Steve Popper: Knicks seem poised to keep core intact and make a run for postseason

WASHINGTON — As the Knicks have made their way through six straight wins with the NBA trade deadline looming, they’ve pointed to a number of reasons: An improved defense, better communication, spacing offensively that finally seems to grasp some of the changes to the system.

But what might be most interesting is that it hasn’t been the way they’ve been carried before — on the shoulders of Jalen Brunson, or even their other All-Star, Karl-Anthony Towns. That presents an option, a reasonable, if not totally believable case, for passing on Thursday’s trade deadline opportunity to try to send off pieces of the starting five in an effort to swing a multi-team deal that lands them Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Knicks, like every other team would like to add Antetokounmpo. If it meant matching salaries and swapping out Towns, or any one player outside of Brunson, the Knicks would be pulling the trigger. But it’s not that simple. The Bucks reportedly have been seeking a young blue-chip talent and multiple first-round picks. And to add those to a deal the Knicks would have to send out multiple pieces. OG Anunoby? Mikal Bridges? Deuce McBride? Josh Hart?

One star player, even a two-time MVP like Antetokounmpo, doesn’t assure a title. You could ask the Bucks that right now.

So the Knicks can fall back on their belief in the whole, one that was voiced by Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan last month when he appeared on WFAN and expressed his belief that no big moves were coming and this group should reach the NBA Finals and could win it all.

Over the six-game streak, Brunson has averaged 21.7 points per game that is far below his season average. Towns has averaged just 12.3 points per game.  The lowest six-game span of his career. And still they’ve won, as they have much of this season when less is needed from Brunson. He posted a season-high 13 assists Sunday while Towns totaled 42 rebounds over the previous two games before Sunday.

And that’s a good thing, something that backs up the plan that the front office put in place when they pushed their chips onto the table and put together a five-man starting lineup that might be as talented as any in the NBA. Breaking it up is no small decision.

The Knicks have been building around Brunson since signing him, trading for Hart, dealing away RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickly to obtain Anunoby, and then before last season trading for Bridges and Towns.

“I think that’s what we’re capable of,” Hart said after Sunday’s win over the Lakers when Brunson had just 12 points and Towns 11 but three others scored 20 or more. “We have great depth. We have guys that can knock down shots, guys that can play-make. It’s not always going to be JB or KAT’s night. We rely on those guys obviously to score points but it shows that we don’t have to force anything.”

It was that way in the postseason last year with Brunson’s heroics sometimes carrying them, but other nights it was Towns or even Bridges. This year it has not just been the starting five, but on other nights Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson or McBride.

“It’s going to be somebody different every night,” Shamet said after his 23 points equaled Brunson and Towns' combined total Sunday. “We know that. Our group has bought into that. It’s about all of us buying in, doing what we can on a night-to-night basis. We’ve got a locker room full of guys who want to win and are willing to sacrifice for one another.”

Depth was an issue for the Knicks last season and the front office thought it was addressed with the signings of Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele. But they were the only two players not to get in the game Sunday, both out of the rotation on most nights. Both players have been shopped, along with 2024 first-round pick Pacome Dadiet. While they are the most likely to depart, it will almost certainly entail the Knicks attaching a second-round pick to their contract to make it happen.

For now, the Knicks seem poised to keep the core intact and make a run for the postseason, having at least shown that this group can play together in the postseason, having shown they are willing to sacrifice to take their turn. Towns, whose name has been floating around in trade rumors and conjecture since the summer, has spoken repeatedly about sacrificing and his willingness to do so.

The Knicks may fall short in the postseason and, if Antetokounmpo is still available, revisit the trade talks in the summer. They will know whether the expectations have been met and then have the ability to put together a better package. For now, the original plan seems bound to remain in place.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.