The New York Knicks have had a snowball effect of offseason moves that have improved their roster on paper, but one NBA scout disagrees.
The addition of all-world defender and rising two-way star Mikal Bridges, as well as Cam Payne and the Knicks resigning last year’s MVP candidate Jalen Brunson and former 2023 Steals Leader OG Anunoby was not enough to sway the talent evaluator toward being bullish on the team’s prospects for 2024-25.
Knicks: NBA scout thinks Knicks will remain stagnant in 2024-25
Per Scott Davis of The Sporting News, an anonymous scout essentially said au contraire monfrair to the notion that the Knicks will be better than they were from 2023-24 when speaking with ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, saying this in part:
“I’m not convinced they’ll be better,” the scout told Bontemps.
Will the Knicks fail to take the next step next season?
The Knicks may not have landed a superstar or multi-time All-Star, but Bridges did show that, given the opportunity, he can evolve into the latter as he progresses toward his prime. Though it was only across 27 games post-trade deadline in 2022-23, the Villanova product did average 26.1 points per game on 47.5/37.6/89.4 percent shooting from the field, three, and charity stripe for the Brooklyn Nets as he led them to the 2023 NBA playoffs.
Having a player with that scoring potential, who also finished as runner-up for the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award carries massive implications. Bridges is following a career arc that some of the most impactful wings have charted in their careers, including Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and to a lesser extent, Jimmy Butler.
Especially in parallel to the former two, the 27-year-old has increased from a notable ball-stopper to an elite three-and-d perimeter defender and now, a scorer that has the chops to be a No. 2 option on a championship team in a perfect scenario. He’ll be the Knicks’ No. 3 guy behind Brunson and All-Star Julius Randle, and his impact could be immeasurable.
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Knicks could also improve off of Cam Payne’s potential to do damage off the bench
Bridges is reunited with his former Phoenix Suns teammate Cam Payne, who fills a backup point guard void the Knicks had last year. Payne is a great game manager who has deep range and brings chippiness to the basketball floor. He has the skillset and mentality to electrify the Madison Square Garden crowd in playoff situations and maintain the second unit’s offense, feeding the ball to Donte DiVincenzo on the outside, Josh Hart cutting to the basket, and Precious Achiuwa in the pick-and-roll.
The Knicks achieved a 50-win season in 2023-24 without those key contributors, on top of losing Julius Randle for the year on Jan. 27 and Mitchell Robinson for 51 games throughout the campaign with a foot ailment. Both of the latter frontcourt contributors will be healthy for the next campaign.
With that and the new producers on their roster, there’s little reason to think the Knicks won’t either draw closer to 60 wins rather than fall away from the 50-win threshold, or look like a team that can knock off any top squad in the Eastern Conference once its money time in the 2025 postseason.
