New York Knicks TBT- Season Review

2023-24 Record: 43-39

Entering the 2023-24 season as one of the favourites to win it all, Smokey and his Knicks looked prime for a big year. A roster built around two all-stars, Kawhi Leonard and Damian Lillard, with depth down to the 12^th man, New York looked like one of, if not, the premier team in the Eastern Conference.

Smokey is one of the trading masterminds of the NSL and over the off-season he worked multiple deals to assemble a roster that could win it all. One of the shortfalls of the Knicks’ roster however, was the fact that it was built around one of the best, but most injury prone players in the league, Kawhi Leonard. Would Leonard be able to carry the Knicks through the regular season? Would the Knicks be good enough to make the post-season without him? If they could make the post season, how far could Kawhi take them?

Season Highlight:

Post-Season Basketball

The Eastern Conference was no picnic in 2023-24 and after finishing in the 7^th seed, the Knicks were expected to make a deep playoff run with Leonard getting the all-clear from the medical staff. To make a run, the Knicks would first have to advance through the play-in tournament and in the first round the Pacers would oppose them for the first guaranteed playoff position. In what was expected to be a close game, the Knicks proved too dominant for the young and inexperienced Pacers, dominating the defensive end in a masterful display. The reward? A first round showdown vs the 2^nd placed Milwaukee Bucks.

In one of the most anticipated series of the first round, the Knicks would have to take down the eventual MVP SGA and the league’s best GM for 2023-24, Daz. Heading into the playoffs the Bucks were beginning to find form with Paul George settling into his new role. Milwaukee looked extremely formidable.

In game 1 the Bucks asserted dominance at home, blowing out the travelling Knicks by 20 points. In game 2 the Knicks bounced back on the road, equalling the series 1-1 in a 10-point upset. Game 3 gave the Knicks a chance to take the lead for the first time in the series as they hosted the Bucks. In a heart stopping affair, the Knicks edged out the Bucks by 3 setting the stage for a potential huge upset. Game 4 saw a few changes at the controls for the Bucks at the Knicks’ home court, which resulted in a 10 point win for Milwaukee and the series being tied at 2-2. The Knicks now had a must-win game on the road where they needed to find answers. Game 5 proved that GM Daz had found the answers as the Bucks blew out the New York by 25 points. The Knicks now would have to soul search and find a miraculous win to keep the series alive on the road in game 6. Unfortunately, there would no answers for Smokey’s boys as they were narrowly defeated in game 6 by 5 points. Gallant in defeat but outclassed the Knicks would take some solace a few weeks later as the Bucks would be crowned the eventual NSL Champions. Only the Wizards would push the eventual champs as far as the Knicks in the post-season also pushing the series to 6 games which, in a round-about-way proves New York were right there at the top of the competition in 2023-24. Back to the drawing board in 2024-25.

 

Trading:

GM Smokey had another wonderful year in the trade office, once again proving himself as one of the best GMs in the league. Whether it comes to straight swaps or multi-team deals, Smokey is a king at finding value.

Best Trades:

Knicks send: JaeShawn Tate, DeMar DeRozan
Knicks receive: Kristaps Porzingis

This was a great deal for Smokey who didn’t have to give up draft capital to bring in a quality unicorn big man who signed an extension for the price of a fun, athletic wing scorer. Not a fleecing, a fair deal but I know who’s end of the deal I’d rather be on.

Knicks send: John Collins and a second rounder
Knicks receive: Aaron Gordon

The new guy Yeet comes on the scene and he wants and athletic big to go along with one of the best bigs in the game- Wemby. Collins is a sort of glitchy but undersized PF at 6”9 while Gordon is a SF eligible big man with a versatile skillset and much better NBA role. I’m a big fan of AG in real life. Great deal for NY for a cheap price.

Worst trade:

Knicks send: Kristaps Porzingis
Knicks receive: Cameron Johnson, Daniel Gafford and 2 seconds.

