5 Biggest Takeaways from New York Knicks' 1st Half of the Season
In the first full year of the Phil Jackson regime, things have not been going well for the New York Knicks. Facing injuries, inconsistency and an irrefutable lack of talent, they've been one of the worst teams in the NBA at the halfway point.
Still, given that this is the first year of a rebuilding project, the Knicks' performance doesn't necessarily mean things aren't going to plan. The Knicks weren't supposed to be great this season in any case, and any worse they get is arguably a bonus for draft standings.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the biggest takeaways from New York's season so far, with a focus on the long-term effects of what we've seen.
The Tank Is on
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Before the season, it was generally accepted that the Knicks' rebuilding project was going to take a long time. Even so, after acquiring Jose Calderon there was hope that they could at least improve on their disappointing 37-45 record in 2013-14.
As it turns out, New York has been much worse this time round, and it hasn't taken long to realize that talent is lacking severely throughout the roster, despite the upgrade at point guard.
On the bright side, the Knicks are very much in tanking mode right now, which should bode well for the future of the franchise. They've already increased cap space for free agency by trading away Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, and until recently they have looked like a safe bet for one of the top draft lottery seeds.
In a way, this is the best thing that could have happened to the Knicks. They've managed to keep Carmelo Anthony and now have the chance to add elite talent through both free agency and the draft, which will help to speed the process up but also ensure that a roster is built organically.
Sure, one could argue that tanking has made New York an unattractive free-agent destination, but it will still be in the running for second-tier players, and the major free agents were unlikely to leave their current situations in any case.
If there's one word to describe the Knicks' season to date, "tanking" would be it. Despite the word's negative connotations, it does bring hope that there is a real opportunity to build through the draft now, which the organization hasn't really done for years.
Tim Hardaway Jr. May Not Be Much More Than a High-Volume Shooter
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Tim Hardaway Jr.'s All-Rookie campaign was one of the highlights of 2013-14 for the Knicks, but in 2014-15 he's been one of the big disappointments, failing to improve significantly on anything we saw in his rookie year.
As a testament to the Knicks' lack of talent, Hardaway has still been one of the team's best players. He's New York's second-leading scorer on the season behind Carmelo Anthony with 525 total points, and no one else is within reach.
Hardaway has been playing 23.1 minutes per night (he averaged the same number in his rookie season), and although his scoring has gone up from 10.2 points to 11.4 points per game, in terms of efficiency he's getting worse. To date, he's shooting just 39 percent from the field and 34 percent from downtown, as opposed to 43 percent and 36 percent, respectively, in his rookie season.
To an extent, we can attribute Hardaway's struggles to the lack of talent on the roster. Shooting is, of course, his bread and butter, and there is a level of complementarity to that role that can't be realized without solid players elsewhere on the court.
What we're coming to learn about Hardaway—especially in the wake of fellow shooting guards Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith being traded—is that he may not be much more than an athletic volume shooter.
This doesn't necessarily mean Hardaway is no longer a nice prospect, but expectations should certainly be tempered. He hasn't shown us much outside of his shooting (which, again, is not particularly efficient), and his long-term role may be that of a specialist off the bench, rather than a major building block as his All-Rookie status might have indicated.
There Are a Handful of Pieces for the Future
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The Knicks aren't exactly stacked with major building blocks—in fact, outside of Carmelo Anthony they don't really have any—but a number of players are proving they may be worth keeping around for roles off the bench.
At this stage of the rebuild, players who can provide a solid 10-20 minutes per night on a decent team are not exactly a priority, but given that few are in place, it makes sense to keep hold of them long term.
Specifically, players like Langston Galloway, Cole Aldrich and Quincy Acy could actually be quite useful as the basis of a low-cost second unit in 2015-16, especially considering their collective age. And, of course, the same applies to Tim Hardaway Jr.—despite his disappointing season, he still has the talent to be an offensive spark plug.
Galloway in particular has already been signed for 2015-16 after his sudden emergence from the D-League in January, and for the minimum salary, the Knicks couldn't really ask for much more. He's capable of playing both guard spots, bringing energy on both ends and not being afraid of the big shot.
As for Aldrich, he's by far the best rebounder on the team, steadily improving on defense and at least being somewhat efficient on offense despite that not being his wheelhouse. He's another player who shouldn't cost much more than the minimum to keep for the future.
Ultimately, the Knicks are going to have a lot of roster spots to fill this summer, and while new players will be filling some of the more lucrative roles, this season is still a chance for players to audition to stay on as role players.
Adding a Major Free Agent Is Unlikely
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For years now, it has generally been assumed that once the big contracts come off the books in 2015, the Knicks would bring in a major free agent to pair with Carmelo Anthony and kick-start the rebuild.
While it sounds like a nice idea, this awful season has led just about everyone to the slow realization that New York realistically can't compete for marquee stars right now.
Financially, the Knicks can offer max contracts to anyone, and Phil Jackson is a huge attraction, but there's too much uncertainty about how long rebuilding will take and, frankly, too many better teams with cap space (including the teams many of these free agents already play for).
Asking Marc Gasol to leave the only team he's ever played for would be difficult in any case, but it's verging on impossible when he'd be jumping from a 34-12 team to a 9-38 one.
This isn't necessarily the end of the world, and in fact it invites the Knicks to be smarter with their rebuild. They should have one of the better picks in the draft and will be able to use free agency to bring in multiple starters and generally start to build a well-rounded roster, as opposed to the top-heavy approach they had this time around.
Gauging Derek Fisher Is Going to Take a While
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Given the Knicks' 9-38 record, it makes sense to be disappointed with Derek Fisher's performance as head coach, but with the lack of talent on this roster, it's hard to tell just how much of the blame should fall on his shoulders.
Even in the best-case scenario, Fisher was going to struggle. Being a first-year coach is never easy, especially in the shadow of Phil Jackson, but that struggle increases tenfold without many pieces to work with on the court.
Fisher is still a relative unknown—other than attempting to run the triangle and staying fairly calm on the sidelines, he doesn't have an established coaching style. He's learning just as the young players on the team are, and that's absolutely fine at this stage.
One thing Fisher has preached since Day 1 is continuity, working on the system on a daily basis with the understanding that eventually it will click. With the Knicks on a nice 4-2 stretch, it's possible that we're starting to see that come to fruition.
At the end of the day, rebuilding takes years, and fans need to extend that patience to the coach too, especially when it's someone going into the job directly from playing. Only time will tell if Fisher is the man New York needs at head coach, and we won't know until he has a reasonably talented roster to work with.
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