A piece by Thomas DeMeo.
The original idea for this article was about how various NBA teams have struggled over the years and what led them to those struggles. But the more I thought the more I realized that no team has failed quite impressively as my home town New York Knicks. It got me thinking about how different the 2021 Knicks have been, the lack of drama, bad management and coaching, and the most important to me, not giving fans false hope.
For perspective on just how bad the Knicks have been for the past two decades, since 2001 the Sacramento Kings have won more playoff series than the Knicks. The Kings haven't made the playoffs in fourteen years. The average final standings during this stretch has the Knicks at 10.7 in the eastern conference. Only five playoff appearances and only one time getting past the first round. All while promising fans a title just about every year. Let's look back shall we.
Admittedly I have not seriously watched basketball since about 2010 so the first half of this is in retrospect and will not be as in depth.
This era featured famous moves like asking Jamal Crawford, Stephon Marbury, and Steve Francis to share a backcourt. Giving a five year deal to Jerome James to play a mere 90 games for the Knicks. Or who could forget when they traded two first round picks for Eddy Curry. A man who's conditioning was so bad he made Shaq in his Celtic years look good. Oh and what did those picks for him turn into… Only LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah. In 2009 the Knicks were expected to get Steph Curry, well Golden State had other plans, now I get it you can't control what other teams do, but if you wanted a guard why'd you choose Jordan Hill over Demar DeRozan. Jordan Hill was let go a year later. The following year the Knicks traded their pick once again, who was taken with it… Gordon Hayward, don't like him, Paul George was taken one pick after.
Now granted I will admit everyone on the team had immense pressure to perform well. Owner James Dolan wanted to win and failure to do so meant you're gone. For instance in the past twenty years the Knicks have had (not including interns) ten different head coaches and seven different general managers.
Now let's get to my experience with this team. The 2010-11 season. Amar'e Stoudemire has joined and Lebron James is next… except Dolan put next to no effort into his pitch, leaving Lebron upset and he decided to take his talents to South Beach. Thanks…. But wait there is another. Carmelo Anthony, born and raised in New York. Brought Syracuse home a championship in his only year there. Him and Amare will be unstoppable. Except Carmelo forced a trade as opposed to just waiting a few months cause he wanted a bird rights contract with the Knicks. Forcing New York to give up both their entire supporting cast and draft picks. But it's fine, Carmelo is far greater than anything the Knicks previously had. This will only bring success.
Or we can get swept in the first round by Boston. Also turns out iso Anthony is not fond of D'antoni's motion offense. He is forced to resign. The one bit of optimism Linsanity takes the world by storm. Except Carmelo doesn't exactly like sharing the spotlight, leading to the Knicks letting Lin walk and instead signing out of shape Raymond Felton and old man Jason Kidd. But it's fine, you have come to compete in the 2013 season. Newly signed Tyson Chandler is a beast on defense, J.R. Smith is an incredible spark off the bench and Carmelo has had a career year, he led the league in points and received all second team honors. The team is second in the east. A title is within reach, it's time to take it! Or get bitch slapped in the second round cause your offense decided it was time for an early vacation. The Knicks have not made the playoffs since.
Despite being nowhere close to a competitive team, that didn't stop them from trying to insist they were. Getting Joakim Noah years late for 18 million dollars a year. Adding a year of Derrick Rose, or who could forget Andrea Bargnani. And my personal favorite, Phil Jackson signing Carmelo Anthony to a massive extension and giving him a no trade clause, despite openly saying he wasn't fond of him. Carmelo was traded for a package worth less than a stimulus check. But hey Porzingis is coming up, he is an absolute beast… oh he is unhappy with the organization and wants a trade, well what did we get? Half a season on DeAndre Jordan and Dennis Smith Jr. He never develops and is traded for an even older Derrick Rose and a second round pick.
Not to mention the great players we the fans were told they were getting. Included but not limited to Zion, Kyrie, Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, Anthony Davis on one occasion, Victor Oladipo, Fred Vanfleet, and Giannis on one occasion. From all these promises who did the Knicks get… Julius Randle.
This has been the life of a Knicks fan, promised the world, but given a gold painted turd and told that it's fine. But that's what has made this year so different. The Knicks were given no expectations. We all expected them to be in the tank off. Honestly a lot has to do with the new personal for both the front office and coaching. Leon Rose has been making smart moves, not over paying or handing out long contracts to unproven players, instead being conservative with cap space and waiting for the right guys.
The real game changer though was Tom Thibodeau. Say what you want about his inconsistent rotations and handing out big minutes, but all of his teams work hard. When Derrick Rose went down in Chicago it should have ruined them, instead not only were they still in the playoffs, they were the only eastern conference team to win a playoff game against Cleveland in 2015. For this year's Knicks, you can't even say it was a personal change, once again they couldn't get any big free agent.
They got what we all thought to be roster fillers. Thibodeau and his staff have not only made them a potential playoff team, but have developed players no one would have expected to be good. Yes Toppin has heavily underachieved, but look at Quickly, a late round pick looking like the steal of the draft. Mitchell Robinson (when healthy) and Nerlens Noel have become strong paint defenders. And the biggest surprise, Juilus Randle. Last season he was a meme and many were upset when a trade for him couldn't be made. Now though he's a certified all star and the face of the franchise.
That leads me to the biggest difference in this year's team. They've done it under the radar. No big moves, no "super team" agenda, no real drama coming from the team. Instead they've been hard workers, a sturdy defense first team that clearly lacks the star power of say the Lakers or Nets but makes up for it by everyone just doing their job. It's honestly refreshing. Obviously no one can predict the future, so this team is still up in the air, but for the first time in a while, me and my fellow Knicks fans have hope.