Fansided

New York Knicks fans must be patient

By Andrew Melnick

Mar 30, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) reacts on the court against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Knicks won 89-84. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) reacts on the court against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Knicks won 89-84. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Knicks have been busy since their season came to an end. They hired legendary coach Phil Jackson to be their president and he picked one of his former players, Derek Fisher, to replace Mike Woodson as head coach. They dealt center Tyson Chandler and point guard Raymond Felton to the Mavericks for point guard Jose Calderón, center Samuel Dalembert,  swingman Wayne Ellington, point guard Shane Larkin and two second round picks, the 34th and 51st-overall selections of June’s draft, which were used on former Wichita State Shockers’ swingman Cleanthony Early and Greek swingman Thanasis Antetokounmpo. After all of that, they met their biggest goal of the offseason when they re-signed star forward Carmelo Anthony to a five-year deal.

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The Knicks are instead going to pursue free agents in 2015 (possibly targeting Memphis Grizzlies’ center Marc Gasol) and in 2016 when Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant will head a fantastic free agent class.

That’s why Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders explains Knicks fans must be patient.

"I didn’t see Carmelo state that he doesn’t plan on winning next year, but I think it would be a good idea for both Anthony and the fans of New York to have a bit of patience while PJax and Derek Fisher are getting things in order. That said, I don’t expect them to tank next year. I actually expect them to struggle throughout the first 35-45 games only to see them really start to look like a playoff team around February. Depending upon how healthy they are and how well some of the younger guys develop along the way, I could see the Knicks looking like a pretty good EC team by the time the playoffs roll around. Far from an actual title contender, but not one of those teams in the bottom of the barrel. Now if things didn’t go so well and the team faced another batch of injuries, then next year’s projected group of players wouldn’t be a bad bunch to be selecting from."

Patience is a tough thing to preach in any sport but under a new regime, the Knicks need some time to right the ship.

Be sure to check FanSided’s official NBA page to keep up to date on the latest news and rumors from around the league all summer long.

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