Knicks: Kurt Rambis Not Ready to Abandon Postseason Push

Kurt Rambis wants to challenge young players such as Kristaps Porzingis, but is focused more on winning games than fully investing in the New York Knicks’ future.

The New York Knicks have an intriguing balance of young and promising players, and grizzled veteran assets. As every team struggles to do at some point or another, the Knicks are being forced to answer a defining question: when is the right time to invest in the youth movement?

In the eyes of interim head coach Kurt Rambis, the right time is not at the heart of a push for the postseason.

New York is currently 26-38, and while that may not sound ideal, it’s only 6.5 games back of the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. That’s a tall task with 18 games remaining on the schedule, but the Knicks play three of their next four outings against teams below .500.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, those postseason aspirations have Rambis unwilling to commit to playing the younger players in favor of the veterans.

"“Is there going to be a point in the season where you just go ‘we’re going to play the young guys’? I’m not there yet,” Rambis said. “If management tells me at some point in time that we’re there and they want to make that change, then that’s something that I’ll defer to them. As a coach, I’m not there yet. So I’m going to go with the guys that I trust and have the experience right now.”"

That quote is certain to rub some people the wrong way, but Rambis’ focus is clearly on the postseason.

Carmelo Anthony, Robin Lopez, and Arron Afflalo were expected to be a strong enough trio to push the Knicks to the playoffs. Afflalo’s inconsistency and Anthony’s health issues have been points of contention, but the latter’s presence is enough to maintain hope.

Anthony is a nine-time All-Star and, in some eyes, an NBA superstar, which comes with the prerequisite of leading a team to the playoffs.

After that trio, the Knicks’ rotation has been ravaged by an inability to commit to a specific vision. Young players and veterans have battled for playing time, but even when a player thrives, the lineups appear to be set in impenetrable stone.

No player better embodies the Knicks’ struggle to manage the rotation than Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis has been a rookie sensation, but he’s struggled to close out games. Rather than giving him the experience necessary to overcome that issue, New York has placed him on the bench in favor of players who are supposedly more ready for the moment.

Rambis acknowledged the struggle to develop Porzingis, per Begley.

"“There’s no doubt,” Rambis said Friday night. “He’s 20 years old. We keep forgetting that.”There are times when Rambis wants to forget it as well. He finds himself fighting the desire to insert Porzingis at center for extended stretches and let him learn through his mistakes.“Sometimes I sit there and we talk and I’m racking my brain (thinking), ‘Should we just go ahead and give him that challenge and let’s see what happens?’ ” Rambis says.But then the desire to win games — to instill a winning mindset into these Knicks, he says — takes over.“I’m focusing on the win and I’d rather not take that gamble at this point,” he says."

Porzingis is the future of the organization, but New York is unwilling to waver in its pursuit of the postseason.

Players such as Langston Galloway, Lance Thomas, and Derrick Williams have become fan favorite for their ability to provide a powerful impact off of the bench. All have been limited in their playing time and opportunities, however, which further illustrates the struggle in New York.

The depth exists for something solid to be built and achieved, but neither Rambis nor previous head coach Derek Fisher found a way to adequately balance the starting lineup and the second unit.

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It’s unclear what Rambis will do in specific moving forward, but if what’s transpired is a sign of things to come, not much will change.