Why such sad faces?

[FreeSpiritNY]

Everyone on here seems so negative. Did you guys really think we were going from worst to the best. We are building a solid team. Realize last year we had Tim , jr , a shump as our sg... Three of the biggest boneheads in the game. Then we had cole as our starting center. I don't even remember who played most of sf when melo got hurt and our starting pf was Jason smith lmao... All players that can barely do one thing right. That one thing was def not play defense. Remember we had stat for half the season too! We now have a solid team most of the team plays pretty good defense aside from Calderon. Don't forget we didn't even have him last year. Yea he isn't great but he actually can fit in with what we have right now. I would trade him in a hot second if we can but right now we can't but that's not so bad. We need someone who can shoot the three and he does that pretty well. Hopefully this year he will be healthy. This is our first year in a long time we have a legit two way center. Think Hibert but more polished offensively and just a tad bit faster. He also played in the west his whole career now comes to my most players who come from the west to the east usually get better stats. Im not thrilled with what we have going out there but I'm happy we are going to compete every night and have a lot to look forward too along with playoff birth. Maybe we get lucky who knows. We have a lot of players who are young and didn't get a fair chance who have either a lot of upside or want to prove something. For once we also have a defensive look to our team with a little bit of fierce

[DE FENSE]

Everyone on here seems so negative.

[Damas]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

Melo's prime is being wasted and we won't be championship material anytime soon.

[nynixlive]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

Melo's prime is being wasted and we won't be championship material anytime soon.

That's true but other than getting Monroe what did you expect. Next year we now actually have a team stars would consider. Or if it doesn't go well we trade melo. Finally we are building, even if we would have liked to just sign lma. Which was never happening.

[islanders11040]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

Melo's prime is being wasted and we won't be championship material anytime soon.

People who thought otherwise are probably delusional. You dont skip from 2nd worst to championship contender in one offseason. People made their expectations too high.

Also most people are satisfied. There are just so many fans that you see more "sad faces".

[kane]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

Melo's prime is being wasted and we won't be championship material anytime soon.

That's true but other than getting Monroe what did you expect. Next year we now actually have a team stars would consider. Or if it doesn't go well we trade melo. Finally we are building, even if we would have liked to just sign lma. Which was never happening.

unless you go from 17 win team to championship contender in a single off-season its a total failure

[Jeff Van Gully]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

that would be the description of a step forward

[whysoserious488]

Look, based on what we thought might be possible in March (Towns/Russell, LMA, Jordan, Monroe, etc.), this has to rank as slightly disappointing when the team blew the tank, then dropped in the draft, then whiffed on the biggest names in FA. Phil put together a roster but it isn't a great one. What we should get, however, is a team capable of winning 38-45 games with good coaching and player development. We should be in the running for seeds 6 through 8, even if a bad first round playoff loss ultimately looms. That's a step in the right direction, the only question is what is the endgame? I don't buy that suddenly a guy like Durant would come here in 2016 and I think we still will not be primed to land a top tier FA. We don't have the first round pick next season. The biggest hope is that Porzingis turns into an absolute star, a home run of a pick. That is probably the best chance this team has to become a title contender in the next 3 years.

[2010]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

Melo's prime is being wasted and we won't be championship material anytime soon.

That's true but other than getting Monroe what did you expect. Next year we now actually have a team stars would consider. Or if it doesn't go well we trade melo. Finally we are building, even if we would have liked to just sign lma. Which was never happening.

Stars won't be considering us anymore next year than they did this year. How many times are you guys going to fall for the same story?

[whysoserious488]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

Melo's prime is being wasted and we won't be championship material anytime soon.

That's true but other than getting Monroe what did you expect. Next year we now actually have a team stars would consider. Or if it doesn't go well we trade melo. Finally we are building, even if we would have liked to just sign lma. Which was never happening.

Stars won't be considering us anymore next year than they did this year. How many times are you guys going to fall for the same story?

I agree. The idea that stars will come here in 2016 is complete fallacy. There is nothing to suggest that will be the case, Phil's name meant very little to stars and players like Lopez and Afflalo, while solid, are not going to attract star talent. The best hope for this team is Porzingis ascending, and ascending quickly.

