New York Knicks
Needs: Point guard, resign Mitchell Robinson
Picks: 11, 42
The Knicks came back down to earth this season after regaining some relevance the previous season. Their approach relied heavily on the breakout season of Julius Randle, but he took a step back this season, and by February looked disinterested as rumors ran wild about him being ready to move on. Do I believe he has to be moved this offseason? No. But could he? Absolutely. If the Knicks do decide to keep Randle around, it will be imperative that they find a point guard capable of setting the table for others so that they aren’t as reliable on him being ball dominant all of the time, but that will also require him to be willing to change his style to some degree. The Knicks ranked 30th in the league in two point field goal percentage and assists. Adding a point guard capable of getting others easy looks would allow their offense to flow much more smoothly and get more easy looks. They have some good young guards, but they’re better scorers who could be able to focus on what they do best if only the team could find a facilitator to plug into the lineup. The Knicks don’t have a lot of cap space, with approximately 120 million on the books and the cap set at 122 million. Plus they need to look at resigning Mitchell Robinson who will be an unrestricted free agent. This means that the team will rely on the draft and maybe a midlevel signing to enhance the team. In the draft, they hold the 11th pick, which could see them target a player such as TyTy Washington (the Knicks clearly have an affinity for former Kentucky players), or value and instant contribution with someone like Kansas’ {Ochai Agbaji] or they could get creative and look to take someone like Memphis’ Jalen Duren and use Mitchell Robinson (via sign and trade) or Julius Randle to make a trade to net them the established perimeter playmaker (Jalen Brunson being one potential target) they lack.
Brooklyn Nets
Needs: Their stars to play together
Picks: 23
Brooklyn was a mess last season. Kyrie sat out a large chunk of the season by choice, James Harden essentially strong-armed his way out of town, Ben Simmons didn’t play a single game after coming over in the Harden trade, and Joe Harris only played 14 games. This meant that Kevin Durant had to do an inordinate amount of the heavy lifting, and he only played 55 games. On the bright side, if they can get their stars to actually take the floor and play together, they could bounce back and be back at the top of the conference in no time. It could be a task to integrate the three stars together, but if they can figure it out, and have floor spacers like Joe Harris and Seth Curry surrounding their stars, the offense could be lethal. If that is, in fact, the case, then this offseason will be all about finding additional complementary pieces to fill out the team. They only have 8 players under contract, plus two restricted free agents (Nic Claxton, David Duke Jr.) so they will have to find veterans looking to win a ring to fill out the roster. With the 23rd pick in the draft, the Nets should look to target somebody such as Serbia’s Nikola Jovic, Auburn’s Walker Kessler, or Arkansas’ Jaylin Williams, if he remains in the draft. Any of those players would allow them to bolster their front court without needing to be the focal point of the offense to make an impact on the game. They could also go the other way and decide to target someone like Kennedy Chandler to back up Kyrie Irving. As far as potential free agent targets go, they could look at Javale McGee, Hassan Whiteside, and Delon Wright as options to provide depth.
Toronto Raptors
Needs: Defensive rebounding, facilitating guard
Picks: 33
Toronto was a top 5 team in the conference this past season despite moving on from Kyle Lowry. They are a team with a couple of glaring weaknesses, but Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes looked really good this season, Fred VanVleet proved to be a good resign, and so if they can find just one more piece it could really propel them into becoming a true conference contender. They only have around 6 million in free cap space and no first round picks, so it could be a challenge to grab a major impact player. The Raptors are a top 2 offensive rebounding team in the league, but struggle mightily on the defensive glass, so if they can find someone to help them on that front it could really help them take a step forward. The team’s three best players all can pass the ball, but they could also use somebody to help them get easier looks within the halfcourt offense. In the draft, they only have the 33rd pick right now, but they could still potentially land a steal here with someone like Canadian high school standout Leonard Miller, if he remains in the draft, Milwaukee’s Patrick Baldwin, or Ohio State’s EJ Liddell.
Boston Celtics
Needs: Al Horford replacement
Picks: 53
The truth is, Boston is what it is at this point. As this season has gone on, they have figured out how their pieces fit and made some adjustments that have them currently playing for a spot in the NBA Finals. They have their stars playing well on both ends of the floor, and have essentially their entire roster under contract moving forward. It’s a good thing they don’t have holes to fill, because with over 156 million in contracts on the books, they don’t have much beyond exceptions to use in free agency, and only own the 53rd pick in the draft. The one thing they could consider is trying to find a replacement for Al Horford’s minutes, as despite his contributions, he is nearing retirement and his 26.5 million dollar deal is non-guaranteed this year, which means he could represent sizable savings for the franchise if they decide they can move on without him. It might benefit them to keep him around, but next season could easily be his final year on this Celtics roster if they do choose to keep him around that long.
Philadelphia 76ers
Needs: Rebounding, Resolve the Tobias Harris situation
Picks: None
The Sixers, like the Celtics, don’t have a lot of opportunities to improve their team this offseason unless they do it via trade. Joel Embiid is a legitimate MVP candidate and they added James Harden late last season, so they will presumably overlook coming up short this season and try to build around those pieces. Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle have shown glimpses of being standouts on opposite ends of the floor, although they are both more role players than featured attractions at this stage of their careers. Tobias Harris is a really good, but not great player, but has a contract that pays him like a top tier player. With only two years remaining on his deal, would the 76ers be able to move him his offseason in an attempt to go all in on surrounding Embiid and Harden with complementary pieces? They’d likely have to sacrifice future draft capital in any trade, but with their roster, it’s unlikely that those draft picks will be exceedingly valuable to them. If they do trade Harris, they should look to bring back rebounding help, as they ranked 29th in total rebounding this past season and asking Embiid to pick up even more of the slack in that department could end up detracting from his all-around game. Would the Knicks be interested in him in a Julius Randle deal? Could they involve Charlotte in a deal that also moved Gordon Hayward? Atlanta could be looking to move John Collins, and he could play alongside Embiid. Essentially, Philly will be sitting out the draft and have extremely limited free agency options, but they have pieces that will allow them to make moves on the trade market if they opt to go that way, it just depends how creative they get and whether they view this roster as a contender as currently constructed.
