Manhattan Project wrote:When looking at the state of New York sports, we've grown accustomed to young teams these days. The Yankees are in a playoff race fueled by the herculean efforts of Aaron Judge and his companions Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino. The Mets while facing adversity this year, are fueled with the power arms of Thor, DeGrom and the bat of Conforto. The Jets are in the midst of battling it out for a top QB in this draft, but are enjoying the development of Williams, Adams and Maye. The Giants are equipped with some of the premier receiving talent in OBJ, Sheppard and Engram. I would bring up all the young talent that the teams in the tri-state area have in hockey, but there aren't many fans around these parts so I'll skip those teams. Entering this season, these New York Knicks will be no different.
After an offseason where the Melo saga got stuck at the two yard line, waited for the clock hand to strike 5:15, it finally happened moments before Media Day. The Knicks finally moved on from Melo after he expanded his teams he was willing to go, shortly after the deal sent Melo to the Thunder for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second round pick. Melo was able to get the last laugh, he outlasted Phil Jackson and he got to join forces with Westbrook and George in Oklahoma City. At the end of the day, the Knicks traded Melo for pennies on the dollar. Phil Jackson spent months lowering his value, Melo killed what little value that had remained. The most valuable thing the Knicks are hoping to gain in this trade is the fresh start that the organization and Jeff will be able to have.
Days before the draft, the rumors started spreading. The Knicks were willing to listen to offers for Kristaps Porzingis. Apparently it wasn't a joke either as the Knicks were reportedly interested in Devin Booker, picks from Boston in addition to players. In the NBA if you're able to get your hands on a Unicorn, you keep that Unicorn. However when Phil Jackson started listening to offers, that's when the fans roared and their screams were deafening. Dolan finally stepped in and relieved Phil Jackson of his duties, inexplicably after picking up his vesting option for two additional years. The triangle was finally gone from the Garden, when you look at his tenure one of the only good things he did was the drafting of Porzingis, which ironically was the reason he was fired. Phil Jackson the GM was a complete failure, his desire to be better than Pat Riley was just downright comical. Hey at least he was in that Derek Jeter commercial right?
Wait, you mean to tell me in an offseason in which the Knicks traded their franchise player in Carmelo Anthony and fired coaching legend Phil Jackson it wouldn't even be the biggest story line of the summer? After a season in which the Knicks attempted to make the playoffs to only limp their way to a meager 31-51, they couldn't even secure a top pick in the draft. Ultimately ending up with the eight pick in the draft, gone were the hopes of the top prospects. However this wasn't like most drafts, it had depth and the Knicks were assured of landing a good player. Someone had to drop, Fox? Issac? Monk? Smith? I mean someone we've at least watched during the year in college right? That's where Frank Ntilikina comes in and boy was it ever contested. The Frank Gang had it's supporters throughout the year, but with not much to go on besides a few Youtube clips, he was never going to command heavy fan fare. However his fit for the triangle made him a seamless fit into the teams strategy and he was selected with the Eighth overall pick. Talk about some vitriol getting thrown around. The Knicks select a system player with limited upside... all for a system in which was dissolved overnight. Right out of the gate the kid was behind the eight ball.
Ok, so you mean to tell all of this happened in just one offseason? I mean I get it, I play NBA2K so I'm used to creating story lines that are crazy, but this is just another day in the life of Knick fans. It's madness, but wait there's more? What if I told you that the Knicks fired their GM days after the draft and days before the start of free agency? What if I told you that the Knicks didn't have a successor lined up and had to rely on Steve Mills to handle the ship until a captain was found to steer the ship? Well you guessed it, that's exactly what happened and sure enough Mills made sure to put his stamp on the team. Mills signed Hardaway to a 71 million dollar contract, staking his reputation on Tim Hardaway continuing to improve as a player. However it wouldn't be the Knicks if there wasn't a side story line attached to the signing. Whether or not you believe he was overpaid is up to you for now, but isn't there some comedy to the fact that Jackson traded away Hardaway and the moment he's fired we go out and bring him back? Not one person will care if it's a serendipitous turn of events.
Heading into this season the Knicks will finally turn the team to Jeff Hornacek and he will have the freedom to finally run the team as he pleases, no more triangle being forced on everyone. In his first season as a coach in the NBA, Jeff had the Phoenix Suns playing above their talent level, they finished 48-34 with a team that was led by Dragic and Bledsoe. They were in the playoff race all year long before falling short, hopes were high for them. The coaching skill is there when the players are willing to play his style of basketball, that's hard to do when you have guys that directly oppose the style of play. With the trading of Melo, there should be no excuses as to why we won't run the system that Jeff wants to play. Whether or not Jeff can coach this team, at least he's finally getting his opportunity to prove that he can lead these team.
Let's call it like it is, it's been one crazy offseason and the team is finally being turned over to the kids. Whether you want the Knicks to make the playoffs or tank their way to a top pick again, it's always a lot easier to root for a team that has young players that can develop instead of over the hill veterans that have no future. Sure can the Knicks make the playoffs? Absolutely, the Eastern Conference managed to lose Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Paul Millsap, Jimmy Butler and Brook Lopez all while adding Gordon Hayward. So yeah it's not exactly murders row to get into the playoffs. At the same time, what business do the Knicks have talking about playoffs? We haven't exactly been contending these past few years. Other teams have young talent, other teams are expecting to improve, what makes us special?
Some of the interesting things I'm looking forward this season:
- How dynamic can the 1-2 punch of Porzingis/Hardaway be?
- I'm expecting Frank to contribute right away, this is Porzingis all over again to me.
- How much brain power will Beasley really be able to use? What exactly are we planning with him?
- Kanter lost that weight, will he have a renewed commitment to the game?
- There's a lot of depth in the front court, can Hernangomez go out and prove he's a starter?
- Just how will Porzingis handle the media as the leader of the team?
- How creative can Perry get in trading veterans that still have some value?
- Will Noah give us anything once he returns from his suspension?
its been stunner for sure
Im happy with Frank but most of that is optimism
none of us know more about him than his obviously solid brain and work ethic and arm length
the truth is, had we drafted Monk we wouldn't have needed to spend 18mil per on a SG
and that, more than anything, kills me
had we drafted Monk we would have held that cash, or used it in a trade or been able to use it to move Lee or Noah for something less
too late now
just sayin
