What Are Reasonable Expectations for the 2024-25 Knicks?

Life as a New York Knicks observer, of both the professional and amateur variety, is often defined by one question: “Now what?”

The query often offsets the bittersweet euphoria brought about by the end of one failed era and leading into another. At the start of the decade, it was “The Knicks have gotten rid of washouts like David Fizdale and Kevin Knox. Now what?” Those questions, fortunately for New York, have found reasonable, ready responses but now it takes on a whole new meaning.

A week of reflection brought about by elimination has allowed the less jaded Knicks fans to bask in what this season truly meant: in the face of injury reports that could resemble starting lineups and doubters from all directions using tried, worn-out material as punchlines, the Knicks won 50 games and the second seed on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. There’s not only legitimate, meaningful hope around the immediate fortunes of the Knicks franchise but also a hint of sustainability that wasn’t around for other fleeting fads.

But, like another famous athletic New Yorker was once told: with great power, comes great responsibility.

Any semblance of a honeymoon is over in New York: the city has two seasons of playoff series victories to sustain the hardwood-hungry masses, but second-round defeats aren’t headlining New York Fashion Week anymore. At the same time, placing full-on championship expectations on a franchise that has had enough trouble getting to the conference finals seems to be a bit much, even if it’s fair to say the door to the Eastern penthouse may slowly be opening.

In that case, what are the ironclad expectations that will stand true no matter what moves the busy Knicks make?

One of the most prominent signs of metropolitan hardwood development is the fact that losses, such as last Sunday’s finale against the Indiana Pacers, are truly heartbreaking again.

The tone around last year’s six-game defeat to the Miami Heat offered rare sympathy for the Knicks, even with South Beach’s eighth-seeded nature: New York lost to a team that was clearly better than its numbered billing and their status as recurring contenders offered an edge that the new Knicks core didn’t have, through no fault of its own.

But even if the depleted Knicks were destined for a (relatively consequence-free) Boston-based shellacking, it would’ve been huge from a franchise morale standpoint to end the Association’s third-longest active conference finals appearance drought, one that sits behind the historically downtrodden Washington and Charlotte franchises.

Engraving the Larry O’Brien Trophy with the Knicks’ name still feels like a tall task. But putting a stopper on one of the more embarrassing droughts that lingers within the organization should take a larger focus.

Welcome to Whose Line Is It Anyway, the show where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter. That’s right, the points are like an NBA division title.

Unlike their diamond/gridiron/icy counterparts, the NBA mostly views division champion as an in-name-only honor, offering no special postseason treatment for topping a five-team separation. Even with that in mind, there’s something just a little bit disheartening about the fact that no new banner will grace the Madison Square Garden rafters after this season.

The Knicks-Celtics rivalry is an interesting spot: Boston won four of the five get-togethers this season, but was handily defeated in the one matchup where the Knicks had an established roster, one where most, if not all, of the major active contributors (namely OG Anunoby) were available. The Celtics, partaking in their sixth ECF over the past eight seasons, remain an obvious force to be reckoned with but are only 7-7 against the Knicks in the last four seasons.

Much like participation in the In-Season Tournament’s knockout stage, the idea of a division title is valuable to very few teams these days … somehow the frequently fragile Knicks are in that category. The team won 50 games without the services of some of its major stars. Asking them to get a few more, whether they opt to run it back or continue their search for a star, feels like it should be a static goal no matter what.

The Knicks’ success and perhaps entire common perception is built on the idea of luring free agents away from their humble settings and to their own glitzy abode. Their current affairs, after all, are built on the talents of Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, formerly of Dallas and Los Angeles respectively.

Still, it’s perhaps a tad troubling to see how bereft the Knicks are in terms of homegrown talent: only one player in the active rotation (Miles McBride) was originally drafted by the team, as the Knicks dealt risers (Immanuel Quickley) and fallers (Quentin Grimes) alike to build their 50-win tally. New York was more than happy to spend the last two drafts as spectators (making no first-round picks in the last couple) but they found out about the pratfalls of depth the hard way amidst their postseason injuries.

Much has been made about the expansive draft cabinet the Knicks have built. While it’s absurd to believe that they’ll use each and every one of those picks, it’s equally ridiculous to think they’ll trade all of them as well. The remaining headliners of this postseason (i.e. Jaylen Brown, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum … and, yes, Tyrese Haliburton) are all homegrown stars. The Knicks shouldn’t consider anything like trading up, but they could certainly use some locally-farmed projects to prepare for medical emergencies and keep the established concept of sustainability alive.

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