New York Knicks Offseason Report: In the Knick of time.

Matthew Huang
Staff Writer

There is no where else for the Knicks to go from here but up.  After a franchise-worst ‘14-’15 season that tallied up a total of 62 losses, the Knicks bounced back to the bottom with an underwhelming effort last season.  While their season was highlighted by rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis and Melo’s expanded repertoire, the season was ultimately anchored down with an underpowered lineup that was rounded out by the likes of an aging Arron Afflalo and the ghost of Jose Calderon.

The Knicks made huge waves in the offseason, headlining a very active summer with acquisitions of one Derrick Rose, big man Joakim Noah and overall glue guy Courtney Lee.  While on paper the Knicks may have gotten a major, much-needed, facelift to their starting five, they also kept their reserves in mind, snagging Brandon Jennings to a $5M bargain and acquiring Justin Holiday, resigning Lance Thomas and adding a few unfamiliar European faces.  It goes without mentioning that the additions may have a lot of flair and garner lots of attention, but will these large additions and almost full makeover net positive results? Or will the potential that this roster rides on result in a catastrophic failure that only seems to happen when old, aging stars are put together? (i.g. 2012 Lakers) Throw in the low-hanging fruit that is Derrick Rose’s knees and Joakim’s fading prime and this lineup suddenly becomes questionable and the hefty price tag seems incomprehensible and unjustified given the risk involved.  But the Zen Master knows what he has in Melo and Porzingis and wants to build around the aging superstar and the hungry rookie, buying New York a star-studded roster just in the knick of time.

While Carmelo may be nearing the beginning of the end, it is never too late to change his game and/or become a different player with his physical gifts. He posted a career best 4.7 assists/game last season but that is still complimentary to his best aspect: scoring.  It just seems to flow out of the 32-year old as effortlessly as walking or talking for Melo, but critics seem to think that scoring being his best quality may make him a black hole, as he cannot seem to win despite being the hardest person for many great defenders to match up with.  While his dominance over the ball doesn’t make anyone around him any better, Melo may be doing everything he can to win.  Yes, his shooting makes him a ball hog/blackhole but what has Melo been given to work with as far as teammates go? Of Melo’s four seasons that ended with 50 or more wins, a pattern emerges. While Melo’s scoring, FG% and FGA pose little significance to total wins -- being scattered year-to-year and regardless of season outcome are very erratic -- what is important is his personnel - or who else can hold the ball.  

Melo has historically performed best with ball-dominant point guards that can also dish.  While that may seem counter-intuitive, having a ball dominant point guard and Melo on the same team, it has resulted in the four best seasons of basketball for Melo.  Allen Iverson, Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton have all been apart of Melo’s 50+ win seasons and have all contributed by taking some of the heat off of Melo so he can go to work.  While their assist totals are lackluster, (all four PG's hovering around five and six assists per game) what their presence does is allow for someone else to bring the ball up, pose a threat with the rock and ultimately create opportunities that wouldn’t arise if all the energy was focused on the most pure scorer in the NBA.  While Melo’s scoring totals have been extremely sporadic between seasons, the stats show him to be more efficient and waste less possessions when there is at least one guard on the floor that can consistently score.  While this analysis may seem obvious, better players = more points = more wins.  For Melo and the Knicks, it seems those “better players” have to be offensive guards -- not defense-first guards, and not offensive bigs.  Defense-first guards who struggle to score on their own do not attract enough defensive attention when they have the ball and essentially do not help the Knicks win when Melo is on the court.  Offensive ball-dominant bigs have also seemed to take away from Melo’s effectiveness as their often slow pace and lack of spacing ruin the tempo for the iso, catch-and-shoot style that Melo thrives in.  The Knicks have invested in the defensive wings and gambled on the ball-dominant bigs of the world, and the best compliment for Melo has proven to be offensive-minded guards.

