This season has been horrible for the New York Knicks; they has not only suffered through problems with their Head Coach, Mike Woodson, but also the players this season. On top of all the Knicks’ woes, the face of the Knicks’ franchise and its best player is planning to opt out of the last year in his contract, to test free agency this offseason.
Courtesy: Rant Sports
With Carmelo Anthony getting ready to leave the Knicks, we have a chance to look back at the time he has spent in New York. which isn’t much. Was it because of Carmelo and something he did? Or did the Knicks management and player decisions completely blow a chance at winning a title with Carmelo? I believe the All-Star Forward is not to blame, instead looking at James Dolan and those who constructed the current roster. Carmelo joined New York through a trade with the Denver Nuggets in 2011, where the Knicks received Melo, a first round draft pick, two second round draft picks and $3 million in cash. In the trade, Denver received Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and Timofey Mozgov.
Playing in New York comes with big expectations and Melo was no exception to the Madison Square Garden fans. So far, it is hard to say that Melo has lived up to more than lofty hype, after the blockbuster trade. He was supposed to have captured a title now; he was supposed to return New York basketball to its glory days. He has done none; in fact, this offseason when he walks away, Anthony will be leaving the Knicks in a worse condition than when he arrived. But why hasn’t Anthony lived up to any of these expectations? Why hasn’t he taken New York basketball to new heights? I guess the best question to ask, “Why hasn’t Carmelo had the type of success with the Knicks that was expected of him?”
Melo is a tremendous athlete and amazing basketball player, but after 10 years in the NBA, the Knicks should of known that Melo cannot bring the Larry O’Brien trophy to the Big Apple alone. He needs supporting players that will help him be the alpha dog. All the blame for New York not winning a title with Melo comes from management; blowing chances at title making terrible on-court decisions. It’s not out of line to say that this “storied” franchise could be responsible for wasting the best years of Carmelo’s career.
I believe New York has made far too many mistakes since trading for Anthony; especially giving a contract extension to J.R. Smith. He needs professional basketball players who can help carry the weight of trying to win a title; Smith has been the complete opposite for the Knicks. He is inconsistent on both ends of the court, he is immature, causes drama and has even reportedly shown up for a playoff game with a hangover. Why the Knicks’ management would think to re-sign him, I have no idea. Smith is not the supporting player the to coincide with Melo. They should of let him go in the offseason, signing a more complete and unselfish free-agent shooting guard.
Courtesy: CBS Local New York
Another bad choice involving the support cast was New York’s decision to sign and trade with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012 for Point Guard, Raymond Felton. This move carried a lot of weight because it contributed to Jeremy Lin walking and signing with the Houston Rockets. I would like to ask the Knicks’ management, “Why bring back a player you traded away?” Why get rid of Lin when he proved he was willing to do what it took? Linsanity only lasted a “New York Minute” because the team decided to get rid of him. Right now one of the teams biggest problems is the lack of a consistent point guard with a high basketball IQ.
Felton only averages 10.5PTs and 5.7 ASTs with a 10.5PER, which is way below the league average for starting Point guards. According to Adam Zagoria of SportsNet New York, an anonymous NBA general manager called Felton the worst point guard in the league. This GM really hit the nail on the head and I cannot agree more. Lin is a good, solid and consistent point guard. New York should of never let him go, the team would be better off with him instead of Felton.
Courtesy: Bleacher Report
Since Carmelo began playing in New York, Mike D’Antoni was Head Coach, eventually be replaced by Mike Woodson; compounding horrible options on top of each other. Woodson has no winning with Melo, even though last season was one of the few winning seasons on Woodson’s resume; He is not the coach for the job and at this rate he will never be. It is easy to see Carmelo fighting on the court, currently second in scoring in the NBA, but where has the fight been from the coach? Since being eliminated during the Eastern Conference semi-finals last year, Woodson has shown very little to motivate this roster. At such a premium position in the NBA, New York should be able to obtain someone with a winning background to lead the Knicks; they should have done better than the Woodson hiring. I am still curious as to how he still has a job.
The Knicks never filled promises to Carmelo and made horrible decisions, which led to them wasting a great opportunity with a great player. Looking back, the they needed to do more than just bring in Melo in with hopes of wining a title. In the NBA, there are no shortcuts and the Knicks have failed thinking one player can carry them to a title in today’s NBA. New York’s management completely blew the team’s championship potential and hopes with bad decisions involving players and coaches.
If New York were able to provide Anthony with the proper supporting pieces, then this would be a different story. The Knicks have only themselves to blame for not meeting expectations, while having one of the league’s best players on their roster.
