New York Knicks: Unfortunate events have led to an uncertain future

The New York Knicks have shot themselves in the foot for years. Finally, they did something right, but the future is no more clear. What comes next?

You know that tv show/movie character who can never seem to do anything right? Or, no matter what they seem to do, nothing ever breaks their way? And even if it’s self-inflicted or they’re not particularly good, by the end you can’t help but feel bad for them. Keanu Reeves from Hardball for example. Or George Bailey from the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Well in the NBA, that infamous character is the New York Knicks.

For 20-plus years now, the Knicks have mainly been mired in mediocrity, having made the playoffs just four times since the 2000 season. They had a good run in the ’90s led by Patrick Ewing but had the unfortunate luck of having to battle some guy named Michael Jordan for Eastern Conference supremacy.

Those days are long gone, and a scenario that seemed franchise-changing just mere months ago, with it. Coming off a season in which they finished with the worst record in the NBA at 17-65 and missed the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, things were looking up.

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They, along with Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers, secured the highest odds of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. In a rare moment of competence, they cleared enough cap space to for two max free agents, with their sites on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. They even had a chance to trade for Anthony Davis, if they chose not to keep their draft pick and a shot at Zion Williamson. And in a blink of an eye, it all fell apart.

KD tore his Achilles in the NBA Finals and seemingly eliminated the Knicks from his pool for potential employment in the process. When the dust settled at the NBA Lottery, instead of holding the rights to Zion Williamson or even potentially AD, they had to settle for the third pick. And then the final dagger came when KD and Kyrie with a New York team, just not the Knicks.

They’d done everything right and yet the string of bad breaks continued, leaving Knicks fans irate, sad, depressed, particularly ESPN personality and Knicks superfan Steven A. Smith. So now what?

Since the floor all but collapsed beneath them, New York has had an up and down offseason to say the least. They might not have ended up with Williamson in the draft, but they did wind up with his former Duke teammate RJ Barrett. Some evaluators believe he could still wind up the best player from the draft if he can clean up his jumper and put his physical gifts to use on the defensive end.

He’s a smooth scoring lefty with good but not great athleticism, underrated playmaking ability, and a plethora of moves in his bag. He’ll take his lumps, but he’ll also contribute immediately and has a high floor.

But since drafting Barrett, the Knicks offseason has been a mixed bag, which includes the signing of around forty-seven power forwards. Ok, it’s only four (three if you consider Marcus Morris a small forward), but signings of Julius Randle, Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis, and Morris were a little head-scratching.

Last year’s 1st round pick Kevin Knox can play on the wing but is probably best suited at the 4 in today’s NBA, and springy, young center Mitchell Robinson should soak up a good chunk of minutes at the 5. That leaves six guys for 96 minutes at two positions.

Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock were signed to add shooting on the wing, and Elfrid Payton was signed to presumably back up Dennis Smith Jr. at the point. These aren’t bad signings in a vacuum, but make less sense when you factor in the Knicks are most likely still out of the playoff picture, even in the Eastern Conference.

Which takes us back to the original point of all of this. The Knicks tried to do the right thing. They tanked for a high draft pick (one of the few ways to improve quickly in the modern NBA). They made savvy decisions to clear cap space and were seemingly the front-runner for two of the top free agents. And when it all fell apart, they reverted back to their usual selves.

In Hardball, Reeves character ‘Connor’ eventually gets out of his own way, kicking his gambling habit and finding meaning. George Bailey finally realizes in It’s a Wonderful Life, all his effort through the years hasn’t been for naught and he’s not a failure.

Maybe the Knicks can finally pull themselves out of this place. Some speculate it won’t happen until the owner, James Dolan, sells the team. They’ve made better decisions over the last year, even while creating a log jam in their frontcourt. They’ve got solid building pieces in Barrett and Knox, and if and when Smith Jr. figures it out. David Fizdale has proven himself a good coach when given the pieces.

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The NBA is better when the big markets are good. Some might scoff at that but it’s true. LA, New York, Boston and others fuel the league. New York hasn’t pulled their weight in that department in some time. Hopefully, it happens soon, but at this rate, don’t hold your breath.

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