Despite losing Isaiah Hartenstein, Knicks rank among early NBA offseason winners

Two days into NBA free agency, it’s hard to view the New York Knicks’ start to the summer as anything short of a success.

Yes, the Knicks lost Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but after trading for Mikal Bridges and re-signing OG Anunoby, they are among the clear-cut winners of the offseason, now solely needing to tidy up the roster at the center position to take a balanced team into the regular season with the hopes of winning a title.

New York isn’t the only city, however, home to a successful start to the offseason. They join six other teams that can call themselves clear-cut winners in improving their roster for next season.

Dallas Mavericks

Only one team can say it had a better start to the offseason, and it’s the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavericks made it to the NBA Finals on the backs of two players — Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving — then successfully added a third, trading second-round picks to the Golden State Warriors in a sign-and-trade deal to acquire Klay Thompson.

Not only is Thompson a four-time NBA champion regarded as possibly the second greatest shooter in NBA history, but he’s also got a chip on his shoulder after Warriors brass deemed his contributions and accomplishments unworthy of a long-term max extension in San Francisco.

And so, the Mavs got him at a discount: three years, $50 million for one of the most decorated sharpshooters to ever touch a basketball, a player opposing teams quite frankly cannot help off of to double team Doncic or Irving in isolation situations.

The Mavericks also landed a key role player in Naji Marshall and traded Tim Hardaway Jr., who fell out of the rotation, for Quentin Grimes, a former Knick turned Detroit Piston ultimately traded home to Dallas to start the offseason.

In the blink of an eye, the Mavs are stacked. They got their superstar duo some high-level help, and now Dallas is in position to run it back for a shot at a title next season.

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