Knicks Shock NBA with Blockbuster Trade Talks: Everything We Know So Far

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks’ bid to reach their first NBA Finals since 1999 ended Saturday night in Indianapolis, where the Indiana Pacers closed out the Eastern Conference finals with a 125-108 Game 6 victory that sent blue-and-orange dreams crashing to earth and pushed Indiana into a showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jalen Brunson poured in 34 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22, but New York’s star tandem could not overcome a suffocating Pacers defense that turned 19 Knick turnovers into 34 points and blitzed New York in transition, winning the fast-break battle 25-10. Indiana led wire-to-wire, stretching the gap to 21 by halftime and never allowing coach Tom Thibodeau’s club closer than 11 the rest of the way. Why the season stalled • Depth drought: New York’s bench was outscored 48-17, exposing a roster that leaned heavily on its top six all postseason. • Interior imbalance: After controlling the glass early in the series, the Knicks surrendered 14 offensive boards in Game 6, gifting Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin a flood of second-chance threes. • Fatigue factor: Brunson averaged an NBA-high 41.8 minutes this postseason; he missed 6 of 9 shots in the fourth quarter as legs finally wobbled. Offseason questions already swirling around Madison Square Garden 1. Can Leon Rose find a true two-way wing? Free agents OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges top the wish list, but both would require cap gymnastics or sign-and-trade creativity. 2. Is it time to break up the Towns-Julius Randle frontcourt? Rival executives expect New York to gauge interest in Randle’s expiring $30 million deal, looking for shooting and perimeter length. 3. Extensions looming: Brunson is eligible for a projected four-year, $214 million max extension on July 1. Sources inside the organization view the offer as a “day-one formality.” 4. Coaching continuity: Despite online chatter, league insiders say Thibodeau’s job is safe; ownership values the club’s first back-to-back conference-final appearances since the Patrick Ewing era. Silver linings • Breakthrough core: New York’s 51-win regular season and elimination of Boston in the second round signaled real progress after decades of start-and-stop rebuilds. • Expanded cap flexibility: Evan Fournier’s $18.9 million finally comes off the books, creating mid-level room to chase shooters. • Rising stars: Rookie guard Tyler Kolek emerged as a playoff spark plug, averaging 9.3 points on 42 percent from deep over the final four games. Bottom line The Knicks fell two wins shy of the NBA Finals, but with an MVP-caliber point guard in Brunson, a still-ascending Towns, and a front office flush with draft capital, New York enters the summer positioned to trade or spend its way from contender to legitimate title threat. For a fan base that hasn’t paraded down the Canyon of Heroes since 1973, the window remains open—if the next moves are hits rather than air balls.