Knicks Rumors: Latest Buzz Surrounding Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and More
It may be hard to believe, but the 2014-15 NBA season is already entering it's second quarter. While the ephemeral nature of the basketball season may leave some with a gentle sadness, it's quite possible that New York Knicks fans find this fact to be something of a relief.
The Knicks are off to a nightmarish 4-20 start this season. They rank 21st in the league in offensive efficiency and 27th in defense, per ESPN's Hollinger rankings. They have more losses than any team in the league. Yes, that includes the horrid Philadelphia 76ers.
Zen architect Phil Jackson and his wealth of basketball experience have yet to make an impact on the team, while first-year head coach Derek Fisher doesn't yet have a handle on his squad.
Naturally, rumors regarding this woe-begotten franchise abound. The status of certain players are in doubt and only whispers of change are likely to bring the Knicks faithful any semblance of hope this season.
The Knicks fell to the San Antonio Spurs 109-95 on Wednesday night. The result isn't especially upsetting, but the absence of Carmelo Anthony is cause for concern in The Big Apple.
According to NJ.com's Mike Rosenstein, Anthony's left knee could require surgery: "Things look like they are about to go from bad to worse for the New York Knicks. Multiple sources report forward Carmelo Anthony could require knee surgery. Anthony has been playing in pain for most of the season because of a sore left knee."
Anthony is averaging 22.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season and understandably wants to avoid surgery if at all possible.
"I’m not even looking forward to even discussing the surgery or anything like that. I’ll explore as many other options as I can before I go under the knife and get surgery. ... That will always be a solution, an option, but that was the last, last option," he said, via the New York Daily News' Frank Isola.
If the Knicks' season did have any life left in it, the loss of Anthony for an extended period of time would be a death knell. Tim Hardaway Jr. was the only Knicks starter to score in double figures against the Spurs in Anthony's absence.
He is far and away the team's best scorer, although his efficiency has come into question. He's fourth on the team in offensive rating at 109 points per 100 possessions, per Basketball-Reference, and his usage rate of 30.8 percent does little to get other players involved in the offense. He's also failed at times to come through when his team needs him the most.
Isola documented his struggles after the Knicks' 90-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 4:
"If Anthony continues on this path, he may be the employee the Knicks assign to represent the club in Times Square during the league’s televised lottery. For the second straight game, the Knicks’ $125 million forward was a no-show at the point in the game that is generally called “winning time.”
That would be the fourth quarter, a period that Anthony needs to dominate the way Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant would when Jackson coached them. Anthony failed to score in the final 12 minutes against Cleveland, missing all four shots, including a potential game-tying three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left.
In the final seconds of Tuesday’s loss to Brooklyn, Anthony missed a pull-up three that would have tied it. Overall, he is 1-for-13 in his last two fourth quarters.
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Anthony's struggles and high profile might set him apart from most of his teammates, but it seems that this current iteration of Knicks are in sync when it comes to the system set in place by Jackson and Fisher.
According to ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard, who noted some players on the team are "at odds with Anthony," the triangle offense doesn't appear to be in vogue in the Knicks locker room:
"One thing Anthony and his teammates do agree on is their disdain for the triangle offense, sources said. For weeks, if not longer, the players have been ready to ditch the triangle and move on to another system. They feel like other teams know what they are going to run and where they are going to go on the court, which makes it easier to stop them.
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Anthony has said it's the losing and not the offense that has players upset, per ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley:
The triangle offense, a staple of Jackson-helmed teams dating back to the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls and now put in place by Fisher, isn't likely to go by the wayside under this regime. Considering the success the offense brought the 1990s Bulls and the 2000s Los Angeles Lakers, it's a shame that this team is reportedly not taking to the system.
"There's some resistance to discipline and order and culture change and things like that," Jackson said, via Broussard.
It's clear the triangle offense hasn't translated into success for this team. The Knicks are scoring just 93.8 points per game this season, down 4.9 percent from the previous campaign. The offense is predicated on ball movement, and the team does rank 13th in the league in assist ratio, per ESPN's Hollinger rankings, but that's mitigated by the fact that the team is averaging 14.9 turnovers per game, up from 13.0 last year under coach Mike Woodson.
If the Knicks' ownership is intent on letting Jackson and his protege Fisher sort things out on a long leash—and they should be—then it's quite possible the team could go foraging for players who better fit into their ideal system.
According to Broussard, if there is a roster shakeup to come, J.R. Smith could be the first to go: "With free agents who signed before Sept. 16 becoming available for trade Dec. 15, the Knicks could look to make roster changes soon -- with sources saying J.R. Smith is the player they'd most like to trade."
Smith, who's never been one to shy away from any half-decent look at the basket, has struggled to integrate himself into the triangle offense this season and his numbers are down pretty much across the board.
| 2013-14 | 74 (37) | 32.7 | 14.5 | .415 | .394 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 14.0 |
| 2014-15 | 21 (4) | 25.1 | 10.3 | .410 | .324 | 2.2 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 11.6 |
It's tough to say what teams might be interested in a player like Smith, whose current contract ends after the 2016 season, but it's possible a team like the Memphis Grizzlies could roll the dice on a wing scorer in need of a change of scenery.
Anything the Knicks could get in return for Smith would do little to salvage this current season. Whatever moves this team makes regarding personnel—whether it's shutting down Anthony, trades or changing strategy—must be made with an eye toward the 2015 season and beyond.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
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