5 teams that should have regrets about the 2019 offseason

1. New York Knicks

If you follow the  NBA at all, you may have heard that the New York Knicks struck out in their pursuit of the big-name free agents this summer and that they instead signed quite a few frontcourt players with overlapping skill sets.

It is futile and a bit unfair to evaluate New York’s offseason based on their having failed to woo Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving to the Big Apple — well, failed to woo them to their borough, anyway. The decision-making processes of stars are difficult to anticipate and the Knicks were far from the only team that would have liked to sign Durant but failed.

Rather than bemoaning what the Knicks didn’t do, let’s examine what they did do.

The New York Knicks spent the summer of 2019 building the perfect team for 1989. They piled up enough size to allow them to run out a legitimate three-big frontcourt for the entire game. Not only did they sign traditional big men like Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson, they also signed big combo forwards Reggie Bullock and Marcus Morris to fill up the remaining frontcourt minutes.

All of which is not to mention the best power forward they signed — Julius Randle, who gave the Pelicans 5.7 wins last year at 54 percent Total Efficiency (a rare combination for a player who is not at least a fringe All-Star talent).

The problem with these signings, which many have overlooked in comparing the signees with one another, is that the Knicks’ 2018 draft class was built on two young frontcourt players. Mitchell Robinson, who had a very successful rookie season, and Kevin Knox (who did not) need in-game reps if they are to develop into reliable NBA starters.

The Knicks have voluntarily created a situation in which neither will receive adequate playing time this year.

When the Knicks’ short-term contracts come off the books in 2021 for them to take yet another swing in free agency, the franchise is now essentially guaranteed to be in the same position they were in this summer — trying to lure a free agent with the glitz and glamour of NYC, but without a supporting cast to speak of.

Another way to look at the issue is: if everything goes exactly as the team hopes it will over the next two seasons, which team would still be furthest from contending? Without a doubt, the answer is the Knicks. If all their young players blossom as the front office hopes, New York will have RJ Barrett and a logjam in the frontcourt.

Even their best-case scenario cannot provide them with enough shooting to have an effective offense or enough lateral quickness to have a modern NBA defense. Even if the Knicks’ wildest dreams come true and they sign Giannis Antetokounmpo in the summer of 2021, they will still be pushing their prospects further down the totem pole.

They will still not have the type of outside shooters that were so dangerous playing off of Giannis in Milwaukee. Even if the Knicks’ plan works out precisely according to schedule, they still had the worst offseason of 2019.