There was a train wreck at Penn Station last season. It was known as the New York Knicks, who endured the worst season in franchise history.
It happened under the watch of Phil Jackson, one of the franchise’s heroes and a name synonymous with winning in the NBA.
Jackson and the Knicks went to work this offseason in the draft and in free agency to get the team back on track. Despite concerns from fans about drafting the next Frederic Weis, the Knicks selected Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick.
The Knicks were also fiscally responsible in free agency – a step in the right direction considering the albatross contracts previously given to Jerome James, Jared Jeffries, et al under previous regimes. As a result, New York has an improved team to show for it.
Superstar Carmelo Anthony is on target to start the season after returning from knee surgery. Two proven veteran starters were added in free agency – center Robin Lopez and shooting guard Arron Afflalo.
Porzingis and fellow rookie Jerian Grant will play major minutes and bring something Madison Square Garden missed last season – energy and excitement. Jackson and coach Derek Fisher hope a second year of the triangle offense will bear improved results and efficiency.
In total, 14 of the 20 players who suited up for the Knicks last season are gone. That type of wholesale turnover is to be expected after a 17-65 campaign, and oddsmakers have set the Knicks’ over/under win total at 31 1/2.
With that in mind, the Knicks must answer these five questions if there’s going to be postseason basketball at the Garden:
1. How long before Carmelo Anthony trade rumors heat up?
Anthony has missed significant time in three of the past four seasons with an assortment of injuries. At 31, Anthony’s prime is evaporating without a championship in sight. Therefore, it may behoove the Knicks to consider dealing their franchise player while he still has value to replenish the first round draft picks given away in the deals to acquire Anthony and Andrea Bargnani.
Anthony has four years and $100 million left on his deal. But with the salary cap jumping to a projected $90 million next summer and $108 million in 2017, Anthony’s deal will be easier to absorb for more teams around the league in potential trade scenarios.
The only thing missing from Anthony’s career is a championship, and he’s not going to get that in New York anytime soon unless Kevin Durant signs with the Knicks next summer, which isn’t likely. So he may be willing to waive his no-trade clause.
Anthony made it clear he wants to stay in New York when replying to a fan on Instagram in August. “Shows how little you know about me,” Anthony said. “Staying in NY shows that I do care. If I would have left, what would you have said then? ‘Oh, Melos wack for leaving. He turned his back on NY’. FOH. You are stuck with me buddy. Deal with it. If you want me gone, I’ll personally walk you into the front office so you can plead your case of the Knicks trading me. Hope you have bail money bc they might have you arrested for Disturbing the Peace.”
Earlier in September, an Instagram user posted a picture of Anthony and asked if he’s still an elite player. Anthony promptly replied in a comment saying, “That might be the dumbest question ever asked.”
If the Knicks are going to make the playoffs, Anthony will indeed have to be an elite player.
2. What can we expect from Kristaps Porzingis?
As I previously wrote in Porzingis’ draft profile piece, Dirk Nowitzki is the ceiling, Andrea Bargnani is the floor and Darko Milicic is the nightmare comparison many European big men stereotypically face when entering the league.
However, Porzingis has more raw athletic ability than any of the three mentioned above and also has the traits many executives covet in a big man for today’s game. Porzingis is a mobile big man who can run in transition, spread the floor beyond the arc and block shots thanks to his 7-3 frame.
The biggest knock on Porzingis was his skinny frame, which led some draft experts to label him as soft.
“A lot of people just think that because I’m European and I’m skinny, I’m soft,” Porzingis told SheridanHoops in June. “But that’s not the case. I’m not soft at all and I don’t like being labeled as soft.”
According to a New York Post report, Porzingis has already added 11 pounds over the summer.
While most foreign players have an adjustment period when coming to the United States, Porzingis speaks fluent English and lived in a major city while playing professionally as a teenager.
Another advantage Porzingis has is his brother, Janis, who was a 12-year veteran overseas and briefly played for the Latvian national team.
The lineup possibilities for Porzingis are intriguing. He can play power forward next to Robin Lopez, who is a strong interior defender, and spread the floor on the opposite end for Anthony who would slide to small forward and operate on the wing. If Porzingis plays center in a small ball lineup, Anthony can move to power forward, where he has excelled over the years and pose mismatches against plodding big men.
If Anthony and the fan base show patience with Porzingis, he has the ability to term into a gem the organization desperately needed when it fell to the fourth pick.
In the meantime, the plan for Porzingis is to play roughly 20-25 minutes a night as he continues to develop his body and NBA game.
