Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[windjc]

It's a dangerous path to take when targeting the Knicks specifically, but it doesn't feel as if they're going anywhere. That is, of course, a similar thought to the way the league felt about the 2025 Thunder, the 2024 Celtics and the 2023 Denver Nuggets.

"In the old days, you knew [Larry Bird's] Celtics were at the top and you had to chase them. Then it was Isiah [Thomas] and Detroit. Then Michael [Jordan] and the Bulls," the executive said. "It's not like that anymore. You have to build a sustainable winner that's deep and can play multiple styles of basketball."

Or as another president of basketball operations told ESPN, "It's never been easy, and the top has never been static. People don't know. No one does."

They caught lightning in a bottle just like Mavs two years ago.