New York Knicks: 10 Factors That Will Keep Team Relevant for Next Season

Perhaps no team in the NBA had a more roller coaster season than the New York Knicks.

Fighting through injuries, a coaching change and disgruntled fans, while simultaneously uncovering Jeremy Lin, rattling off win-streaks and delighting fans, the up-and-down season has certainly had its fair share of storylines.

As the Knicks cling to the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, with Jeremy Lin's magical season likely over, it might be time to start looking at the positives for next season.

Here are 10 factors that will help keep the Knicks relevant in the future.

1. The Lin Factor

One of the biggest factors that the Knicks need to address this offseason is re-signing Jeremy Lin.

Lin was undoubtedly the biggest story in the NBA this season (if you ask me, he was a bigger headline than the lockout), and he's arguably one of the biggest underdog stories of all time.

Lin rode a scorching hot streak from February 4, against New Jersey (25 points on 10-19 shooting) to February 22, against the Atlanta Hawks (17 points and nine assists), which included a seven-game win streak (the longest such streak all season for the Knicks).

Not to mention the fact that during the seven-game streak, Lin exploded for 38 points, seven assists and four rebounds in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers, leading the New York crowd to start up chants of “M-V-P” as he did his postgame interview.

All of Lin’s hype even led to a Linsanity Mailbag by Grantland’s Bill Simmons.

Bottom line, I don’t think that the Knicks can afford to let Lin get away, under any circumstance.

He’s a fan favorite as well as a marketing gold mine, and he may even take a discount to stay in New York if need be. I mean, they were the only team in the league to give him a shot at blossoming into the player he has become, and Lin has certainly shown that he's a class act.

Needless to say, he’ll be making more than his current salary of $762,195 next year and beyond.

2. Health

Few teams in the NBA have suffered more injuries than the New York Knicks this season.

You can’t exactly factor in the injury to Baron Davis, who had back surgery prior to the season, especially since the Knicks knew what they were getting themselves into, and it did manage to pave the way for the discovery of Jeremy Lin.

However, injuries to key players—Carmelo’s groin, Amar'e’s back and now Lin’s torn meniscus—may have written off the Knicks’ chances to compete in the playoffs this year.

Getting healthy for next season has to be a major focus for the Knicks moving forward.

3. Decisions, Decisions

Jeremy Lin, Landry Fields, Steve Novak, Baron Davis, Mike Bibby, Jared Jeffries and Bill Walker all have contracts that expire after this season. J.R. Smith has a player option for next year, but he may also find himself in the free-agent pool.

So where do the Knicks go from here?

Re-signing Lin has to be the focus. He means too much to the fanbase and to ticket sales. So who should the Knicks consider keeping other than Lin?

Landry Fields, the former second-round pick out of Stanford, has had an impressive career thus far with the Knicks, but it’s certainly possible that another NBA team will pay him more than the Knicks can considering they're locked into contracts with Carmelo, Amar'e, Tyson Chandler and (most likely) Lin.

Jared Jeffries had his moments, but he’ll likely be out the door.

If I had to wager, I’d say that Mike Bibby will retire and Baron Davis may consider retirement as well.

Steve Novak has been a pleasant surprise after being signed by the Knicks off the waiver wire. He’s one of the better three-point sharpshooters in the league, but he’s a liability on the defensive end.

Overall, the organization certainly has a lot of decisions to make when they look to fill out their roster for next season.

4. Steady Core

There are a lot of teams in the NBA who would love to enter next season with a core of Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler and Jeremy Lin.

Those four guys are the steady core the Knicks have in place moving forward. They're the future of the franchise.

If the Knicks can place veteran leadership and solid role players around those four during the offseason, they will be contenders next season even in a conference that includes the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic.

5. Coaching Security

After a tumultuous start to the lockout-shortened season, it became evident that Mike D’Antoni’s job security was doomed after continued rumors surfaced saying that D’Antoni couldn’t get through to superstar-forward Carmelo Anthony.

