The 2019-20 season for the New York Knicks will strangely be one devoid of lofty aspirations and little recourse should David Fizdale's team miss the postseason.
Whether you want to say they are in year two or year three of the rebuild, the Knicks spent the offseason infusing their young team with a range of helpful veterans, and the main goal for the upcoming season is raising the ceiling on their younger prospects instead of making a mad dash for a low playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
Opening the season on the road in San Antonio on October 23rd, the Knicks will undoubtedly look to involve their lottery talent players like Dennis Smith Jr., Kevin Knox, and incoming rookie RJ Barrett.
It remains to be seen whether the team is still buying into their 2017 draft's eighth overall pick Frank Ntilikina, who flashed some good play in the FIBA World Cup for France, but for the time being those three players plus last year's second-round selection in center Mitchell Robinson will have the ability to learn to play with another and unlock latent talent with little to no pressure to overextend.
The summer's crown jewel in free agency was Julius Randle, a southpaw power forward/center former lottery pick of the Los Angeles Lakers coming off a career year with a one-year stint with the New Orleans Pelicans. Randle signed a three-year contract with the Knicks worth north of $60 million, although the team can exercise an option in the third year. The 6-foot-9 big man will essentially be the go-to offensive option for the young team, having every opportunity to lead the Knicks in scoring while gradually building an identity with his fellow 24-and-unders.
General manager Scott Perry has demonstrated in two years with the franchise that the Knicks are looking for versatile players—players that can fulfill multiple positions while using length and skill to offer multiple lineup iterations confusing opponents. This is most noticeable in the Randle signing along with Ntilikina's place on the roster and the subsequent free-agent pick-ups of Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis.
One of the Knicks' first early tests of the season is a Friday night matchup with crosstown rivals Brooklyn Nets, who snuck in before New York to sign Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the summer. While Durant is unlikely to play the 2019-20 season, Irving's move to Brooklyn will provide plenty of salt in the Knicks' wounds.
The Knicks are currently simply treading water hoping one or more of their many raw prospects turn into a star while the Nets are ahead of the rebuilding stage by landing premier free agents. For the time being, the Knicks are going to probably play pretty hard than in years past under Fizdale, but there will again be a noticeable talent gap between them and most frequently their Atlantic Division foes—the Nets, Celtics, Sixers, and Raptors.
Outside of the top talent the Knicks are trying to groom, they also have solid role players in second-year undrafted free agent Allonzo Trier and third-year second-round pick Damyean Dotson—two wing players that have very specific identities on a team looking for enhanced shooting on the perimeter.
Trier is the clutch gene incarnate with devastating isolation moves and Dotson is almost the opposition; he thrives as a spot-up, catch and shoot threat and prides himself in taking on tough defensive matchups on the other end. The Knicks also signed Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock in free agency, rounding out their perimeter scoring and definitely helping what was a dreadful 3-point shooting team last season.
The Knicks want to prove to the world they are not pushovers anymore, and that may help with the acquisitions of Marcus Morris, Randle, Portis, and also Duke stud Barrett, who they selected third overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. Compared to last year, there is certainly a different edge to the type of players on the roster.
Last season was a year-long tryout for players like Emmanuel Mudiay, Noah Vonleh, Mario Hezonja, and others. This year, while Perry inked Gibson, Portis, and most of the free agency crop to limited guaranteed deals, the environment displays a much more understanding and quality field, even if they are not on the team further than next season. Every player signed in the offseason either has a team-friendly option in the second year or a partially guaranteed second year other than Randle, signed two-plus-one years, and Morris, signed just one year.
While the short-term deals plagues Fizdale's locker room again, the 2019-20 season will unlikely feel the same as last year due to practically the improved veterans acquired—this is a group of players with journeyman mentality and past successes whose day one job for the organization is to construct a winning DNA for the younger players. Taking a loss belly-up is not an option, in other words, although, again, the team likely doesn't have the high-end talent to be extremely competitive for 82 games.
Lastly, it would behoove us to talk about the team's point guard competition, which right now shakes out between Smith Jr., Ntilikina, and the final free agent brought in, Elfrid Payton. Payton was a Perry lottery pick while he was the assistant GM with the Orlando Magic, and he did have a solid year playing alongside Randle with the Pelicans.
At the moment, it looks like Smith will continue to receive the reins of the offense, but that could be taken away from the ex-Maverick if he does not see a distinct improvement with his jump shot. Smith has all the athleticism and quickness in the world, and even flashed great court vision in his abbreviated second-half stint with the Knicks following the Kristaps Porzingis trade, but Payton will be breathing down his neck with backing from Perry and experience sharing the court with Randle should the NC State alum falter.
Ntilikina, meanwhile, will likely see his chances as a role player on the wing instead of a pure floor general (he was originally drafted by Phil Jackson to play the point in the Triangle).
At the end of the 2019-20 season, the Knicks will probably miss the playoffs again, but they will go into a summer with greater optimism than in previous years due to a burgeoning young core, plus another high draft pick, and all of their assets intact including two Dallas first-round picks and cap flexibility with partially guaranteed deals on the board.
I would be surprised if the Knicks win more than 30 games, but the growing pains of the upcoming season will at least feel like they're building a stronger franchise than the haunted ruins of past iterations running in circles and failing to acquire star talent.
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