New York Knicks: An 8-Step Guide To Respectability

The New York Knicks season is effectively over. Here are eight steps they can take before next year to ensure they are no longer the laughing stock of the NBA

Now that the NBA Trade Deadline has passed, it’s official that the New York Knicks’ final 22 games will feature the same disappointing roster that has them sitting a dozen games under .500 and 4.5 games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

It’s time for the team to get its priorities in order (and no, re-establishing the triangle offense is not one of them).

Here’s a list of eight things New York needs to focus on between now and the next meaningful game they play…in October.

Lose, Lose, Lose 

This one shouldn’t be too hard. The New York Knicks will be underdogs in at least two thirds of their remaining games this season, and with 36 losses, there are only six teams that currently have more. Of those six,  three – the Nets, Suns and  Lakers – will be really tough to “catch,” but there is a real possibility of finishing with the fourth or fifth worst record in the league.

That gives them a 20-25 percent chance at a top three pick.

The good news is that most of the other teams towards the bottom of the league are still pursuing playoff spots (including, ironically, the Kings, who should really be leading the tank-brigade). How they tank will be a better question. The team seems to have started the process by announcing Joakim Noah’s surgery and releasing Brandon Jennings, although one could easily argue that these moves don’t move the needle one way or the other.