[Vash]

A lot of us see Melo as the issue. The gloom is knowing Melo is still here and will destroy the other Knicks players and team. Many of us knew this before the trade but unfortunately our warning were not heard.

So in reality this rebuild has been since Marbury was here, because in reality we never rebuilt. We traded one Marbury for another in Melo. The fire really started when Dolan thanked Isiah for the Melo trade....that signaled something is very wrong. Isiah was clearly in the fold.

So gloom is not overnight. This is continuous and so far really, it has been a ten year rebuild and still is not going any better. Phil is out of here next season if this team does not get to 35 wins.

Hearing people on this board and the media never admit to being at fault is damning. THe Melo trade was a disaster. The Marbury was a distaster.....and many just never learn how to evaluate and learn from mistakes. So THIS IS A DISASTER and WE ARE JUSTIFIABLY GLOOM!!!!

[2010]

That's true but other than getting Monroe what did you expect. Next year we now actually have a team stars would consider. Or if it doesn't go well we trade melo. Finally we are building, even if we would have liked to just sign lma. Which was never happening.

Stars won't be considering us anymore next year than they did this year. How many times are you guys going to fall for the same story?

I agree. The idea that stars will come here in 2016 is complete fallacy. There is nothing to suggest that will be the case, Phil's name meant very little to stars and players like Lopez and Afflalo, while solid, are not going to attract star talent. The best hope for this team is Porzingis ascending, and ascending quickly.

Exactly! Whether he acknowledges it or not, Phil has set this thing up in a way that everything rides on the development of Pork. If he develops into a franchise cornerstone then he can hopefully become the 2nd scoring option after Melo by year 2 or 3 and take over as the primary scorer as Melo's production begins to fade. But me personally, I'd rather trade Melo for a younger piece or assets who's trajectory runs concurrent with Pork's and a 2016 pick.

I do know one thing tho, if Pork busts it'll set us back another 5 years. Cuz the only shortcut to immediate contention was free agency but as we've found out, NYC is no longer an attractive destination in today's generation of players. The only way we're truly going to become a championship contender is by developing our own core through the draft.

[thebuzzardman]

Stars won't be considering us anymore next year than they did this year. How many times are you guys going to fall for the same story?

I agree. The idea that stars will come here in 2016 is complete fallacy. There is nothing to suggest that will be the case, Phil's name meant very little to stars and players like Lopez and Afflalo, while solid, are not going to attract star talent. The best hope for this team is Porzingis ascending, and ascending quickly.

Exactly! Whether he acknowledges it or not, Phil has set this thing up in a way that everything rides on the development of Pork. If he develops into a franchise cornerstone then he can hopefully become the 2nd scoring option after Melo by year 2 or 3 and take over as the primary scorer as Melo's production begins to fade. But me personally, I'd rather trade Melo for a younger piece or assets who's trajectory runs concurrent with Pork's and a 2016 pick.

I do know one thing tho, if Pork busts it'll set us back another 5 years. Cuz the only shortcut to immediate contention was free agency but as we've found out, NYC is no longer an attractive destination in today's generation of players. The only way we're truly going to become a championship contender is by developing our own core through the draft.

No longer a FA destination?

How about possibly never, or there is less FA's changing hands that are good than you realize and there are other teams around too. Since NYC is out of it with this new generation, name some quality FA's that have signed with the Knicks in the last 45 years. Ready, begin:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTyN-vvFIkE[/youtube]

[god shammgod]

Went from god awful to mediocre.

These moves make us play for the 8th seed and then get swept in the first round.

Melo's prime is being wasted and we won't be championship material anytime soon.

this is not exactly accurate

we went from half a game out of the playoffs which happened during a year with significant injuries, our point guard being set up by his wife and a player's revolt against the coach....to god awful and now possibly mediocre

but......if kp becomes an all-star it will have been worth it. if not, it was a waste of time. what can you do.

[BeagleBoss]

I think the realistic fans knew Aldridge and DeAndre weren't coming but feelings were hurt when Monroe chose Milwaukee over us. But Monroe overall isn't a better player than Lopez. Keep in mind a Monroe and Melo duo would have been ass on D.

