Whatever expectations existed for the Knicks coming into the season - ranging from regression to another home-court playoff round - it’s hard not to characterize this year as disappointing.

Not only did Julius Randle lose his three-point shot and alpha role after an All-NBA Team appearance, but his standing amongst the fandom is at a new low. The Kemba Walker signing was a complete bust and the Knicks couldn’t find enough of last year’s team quick enough to make a Play-In game.

Still, no NBA campaign is fully devoid of positive developments, and New York saw plenty of those, offering a chance improve from what went wrong.

Here are three things this franchise learned from the 2021-22 season ...

This is a youth-driven rebuild

When Leon Rose took helm of the Knicks, it came after years of mismanagement in the draft and player development spheres. Last year’s run, while aided by RJ Barrett, was predominantly at the heels of a veteran roster, veteran coach and Randle’s scintillating play.

After this humbling year, in which it was made clear a Randle-led team couldn’t keep up that level of competition, we saw the roots of a true rebuild begin to bud.

Barrett stepped up and became a high-level scorer over the second half of the year. Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley showed big improvements, and we got another promising rookie class following in their footsteps.

Meanwhile, the veterans fell short. Alec Burks is a really nice role player, not your starting point guard. Nerlens Noel and Derrick Rose were hurt nearly all season.

With the Knicks’ asset chest in an improved position and a young core that’s already proved to be rock solid, coming up short of the playoffs could be viewed as a blessing, rather than a curse. It’s shown the future of the franchise lies in the hands of its prospects, and now the team can refocus its rebuilding in that vein.

Randle is still a question mark

After last year’s breakout, it seemed the Randle signing was fully validated, enough so to warrant an extension. His renewed defensive commitment and offensive leap forward made it all but a no-brainer.

To say things took a turn for the worse this season would be an understatement. Not only did his jumper regress, but his low defensive energy and effort were egregious. A step back in his production wasn’t shocking nor damning to the Knicks season, but his descent didn’t stop there.

He clashed with the media, officials, fans and teammates in ways we haven’t seen. All this compounded and was reflected in his play and body language, skipping defensive assignments only to blame others and pouting after big wins. It’s impossible to know exactly what drove much of this, but after leading by example in 2021, this was not the behavior Knicks fans wanted from their leader.

It’s easy to say these problems would go away if a true star stepped in to take the reins of the team and locker room, but Randle dug his heels in as his play worsened and others’ improved this season. Ultimately, Randle should be some version between his 2022 and 2021 self, but the truth is fans and the Knicks front office can’t know for sure.

The culture is taking shape

Despite the losing and Randle melodrama, the vision Leon Rose set out when he came aboard appears to be slowly coming into fruition.

This year may not have been a success, but only in the face of last season. Thirty-five wins would be the best Knicks finish since 2013-14, not counting 2021. New York has also climbed back into top-ten defense territory after a rocky start, making it two consecutive seasons of strength on that end.

The Knicks are in great shape from a draft pick and prospect perspective, with every young newcomer fitting the mold of the culture. Staking the franchise’s future on a bunch of hungry, hard-working and defensive-minded development pieces should please every fan.

With the rough start and postseason increasingly out of reach, they only stepped their games up and got the Knicks playing their best basketball as the season wound down. The 50-win seasons and Finals appearances don’t happen overnight, but they start with foundational developments we’ve seen thus far.

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