… I still don’t like the Derrick Rose trade. I agree with the comments that the Knicks didn’t give up anything in the way of players (that’s the advantage of having a terrible roster – any trade only involves bad players coming off the books). I agree that Rose is a 1-year investment and maybe he will surprise.
What is most disappointing is that New York is no longer a “destination” for free agents. The NBA is a national brand and players in smaller markets (OKC, Miami, Cleveland, etc.) can all become hugely popular playing there. Sure, the Knicks haven’t won a championship in 40 years but that is only important to the NY fans. Players in other cities who have no connection here could care less.
To date, Melo has failed to attract any free agents of consequence. That is the reality. Other players do not want to play with a player who is a ball hog. Do you see guys running to Houston to play with James Harden who is Melo on steorids? Jeff Hornacek says he wants to play an up tempo style but that is anti-Melo who is a slowdown, walk-it-up isolation specialist. Can Rose even play at that fast pace at this point of his career?
For SU, Isiah Thomas did irreparable damage for me as a lifelong Knick fan when he was running things. I am still not back in the fold and am fine picking teams each year to watch and root for. I like Porzingis a lot but Rose is a high volume shooter as is Melo. Are they really going to defer to Porzingis? Nope. SU is happy to be proven wrong.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
SU is not likely to be proven wrong. Derrick Rose is a great player – but while he had that MVP year a few years back – he is (unfortunately) an injury waiting to happen. I don’t have a better answer here – but two ball controllers is not likely to help.
Those two former “destinations” (LA and NY) continue to come up empty.
Sasha, good point on the Lakers. They are equally lost now and continue to flail away. They did get themselves a good young coach in Luke Walton though and that’s a start after the Byron Scott mistake. it will be interesting to see where Durant goes. I just can’t see him in Golden State – I mean how much scoring to you really need and at some point, you don’t have enough balls to go round. San Antonio would be a smart choice for him as their core exits.
Completely agree, Dad. What happens if Rose is actually good this year? You still don’t want to re-sign him because he is such an injury risk. Him and Melo are both ball dominant and it won’t work. They are a Porzingis injury away from becoming un-watchable for the 3rd straight season.
And in a few years, Porzingis will be a free agent and if he is surrounded by players like this,who knows if he will even want to stay? The Golden State Warriors are the model of the NBA. Move the ball, pass smartly, push it up the court. It’s pleasing to watch and entertaining. For the older readers on the SU list, this is exactly how the Knicks played in the late 60s and early 70s and it was a thing of beauty. Nate Archibald averaging 33 points a game didn’t win any championships. And neither did Allen Iverson.
The Isiah years definitely emptied the cupboards of any and all assets. The Bargnani trade finished the job. I don’t think Phil is doing all that poorly considering he has both hands tied behind his back but unless he can sell a big name player on the allure of playing in NY, he doesn’t have a lot of cards to play. By “big name player” I mean one who fits in the system he is trying to run.
The thing that worries me about Hornacek trying to run an up tempo style is that if you are locked into that with the wrong players it does not work. That was one of the things that I had always liked about Jeff Van Gundy. He would look at his personnel and build the O & D around the strengths of the players he had. Not try to force them into a style they couldn’t execute. Hornacek is likely going to be a much better option than Rambis though.
Fair points, Mark. I always liked Van Gundy – not the flashiest coach offensively but his teams always played hard and he cared. D’Antoni didn’t seem to ever care about defense. I guess we will find out if Hornacek is running the triangle and if Rose can stomach that. I don’t know: just play basketball right? How hard can it be?