And Matthews, Carroll and Danny Green turned out to be too expensive.

[BadNewsBarnes]

I think we're good for 41 wins right now. That's playoff bound in the weak East....

[MaseInYourFace]

Everyone on here seems so negative. Did you guys really think we were going from worst to the best. We are building a solid team. Realize last year we had Tim , jr , a shump as our sg... Three of the biggest boneheads in the game. Then we had cole as our starting center. I don't even remember who played most of sf when melo got hurt and our starting pf was Jason smith lmao... All players that can barely do one thing right. That one thing was def not play defense. Remember we had stat for half the season too! We now have a solid team most of the team plays pretty good defense aside from Calderon. Don't forget we didn't even have him last year. Yea he isn't great but he actually can fit in with what we have right now. I would trade him in a hot second if we can but right now we can't but that's not so bad. We need someone who can shoot the three and he does that pretty well. Hopefully this year he will be healthy. This is our first year in a long time we have a legit two way center. Think Hibert but more polished offensively and just a tad bit faster. He also played in the west his whole career now comes to my most players who come from the west to the east usually get better stats. Im not thrilled with what we have going out there but I'm happy we are going to compete every night and have a lot to look forward too along with playoff birth. Maybe we get lucky who knows. We have a lot of players who are young and didn't get a fair chance who have either a lot of upside or want to prove something. For once we also have a defensive look to our team with a little bit of fierce

Paragraphs and spaces please.

[Juco24]

When I look @ this team... For the first time IN A VERY LONG TIME (since Van Gundy) I see guys who know their roles and are willing (at least in my opinion) to play team basketball. Problem when you get a team full of prima donnas is that there are too many chiefs and not enough indians. To me JR, Shump & THJ seemed too focused on celebrating instead of playing fundamental basketball and then you have what I consider utter chaos.

I find it no coincidence that Phil traded away those guys for practically nothing and how he turned THJ into Grant - I'll never know.

When the season started last year - what guys on that team would've been willing to get on the floor and fight for a loose ball??? Think about it: we had Larkin (too small), Shump (can't shoot), Dalembert (Really?) & Amare starting alongside Melo.

The lineup has improved across the board! We've added toughness, experience within the triangle, defensive mindset and pretty much cleaned house. And from what I've seen and read - Galloway, Afflalo, Lopez, Quinn, Grant form a very solid core that understands their roles. IF Melo can be who he normally is, there's no reason why we shouldn't contend for the Atlantic crown. Some laugh at that but Toronto who'll be the favorite will be facing some confidence issues after what happened in the playoffs. Boston? Solid team but who's their goto guy? Philly? Brooklyn? DWill is about done and Joe probably be traded.

Guys here, for whatever reason - hate Melo but dude is a bona fide star and IF he has that 'special' season, I truly believe our roster is balanced.

And NOW, We have a team that is capable of shutting down opponents, unlike in previous years. True, I'm overly optimistic but Galloway is a proven defender as is Lopez & Quinn. And here's hoping that Afflalo can get back to his Orl numbers. When almost evryone on this board wanted him.

And while people hate DWilliams, I'd be surprised if he doesn't avg around 15 pg.

And IF Pringy can live up to the hype - with caution; I'm predicting us to be contenders in a couple of years.

[NYKnicksTAPE]

I think we're good for 41 wins right now. That's playoff bound in the weak East....

It would take a small miracle for us to make the playoffs. It will be damn near April before the players are understanding and running the triangle effectively. Fisher's defensive scheme was giving up open 3 pointers like crazy....we'll see if he makes some changes. Other teams in the East improved as well or will be more healthy than they were last season. We are still one of the least talented teams in the East...let's be real. The team is headed in a good direction tho with an emphasis on defense and toughness

[Dr. Detfink]

No sad face. I feel vindicated. I called, Melo not being the kind of player who can attract free agents. I was right.

There will NOT be meaningful basketball for the next 4 seasons. Phil made sure of that by signing a bunch of decent players to multi-year deals. So the only logical move is moving Melo when the cap explodes. I think it's best for both sides. 1-2 seasons of 10-12 win seasons and the Knicks will be competitive...NOT contenders...but there's hope in 5-10 yrs.