It's been a fun year for my Knicks.They came out of the gate firing, winning eighteen of their first twenty-three games. The comeback of point guard Raymond Felton, like the dude's rug, seemed to tie the room together. His dynamism and his ability to penetrate the perimeter stretched the floor enough, so that Carmelo Anthony, J.R Smith and role players like Steve Novak and Chris Copeland could just fire away without thinking twice. Felton himself proved to be an efficient outside shooter.
But Felton got hurt right before New Year and things started getting out of synch. The Knicks became streaky, capable of the best and the worst on court. Sometimes during the same game. General Manager Glen Grunwald's decision to hire so many players between thirty and forty years old looked absolutely brilliant at the start of the year, but it started showing its limitations after the all-star break as players started coming down with injuries and left Grunwald scrambling to patch the holes in his lineup. The Knicks lucked out when they hired Kenyon Martin after the trade deadline, but that was the last good management move of the season.
We got booted from the playoffs in round 2, by the Indiana Pacers. I'm actually happy we made it this far, which hadn't happened for a decade and a half or so. It was evident the Pacers were the bigger, younger, more cohesive team at the series went along and that Mike Woodson got painfully outcoached by Frank Vogel. Like I said, no big deal. We have something to build on. There are things that work well with the team, other that need improvement. Here are five suggestions for my dear New York Knicks' off season.
Stop recruiting in the geriatric aisle - Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Earl Barron, Quentin Richardson and James White all need to go. They are role players who cannot give reliable help for a complete season anymore. Too old, too busted up. They can't follow the parade anymore. Not every night. Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon Martin can stay, because they proved to be efficient in a limited role. The Knicks are contractually obliged to Kidd until 2015 and to Camby until next season, but they should consider retiring before their dignity divorces them on court, which has already happened to Kidd during the playoffs. Barron, Richardson and White are all bench warmers who can be replaced by younger, more reliable legs.
Draft a big - We have a first round pick in 2013, which is a rare occurrence in New York, since we traded them all away for Carmelo Anthony (not that it's bad or anything). We have pick #24, which means we should draft someone who could help us right away. A big body, to help with the abysmal rebounding number. Fresh legs to patrol the paint. Best case scenario is Louisville's center Gorgui Dieng, but Power Forward and Center are the two deep position this year, so there will be a lot to choose from.
Sign a big - Drafting a big body is not enough. You need to sign one too. A younger guy. Someone like DeJuan Blair, from San Antonio, would fit well within the team's culture. Rebounding was a really, really bad aspect of the Knicks' game in 2012-13 and we need to remedy to the situation. Get some help down low. Blair doesn't fit the master plan in San Antonio anymore, but he would in New York. He can help in a limited role of 20-25 minutes a night and can both play Power Forward and Center. He cannot do worse than elder statesman Kurt Thomas.
Show Chris Copeland some love - It's time to rethink Chris Copeland's role withing the Knicks' offense. He has been a pleasure to watch, yet criminally underused by coach Woodson. Whenever he is on court, he can make his own offense and ease the pressure off Melo. Yet Copeland has seen about ten minutes of action in average, every night. He is vigorous, smart and better, he is CHEAP. So use him. The fans love to see him in action. If Woodson can carve some time for Steve Novak to play, it should be a no-brainer to carve some for Copeland.
Embrace Shump - Let's face it. Unless he decides to blow away the biggest pay day of his life and take his player option, our beloved sharpshooter J.R Smith is as good as gone. We are all wrapped up in the luxury tax (thanks to Amar'e Stoudamire's contract) and there is no way we can pay him what he's going to ask. His departure is going to hurt, but it's time we embrace the rising of swingman Iman Shumpert, who proved to be more reliable than J.R in the playoffs. If we give Shump the playing time he deserves, I have no doubt he'll blossom into a dominant force.
next Wednesday: we'll discuss about lottery results and do a little vacation planning for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But Felton got hurt right before New Year and things started getting out of synch. The Knicks became streaky, capable of the best and the worst on court. Sometimes during the same game. General Manager Glen Grunwald's decision to hire so many players between thirty and forty years old looked absolutely brilliant at the start of the year, but it started showing its limitations after the all-star break as players started coming down with injuries and left Grunwald scrambling to patch the holes in his lineup. The Knicks lucked out when they hired Kenyon Martin after the trade deadline, but that was the last good management move of the season.
We got booted from the playoffs in round 2, by the Indiana Pacers. I'm actually happy we made it this far, which hadn't happened for a decade and a half or so. It was evident the Pacers were the bigger, younger, more cohesive team at the series went along and that Mike Woodson got painfully outcoached by Frank Vogel. Like I said, no big deal. We have something to build on. There are things that work well with the team, other that need improvement. Here are five suggestions for my dear New York Knicks' off season.
Stop recruiting in the geriatric aisle - Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Earl Barron, Quentin Richardson and James White all need to go. They are role players who cannot give reliable help for a complete season anymore. Too old, too busted up. They can't follow the parade anymore. Not every night. Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon Martin can stay, because they proved to be efficient in a limited role. The Knicks are contractually obliged to Kidd until 2015 and to Camby until next season, but they should consider retiring before their dignity divorces them on court, which has already happened to Kidd during the playoffs. Barron, Richardson and White are all bench warmers who can be replaced by younger, more reliable legs.
Draft a big - We have a first round pick in 2013, which is a rare occurrence in New York, since we traded them all away for Carmelo Anthony (not that it's bad or anything). We have pick #24, which means we should draft someone who could help us right away. A big body, to help with the abysmal rebounding number. Fresh legs to patrol the paint. Best case scenario is Louisville's center Gorgui Dieng, but Power Forward and Center are the two deep position this year, so there will be a lot to choose from.
Sign a big - Drafting a big body is not enough. You need to sign one too. A younger guy. Someone like DeJuan Blair, from San Antonio, would fit well within the team's culture. Rebounding was a really, really bad aspect of the Knicks' game in 2012-13 and we need to remedy to the situation. Get some help down low. Blair doesn't fit the master plan in San Antonio anymore, but he would in New York. He can help in a limited role of 20-25 minutes a night and can both play Power Forward and Center. He cannot do worse than elder statesman Kurt Thomas.
Show Chris Copeland some love - It's time to rethink Chris Copeland's role withing the Knicks' offense. He has been a pleasure to watch, yet criminally underused by coach Woodson. Whenever he is on court, he can make his own offense and ease the pressure off Melo. Yet Copeland has seen about ten minutes of action in average, every night. He is vigorous, smart and better, he is CHEAP. So use him. The fans love to see him in action. If Woodson can carve some time for Steve Novak to play, it should be a no-brainer to carve some for Copeland.
Embrace Shump - Let's face it. Unless he decides to blow away the biggest pay day of his life and take his player option, our beloved sharpshooter J.R Smith is as good as gone. We are all wrapped up in the luxury tax (thanks to Amar'e Stoudamire's contract) and there is no way we can pay him what he's going to ask. His departure is going to hurt, but it's time we embrace the rising of swingman Iman Shumpert, who proved to be more reliable than J.R in the playoffs. If we give Shump the playing time he deserves, I have no doubt he'll blossom into a dominant force.
next Wednesday: we'll discuss about lottery results and do a little vacation planning for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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