It was July sixth 2012, and veteran point guard Jason Kidd had agreed to terms with the New York Knicks while shunning the Dallas Mavericks.
The man Knicks fans thought Jason Kidd would be mentoring, the sensational Jeremy Lin (or “Linsanity” as he was better known), had signed a four-year $28 million deal with Houston which included a two-year poison-pill window which Knicks owner, James Dolan could not and would not match.
This was also done on July sixth 2012.
Days later the New York Knicks decided to perform a sign-and-trade for yet another veteran.
Rather than plug in the young guys the Knicks had in Tony Douglas, Josh Harrelson and Jerome Jordan, the Knicks decided to trade the young players and two second round picks for 38-year-old centre Marcus Camby.
If that wasn’t bad enough the Knicks signed Camby to a three-year $15 million dollar deal.
The official ending of the New York run for Jeremy Lin came on July 15th in a trade where the Knicks received Raymond Felton and Kurt Thomas (oldest current NBA player) while giving away Dan Gadzuric and Jarred Jeffries.
While this wasn’t a terrible trade for the Knicks, they again got older as Kurt Thomas is the oldest player in the NBA. Ignoring Jeremy Lin and signing Raymond Felton also meant the Knicks got older.
See a theme here?
Finally to cap things off during last off season the Knicks signed former retired 38-year-old veteran Rasheed Wallace. The oldest team in the NBA just got older.
Entering the season the Knicks average age was 31.3 years old.
In my opinion, this is why the Knicks are doomed to fail.
A popular idea is that Carmelo Anthony is a reason why the Knicks won’t win. Well, let me try to put that to sleep right now.
1. The Knicks are 27-10 when Melo is a game’s leading scorer, 6-8 when another Knick is the leading scorer, 9-8 when an opposing player is.
2. The Knicks have a +/- of +5.6 while Melo is on the floor and -1.4 while he is off the court.
3. When a non-Melo Knicks is the leading scorer, the TOV rate goes from 12.2% to 14.9%
4. When Melo plays and doesn’t lead all scorers but another Knick does, they are 3-2; when he plays and an opposing player leads, 6-7.
My point is that the Knicks should have attacked another player who can shoot the ball well in free agency to help free Carmelo up.
By freeing Anthony up it would allow the offense to be less predictable which in turn would help Melo’s game, which would equate to more wins.
Instead the Knicks decided to go for players who are over the hill. You simply cannot say Camby, Thomas, Wallace, Felton or Kidd have had a good season.
Throughout this season the Knicks have been one of the most up and down teams in the NBA. They came out firing shooting off to a 0.750% start at the quarter mark before tumbling down back to reality with their current 0.618% record.
The old vets breaking down to injuries is the most predictable thing that has happened to this team this year. When Glenn Grunwald made his free agent signing last off-season surely he would have to had to know this is simply not a sustainable product.
Although the Knicks have recently locked up a playoffs birth, does anyone think they can even make any noise in the playoffs?
The Knicks are looking down the barrel of either the Celtics, Chicago or Atlanta. Would anyone take the Knicks in a series against Celtics or Bulls? I sure wouldn’t.
The Knicks have just gone backwards three years thanks to the current roster. The have the following multi-year contracts on the books:
• Marcus Camby (3 years, $15million)
• Jason Kidd (3 years, $9.5 million)
• Amare Stoudemire (3 years, $65 million)
• Raymond Felton (3 years, $15 million)
I’m sure if the Knicks had their time again, they would not commit to these contracts.
With the combination of these contracts, old veterans and Mike Woodson, the Knicks have no hope of an NBA championship in the next few years.
Only time will tell how the Knicks future will pan out. This Knick fan sure hopes it’s a bright one.
melo-drama
Guest
OK Chivers, what you have basically said is picking up vets on "minimums" is the worst decision ever yet they are on a 9 game tear and 2nd in the east. Set with your unrealistic title with words such as "Doomed" and "Fail" I fear that any point you make about the Knicks off season is just not really that pointy. Dolan could afford to keep Lin as he would have been a mid level exception for the first two years, Grunwald said no because the poison pill of the 3rd year would have crippled the salary cap (Rockets offered a 4 year deal bumping it up to about 14mil over the last 2 years) now that was quietly feasible for the Knicks. But who cares Lins at the Rockets and is playing alright..... Are you one of those ppl that think Landry's worth 20mil over 3 years? Lin isn't worth ther 14mil plus tax the Knicks would end up paying. I throw a few facts at you Chivers, Knicks are the most valuble team in the NBA I think like 1.2 billion dollars, they make the most money in the NBA. They arent the most expensive team in the NBA. They got Vet's cause woodson had his core and Woodson wanted Vet's. What about Copeland and Prigioni, what about JR's career year........ Sheed being on the bench is worth more to a team then paying over the 20mil over the cap, plus another 30mil on top of that. Jason Kidd and Kurt Thomas are better locker room buddies then Jeffries and Gadzuric. Prigioni is playing significantly better then Toney Douglas was, who else did Grunwald piss off?? who cares.... It's a better team this year ALOT better, I get STATS contract is an issue it's untradable uninsured and for goodness sake ridiculous, but Stat is a 5 time All Star and they dont come cheap and Stat does alot for the New York Community he gives back and is an excellent role model for the MSG fans. How the knicks worked around those contracts and having the players buy into it is by far more important the you saying "oh they need another 20mil scorer Stats farked it up =(" And what about KMart getting dat weak stuff outta here..... Theres alot more to a team then age Chivers, I dont care about your yankees your giants your jets mets or nets, You missed the mark on this early on and never recovered.....
