NBA Offseason: New York Knicks

Making All the Wrong Moves

I haven't really liked anything this team has done this offseason. As someone that has been following this team for a long time, I'm starting to think they might have to go in a different direction. If there's anything I've learned about that basketball team in Canada is that you NEVER trade for one of their best players. They might seem like great players, but they never are (Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter & Chris Bosh (TMac & Vinsanity weren't winners and Bosh is a role player)).

Outside of that trade they brought back Pablo Prigioni and J.R. Smith and Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first round. One of the main reasons I loved the Hardaway Jr. pick was because I couldn't stand to watch the Knicks get destroyed by another Hardaway.

As for Prigioni and Smith, I was really hoping some other team would overpay for Smith and Prigioni would end up back in Europe. Prigioni doesn't do enough and to be honest he's too old! Smith is a bad version of Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks don't need two guys hogging the ball for the majority of the game.

The Trade:

New York Knicks Receive:

Andrea Bargnani

Toronto Raptors Receive:

Steve Novak, Marcus Camby, Quentin Richardson

Knicks 1st round pick in 2016, Knicks 2nd round picks in 2014 and 2017

I am praying that by 2016 the Knicks are still contending, otherwise they just threw away a key piece in rebuilding by giving away another first round pick. The two second round picks I'm not really worried about as most teams are just drafting foreign players that never come over to the NBA with those picks.

I didn't think the Knicks could have made a worse move than this. Why couldn't they offer Amare Stoudemire in this deal if they were going to make it. Andrea Bargnani just isn't that good and he never should have been drafted number one. He's a small forward in a center's body who's almost as afraid of rebounding as J.R. Smith is of passing. The only positive from this trade is that MSG will likely cut to his girlfriend in every game and at least that's something to look forward to (if you don't believe me look her up).

Losing Novak and Camby aren't going to really affect this Knicks team. Novak was used sparingly towards the end of the season and Camby saw less court time than Aaron Hernandez (too soon?).

Either way the Knicks finally have a jump shooter that they aren't afraid to start and give minutes to so I can't be too aggravated about it. 

This Season:

Potential Knicks Starting Lineup:

Point Guard: Raymond Felton

Shooting Guard: Iman Shumpert

Small Forward: Carmelo Anthony

Power Forward: Andrea Bargnani

Center: Tyson Chandler

Key Bench Players:

Guard: Pablo Prigioni

Guard: J.R. Smith

Guard: Tim Hardaway Jr.

Forward: Amare Stoudemire

Forward: Kenyon Martin/Elton Brand

The Knicks are bringing back the highest paid frontcourt in basketball for another shot at the title and part of that frontcourt is costing them way too much. Remember when Amare Stoudemire was one of the best players in the NBA during the 2010-2011 season with the Knicks before they traded for Carmelo? It seems like a decade ago. 

Stoudemire has spent way too much time on the DNP portion of the box score and not enough time carrying some of the load for the Knicks. If the Knicks are going to have a shot at this years championship it's going to be because of him. Yes, the Knicks season is riding on Amare Stoudemire's knees. When he's healthy he can be a 20 and 8 guy and the Knicks could really use that. I'd even settle for 15 and 6 as long as he played a little defense here and there. If they can use him off the bench similar to how they use Smith at the guard position then I think they can really contend with Miami for the East this year.

I don't want to spend too much time talking about Carmelo as I think he did everything he possibly could last year, but I would like him to not look as lost out there on defense. If he's covering a guy that's running around screens constantly it's like watching Wile E. Coyote try to get the Road Runner.

Raymond Felton has to take control of the Knicks more often as the team's point guard. Too much of the time he allows Smith and Anthony to control the ball and that's when the Knicks end up wasting 15 seconds for one of those two guys to shoot. Felton is a really good point guard that is very good at running the pick and roll and the Knicks should try to do that more often next year. Every time him and Chandler run it I just start expecting the alley oop.

The Knicks will finish in the top four of the East this year, I'm just not sure how high or low they'll end up. They still need to grab another big with either Kenyon Martin returning or them bringing in Elton Brand. I'm not huge on either move as both have had injury problems, but both of those guys bring rebounding and defense which is something the Knicks don't have much of outside of Chandler and Shumpert. If they aren't able to grab one of those two then they are going to have some major problems in the front court and I don't want them to end up signing another old guy who's knees will be done by the all-star break.

Any Future:

Three years from now this team might look completely different. If the Knicks don't win by then they might rid the team of everyone and try again or have to start completely fresh. New York hasn't really went in the rebuilding mode since they drafted Patrick Ewing almost 30 years ago so rebuilding is probably not going to happen.

