New York Knicks: The Case For A Reboot

[digiskunk]

New York Knicks: The Case For A Reboot

For the past few seasons, the New York Knicks have proven themselves to be quite the dominant force, taking down team after team and constantly proving the critics wrong. During the 2023 season, the New York Knicks walked away with a record of 60‒32, easily running away with the Atlantic Division with a 3 game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers, who had already established a dominant lineup full of All-Star caliber players such as Kevin Love, Ben Simmons, Van Grimaldi, and Markelle Fultz. However, not even that was enough to stop the New York Knicks, who ran away with the division thanks to a class of team-first players who were willing to share the ball. When the season finally came to its conclusion, they fought their way through the playoffs, taking 3 series to 7 games, including the finals against the Jazz, who really gave them a run for their money.

However it was only shortly after that that things began to go downhill. Their once prized stars, Chet Dooley and Gary Harris, both took substantial hits in training camp; but fortunately for the Knicks, that didn't affect their offensive production. Regardless, they quickly discovered that their piggy bank was beginning to run dry, and as their players aged, their luxury tax increased. As of the 2025 season, the Knickerbockers have found themselves dead last in cap room, having accumulated as much as $30,716,773 in debt as of this article. Although they may have $9,463,806 saved (see: mid exception), many highly doubt that that's going to be enough to return the Knicks to their former glory; in fact, it would only decrease their cap room and, in turn, increase their luxury tax. As of this moment, their general manager has depleted his point bank—19 points is all he has to his name—and many doubt that he's going to be unable to pay his upcoming luxury tax bill.

There comes a time and a place when a team realizes that their glory days are behind them and that it's time to rebuild. And in this article, we will outline the reasons why now is the time for the Knicks to start from scratch and rebuild from the ground up. Now let's get started with some of the more obvious obvious reasons.

1. LACK OF CAP ROOM, INCREASED LUXURY TAX.
As previously stated, the New York Knicks are currently $30,716,773 in debt with their general manager having only 16 points to his name. He could take a chance and bite the bullet and see how his team performs in the upcoming season, but being unable to acquire any additional players aside from vet minimum players, it's highly unlikely that the team will experience the same success as seen in seasons past—especially when you consider that their star players are getting older and likely to take a hit during training camp. If that were to happen, Nikola Jokic would possibly have to put the team on his back—and who's to say that, at 30 years old, he won't take a hit as well? One can only wonder. Nevertheless, their cap situation has them stuck between a rock and a hard place and many believe that it would be utmost difficult for them to return to their former glory, especially with other teams currently on the rise.

2. CHET DOOLEY, NIKOLA JOKIC, GARY HARRIS.
Don't get me wrong: All three of these players have dominant in the league for a very, very long time and the Knicks have been incredibly fortunate to have them. However, they're only getting older, and with Chet Dooley and Gary Harris still having money on the table for next season—a combined $121,283,616 in fact—now would be the time to move all of them if possible. (Furthermore, they're paying $142,055,665 total in salary for all of their players.) Fortunately for the Knicks, however, Nikola Jokic is on the final year of his contract, which is worth $39,264,699. Moreover, there always stands a great chance that either (or both) Chet Dooley and Gary Harris take a hit during training camp, which would dramatically impact their value on the open market. Therefore it becomes obvious that the obvious solution is to move as many players as humanly possible to free up cap room. In fact, with them being $30,716,773 in debt, moving all of those players would not only free them of their luxury tax burden, but would also make them one of the richest franchises in the league, with an estimated $121,283,616 to spend—not to mention the $9,463,806 mid exception they have. Of course, it goes without saying that I did all this math on the run; it is not only probably but also likely that this math is incorrect. Nevertheless, you get the point.

3. THE PROMISE OF A BRIGHTER TOMORROW.
If the Knicks continue down the path they're currently on and are unable to move some (or all) of their most expensive players, it's more than likely that they'll be stuck in luxury tax hell for the next few seasons as they await to pay off their contracts. However if they're able to move the expiring contract of Nikola Jokic—who is still a blue/blue player at the age of 30/31—they'll be able to free up some money. The right move for the Knicks would be to target a franchise who is currently rebuilding: If they can exchange Nikola Jokic and a 1st round pick to a club that is rebuilding, that could help lessen their upcoming tax burden. Nikola Jokic is the least of their worries though; what's most important is moving the contracts of Chet Dooley and Gary Harris, which will most definitely prove to be a difficult task. But it goes without saying that nothing is impossible; and if they play their cards right, they could pull it off. And if they somehow move some of these contracts—but hopefully all of them—they would be in prime position to rebuild the team from the ground up. And there's nothing wrong with that whatsoever, for it can be a fun venture into the vast unknown.

4. DRAFT PICKS.
If the New York Knicks can somehow find a way to under-perform this upcoming season or unload all (or some) of their star players, they could be in prime position to draft a young prospect in the upcoming draft who they can build around. This is when things can become very interesting for the Knicks for obvious reasons (see above). I have nothing more to say about this subject so I guess I'll just leave it at that.

And there you have it—at least from my ignorant point of view. If the New York Knicks can somehow find a way to relieve themselves of their luxury tax burden and unload some of their star players, they can begin to rebuild their team and start fresh. Tomorrow is always a new day, after all!

P.S. I understand much of this information is either inaccurate and/or my calculations may be off. Nevertheless, surely you get the jist of it. Anyways, have a nice day, and to the Knicks: Good luck guys!

[IamQuailman]

Popcorn.gif

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Darth Vegito]

Points Czar awards you 5 points! 1200 words

For new 2025-2026 points season.