The New York Knicks are coming off an extremely successful 2023-24 season that ended in premature fashion against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
For New York, injuries played a major role as the team failed to earn a trip to the conference finals. That included Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson being sidelined.
Front office head Leon Rose and Co. are now heading into what promises to be an important summer for Knicks basketball.
That includes both OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein set to hit NBA free agency. Both are going to draw a nice amount of interest on the open market.
Though, the Knicks are seemingly confident in their ability to retain the two.
“The Knicks obviously know that both players will garner strong interest from opposing teams,” Ian Begley of SNY on the New York Knicks. “But even factoring that in, members of the organization felt earlier in the offseason that they were in a good place on both Anunoby and Hartenstein as both players approach their free agencies. That’s according to people in touch with the team after their season ended in a second round loss to Indiana.”
New York acquired Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors ahead of the in-season NBA trade deadline. He played an important role in their late-season and playoff run. Obviously, retaining him has to be seen as key. As for Hartenstein, he stepped up big time with the aforementioned Robinson injured.
Related: New York Knicks could target All-Star point guard in NBA free agency
New York Knicks to be proactive during NBA offseason
Running it back with the core group makes a ton of sense. Though, the expectation is that New York will be active in looking for upgrades.
“But whether it’s this offseason or further down the line, the Knicks will be aggressive if an opportunity to significantly improve the roster arises,” Begley reported.
New York has the draft pick assets and contracts to add a major piece to the mix. Whether it’s targeting Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers or frontcourt help, expect rumors to pick up in this regard moving forward.