Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are the most valuable trade assets the Knicks possess as they try to finish the job of building a championship roster, according to Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. Winfield ranks the potential value of everything New York has to work with this summer, starting with Brunson and going down to Boston’s top-45 protected second-round pick in 2028. Team president Leon Rose has limited draft capital remaining after last year’s trades for Towns and Mikal Bridges, so most of the coveted assets are players.
It seems unthinkable that the Knicks would part with Brunson, their captain, especially after he accepted a team-friendly extension that could keep him under contract through the 2028/29 season. They may be more willing to move on from Towns, whose contract becomes more burdensome until he reaches a $61MM player option in 2027/28. Towns’ defensive shortcomings can make it challenging to have him and Brunson on the floor together, which Indiana exploited in the conference finals.
Bridges, New York’s 2032 first-round pick and OG Anunoby round out Winfield’s top five. The Knicks face a looming decision on Bridges, who is entering the final year of his contract and will be eligible for an offseason extension potentially worth $156MM over four years. Anunoby, the second-highest-paid player on the team, is signed for three more seasons and holds a $48.4MM player option for 2028/29.
There’s more on the Knicks:
- The team’s next head coach will be walking into an extremely high-pressure situation, as reaching the conference finals wasn’t enough to save Tom Thibodeau’s job, notes Steve Popper of Newsday. He points out that the Knicks have been mentioned as serious suitors for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant, so the new coach will have to adjust his preferred style if one of those stars is in New York. Popper cautions that the team may have to aim smaller and states that avoiding the second apron figures to be an offseason priority. The Knicks are currently $8MM under that threshold, but can expand that by $3.5MM by declining their team option on P.J. Tucker. They could save another $2MM by also declining their option on Ariel Hukporti, but he may be too valuable at that price to let go.
- Thibodeau deserved another season as head coach to hone the Brunson-Towns combination and figure out ways to improve the defense, contends Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn argues that Thibodeau took the fall for management’s mistakes, including giving up five first-round picks for Bridges and parting with two valuable pieces from last year’s team to bring in Towns.
- Josh Hart, who played for Jay Wright at Villanova, fully supports Wright’s decision to not pursue the Knicks’ coaching vacancy. “Man Thank You. Stay retired!” Hart tweeted.
“Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are the most valuable trade assets the Knicks possess as they try to finish the job of building a championship roster,”
Real geniuses over at the Daily News. The Knicks’s two best players are their most valuable trade assets. No kidding.
Yet a real genius like you to tell the rest of us! Thank you for always being on the case.
“Towns’ defensive shortcomings can make it challenging to have him and Brunson on the floor together, which Indiana exploited in the conference finals.”
There is a lot of truth to this. Towns actually was better defensively here than in Minny. As hard as that is to believe. Remember how I said many times here. To start Achiuwa next to Towns. And sit Hart make him sixth man. Two birds with one stone. Actually three. Hart strengthens bench. And Bridges gets more looks. Hart can still play more mins. All you needed from Achiuwa is 20 mins, solid D, rebounding.
No one listens to me ????
This is not going away with a new coach. Achiuwa is a FA. The Knicks desperately need a shooter off the bench. The best move to deal with this. You can use Mitch in a trade. Find a defensive stud at the 4 to start with Towns. Hukporti can take the backup C role. He is not Mitch yet. But he shows signs he can be. I believe in him. Using a Mitch trade and a sign n trade with Achiuwa. Can get this team in a better place. Moving Hart to bench is also a big plus. We need that energy off the bench. Hart can still play 30 mins. I’m a big Bridges guy. He had a solid year his first year here. No doubt he has to be better offensively. I can give him another year. Bringing Hart to bench will help him there.
Imo Thibs took the fall for Knicks failings. He is owed 30 mill. Towns is owed 165 mill. No coach is worth more than a star today.
Michael Malone please ……. Just sign the man.