New York Knicks: Finding hope within the roster
By Bryce Olin
The (Sometimes) Walking Pit of Quicksand that Swallowed All the Money
No, I’m not talking about Carmelo Anthony. Of course, I’m talking about Andrea Bargnani and Amar’e Stoudemire. Their contracts, especially Stoudemire’s has handicapped the Knicks since he took it. Throw in all the pieces the Knicks gave up to get Anthony from Denver, and there’s no way any franchise could survive long-term.
The good news is that Stoudemire’s $23.4 million contract and Bargnani’s $12 million contract both come off the books at the end of the season. The Knicks did it! Getting rid of Stoudemire and Bargnani should warrant a parade for the Knicks, mainly because of Bargnani and his tendency to do stuff like this:
I love that video for so many reasons.
Amar’e Stoudemire
| Season | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 65 | 22.6 | 4.8 | 8.6 | .557 | 4.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 11.9 |
| Career | 735 | 33.0 | 7.5 | 14.0 | .535 | 8.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 20.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/12/2014.
It’s hard to evaluate the Knicks based on their stats from last season, so I’ll try not to bore you with the numbers, but for the first time since 2011, Stoudemire played more than two-thirds of the season for the Knicks. He was pedestrian at best, however, averaging only 22.6 minutes per game. Granted, Stoudemire did average 11.9 PPG on 57 percent shooting in those 22.6 minutes, which actually isn’t too bad for him after so many knee problems.
For this season, I expect Stoudemire to play about half the games and average about 12 PPG, again. At this point, that’s about all he has in the tank.
Andrea Bargnani
| Season | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 42 | 29.9 | 5.3 | 12.0 | .442 | .278 | 5.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 13.3 |
| Career | 475 | 30.3 | 5.6 | 12.7 | .438 | .355 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 15.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/12/2014.
For Bargnani, I don’t think he deserves a spot in the rotation. There’s nothing he does on the court that makes me think, “Wow, if he could just do that more, he’d be really good,” like you can with most players in the league. People claim he’s a good outside shooter, but Bargnani hasn’t made more than 31 percent of his three-point attempts since 2011. In that same span, Bargnani also hasn’t played more than 42 games in a season.
If the Knicks will be successful in 2015, Fisher will bury Bargnani and Stoudemire on the bench.