The Knicks current players are only going to get older and the only two guys I see on this team in five years are Tim Hardaway Jr. and Iman Shumpert. Having only two current players that young scares me as a Knicks fan as I have no idea what to expect from this team. Trading away first round pick after first round pick is also not going to help them. Bargnani is relatively young compared to the rest of the team, but if the Knicks aren't winning he'll likely be the scapegoat.

The only things Knicks fans can really look forward to in the future is just how big this hair might actually get...

Other NBA Offseason Posts:

Boston Celtics

National Championship: Michigan vs. Louisville Preview

Men's Basketball National Championship

#4 Michigan Wolverines (31-7, 12-6 BIG 10) vs. #1 Louisville Cardinals (34-5, 14-4 Big East)

The number one overall seed in the tournament has a chance to win the national championship tonight as the #1 seed Louisville Cardinals are playing the #4 Michigan Wolverines at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The Cardinals are coming into this game on a 15-game win streak including winning the Big East Tournament. Louisville defeated North Carolina A&T, Colorado State, Oregon, Duke and Wichita State on their road to today's championship game.

The Wolverines are coming into this game on a 5-game win streak all of which were in the NCAA Tournament. Their last loss was in the BIG 10 Tournament as they lost to the Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinals. They defeated South Dakota State, Virginia Commonwealth, Kansas, Florida and Syracuse on their road to today's championship game. In my opinion they have had the harder road to the championship.

Mitch McGary has been Michigan's key player in the tournament after not being as much of a factor all season for the Wolverines. In the tournament he has averaged 16 points and 11.6 rebounds per game which is much higher than his season average of 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. McGary has been a force inside for the Wolverines after having to rely heavily on their guard play all season long. His added presence has made the team less one-dimensional and he is the main reason that Michigan is playing as well as they have been in the tournament.

Louisville has been playing with the added pressure of trying to win the championship for Kevin Ware. Ware was injured in one of the most freak in-game injuries I have ever seen during the Elite Eight game against Duke. Ware broke his tibia while jumping to block a shot which left most of his teammates and coaches crying after seeing him go down the way he did. Some of his teammates on the bench were even puking due to how bad the injury looked.

Ware wasn't a player that the Cardinals relied on heavily, but the 15 minutes a game he gave his team off the bench allowed Peyton Siva and Russ Smith the chance to rest for a few minutes a game. Ware was wearing his uniform on the bench during the Final Four game against Wichita State.

Due to Ware's injury the Cardinals have had to rely on Siva and Smith for more minutes as they haven't had the option to go to the bench as often. Siva and Smith have been the keys to Louisville's success all season and this game will be riding on their shoulders. The two have combined for about 29 points and 9 assists per game this season.

Michigan will be able to match up well with Louisville's guards as they will be starting Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke. Burke became the first player in Michigan school history to win the Naismith Trophy for Player of the Year. The two combined for over 33 points and 10 assists a game for the Wolverines. Burke went off during the second half of the Sweet 16 game against Kansas as he absolutely torched the Jayhawks defense. Burke finished the game with 23 points and 10 assists, with a huge three pointer with five seconds left to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Wolverines were then able to defeat the #1 seed Kansas Jayhawks in OT.

Hardaway is the son of former NBA great Tim Hardaway who was one of the best point guards during the 1990s. He is joined by another son of a former NBA great in Glenn Robinson III. His father played around the same time as Tim and was a key player for the Milwaukee Bucks during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Both Hardaway and Robinson are potential first round picks in this year's NBA Draft as well as Burke.

The last key player to watch in this game is Gorgui Dieng. Dieng has played very similarly to that of former UConn player Hasheem Thabeet. He isn't going to give you much on the offensive end, but he will bring you defense and rebounding that will definitely affect the outcome of this game. He will have to shut down McGary if the Cardinals are going to come out victorious tonight.

My Prediction: #4 Michigan Wolverines Win 76-73

Player of the Game: Trey Burke

As good as Louisville has been playing I think Michigan is the hottest team in the NCAA right now. Burke has been unbelievable all year and is the best player in the nation. Him, Hardaway Jr., and Robinson III carried the team all season long and with the now added presence of McGary up front the team has been a force.

Louisville will be able to hang with the Wolverines all game long, but I just don't see them having enough to win it all. For the first time in a long time the Big East wasn't the strongest conference in basketball and Michigan will be looking to show that they were a part of the best conference in the country and that they are this year's best team.

Somewhere Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Chris Webber will all be smiling tonight.