The 2013-14 season for the New York Knicks was met with overwhelming disappointment. Many players underperformed or were injured. Most importantly the team looked to have given up on their head coach Mike Woodson. All this snowballed into one caused the Knicks to miss the playoffs for the first time since they traded for Carmelo Anthony back in 2011.
Changes needed to be made to the team. In a surprising move, owner James Dolan decided to finally take a back seat in making team decisions, which he has been criticized for in the past. The question now became who would take over to run basketball operations?
Fans were elated when they found out that Hall of Fame head coach Phil Jackson was to be named president of the Knicks. It also helped that he once played for the Knicks the last time they won a title back in 1973. The “Zen Master” as Jackson has been called, brings many great qualities. He is a great leader, who has won 11 NBA championships as head coach (Bulls & Lakers). Although he has a lot of experience as a coach, this will be his first time in an executive roll. We will find out this season if he can handle the pressure and keep James Dolan out of the picture.
After relieving Mike Woodson of his coaching duties, Jackson was looking for someone who could run his famous triangle offense. Jackson looked at many coaches but was intrigued by one of his former players, Steve Kerr. Kerr was courted for a while by Jackson and the Knicks but decided that his best bet to win was with the roster in Golden State. Jackson had to look elsewhere and he found what he wanted in another one of his former players who just announced his retirement. Derek Fisher played for Jackson in his years with the Lakers and knew the triangle offense pretty well. It was an easy decision for Jackson as the Knicks hired Fisher to be the Head Coach.
Now Jackson had the taxing job of revamping the roster. The problem was there was not enough cap space and they desperately needed to resign Carmelo Anthony who was a free agent after the season. After a long drawn out process, Anthony bought into Jackson and his triangle offense signing a five-year deal worth over $122 million. With Anthony’s return, the Knicks have their star and franchise player to build around.
It was really hard for the Knicks to bring in free agents with their cap space problems. Instead they went the trade route. The Knicks made a huge trade sending Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks for point guards Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin, center Samuel Dalembert, Wayne Ellington and two second round draft picks. The Knicks improved at point guard by bringing in Calderon and shipping off Felton, who underperformed and dealt with issues off the court. Chandler’s contract was a pleasure for the Knicks to get rid of especially after there were rumblings of him being a problem in the locker room.
On draft night the Knicks were without a 1st round pick. In the 2nd round they drafted Cleanthony Early from Wichita State with the 34th pick. Early is thought to be one of the steals of the draft dropping to the Knicks. They also selected Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who was drafted for his defense. In all it turned out to be a great draft night for the Knicks.
The Knicks will also have to lean on the rest of their returning roster including Amar’e Stoudemire, J.R. Smith, Andrea Bargnani, Iman Shumpart, and Tim Hardaway Jr. All of these players have the tools to win but the big question mark becomes if they can stay healthy and keep their minds on the court. If so then this season will definitely be must see.
Prediciton:
The Knicks are not championship caliber and we will not see the magic that Phil Jackson can provide until next offseason. This year will be filled with a lot of ups and downs due to the change in system and the implementation of the triangle offense. The players will learn a lot from their new head coach who brings a winning pedigree to the forefront. With Jackson in charge of basketball operations fans can only salivate at the prospect of finally winning an NBA Championship for the first time in over 40 years. This year expect the Knicks to return to the playoffs but be no higher than the 6th seed. Anything is possible once you make it to the playoffs but the Knicks still have a long way to go.
Anthony Rivera: PureSportsNY