Jalen Brunson has the right approach to judging the Knicks season

With the number of injuries that the New York Knicks had this season, the franchise had every right to not blame themselves after losing in the second round against the Indiana Pacers.

Their star, Jalen Brunson, refused to do that by saying that this season wasn't a success after the Game 7 loss to the Pacers.

"Did we win the championship? Did we get close? That's my mindset, this is how it is," Brunson said.

Most fans around the league and analysts will likely examine the Knicks season as a success since the franchise was able to make it to the second round of the playoffs despite missing possible starters in Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, and Bojan Bogdanović. While Josh Hart and OG Anunoby were able to play in Game 7, it was clear that both of these veterans were suffering from injuries that impacted their play.

Jalen Brunson was also clearly limping during moments of their second round series against the Pacers and was battling an ailment.

What do the Knicks need to do in order to win a championship?

For the second year in a row, the Knicks are much closer to realistically winning a title than the majority of the NBA. Brunson was arguably a top 10 star, if not top 5, in this league and there is no reason to expect him to lose any skill over the offseason.

As Brunson continues to reach new heights, it seems more and more likely that the star can lead a franchise to a team as a 1A star. With the majority of the core part of their roster under contract for next season, it's fair to say that the Knicks are only a second star away from winning a title (with better minutes management from Tom Thibodeau).

The squad will most likely need to find a star who is either a great guard on both sides of the floor or a forward with All-NBA talent. As the Knicks start to star hunt, they can target players like Jimmy Butler, Karl Anthony Towns (if he becomes available via luxury tax trade from Minnesota Timberwolves), and Dejounte Murray (in the right situation; a second star might only have to be an All-Star caliber for the Knicks to win a title).

New York could also inquire about whether the Clippers and Paul George would be willing to do a sign-and-trade with both parties not being able to agree on a new contract extension ahead of George's free agency this offseason.