Subscribe
Follow Us
After missing out on the postseason the year prior, there weren't high expectations for the New York Knicks heading into the 2022-23 NBA regular season. Entering the season, a lot of folks wrote off the Knicks and thought they would once again fail to qualify for the playoffs in a very formidable Eastern Conference. But fast forward to the current day, and it's clear that the Knicks proved their doubters wrong.
The New York Knicks finished the 2022-23 regular season with a fantastic 47-35 record, good enough for the fifth-best in the entire conference. And in the first round of the playoffs, New York pulled off the upset against Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and the Cleveland Cavaliers and eliminated them in five games. Their series win against the Cavs was the first time in ten years that the Knicks have won a playoff series.
New York's playoff run didn't end the way fans wanted it to, though, as it lost to Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and the Miami Heat in six games in round two of the playoffs. But the Knicks bowing out in the second round doesn't change the fact that New York's season, in its totality, was an undeniable success.
After such an encouraging season, a productive offseason could have helped fans get even more excited about the future. Unfortunately, though, the New York Knicks have had a relatively quiet offseason thus far.
The New York Knicks' lone free-agent acquisition to this point has been former Golden State Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo. And the Knicks sent Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers in the only trade they've made this offseason. It's a bit puzzling that the Knicks haven't made any more notable moves via trades or free agency this offseason, considering they are light on depth at one position. With all of that said, let's look at the New York Knicks' biggest roster concern deep into 2023 NBA free agency:
Knicks' biggest roster concern deep into 2023 NBA free agency
Lack of depth behind Julius Randle at the power forward position
Back in early July, the New York 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. Toppin didn't play a whole lot of minutes with the Knicks during the 2022-23 campaign, but when his name was called, he produced. He averaged 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in just 15.7 minutes of playing time per contest.
Now that Obi Toppin is with the Pacers and no longer a member of the Knicks, New York has virtually no depth behind All-NBA talent Julius Randle at the power forward spot. Isaiah Roby is the lone other classified power forward on the Knicks' roster. And Roby couldn't even crack the rotation on a rebuilding San Antonio Spurs team during the 2022-23 regular season, as he averaged just 11.3 minutes per game across 42 appearances with the team.
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 trade or free agency. But what's already abundantly clear is that the Knicks should try to add another power forward to their roster before the beginning of the 2023-24 NBA regular season.
