As usual, this season started off well for the New York Knicks, and as always, positive momentum was completely derailed. On February 6, in a primetime matchup between two of the league’s best young talents in Kristaps Porzingis and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Knicks organization suffered its biggest blow yet as Porzingis awkwardly went down after an impressive dunk over Antetokounmpo. He clutched his knee and had to be carried off the court, and Knicks fans’ worst fears were confirmed after reports emerged that he had torn his left anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL). With Porzingis out for 9 to 12 months, the Knicks organization will have to completely reshape its plans for the future, and Knicks fans must be prepared to endure at least two more losing seasons before the team is poised for success.
The organization’s trade deadline moves were rather disappointing considering the circumstances at hand. Going forward, the Knicks need to add unpolished, raw talent that they can develop over the next two years, and they did partially succeed in this respect at the deadline. The acquisition of Emmanuel Mudiay, an athletic
21-year-old point guard who has a broken jump shot, was a move in the right direction towards finding under-the-radar talent for the
future. However, the Knicks’ moves at the center position were underwhelming. Instead of trading Kyle O’Quinn, a veteran on an expiring contract who many championship contenders
wanted to acquire, the Knicks instead parted ways with Willy Hernangomez, a younger, more talented offensive center on a multi-year rookie-scale deal. While his defense may be lacking, he could have honed his post-defense and post moves if given more playing time, and given the current state of the New York Knicks, the
team should have prioritized Hernangomez’s potential over O’Quinn’s defensive talent. Additionally, it was slightly disappointing that the Knicks did not pursue a trade for Orlando’s Elfrid Payton, a relatively high-upside player who only cost the Phoenix Suns a second round pick to acquire.
For the rest of this season, the Knicks need to commit fully towards losing games to increase their odds at the number-one pick in the 2018 draft. While it is painful to watch the Knicks lose, fans and members of the organization must realize that every win moves the Knicks a little bit further from getting a star player in the draft. Defensive big men like DeAndre Ayton, Marvin Bagley, and Mohamed Bamba would pair perfectly next to Kristaps Porzingis in the future, and Luka Doncic and Trae Young are two incredible prospects who could facilitate the offense for the Knicks if drafted.
In the offseason, the Knicks will have many difficult decisions to make, especially about their head coach position. Jeff Hornacek, while having to deal with an untalented roster and constant team turmoil, has still been unsatisfactory. His defensive schemes clearly do not work, and his drama with players, including a
heated argument with Kristaps Porzingis last year and a brawl with Joakim Noah this year, is atrocious. The Knicks should not rush to
look for a replacement, but if there is mutual interest between the team and one of the available coaches, they should not feel afraid to fire Hornacek. Some replacement options include Mark Jackson, who engineered the Warriors’ juggernaut defense, David Fizdale, the former Grizzlies coach who could maximise Kristaps
Porzingis’ talent as he did with Marc Gasol, or Jerry Stackhouse, the head coach of the Raptors 905 of the NBA G-League who has engineered an ultra-modern offense for his team.
The Knicks will also have difficult personnel decisions to make. Firstly, they must not waive Joakim Noah and stretch his monstrous contract. While he has been a blight to team chemistry
in recent months, stretching his contract over the next five years would be a terrible longterm decision that would hinder the Knicks’ ability to sign star players or to retain talent
in the future. Instead, barring his retirement, a trade, or a buyout agreement, they should keep Noah for the entirety of the 2018–19 season to avoid paying stretched salary in the future.
Secondly, they must continue to search for lowcost, high-upside players in trades and in free agency. Personally, I’d love to see the Knicks acquire Terrence Jones, a power-forward in the G-league who played well for the Pelicans last season, or Malik Beasley, a seldom-played shooting guard on the Nuggets who is reportedly
available in trades. Finally, the Knicks should not look to add any major contracts in free agency. With Kristaps Porzingis likely out for most of next season, the Knicks should focus instead on getting a good draft pick in 2019, on giving playing time to younger players, and on affordably re-signing Kyle O’Quinn and
Michael Beasley, solid bench players who can keep the Knicks’ offense afloat until Porzingis returns.
While the Porzingis injury is terrible for the Knicks, it will allow them to truly hit reset and perform a necessary reboot. The Knicks were not poised for success even before the injury, and this gives them the opportunity to acquire the talent, both in the draft and through trades, that they will need to be truly successful in the future. It’s time to trust the process in New
York.