New York Knicks' Post-NBA Trade Deadline Blueprint
Thank goodness that's over.
The bad news is the 23-32 New York Knicks were unable to make any deals by the NBA trade deadline that solved their point guard woes, added stars or sped up their fast-break offense.
The good news is the rumors that can unhinge a team's chemistry are behind them.
Painfully out of sync, New York stumbled to a 1-10 losing streak before the All-Star break, and head coach Derek Fisher was abruptly, unexpectedly, fired.
How do the Knicks turn that kind of momentum around? Here are five top priorities to get the rebuild moving onward and upward again.
1. Carmelo Holds Team Meeting
When the Knicks have had success this season, it has been behind strong, active, vocal leadership by Carmelo Anthony. He invited the squad to Puerto Rico for a minicamp to build team spirit over the summer. He's been the first one off the bench to defend his mates in any altercation, and it's made a difference.
Now, the Knicks are facing down two more months of hard work after the surprise firing of their head coach. They're trying to break a 1-9 streak. Plus, they have to soothe any prickly egos that might have been damaged during the lead-up to the trade deadline.
If the Knicks are going to close out the season with a positive outlook, they must do the touchy-feely, kumbaya, inspirational things that reinforce their team spirit. The impetus for that must come from their leader.
2. Double Down on Defense
Suffocating defense had been one of the team's hallmarks at the beginning of the season. The Knicks were holding opponents well below their regular shooting averages, particularly behind the arc; they had the best perimeter defense through the end of 2015. Anthony was leading the charge.
In 2016, however, the D has softened. In the last 15 games, opponents are shooting considerably better than their average, and the Knicks' perimeter defense is not best but worst; they are letting opponents shoot 5.4 percent above the league average.
Being a squad of harassing, exhausting pests not only gave the Knicks an edge but also an identity. Recapturing that spirit will help propel them back to a winning record.
3. End Season 14-13 or Better
The 1-10 slide before the All-Star break severely hurt the Knicks' hopes at a playoff berth. They're now five games behind the No. 8 seeded Charlotte Hornets and 4.5 behind a Detroit Pistons team that made significant upgrades at the trade deadline.
Closing out the season with more wins than losses, however, would give the Knicks something to build on and is a feasible goal. Eleven of their 27 remaining games are against teams that are currently below .500.
Ending the year 14-13 would also have them finish the season one game better than the initial 36-46 projection I made in October; fans would have to call the year a success overall.
Job No. 1: defeat the Brooklyn Nets Friday night.
4. Hire a Head Coach Who's More Than a Phil Jackson Disciple
Right now, there is an experienced NBA head coach without a job, who, according to ESPN.com's Ian O'Connor is "a big, big fan of Carmelo Anthony."
And according to a source of O'Connor's "would crawl to Madison Square Garden" because coaching the Knicks was "the job he's always wanted."
He made it to the Eastern Conference Finals his first year as a NBA head coach, never failed to make the playoffs in five seasons of leadership, earned Coach of the Year honors in 2011 and still ranked No. 5 on ESPN's top coaches rankings shortly before he was fired.
You've probably heard of him. His name is Tom Thibodeau, and whether or not he ultimately deserves the job of Knicks head coach, he deserves a conversation.
But Phil Jackson isn't going to do that.
Jackson will hire another disciple—someone he knows and has worked with before as a player or assistant coach, like Luke Walton or Brian Shaw. As with last time, when he offered the job to Steve Kerr and then to Derek Fisher, he will be more concerned with his personal history with that individual than with their coaching expertise or lack thereof.
Walton has been praised, and rightly so, for helping the Golden State Warriors to a glorious 39-4 start while head coach Steve Kerr was on medical leave. Walton might be perfect, or he might be fortunate to have had the Splash Brothers and Draymond Green making him look good.
The truth is probably somewhere in between.
Jackson's credibility for hiring coaches is tarnished now. In the brief yet cryptic explanation Jackson tweeted Feb. 9 after firing Fisher, he wrote that his own coaching approach was to be "transformational," not "transactional" and that he's looking for someone in a similar mold.
A "transformational" coach's goal, in Jackson's description, is to help players "reach self-actualization" (their full potential). The coach uses a team-first approach, and the player who is a part of that grows as a result; "the esteem of an individual [is] fed by the group achievements."
Sounds lovely.
Under Fisher, Anthony is having his best, most well-rounded season in a Knicks jersey and growing into the leader most people said he'd never be. "Draft bust" Derrick Williams has found a place in the regular rotation, has patched up some of the weaknesses in his game and seems to have found a home. The rookie Kristaps Porzingis has surpassed all expectations. The team has already won six more games than it did last season and still has 27 to go.
There's an argument to be made that Fisher fits the "transformational" mold. So why the midseason ax?
The Knicks' 1-9 slide preceding the firing could have been the reason, or it could have been the excuse. Fisher was going increasingly off-script when it came to on-court action. The triangle offense was seen less, while pick-and-roll and other schemes were showing up more.
These offenses are not mutually exclusive. In fact, Jackson indicated that the leader he hires should run "a system of play that includes the group. How that is done can include the [triangle] system of basketball but doesn't exclude other systems that include group play."
So, Jackson may be willing to back off on the triangle, but nevertheless, perhaps the diminishing role of the triangle caused or reflected a strain in the relationship between Fisher and his boss.
Regardless of whether or not Fisher was the right man for the job, when choosing the next coach for the Knicks, Jackson should ask first "does this person suit my players," not "does this person suit me?"
5. Get Back on the Point Guard Search
The front office was unable to make a deal for a top-notch point guard by the trade deadline. Just because the window of opportunity closed doesn't mean the job opening did.
The trouble is, the team will enter the offseason with the same underwhelming trade assets that it has now, and the free-agent market for point guards is not overflowing with tantalizing options either.
The Knicks might court the Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Conley. They already passed on Brandon Jennings, and the Orlando Magic may be keen to re-sign him after a trade-deadline swap that sent Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons. The Los Angeles Lakers will no doubt lock up Jordan Clarkson.
Rajon Rondo will also be a free agent. A history of problems playing nice with others should keep him out of the running.
The front office could try again to coax the Atlanta Hawks to part with Jeff Teague in the offseason.
However the Knicks get it done, putting a true starting-caliber point guard in the driver's seat is a job Phil Jackson and Co. must accomplish before October...just like they should have done last year...and the year before that.
All stats from NBA.com/stats.
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