The Knicks are projected to have the most cap space this upcoming offseason, and a lot of teams are looking to get rid of large contracts as the cap space is going to lower due to Covid.

Next year’s draft class is looking really special, and we already have our pick and the Mavericks first. Hopefully, we can acquire a few more picks in next year’s draft or get young players who can maybe pan out.

According to Shams, the NBA is planning on having a 72 game season starting on December 22nd. It seems like there will still be a play-in series for the 8th seed like last season, and the NBA wants the games to be played in arenas, not in a bubble.

This gives players that were in the bubble around 2 months off, usually the length of the offseason, however, players who have not played in the bubble are going to have to wait a total of 10 months to play another NBA game.

The NBA draft is set for November 18th with NBA free agency usually a week after.

We also have to give major credit to Adam Silver who has dealt with COVID-19 particularly well.

What are your thoughts on this proposed idea?

According to multiple reports, it seems like the Knicks are seriously considering moving down in the draft.

Another report recently came out that the Knicks have shown interest in Kentucky Guard Tyrese Maxey, according to Marc Berman.

Tyrese is projected to go in the teens, so it would make sense if the Knicks were to trade back from 8. Also, with the recent hire of Kenny Payne, former assistant and development coach at UK, it would make sense the Knicks would be interested.

The last rumor is the Knicks are very focused on the 2021 draft. The 2021 draft is a lot better than this years draft, with players such as Cade Cunningham, Jonathan Kuminga, and Jalen Green in the class.

By trading down, the Knicks could maybe get a 3rd first round pick for the 2021 draft.

Update: November 18th is the new proposed date.

Greer and Dice west assistants for Thibodeau during his time in Minnesota and Chicago.

The coaching staff is shaping up, as the three are joining Thibodeau, Kenny Payne, and Jonnie Bryant.

It seems as if the Knicks are confident that they can find the right player at 8, so don’t expect any trade-ups or downs.

What is so interesting about this class is that there are a lot of players that can turn out to be amazing players, but there are a lot of question marks. There aren’t any locks to be stats (maybe Anthony Edwards) but that’s it. It’s going to come down to how well the scouting is of each team. Also, with COVID, I don’t know if the combine will happen, and everything else that happens before the draft, which also may hurt teams of knowing the great players.

From a Knicks perspective, it seems like Killian Hayes might be there, who I would love. Other players that maybe there are Kira Lewis, Obi Toppin, Tyrese Halliburton, and more.

The Knicks may now look to trade up or down as this is a pretty weak draft class.

Some players in the 8th pick area that the Knicks may look at:

Killian Hayes

Obi Toppin

Devin Vassell

Tyrese Haliburton

We will get more updates as the draft gets closer, which is on October 16th.

First, The Knicks are hiring Johnnie Bryant as an assistant coach. Bryant previously was with Utah, and he is known for his player development. He has worked with guys like Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Paul Millsap, and more. If you guys were worried about Thibodeau and his development skills, you shouldn’t be worried anymore, as we now have two top developmental coaches on the bench.

Second, Mike Miller will not being joining Thibodeau’s staff and is pursuing other coaching opportunities as we speak. It seems unlikely he will be back in any capacity.

Lastly, even though it was reported a few weeks ago that Mike Woodson would be on the Knicks staff, there has not been an official announcement yet. However, it is still reported that Woodson will most likely be with the Knicks next season.

It will be interesting to see who will fill out the rest of the coaching bench, but we will have to wait a little bit longer.

Kenny has been an assistant coach at Kentucky since 2010. Kenny is a player-development guru and is a big part of why Kentucky has over 25 alumni in the league right now. KAT said that he was the “best developmental coach in the country”. He was also a huge key to Knox’s success in college, and now he will be helped by him again. This most likely means that Knox will be on the team next year. I don’t know how we were able to get him away from the UK, but from what I’ve read and heard, I’m very happy we did. Seems like a great hire.

Expect more assistant coaches hires soon. Mike Woodson still has not been officially hired, so look out for that also.

Lets look at Woodson’s HC tenure with the Knicks (via Wikipedia):

On August 29, 2011, the New York Knicks announced that Mike Woodson was hired as an assistant coach under head coach Mike D’Antoni. On March 14, 2012, Woodson was named interim head coach after D’Antoni’s resignation. In his debut as interim head coach that night, the Knicks crushed the Portland Trail Blazers by a score of 121 to 79. Woodson was named the full-time head coach of the Knicks on May 25, 2012. The Knicks ended the season strongly under Mike Woodson, going 18–6 for an overall season record of 36–30, though they would lose 4–1 against the Miami Heat.

In the 2012–13 season, the Knicks under Woodson compiled a record of 54–28 and secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They reached the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they lost to the Indiana Pacers in six games.

The Knicks struggled to a 3–13 start in the 2013–2014 season and the team never fully recovered, finishing with a record of 37–45, and missing the playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

On April 21, 2014, Woodson was fired from the New York Knicks head coaching position along with his entire coaching staff after two and a half seasons

Expect more updates on the other assistant coaches in the next few weeks. Supposedly there will be a variety of coaches on the staff, and I’m sure Rose, Thibs, and the rest of the staff will work together to create a strong mix of offensive, defensive, and player development coaches.