Phil Jackson and Steve Mills have created the new-look New York Knicks. How did they do? This is grading the Knicks 2016 off-season.
If the Golden State Warriors were an ensemble movie, they would be Marvel’s Avengers. If the Cleveland Cavaliers were an ensemble movie, they would be Furious 7.
If the New York Knicks were an ensemble movie they would be The Expendables—the entire trilogy.
That’s not a knock on The Expendables movies (this author is a huge fan). The Expendables are entertaining and there is always talk about which older action star is going to show up in the next one.
They make a lot of money, there is so much hype to them, and for all the good, bad, and ugly, they are unforgettable. They are great in their own right, but they’ll never be box office kings like the Fast and the Furious franchise or the Avengers movies.
People will argue that the cast of The Expendables, for the most part these days, would be better suited in supporting roles in other movies, for example Sylvester Stallone in Creed. But these former stars find relevance once more in the Expendables movies.
And to top it all off, they occasionally sprinkle younger newer faces among the older stars. Notice all the parallels with the Knicks?
All joking aside though, Phil Jackson and Steve Mills were busy this offseason. They assembled an ensemble of players to team up with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Some of these players may be past their prime, but the Knicks are being talked about.
They are relevant once more, they will sell plenty of tickets and jerseys, and they will make some noise in the Eastern Conference. The last time the Knicks did this, they won the Atlantic Division and won their first playoff series since the Jeff Van Gundy era.
The main concern next year for the Knicks is, of course, their health. The Knicks from a few years ago had health problems towards the end of the season and into the playoffs. They fell short of meeting the Miami Heat in the Easter Conference Finals.
If, and that’s a big if, the Knicks stay healthy they actually have a fairly formidable team. Jackson and company changed course after realizing Anthony is on the tail end of his prime.
These are the new-loko Knicks. It’s time to grade the Knicks’ offseason on paper before the start of next season.
Next: Jeff Hornacek