Nothing is ever simple when it comes to the Knicks. That's certainly the case when taking a look at their offseason. On the one hand you have a team that, in a single night, added a 7'1 19-year-old with perimeter skills as well as a big, athletic point guard who many considered one of the steals of the draft. On the other hand, they failed to sign any big-name free agents and instead surrounded an aging and recovering Carmelo Anthony with several mediocre veterans.
The Knicks are trying to rebuild and compete at the same time, risking both
The Knicks want to win but they also want to rebuild, too. They’d be better off fully committing to one instead of trying to do both.
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The Knicks' roster essentially contains two teams. One is the Anthony-led group that will get most of the playing time and likely fall just short of a playoff spot. The other is a Sixers-like mix of kids -- Kristaps Porzingis, Jerian Grant, Langston Galloway, Cleanthony Early and perhaps young signings Derrick Williams, Kyle O'Quinn and Kevin Seraphin -- who aren't ready to star in the NBA, but could one day.
In theory, this plan could work. The team has no first-round pick this year thanks to the ill-conceived Andrea Bargnani trade, so tanking won't produce a high selection. That strategy has never really been an option for owner James Dolan anyway, not when he has all those expensive luxury boxes to fill.
Given those factors, signing second-tier free agents like Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez may turn out to be prudent. Maybe Anthony bounces back from a down year and the team, behind a group of veterans who have the ability and interest to play defense, makes the playoffs and simultaneously develops Porzingis at the right pace.
But juggling multiple balls at the same time is always a dangerous proposition. Right now the Knicks are trying to make the playoffs and build for the future. Instead of fully devoting themselves to one plan, they are halfheartedly following two diverging ones.
Path No. 1: Carmelo, for the win
The presence of Carmelo Anthony is the root of the Knicks’ issues. Teams that win 17 games like the Knicks did last year usually want to completely tear everything down or continue to build around young (and cheap) players already on the roster.
But this offseason the Knicks were in a situation we rarely see. They were one of the NBA’s worst teams last year, yet have an elite player at the tail end of his prime on a maximum deal. Anthony still has four years and about $102 million left on his current contract.
If he were 27 and healthy, that would be OK. Unfortunately for the Knicks, Anthony is now 31 and coming off a season that he had to cut short due to a knee injury that required surgery. For a player who’s spent years taking a beating -- even Anthony’s loudest critics would agree that soft is something he can be labeled -- it’s possible Anthony’s chiseled body is finally succumbing to all those hits.
If politics and finances didn’t matter and if Phil Jackson could magically find a partner to take on that massive contract, the Knicks would have traded Anthony this offseason and started from scratch. But such a move was never truly in play. Anthony has a no-trade clause and the Knicks don’t appear interested in fully rebuilding right now.
Instead, the Knicks went the band-aid route. They added Lopez to provide rim protection and Afflalo to help Anthony with the scoring load and play some perimeter D. They boosted their depth with the savvy signing of Kyle O'Quinn and by taking flyers on former No. 2 pick Derrick Williams and Wizards backup Kevin Seraphin.
Of course, they also drafted the least-ready player in the lottery and still don't have a point guard to supplant Jose Calderon. More to the point, it's unclear how they fit into the Eastern Conference's playoff picture. The Cavaliers, Hawks, Bulls and Wizards don't seem to be going anywhere. Neither do the Raptors.
The Bucks are much improved, as are the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers, both of whom will welcome back All-Stars to their lineups this season in Chris Bosh and Paul George. That's eight teams right there, not counting the Celtics and Nets, both of whom made the playoffs last year, or the developing Pistons and Magic.
Path No. 2: Building for the Future
June 25, 2015 was the best night of Phil Jackson's (albeit short) tenure as Knicks president. Within just a few hours, he drafted a pair of young players the franchise could build around, giving them a strong foundation, something they haven't had in years.
New York fans might not have been happy with the selection of Porzingis, but that likely had more to do with them focusing on the little they did know about him as opposed to the copious amount they don’t. That he’s a skinny, white European was all Knicks fans needed to form their opinion.
In reality, though, taking Porzingis No. 4 overall was a no-brainer. He was the lone player left on the board who seemed like he could one day morph into a franchise cornerstone. At the ripe age of 19, and with nary a muscle on his body, he averaged double-digits points while playing in the second-best league (Spain’s ACB) in the world.
He’s a seven-footer with a beautiful and smooth three-point stroke. These are not qualities you find in many players. That Jackson was able to draft Porzingis and also nab Jerian Grant, a 6’5 point guard with excellent passing skills, for the small price of Tim Hardaway Jr., made the night a resounding success.
The problem is it’s unclear how the Knicks’ two draft night prizes fit into the present picture. Is Porzingis, who likely isn’t ready to play major minutes in the NBA right away, going to be glued to the bench? Will that hamper his development? Will being forced to play alongside the sticky handed Anthony keep Grant from learning how to play the point? Will the focus in practices be on player development or game-planning for upcoming opponents?
★★★
Not hinging all their hopes to some sort of magical quick fix was one of the smartest things Jackson has done since Dolan handed him the reigns to the team. And for the first time in years, the franchise does seem to be heading in the right direction. The problem is instead of fully committing to that direction, the Knicks are trying, as they say, to have their cake and eat it too.
Ideally, Anthony bounces back, Lopez transforms the team’s defense and Porzingis improves little by little to the point where he’s playing important minutes in important games. But everything rarely goes right with the Knicks. The worst-case scenario -- Anthony struggles with injuries again, Lopez and Afflalo don’t make a difference and Porzingis’ development is stunted -- seems more likely than the best-case one.
The tunnel finally has some light at the end of it. It would be a shame if the Knicks mess that up in the name of appeasing their aging star and irrational owner.
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