The New York Knicks could be in for some big changes to their roster this offseason.
They’ve already made one big change — that being firing Tom Thibodeau two weeks ago — however, newest reporting from The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III suggests that a major shift could be looming for the Knicks’ starting lineup.
When asked in his latest mailbag, Edwards III said that he believes there is a “40 percent chance” that one of the Knicks’ starters from last season — Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns — won’t be on the roster on opening night.
“Brunson is safe. We know that. I also think Josh Hart will be around. He is a good player who doesn’t make too much money (relative to the other guys in the starting unit) and is best friends with Brunson,” Edwards III said “Never say never, but I’d be surprised if Hart isn’t on the team next season, assuming he still wants to be here. There has been no indication whatsoever that he doesn’t want to be.”
“Bridges will be eligible to sign a four-year, $156 million extension this offseason. He’s a good player despite having a rocky first season with the Knicks, and there’s definitely a world where New York wants him to take less,” he said. “Bridges is asked to do a lot defensively, doesn’t miss games and moves the needle on offense as a third option. So, I don’t think it’s impossible for him to get traded if the two sides are off on extension talks.”
As for Towns and Anunoby, Edwards III pinpoints those two as primary targets to be dangled in a trade, noting their perceived value around the league due to their lengthy contracts, as well as their injury history.
“If you told me New York might try to get off of one of those, I wouldn’t be totally surprised,” he said.
The Knicks starters struggled finding chemistry for most of the season, which was only exacerbated during the playoffs. The lineup of Brunson-Bridges-Hart-Anunoby-Towns was the Knicks most played lineup by far during the postseason, yet managed a porous -6.2 net rating in 335 minutes on the floor, per NBA.com
