Knicks forward Julius Randle takes a three-point shot in the first quarter against the Hawks in Game 5 of an NBA first-round playoff series Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Wendell Cruz
When it was over, their postseason hopes dimmed in a five-game series loss to the Atlanta Hawks, some of the Knicks players weren’t ready yet to consider the big picture, what the season’s highlights and the postseason appearance meant for the franchise.
But Tom Thibodeau had already been dropping hints for days about the talent the Hawks had surrounded their star centerpiece, Trae Young, with and if you chose to read between the lines it gave a blueprint for an active summer in New York.