ORLANDO, Fla. — The Knicks, led by Tom Thibodeau and Leon Rose, followed the same pattern.
They started the season slowly, though not necessarily below expectations, and completed some mid-season trades aimed at realigning their rotation.
The results in 3 out of 4 times were excellent.
They needed another point guard in 2021, and the Peanuts acquired Derrick Rose with a second-round pick for Dennis Smith Jr., making him their best player off the bench.
The Knicks finished the season with 16 wins out of 20.
In 2023, the Knicks were hovering around .500, but the Josh Hart trade shook up their energy and helped them win 17 of their final 25 games.
Last season, they had too many ball-dominant players and not enough defenders on the wings.
They were 17-15 before the trade for OG Anunoby, and with his addition they won 15 games in 17 games.
The trade for Quentin Grimes and Alec Burks for Bojan Bogdanovic wasn't very fruitful, but it wasn't disastrous because draft capital wasn't sacrificed.
The bigger mistake was in 2022 when the Knicks took Cam Reddish with a first-round pick.
Reddish was promoted by outgoing general manager Scott Perry, but was unable to convince Thibodeau that he was worthy of consistent playing time.
The Knicks were underdogs for most of Reddish's tenure in New York.
Trade season officially begins today.
Eighty-five players across the league became trade-eligible on Sunday due to summer deals.
The first domino fell with Dennis Schroder going from Brooklyn to Golden State and Thomas Bryant rerouting from Miami to Indiana.
These transactions did not take place until December 15th.
Here are five things you need to know to start Knicks trade season.
Who is trade eligible for the Knicks?
The only new player added to the trade-eligible list Sunday was Cam Payne, who was signed as a free agent in mid-July.
Precious Achiuwa will become eligible on January 15th, but it's worth noting that he waived his no-trade clause when he signed as a free agent on July 30th.
OG Anunoby (January 6) and Jalen Brunson (January 12) cannot be traded until next month, but no one expects them to be moved.
Ariel Hakpolty and Matt Ryan cannot be traded until February 5th, the day before the deadline.
What are the Knicks' assets?
The Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns deals depleted most of their picks in the offseason, but they still protect first-round picks from the Pistons and Wizards.
It's true that the Wizards' top 10 pick won't make it into the next draft, but a top 13 protected pick from Detroit is unlikely.
These have no value for protection.
They also have some future second-round prospects.
As far as players go, Miles McBride and Hart are strong additions for a win-now team.
That's assuming the Knicks don't trade Brunson, Bridges, Towns, or Anunoby.
What do the Knicks need?
An obvious hole remains in the center.
The Knicks are still waiting on the return of Mitchell Robinson, but there's little guarantee he'll return or stay healthy long enough to put the issues behind him.
Thibodeau uses Achiuwa as his only frontcourt reserve, and he is more of a power forward than a center.
Jericho Sims has received some interest on the trade market, but Thibodeau's quick hooks have led to his playing time decreasing, according to sources.
Who is there?
I'm not going to give you a complete list, but the obvious big players include the Bulls (Nikola Vucevic), Pistons (Isaiah Stewart), Sixers (Andre Drummond), Hornets (Nick Richards, Mark Williams), and the Raptors. Let's start with the seller. (Jakob Poeltl), Wizards (Jonas Valanciunas), Trail Blazers (Robert Williams III), Jazz (Walker) Kessler), Pelicans (Daniel Theis).
NBA insiders expect the Nets to release veterans, including Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, while the Pelicans look to bring back assets in Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones.
Who is the annual superstar wild card?
It's hard to say with the deadline still two months away, but there's been a lot of talk about Jimmy Butler, who has proven to be a Thibodeau fan.
However, the Knicks have used up most of their key assets, and Butler, 35, does not fit in with the age of the rest of the roster.
But the Heat are at a crossroads with Butler, who could become a free agent after the season and risk losing him for nothing if not traded.
