Knicks Upgraded Offense Following Free Agency Haul

The New York Knicks of the early-mid 2020s had an identity. They embodied their coach, Tom Thibodeau, in hustling on defense, grinding out the minutes and attempted to recreate the gritty brand of basketball the team became known for during their 1990s heyday.

They finally broke through to the Eastern Conference Finals this summer, the first time they'd made it back since that last period of consistently competitive teams, but parted ways with Thibodeau just days after their elimination. The team had changed over the years, centering more around score-first stars, and Knicks brass wanted someone who could get the best out of this version of the team.

The Knicks entered the offseason without a ton of room to improve and a lot of questions to answer as to how they wanted to see their vision through, but have since landed a few solid names that indicate that they're ready to rebrand to an offense-first operation.

They landed Mike Brown as their next head coach, someone who'd made a name for himself by utilizing talented rosters and turning them into scoring machines, someone much more likely to squeeze as much as he could out of the deeper cuts on the roster.

One of the criticisms Thibodeau heard related back to his lack of offensive creativity, which stemmed from his reluctance to dip into the bench and the lack of cohesion his iron men starters demonstrated as the season wore on. Brown is much more likely to use everything at his disposal, and New York bought him a few new pieces to throw into the mix.

SNY's Rafael Canton touched on the shooting upgrade, with both of the Knicks' free agency acquisitions in Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele comfortable with the ball in their hands and finishing possessions from the perimeter.

Clarkson will be a nice scorer from the bench, having averaged 17.5 points across six fragmented seasons with the Utah Jazz as a Sixth Man of the Year-winning bucket. He shot in the low-mid 30% from deep on a healthy dosage of attempts, which the Knicks hope to harness in adjusting his game to compliment Jalen Brunson in a more competitive situation.

Yabusele isn't the same pull-up ball-handler, but he offers some much-needed spacing from the front court. As gifted of a shooter as Karl-Anthony Towns is, there weren't many Knicks who could provide him with much space to operate, and Yabusele canned 38% of his long jumpers on an otherwise-disastrous Philadelphia 76ers team. While Clarkson isn't the best finisher at the rim, Yabusele can play alongside other sizable teammates with his decisive scoring package and two-way effort.

The Eastern Conference is wide open, and smart signings on the fringes can be the difference in helping a good team become great.

"Neither of these signings broke the bank or were home runs, but it was important for the Knicks to find a way to add depth," Canton said. "For large chunks of the playoffs, they fully trusted only seven players in the rotation. Now, new head coach Mike Brown will have more options and versatility to mix and match different lineups throughout the regular season and playoffs."