The New York Knicks had an incredible 2020-2021 season.
They unexpectedly snagged the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Although their season ended in a first-round exit, they were defeated by Atlanta Hawks, who went on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
With a young star in Julius Randle and the acquisition of Kemba Walker, many Knicks fans believe this could be their year.
Kemba Walker has agreed to a contract buyout with the Oklahoma City #Thunder, and upon clearing waivers, plans to sign with the New York #Knicks. #NBA 👀🤯
via @wojespn pic.twitter.com/uHcxNvSg0p
— NBA Analysis Network (@HoopAnalysisNet) August 4, 2021
However, while they are still playoff contenders, they still have a way to go before they are championship contenders.
3. No Superstars
The Knicks have struggled to find a superstar for their organization since they traded for Carmelo Anthony in 2011.
With the Knicks being in such a premier market, this inability to draw in talent speaks to how poorly the organization is run.
As previously mentioned, the Knicks were able to sign Walker after he was bought out by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
However, the past few years have been riddled with injuries for Walker.
He appears to be a shell of the player he once was.
This could be due to his reduced role on the Boston Celtics with the emergence of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
However, it is much more probable that age and injuries are beginning to catch up with Walker.
Despite this, Walker is still not even the best player on the Knicks roster.
Randle put the team on his back and turned the Knicks from the joke of the NBA to being ranked in the upper half of the East last season.
Also, Randle was the first Knick to appear in an All-Star game since Kristaps Porzingis in the 2017-2018 season.
Despite the amazing season Randle had, unless he shows another spike in development this season, he is still not a superstar-caliber player who can make a team a championship contender.
2. Still Too Young
One of the biggest flaws with the Knicks roster at the moment is that they are still too young.
Despite having one of the oldest rosters in the league last season, the Knicks relied heavily on their young guns.
The franchise depended on Randle and guard RJ Barrett to bring them to the playoffs.
However, this offseason the Knicks brought in veteran help with Walker and Evan Fournier.
Despite this, the team still does not have enough playoff experience from key players to be real contenders.
1. Do Not Stack Up With Truly Contending Teams
While the Knicks have their best roster in years, they still do not stack up to the actual contending teams.
Unless injury luck falls in the Knicks’ favor there are a handful of teams that could easily knock them out of the playoffs.
The first being the Brooklyn Nets.
If the Knicks want to make it to the Finals, they will likely have to go through their in-state rivals to do it.
Nets-Knicks rivalry is already in midseason form 🍿 pic.twitter.com/EOKXB1URCD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 16, 2021
When looking at their rosters, it would take a miracle to pull this off.
No one on the Knicks roster is capable of keeping up with the scoring that James Harden and Kevin Durant bring to the table for the Nets.
Also in the Eastern Conference, it would be a long-shot for the Knicks to take down the Milwaukee Bucks as well.
Despite having a very talented roster and making good moves in free agency, the New York Knicks are still not legitimate contenders.
NEXT: Timetable For Knicks To Overtake Nets In New York