The New York Knicks have put together a reasonable offseason after spending big to construct the roster that earned a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in May.
However, there remains a splashy trade for the franchise to make this summer should the front office reevaluate the championship viability of this current team.
The Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers 4-2 in the ECF, which included a historic meltdown in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. Had New York won that opening contest, the series would have at least gone to a Game 7 -- assuming everything else plays out the same. It's also possible that the Knicks might have found themselves in the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
In that context, it makes plenty of sense for the Knicks to simply run it back next year with the additions of Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson. The Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles tear in the Finals, while Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics went down with the same injury against the Knicks in Round 2. The Milwaukee Bucks also just waived an injured Damian Lillard.
All of that combines to position the Knicks as a frontrunner in a considerably weakened East next season, and New York was already pretty darn close the last time around.
That said, the Knicks could potentially flip Karl Anthony-Towns to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for LeBron James, which would allow New York to play both the short and long games simultaneously.
"Trade LeBron for KAT, straight up," Wosny Lambre of The Ringer said on "The Zach Lowe Show" on July 2. "Like salaries. They play the same position functionally."
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
James, a second-team All-NBA player and four-time MVP, just exercised the $52.6 million player option on the final year of his contract. Towns, a third-team All-NBA selection last season, has three years remaining on his $220 million deal, which includes a player option in 2027-28 for $61 million.
Mikal Bridges' future with New York is uncertain, as Bridges is expected to turn down a $156 million extension this summer in favor of free agency and potentially as much as $296 million in 2026, per Bleacher Report.
Earlier in Wednesday's podcast, Lowe floated a potential trade between the Knicks and Lakers involving James and "some combination of [OG] Anunoby, Bridges and [Mitchell] Robinson" as a way to stay competitive in 2025-26 and get off future money. That would provide flexibility for roster reconstruction once the Pacers and Celtics are back at full strength in 2026-27.
"I mentioned financial relief being one of the sneaky reasons the Knicks might do it," Lowe said. "That situation is one to monitor."