Heading into the 2024-25 NBA season, just about any reasonable Knicks fan would have called 50-plus wins in the regular season, playing deep into the Eastern Conference finals and not being eliminated from the playoff hunt until May 31 a successful season in Gotham.
Yet with the Knicks being knocked out by the No. 4 seed Pacers, a team that was decidedly a longshot to be in the championship picture this season, it's hard not to look at the opportunity New York had as a chance squandered. After all, this team blew a 14-point lead with less than five minutes to play in Game 1, not to mention a nine-point lead with less than a minute to go.
Heading into the offseason, the question around the Knicks is whether the team should consider drastic changes, like chasing Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo on the trade market or even replacing coach Tom Thibodeau.
May 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) work for the ball in the fourth quarter during game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) work for the ball in the fourth quarter during game one of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden.
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Neither is likely. What we're probably going to see from the Knicks is some fixes around the margin, especially in the frontcourt, where a lack of depth at center proved costly.
And for ESPN's Tim Bontemps, one name stands out as a potential 2025-26 Knicks addition: Celtics big man Al Horford.
"Al Horford is a free agent," Bontemps said on "The Hoops Collective" podcast. "I don’t think it makes a lot of sense at this point for Al Horford to be back in Boston. Maybe he will be. But given where things are with the Celtics, I think that he is much more in play than he was a month ago. Al Horford is a longtime friend of Karl Towns, has played with him for the Dominican national team for a long time—if they go get him this summer, who I think would be an unbelievable fit on this roster. …
"And they have a bench of Al Horford, another ballhandler, Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson to go with their starting five, that’s a much better team. That’s a team that could beat the Pacers next year."
Now, there's a chance Horford will retire this offseason, and if he plays, he probably won't want to leave Boston.
But Horford turns 39 this week. If he is going to play, he is going to want to win, and with Jayson Tatum out for what is likely to be the entire 2025-26 season, that won't be with the Celtics.
Could it be with the Knicks? Assuming Horford would be willing to take a modest contract, and considering his pedigree as a 2024 NBA champ, his fit would, indeed, make sense.