NBA Tank Rankings: Knicks hold draft lottery torch
By Brad Rowland
Even in a year marked with blatant tanking from a number of clubs, the New York Knicks carry the torch.
The Knicks have the worst record in the league at 15-64, and with Carmelo Anthony out of the lineup, New York is just 5-34 on the year. No, that isn’t a misprint.
Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher took over a fairly lousy roster less than a year ago, and in their defense, Anthony’s injury did some damage. However, the Knicks were already struggling mightily with their superstar in the lineup, and effectively giving away Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert for very little return didn’t help matters.
Fortunately, New York does have their lottery pick this season, and they will have the highest percentage of available ping-pong balls. That guarantees the Knicks nothing, especially given their recent track record, but a shot at the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Justise Winslow or Jahlil Okafor isn’t a bad thing, especially since New York actually has an upper-tier player in Anthony to pair their rookie with moving forward.
It has been a catastrophe of epic proportions in the Big Apple, but they are winners in our book.
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