NEW YORK KNICKS: What's Old is New Again. The Knicks' Woes "Point" to the Top.
The Knicks look like they're playing in tar. And your owner put them there. Blame Strummin' Jimmy for the current state of Knickerbocker disarray.
The after-shocks of Isiah Thomas' reign still send tremors through this organization because of the ongoing cycle of having no draft picks. To make matters worse, Dolan ran a man whom he never wanted on board out of town, as Donnie Walsh was thankfully imposed upon the Knicks by Commish Stern. Donnie Walsh was not tasked with rebuilding an organization. He was merely charged with saving the NBA's largest market team from themselves. Walsh performed near miracles with regard to the salary cap. But with the advent of direct competition from the Nets coming to Brooklyn, and construction of Barclays Center, James Dolan acted rashly and in haste, trampling over Donnie Walsh's efforts to make Dolan's product better.
One can argue the signing of Amare Stoudemire was necessary. And he turned out to be a terrific person, player and leader. But I'm guessing Dolan perhaps insisted on the deal with total disregard to the fact his knees were un-insurable; something I'm sure Donnie Walsh was leery of. Of course that's just my speculative opinion.
But the real harm came in James Dolan's "keystone cop" haste to acquire Carmelo Anthony. If left alone to negotiate the trade, Donnie Walsh would have ensured the Knicks would still have a capable point guard, and a reasonably better bench. But because the spectre of Mikhail Prokhorov loomed over James Dolan like a storm cloud, the Knick owner stepped into the negotiations like Godzilla romping through Tokyo. If Denver had asked for more in the deal, Dolan would have gladly emptied the closets for them.
Does it even need discussing that the Knicks still are operating without a qualified General Manager?
I have stated long ago putting this organization in Carmelo Anthony's hands was and still is a mistake. Then again, I am biased. I don't like him. Never have; not since he sucker punched Jared Jefferies.
Blame James Dolan for pushing Donnie Walsh out the door, and thus resulting in a woeful lack of skill at point guard and absolutely no bench or depth to speak of. With regards to the point, I wasn't interested in Chauncey Billups either. I'm much happier having Tyson Chandler on board. But short term, I still contend we do not need the caliber of a Steve Nash; Deron Williams; Derrick Rose; etc.; to help play traffic cop for Carmelo and Stoudemire.
Somewhere in a pre-season posting, I even thought the Knicks would have to become more of a half-court team rather than run D'Antoni's traditional style offense. And they did. But Coach so far has not shown to be a capable X-and-O guy when placed outside his element. He either hasn't adapted to his roster or has failed to get his team to respond. But if you look at the play on the court, what we see are five individuals; a failure to communicate; and a lot of standing around. And well, yes, blame that on having two forwards who need someone feeding them the ball. They were meant to finish plays; not manage or create plays. They've clearly proven an inability to assist each other and in the mean time, Coach doesn't have any answers on the court or to the Media.
However, can't it be said that D'Antoni has been a victim of circumstance his whole time here? He was charged with disappearing Stephan Marbury, and coaching a team about to be imploded by Donnie Walsh. Now he's charged with trying to untangle Dolan's mess.
The ultimate and unfortunate still developing reality in all this is how Amare Stoudemire is the one getting his name tossed around like a grenade. It's established he's not going anywhere with those knees and that contract. And if he can stay healthy and put up with the grind this season, I'm happier for it. I still feel like this is Amare's team because of the way he came to town and embraced everything. And yeah, my bias says Carmelo Anthony came here to take that away and worsen the team's situation. My cousin and I argue about this all the time.
Want to improve this team's situation? Hire a qualified General Manager; rethink Coach D'Antoni; and trade Melo.
That is all. Go back to your farms now. There's nothing more to see here. Not winning basketball anyway. Both teams remain ice cold on the court while the weather remains balmy outside. Go figure. For both the Nets and the Knicks, the days spent before the inner-city battles commence have proven so far to be planning, and logistical nightmares.
ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS
Battle for the City
New York Knicks 7-13 t-3rd
NJ/Brooklyn Nets 7-13 t-3rd
Mike.BTB
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