What other teams can learn from the Knicks' unique approach to building their title team

It took 53 years for the Knicks to come up with the perfect recipe for a championship. Many said that it couldn't be done, that Jalen Brunson was too small to build around, that Karl-Anthony Towns was too soft, or that OG Anunoby was too injury-prone. 

The Knicks proved them all wrong, and they did it by assembling one of the most unconventional teams that we've seen win a ring.

Historically, teams need a top three player in order to win it all. Brunson didn't receive a single vote on MVP ballots this season. Towns failed to make an All-NBA team. Anunoby has never been an All-Star. And coach Mike Brown had been fired from four other teams before getting the lead job. 

The NBA is a copycat league. Good luck trying to replicate this Knicks team. They were built in a way that will probably never happen again. None of their key players were drafted. The stars had to align perfectly with shrewd pro scouting, trades, and cap management. 

Teams might not be able to create a Knicks 2.0, but there are things from their process that others should strive to replicate. Here are five lessons that the competition can learn from the Knicks' championship build.

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How the Knicks built the Team of Destiny

How the Knicks got Jalen Brunson

Rick Brunson was hired by the Knicks a month before Jalen left the Mavericks in free agency. New York was later fined a second round pick for tampering. That price was well worth it. 

Dallas let Brunson walk, seeing a backup that wasn't worth starter money. The hints were there, though. Brunson shined in the games where Luka Doncic was injured. 

His four year, $104 million contract was considered an overpay by most analysts (not this one, though). They saw value where nobody else did. 

The lesson: Take a chance on backups who have been blocked by better players. 

How the Knicks got OG Anunoby

No Knicks first round pick had been extended since Charlie Ward back in 1999 before RJ Barrett received his extension in 2022. That unbelievable stat was a symbol of how poorly the Knicks had drafted and developed their talent. 

Barrett broke that rule. Immanuel Quickley didn't but he was another draft success that was taken with the No. 25 pick in 2020.

Most teams would not be willing to part with two players who they had put so much work into. There is a cognitive bias known as endowment effect where people assign a significantly higher value to an asset simply because they own it.

The Knicks avoided that thinking, instead flipping them near their peak value for Anunoby, whose value was at an all-time low. Anunoby was a good player, but he was set to be a free agent in a few months and would command a massive new contract. The Knicks saw that value where other teams did not. 

The lessons: 1) Avoid endowment effect. 2) Trade for players in the last year of their contracts

Geoff Burke, Imagn Images

How the Knicks got Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges

The Knicks became kings of the trade down in the draft 

Trading down in the draft is oftentimes the analytically savvy move. Few teams are patient enough to actually execute that strategy. For three years, the Knicks followed it religiously, allowing them to build up a war chest of assets that helped construct their current team. 

They traded picks 19, 21, and 32 in 2021 for future picks or trade downs. They traded out of the No. 11 pick in 2022, allowing the Thunder to take Ousmane Dieng. And they traded down from No. 24, 26, 38, 40 and 51 in 2024. 

Those picks allowed the Knicks to fill out another two starters. 

Towns was an overpaid one-way player whose defense was impossible to win with. Julius Randle was a bully-ball scorer that brought winning back to the Garden. And Donte DiVincenzo was a clutch shooter who helped complete the Villanova reunion of Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart.

New York again put emotions aside, took a giant leap of faith in trading two fan favorites, and used one of those picks to grab Towns. 

They used the rest on Bridges in order to surround Brunson with the big wings and shooting that he needed in order to survive. 

The lessons: Aggressively trade down in the draft, and don't fall in love with homegrown players.

MORE: What the Knicks need to do this offseason to build for a repeat

How the Knicks got Josh Hart and built their reserves

Hart had never been on a team above .500 since his days at Villanova. Brunson knew that he was a winning player despite the shaky 3-point shooting and unspectacular scoring numbers. His reaction upon learning about the trade said it all. 

"Oh sh—," Brunson said, before raising his hands and screaming "Yes!"

Shamet and Alvarado had similar stories. Shamet was toiling on a 15-win Wizards team before he got a shot on the Knicks' G-League roster. Alvarado was on the 26-win Pelicans. Both were capable of shining in the pressure of the playoffs.  

Josh Hart’s IG story of Jose Alvarado. 😅 pic.twitter.com/D0BLNysFN8

It's hard to identify playoff risers when they've never made the playoffs. But there are winning players on losing teams that are waiting for the right situation. 

The lesson: Look for role players who are stuck on bad teams, rather than overpaying for role players who have thrived on good teams.