5 questions facing the Knicks heading into the second half of the season
Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson, left, and injured guard Jalen Brunson react on the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against Golden State on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in San Francisco. Credit: AP/Jeff Chiu
SAN FRANCISCO — The Knicks hit the midpoint of the season stumbling across, with seven losses in their last nine games dropping them from 23-9 to 25-16.
While they are only one game shy of last season’s 26-15 record at the midpoint — and closer to the top of the Eastern Conference standings than they were a year ago, when Cleveland was running away with the regular-season lead — the Knicks have produced more questions than answers this season.
1. What happened to the immaculate vibes?
Front office executives sometimes bemoan the fantasy basketball nature of fans — and media — wanting to swing some major deal as they plug names into the trade machine, matching salaries and hoping to create a stir. But sometimes the front office does it, too.
The Knicks went all in in the summer of 2024, dealing away a haul of assets to reset the roster, obtaining Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns after two seasons of reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals.
On paper, the pieces fit, giving the Knicks an experienced and accomplished starting five. Towns’ offensive skills would complement Jalen Brunson’s scoring punch. Bridges would combine with OG Anunoby to create a defensive pairing to counter the likes of Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
And then, after shaking off some regular-season questions and reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in a quarter-century, the Knicks dumped coach Tom Thibodeau to satisfy the voices calling for more collaboration and player development.
Now the overachieving, hard-nosed team has been remade — and after 41 games, it has yet to establish any sort of identity.
Was the talent upgraded with the move from Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Towns? Sure. Was Bridges more valuable to a win-now approach than a handful of late first-round picks? Absolutely. But in gaining talent, did the Knicks lose something? What is this team now?
“That’s an interesting question, and I say that because I like the group, I like our potential,” Mike Brown said. “I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it. This is a new area that we’re in right now, and for me, I’ve gotta just keep trying to find ways to help them. And if that means rest, if that means simplifying the offense, simplifying the defense, demanding more, using somebody else here and there, I know I have to do it. But they have to do it as well.”
2. Are the Knicks tough enough?
If there is one common denominator in the Knicks’ struggles, it’s been that there seems to be some sort of toughness missing.
There are multiple examples of that, whether it is the bullying that teams such as the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic and the Phoenix Suns have shown the Knicks with little response in recent weeks, or even something like Towns being pulled down by Golden State’s Draymond Green on Thursday and no one coming to his defense.
Remember when a similar move by Joel Embiid to Mitchell Robinson prompted DiVincenzo to confront Embiid even while giving away nearly a foot to him?
Last season the Knicks brought in P.J. Tucker as they tried to find that. Now Brunson — the smallest player in the starting lineup — at times seems to be the only one willing to shove back, with an example being Dillon Brooks trying to physically knock him off his game in Phoenix last week. Afterward, Brunson said, “They play physical basketball, but so do we. And we need to.”
They need to, but this not only is not the old Charles Oakley-Anthony Mason-Patrick Ewing Knicks, but maybe not even the blue-collar group that started the run of success for the franchise five years ago.
3. Is this really a championship roster?
The Knicks did win a title this season, taking the NBA Cup. But since then they’ve shown little indication that they are ready to compete for the actual NBA title. Defensively, they have ranked near the bottom of the league during the last month, and when the offense sputters at times, there is nothing to lean on.
4. So is it time for a major move?
Since the summer, the Giannis Antetokounmpo question has been on the table, and it might be gaining more momentum — on both sides.
Is it feasible? Even if the Knicks built a package around Towns, it’s hard to imagine the Bucks couldn’t find a better offer, given that the Knicks stripped their draft assets to the bare minimum with the Bridges deal. But they’ve been creative before, so maybe shuttling another asset somewhere for picks or including a third team would help.
Even if they could make that trade, should they? That seems easy to answer right now, but the Knicks insist that it’s still early in the process with the new coach and new system.
5. What is the fix right now?
Brown might tell you patience. Josh Hart insists it’s defense. And despite the possibility of landing a big target such as Antetokounmpo, an in-season deal of that magnitude is hard to imagine even as the noise grows louder.
Right now, other teams have indicated the Knicks are trying to move off of Guerschon Yabusele and former first-round pick Pacome Dadiet, which might not even get you a good pizza in New York. Both have been disappointing.
The Knicks are right up against the second apron of the collective bargaining agreement, unable to add more salary than they send out, and it’s hard to imagine those sort of pieces landing them someone who could crack the rotation this season. So Brown might be right, or at least the Knicks hope he is.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
