By Pat Costello
Carmelo Anthony is one of the aging Knicks. (Courtesy of Wikimedia)
New York fans are well aware that the Knicks acquired Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to come to the assistance of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. The fan base was tossed into a tug-of-war of emotions over whether or not they had faith in the “win it now” roster. The team faces an interesting predicament. Phil Jackson didn’t create a super team, but rather a Franken-team, filled with multiple post-prime superstars. The Knicks are banking on guys like Rose, Noah and Anthony to recapture their glory, which they have not been able to do in three or four seasons. Rose and Noah have both dealt with injuries and Anthony is simply a superstar on the back nine of his career. However, there is a precedent for such an outlandish gamble and the Knicks aren’t the first New York team in recent memory to take a shot at a title through offseason acquisitions.
During the 2013 offseason, the Brooklyn Nets made one of the boldest decisions in the history of basketball. They traded Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries and three future draft picks to the Celtics for aging superstars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, in addition to Jason Terry. The two joined fellow old guy and then-six-time all-star Joe Johnson, an underperforming point guard in Deron Williams and the fantastic big man Brook Lopez. Nets fans were excited for the new roster and had high expectations for what the team could achieve.
However, the Jason-Kidd-led Nets quickly realized that they were unable to build a team full of stars-turned role players, which is the opposite of what the Dallas Mavericks were able to do when they won the NBA Championship with the help of Kidd and Terry. The Nets underperformed in their first season together, but were still able to squeak into the sixth spot in the playoffs. They were bounced in the second round. Pierce jumped ship during the offseason and headed to Washington and Kidd was traded to the Bucks, leaving the Nets drifting up creek without a paddle. They turned in a 38-44 record, barely creeping into the eighth spot for the playoffs, but were bounced in the first round. Their window, which was never really open to begin with, was slammed tightly. The roster moves are still affecting Brooklyn to this day. The Celtics still currently own the rights to the Nets 2017 first round pick. Their extreme gamble was one of the worst general manager moves in the history of basketball
Granted, the comparison between the two teams isn’t exact. The Knicks still have a bright future ahead of them, mainly due to the Porzingod, but the point still stands. Teams with aging superstars have almost never worked and only do so when the situation is perfect. The Knicks situation is far from it. They are a team filled with heroes, rather than a cohesive unit, such as the aforementioned Mavericks team.
Phil Jackson’s gamble certainly won’t set the Knicks back for year to come, but it wasn’t enough to win them an NBA Championship.
