New York Knicks

Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports Folks looking to assign blame for the New York Knicks’ postseason failure may look at the Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Glen Grunwald. They should also make sure they praise Grunwald, who helped New York have its most successful season in 13 years. As much as people want to bag on the Knicks for falling short of a title this year, fans should be grateful. Grunwald, who’s been on board with the team since 2006, has been pivotal in overhauling a team that was hapless not too long ago. Ungrateful fans should rent a time machine and zoom back to the early aughts, when Isiah Thomas, legendary baller and legendarily awful basketball executive, was named Knicks president of basketball operations in 2003. He also assumed head coaching duties in 2006, replacing the legendary Larry Brown. Thomas’s overall record with the Knicks was 56-108. Needless to say, there were many more craters than peaks. There was the 2004 team, a veritable mish-mash of non-complementary talent. Ball-hogging guards Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford took the court with disappointing forwards Tim Thomas and Vin Baker. There was Kurt Thomas, who did average a double double. They also had a first round draft bust by the name of Michael Sweetney, who was in his second year. And let’s not forget Allan Houston, who averaged 11.9 points per game, but made more than $17 million (more on this later). That team finished 16 games below .500, good for fifth in the Atlantic Division. And then there was the 2007-08 season, the bleakest time to be a Knicks fan in recent history, when the team lost 59 games, tying a franchise record. That’s back when they had Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, before those guys would mature into solid players for contending ball clubs. If you think Amar’e Stoudemire’s contract was bad, go back to 2001, when the Knicks gave Houston perennial All-Star money: a 6-year, $100 million contract, widely considered one of the worst deals in sports history, particularly since he was a decent player with a one-dimensional game. Houston’s knees derailed his playing career, but his contract was so high he was still the NBA’s second highest paid player in 2005-06, even though he didn’t play a single game that year– not one. When Thomas had control of the Knicks’ checkbook in those bad old days, more shenanigans ensued. A trio of all-time terrible pacts standout: Marbury’s, 4-year, $76 million contract in 2003, Eddy Curry’s 6-year, $56 million deal in 2005 and Jerome James’s 5-year, $30 million contract, also in 2005. All fell precipitously short of living up to their deals. Curry could never get in shape and had knee problems and James was an underachiever who got paid due to a nice run during the 2005 NBA Playoffs when he was a member of the Seattle Supersonics. The Marbury contract was a disaster. When Marbury got the deal he was widely considered one of the best point guards in basketball. But he was a cancer in the locker room and never won as a Knick. Then there was that sex scandal involving a team intern that emerged in 2007. The Knicks eventually banned him from their premises and finally bought him out in 2009, thankfully ending that marriage. So, before fans go mouthing off about Carmelo Anthony or J.R. Smith or even Stoudemire, they should remember those bleak times. Speaking of Stoudemire, another low point in recent team history occurred when the Knicks signed another freakishly athletic power forward in 2002 by the name of Antonio McDyess. But McDyess fractured his left kneecap on a putback dunk in a preseason game. He was never the same after that injury and was traded in a deal that brought Marbury to New York.  It was another instance where a promise went unfulfilled for the Knicks. At least the Knicks got some return with Stoudemire, who gave them one spectacular season in 2010-11 and another decent one in 2011-12 before knee problems hampered him this seaso

[New York Post] Vogel rips Knicks (Fri, 24 May 2013 04:00:30 -0500) In the wake of Frank Vogel’s decision to bench center Roy Hibbert for the final two defensive possessions of the Heat’s 103-102 win over the Pacers on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Pacers coach directed some criticism toward [...]

When Chris Andersen does something particularly impressive for the Miami Heat, a heavy metal guitar riff blares through their arena. Some children have shown up for games with replicas of his tattoos drawn upon their bodies. Others have gotten their hair gelled and shaped to match his Mohawk 'do.

Deciding who plays, and when they don't, is one of the toughest parts of coaching.