I like KP as a fantasy asset and Johnson will probably never be good in the NSL due to being position locked at PF. He’s just not a good piece in the 2k game. Giving up a unicorn for two okay assets and seconds doesn’t seem worthwhile or anything like what we’d expect from Smokey.

Star:

Damian Lillard

29.7 points, 5.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.

After arriving in NY via trade from Portland, Dame formed ½ of the dynamic duo with Kawhi Leonard. Picking the key star for this team is really a matter of flipping a coin and today it landed on Dame. However, Lillard edged out Leonard as the MVP for a couple of reasons, firstly he was slightly more available than his co-star and secondly, Lillard was the primary scorer in an engine built for his skillset. 2023 will be looked back on as an engine where the little guys bullied the bigs. Outside shooting was at a premium and defenders could do next to nothing to stop star guards of the Dame mould. His season averages of nearly 30 points and 6 assists put him amongst the best in the league.

 

Flop:

First Round Exit

It’s hard to pick an individual for the flop for NY. Pretty much every guy on the roster played their role and Smokey found the right guys to fit around his stars. His build was terrific. Probably the biggest flop is all the work he put in to assemble this awesome squad only to earn a first-round exit with a healthy roster. This was a team that could’ve won the East. Probably the biggest killer was finishing with a play-in record which ultimately gave them the match-up of the eventual champions in the first round. The fans wanted more, the league expected more and Smokey would be a little disappointed on the return for effort after building what looked like a mega-team.

Draft Grade- B+

Pick 10- Nikola Topic
Pick 23- Jaylon Tyson
Pick 24- Kyle Filipowski

After a disappointing post-season, the Knicks decided to blow it up and look to the future, acquiring young talent on a similar timeline as Austin Reaves. Lillard and Leonard were both sent packing and all eyes moved to the draft.

It feels like Smokey had a key strategy for the draft, find value and upside. With 3 first round picks in a deep draft with no real superstars, New York could look for the sliders and value throughout the draft.

With their first pick, the Knicks selected the injured Nikola Topic. While he will sit for a fair portion of the upcoming season on a deep OKC roster, Topic looks like he could be one of the sleepers from the 2024 draft. He was projected as one of the top prospects prior to partially tearing his ACL and offers size, skill and athleticism at the point guard position. He could wind up being the steal of the draft at pick 10.

With pick 23, the Knicks took a swing on Jaylon Tyson, a big wing who was drafted to NBA Cleveland. He has high defensive upside and an ability to play multiple positions with his playmaking versatility, shooting ability and defensive presence.

After Tyson was selected, the Knicks reached for Duke big man Kyle Filipowski who fell in the NBA draft after some strange off-season personal life narratives. He was always projected as a first-round pick but was selected in the NBA at 32 going to the Utah Jazz. He should see plenty of opportunity to develop and play in a young Utah roster and could be a genuine steal of the draft.

Overall, the Knicks drafted well from their positions in the first round. It will be interesting to watch and see if any of his picks hit their upside as there were probably some safer bets at each respective pick. Tyson is probably the safest pick Smokey made and should be an interesting role player in the league. Filipowski and Topic will be interesting stories should either of them hit their respective ceiling.

The Future:

After swinging for the fences, it’s clear the Knicks will hit the reboot button for at least one season as they hold their own 2025 first and two others from the Raptors and Hawks (top 2 protected). The 2025 draft class looks sensational and Smokey has proved that when he finds the right guys he can quickly turn a franchise from rebuilder to contender. Life outside of the NSL can be hectic so we expect to hear from Smokey and see some moves throughout the upcoming season but perhaps their squad will play a slower paced game this coming season and enjoy breakouts from players such as Giddey, Vassell, Barrett and Reaves.

I’d expect to see the Knicks down the other end of the standings of the Eastern Conference in 2025. GM Smokey gave us a hell of a ride in 2024.