There are compelling reasons for the Knicks to bank on continuity.
Even if not terribly exciting, it’s a refreshing change from the yesteryear failed strategies of turnover and dysfunction.
And for an example of success through stability, look no further than the Denver Nuggets, who seemed to build their championship by layering with the same color paint until all flaws were covered.
That took eight years under Michael Malone.
“It’s internal development,” Tom Thibodeau said. “When you have young players, you know they can get better.”
The Knicks, as Thibodeau confirmed at media day on Monday, will begin training camp with the same starting five as last season.
The lone alteration to the rotation, which doesn’t include a player over the age of 28, was swapping out Obi Toppin for Donte DiVincenzo.
While Boston and Milwaukee made power moves to reinforce their positions atop the East, the Knicks kept quiet, clutched their assets.
Dame Lillard was never an option as an ill fit next to Jalen Brunson.
Even if Leon Rose considered Jrue Holiday, he wasn’t going to match Boston’s offer of two solid players and two first-rounders.
That’s a trade for a team on the brink of a title.
The Knicks aren’t there yet.
So they’re running it back.
“It’s pretty much the same group, but we’ve got to continue to find ways to get better,” Jalen Brunson said. “It may be the little things, little mental edges, just concentration on the little things.
“Just our chemistry is going to get a lot better from knowing each other for a year now.”
Symbolic of the Knicks’ relatively flat hierarchy, Brunson, RJ Barrett and Julius Randle all took the podium at the same time at media day.
They represent the team’s highest salaries and offer different levels of star potential, but it’s unlikely any of them will be the best player on a championship team.
The Nuggets won, ultimately, because of Nikola Jokic.
It’s why the Knicks are dually touting their continuity and monitoring a scenario to overhaul the roster.
Joel Embiid, the reigning league MVP, has been identified in league circles as an ideal Knicks target and would certainly change the trajectory.
His Sixers are in flux with James Harden feuding with the front office and skipping media day.
Embiid said all the right things Monday about his commitment to the Sixers, but added, ominously, “There should never be any lost seasons. I hope they understand that.”
Translation: Don’t mess this up like you did with Ben Simmons.
There are also potential targets in Minnesota (Karl-Anthony Towns) and Cleveland (Donovan Mitchell) to track as the season progresses.
Mitchell confirmed Monday he won’t sign an extension with the Cavaliers before the season.
It was expected since Mitchell could earn more money by waiting, but the uncertainty will only fuel speculation that the New York product will soon angle his way to the Knicks.
“I want it to be known that I still have an opportunity to sign an extension next summer,” said Mitchell, who can’t become a free agent until 2025. “But right now, my focus is — we kind of had a season that went really well [a better-than-expected regular season] to really poorly [getting eliminated by the Knicks in the first round]. So for us, that’s where all of our heads are at. That’s where my head is at.
“Ultimately, when the season is over, we’ll get to [the contract extension talks]. I’ve addressed that with the front office and whatnot. So for me, that’s the biggest thing is I still have an opportunity to do the same thing [sign an extension] next summer.”
The Knicks, in the meantime, are staying on their straight course — gambling on cohesion and internal development.
“That’s perfectly fine with me,” DiVincenzo said. “Our focus is ourselves. Our focus isn’t what Milwaukee is doing or Boston is doing.”
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