Frank Vogel, the Pacers’ coach, made it clear that coming up with defenses was more of a challenge against Miami than against the Knicks.

In the wake of Frank Vogel’s decision to bench center Roy Hibbert for the final two defensive possessions of the Heat’s 103-102 win over the Pacers on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Pacers coach directed some criticism toward Knicks coach Mike Woodson following...

Carmelo Anthony sustained a partial tear of his his labrum late in the regular season, and the Knicks’ medical staff has prescribed rest and rehabilitation for the injury.

What a roller coaster type year for the Knicks Organization, and their fans. The Knicks off-season was nothing flashy. The Knicks acquired Raymond Felton and Kurt Thomas for Jared Jeffries, Dan Gadzuric, the draft rights to Forward Kostas Papanikolaou and Guard Giorgos Printezis, and a protected future second-round draft pick. The Knicks also re-signed Steve Novak and JR Smith, while adding Jason Kidd. The debated decision to move on from the “Linsanity” debacle led to the additions of Felton and Kidd. Expectations rose dramatically for this Knicks team when they started off hot, and were at the top of the standings. However, in the midst of the 27 game winning streak those expectations died down, and the Knicks settled in at the 2nd seed of the Eastern Conference Standings, while posting a 3-1 record against the Heat in the regular season. Despite an impressive regular season record against the Number 1 seeded Heat, the Knicks were considered to be a team to either make a deep playoff run, or get eliminated prematurely. The skepticism proved fair, after going up 3-0 on the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, they lost Game Four, and Game Five, and nearly blew a giant lead in Game Six. However,they won 88-80 and advanced to play the Pacers. The series against the Pacers proved an old basketball saying, “live and die by the three”. Nothing went right for JR Smith that series, shooting around 20%, and seemingly unable to buy a bucket. JR Smith is not the sole reason for the Knicks underachieving against the Pacers. Mike Woodson did not help the cause by having rotations that consisted of players on cold streaks, and lineups that played into the Indiana Pacers’ hands. Minutes were rare for guys producing like Prigioni or someone who was a part of their regular season success and identity like Copeland. Who knows if they would have won the series playing with the formula that got them there, but some very questionable coaching decisions leaves many questions in the aftermath of their second round playoff exit. This should lead Knicks fans to question the management and transactions by their General Manager. The Knicks lack an inside presence to deal with the big men of the Pacers or other bigger teams. As proved by the Memphis Grizzlies, big men with a physical presence can tire out a faster team, and take them out of their rhythm. The management of the Knicks simply failed to construct a team built to make a deep playoff run. The success or failure of a team that is heavy on three point shooting is determined on whether or not they are hot or cold. The Front Office of the New York Knicks should have been aware of this, and added players with other strengths to have a more balanced team. The thing is, the Knicks posted the best regular season record they had in many years, and won their first playoff series in many years. There is not much cause for them to change the surrounding talent around Carmelo. There may be enough contractual situations to cause for a few personnel changes. JR Smith may opt out of his contract, which would free the Knicks of $3.9 million next year, unless they attempt to re-sign him for a larger contract. It has been reported that JR Smith wants to retire as a New York Knick, and that he may receive a four year contract from New York. Many fans think that trading Amar'e Stoudemire is an option. He is making $19,948,799 million this year, and still has a large amount due. Fans think that the Knicks have to realize that Stoudemire is not producing to the equal amount that he is getting paid. At age 30, and declining numbers, the time is now to get something for him, without losing him for nothing. His large contract will be an issue if they wish to trade him. Unfortunately, Stoudemire is having more and more injury problems. That, plus his age being at 30 (going on 31 in November) does not make for a good combination. Twenty-Nine games played (33 games i

The Heat’s Chris Andersen is no attention seeker, but his shooting in Game 1 against the Pacers was impossible to miss.

A panel of sportswriters and broadcasters chose LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan and Chris Paul to the All-N.B.A. first team.