For 26 consecutive seasons, the New York Knicks have failed to win their conference and advance to the NBA Finals.
More Knicks news:Tom Thibodeau's Status With Knicks Reportedly Decided After Playoff Exit
The Knicks fell hard to the No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. New York dropped Game 6 and failed to force a Game 7 on Saturday with the final score of 125-108.
The page will eventually turn to the summer and the coming season for the Knicks as they will do all they can to get over the hump. However, less than 24 hours after their loss, reports have surfaced on how the team is frustrated with All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
According to reports from James L. Edwards III and Fred Katz of The Athletic, there was growing frustration within the Knicks locker room regarding Towns' defensive play.
Both players and coaches reportedly felt he was missing assignments and misreading coverages without offering any clear reasoning behind the lapses.
"Publicly, Knicks players made veiled comments all season about poor communication causing their inconsistencies," Edwards and Katz wrote. "Behind the scenes, they and coaches expressed frustration with Towns' defensive habits -- less concerned with his talent level and more with his process on that end. Too often, Towns executed incorrect coverages without communicating why he did it. After it became a theme, players worried Towns didn't grasp the importance of the matter."
Towns' defense was not up to par all throughout the regular season and especially in the playoffs. The units of Towns and star Jalen Brunson were tormented on the court.
The Knicks' team defense in the first two rounds was good enough, but not against their bitter rivals in the conference finals. The Pacers consistently punished Towns when he played drop coverage, and when he switched, they beat him one-on-one.
This report could be the beginning of something significant that the Knicks could do this summer. New York traded for Towns prior to the start of training camp in September, hoping he would be the player to send them over the hump.
However, that was not the case this season, and it is possible that Towns is one-and-done in the Big Apple. The rumors will begin to swirl in the coming months. Some of those will soon become a reality, and we'll see if the Knicks will pull the trigger on a potential trade they deem worthy.