8 NBA Teams That Had a Horrible Summer
New York Knicks
Major Additions: Tim Hardaway Jr. (free agent), Frank Ntilikina (drafted)
Major Subtractions: Derrick Rose (free agent)
Major Problems: How do Knicks fans feel about Phil Jackson's departure?
Liked #Phil Jackson as a coach but the way he childishly scapegoated & dissed #Carmelo glad his ...was canned
— allimadi (@allimadi) June 28, 2017
And that's one of the nicer tweets.
The Zen Master's three-year reign as Knicks president was a disaster. Under his watch -- and utilizing his triangle offense -- the Knickerbockers racked up a record of 80-166. For contrast, between his coaching tenures with the Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, he lost only 485 games. In 20 seasons.
With Jackson gone, New York will wipe the slate and have a fresh start.
Oh, wait. They won't.
Y'see, the Knicks team you'll enjoy on opening night this fall will be pretty much the same Knicks team you enjoyed on opening night of last season. And that 2016-17 squad finished the season with a record of 31-51.
New York won't be able to make any significant upgrades until they offload Carmelo Anthony, and unlike in years past -- when Melo hid behind his no-trade cause -- there's a possibility that could happen. Anthony has made it clear he'd like to play with the Houston Rockets, but for whatever reason, the two franchise haven't been able to get a deal done.
Looking at how the Knicks performed with and without Melo last year, it makes it clear why, whether they'll admit it out loud or not, they'd love to not pay the 33-year-old the $28 million he's due this season.
| 2016-17 New York Knicks | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | Steals | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With Carmelo Anthony | 104.3 | 45.7 | 21.6 | 7.1 | 13.4 | .448 | 78.5% |
| Without Carmelo Anthony | 105.2 | 45.2 | 21.8 | 7.0 | 13.9 | .447 | 78.8% |
Sure, we could add more categories, but you'll still end up with the same conclusion, that conclusion being, they're the exact same freakin' team with or without Carmelo Anthony!
Which likely means that unless they make a splashy late-summer deal, they'll probably be the exact same freakin' team as they were in 2016-17.
Takeaway: No takeaways allowed until we learn Melo's fate. So, y'know, have fun with that, Knicks fans.