Whether you place the blame on D’Antoni for not being able to get through to his star player, or on Anthony for acting like a drama queen by abandoning his coach, it became a moot point after D’Antoni chose to resign.

Mike Woodson took over as interim coach of the Knicks and appears to be saying all the right things. The team has turned it around of late with an 8-2 record in their last 10 games.

Whether Knicks' management chooses to keep Woodson long term, or if they decide to bring in another name, we can assume that the coaching security in New York will no longer be a distraction.

6. Having a Normal Season

It’s easy and somewhat of a cliché to blame the grueling schedule of the lockout-shortened season for some of the Knicks’ shortcomings, especially since other teams have been able to overcome injuries and brutal schedules.

One of the best examples of this are the Chicago Bulls, who have a comfortable grasp on the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference despite injury troubles to reigning MVP Derrick Rose, who has missed a considerable amount of games.

Another example is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have two superstars in Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, who continue to log otherworldly minutes despite the grueling pace of their schedule.

The fact that Bryant at 33 years old, with 15 years of NBA experience, is in the top three in the NBA in total minutes and minutes per game is astounding.

Perhaps more befuddling has been Bynum’s durability considering his knees are made of glass.

Regardless of other teams finding success in the lockout-shortened season, the Knicks may be one of the biggest beneficiaries of returning to normalcy next season.

7. Fan Support

Although the New York faithful can certainly be crass and abrasive at times, the days of watching Eddy Curry and Jerome James stumble up and down the court are long gone.

There’s still a lot for the Knicks to improve on moving forward, but there’s more buzz at Madison Square Garden than there has been in quite some time.

Expect that support to continue next season.

8. Adding Size

Outside of Tyson Chandler in the middle, who do the Knicks have?

Johnnie Cochran couldn’t prove to a jury that Amar'e Stoudemire is a sound defensive player, and outside of Chandler and Stoudemire, what bigs do the Knicks have off the bench?

Jared Jeffries?

It’s comical.

Don’t get me wrong, Jeffries is a solid defensive player, but asking him to defend opposing power forwards and centers is just too big of a task.

The Knicks simply have to address their lack of size and get help for when Chandler takes a breather.

Whether the Knicks add a player via the 2012 NBA draft or target a player in free agency, they simply have to get deeper size-wise.

Some upcoming free agents who jump out at me are Robin Lopez, Joel Przybilla and Aaron Gray.

Guess who else is a free agent after this season Knicks fans? Eddy Curry! Who wants a joyous reunion? Nobody? Okay, I couldn’t help myself.

All kidding aside, the Knicks need to add a big body in preparation for next season.

9. Learning to Ride Hot Streaks

What made the Knicks such a potent threat during their seven-game win streak earlier this year was the play of Jeremy Lin.

The guy simply couldn’t be stopped. He was scoring at will and making opposing defenses look foolish.

If the Knicks want to be a relevant, contending team next season, they need to learn to ride those hot streaks to victory and defer to players having a good night.

With Lin, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks have a great deal of offensive threats.

Being able to recognize which of those three players will lead the team to victory on any given night will be a very important factor for this team next year.

If Anthony isn’t making his shots, he needs to defer to Stoudemire and Lin in the pick-and-roll game. If Stoudemire is well defended by a prepared defensive team, Lin will need to wreak havoc by knocking down threes and penetrating to the basket.

Developing team chemistry and eliminating the “black hole” offense that occurs when Anthony holds the ball for 18 seconds before hoisting up a contested jumper will be key.

10. Improvement on the Road

Currently, the Knicks have a 9-16 record away from Madison Square Garden, the worst mark of all the Eastern Conference playoff teams.

If the Knicks want to make their postseason situation easier next year by grabbing the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, improvement while playing on the road will go a long way.

Obviously this will be easier said than done, but the contributing factors including the team’s health and having a concrete coaching situation in place should help the team improve their road performance.

All in all, Knicks fans have a lot to look forward to next season after a disappointing roller coaster year riddled with injuries this year.

Although the Knicks have a lot of decisions to make regarding the coaching staff and expiring contracts, they should not be overlooked as a team on the rise if they can stay healthy.