Reece Jordan
Roar Pro
I completely agree with your points on the aging veterans, and I like the way you've written the piece. It's very persuasive and deals quite systematically with the different arguments that have been presented. I think the Knicks have done as well as they possibly could have this season with their list, their competition and the free agency market. Looking back, there wasn't a lot of 'home-run' deals a team as cap-stricken as the Knicks could have made. I think they've been handicapped from the start with ASTAT's exorbitant contract, and with Miami in your conference, that's practically death in the NBA. The Felton>Lin deal obviously is a bit of a bust, that's classic James Doolan at work. However, I don't blame for the Knicks for looking to reshuffle the deck instead of investing in a future core of 'Toney Douglas, Josh Harrelson and Jerome Jordan'. Should they have traded for Camby? Debatable. I'd think not. Glancing over at the free agency list of 2012 again, I'd say the Knicks would have been better pursuing guys such as D.J. Augustin (Indiana), Andray Blatche (Brooklyn), Carlos Delfino (Houston), Patty Mills (San Antonio) or Nick Young (Philadelphia). You're right in that they were completely ignorant, or just risky, in banking on so many old players; however the answer for New York isn't clear cut. They're in middle ground right now, the worst place in the world for an NBA team. I wouldn't be against considering detonating the Melo/Amar'e era to clear cap space for a 2014 Free Agency splash.
Blendo
Guest
Yep, it ALL points back to management. James Dolan, Isiah Thomas, etc...Dolan is willing to spend the dough but with ZERO long-term vision, always wanting a quick fix. That doesn't work in the NBA if you want to build a champion.
mushi
Roar Guru
I’m pretty sure under the new rules they’ve got nada in terms of wiggle room. Losing smith, kidd and camby will only just provide them with the non tax payer’s exemption and then they can pick up a shed load of guys again on minimum contracts. Plus I think from next year onwards you can’t sign and trade if it would put you more than 4m above the luxury tax line meaning they could offer the princely sum of around 5m to Jennings and Millsap which I can’t really see them being head over heels in love with. They could get that to around 8.5m by giving up the cheap but effective Steve Novak (leaving them with a grand total of 0 three point shooters), even then I think they’ll be outbid.
Brodie
Roar Guru
James Dolan keeps me awake at night.
Ridley
Guest
Agree with comments re Knicks, although good win today vs Garnett-less Celtics. Regarding Yankees though, heading into this season with massive amount of salary tied up in past-it or injury prone players, will be interesting to see how they go with best teams looking to be ones with quality young pitching.
astro
Guest
Two words: James Dolan
Brodie
Roar Guru
The core of Carmelo and Chander is certainly a terrific one to build around. If only they could rid themselves of the Stoudemire contract and they could go go-hun for a Millisap or Jennings. With a player such as those two added to this piece the Knicks could be really special. JR Smith has a player option which I doubt he will take as it's for small money which will give the Knicks some wiggle room. Hopefully Camby and Kidd retire this year!
Brodie
Roar Guru
They rely so much on the factoid that they are an attractive destination for free agents and ignore the draft. It frustrates me to no end. Baseball is all number hence why the Yankees are consistently great. They can throw as much money as they want to get the best guys. The Giants (NFL) build through the draft which in my opinion is the best way to go about things whilst adding key free agents. The Knicks bad management will be the end of me haha.
james rosewarne
Roar Guru
Great to see another of your articles Brodie. You're certainly right to point out the many and varied erroneous contracts New York have on their books, yet at the same time its perhaps a small price to pay for delivering them their first division title in almost 20 years. There's also a strong argument the Knicks did the right thing by not re-signing Lin and going instead with the less expensive Felton, Kidd, Prignoni combo. In my eyes (and I'm by no means a Knicks devotee) they've got 3 players in Anthony, Chandler and Smith who are all extremely good and would log heavy minutes with any team out there. I get the feeling for them to take the next step and possibly contend for a championship they'll need to souround those 3 with a better collection than they have now. JJ Redick could be an off season option, as to could Brandon Jennings? Paul Milsap would also be a massive upgrade. sportingnumbers.blogspot.com
Johnno
Guest
Knicks are one of the mysteries of modern sport. eg say 1980-2013, they could of been one of the best sports franchises in the world, but places like Boston,Miami, Chicago,Detroit, Dallas, San Antonio, have all done better. New York is basically rivalled by LA for commercial value as a city. Yankees are a hit, there gridiron teams are not bad, i don't know about there ice hickey teams the rangers, Mets are average, but the Yankees are King in New York and one of top franchises in the world in sport if not no 1. Knicks have neen let down by bad management , but lots of potential , as do the Brooklyn Nets.