N.Y. Knicks: Opportunity to Move Porzingis and Hardaway is a Godsend

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

TAXI..!!!!

New York Knicks: The Two Decade Old Rebuild Continues ...

Don't get me wrong, the Knicks lose me with Jimmy Dolan Steve Mills.  He's been a constant throughout this ongoing crisis we call the Knickerbockers.  Moreover, I wouldn't trust Scott Perry to mail a letter for me, much less build a contender.  In light of the big trade, my opinion of them has not changed.

However, I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't agree with their decision to trade Kristaps Porzingis.  Because when the situation calls for a full blown rebuild, I firmly believe in stripping things to the bone.  That means all assets must go.  So bravo to them, because no not only do I agree with trading Kristaps, I applaud it.

I acknowledge the manner in which the game is played has changed.  Be that as it may, I never saw the use for a seven foot three-point shooter.  He doesn't rebound, nor was he going to turn around a 10-41 team by himself.  In fact, I contend freeing themselves of both Porzingis and Hardaway is a godsend.  They're what I call net asset zero salary cap suckers.  Besides, seven-footers with feet/leg issues are historically known to be NBA taboo.  So whether he wanted to be in New York or not is irrelevant to me.

Mike, you idiot!  When healthy he  ...

No.

Dallas Mavericks get:

• Kristaps Porzingis
• Tim Hardaway, Jr.
• Trey Burke
• Courtney Lee

New York Knicks get:

• DeAndre Jordan
• Wesley Matthews
• Dennis Smith, Jr.
• 2021 #1 pick
• 2023 #1 pick *top ten protected

They'll be far better served with two first round draft picks versus anything Courtney Lee or Trey Burke brought to the table.  Let's be real.  Before the trade, the Knicks were effectively void of players not named Kevin Knox worthy of retention.  But they must draft smartly.

... and there's the rub.

As I sit here watching Zion Williamson and Duke destroy St. John's, it dawns on me the only way this season's tank-a-thon truly pays off is either through pure luck, or if Commissioner Silver fills the Knicks' ping pong balls with helium.  Otherwise, amassing high drafts picks is the next best strategy.

"The person who does not select Zion Williamson at number one in the upcoming draft, will go to sleep each night embarrassed over what they passed up!" - loosely paraphrasing college basketball god Dick Vitale during Saturday's St. John's/Duke game.

With regards to rumors of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, or other big name free agents coming to town, anticipate nothing.  Yes, Mills and Perry created an intriguing amount of cap space.  But you can't be disappointed with what you do not expect.  High profile players say they love playing at Madison Square Garden.  But  how many of them actually say they want to play for the Knicks?  Therefore, I'll believe it when I see it.

In the meantime, bringing in DeAndre Jordan serves as yet another slap to the face of Enes Kanter.

Taxi..!

N.Y. Knicks: LeBron's Tour de Force

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Attention Passengers: Please Pay No Mind To LeBron James

FINAL

Cavaliers  104

Knicks       101

New York Knicks: LeBron James Takes A Day Long Bite Of The Big Apple.

At some point prior to his arrival in town, LeBron James decided he was going to take a day-long bite out of the Big Apple, chew it, and spit it out upon our sidewalks.

What inspired this?  I don't know.

The day started with unsolicited, and very pointed remarks made by LeBron James directed towards Phil Jackson, his draft selections, and the New York Knicks in general.

After Cleveland's early shoot-around, LeBron and Company then decided to make a live social media appearance aboard the NYC subway system.  At one point admitting he'd previously been on the Philadelphia system, but never the MTA.  That was only too obvious, because he fails to realize we see clowns like him on the trains damn near every day.

Man, I wish I could have been there to lend them directions ...

LeBron's subterranean adventure seemingly turned out well, because he made it back to Madison Square Garden for Monday night's game unscathed.  Something, though, must have transpired to sour his disposition, as he showed up on the court looking to play and posture like some sort of tough guy; pushing and bumping with this one, and jawing and jabbing at that one. 

You know the routine.

In the midst of all that, he led the Cleveland Tourists to a come from behind 104-101 victory.  King Shame led his fellow tourists with 23 points, a game high 12 assists, and just missed a triple-double with nine assists.

The game did go down to the wire.  So, good job by the Knicks.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points, while Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter both posted double-doubles.  Hardaway Jr. led all scorers with 28 points, while Kanter scored 20 and grabbed a game high 16 rebounds.

The Knicks limited Cleveland to 13 points in the 2nd quarter, and took a 51-38 lead into halftime.  They even widened their lead over the Cavs by 15 points, leading 76-61 after three quarters.

Cleveland then kicked into another gear during the fourth, outscoring the Knicks by a 43-25 margin.

