Many believe the New York Knicks should commit to an all-out tank job, but it’s beyond plausible that general manager Scott Perry knows more than we do.
Earlier today, Daniel Lubofsky of Daily Knicks wrote a compelling article arguing that the New York Knicks should tear the current roster down. His case was founded on the belief that New York’s current roster has limited long-term potential.
Thus, it’s Lubofsky’s opinion that the Knicks should enable the younger players to receive more playing time by trading the veterans who are taking up spots in the rotation.
In the spirit of playing Devil’s Advocate, however, it’s only right to examine the current plan and acknowledge the benefits of it. General manager Scott Perry has been transparent, outlining almost every element of his vision for the public to see.
While it’s certainly fair for Knicks fans to look around the NBA and express the belief that more talent is necessary, the current plan has fewer holes than it seems.
Two of the players whom many fans believe should be traded are veterans Courtney Lee and Lance Thomas. They’re two high-quality contributors who could help contenders, which harvests the belief that the Knicks could receive quality returns in potential trades.
True as that may be, it’s worth noting that the players voted Lee and Thomas as co-captains prior to the 2017-18 NBA regular season.
In other words: Lee and Thomas aren’t being forced upon a roster that needs to hit the reset button. Instead, the players—young and veteran alike—expressed the belief that Lee and Thomas’ leadership was necessary to enduring the 2017-18 season.
That’s symbolic of Perry’s vision for the team, as his goal is for the young players to learn the proper working habits and on-court tendencies from the veterans.
By all means and measures, Lee and Thomas have done an excellent job of leading by example. Lee was recently praised by franchise player Kristaps Porzingis for his professionalism and commitment to defense, while Thomas’ peers never seem to stop gushing about him.
Thus, while tanking for talent is a formula that tends to work, Perry’s vision is about more than just throwing skilled players together.
If Perry’s plan comes to fruition, New York will have a culture that enables it to plug in talent that complements its core contributors. That means the likes of Porzingis, Frank Ntilikina, and Tim Hardaway Jr. will be supported by players who fill the remaining roles with no questions asked.
That alone should enable genuinely elite defensive play that not only helps the Knicks dominate Madison Square Garden, but allows it to travel well in future seasons.
Two shining examples of this being the right approach are the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan and Stephen Curry were the Porzingis of the respective equations as top-10 picks turned franchise players.
Klay Thompson was selected at No. 11 overall—a similar range to Frank Ntilikina—while the likes of Manu Ginobili, Draymond Green, and Tony Parker were all selected at No. 28 overall or later.
Kawhi Leonard came along to add a ring, but he was selected at No. 15 overall by a franchise that had already won four championships in 12 years before he got there. San Antonio acquired the No. 15 overall selection via a trade that was made while it was already winning 50-plus games per season.
The key to turning a non-lottery pick into a superstar? The culture.
Leonard entered a situation where defense was the top priority, and accountability was achieved on every level. The Spurs’ unselfish nature began at the top, where Duncan helped Gregg Popovich create the unrivaled culture that still exists today.
From there, San Antonio’s unparalleled scouting staff found diamonds in the rough via the NBA Draft—diamonds that were enabled to shine by the culture.
Add Ginobili and Parker to an unstable situation and there’s no guaranteeing that they prosper in the Association. That’s true for every prospect, as asking a player to play out of position, out of role, or out of character can often lead to a franchise butchering their developmental stages.
From there, drafting the next Ginobili or Parker can turn into selecting the next Milo Vujanic or Maciej Lampe—both of whom have dominated the European scene instead of suffering through New York’s inconsistency.
As for Golden State, its selection of Curry proved fruitless early on. It missed the playoffs in each of the first three seasons with Curry, including the No. 6 overall selection in 2010 and the No. 11 overall pick in 2011.
That No. 11 pick was a product of Golden State attempting to make the playoffs, but falling short and ending up with a prospect who fell out of the top 10: Thompson.
Beyond the history is the reality that both Golden State and San Antonio have become the joint epitome of consistency. They’ve done so by creating cultures that make it second nature to dispose of talented players who aren’t willing to buy in.
In both instances, the presence of team-first veterans was of immeasurable importance.
Those veteran leaders range from Andrew Bogut, Shaun Livingston, and Andre Iguodala to Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, and David Robinson.
Thus, while it may be easy to say the Knicks need to blow the roster up, a precedent exists to suggest otherwise. Both Golden State and San Antonio—the top organizations in the modern NBA—sacrificed the tanking mentality in favor of building a culture.
And for those who want to start the super-team conversation, before the Warriors acquired Kevin Durant, they’d already won a championship and set an NBA single-season record with 73 wins.
For New York, they’re in a similar position as Golden State and San Antonio were at the beginning of their rebuild. The Knicks may not have a David Robinson to mentor Porzingis, but neither did the Warriors with Curry.
In fact, much as the Knicks traded Carmelo Anthony for a questioned return, the Warriors did the same with Monta Ellis—and for similar reasons.
Revisionist history may state otherwise, but when Golden State traded Ellis, fans were furious. Ellis was a dynamic scorer and a fan favorite who helped lead the Warriors through one of the darkest stretches in franchise history.
Sound familiar?
It turns out that the decision to trade Ellis for Andrew Bogut empowered head coach Mark Jackson to implement a defensive-minded culture—again, stop me if this sounds familiar. Once Jackson had built the culture, Steve Kerr put the finishing touches on the championship recipe.
There’s no possible way to guarantee that New York will be as successful as Golden State and San Antonio, but patterning one’s vision after those organizations is about as wise a decision as any.
It’s also worth noting that Scott Perry played an instrumental role in the success of the Detroit Pistons during the 2000s. He helped Joe Dumars build a team that won an NBA championship, made a second NBA Finals, and reached six consecutive Conference Finals.
Detroit did so with a cast of throwaways who were written off by most around the NBA—success that was enabled by the creation of an impenetrable culture.
Chauncey Billups was selected at No. 3 overall in the 1997 NBA Draft, but he’d played for four difference franchises before he got to Detroit in 2002. Richard Hamilton was selected at No. 7 overall in the 1999 NBA Draft, but the Pistons were his second team in just three years.
Ben Wallace was undrafted and on his third franchise in four years. Rasheed Wallace was traded twice during Detroit’s championship season alone. As for Tayshaun Prince, he was selected at No. 23 overall in the 2002 NBA Draft.
Yet, that team won a title, reached a second Finals, and genuinely contended for six consecutive seasons.
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Thus, while securing a top-10 pick would be nothing short of delightful, rebuilding and tanking don’t need to be synonymous for the New York Knicks to end the championship drought.
At the very least, blowing up the ship in December would be more of a sign of a short-term vision than anything Perry’s done thus far.