Bobby Marks of The Vertical covered the Knicks in his trade deadline preview series. The Knicks, Marks writes, are a big market team dealing with adversity (to put it lightly). Marks explains the ways in which the Knicks have limited assets on paper; both Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings are on expiring contracts, and Courtney Lee will gain trade value over the summer, due to a weak shooting guard free agent class. Joakim Noah‘s expensive, long-term deal won’t attract suitors, and the team’s younger assets- Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez– aren’t thought to be available.
Trading Carmelo Anthony will be a “serious challenge” for the Knicks front office, who need to decide whether Anthony’s value would grow over the offseason. Marks put together a hypothetical trade that would work financially for all parties, in which Anthony would be dealt to the Clippers in exchange for Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers, and Wesley Johnson. Of course, any deal involving Anthony would require the nine-time All-Star waiving his no-trade clause.
More from The Mecca…
- Magic Johnson revealed on CBS This Morning that he’s had opportunities to “run the Knicks,” according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. Johnson specified that he’s had four offers to run or own teams, including the Knicks, before he joined the Lakers as a basketball and business adviser.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson views Hernangomez and Porzingis as the team’s “starting frontcourt tandem of the future,” according to a report from Marc Berman of the New York Post. While coach Jeff Hornacek has still discussed starting Noah when he returns from injury, the team’s frontcourt plans could change if Hernangomez maintains his stellar performance.
- Anthony has no qualms with being snubbed from the 2016/17 All-Star roster, citing the need to “just get away from everything.” “I could utilize this break,” Anthony said. “If they call me, I’d consider it, but I would love to utilize this break.” Anthony, who wouldn’t entertain trade talks with Fred Kerber of the New York Post, discussed the honor of passing Charles Barkley on the NBA’s all-time scoring list (23,775).
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement today, calling the Charles Oakley/James Dolan situation “beyond disheartening.” According to Frank Isola of the Daily News, Silver and Michael Jordan conducted a conference call with Oakley and Dolan in an attempt to resolve their feud. “Both Mr. Oakley and Mr. Dolan were apologetic about the incident and subsequent comments, and their negative impact on the Knicks organization and the NBA,” Silver said. “I appreciate the efforts of Mr. Dolan, Mr. Oakley, and Mr. Jordan to work towards a resolution of this matter.”
It’s a sad day when the NBA commissioner and MJ have to mediate an argument between an owner and a former player.
It’s a sad day when it’s newsworthy that an owner is fighting with a former player.
Not quite as sad as it being news when an employer questions an employee but a clear sign that the writers who cover the Knicks are tabloid journalists first and Nba fans second or more likely not at all.
Jim Dolan is one of the most silly, unsmart and incoherent NBA owner. Phil Jackson is not a good GM with his unconstructed tactic to run Melo out of town. Noah shouldn’t see the floor unless Willy and KO are hurt. The way the Knicks do business is a blueprint of a dysfunctional organization . This franchise needs a new ownership. Since 2001 they haven’t flirted with success .
That’s how you want to call someone out for being….”unsmart”?
The Knicks will remain in free fall as long as Carmelo is on the team. He’s one of the all-time greats, but his contract and his style of play are considerable obstacles to any significant improvement. Find a trade suitor, then ask for Phil’s resignation would give the team some stability.
Maybe Dolan should learn from his handling of the Rangers and just stay out of the Knicks’ business. The Rangers have been sucessful basically this entire decade and there’s very little, if any, news about him interfering with anything or exerting his control by making personnel/management decisions. The Knicks, on the other hand, have basically been a mess and he seems to constantly be involved.
He has.
The idea that he has to stop going to games or let Oakley be an jerk to stay out of Phil’s way assumes the players are all incompetent.
Melo and the especially bad knicks beat writers are trying to drag Dolan back into things for their personal agendas but he’s been very good about staying out of things since Phil got here.
Now that Love is going to be out 6 weeks, maybe they can make the Love-Mello trade work.
Can you trade an injured player?
I believe so. Blazers want to trade Ezeli, Cavs traded Birdman. Think that’s just a 2K rule. Haha