5 Biggest Issues New York Knicks Must Address This Offseason
When Derrick Rose looked over the 2016-17 New York Knicks, he saw a super team on par with the Golden State Warriors. By year's end, the 'bockers had become the NBA's personification of the Crying Jordan meme.
They were old, injured, expensive and dysfunctional—pretty much everything other than competent. And that's before getting into the series of unfortunate events that played out off the court.
It'll take more than a summer of cold showers to clean this franchisewide funk, but at least the offseason brings some semblance of hope. They own a top-10 pick and two other selections in a seemingly loaded draft, and they have the financial flexibility to start addressing some of their roster flaws (or max out Rose because, you know, #LOLKnicks).
As long as they take steps toward an eventual solution, they can sell the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. But their future will be clouded with uncertainty until they address these five issues.
1. The Defense Is Broken
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What makes a leaky defense a fatal flaw? When the primary source of those leaks is roster composition.
"I don't think our guys aren't trying," head coach Jeff Hornacek said in January, per ESPN.com's Ian Begley. "Maybe we're just not capable of it. I don't know. That's what we're going to have to figure out."
New York is woefully short of solid-or-better individual defenders. To wit, it had just a single player inside the top 90 of defensive real plus-minus—budding backbone Kristaps Porzingis at 53rd overall, per ESPN.com.
But contrary to Hornacek's assessment, consistent effort seemed to be an issue for most of this team. The coaching didn't help, either. Neither Hornacek nor assistant Kurt Rambis pushed the right buttons, and the Knicks' constantly changing strategies always fell a step or two behind those of their opponents.
The finished product was a mess made for reality TV. Bottom-third marks flooded the stat sheet—last in defensive rebounding percentage, last in second-chance points allowed, 25th in efficiency, 24th in paint points allowed, 23rd in both opponents' scoring and steals.
As long as this unit is abysmal, the Knicks will likely rank the same overall.
2. The Offense Is Aimless
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Hornacek seemed an awkward hire by team president Phil Jackson given the latter's preference for all things triangle at the offensive end. When Hornacek was at his coaching best, he had the Phoenix Suns humming along with a modern attack built on pace and spacing.
But before Hornacek coached his first game in the Big Apple, he told reporters elements of the triangle would be present in his offense. Over the ensuing months, those elements were both minimized and magnified. Sometimes, the Knicks stressed the three-sided system, and sometimes they went heavy on pick-and-rolls and isolations.
Amid all the transformations, New York made the one misstep it could least afford: frustrating the new franchise face.
"I never felt at any point of this season we've never played how we've wanted to," Porzingis told reporters in March. "It's always been, 'Maybe this will work, or maybe this will work.' ... It's been a lot of confusion. A lot of stuff is not clear. So, it's hard to play like that."
The Knicks weren't dreadful on offense—tied for 18th in efficiency and scoring—but they should have been much more potent. They were one of only four clubs to have three players average 18-plus points.
Even if some of those scorers are gone, there's ample room for improvement if New York simply sticks to a philosophy. It sounds like the triangle will be that style, which is not ideal for today's game but still beats trying to do too many things at once. New York needs Porzingis, who skipped his exit interview, to buy its vision, which cannot happen without a singular focus.
3. The Frontcourt Is Overcrowded
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Two years into his NBA career, Porzingis is already a history-maker.
His sophomore campaign—and Kevin Durant's 2016-17 effort—produced a previously unseen stat line of at least 18 points, seven rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 threes per game. Oh, and the 7'3" Porzingis captured this year's Skills Challenge crown too.
He's already establishing himself as a unique star, and he's not even being properly utilized yet.
"Porzingis' future is clearly at center, serving as a sort of hybrid version of Dirk Nowitzki, Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert: floor spacing and playmaking on offense, rim protection on defense," Bleacher Report's Yaron Weitzman wrote. "The Unicorn is everything a team could want from its big man."
Porzingis goes from mismatch to unguardable when he shifts over to the 5. The problem is, he only spent 21 percent of his floor time there this season. Why? Because New York's second-most expensive player, Joakim Noah, and second-most intriguing prospect, Willy Hernangomez, are centers too. And so is Kyle O'Quinn, who's signed through at least next season.
It's easy and accurate to say Porzingis and Hernangomez should get all the minutes they can handle, but almost $22 million of next year's payroll is tied up between Noah and O'Quinn. Noah's deal already looks like a sunk cost, but the Knicks should scour the market to find something of value for O'Quinn.
4. PG Vacancy Needs Filling
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In the golden era of NBA point guards, the Knicks are on a decade-plus search for one. With all due respect to the stat-padding Stephon Marbury, those three weeks of Linsanity and the half-step-from-retirement Jason Kidd, New York hasn't had a functional floor general in forever.
This season was more of the same.
Chasson Randle ranked 50th among point guards in real plus-minus, two spots ahead of Rose. Each fared worse at the defensive end (60th and 81st respectively). The Knicks suffered from paltry playmaking all year, sitting 22nd in assist percentage and tied for 20th in points created by assists.
In other words, there is no internal answer to this perpetual problem.
"It's either through the draft or overpaying a Jrue Holiday or Jeff Teague," Bobby Marks of The Vertical told the New York Post's Fred Kerber. "I don't see any of the big [free agents] changing teams."
On the surface, that's not the most exciting course of action. But it gets very interesting if the Knicks strike lottery gold and move into the draft range of a Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball. And there's still plenty to like about Dennis Smith, De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Frank Ntilikina if any of them are the pick.
If New York plots a different draft course, free agency has some stable options. Teague doesn't defend well enough to warrant a big investment (24th among point guards in DRPM), but Holiday (fourth) and George Hill (eighth) would bring stopping skills and the off-ball chops needed in the triangle.
5. The Anthony-Jackson Feud
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It's never easy to make definite statements about the nature of an NBA relationship. But it really feels like the link between Jackson and Carmelo Anthony has gone from uncomfortable to unsalvageable.
Thinly veiled shots through traditional and social media are one thing. Maybe those could have been forgiven by Anthony, who, let's not forget, holds all the cards here with his no-trade clause.
But Jackson's open plea for a deal appeared as an attempted two-handed shove out of the Empire State.
"We have not been able to win with him on the court at this time, and I think the direction with our team is that he is a player who would be better off somewhere else and using his talent somewhere he can win or chase that championship," Jackson said at an April press conference.
The challenge, though, is somehow brokering a deal with Anthony's consent and without a pennies-on-the-dollar return. The package built around Austin Rivers in February, per the New York Daily News' Frank Isola, would have been about a two-cent return.
Anthony has to have more value than that. Poke and prod his game all you want, but he was still one of only 25 players to average at least 22 points. The 32-year-old might not mean much to the rebuilding Knicks, but a championship hopeful could easily envision him as a missing piece.
The Knicks need a resolution. And since Jackson has the support of owner James Dolan—who told the Michael Kay Show as much in February (h/t Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com)—an Anthony deal might be the only way out of this mess.
Statistics used courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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