Knicks' Knacks

Moving forward - Linsanity and beyond!

While the NBA playoffs move closer to the conference finals, the other teams and theirfans are left to sit back, relax, and wait for the champion of a season that moved quicker than “I’ll Have Another” down the home stretch.  So, with the “season recap” and “offseason move” articles piling up in every corner of the internet I figured I’d throw my two cents in since after all, we are all just guessing on these topics anyways.  For a sports fan, a casual conversation regarding the off season agenda of a favorite team is practically a part time job.  What typically starts as a fondness for a particular free agent, evolves into a veterans minimum – draft tracking – sign and trade – guru.  I evolved to the middle stage of draft specialist at a very young age, but still find that I can make the same assessment every year: none of us really know.  So, with that said, let the guessing games begin!  Since last time I checked, Mr. Grunfield still doesn’t report to me, so following will be my “best guesses” for how the offseason unravels for the Knickerbockers.

Before we dive right in, let’s take a step back to see where the pieces of last year’s puzzle fit for 2012.

2011-2012 Season Recap

With the 2011-2012 NY Knicks season in the books, many Knick fans, like myself, are perplexed as to what just happened, and what to expect in the future.  The season was nothing short of a Coney Island roller coaster.  Filled with ups, downs, shaky spots, and points in which it looked like we should hold on for dear life.  Just like every other year, Knicks fans entered the season with a sense of hope.  This year was greater than ever after a surprising off season.  Highlighted by the acquisition of Tyson Chandler, the Knicks looked to be fitting the pieces of a championship puzzle together.  Considered a top tier interior defenseman, Chandler possesses physical presence and athleticism to make any lane driver reconsider.  Chandler joined superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire to make for an exciting show on Broadway. 

In addition to the big 3, the Knicks filled out their 2011-2012 with newcomers such as PG Baron Davis, SF Steve Novak, SG J.R. Smith, and PG Jeremy Lin.  Two rookies made the team, lockdown guard defender Iman Shumpert and PF/C Josh Harrellson.  The Knicks, for the first time in quite some time, looked like they had a good mix of superstars and role players, scoring and defense, coaching and commitment.  Unfortunately that assessment, which was made by millions, couldn’t have been any further from the truth. 

We all know how the season unraveled.  But for those that may not be as familiar, here is a quick briefing.  Team starts off strong.  Team struggles due to lack of effort.  Team organizes revolution to overthrow coach.  New coach takes over.  Team plays like they care.  Injuries cost any chance of gaining respectability in playoffs.  New coach deemed savior for beating Heat 1 out of 5 tries. 

Well, that was last year…. so let’s take a step forward and see what this offseason has in store!

2012 Knicks Offseason 

We’ve all read the high hopes articles already that go something like this: Knicks get Nash for $5 mil while Lin and Novak are given Bird rights, and return without going against the salary cap.  It’s not happening.  Myself, and millions of others, have heard this, have gotten excited, but then after returning to reality realized that there is as much a shot of this happening as Lebron ending up in blue & orange.  From what I understand so far, the players union request for Bird rights for Lin and Novak will be denied, leaving the Knicks right back where they started.  So, what does that mean?  It means Jeremy Lin will be running the point guard for the Knicks for quite some time.  This is great for Mr. Dolan’s pockets, considering Lin played a shortened part of an already short season, and still managed the number two spot in jersey sales (only behind Derrick Rose).  While Lin does have his ups: high energy, extends the court, can penetrate and lead a fast break; his down side is nearly unbearable.  Most notably he needs to shoot as much as Melo to get his points, and his turnovers consistently exceed his assists.  Either way, the global phenom will be back in the Garden, giving underdog fans from New York to Hong Kong a reason to cheer. 

Much is up in the air regarding the rest of the team.  We know certain players are likely to come back for contractual reasons (Landry Fields and J.R. Smith), and certain players increased their value in a high scoring Knicks system (Novak).  The only certainty is that the Knicks need help.  Here is my list of free agents that I feel have a very strong potential ending up in the Garden next year:

Jason Terry – SG
Jason Kidd – PG
Gilbert Arenas – SG
Ronny Turiaf – PF
Derek Fisher – PG
Grant Hill – SF
Jonny Flynn – PG
Raymond Felton – PG

Yep, as you can tell, I don't think Lin is the answer...