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Knicks: New York Was Never Back; Skid Shouldn’t Be ‘Mind-Boggling’

By Michael Saenz

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Amar’e Stoudemire says that the Knicks’ recent struggles are “mind-boggling.” He couldn’t be more wrong 

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Back in 2010, when Amar’e Stoudemire originally signed with the New York Knicks during free agency, he declared that the Knicks were back.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

Since making that remark, the Knicks continued down their trail of sadness. They continued to make poor trades, bad decisions, showed impatience and have now hit rockbottom due to their actions.

Even in their best move, in what feels like almost 20 years, in acquiring Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets, the Knicks still messed up.

Instead of waiting until the free agency period to sign Melo, the Knicks decided that it was a better idea to simply ship out their entire (young) future — Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov and Wilson Chandler — in a poor attempt to win now.

That didn’t work.

Unless, of course, their goal in making that trade was to win one playoff series. If so, then it did work. To great success.

Fast-forward a few years later from said trade, and the Knicks are still bad. They’re still the laughingstock of the NBA, and there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

Phil Jackson is now the President of the Knicks, but his impact on the team hasn’t been felt.

In retrospect, to say that the recent Knicks’ failures is “mind-boggling” is a poor choice of words from Stoudemire.

In fact, it’s quite on par. It’s what we’ve come to expect from the Knicks. It’s who they are; it’s who they’ve become.

We shouldn’t be surprised.

And Stoudemire believing that he was single-handily going to change the culture in New York is what’s really “mind-boggling.”

But I get it.

I get why Stoudemire is upset. I get why he’s surprised the Knicks are this bad. I get everything about these recent comments:

"[via Amar’e: Knicks skid ‘mind-boggling’ — ESPN]“It’s beyond my imagination at this point,” he said Sunday before a 95-82 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that extended their losing streak to 11 games. “I never thought I’d see this. … This is definitely kind of mind-boggling.”“When I first signed with New York, that wasn’t the game plan,” Stoudemire said. “… But the past is not here. And neither is the future, so we’ve got to deal with the now, and I think we’ve just got to continue to try to get better as a team and as players, try to keep improving.”"

But this is what you have to expect when you sign with the Knicks. It’s the reality in the new NBA.

Looking back, and it’s quite sad to say, but the Knicks are not back. They were never back. And, like was stated earlier, are a long way from being back.

Even with Carmelo Anthony signed for the next five seasons, I don’t think the Knicks are even close to being back.

To add insult to injury, the Knicks just signed that soon-to-be 31-year-old “star” to a five-year, near max deal. His knees are hurting, and he’s forcing himself to play with the injury.

Why would the Knicks allow this?

Because they’re the Knicks.

Instead of protecting their — by far — greatest asset on the team, they’re letting Melo “fight through” a knee injury that may require surgery after the season.

And that, my friends, is the epitome of the new Knicks.

That is simply “mind-boggling.”

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