3. Will Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher get better results from the triangle offense?
New York hired Fisher to coach the triangle offense on the court, not star in a Hollywood love triangle off it with Matt Barnes and his estranged wife, Gloria Govan.
As a result, Fisher became a distraction for the team before the first preseason game.
Making matters worse, this distraction won’t go away for a while. Legal matters need to be resolved between Fisher and Barnes stemming from the attack. Keep in mind, Barnes and the Grizzlies will also face the Knicks in January and February.
As for the triangle on the court, the Knicks looked like they were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole last season.
“If the triangle is so good, why don’t more teams run it?” one NBA scout told SheridanHoops.
While many have debated whether the triangle offense can still be effective in today’s pace-and-space game, it’s what the Knicks are primarily using – for better or worse.
Derek Fisher avoided much of the blame for the historically dreadful season due to Anthony’s season-ending injury and trades that sent J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Amar’e Stoudemire and Pablo Prigioni packing to playoff contenders.
Now there’s more talent with two proven veteran starters and two promising rookies added for depth. Winning anything less than 30 games could cause some rumblings that a coaching change may be needed.
As for Jackson, his legacy remains tied to the triangle offense and his ability to remake New York into a championship contender again before he leaves.
Heading into the summer of 2016 where many top free agents will hit the market, Jackson and Fisher need to show the program is making significant progress if they want to land a superstar such as Durant or Dwight Howard.
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Anthony needs to show he can get his teammates involved and make them better within the triangle so free agents will want to come and play with him.
The triangle worked with some of the game’s greatest players such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. While the offense won’t be as putrid as last season, it will never come close to being as effective as Jackson’s Bulls or Lakers teams.
Remember, Isiah Thomas is always lurking in the shadows at the Garden should the Jackson experiment go awry.
4. Will Jerian Grant win the starting point guard spot?
Grant spent five years at Notre Dame and will be 23 when the season starts. With Jose Calderon in the latter stages of his career and limited due to injuries, Grant needs to grab the bull by the horns immediately.
At 6-5, Grant’s length will provide better defensive matchups against opposing point guards than Calderon. In today’s game, where point guard is the primary position, Grant’s defensive prowess over the aging Calderon can’t be understated.
Jerian is the nephew of Horace Grant, who played for the Bulls and Lakers in Jackson’s triangle offense. Therefore, Grant’s learning curve shouldn’t be dramatic.
The Knicks didn’t trade Tim Hardaway Jr. for the 19th overall pick in the draft to watch him sit on the bench behind an aging veteran.
Grant was drafted as the point guard of the future. The question is when will he get the keys to the offense? In a crucial year for the team’s development into a contender down the road, Grant should learn through experience now.
If Grant can’t beat out Calderon for the starting point guard position, it should raise concern.
5. Is Arron Afflalo a core piece of the future?
Afflalo has proven to be a serviceable starting shooting guard. In his second stint playing alongside Anthony, Afflalo will be 30 once the season begins and has a lot at stake in a contract season.
In New York, Afflalo has a chance to be the No. 2 scorer behind Anthony. Two years ago, Afflalo averaged 18.2 points for a bad Orlando team.
Afflalo has an $8 million player option after this season. Some in the organization believe Afflalo will opt out and become one of the top 25 free agents on the market next summer.
Despite concerns about Afflalo possibly declining as he hits 30, Jackson believes in his work ethic and wants him to be a leader.
“He has the capability of playing aggressive defense on big guards and small forwards, plus he’s a shot-maker,” Jackson told author Charley Rosen. “In addition to his 3-point range, Arron can be very effective scoring in the low post and at the pinch post.”
While there’s always concern a player may look for his own shots or be worried about his stats in a contract year, Afflalo knows the more successful the team is will go a long way toward determining whether he is viewed as a volume scorer on a bad team or a valuable member of a playoff team in free agency next summer.
Should the Afflalo experiment fail, New York could deal him to a contender at the trade deadline for draft picks or a younger asset.
PREDICTION: New York will fail to qualify for the playoffs in the East. After finishing with 17 wins last season, doubling that total to somewhere near the 35 range is a fair guestimate with the return of Anthony and the additions of Afflalo, Lopez, Porzingis and Grant. There will be some form of drama at the Garden this season. The question is whether it will come from Anthony or Jackson on social media, owner James Dolan or rumors of the return of Isiah Thomas?
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Michael Scotto is an NBA columnist for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeAScotto.