NBA Trade Rumors: Knicks Smart to Refrain from Fire Sale After Miserable Start
The New York Knicks' New Year's resolution? Reach double digits in the win column.
Before Friday's encounter with the Detroit Pistons, Derek Fisher's team has just five wins, good for the worst start in franchise history.
Then again, perhaps the front office has 2016 in mind, as premature as that seems.
In a routine power rankings article by Yahoo Sports' Marc J. Spears—in which only the Philadelphia 76ers ranked lower than the Knicks—he let slip that the front office in the Big Apple is not keen on a certain rebuilding tactic:
"The Knicks are not interested in fire-sale trades yet despite their franchise-worst start, one NBA general manager told Yahoo Sports."
Good for the Knicks. Really.
Common knowledge before the season suggested the Knicks, like a few other franchises such as Boston, did not care much for this year in particular. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News puts it best:
The eighth seed in the woeful Eastern Conference rests about five games under .500 this time of year, but that defeats the purpose and theme of these Knicks—things need to get worse before they can get better.
Make no mistake, New York is not tanking. Phil Jackson does not tank. He is a man with a long-term plan, though:
"#knicknation a better 2015 than 14. The effort and skill of our team will grow as the players learn how to play with and for each other.
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) December 25, 2014"
The plan has and will continue to be to develop a young nucleus while perhaps nabbing a top pick in the upcoming draft as a bonus.
Besides, whom are the Knicks going to trade? Andrea Bargnani and J.R. Smith are oft-injured commodities. Amar'e Stoudemire is 32 years old. The proverbial cat is out of the bag when it comes to the disappointment that is Iman Shumpert (averages of 9.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds this season).
It is inadvisable to trade future pieces that are already developing the chemistry and core. Tim Hardaway Jr. is still a work in progress. So too are Shane Larkin and Cleanthony Early.
The centerpiece, of course, continues to be Carmelo Anthony, who averages 23.9 points, 3.1 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game. The veteran is all-in concerning Fisher, too.
"I think if it was anybody else in his position, I think this probably would've crumbled already," Anthony said, per ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. "I think he's doing a great job of keeping everybody focused on the task at hand and believing in what we're trying to do."
For his part, Anthony also seems to have a New Year's resolution.
"I don't really like doing the New Year's resolution, but I just want 2015 to be better than 2014," Anthony said. "We've got to find a win. We can't be thinking about the turnaround. We've got to find a win first and see what happens from there."
The Knicks may have only five wins. They may rank 28th in scoring and 29th in rebounds, chief tallies among a number of miserable stats. They may also have tired veteran legs with bloated contracts bogging things down.
These things happen to franchises on the mend that attempted to do things wrong for years and years. Look at the Los Angeles Lakers right now.
What the Knicks do have, though, is a developing core and one of the league's top superstars, not to mention an encouraging situation that will blossom around an upstart head coach.
It can be difficult to name the last time the Knicks had a first-round pick, let alone a time it will likely come inside the top five. The possibilities, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders points out, are endless:
Even better, the team also figures to have a somewhat large amount of cap space next offseason.
That last note is why Jackson will never outright tank. New York is New York when it comes to free agents, but he understands that a team with a laughable record is not attractive to the big names, regardless of whether it comes with a top draft spot as a consolation prize.
The light at the end of the tunnel is bright, with a mixture of unknown that relies on Ping-Pong balls. Things are bad right now, but the last thing anyone should expect is some sort of dramatic sale hosted by Jackson.
There is a plan in New York, even if most envisioned it would not be this bad. A middling roster in a significant rebuild ravished by injuries tends to look this way, though.
At the very least, this time, the epic flop is a means to an end.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
