NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Jalen Brunson passed the time awaiting internet setup at his home after arriving in New York last summer by tackling a Lego project.
The Millennium Falcon from \u201cStar Wars\u201d totaled more than 7,000 pieces, which takes time and patience to build.
So does a championship-contending NBA team.
The Knicks are still trying, now 50 years after last winning a title, but Brunson may have the process moving in the right direction after his superb first season with the team.
\u201cNew York has been amazing and the fans have been amazing. It\u2019s been a really great experience for myself and my family and I\u2019m already excited about next year,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be fun.\u201d
So was this season, by recent Knicks standards. They won a playoff series for the first time in 10 years before falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Getting Brunson last year was the first step.
Figuring out if they have enough to seriously contend around him is the next one.
The roster is young, with Julius Randle the oldest core player at just 28 years old. It\u2019s possible that more time together is all the Knicks need.
Randle was an All-Star again but then struggled in the postseason again, as he did two years ago when the Knicks fell to Atlanta in the first round. The Knicks may feel they need a stronger piece alongside Brunson, but it\u2019s hard to find many players like Randle who can give a team at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game. (In fact, the only other players to do it this season have all been MVPs: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.)
\u201cJulius is still young. He\u2019s just going into his prime right now, so we\u2019re looking forward to what\u2019s coming next,\u201d Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Knicks have opted to build cautiously under president Leon Rose, walking away from a chance to trade for Donovan Mitchell last summer when Utah\u2019s asking price became too high.
They have assets to make a run at the next All-Star to hit the trade market, with 11 first-round picks over the next seven years.
The Knicks\u2019 hard-working style perhaps hid the need for another bona fide star during the regular season, when they won 47 games. But in the postseason, teams can\u2019t survive the cold spells that Randle and RJ Barrett endured.
They almost overcame those anyway because of Brunson, who scored 41 points in Game 6 while everyone around him struggled in the Knicks\u2019 96-92 loss.
Brunson had never even been a regular starter in Dallas until last season, but he has the look of a player who could be an All-Star or All-NBA player soon \u2014 or should have been one this season.
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the best players in the league,\u201d Thibodeau said. \u201cI think he shows that every night that he goes out there.\u201d
The Knicks probably need at least one more player like him to be a real threat to win their first championship since 1973.
Contending for titles was the expectation back then. Just making the playoffs has been too much to ask for most of the 2000s, so a second-round appearance has to be considered a success for the Knicks.
Yet it also felt like a missed opportunity. After finishing fifth in the East in the regular season, they surprisingly had home-court advantage after beating Cleveland when the No. 8-seeded Heat upset top-seeded Milwaukee, and had defeated Miami three times during the regular season.
But with Randle sidelined with a sprained ankle, the Knicks dropped Game 1 and couldn\u2019t get a win in South Florida after he returned.
With perhaps only a little tinkering, they might be better prepared next time.
\u201cWe wanted more, expected more,\u201d Randle said, \u201cbut we\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n