In Phil We Trust: Why Knicks Trade Deadline Inactivity Was Not A Terrible Thing
With the 2016 All-Star Weekend in the books, many New York Knicks fans highly anticipated the February 18th, 3 p.m. EST, trade deadline. The clear priority seemed to be an upgrade to the point guard position, at which productivity has been severely underwhelming.
Jose Calderon at 7.4 points per game, and Jerian Grant at 4.7 points per game, currently rank 53rd and 69th in the NBA in scoring by point guards. Thus, it’s fair to proclaim that New York Knicks fans were even desperate to land a point guard.
Players on Phil Jackson‘s radar seemed to be Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague, and Mike Conley. Late additions to the shortlist also included Ricky Rubio, Dennis Schroeder and Ty Lawson.
Brandon Jennings became an early scratch after he and Ersan Ilyasova were traded to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Tobias Harris.
“I have heard zero with the Knicks. And really, what can they do anyway? Their [tradeable] talent level isn’t that good.” – Rival NBA General Manager
Teague’s name dominated the rumor mill even prior to All-Star Weekend, which seemingly made a trade between the Atlanta Hawks and New York imminent. However, it was later reported that the Hawks front office felt that the Knicks were lacking trade assets.
A rival NBA general manager told Fred Kerber of the New York Post, “I have heard zero with the Knicks. And really, what can they do anyway? Their [tradeable] talent level isn’t that good.”
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The Knicks allegedly offered a deal including Jose Calderon and Kyle O’Quinn, but with Al Horford staying pat, there really wasn’t any need nor desire for either Calderon or O’Quinn on the Hawks’ side. The New York Knicks are also lacking draft picks so unless they got a third team involved there was little to no chance of this trade taking place.
This same theme proved prevalent for the Mike Conley (MEM) and Ricky Rubio (MIN) situations. What players could either GM have seriously been enticed by other than Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony?
Mike Conley will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so it seems understandable that the Knicks weren’t willing to send the house in exchange for Conley. Marc Stein of ESPN.com also reported that the Memphis Grizzlies had no interest in trading the former Ohio State standout, which made Conley even more unattainable.
With 25 hours to go until trade deadline, one source close to situation says Memphis has thus far refused to talk Mike Conley with any team
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 17, 2016
New York Knicks
How about Ty Lawson? A name that should get the majority of Knicks fans excited, right? The Houston Rockets seemed to be sellers as they rank out of the playoff picture with a record of 27-28. Reducing the teams salary seemed of high priority as they were actively shopping Dwight Howard who will be in search of a max deal this summer.
Ty Lawson’s salary will increase from $12.4 million to $13.2 million for the 2016-17 season. Surely the Rockets did not expect a career low in return from Lawson, with 6.3 PPG at a 39.2% field goal rate. Lawson hasn’t averaged less than 15.2 PPG since the 2010-11 season, so I believe it’s safe to say that Houston was just not the right fit for Lawson.
Of course there is no guarantee, but if the Knicks were to have acquired the Denver Nugget-esque Ty Lawson, then this deal could have made a lot of sense. However, the possibility of his $13.2 million cap hit not matching up to productivity next year was a risk the Knicks front office was not willing to take.
The Knicks have $19 million in projected cap space for this upcoming summer, and with players at the likes of Dwight Howard, Al Horford, Nicolas Batum, Chandler Parsons, Mike Conley and of course the cream of the crop, Kevin Durant available, Knicks execs played their cards right by remaining patient.
Jose Calderon is under contract through the 2016-17 season, but if he is waived this summer, another $5 million will open up in cap space. So whether a point guard was added this year or not, the Knick faithful can surely agree that it was not going to make the team immediate championship contenders either way.
Immediate help in trying to bolster the point guard position may not be far. Just up north in Westchester, NY, Jimmer Fredette is quietly having an amazing year for the Knicks D-League affiliate, Westchester Knicks.
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He’s been deemed by some as the Stephen Curry of the D-League. High praise for a player who found himself on three different teams in a two-year span before landing on a D-League roster. Fredette has been averaging 22.3 PPG, and impressed during the D-Leagues version of All-Star-Weekend. His 35 points and 6 assists not only helped propel his East team over the West, 128-124, but also earned Fredette MVP honors.
It’s beyond a long shot to rely on Fredette as an answer to the Knicks point guard woes, but with the uninspiring play the team has been getting at the point, most believe he at least deserves another shot at some point down the stretch.
General manager Steve Mills and team president Phil Jackson knew coming out of the All-Star break that their biggest obstacle in landing a significant difference maker was to try and find buyers for what they were selling. Unfortunately, no teams were willing to bite on the Jose Calderon “leadership” pitch.
Kurt Rambis will now try to coach the remainder of the 27 games, trying to get the Knicks to .500 or better to end the season. This means he would finish this year with a record of at least 18-10, which will surely secure Rambis’ head coaching position long-term. If he can get the locker room to buy in, the team will have extra motivation to try and keep Rambis at the helm.
Next: New York Knicks Mid-Season Grades
It is without question that a high-caliber point guard needs to be in the Knicks’ (very) near future. The number one priority, though, should be the development of Kristaps Porzingis, and focusing their efforts on off-season acquisitions. Carmelo Anthony is still one of the leagues most versatile scorers. Add another max contract type of player during the summer of ’16, and the New York Knicks won’t just be another team in the east, but will be formidable challengers in the eastern conference.