It’s August and you know what that means: the 2017-18 NBA season is almost here. Training camp is nearing and the preseason will not be far away after that.
With the season two months away, where are the New York Knicks expected to finish? With several All-Stars moving to the Western Conference, can the team squeeze into the playoffs? It’s been a quiet and arguably underwhelming offseason, so ESPN’s latest projection doesn’t seem to leave room that such improvement from last season will happen.
In an ESPN RPM projection, New York is projected to finish the upcoming season with a 32-50 record. That would place the Knicks at fourth place in Atlantic Division and 12th overall in the Eastern Conference. See below.
RPM projected W-L records for next season.
How's your team looking? pic.twitter.com/gWUJxKjeV4
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) August 3, 2017
The offseason has been met with plenty of front office movement for the Knicks. In April, New York picked up Phil Jackson’s two-year option on his contract only to fire him two months later. The Knicks then plucked Scott Perry from the Sacramento Kings as General Manager and subsequently sent a 2019 second round pick and cash considerations as compensation.
The elephant in the room has continued to be the fate of Carmelo Anthony, who according to reports, prefers a trade to the Houston Rockets.
The Knicks’ free agency has consisted of bringing Tim Hardaway Jr. back to the team on a four-year, $71 million ocontract. Ron Baker broke his own news by re-signing with New York. The team drafted Frank Ntilikina with the eighth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Also, the Knicks signed second round draftee Damyean Dotson to a three-year deal.
During the Scott Perry’s introduction, newly promoted President Steve Mills emphasized the youth of the players and it’s showing based off the offseason moves. How that affects the upcoming season remains to be seen.
All this movement, however, won’t translate into more wins, according to ESPN. Last year, the network projected New York to finish with 34.7 wins and that projection wasn’t far off. The Knicks finished with a 31-51 record. History may repeat itself.
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