Knicks get favorable offseason grade from ESPN analyst

“After adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns last offseason, the Knicks had limited room to maneuver this summer. Getting Guerschon Yabusele to take ever so slightly less than the entirety of their taxpayer midlevel exception allowed New York to upgrade its second-unit frontcourt and still fill out its bench with veteran minimum contracts. One of those veterans, Jordan Clarkson — signed after reaching a buyout with the Utah Jazz — gives the Knicks more athleticism off the bench than unsigned backup guards Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet,” Pelton wrote.

New York came into the offseason needing to shore up their depth, as their lack of bench depth is what hurt them last season. By adding Clarkson and Yabusele, they now add scoring alongside Miles McBride as well as versatility.

The Knicks have made big changes to their roster

Furthermore, they added them for enough money to they still have room to sign one more player to a veteran’s minimum. Some names they have been linked to include former All-Star Ben Simmons and Landry Shamet.

Additionally, they made a significant change at the head coaching position. They fired Tom Thibodeau after five seasons as head coach following their Eastern Conference Finals exit last season, and they replaced him with longtime head coach Mike Brown, who they hope will transform their offense and maximize the talent on the roster.

While they aren’t expected to make another blockbuster trade like the two they made last summer, they are still in line to make impactful depth additions to make them a much better team than last season.