Which Knicks Benefit Most from New York's House-Cleaning?
Bring on the offseason. Major personnel changes this week made it clear the New York Knicks have made next season the priority and this one expendable, which is bad news for some characters and golden opportunities for others.
During shootaround Monday, less than an hour before tip-off, suits from the Knicks front office called swingman Iman Shumpert, shooting guard J.R. Smith and center Samuel Dalembert into the locker room, according to their teammates. The suits then told them Dalembert was being waived and Shumpert and Smith had just been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, in exchange for just about nothing.
To New York, the Cavs sent Lance Thomas, Lou Amundson and Alex Kirks—all of whom were waived Wednesday. To the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Cavs sent Dion Waiters. The Thunder, in turn, tossed the Knicks a 2019 draft pick.
All told, it saves the team roughly $30 million in salary and luxury tax.
Marc Berman of the New York Post described it as a "fire sale," and Knicks president Phil Jackson "devastated the roster in a move designed to clear more cap space for 2015 and plunge the franchise further into tank mode."
I think of it more like donating clothes for a tax write-off and closet space. Some of your best clothes. To someone who already has better stuff. Leaving you half-nude for the next six months, hoping you can buy an awesome $30 million wardrobe over the summer.
It's drastic, but it might be exactly what this franchise has needed: real commitment to a rebuild.
Whether these moves pay off for the franchise this summer, several young players wearing blue and orange are already reaping the benefit. They're getting bigger minutes and better chances to develop skills and show them off to the Knicks brass and other potential suitors.
So who will win?
Langston Galloway Wins
After shedding a few bodies, the Knicks called up Langston Galloway from the D-League and signed him to a 10-day contract.
Galloway, an undrafted 23-year-old 6'2" guard, played for New York in the summer league. He was invited to training camp, cut in the preseason and sent to the team's new D-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.
Galloway got the call because he'd averaged 16.4 points, 2.4 assists and 2.7 steals per game, and was showing proficiency with the triangle offense. As Berman puts it, "Galloway is not as speedy as reserve Shane Larkin, but is viewed as a better 3-point shooter and rebounder."
In his NBA debut Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, Galloway was a bit overaggressive putting up the rock (25 percent from the field), but overall he acquitted himself well, racking up seven points, three assists and one steal in 17 minutes. He created a couple fast-break opportunities, blazing downcourt to sink buckets and draw fouls.
Regardless of what happens at the end of 10 days, Galloway can already count the losses of J.R. and Shump as a W for him.
Cole Aldrich Wins
6'11" center Cole Aldrich, 26, has been trying to carve out a place for himself in the league for four years. Until recently, that place was a well-worn dent on the bench and a pair of warm-ups that rarely got unzipped. Aldrich had a few highlight-filled performances in the spring but was back on the bench to start October.
Samuel Dalembert was head coach Derek Fisher's first go-to starting center. After weeks of lackluster performance, Fish moved Amar'e Stoudemire to the middle of the starting five. STAT thrived while he was healthy...but when those old injuries in his joints began crying out, it was Aldrich, not Dalembert, who stepped into Stoudemire's place.
I expected Aldrich to be capable, but not good. Not a liability, but not an asset. I was wrong.
In his 10 games as a starter, Aldrich is averaging 10.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals. That's more than just "capable."
He's polished the best piece of the old-school big-man toolkit: the hook shot. Wednesday night he launched and sunk five of them right over Marcin Gortat's mohawk.
With Dalembert out of the picture entirely and no star centers distinguishing themselves in Westchester, Aldrich's position is relatively secure. He is solidifying his place as backup big man and might even give a healthy Stoudemire a run for his money.
Cleanthony Early Wins
The Knicks had the good fortune to scoop up Cleanthony Early, a 6'8", 23-year-old rookie small forward from Wichita State, when he dropped into the second round of the 2014 draft. Early had the misfortune to get injured in November, but he returned to game condition this month, just in time.
Without Shumpert, the Knicks have nobody else well-suited to back up Carmelo Anthony at the 3 spot—and 'Melo's delicate knees may eventually lead the Knicks to give him the rest of the season off.
Fish has had to rely on a small three-guard lineup for a while now to accommodate both 'Melo's knees and Shump's injured shoulder. Without J.R. Smith, assembling a strong three-guard backcourt will be more difficult.
The Knicks need Early now. And that's good news for him.
Cle is still rough around the edges. A little gangly. A little sloppy. Sometimes his court vision can't quite keep up with the NBA pace. Overall, though, he looks good on both ends of the court. In January, Early is averaging 6.3 points, one assist, 1.3 steals and 2.3 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game.
He starred in one of the best highlights of Wednesday night. When Galloway jetted downcourt on the fast break, Early followed. When Galloway's layup bounced out, Early was there to soar in with a nasty two-handed slam.
Early told reporters Monday the trade news was "shocking," "not really a good feeling," and that "getting thrown out there, getting big minutes, you gotta step up."
Emotional reactions aside, Galloway, Aldrich and Early are clear winners of the Sam-Shump-Smith ousting. Yet there are other individuals whose fortunes are yet unclear.
