I think that great teams are only built by combining multiple great players in a short amount of time. I think a team like Golden State did it through the draft, Miami did it through free agency, the Cavs did it through free agency, the draft, and a trade.
I think you have to have assets to acquire great players -- either draft picks, or young players and picks to trade, or cap flexibility.
The knicks did not acquire a great player this offseason. But they did unload some assets and give up some flexibility.
I like the Hornacek hire, I think he's shown some ingenuity on offense, and made some weird parts work together with interesting lineups and sets.
I think Lee is a good player who will help this team, but w're going to be paying him 10% of our cap when he's 34 and 35.
I think Jennings at 5 for a year is great value, even though I really hate his game right now.
I think Rose is a risk worth taking, but if they're good this year, it'll be because of him, and you almost have to resign him. And if he's hurt this year, it's a bit of a waste. And obviously he's never going to be MVP Derrick Rose again.
I like Noah, but I think a four year deal is a disaster, and we'll be paying him 20% of our cap when he's 34 and 35, and likely hurt, again.
I feel like these kinds of moves, as a unit, are the kinds of moves teams make when they're sick of not making the playoffs, and really want to see their team win 50 games, and get into the second round. But they are not built for sustained success.
I think the Knicks are going to be better next season than they have been in a while. I think we'll root for noah and rose, but I don't see anything in these moves that leads me to believe the Knicks have moved on from the mistakes that have crushed this franchise in the past, like giving non-superstars long deals, even if they have a history of injuries.
I think that this team is going to have a really hard decision on its hands at the end of the season with Derrick Rose. and I don't trust them to do what is right (regardless of what that is at the time.)
Phil Jackson spent the larger part of the last two seasons explaining how this was going to be a process, and that they were going to get progressively better. It wasn't going to all happen overnight. And I think he (or Doland) maybe got bored of that, and wanted to see results now. So we'll get results now. But I don't see this roster in any way preparing for a future built around the one young star they've drafted in the last 25 years. Other than the fact that they'll win more game this year and next year, hopefully.
I have some more uplifting thoughts a couple posts back... but if we're being honest, this is what happened this offseason. The knicks hit the reset, unloaded phil's two best non-Zingis moves, picked up a lottery ticket in Rose with a one year window to buy back in or try to sign somebody else... and signed two other guys who are (at best) on the back half of their primes, in order to try to turn the team's fortunes around in a hurry.
It'll be the most interesting season in a bunch of years, probably since the Houston/Spree/Camby days.
had #34 after Oakley