Bold Knicks Predictions for Top 2024 NBA Offseason Signings, Trades
The New York Knicks should be unanimous selections as one of the biggest winners of the 2024 NBA offseason.
That ups the difficulty of making bold predictions for what might lie ahead.
If the players fit as snugly in practice as they do on paper, there could be a special kind of campaign brewing in the Big Apple. With that in mind, let's dream big while providing a round of bold predictions regarding the biggest signees and trade acquisitions the 'Bockers made this summer.
OG Anunoby Plays 75 Games, Earns All-Defensive First-Team Honors
1 of 3
On first glance, predicting All-Defensive first-team honors for OG Anunoby may not sound particularly bold. Not when the 6'7" swingman is generally regarded as one of the Association's stingiest stoppers.
Yet, the 27-year-old has only cracked an All-Defensive roster once, earning a second-team spot in 2022-23. That's because the boldest part of this prediction revolves not around the accolades, but the games needed to earn them.
Anunoby's current career-high for games played sits at 74, and it was set back during his rookie season of 2017-18. This most recent campaign marked the third time in four years that he has appeared in 50 or fewer outings.
Availability, then, has been Anunoby's biggest hurdle in terms of earning this distinction, but if he can just get the injury bug off his back, everything else should fall into place. The Knicks are deep enough that they shouldn't have to run him ragged, and the summer trade for Mikal Bridges means Anunoby won't automatically assume the opposition's toughest perimeter assignment.
If Anunoby finally stays healthy, he should make his presence felt early and often enough to bag the first All-Defensive first-team selection of his career.
Mikal Bridges Makes All-Star Debut
2 of 3
If New York authors anything to close to its best-case-scenario campaign, then this team will be too good to only have a single All-Star representative.
Why can't Mikal Bridges join Jalen Brunson at the world's greatest pickup game?
No, Bridges won't carry the same offensive burden he shouldered with the Brooklyn Nets, but his season-plus stretch as a primary option helped expand his overall arsenal. That means while he can better pick his spots in New York (which should up his efficiency), he has more items in the toolbox when he decides to attack.
Depending on what kind of future the Knicks envision with Julius Randle, they might welcome Bridges ascension as their second option on offense. If he's pumping in around 20 points per night while also locking down the defensive end and flirting with a 50/40/90 slash (he had a 54.3/42.5/84 effort in 2020-21) for the second-best team in the East, his All-Star credentials will be too strong to ignore.
Jalen Brunson Is an MVP Finalist
3 of 3
While the reigning champion Boston Celtics might be locked into the East's top seed again, the Knicks seemingly have as good of a chance as anyone at snagging the second spot.
If they're that successful, Jalen Brunson, who inked a four-year, $156.5 million extension this summer, will be the biggest reason why.
He's the lone superstar on this roster, and if the superstar label sounds at all hyperbolic, then you haven't paid close enough attention to his ascension. He proved to be a 6'2", 190-pound bulldozer this past season, leaning on his footwork, shotmaking and competitive edge to flood the stat sheet on a nightly basis. By season's end, his averages sat at 28.7 points and 6.7 assists, while his shooting slash was a robust 47.9/40.1/84.7.
Since New York's roster doesn't feature another player in his class, there's no real reason to think his averages are about to decrease. And if he comes close to matching those marks while New York pushes its win count into the mid-to-upper 50s, then you're probably looking at a top-three MVP candidate.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
