Throughout the history of the NBA, the New York Knicks have had the benefit of using “The Big Apple” to attract free agents. Well, kind of. New York’s current roster is heavily comprised of players acquired through free agency. The two All-Stars — Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle — each elected to join the Knicks after their respective contracts with the Mavericks and Pelicans expired.
Even this summer, the Knicks were able to land Donte DiVincenzo from the Golden State Warriors to help further boost their roster.
Despite having New York City in their corner as a draw for free agents, this past season’s Knicks team was the first competitive one for quite some time (excluding the weird 2020-21 season where they fell to the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs).