Keidel: Blame Who You Want, But The Knicks' Failure Falls On Dolan
By Jason Keidel
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Tyson Chandler returned to New York on Tuesday night, and it seems to have summoned some tears of nostalgia. But it's hard to understand why.
You know it's bad when fans long for and lament the trade than made him a Maverick again, as if he were the ghost of Willis Reed or Patrick Ewing limping back in a Seattle Sonics uniform, a 48-minute portal back to the halcyon years. Heck, Mike Tyson deserves a warmer welcome than Chandler.
What exactly does Chandler represent? A time when the Knicks weren't a lottery team? When they weren't historically wretched? When they won 38 games and not 30? To hear the talk in the five boroughs and beyond, Chandler sounds like General MacArthur returning to West Point for his final speech to the cadets.
Nothing against Chandler, mind you, who's been a fine player and is clearly on the back nine of a productive career. He could be the third- or fourth-best player on a title contender. Actually, he already has been, winning a ring with his Mavericks a few years ago.
So while New Yorkers are loathing today and longing for yesterday, the stark, dark reality is that the Knicks haven't won a title in 40 years and haven't been remotely relevant in 15.
There are myriad reasons for this, going back to the Isiah Thomas years, when they traded countless draft picks for stiffs, like Eddy Curry. Then they sold the farm for Carmelo Anthony, who is a sublime scorer but has never been a winner.
And unlike football and baseball, where you can catch a Russell Wilson or a Tom Brady with the 75th or 199th pick -- or in baseball, where a gem like Mike Piazza is buried 62 rounds deep -- a draft pick in basketball is an essential currency.
Ask the San Antonio Spurs, who have lived on the faerie dust of Tim Duncan for 17 years. Or the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have loved, lost and again loved LeBron James for the bulk of the last decade. Or the New Orleans Pelicans, who just bagged the next best player on Earth (Anthony Davis) for the next dozen years. Ask the Oklahoma City Thunder, who hit the hardwood exacta in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Ask Jerry West, who snagged a savant straight out of high school and just saw him pass Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list.
Very rarely does a team build an empire on trades. Miami traded for Shaquille O'Neal and won a title right before the iconic center's skills eroded. The Lakers landed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar through a trade and won five rings once they coupled him with Magic Johnson. Philadelphia snagged Moses Malone from Houston and got Dr. J his long-awaited Larry O'Brien Trophy. The Nets pulled off quite a heist when they got Jason Kidd for Stephon Marbury. But not even the transcendent guard got all the way.
If you look, you'll see the winning organizations are more organic in their success. It starts, like it often does, with ownership, which is where we hit our dead end on Seventh Avenue. Name one home-run hire or draft pick over the last 10 years. Take your time. (Michael Sweetney? Mardy Collins? Jordan Hill? No, Dijon Thompson!) David Lee was the closest they came and, of course, he was traded four years ago.
Over the last decade, the Knicks have averaged 33 wins per year. So why the nostalgia when their typical record is 33-51? They won at least 40 games twice and 50 games once. They've had a 21-win season, two 23-win seasons and two 33-win seasons.
And there's the small matter of their 5-22 record this year -- that's a .192 winning percentage -- under the messiah, Phil Jackson. Jackson has inherited a dynasty or two, but he's never built one. Bringing Jackson back to NYC, to MSG, was a nostalgic move of the highest order. Perhaps Jackson would have been a fine executive 20 years ago. But with his brittle bones, hip replacements and perilous proximity to 70, the fight is probably out of the man. The time to sign him was during, not after, his 11-ring run with the Bulls and Lakers. But you can hire and fire a coach or general manager; you're stuck with Jim Dolan.
Chandler's Mavericks won, by the way, by 20. Dallas is a team that lives in reality, that is owned by someone who is competent and cares about his club. They don't pretend to be something they're not. It is we who still pretend that Madison Square Garden is the Mecca of basketball. The truth is, it's where hardwood hopes die. Bringing back Jackson doesn't change anything. The disease is deeper than nostalgia.
Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonKeidel.
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