Why the Knicks must not make huge trades to repeat as NBA champions

The job of a champion is to never rest on their laurels. Be that as it may, the New York Knicks and their rowdy fanbase are going to be celebrating for months on end after breaking a title-drought that spanned 53 years.

Throughout the 2026 NBA Finals, it did seem as though the Knicks were destined to win it all. They always found themselves down by double digits to start off games against the San Antonio Spurs, but they’ve come back from each and every one of them, including a comeback from 29 points down in a historic effort in Game 4 at home.

This run to the title has been a long time coming for the Knicks. Ever since they signed Jalen Brunson in 2022, the pieces have fallen into place for New York year after year.

In 2023, they traded for both Josh Hart and OG Anunoby. The following year, they brought in Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. Brunson then took a paycut, which allowed the Knicks front office to stack the team with so much depth, allowing them to get over the hump for the first time in over five decades.

For the Knicks, next season is going to be all about defending what’s theirs. Running it back is not the worst idea in the world. In fact, doing so may be the only thing that makes sense for them. Here are a few reasons why the Knicks must not make any blockbuster trades this offseason.

The current Knicks roster is incredible as it is

Running a functional, title-winning team in real life is not the same as putting together a talented team on a simulator like NBA 2K’s MyLEAGUE. It’s not just a matter of compiling as many players with as high overall ratings as possible; the team has to make sense, both from a personality standpoint and a basketball standpoint.

This is what the Knicks did. They built a roster that loves playing for one another and gets along quite nicely, both on and off the court.

It might be tempting to bring in someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo. But that would require gutting the roster and trading a fan favorite in Towns. They would also need to part ways with other players since they don’t have the draft picks to sweeten the pot due to the Bridges deal.

And it’s not like the Knicks need Antetokounmpo to win it all. They won a title with a core of Brunson-Towns-Anunoby-Hart-Bridges, and they surrounded that core with as many talented role players as possible.

Their core is under contract for at least two more seasons (for the 2027-28 season, Towns has a player option worth over $61 million and Hart has a team option worth $22.38 million), so there shouldn’t be any rush to move on from any of them, not when they’re considered heroes in the city.

Try selling a trade involving a core piece to this NY fanbase

Trading away a beloved member of the championship-winning core is going to be an impossible sell for the Knicks front office. Why would the Knicks fanbase want any of those players gone when they brought the franchise’s first title in 53 years?

Brunson is untouchable, and the entire city of New York will be engulfed in flames should the Knicks even entertain the idea of trading him away. Towns emerged as a two-way weapon in the playoffs, and he guarded Victor Wembanyama as well as anyone could have.

Anunoby is a hero, the man who sealed the Knicks’ historic comeback win in Game 4. Bridges fills in the gaps and does anything the team needs him to, while Hart is the kind of lunch pail guy who does all the dirty work — the exact kind of player any championship team needs. Even Miles McBride, who struggled in the NBA Finals, is quite the fan favorite among Knicks fans.

Even trading away the likes of Pacome Dadiet and Tyler Kolek, both of whom are under contract for next season, would be a hard sell. Kolek had his moments this past season. Dadiet could very well become something still (he’s only 20 years of age).

This is a roster who deserves to run it back, and fans most definitely would want to see this team get the chance to defend their crown.

The bill is going to come due… but not yet

The Knicks will have to dip into the second apron to keep their roster together. That alone would restrict the kind of movement they’ll be able to pursue on the trade front.

Jose Alvarado has a player option worth $4.5 million for next season that he’s likely to reject. Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson, Ariel Hukporti, and Mo Diawara are all free agents. At present, the Knicks are already just around $16 million shy of crossing the second apron.

Even then, the harsher tax penalties are going to come when a team repeats as a second apron offender. The Knicks aren’t there yet. And with the way they performed throughout the 2025-26 season, which culminated in a title, James Dolan has to be prepared to shell out the dough that’s necessary to give this team a realistic shot at winning it all in back-to-back years.

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