The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers were both non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference this past season, but their similarities might end there. The Knicks were coming off of an equally impressive and surprising postseason appearance in 2021. They followed up Head Coach Tom Thibodeau’s stellar debut year by underwhelming and missing out on the NBA Play-In Tournament altogether.

New York finished with the 11th-worst record in the league and an outside shot at 9.4 percent to land a top-four pick in the upcoming draft. The difference between the Knicks and the Pacers was the fact that New York was trying to win games and make a return to the playoffs.

Indiana, on the other hand, recognized its roster’s shortcomings and opted to pursue a rebuild and tank job for the second half of the season.

They accomplished both of their goals by trading Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in a package for prospective guard Tyrese Haliburton. With their new prized project in tow, the Pacers finished the 2021-2022 NBA season with a 25-57 record and the fifth-best lottery odds.

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Indiana will undoubtedly continue in the new path they’ve carved out for themselves, with the aim of surrounding Haliburton with as much young talent as possible and acquiring future assets in return for their remaining veteran pieces.

The Knicks can either take the same route as the Pacers or stubbornly try to make a return to the postseason again next year.

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If they choose the latter, there are a couple of possible trades that would align with both teams’ goals centered around Cam Reddish — a young wing with potential that failed to garner significant playing time in Thibs’s rotation last season.