New York Knicks 2023-24 Final Report Card: Guards and Wings

Under the new CBA, things will likely get wild for the Knicks (and many other teams) in the very near future...

First, let's extend a hearty congratulations to the Boston Celtics. They were the best team all year and now have a banner to show for it. Yes, they got a bit lucky along the way in the postseason, but they closed out a dominant season with a dominant Finals performance. 

Jayson Tatum and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown will get the lion's share of the credit, but the Celtics' success was a genuine collective/team effort. For that reason, Brad Stevens deserves an immense amount of praise. 

Incredibly, Stevens nailed three straight massive moves. 

At the 2022 trade deadline, Boston sent Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a protected 2022 first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Derrick White.

Last June, Boston traded Marcus Smart, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and a second-round pick to Washington in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis, a 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 first-round pick. 

Three months later, on the eve of training camp for the 2023-24 campaign, Boston sent Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams, the 2024 first-rounder they received in the Porzingis trade and a 2029 first-round pick to Portland for Jrue Holiday. 

That's three straight grand slams by Stevens. That doesn't happen often. I was initially critical of the KP swap, as I thought the Celtics would regret trading away Smart and that the move would leave them somewhat thin and vulnerable upfront. As it turns out, Boston was able to cruise to a title despite KP suffering a calf injury (they went 11-1 in the 12 games he missed this postseason). 

As for the rest of the roster, Stevens (in one of his first moves as an executive) was able to buy low on Al Horford in 2021 via a trade with OKC. That same summer, Stevens signed Sam Hauser to a two-way contract. 

As we know, sometimes the most impactful trades are the ones you don't make. After Boston failed to reach the mountaintop over the past few years, there was plenty of chatter in Boston about breaking up the tandem of Tatum and Brown. Stevens remained patient and stuck with those two stars, which was clearly the correct decision.

Okay, that's enough complimentary praise of Boston in this here newsletter… Let's shift our focus to the Knickerbockers.

Things move quickly in the NBA, especially under the new collective bargaining agreement, which (for the first time) allows teams to start negotiating with their free agents one day after the season ends.

Thus, things could get wild for the Knicks (and many other teams) in the very near future. 

Here's a quick look ahead at the calendar and what promises to be a hectic few weeks in New York:

• June 24: Deadline for OG Anunoby to exercise his Player Option ($19.9 million)

• June 26: First Round of 2024 NBA Draft (NY has #24 and #25 overall)

• June 27: Second Round of 2024 Draft (NY has #38 overall)

• June 28: Deadline for NY to waive Bojan Bogdanovic or his $19 million contract for 2024-25 becomes guaranteed.

• June 29: Deadline to exercise Team Options for Jericho Sims ($2 million) and DaQuan Jeffries ($2.5 million)

• June 30: NBA teams can initiate negotiations with free agents leaguewide starting at 6:00 pm 

• July 6: Teams can officially sign free agents

• July 12: Jalen Brunson becomes extension eligible 

• July 12: NBA's Las Vegas Summer League tips off

However, before we shift our focus to what's next for the Knicks, let's put a bow on New York's 2023-24 campaign by giving each player a final grade, shall we?

In this initial installment, we'll focus on the guards and wings, with a detailed analysis of the forwards and centers to follow in a separate column.

Jalen Brunson:

Put simply, Brunson authored one of the greatest all-around seasons in franchise history. It's impossible to overstate the point guard's value to this team and town. He finished the year averaging career-highs in points (28.7), assists (6.7), and made three-pointers (2.7), to go along with 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 2.4 turnovers while shooting 47.9% from the floor, 40.1% from downtown and 84.7% from the free-throw line en route to becoming just the second Knicks this century to finish in the top-5 in MVP voting. 

Steph Curry and Larry Bird are the only players in league history to average more than 28 points and six dimes a night while shooting over 40% from three-point range. As I noted in a previous post arguing that JB deserved legit MVP consideration, Brunson finished the 2023-24 regular season with:

• More points than Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum

• More assists than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dame Lillard

• More made 3PT's than Anthony Edwards and James Harden 

• More made FT's than Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant 

• More 40-point games than Joel Embiid and Donovan Mitchell

• More charges drawn than Draymond Green and Alex Caruso

• Higher 3PT% than Luka Doncic and Duncan Robinson 

• Higher +/- than Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry 

• Higher AST-to-TO ratio than De'Aaron Fox and Dame Lillard 

• Higher PER than Domantas Sabonis and Zion Williamson

• Higher VORP than LeBron James and Joel Embiid

• Fewer turnovers than Keyonte George and Kyle Kuzma

Somehow, Brunson played even better once the playoffs arrived, joining Michael Jordan, Jerry West, and Lebron James as the only players with five or more games of 40+ points and 5+ assists in a single postseason in the history of the NBA.

Grade: A+