Knicks Lose to Grizz

Yes they do.

Knicks lose to Philly and Raptors

Two games closer to Lady Luck.

Magnificent Loss to Minny

OT.  Great loss.  Lots of nice painless moments.

Spurs Win Exposes the Knicks

It comes as no surprise that the Knicks, relying more on Travis Wear, Lou Amundson, Shved, and Galloway beat the Spurs.

This is a bottom-up rebuild and it's beginning to expose itself.  Don't let anyone talk you into thinking the Spurs do not want that win or that they suddenly lost their mojo.  The new, young Knicks played with an energy that was missing early in the year and they've been playing that way for a while now.

Walt Frazier's glowing reviews of both Galloway and Shved give me the distinct impression that the Knicks have  resolved their PG dilemma.  Shved has turned into a poor man's Ricky Rubio and should just get better.  Galloway, a lock-down defender, and ice-cold pressure shooter are going to be very hard to displace in free agency.  They are inexpensive and impressive in their own right.

Travis Wear is a sneaky talent.  He looks like he doesn't belong on an NBA court yet he's one of those guys who is a subtle facilitator for his teammates. Unspectacular, unassuming, yet usually a solid role player in competitive games - someone to keep an eye on.

Amundson is quickly becoming a fan favorite. He, too, is going to be hard to displace this summer.
This year's rising stars are setting the bar for future signings both in terms of potential and cost-effectiveness.

The Knicks can afford to run lean on free-agent signings this summer and hold their fire for 2016.

No-name Knicks Beat NBA Champion Spurs

The best stinkin' sports team in America beat the San Antonio Spurs tonight at MSG in OT.

Heroes abound; Amundson, Galloway, Shved, Aldrich, and company outlasted, outhustled, and out classed the Champion Spurs.  A Pyrrhic victory that may cost the Knicks a ping-pong ball or two but a game that gives us a taste of the champion caliber team that will be built on the backs of this season.

Kudos to the Knicks.

Reading into the MSG Fan Questionaire

MSG recently asked fans their opinions about MGG and NY sports teams.  They're just looking for some big data to help make business decisions.

One of the more interesting questions was. "If your favorite sports team traded away their star player how much would you still follow the team" - or something to that effect.

One can only take this to be a burning question for Jackson and the Knicks and how the fans answered this question may dictate the decision.

My guess is that discussions about and maybe with Melo have already started.  This off-season could be a furious one.

Knicks beat LA then lose to GSW

Season's end in sight.

Still leading the tankathon.  Yoo hoo.

The Knicks Off-Season Plans Just Got Interesting

The Players Union rejection of a media-money windfall smoothing scheme by NBA owners to prevent a sudden increase in cap space available to sign free agents in 2016 has failed.

This conclusion was inevitable really and I think the Knicks administration recognized this early on.  Phil Jackson (e.g. Knicks) critics have had a litany of dire predictions that the Knicks cannot possibly attract free agents this summer because all of the teams resigning their own free agents can resign them for a longer contract.  THAT algebra just went up in flames.  Why would a top tier free agent want to sign a long term contract based on this year's available market value?

This is not to say that the more brittle of the free agents should sign long term deals just based on possible re-injury but for others it's self-inflicted fiscal frugality.

This summer's free agent signings will hinge not on long term contracts but on the one-year contract AND an organization's ability and sincerity to resign that free-agent in 2016 to a more appropriate contract.  The Knicks and Lakers have always taken care of their own.

There's a second by-product of this fiscal wrinkle. Second-tier free-agents can be overpaid by today's standards and still be considered reasonable longer term signings over time.  What this means is that certain players who wouldn't normally be paid a higher salary can be signed at a higher salary to entice them to move.  In the first year they won't be a bargain but in subsequent years their salaries will look more appropriate for the signing team.  Expect this front-loading tactic to be liberally used to disrupt already fiscally challenged teams to cough up key players either in trade or by falling out of the free-agent bidding.

So what's this all mean for the Knicks?

Phil Jackson has been doing a stealth job for building the Knicks from the ground up.  He can sign many of this team's best fitting players to a short term contract that is incentive for these players to continue to hustle.  Signing richer 2016 contracts is plenty of incentive.

Calderon's fixed-cost contract is that much more desirable to trading partners.

Putting some placeholders in roster spots, next year may feature something like;

C - Bargnani, Aldrich
PF - Melo, Smith, Amundson
SF - fa1, Thomas, Tenacious
SG - fa2
PG - Galloway, Shved

I expect Calderon, Early, THJ, Acey to be on a trade bubble.

We'll have our first-rounder, probably trade for a second-rounder, and still have a couple of spots open.

Sadly Wes Matthews' injury precludes signing him as a free-agent.

Denver and Jazz Beat the Knicks

Two games closer to the Lottery.  Alexey Shved looking impressive.

Knicks Lose Big to Indy

Another game closer to the lottery.

Knicks Lose Big to Sacto

The tank is back in action.

Two in a Row, Bargnani's Knicks Beat Toronto

Very, very entertaining game.

Team effort, team work.  Everyone shined in their own special way.

Now, hopefully back to the work of losing.