The New York Knicks are approaching a point where they cannot continue a push to reenter the Eastern Conference’s playoff race. They sit stagnantly as the 12th seed of their conference (out of a total 15 Eastern Conference teams), occasionally winning a closely contended road game to a solid playoff team, but then managing to lose the next game horribly at home to a team with a record under .500. At this point, I’d be surprised if anybody in the Knicks organization wanted to make a run for the eighth playoff seed. After all, what difference would it make if they did manage to make the playoffs? They’d assuredly get swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers, only to have another middling draft pick and a continuation of the mediocrity that they have exhibited since 2013. At this point, it is abundantly clear that the New York Knicks must tank now, and they must begin a full-scale rebuild to finally become a respectable team.
The problem begins with head coach Jeff Hornacek. Since his first season coaching in the NBA—a fluke 2013–14 season in which his mediocre Phoenix Suns team somehow managed to win 48 of 82 games—his teams have both had records under .500, and this year will be no exception. Hornacek gives no attention to defense, instead assigning one of his associate coaches to coordinate the entire defensive effort of the team. This year’s Knicks team looks completely lost on the defensive end as a result; even the former Defensive Player of the Year, Joakim Noah, has no idea what to do. Both the Knicks’ transition defense and their overall defensive ratings rank in the bottom five of the league this year. The key to finally having an acceptable defense is to fire Hornacek after he leads the Knicks to the height of the draft lottery this season. They could replace him with a number of people, including David Blatt, the solid all-round coach who led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA finals in 2015 before being fired for poor relations with players.
The second problem is at the Knicks’ center spot. Former star Noah is simply a horrible player on both ends of the floor this year, and he’s already 31 years old, so it’s definitely not getting any better from here. Although it may be impossible to trade his $72 million contract, the Knicks certainly need to try. I see only two teams as being receptive to a trade for Noah: the Portland Trailblazers and the Brooklyn Nets. The Trailblazers have signed some terrible deals of their own, and the Knicks could exchange Joakim Noah for Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard, or a combination of any of the other overpaid players on that team.
On a different note, the Nets are in a situation of not having enough talent on their team, and not having the means by which to acquire any. The Knicks could trade Noah for a few of the Nets’ expiring veteran deals to rectify their foolish signing, and both teams could be better off as a result. I believe that both organizations, the Nets and the Trailblazers, have superior coaching staffs to the Knicks, and Noah could potentially become a productive player again if coached and trained correctly. With Noah gone, the Knicks could shift Willy Hernangomez, their extremely talented and high-potential backup center, to the starting position. The Hernangomez and Porzingis frontcourt duo is one that this organization could build around for the long run, so they should start to play them together as soon as possible.
The last key to making the Knicks a respectable organization is to significantly bolster their guard spots. Even if Carmelo Anthony is traded, it is likely that the players the Knicks receive will not be enough to fill the dire demand at the Point Guard (PG) and Shooting Guard positions. The first thing to do is to ensure that the Knicks end up having better options next year. They could look to trade Derrick Rose this season to ensure that they end up with a better defensive and passing point guard, and they could also trade Brandon Jennings to find more consistent bench scoring. There seems to be an attitude that Derrick Rose is “untouchable” and should not under any circumstances be traded, but the fact of the matter is that he’s terrible defensively, can’t shoot 3-pointers, is too streaky a shooter to start, and looks to score first rather than pass to a better option. I’m highly skeptical about resigning him this offseason, especially given that he expects a maximum contract even as he’s not even playing at an all-star level. The Knicks need to lose this attitude and look to trade Rose while he’s still playing at a respectable level.
Courtney Lee is the only well-rounded guard the Knicks have, so whether through the trade deadline or in the offseason, the Knicks need to find new guards. I’d look for somebody like Jrue Holiday, currently on the New Orleans Pelicans, to serve as a better defender and facilitator at the PG position. Also, if the Knicks continue to tank, which they should and likely will, they will have a draft pick in the lottery. There are a multitude of outstanding guards in this draft who they have a real shot at getting, including Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Ntilikina, Luke Kennard, Malik Monk, Frank Mason, and De’Aaron Fox. Finding the next Devin Booker or D’Angelo Russell with their pick could bolster the franchise’s odds at becoming a title contender in the future.
The turmoil and continually underwhelming performances of the Knicks this season have already eliminated them from contention for a playoff spot. Making moves on the trade deadline on March 1 is the first step to dismantling this failed experiment of a team and creating a sustainable core of young players for the future. As they advance through the offseason, the Knicks should look to sign young talent and to make smart deals as opposed to the ones they made this season. The Knicks’ rebuild doesn’t have to be one of the same proportion as that of the 76ers; after all, they already have their player of the future, Kristaps Porzingis, and a few really solid pieces who could be a major part of a championship-contending team in the future. Knicks fans, settle in, because this next year could be one of the most difficult but most necessary years our franchise has ever faced.