Schmeelk: Knicks Rotation Coming Into Focus
By John Schmeelk
» More Columns
The Knicks were busy over the July Fourth weekend, and it looks like the 2016 team is coming into focus. Whether it was wise or not, the Knicks have pushed their chips to the middle of the table. They are all in, for better or for worse.
What team president Phil Jackson has done is put together a high-risk roster. It's not quite looking for the flush or straight on the river, but it's not far off, either. The Knicks have a rotation filled with a good balance of offensive, defensive, penetrating and shooting, as well as players who need the ball and those who don't.
Derrick Rose can be that penetrating point guard that the team has lacked since Stephon Marbury. Courtney Lee is the two-way player Arron Afflalo was five years ago. He can play defense, can hit the open 3 and is a good teammate who doesn't need the ball. Carmelo Anthony does what he does. Kristaps Porzingis can do a little of everything and has a lot of room for growth. Joakim Noah can be an anchor defensively. It's a potentially strong starting five.
Even the bench is looking strong. The team needed an accomplished point guard to play behind Rose, and it got Brandon Jennings. The hope is that Justin Holiday can be a good backup two guard. Langston Galloway may still return. Lance Thomas is a perfect backup small forward, and if he plays well enough, he could push Anthony to the four in certain situations.
MORE: Schmeelk: Grading The Knicks' Offseason Moves So Far
The backup bigs are still questions, with Kyle O'Quinn and European imports second-round pick Willy Hernangomez and newcomer Mindaugas Kuzminskas. O'Quinn struggled last year, and there's no way to know how the newcomers from overseas will do. The team also has its room exception to add another potential big man. Even with the questions, the roster and team is looking pretty good.
All that's true, but only if everyone stays healthy. That's a big IF. HUGE IF. GARGANTUAN IF. Jackson has a roster full of high-risk, high-reward players.
Rose has had three knee surgeries and played more than 50 games just twice (66 last year and 51 the year prior) in the last five seasons. He is far from the MVP he once was. The Knicks needs him to be the player he was the last few months of last season, and perhaps a little better than that.
Noah played terribly for just 29 games last year before undergoing shoulder surgery. The year before, he was barely an average player for 67 games after undergoing knee surgery over the summer. Will he be healthy enough to play? How good will he be when he plays? We'll find out.
Jennings tore his Achilles tendon two seasons ago. Last year he was far from the player he was earlier in his career.
There is even some level of risk in Anthony. Even though he looked good for most of last season, the knee surgery from 2015 still looms large with him on the wrong side of 30.
The Knicks could win 50 games and host a playoff series if everything goes right. They might even have a shot at going to the Eastern Conference finals. If everything goes badly, they could find themselves with a lot of ping-pong balls in the lottery. Jackson is going for a home run, and all of Knicks fandom hopes he doesn't strike out instead.
Schmeelk's Snippets
Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors impacts the Knicks in a couple different ways. The first thing it does is reduce the chance of winning a title to almost nothing over the next couple of years.
The second thing it does is make Russell Westbrook less likely to wind up with the Knicks. It would seem the opposite is true, so stay with me. Westbrook is no longer going to return to the Thunder, and because of that, Thunder general manager Sam Presti is going to trade him to the highest bidder. He won't let him walk without a return.
The Knicks have no assets to trade for Westbrook, but whatever team does land him will have a real advantage at signing him long-term because of its ability to sign him to a five-year max contract. The Knicks will have to overcome that in their quest for him. It doesn't make it impossible, but it might make it a little tougher depending on where Westbrook is traded.
For all things Knicks, please follow John on Twitter at @Schmeelk
