova guard’s efficiency, and if the Knicks can’t make opponents pay for committing outsized resources to slow down Brunson, the double and triple teams won’t go away.
That being said, if the Knicks can shore up their initiation by adding another playmaker on the perimeter alongside Brunson, they could become the favorites to win it all this year. That would force defenses to allocate their assets differently and split their focus between Brunson and this other player.
Adding another playmaker alongside Brunson would make both players more effective and take the individual pressure off of each of them. That is how the Knicks could become an offensive powerhouse this year.
Karl-Anthony Towns is a better fit than Julius Randle, but he's not the answer
The Knicks acquired a superstar big man in Towns through an unexpected blockbuster deal late this offseason with the Minnesota Timberwolves. As part of this transaction, the Knicks traded away Julius Randle.
During his time in New York, Randle was a talented yet inefficient scorer from the power forward and center positions. He was interchangeable between the two, but he struggled when asked to create offense from scratch, as efficient perimeter initiation just wasn’t his game.
Randle was never the best ball handler, and he would frequently get himself into trouble and turn the ball over when he tried to pull off complex dribble combinations or break a defender down in a one-on-one scenario and get to the rim.
When attempting to make these plays, Randle would frequently cough the ball up, whether by dribbling out of bounds, or getting too reckless and allowing a defender to reach in and knock it away.
Towns should be better in this regard, but he still is not at his best when trying to make things happen out on the perimeter. Towns is a decent secondary playmaker and a great scorer who can finish plays with authority, but the Knicks need one more guy on offense who can create something out of nothing.
Who could the Knicks add to their roster?
So, who might this mystery player be? That’s the million-dollar question, and it is the one which the Knicks have struggled to answer so far. Jalen Green would have been an ideal fit, but that option is off the table for the time being after the Houston Rockets signed the explosive young guard to a contract extension.
This acquisition could be somebody like Zach LaVine, if the Knicks can find a buy-low opportunity. It could be any star guard or wing who becomes disgruntled and asks for a trade. Somebody like Jimmy Butler would be the perfect acquisition target, and Butler has had plenty of success with Thibodeau early in his career.
Other players to keep an eye on include Darius Garland, Rob Dillingham, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, Cam Whitmore or Scoot Henderson. Not all of these players are stars, but they all have untapped upside as primary offensive initiators.
