Knicks' Biggest Surprises To Open 2022-23 NBA Season

The 2022-22 NBA season might only be a few weeks old, but the New York Knicks have already seen a huge momentum shift—and not for the better.

Through their first four games, they sported a 3-1 record with their lone blemish being an overtime loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, last season's No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. However, the Knicks have since dropped three in a row, all by double digits.

That makes it tricky to read anything about this club, as it's unclear which mini-streak is more indicative of what this team is and, more importantly, what it can become.

The Knicks surprised no one—well, no one who resides outside of the Lone Star State, at least—when they lured Jalen Brunson away from the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. They may have turned at least a few heads, though, with their level of commitment: a fully guaranteed four-year, $104 million pact, per Spotrac.

Now, that wasn't an automatic overpay, but his numbers suggested it had that kind of potential. His breakout campaign of 2021-22 only featured per-game averages of 16.3 points and 4.8 assists, after all, and he had never been able to gain full control of an offense, as everything in the Mavs world revolved around Luka Doncic.

If there were questions about Brunson's ability to lead a team, though, those might have already been answered.

Through seven games, he's dishing a career-best 6.9 assists per game while coughing up just 1.9 turnovers. Among players with a 20-plus usage percentage, he ranks seventh overall with 3.69 assists per turnover.

It wasn't entirely clear how the Knicks felt about Mitchell Robinson when they let him venture into unrestricted free agency last summer.

That they promptly brought him back on a four-year, $60 million deal seemingly signaled that they saw him as their center of the present and future.

As part of their offseason shopping, though, they also semi-splurged on Isaiah Hartenstein, landing the well-traveled reserve on a two-year, $16 million pact. That felt like a healthy investment for someone backing up a $60 million play, particularly when third-stringer Jericho Sims has appeared competent when called upon.

However, New York apparently had bigger plans for Hartenstein than it seemed. While Robinson remains the starting center, Hartenstein has actually logged more minutes so far (25.1 to 23.2).

If you put a premium on on/off splits, it feels like Hartenstein could see even more action going forward. The Knicks have fared 3.5 points better per 100 possessions with him than without, per NBA.com, while Robinson's net differential sits at minus-8.4 points per 100 possessions.

In 2020, the Knicks spent the No. 8 pick on Obi Toppin. Fast-forward a hair over two years later, and the bouncy big man might find himself on the chopping block.

As one league executive told Heavy.com's Sean Deveney, Toppin's productivity during limited minutes could make him a prime trade candidate:

"I think Obi is the one you worry about because he has done everything a guy like him can do to get more playing time, he has gotten better every year, he deserves to get more of a look on the floor, but as long as they have Julius Randle there, they're stuck.”

"[Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau] does not play Randle at center at all, so you can't ever have Obi and Randle out there at the same time. They will have an extension due for Obi next summer, and they probably won't give that to him but, obviously, they need to decide what they're going to do with him. If they want to package him and move him, they could. A lot of teams like him an awful lot."

Toppin's lack of floor time has been a talking point throughout his two-plus-year career, but with his impressive play (51.9/45.8/100 shooting slash) and Randle's ongoing regression (42.6/20.7/69.6), you'd think the Knicks would be working harder to get their young prospect on the floor. If that simply won't happen with Thibodeau at the helm, it might really be time to talk Toppin trades.