It didn’t have to end like this, but it certainly had to end. Following a trade to the Thunder — the offseason’s biggest winners by a wide margin — for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round draft pick courtesy of the Bulls, Carmelo Anthony’s run as the superbly divisive figurehead of a superbly divisive basketball organization has come to an end.
Due to circumstances very much within their own control, the Knicks managed to bungle the Melo move, shooting themselves repeatedly in the foot even as fans and the media alike pointed to the exponentially growing puddle of blood. What began with James Dolan forcing Donnie Walsh into sending a veritable embarrassment of riches to Denver in exchange for an All-Star player he likely could have signed in free agency ended with a forceful devaluing of man-as-asset, which is what all players in the NBA become sooner or later.
The Melo saga dominated the summer for Knicks fans, forcing erstwhile bar arguments over Anthony’s place in a lineup quickly leaving his prime relevance in the dust. Even the typically baffling, $71 million contract New York handed to Tim Hardaway Jr. in July did little to divert the eye of intrigue away from Anthony, whose social activism kept him busy as he surveyed the cards in his deck. Only a day after reports suggested Anthony would expand the list of teams for which he would waive his no-trade clause, he was gone, off to greener pastures and a sudden, willing embrace of playing the 4.
The question now, then, isn’t a garden-variety “what’s next?” proposition. We all know what’s next. Kristaps Porzingis, entering his third season, becomes the head of the household at all of 22 years young. Porzingis stands to benefit from a production standpoint. Last season, the Latvian averaged the second-most number of field goal attempts per game, his 14.9 sandwiched comfortably between Anthony’s 18.8 and the 15.3 of another expellee, Derrick Rose.
What stands before Porzingis, Knicks fans and casual observers who were more than willing to sell the farm for the would-be unicorn, had Phil Jackson followed through on that particular threat, is whether the 7-foot-3 stud can embrace his new role completely without Anthony, or anyone else, to shoulder some blame. What he adds in usage rate he will likely add in double-teams faced, and passing out to Jarrett Jack is a much less intimidating prospect for opponents than dishing to Anthony.
Then again, without Phil Jackson around to bully him into close examinations of trigonometric theory, Jeff Hornacek should be able to incorporate elements of a more modernized NBA offense, which is ostensibly why he was hired. If it ends up looking anything like the scheme Hornacek implemented with much success for a surprisingly potent, 48-win Phoenix Suns team in 2013-14, there should be plenty of cutting to the basket and attempts at spacing around the 3-point line via multiple screens. In other words, it would be a lot of what the Knicks’ offense has been missing over the past three seasons.
The issue there, however, starts with who is initiating the offense. Letting Derrick Rose walk, rather than re-signing him to a monstrous, Hardaway-esque contract, was a savvy move from a normally inept front office. That alone might be worth watching Joakim Noah labor through eight minutes of action in 30 or so games this season (after he returns from his 20-game drug suspension, YIPPEE). Nevertheless, it left the Knicks with the same problem they’ve had since the turn of the millennium: no real, NBA-ready point guard remained on the roster.
Before tripping his way back to Montana, Phil Jackson did leave the franchise with a potential parting gift in the form of 19-year-old Frank Ntilikina (which, while we’re here: it’s nee-LEE-KEE-nah), a French prospect who has spent the past two years playing in Strasbourg and was selected eighth overall in this year’s draft. Ntilikina fits the Knicks’ newly-adjusted timeline, and it will take time for him to grow. By all accounts, he is a hardworking player with boatloads of talent. He’ll be learning under … well, Jarret Jack and Ramon Sessions, the latter of whom figures to start. Falling into this organization has doomed many, but the hope is that the Frenchman fits well with the established core of Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez.
Where there is hope with the Knicks, there is always much more menacing doubt, the kind that wakes you up in the middle of the night, doused in cold sweat and wondering why you bothered to pay extra for MSG so you can watch this sorry bunch of clowns execute professional basketball’s grimmest circus every other night. Noah’s aforementioned health is a problem, but his contract, and the length of it, is a bigger one. Though a perfectly effective offensive tool, Enes Kanter is a doorman on defense. Speaking of which, there is a stated redundancy of big men, with Noah, Kanter and Kyle O’Quinn all expected to fight for minutes in the front court behind Porzingis and Hernangomez.
The list goes on, especially as far as defense-averse talent is concerned. Jack figures to be a nice locker room presence, presumably, in the place of Anthony, but he has neither the talent nor the familiarity with this organization that his previous veteran mentor possessed. Ron Baker is a blue collar embodied, lunch pail in tow. Adding Michael Beasley, while already funny, is likely not going to translate to success on the basketball court; he’s essentially this year’s version of Derrick Williams, or any other Knick-you’ve-heard-of-because-of-their-draft-slot.
Next: Carmelo Anthony always gave the Knicks a chance
Essentially, this is probably going to be another bad Knicks team, logjammed in another bad Eastern Conference. These Knicks should be more entertaining than last year’s kitchen fire, but a race to the bottom for Luka Doncic, Michael Porter or whomever would be better off anywhere else seems inevitable.
The 2017-18 New York Knickerbockers: Come for Porzingis, stay for the distant, uncertain future.