The Knicks Aren’t Hiding From the Group of Death — They’re Embracing It

By Michael Phillips | Sports & Whatever | NBA

New York enters its title defense with the toughest road in the NBA Cup. Good. That’s exactly how a champion should want it.

There’s a version of this Knicks offseason where James Dolan panics, blows past the second apron, and tries to buy his way into a repeat. That’s not what happened. Instead, the front office did the boring, disciplined thing: re-sign the guys who won you the title, stay flexible, and trust the roster that just brought Madison Square Garden its first championship parade since 1973.

That discipline got tested fast. The Miles McBride extension deadline came and went on August 11 without a deal, and by all accounts, the Knicks didn’t push especially hard to get one done before it passed. That’s a real storyline — McBride was a rotation piece on a championship team, and letting a trade restriction lapse instead of locking him in says something about how New York is thinking about its cap sheet heading into a season where they’re already $10-13 million from the second apron. This is a front office choosing flexibility over sentiment, even with a ring on the table.

Then there’s the schedule itself. When the NBA released the 2026 Cup groupings, New York didn’t get a gift. East Group B puts the champs in with Philadelphia, Indiana, Cleveland, and a Miami team that just landed a two-time MVP in a blockbuster trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. That Cleveland matchup on November 25 is a rematch of a Cavs team the Knicks swept in the Eastern Conference Finals — which means before Thanksgiving, this team already has to prove last spring wasn’t a fluke, against the exact team they beat to get the trophy.

Center depth remains the clearest hole on the roster. It’s not a hidden problem — beat reporters have been flagging it since mid-August — and it’s the kind of thing that either gets addressed on a minimum contract before camp or becomes a storyline every time Karl-Anthony Towns needs a breather in a playoff-intensity November game. The good news: KAT’s own numbers from the title run (55%+ from the field, 45%+ from three, elite defense down the stretch) suggest the front office can afford to be patient at backup center rather than overpay out of fear.

None of this is a crisis. It’s what a champion’s offseason should look like — hard decisions made with the calm of a team that already knows it can win the whole thing. New York opens its five-game preseason slate October 5 in Philadelphia, with two more MSG tune-ups against Washington and Minnesota before a home-and-home against Toronto closes it out. Real games start October 30.

The banner goes up. The target goes up with it. Knicks fans have waited over fifty years to find out what a title defense feels like — this is the year they get to.

Michael Phillips covers the Knicks and NBA for Sports & Whatever.