Jazzfan1971 and FloppyMoose's Offseason Preview - The Knicks
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 10:42 pm
New York Knicks
Projected Roster
--------------------
PG - Jose Calderon, Pablo Prigioni, Shane Larkin
SG - Iman Shumpert, JR Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Travis Outlaw, Cleanthony Early, Quincy Acy
PF - Andrea Bargnani, Amare Stoudemire
C - Samuel Dalembert, Jason Smith, Cole Aldridge
Trading Block: I'm sure that the Knicks are looking to move JR Smith before he exercises his player option and screws with their cap room next offseason. For as far as that goes Calderon might be pretty easy to move as well. Not sure there are going to be a lot of takers though. Especially when the Knicks will be demanding expirings back.
Position battle: SG. Nobody knows or can tell me who will be starting at sG for the Knicks. I've got Shumpert here, but, it could just as easily be Smith or Hardaway.
Mystery Man: I'm gonna go with Phil Jackson. It's a mystery to me how he's going to get the group to run the triangle. It might be a thing of beauty. But, it could also resemble a Benny Hill sketch. I'll be very interested to see how JR Smith reacts in that offense.
Floppymusings:
Perhaps the worst rotation of bigs in the nba. Bringing in Calderon was wise. It will be another long year for Knicks fans. When Bargs and Amare are gone and you have another couple of good draft picks, that's when things could start to get interesting. What will Jackson be like as a GM? What will Fisher be like as a coach. Regardless, this is probably not the year you want to judge them by.
Jazzfanramblings:
My beloved Jazz are in the middle of a painful rebuild. After John and Karl retired the Jazz reloaded pretty fast with Boozer and Deron and kept on chugging. But, eventually the wheels fell off that and a complete rebuild was called for. So, they brought in Denis Lindsey to manage the rebuild. And one thing we hear in the media from Lindsey on a regular basis is that the Jazz are not going to be 'skipping any steps.'
It seems to me that the Knicks have been skipping steps for a dozen years or more now. Chasing every player that comes along with little thought given to salary structure, draft picks, or chemistry. Almost like a kid in a candy store with 2 bucks in his pocket, you are sure that kid is going to not set foot out of that store until he's spent every last penny. That's the Knicks of late to me.
In 2014 ESPN ranked all 30 NBA front offices. And the New York Knicks came in dead last. I honestly can't argue with that assessment. Since the turn of the century, 14 years now, the Knicks have averaged a meager 33.9 wins a season. This wouldn't be so damning except that the Knicks are located in a top 2 free agent destination and have some of the deepest pockets to spend on players (2nd in the league last year). They've got every advantage, yet they can't break free of mediocrity or worse.
To be fair, the Knicks may have turned a corner. They've brought in Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher. And they are clearing off a boatload of salary next season. But even then it's not like they will be flush with cap room. Just 3 players: Melo, Calderon, and Smith, could combine to eat up about 35 million in cap space next year. Even if they cut everyone else that's still 8 more cap holds that will push them up in the direction of 40 million. It's not pretty and given the Knicks history of free agent signings it could be worse than it seems.
Outside of Melo that roster looks like a collection of the dregs of the NBA. Guys who don't defend, are one dimensional, don't have their head screwed on straight, or are just too banged up to play. I think it's time for New York to take a step back and rebuild the right way, without skipping steps this time around. Hopefully Phil Jackson is up to the task and can face down Dolan when he decides he wants to spend his last 2 dollars on the next shiny piece of candy he sees.
Projected Record - 32/50
Projected Roster
--------------------
PG - Jose Calderon, Pablo Prigioni, Shane Larkin
SG - Iman Shumpert, JR Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Travis Outlaw, Cleanthony Early, Quincy Acy
PF - Andrea Bargnani, Amare Stoudemire
C - Samuel Dalembert, Jason Smith, Cole Aldridge
Trading Block: I'm sure that the Knicks are looking to move JR Smith before he exercises his player option and screws with their cap room next offseason. For as far as that goes Calderon might be pretty easy to move as well. Not sure there are going to be a lot of takers though. Especially when the Knicks will be demanding expirings back.
Position battle: SG. Nobody knows or can tell me who will be starting at sG for the Knicks. I've got Shumpert here, but, it could just as easily be Smith or Hardaway.
Mystery Man: I'm gonna go with Phil Jackson. It's a mystery to me how he's going to get the group to run the triangle. It might be a thing of beauty. But, it could also resemble a Benny Hill sketch. I'll be very interested to see how JR Smith reacts in that offense.
Floppymusings:
Perhaps the worst rotation of bigs in the nba. Bringing in Calderon was wise. It will be another long year for Knicks fans. When Bargs and Amare are gone and you have another couple of good draft picks, that's when things could start to get interesting. What will Jackson be like as a GM? What will Fisher be like as a coach. Regardless, this is probably not the year you want to judge them by.
Jazzfanramblings:
My beloved Jazz are in the middle of a painful rebuild. After John and Karl retired the Jazz reloaded pretty fast with Boozer and Deron and kept on chugging. But, eventually the wheels fell off that and a complete rebuild was called for. So, they brought in Denis Lindsey to manage the rebuild. And one thing we hear in the media from Lindsey on a regular basis is that the Jazz are not going to be 'skipping any steps.'
It seems to me that the Knicks have been skipping steps for a dozen years or more now. Chasing every player that comes along with little thought given to salary structure, draft picks, or chemistry. Almost like a kid in a candy store with 2 bucks in his pocket, you are sure that kid is going to not set foot out of that store until he's spent every last penny. That's the Knicks of late to me.
In 2014 ESPN ranked all 30 NBA front offices. And the New York Knicks came in dead last. I honestly can't argue with that assessment. Since the turn of the century, 14 years now, the Knicks have averaged a meager 33.9 wins a season. This wouldn't be so damning except that the Knicks are located in a top 2 free agent destination and have some of the deepest pockets to spend on players (2nd in the league last year). They've got every advantage, yet they can't break free of mediocrity or worse.
To be fair, the Knicks may have turned a corner. They've brought in Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher. And they are clearing off a boatload of salary next season. But even then it's not like they will be flush with cap room. Just 3 players: Melo, Calderon, and Smith, could combine to eat up about 35 million in cap space next year. Even if they cut everyone else that's still 8 more cap holds that will push them up in the direction of 40 million. It's not pretty and given the Knicks history of free agent signings it could be worse than it seems.
Outside of Melo that roster looks like a collection of the dregs of the NBA. Guys who don't defend, are one dimensional, don't have their head screwed on straight, or are just too banged up to play. I think it's time for New York to take a step back and rebuild the right way, without skipping steps this time around. Hopefully Phil Jackson is up to the task and can face down Dolan when he decides he wants to spend his last 2 dollars on the next shiny piece of candy he sees.
Projected Record - 32/50
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