SAN FRANCISCO — The Knicks, as constructed by Leon Rose, are built for continuity.
With the exception of Mikal Bridges, whose extension eligibility becomes the big offseason story, every starter is under contract until at least 2027.
If Bridges signs an extension and Karl-Anthony Towns picks up a player option, they’re all contracted by the Knicks until 2028 and beyond.
In the era of the aprons, that can be good and bad.
It’s tremendous if the roster is young and at least progressing toward title contention.
In the case of the Knicks, Josh Hart is the eldest starter at just a hair over 30.
The starting five — Towns, Bridges, Hart, OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson — are between the ages of 27 and 30.
Prime years.
It’s bad, however, if the team is regressing or losing hope of a championship.
There’s less flexibility and less draft capital after the Bridges trade.
And though this roster iteration’s ceiling likely won’t become clear until the playoffs, James Dolan seems ready to exhibit patience while hoping for chemistry like the defending champions in Beantown.
“We have a team that’s going to be together for a while,” Dolan said on “The Roommates Show” podcast. “Leon has done a good job of lining up the contracts. So this isn’t our only season. So we’re going to play a bunch of seasons together. You take a look at teams like Boston that have played together, they get to draw off something that they built off that period of time. And for this team, that’s really the challenge today — going into the playoffs, it’s to build that inside of the team.
“Something we can draw on. In order to do that, the first thing you have to have is belief that you can win, that you can win the championship. You really, really believe that. You’re not going to worry about podcasts. You’re going to worry about how you’re playing with the other guys, how the communication is going. What you can do to be better. … Just give it time and I think it will happen.”
Dolan’s line of “something we can draw on” is highly interpretative but tangible progress would be a trip to conference finals after consecutive second-round eliminations.
The third round may also be a bar too high with the Knicks likely needing to get past the Celtics, who are projected as the second seed in the East (the Knicks are projected as the third seed).
Towns said the talent is in the building and it’s the players’ responsibility to maximize it.
“We got a bunch of talent. We got a great bunch of [guys],” he said. “So we have an opportunity to do something special, and it’s up to us to grasp that opportunity, take it and run with it.”
Dolan said his faith in Rose, who was hired in 2020, has been rewarded.
“I will hold [front offices] to their plan. It’s been really easy with Leon,” Dolan said. “He didn’t really veer off the plan at all. He just looked for opportunities. In the end, we’re together on it and we go forward with it. And I think — it’s like I said before, this team is going to be together for a while. They architected it that way. Now the team has to work with the coach and develop familiarity. That extra gear that comes with knowing each other and playing with each other for so long. That’s what we want to see happen.”
Dolan, whose ownership tenure has been riddled with losing and turnover, acknowledged he wasn’t always so hands off with acquiring players or hiring personnel.
“There were times when sort’ve reached for that shiny, sparkly object. Maybe this is what we need. Especially when things weren’t going well,” he said. “Let’s bring in this guy and maybe he’ll turn it all around for us. Sometimes it’s players, sometimes it’s a coach. What I learned over time is that doesn’t work. It really doesn’t. You really have to do the fundamentals, the basics. You’ve got to build a team, you’ve got to build an organization. There is no waving a wand over a team and all of a sudden make it a great team. It doesn’t happen.”
Now Dolan says he’s banking on the benefits of continuity.
