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Former Knicks Making Mark in 2015 NBA Playoffs

By Maxwell Ogden

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The New York Knicks may be a major-market organization, but in previous years, that hasn’t seemed to be the case. In many ways, New York has been a launching pad for the postseason careers of many a player.

2015 has been no exception.

Six former Knicks currently remain in the 2015 NBA Playoffs, all helping their respective teams reach the Conference Finals. Four of those six players are on a team that’s up 2-0 in their respective series.

Adam Schefter of ESPN took a break from his NFL coverage to rub it in:

Brutal.

Those six players aren’t stars, per se, but they’ve become vital to their respective teams postseason success. Trevor Ariza, Timofey Mozgov and J.R. Smith are all starters, while David Lee, Pablo Prigioni and Iman Shumpert play roles off of the bench.

Every one of those players spent at least one season with the Knicks.

Ariza, drafted No. 43 overall by New York in the 2004 NBA Draft, is the starting small forward for the Houston Rockets. Prigioni, who played 187 games for the Knicks, has taken on a critical role for Houston with Patrick Beverley ruled out for the season.

For the Cleveland Cavaliers, both Mozgov and Smith are starters. Shumpert is coming off of the bench for an average of 33.5 minutes per game as the Cavaliers are just two games away from the NBA Finals.

Mozgov was included in the Carmelo Anthony trade, while Smith and Shumpert were dealt this season to the Cavs.

The remaining player, Lee, is playing a less significant role than in previous years for the Golden State Warriors. Nevertheless, the former Knick is still regarded as a valuable presence in the locker room.

That’s not exactly what Knicks fans have been hoping to hear.

This is a harsh reminder of what could’ve been with the Knicks and the mistakes past general managers have made. Prigioni, Shumpert and Smith’s post-Knicks success has called Phil Jackson‘s decision-making into question.

Don’t be so quick to react.

Even as these six players flirt with a championship, their respective departures have led New York to where it is today. It has a Top 5 draft pick for the first time since 1986 and has a mountain of cap space.

Conceivably, Jackson and Steve Mills could land a big-name prospect and add a number of star-caliber free agents this coming summer. That’d all transpire before the salary cap skyrockets in 2016.

In just two years, Jackson could turn the Knicks from a laughing stock into a championship contender.

What transpires over the next two months will go a long way towards either redeeming or condemning the Knicks’ past decision. They dealt the most recent players for space space, and that’s exactly what they have now.

All this recent trend of ex-Knicks success does is provide Jackson and company with what New York sports teams are accustomed to: pressure.

Next: J.R. Smith dominated Game 1

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