On his way out of town, LeBron leaves us with the memory of a Monday loss.

What the hell did we do?

N.Y. Knicks: In Search Of A Miracle On 34th Street

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

There Will Be No Miracles On 34th Street This Season

NEW YORK KNICKS: Taking A Bite Of A Rotting Apple...

I knew the Knicks would be bad this season, but even this is a little more than I anticipated.  They've already managed to post the franchise's worst start over the first 20 games of a season, and realistically have little to no hope of a getting this campaign turned around.

(...unless you're playing for extra ping pong balls, which then makes sucking a good thing.  So yes, at this rate there's always the draft to look forward to.)

The Knicks present losing streak is now up to ten games.  Their last victory came on November 22nd against the lowly Sixers.  And I'm sure you remember, earlier in November they lost seven straight.

They'll look to snap their streak this evening against Boston.

At the first quarter turn of the season, Phil Jackson rightfully accused his team of having a loser's mentality, and pointed out that certain players are still not buying into the system.

Words never rang more true.

The Knicks literally look like an uncommitted team attempting a triangle offense in a round building named Madison Square Garden.  That's screwy geometry for a team that has more problems than a math book.

(...but deep down inside, dontcha think Phil wants this team to get worse before he tries earning more ping pong balls making it better?)

I can't say the cumulative effect of losing this season has finally gotten players openly at odds with each other because last season that was Tyson Chandler's forte.  Tim Hardaway Jr. was only the latest (of the boldest) to challenge Carmelo Anthony's eminence.

That said, I hold a belief: once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a trend.

In successive seasons, Melo failed to mesh with Jeremy Lin; Melo couldn't get along with Tyson Chandler; and most recently, Tim Hardaway Jr. felt compelled to share his displeasure with Melo.

I also have no doubt others found/find life in Melo's world difficult to negotiate.  Amare Stoudemire has perhaps exercised the most tact in voicing his opinion.

The media has largely tip-toed around Melo since his arrival in New York.  Isolation, Melo Ball, the star system, et al, have surely been discussed and criticized from time to time.  But, fortunately for Melo there have always been multiple angles with which to debate the state of the Knicks.  And with the hiring of Phil Jackson, an extension on patience was also in order.  With the recent Melo/Hardaway flare-up, however, the media finally feels inclined to make Melo's perceived acidic existence in New York a topical subject.

I hold Carmelo Anthony accountable for none of this.  I place any and all blame on James Dolan for trampling over Donnie Walsh in a desperate effort to win the Melo sweepstakes (and then essentially firing Walsh).

The present state of the Knicks stems from that very moment, with Carmelo Anthony at the center of a rotten core.



Mike

N.Y. Knicks: Did The Commissioner Poke The Bear With A Stick?

From the desk of:  DUTCH PANTS CAN'T JUMP

Patiently Waiting On Phil Jackson To Restore That Old School Feeling

NEW YORK KNICKS: Feeling Six And Queasy To Our Stomachs.

To paraphrase - We're really trying hard this year, not like last season - is the way Tim Hardaway Jr. put it.

• Translation - Mike Woodson never stood a chance.  We abandoned his dictates in the time it took us to walk from the locker room to the hard wood.  And why not?  Carmelo Anthony was the alpha of MSG, and therefore player accountability remained nothing more than a theory.   Phil Jackson, however, will delete anyone of us in a New York minute, so we better do what Coach Fisher says.

I wonder what he'll say when his minutes get converted into Jose Calderon playing time.

In Calderon's absence these Knicks have twisted the Triangle into a pretzel.  The Knicks suffer from poor ball distribution and lack of scoring; nine games into the season, they have yet to score 100 points.

Yes, yes, yes... they're learning a new system.  Start spinning of the rolodex of excuses.

Evidently, the commissioner seems to have noticed, and Phil Jackson noticed that the commissioner noticed, and didn't seem all too pleased about it.

Easy there Zen Master....  The NBA commissioner only pointed out what we all already know.  I am somewhat surprised though, Phil seemingly took Commissioner Sterling's observation personally.   Then again, Phil has never been asked to oversee this much dysfunction before.  His sensitivity is understandable.  It goes to show running the Knicks can even make someone practiced in the art of meditation a little schizo.

In the meantime, the Knicks losing streak is up to six games.  The biggest difference between this six game slide and any other slide suffered over the last 15 years, is that finally someone is looking to fire all the players responsible, because as we all know, Derek Fisher isn't going anywhere, and this is after all a rebuilding year.

Right?

On that note, the commissioner might have even done fans a favor by hastening the Knicks president of basketball operations into initiating several savvy personnel changes.




Mike