Dear Knick Fans,
A meal on a most unappetizing table has been set for the New York Knicks once again, and you are left to witness a harvest of inconsistent, sloppy and otherwise uninspired brand of basketball. Everything has gone wrong. Naming each and every shortcoming of this calamitous affair is not the intent of this overture, but rather a dose of reality as it pertains to your prospects of keeping one Carmelo Anthony past 2015.
Currently, your beloved team sits with a dismal record. At times they’ve coasted on a winning streak. Victories over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers put lipstick on that ugly 25-40 record. But that’s only after a recent seven game slide that included crushing losses to such NBA apex predators as the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, and the Miami Heat. Each L was by at least 19 points. Pardon my language but It remains the truth; the Knicks suck.There, I said.
But New York Knicks fans, of course you know that by now.
Normally, a team that exudes such an odor of ineptitude wouldn’t garner as much attention as your stumbling, stammering Knicks. What occult curse has been cast upon the fortunes of Knicks fans? That unspeakable deity goes by the name of Jim Dolan. He has brought nothing but basketball pestilence and stagnation in his mythic wake since purchasing the franchise. A semblance of hope will occasionally run wild through the halls of Madison Square Garden, but the only time that hope came close to fruition during Dolan's watch as Knicks owner was the NBA Finals in 1999. In these dark ages, his name is mentioned only in hushed and hurried tones as if he is the Lord Voldemort of MSG.
Unfortunately, he is an actual living being whose success in the business world may have led him to believe he knows a thing or two about basketball. Unfortunately, he does not. Need I mention the Isiah situation, the D’Antoni fiasco, or even the Larry Brown debacle? It’s ridiculous. Wrong move after wrong move, after ridiculously idiotic move has been perpetrated upon the loyal and fervent Knicks fan base for nearly 15 years.
A conspiracy of calamity can be seen in the Ama’re Stoudemire acquisition. Is it Amar’e’s fault he accepted all the money? No. The Knicks knew he was riddled with injuries. It’s nobody but Dolan's fault that a $11.6 million lawsuit from Anucha Browne-Sanders named him as a defendant in 2007. Sanders proved that she was fired maliciously by Dolan after complaining of sexual harassment and inappropriate overtures by then-HC/GM Thomas.
There is not a drop of personal pleasure gained from mentioning the forsaken soul of the New York Knicks franchise and its landslide of bad luck, mismanagement and futility – from the arrival and subsequent physical break down of Stoudemire to the nonsensical handling of valuable draft picks.The possible departure of Melo, the greatest one-on-one scorer in the history of the franchise in 2015 could be the next atom bomb dropped on Knicks fans. Yes, Melo would get more money if he stayed in New York, but the basketball apocalypse that would harken a Knicks return to a new golden age of championship contention is yet to be realized.
Anthony said that the team told him earlier this week that scooping Jackson was a done deal.
"I still don't have a lot of the details, all the details," Anthony told espn.com. "Have I heard? Yeah, I heard he will be coming on board. Not official yet."
He also says Phil's presence has no impact on his pending free agency.
"I don't think it'll have any effect on me, just as far as what I'm thinking or my decision or anything like that," Anthony told reporters after the team's shoot around in Boston on Wednesday morning. "Like I said, I haven't talked to Phil yet, just to get his insight on a lot of things — what's his plan, what's his future plan — because everything's in his hands now."
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has been reporting on the possible hiring of 11-time NBA champion head coach Phil Jackson since Friday, March 7. What was initially a rumor of a coaching hire and a weak attempt by Garden President Steve Mills to woo Jackson, has now morphed into a Dolan-engineered, almost imminent hiring. Chris Broussard reported on Tuesday that Jackson is putting the finishing touches on a deal with NY and should be the new Garden czar, with total control of basketball operations by week's end.
From ESPN's report: "Everything is pretty much done," the source said. "There are just some things here and there that need to be worked out, but the Knicks are very confident that this is essentially done."
Will the arrival of the basketball Zen Master be enough to exercise the funky feng shui that has choked out all hope in Madison Square Garden for 15 years? It couldn’t hurt. He would become the only front office connection the New York Knicks have to the NBA championships of 1970 and 1973.
Jackson's arrival doesn't bode well for Mills who Dolan tabbed as New York's president and GM in December, replacing former GM Glen Grunwald. According to Broussard, Jackson will serve as the team's head of basketball operations, while Mills will be demoted to a different role in the organization's decision-making process.
This seems like a win-win situation, however, it’s still very unlikely the Larry O’Brien trophy will be paraded through Manhattan anytime soon. Meanwhile, Coach Mike Woodson is on pins and needles regarding his eventual demise. But there is hope. The Knicks are currently on a four-game winning streak powered by the reemergence of Amar’e Stoudemire, who is shooting 64 percent from the field and averaging 17.3 points per game in the month of March. With other guys making shots, Melo is passing the ball more. Are these positive omens of things to come or false prophecies? No one can be sure, Knicks fans.
But there are only 17 games left in the regular season and the Knicks are currently 3.5 games back of the eighth seed that the Atlanta Hawks currently hold. The chances are slim, but this season isn’t a complete wash…yet. And even though the Knicks will not have any first round draft picks for another two years, the Zen Master's very presence is enough to bring a more positive karma to the cursed organization. Then they can focus on winning.
