Strange winds are blowing through the Five Boroughs this off-season. As outside observers, we were first offered a glimpse of a possible dynamic shift within the New York Knicks front office with their selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, a 7-foot 1 Latvian mystery named Kristaps Porzingis.
As a skinny stretch-4 with both a tremendous upside and potential for ruin, the selection of Porzingis angered many win-now Knick fans who shamelessly booed the 19-year-old when he was taken with the fourth pick.
Others, like myself, saw the selection of Porzingis as indicative as anything of the change Phil Jackson promised when brought in as the new Knicks president.
This was further reinforced when Jackson traded volume-chucker Tim Hardaway Jr to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a first-round pick and point guard Jerian Grant, a hole the current roster desperately needs filled.
For the first time in a long time, the Knicks seem to be developing their future rather than mortgaging it.
There was once a time when the Knicks could rely on the thrill of living and playing in the Big City as well as the prestige and history of the New York Knicks itself (numerous Hall of Fame players, two championships, in addition to being one of the oldest teams in the NBA) to seduce All-Star players into signing with them.
Those advantages no longer exist, recently exemplified by Greg Monroe’s decision to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks instead of the Knicks. Rumours abounded for months that Monroe to New York was as sure a thing as any, especially given that the Knicks were willing to offer him a max contract, only to see Monroe sign with the smaller-market Bucks.
Of course, this could also point to the fact that Milwaukee showed great improvement over new coach Jason Kidd last year and boast a starting five where Monroe would be the oldest player at 25 years old. There is absolutely the possibility that Monroe wants to play with a team where he can be ‘the guy’ and contend for a championship for years to come, something that was never going to happen with the Carmelo Anthony-led Knicks.
Personally, I loved the fact that we didn’t get Monroe. Call it paranoia, call it PTSD from the Isiah Thomas years, but I just knew that giving Monroe the max would only spell bad things. Over-paying for suspect players is as much a Knicks trademark as Patrick Ewing, and while Monroe may be good for a double-double each night, his defensive struggles gave me enough cause to consider that his contract would be one of those contracts.
Instead, Jackson used that cap space to sign good-not-great players in Aaron Afflalo, Robin Lopez and, now, Kyle O’Quinn. We know enough about these players at this point: Afflalo is a solid 3-and-D player who can create his own shot, Lopez has previously stood out as a centre playing behind a scoring forward in Portland and does not need offensive touches to make his impact felt. And that is enough for a rebuilding team.
Not every Knicks fan is content to heckle and taunt a foreign teenager who has given every indication of being a hard worker, or call for the head of Phil Jackson for his refusal to put all his eggs in one basket a la Isiah Thomas.
Many of us understand that the NBA landscape has shifted, and with that so has what makes a team have a ‘winning culture’. Where quick fixes used to be prioritised (or putting band-aids over bullet wounds in the case of the Knicks) in the form of throwing money at big-time scorers or trading away long-term assets for short-term success, to the team-based focus we currently see where often the most valuable players to a team are also the most versatile (e.g. the previous two Finals MVPs, Andre Iguodala and Kawhi Leonard).
In fact, star players are now almost expected to re-sign with their team at a lower rate to keep the championship core intact.
The ‘disease of more’ that Pat Riley once coined, like smallpox, seems to be on its way out. Phil is seemingly aware of this, which could be why he has prioritised signing and drafting like-minded role-players who understand there is no individual greater than the team, and no individual stat-line that looks better than winning feels.
I would love to see a return to the Knicks of old – the hard-working, gritty basketball, which this off-season has read like so far.
In any case, ‘slow and steady wins the race’ is now the new NY mantra, and I could not be more excited.
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