The New York Knicks and Their 2021 Offseason

No matter what is said about the Knicks, one thing is true, they are GREAT for basketball. The New Yorks finished above.500 for the first time since the 2012-2013 season. They had their first all-star selection since Carmelo Anthony was a Knick. A top-three defense in the league, the Knicks just need a little bit more offense. They landed that in this year's draft and they landed two premiere buckets in the NBA equating to a great off-season. New York!! We are back, baby!

The NBA draft

The 2021 NBA draft recently passed by with Cade Cunningham going number one overall to the Detroit Pistons. The New York Knicks ended with four picks that night. Four future stars or role players. Let's break it down one by one.

Prospects

Quentin Grimes was the Knicks' 25th overall pick. Grimes, a transfer from the University of Kansas to the University of Houston. He led Houston to be one of the best teams in the country and leading them to the Final Four. Grimes, a great perimeter defender, can also shoot the three-ball. Shooting 36% for his collegiate career and 40% in his last season. The Knicks were fourth overall in three-point percentage last season. This just adds more shooting which is the name of the game now. After getting cooked by Trae Young in the first round, perimeter defense is what the Knicks direly need. Grimes averaged over two steals in his collegiate career.

With the second pick, the Knicks took Rokas Jokubaitis. So, watching a film from Rokas, this is the next Goran Dragic. The crafty guard says he models his game after Dragic and it is obvious. It is not a bad thing as Dragic has made a very solid career in the NBA coming from overseas. Rokas, being from Lithuania, is just another talented overseas prospect looking to make a splash in the NBA. A crafty lefty who can control the tempo and find others easily is a nice role player on the deep Knicks roster.

Prospects part 2

The third pick was someone who most saw going in the first round. Besides the guards in the lottery, this might be one of the best point guards in the draft. Miles McBride from West Virginia is a SHOOTER. Hitting over 41% of his three-pointers. Saying the Knicks are a deep team is an understatement. The guard play is deep. McBride also averaged two steals in his last season. Shooting and perimeter defense are key and the Knicks addressed just that.

The final pick of the 2021 NBA draft for the Knicks was Jericho Sims. A quick big man from the University of Texas. With Mitchell Robinson easing his way back from being hindered with injuries, Sims is a great fit. A big man who can run up and down the court which is key. Sims was a very efficient scorer, hitting 64% of his shots. The Knicks really hit it right with these draft picks and this is the first time, I don't hear any negativity from Knicks fans.

Free Agency

The Knicks re-signed their franchise player Julius Randle as they should. Over 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. A four-year deal worth 117 million dollars. Randle took a pay cut as well, so the front office has more room to work with in the future. Julius will be the power forward for the Knicks for the rest of this career. I am confident in saying that we are gathering players that genuinely want to be a Knick. It did not end right there, either!

The Knicks proceeded to bring back most of the core pieces from last season. Taj Gibson, Alec Burks, Nerlans Noel, and Derrick Rose all returned to multi-year deals besides Gibson. The best is for last! The Knicks signed walking bucket, Evan Fournier. The man who has been the spark, the number one option for France, who is in the gold medal game. Evan was averaging over 20 points a game in Orlando before getting shipped to Boston this past season. I would think Evan would be playing shooting guard in the starting lineup alongside our newly acquired point guard.

CARDIAC KEMBA WALKER! My favorite point guard is on my favorite team. Kemba in the garden is something special. Walker will be bought out by the Thunder and join the Knicks around 9 million annually. A veteran presence who has been slowed down with injuries will look to pick up where his name got that massive attention. A starting lineup of Walker, Fournier, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson soothes my soul.

Final thoughts

The Knicks might not win the championship next season. Even though anything is possible, I must be realistic. The reality is that the Knicks will be very exciting, even more so than this past season. Players are actually wanting to play for the Knicks and it makes basketball that much better. New York will be competitive again and I see them reaching the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 2011-2012, 2012-2013 seasons.

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