Synthesizing this point, the Knicks are done investing in the Iman Shumpert’s of the world and done gambling picks on the Andrea Bargnani's, and have instead focused their efforts on creating an environment that will allow their best player, Melo, to thrive in.  Melo may be a black hole, but he can be a winning black hole with a Rose-like player to attack the lane and draw the defense on him.  Imagine this… Rose, donning a beautiful blue “New York” jersey, driving right past the free throw line, drawing some help D and causing a rotational shift where the defense has to choose between letting: Courtney Lee, Carmelo Anthony or Kristaps Porzingis get an open look. It sounds like an on-paper wet dream for New York and is a nice refreshing look compared to the typical: Melo backing down his man in the post, looking around for help, Jose standing still, Arron begging for a three and Robin Lopez crashing the board anticipating Melo will miss because the entire defense has been staring at Melo this whole time, knowing he has to shoot.  The potential of this lineup is extremely exciting and given the argument made above, it actually makes sense however the elephant in the room must be addressed, DROSE KNEEEES R MADE OF PAPERRRRRR!!!!!1!1!!11

And thank you internet, yes Derrick Rose is a star who has been unfortunately plagued with season-ending injuries, but he is a former MVP that does know how to do something the Knicks desperately need and also mentioned above: attack the hoop and score the damn ball.  Furthermore, Derrick Rose played 31.8 mpg last year in 66 GAMES.  So, this is a good sign that Phil Jackson’s potential gamble may pay off.  If Derrick Rose plays 66 games or more at the level he played in Chicago last season, New York has a much better chance at a fruitful upcoming season.  Rose posted a 16.7p/4.7a/3.4r statline on .427/.293/.793 with 2.7 TO’s.  Rose’s scoring efforts are good, and if the Knicks can utilize him in a way that brings out the ex-MVP’s playmaking ability they will be golden -- oh and he has to stop trying to be a 3-point shooter, but that’s fine; that’s what they signed Courtney Lee for.  Lee averaged 2.7 3PA last season and made an above average ~38%.  Lee may not have extremely impressive stats, but his contributions speak much louder.  He is a very good complimentary piece who can do a little bit of everything, whether it be shoot, drive, play D or provide a solid locker room presence.  In the admittedly somewhat likely chance that the Derrick Rose gamble fails, the Knicks have a great fall back option in Brandon Jennings who I believe can return to similar pre-injury form, where he boasted 16 points and almost seven assists. Jennings did wonders in Detroit and arguably made them who they are today, sparking some life into what used to be a very lifeless team.  If given the chance with New York, he could possibly do similar work.  While Jennings may have recorded a very underwhelming 2015-2016 season, tallying up about 6.9 points and 3.5 assists on two different teams, he only averaged about 18 mpg.  Meaning that Brandon Jennings could be a solid starting point guard or a very effective backup point if given minutes and time to fully acclimate to his new role.

Up to this point, it may seem that defense has been disregarded in this article, but a most of the defensive weight for the Knicks seems to fall on their center.  The Knicks love to invest in elite defensive bigs like Tyson Chandler, Robin Lopez and now Joakim Noah.  Noah, like Rose, was a bit of a gamble with a $18M price tag.  However, I have faith that the former Defensive Player of the Year can be extremely effective if given minutes, *coughcoughfredhoiberg*.  Noah boasts an incredible basketball IQ and always seems to be one step ahead of the offense when guarding the rim; and is not a liability on offense, being an above average playmaker and one of the best centers at passing the rock.  He could probably come close to that ridiculous 2014 season where he posted 12.6/5.4/11.3 if he was 1) given time and 2) allowed to run the offense through him, which was the case with the Bulls that year.  I'm not saying to put him at point guard, but that year he was crucial in initiating movement in an otherwise broken Bulls team that saw Rose and Luol Deng play 10 and 23 games respectively.  What I am trying to get at is that Noah can, and will make the best of what he has.  The big can make those around him better (i.g. Jimmy Butler) and absolutely has the ability to run an offense through him, making his style perfect for Phil Jackson’s beloved triangle offense.  If the Knicks try to run the triangle through Noah, Melo or Porzingis, it transforms the Knicks from being an afterthought into a multi-faceted, extremely potent offense that will force average defensive teams to pick their poison.

Of course, that ideal triangle where the best playmaking center in the league from 2014 choosing between a cutting Rose, a fading Lee, an open Porzingis or a posted Carmelo Anthony is obviously the best scenario New York could see, but may be one that will remain a fantasy if the lineup does not pan out.  Rose has to stay durable, Melo can’t decline, Porzingis has to continue to develop, Lee has to be as good as he has been the past couple of years, Noah has to had stay sharp through an emotional and upsetting ‘15-’16 season and the bench has to be as good as advertised for New York to have the season that I personally want them to.  That may be far fetched to expect, but I believe that Phil Jackson can bring the best that each player has to offer out of them and onto the hardwood come October.  It is a lot to count on, and a lot of stars have to align, but hopefully the adversity that each Knick has faced in their career can be somewhat of a uniting factor, propelling them to get the one thing no current Knick has ever tasted - a ring next summer.