Knicks Believe They're Close Despite Frugal Offseason

While those moves aren't exactly going to draw a crowd around Madison Square Garden's marquee, an anonymous Knicks coach seemed content with such an itinerary when speaking to Keith Smith of Spotrac.

“We didn’t have a lot we could do, because of the [second salary] apron," the coach said to Smith. "But we were able to land a really good big man in Guerschon and an experienced backup guard in Jordan. We feel pretty good about getting those two guys."

The Knicks are bolstering their bench after ranking dead last in second unit scoring last year.

Clarkson should have a key role in solving that issue, having established himself as one of the premier depth stars in the over the past decade-plus in Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Utah. Yabusele had a respectable return to the NBA after partaking in France's silver medal run in last summer's Olympics, serving as one of the most consistent silver linings with the downtrodden Philadelphia 76ers.

Keeping the Jalen Brunson/Karl-Anthony Towns-led core that ended the Knicks franchise's 24-year Eastern Conference Finals appearance drought together amidst a changing Eastern Conference landscape has led some to label the Knicks premature favorites to appear in the 2026 NBA Finals.

To the coach's point, the Knicks have built their recent success while staying financially shrewd, as they're still out of the restrictive second apron despite adding high-profile talents like Brunson, Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart to the metropolitan fold.

All that and more has created an intriguing feeling around the Manhattan facilities, one that renders the Finals a truly realistic destination for perhaps the first time since their last such showing in 1999.

"We were already right there. Now, we think we’re even close[r]," the coach told Smith. "This is a great group and the additions we made will push us even further,”