Tim Hardaway, Jr. Probably Wins
To begin the season, sophomore 2-guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. was struggling to find his shot and his place. He was inconsistent, unsure of himself and downright grumpy. He was playing angry and lacked focus.
Yet, Shumpert's shoulder tear, Anthony's problematic knees and J.R. Smith's shaky shooting thrust Hardaway into the starting lineup. Since then he has been a bit more consistent, confident and relaxed. He's driving to the hoop, drawing fouls more often.
Nevertheless, he's a shooting guard who's still shooting well below 40 percent from the field, and he's often a liability on defense.
For now, Hardaway benefits because he's more necessary than he was before. He's also the kind of promising young talent the Knicks now appear to be building upon. But if I were Timmy, I wouldn't get too relaxed until after the trade deadline on Feb. 19.
Monday night, Hardaway told reporters that when the rest of the team learned about the trade 25 minutes before tip-off, "I think that was my first real NBA moment."
Shane Larkin: Too Early To Tell
As I said last week, Shane Larkin, a 5'11", 22-year-old two-year man, ought to be the Knicks' starting point guard (or lead guard as they say in the triangle). I also said Shane's a better shooting guard option than his fellow lead guards, Jose Calderon and Pablo Prigioni.
The absence of Smith and Shumpert makes the Knicks thinner at that 2-spot. So, Larkin will likely be guaranteed more minutes, but not necessarily at the position he's best suited for.
Also, Larkin now has to compete for minutes with Galloway, a relatively unknown entity. Until Galloway logs a few games playing with the big boys, we won't know if Larkin comes out ahead in this deal.
Phil Jackson: Ask Again Later
The Zen Master had a decidedly un-Zen moment Dec. 18 during the Knicks' gruesome loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Charles Barkley, one of the broadcast's commentators, made a comment intimating that Phil Jackson should regret the offseason trade that sent star center Tyson Chandler to Dallas. Jackson took to Twitter to defend his decision, saying he's "OK with it" and all the players the Knicks acquired—Dalembert, Calderon and Larkin—were "on the court."
Just a few weeks later, one of those acquisitions is not only off the court, but off the team. Calderon is underperforming and rumors are surfacing he might be the next Knick on the trade block. As Ken Berger of CBS Sports wrote Tuesday:
"With the Knicks now owners of the worst record and perhaps worst roster in the league as Phil Jackson hits the reset button in New York, league sources say the next player on the move could be point guard Jose Calderon. But at age 33 with two years and more than $15 million left on his contract, that will be a difficult proposition.
"
"Calderon has struggled this season. ... The question is how much of that is age and a natural decline, and how much of that is being on the Knicks with this roster. The challenge for the Knicks are a lot of the league’s best teams are set at point gourd and aren’t likely to take on the risk. But Phil Jackson will try.
"
Larkin is the best thing to come out of the Dallas deal, but he'll become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
If Jackson ends up dropping or losing all three of those players, he'll have an awfully hard time defending himself against Chuck next time.
So this latest series of trades and waivers could either trim or grow the ranks of #InPhilWeTrust fans.
Jackson has delivered on the promise of raising money to spend on top-notch free agents who can help 'Melo win a championship. Yet, will 'Melo and that money alone be enough to woo those players to a team that currently has the worst record in the league?
It might. It worked in Cleveland. (Getting the players, that is, not making them win.) However, per Berger:
"Nonetheless, rival execs expect Jackson to be a very busy man between now and the draft, as many doubt the Knicks will be able to attract a marquee free agent with all the salary-cap room they've created. "LaMarcus [Aldridge] isn't coming, and [Marc] Gasol isn't coming, so who are they going to get?" one such executive asked.
"
Action Jackson and Co. are gambling. And nobody will know if those gambles have paid off until the chips are scraped off the table over the summer.
Carmelo Anthony: Cannot Predict Now
If losing J.R., Shump and Dalembert is good for the team, then it's good for the team's star. Again, it's too soon to tell whether these maneuvers are going to make the Knicks better in 2015-16.
In the meantime, 'Melo misses his friends. At shootaround Wednesday, he told reporters:
"From a basketball standpoint, to lose three rotation guys...that's tough to deal with.
From a non-basketball standpoint, to lose two friends...
Shump, he was my rookie, when he came into this league. A guy I kind of put him under my wing and talked to and got him through some of his darkest times, his toughest times ...
JR, we've been together almost 10 years. So seeing a guy, kinda my brother, leave, you know right now it's more than basketball.
"
So Aldrich, Galloway and Early come out on top. Hardaway, Jr., Larkin, Jackson and Anthony's fortune has yet to be determined. And former Knicks J.R. Smith and Shumpert could be in a worse city with a better career or riding the bench, catching LeBron James when he flops.
But who cares about them? What about you? Are you, the fans, the ones who spend your hard-earned dollars buying the most expensive NBA tickets in the league and watch every excruciating game until the clock ticks to 00:00, winners?
Ask me in October.
All stats from NBA.com/stats. Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7.
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