Knicks are in a win-now situation, and NBA Cup final performance could tell us a lot
Josh Hart of the New York Knicks reaches of the rebound as Tristan da Silva of the Orlando Magic looks on during the NBA Cup semifinals at T-Mobile Arena on December 13, 2025 in Las Vegas. Credit: Getty Images
LAS VEGAS
Hours ahead of the Knicks' NBA Cup semifinal win on Saturday, a team executive strode through the tunnel onto the court and I offered a handshake and a wish of good luck. He smiled and said, “We don’t need luck.”
And maybe he was right. The franchise has been rebuilt in recent years, putting together piece by piece a team that is a legitimate title contender. The 132-120 win over the Orlando Magic was the latest statement of confidence as the Knicks earned a place in Tuesday night’s NBA Cup final with a chance to secure the in-season tournament championship and maybe raise a banner to the rafters at Madison Square Garden if they can get past Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
Who needs luck when you have Jalen Brunson? Do you need a rabbit's foot or a lucky horseshoe to lift you when you have assembled arguably the best starting lineup in the NBA?
Maybe they do need all of that luck along with good health, continued progression and growth and all of the little things that get you a Cup title and, more important to the reality of all that the Knicks have built, an NBA title for the first time since 1973.
“In a way, it's a good warm-up to having a playoff atmosphere and a playoff game,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after Saturday’s win. “Shout-out to the NBA and the NBAPA doing a good job making the NBA Cup as competitive as it needs to be, and I think the fans are appreciating it. Shout-out to them.
“It's a playoff atmosphere, and with money on the line and pride on the line, more importantly than anything, I think it's bringing out the best in the NBA teams, and it's kind of bringing the fans playoff basketball earlier in the season than ever.”
The Knicks have built a team for a win-now window, not only swinging trades that sent out their stockpile of draft picks but firing coach Tom Thibodeau in the wake of last season’s loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, a level the Knicks had not reached in a quarter-century.
That was the pressure that Mike Brown faced when he took over for Thibodeau: Push the team to the next level.
While the core of the team is in its prime, with Brunson seemingly taking steps every season to reach the upper reaches of the NBA’s elite talent, the roster is not built for the long term. They’ve given up a haul of draft assets to bring in the current group and there is no promising young player to anticipate stepping in at a championship level.
Counter that with the Spurs — or the Oklahoma City Thunder, whom San Antonio beat, 111-109, to reach the Cup final. The Spurs not only have a young roster but draft assets that are the envy of every front office. Their average age is just about a year younger than the Knicks (26.3 to 27.2), but all five of the Knicks' starters are at least 28 years old, and of the rotation players, only Deuce McBride (25) and Tyler Kolek (24) are 25 or younger.
San Antonio boasts Dylan Harper (19 years old), Stephon Castle (21) and Wembanyama (21), and of the top 10 players in minutes per game, only D’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Luke Kornet are older than 25.
“I think our franchise is used to and committed to winning, and that's not a knock to any other franchises, but some people that have been with our franchise for a very long time have set a foundation and embedded principles that has allowed that to happen over time,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I think when we have not been winning as recently, a lot of those principles and ways we operate have not changed or wavered. We just needed to continue to grow with this group.
"I think all these opportunities are learning opportunities to get better and to grow, and then obviously, when you're able to win, there is something there that speaks to the confidence.”
So while this NBA Cup final may be just another game (and one that doesn’t even count in the standings), it could serve as an indicator of where the Knicks are with this group. Are they in the class of the Thunder, capable of dreaming of an NBA title this season? Because if they aren’t ready now, maybe there is another date ahead of the Cup final to consider.
Dec. 15 is the date that is sort of an official start to the NBA’s in-season trade market. Many players become eligible to be traded, kick-starting the dealing that ends at the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
The Knicks already have found themselves rolling through the rumor mill this season, with talk of Giannis Antetokounmpo possibly moving on from Milwaukee and making New York his preferred destination.
That may be hard to pull off despite his wishes, but if the Knicks don’t believe that what they’ve built is enough to win now — and to hold off these young powers in the Western Conference — it could signal a time to make moves.
This front office has not been hesitant to pull off a bold move, dealing away franchise cornerstones such as Julius Randle and RJ Barrett in addition to the draft picks. When the Antetokounmpo rumors were raised again in recent days, a Knicks front-office official laughed at the notion that they had to be alerted and added that every day the job is to make those calls and touch base around the league.
But those concerns are for another day. For now, the Knicks could celebrate the win over the Magic and think of banners to hang up at the Garden this season.
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.
