Now that the Knicks can put their miserable season behind them, all eyes turn toward the big summer they've been planning for.
Whether they land the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery is out of their hands, but they've put all their eggs into luring two top free agents to New York this summer after trading Kristaps Porzingis to open up the requisite cap space.
Kevin Durant has been linked with a move to the Knicks for months now, with several reports indicating that it's essentially a done deal. Kyrie Irving could join him. But with the bar being set that high for the Knicks in free agency, what happens if they don't land those guys, if their summer falls short of the expectations that have been building throughout the entire season?
Some might consider it a failed summer. David Fizdale wouldn't see it that way.
"I don't think that's necessarily the case if all the things don't fall into place," Fizdale said Monday on ESPN's The Jump. "The one reason I wanted to go to the New York Knicks is because it's the New York Knicks. I like that expectation. I wanted to be somewhere where people wanted to win and expected to win. That really drew me to the whole situation, especially after sitting down with Steve (Mills) and Scott (Perry) and the plan that they laid out. Right away, that's the thing that I embrace, and I think that we want the type of people that embrace those situations.
"So I think going into free agency, we've got a lot of good things that we can show and how this is gonna be a different deal going forward with the Knicks, and I think we're gonna end up doing some good things."
Fizdale wouldn't reveal what the Knicks plan to say in their pitches to the top free agents, but they will certainly be prepared.
"A lot of conversations, a lot of angles that we're trying to make sure that we show guys when they come in," Fizdale said. "I think we've got a lot of positive things to show. Scott Perry and Steve Mills have done a heck of a job laying this thing out. We've got the most cap space. We have seven picks over five years, which means whoever we do get, we can continue to build around them, and I think that's a great position to be in. We did all of that in the course of a year, and we laid down our culture. So I'm really excited about where we're at."