Next steps for Knicks: Hope for health and re-sign stars

The New York Knicks were an NBA Finals contender this season. They boasted an All-NBA point guard, an All-Star forward, a thrilling defensive stopper, elite shooters on the wings and big men whose disparate skill sets made it possible for New York to adapt to any opponent.

Then key players got hurt, knocking the Knicks off their Finals course, but New York still came within a game of the conference finals. A loss to Indiana in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, however, sent New York packing. 

Although normally the consensus surrounding a team so talented would be to get healthy and run it back next season, these Knicks are different. 

The way they play (and are played) makes it hard to guarantee that health will come next season — or any season — leaving them in a tricky spot.

Hope for health?

Part of the reason New York was so successful is because it relied so heavily on its core group of players. That's one of the calling cards of head coach Tom Thibodeau throughout his career: He plays his starters a lot. 

That's usually an effective strategy, especially when his core players are as good as they were this season. But it also wears on players physically, and the deeper into the playoffs we get, the harder it is to stay healthy when players are being worked so hard each game. 

Take Josh Hart. In New York's first nine playoff games this postseason, he played 41 minutes, followed by 48, then 43, 45, 53, 46, 48, 48 and 43. His minutes only decreased in the following games because he (obviously) started hurting.

It would be irresponsible to blame Thibodeau for all the injuries. Players get hurt, that's just part of the game. 

But time and again we've seen teams lose steam in the playoffs because of heavy loads placed on their best players. The Knicks will probably play the same way next season. It isn't smart, but that's the way it will be.

Lock down the stars... probably

We've seen enough by now to confidently say that a team built around Jalen Brunson, an All-NBA guard, and Julius Randle, an All-Star forward, can win at a high level. With both players eligible for extensions this summer, New York should lock down its stars long-term as quickly as possible. 

Both are dealing with injuries — Brunson fractured his hand in Game 7 against Indiana and Randle missed the end of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery. 

For Brunson, his injury won't impact contract negotiations. For Randle, it might. Extending a player who is coming off of surgery is always a risk, and New York played solidly without Randle. The Knicks are not a better team without him, but they might be able to talk themselves into being fine without him, especially if extending him has a hefty price tag.

What might be a deterrent in Brunson's talks, meanwhile, is price. Brunson has completely altered the Knicks' future and deserves to be paid for it. If he signs an extension next summer instead of this summer, he can make about $12M more per season. However, he has also hinted at potentially taking a pay cut so the Knicks can fill out their roster around him with more talent.

Brunson and Randle have player options this season. Instead of leaving everything up to chance and trying to get cute, New York should do everything in its power to extend both stars immediately.

The Anunoby question

The only reason New York should deviate from the plan of extending Brunson and Randle is if holding off on Randle's extension gives them a better chance of bringing back OG Anunoby, who is going to get paid this offseason by somebody.

The two-way stalwart played the best basketball of his career after being dealt from Toronto to New York earlier this season and will have roughly 25 suitors vying for his services. New York will do its best to retain him but should not assume that he'll be back at MSG next season.

Of course, he knows what his role is in New York and endeared himself to Knicks fans quickly, but if Philadelphia or Orlando or anyone else comes calling with a massive payday, it could be tough to pass up.