The Knicks made positive moves this offseason, but significant improvements were limited by the team’s cap situation.
Coaching – 15/25
The rating of Derek Fisher, a rookie head coach, gets a slight bump simply because I believe he will make a great Phil Jackson puppet. He will be using Jackson’s system, style and plays while coaching under the 13-time NBA champion. The system, with the right players, can be very successful. Fisher was always a heady player, who coached and led his team from the court, so he has a real chance to succeed. That said, his lack of experience must be taken into account.
Free Agency & Trades – 9/25
The Knicks get five points for re-signing Carmelo Anthony and four points for the trade that brought Jose Calderon and a pick. Other than that, everything else went horribly. The Knicks are still somewhere around $20 million over the salary cap, and neither Andrea Bargnani nor Amar’e Stoudemire was dumb enough to opt out and provide the team with some cap relief. With these restrictions in mind for improving their roster, the Knicks moved Tyson Chandler and the turnstyle formerly known as Raymond Felton to the Mavericks for another turnstyle – Jose Calderon – Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington and a couple second-round picks that became Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
Felton and Calderon are both awful defenders, so it’s actually a win that New York got back a player who is better at 3-point shooting and passing. Early is a great second-round pickup that will be able to contribute some, as well as develop into a good player down the line. Despite these few positives, the Knicks remain crippled by their cap situation.
Draft – 15/25
This score may seem a little high for a team without a first-round pick, but the front office should be commended for going out and finding a way to get a valuable pick without giving away too much. They attempted to find a way to get a better pick, but settled for the 34th knowing that quality contributors would still be available at the beginning of the second round. Cleanthony Early lacks polish and shooting ability but is a great defender and athlete. Given some time to develop as an offensive player, Early could become a great NBA wing and a steal in the second round. Antetokounmpo brings defensive ability off the bench if he can avoid spending the year where he was this past season: the D-League.
Current Player Core – 12/25
Carmelo Anthony is the beginning and end of the Knicks’ core conversation, but they managed to add Jose Calderon to their win-now group, while also adding Shane Larkin, Early and Antetokounmpo to Tim Hardaway Jr. and the young group. That’s the problem with the Knicks: they have two cores and don’t appear sure which direction they want to go. They have one core composed of established/veteran players (Bargnani, Stoudemire, Calderon, Anthony, J.R. Smith) and another made up of projects that will likely need some time to develop (Hardaway, Early, Iman Shumpert, Larkin). And Anthony, the only player who has experience and a guaranteed future with the team, must play a significant role in navigating this balance. Figuring out the true identity of this roster should be a step in the right decision for the Knicks.
Franchise Outlook – 51/100
The biggest thing for the Knicks is deciding what they want; do they want to be a rebuilding team or are they trying to win now? They have very few valuable assets or young players, but their veteran players are not good enough to compete for a championship. Their best bet is clearing the salary of the large expiring contracts and acting as big players in free agency next season. That’s because this team is clearly committed to winning now, even though it doesn’t appear capable of doing so. Carmelo will not sit around and lose for long, so they will need a Celtics-like rebuild on the fly. The New York Knicks have a shaky and unsure outlook, to say the least.
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