After a great season in which they reached the Eastern Conference Finals but lost to Indiana, the New York Knicks had a turbulent summer.
They fired Tom Thibodeau and brought in Mike Brown.
That decision showed that the Knicks weren't satisfied with what they had accomplished; they wanted an NBA title. They believe in this roster.
A Mixed Start Under Mike Brown
But the season under Mike Brown has been up and down. There are clear signs that this Knicks roster has limits, and it's hard to see how they take another step forward.
Brown
Brown
Credit REUTERS - Scanpix
After winning the NBA Cup, the team went into a slump. Now, they're slowly starting to recover. They blew out the Brooklyn Nets with a historic win and then beat Philadelphia.4
But the big question remains: can this team actually improve from last season, and justify the changes they made?
The Knicks Defensives Challenges
Right now, the Knicks are just 17th in the league in defensive rating, allowing 115.8 points per 100 possessions. And when the playoffs come, defense becomes even more important, and it seems the Knicks are clearly struggling with it.
Even though they've been great offensively this season, ranking among the top three offenses in the league, they have huge issues on defense.
That's why Karl-Anthony Towns is starting to come up more and more in trade rumors. And even though that might sound strange, because Towns is a great player, here is why the Knicks should seriously consider trading him.
Knicks Talent vs. Compatibility
It's no secret that, on paper, the New York Knicks have one of the strongest starting fives in the NBA, arguably the strongest.
When you look at a lineup that features Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns, there aren't many teams that can match that kind of two-way talent and versatility. But basketball isn't played on paper.
And while the Knicks are playing good basketball overall, winning a championship requires more than just names.
It demands compatibility. And when you look closely, this roster – as talented as it is – doesn't seem fully compatible when it comes to making that final leap.
I already mentioned the defensive rating; it's mediocre. There's definitely room for improvement, and in the regular season, the Knicks could raise their level with more effort and better execution.
After all, they do have several elite defenders both in the starting five and on the bench.
Just looking at the starters, the Knicks have three outstanding defenders in Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby.
All three bring elite on-ball and help defense in different ways.
Anunoby and Bridges are two of the best wing defenders in the league, and Hart does all the dirty work, chasing guards, rebounding, switching, and battling bigger players. The problem lies at positions one and five.
The Defensive Liability Concern with Karl-Anthony Towns
The dynamic duo of Brunson and Towns is the offensive engine of the team; they're the best scorers and focal points.
But when the playoffs come around, mismatch-hunting becomes relentless. Teams actively target weak defenders in pick-and-rolls and isolation.
That's a problem every team tries to solve if they want to compete deep into the postseason.
And this is where the Knicks run into real trouble. You can hide one weak defender. If that's Jalen Brunson, your best scorer, one of the best offensive players in the league, you can live with that.
But if opponents can also target Karl-Anthony Towns, force switches onto guards, and expose his slow lateral movement and poor perimeter coverage, you now have two defensive liabilities in your closing lineup.
Towns
Towns
Credit REUTERS - Scanpix
That's hard to survive, no matter how good your other defenders are.
Yes, the Knicks have elite defenders in Bridges, Anunoby, Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and McBride.
But no defensive scheme, not even the best in the league, can completely hide two vulnerable players at once, especially in a playoff setting. That's where the Knicks hit their ceiling.
And that's why, as things stand, this roster probably tops out at making another Conference Finals run. Anything beyond that is extremely difficult to imagine.
The Obstacles to a Karl-Anthony Towns Trade
Even if the Knicks decide they want to trade Karl-Anthony Towns, it won't be easy — mainly because of his contract.
Towns is making $53 million this season, and he's set to make the same amount next year. That's an enormous salary, and it's not easy to match in any trade package.
On the other hand, the Knicks themselves aren't in a great position to make big trades. They don't have many attractive draft assets left.
A significant portion of their draft capital was used to acquire Mikal Bridges, and their own first-round pick this year is Top-8 protected. It will most likely convert into two second-rounders, meaning they don't have much to offer on that front either.
And then there's the question: which team would actually want to take on Towns and his contract?
Still, he's 30 years old and remains one of the most offensively gifted centers in the league.
There will be teams willing to take the chance; the only question is whether the Knicks can get something back that truly gives them a new dimension.
Ideally, they'd be looking for a package that offers better roster compatibility, one that fits more naturally around Jalen Brunson.
A group that's more defensively compact, one that can switch more effectively, and especially one that allows the Knicks to better protect Brunson on that end of the floor.
With a different kind of center, they could build a more balanced, switchable defense and possibly take a real step forward.
Vukašin Nedeljković
Vukašin played basketball competitively in his youth, and now contributes to Synergy Sports Technology and Sportradar regarding basketball analysis. He also has experience working as a journalist in Serbia and is passionate about writing basketball articles mainly focused on basketball X's and O's.
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