Losing out on superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving surely hurt the potential success for the New York Knicks next season and beyond. However, they’ve begun to build a foundation of youth and quality that will help them down the road.
While they may not be the most competitive team in the 2019-20 season, the pieces are in place for the future, and their youth has plenty of potential. The expectation is that they will do better this year, securing more than 17 wins with veterans like Julius Randle and Marcus Morris on the floor.
Drafting rookie RJ Barrett will also help the team excel, despite the rookie hurdles he will be forced to overcome.
When the Knicks lost out on Durant and Irving, most fans question their motives and if they even tried. It became clear the Knicks weren’t confident in Durant’s torn Achilles and wanted to see more to justify spending upwards of $30-40 million per year on one of the league’s best scorers.
After Plan A fell through, it was time to activate Plan B–sign plenty of power forwards and veterans to help develop the younger players and lead by example. Knicks president Steve Mills stated that if they were not able to get any max players, they would continue to build through the draft and free agency.
The starting roster is full of talent, but none are considered premium which will limit the success the Knicks can have next season.
Julius Randle, 24, is coming off his best season yet in the NBA. He finished the 2018 season averaging 21.4 points, 3.1 assists, and 8.7 rebounds per game over 3.06 minutes. He shot .564 percent from the field and .344 from three-point land. The potential he offers New York doesn’t compensate for the loss of Durant or Irving, but it is a nice consolation prize.
At this point, it seems as if the Knicks are building the right way. While it will take time and experience for the younger players to finally reach their potential, that is what is needed to build a strong foundation and platform. Signing free agents and hoping they pan out is not the ideal way to build a  team.