Schmeelk: Greg Monroe To Knicks A Fait Accompli? Not So Fast
By John Schmeelk
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It's April 15th and the NBA's regular season hasn't even ended yet. That hasn't stopped reports from the New York Daily News and other outlets from calling the Knicks' potentual pursuit of and signing of Detroit star Greg Monroe "about as close to a done deal as you can get."
Since that story, Monroe's agent, David Falk, has tried to walk everyone back to reality. But once the train rolls down the tracks it can be very hard to stop.
With Monroe in town playing the Knicks finally playing their regular season game Wednesday night, he'll be asked about the team and his future. Despite his denials, more stories will appear in tomorrow's papers. Going past the very clear NBA rules against tampering (which any pursuit of Monroe right now would be), locking in on any single player at this time of year makes about as little sense as New York winning four of its last six games to close out the year. (Hmmm... maybe's that a bad example.)
Whether or not Monroe is a good fit for the Knicks is not even the argument I'm making. Even considering committing to him or anyone else at this stage is especially foolish for one reason: the draft. The Knicks' first-round pick is the most valuable asset they have this offseason. Not their $30 million in cap space. It is their draft pick, a chance to get an excellent long-term player on a rookie contract.
The NBA draft takes place on June 25. Free agency starts the following week. The draft comes FIRST. What happens if the Knicks go on the clock to make their pick and Jahlil Okafor is the best player left on the board? It isn't an implausible scenario. But Okafor has very similar traits to Monroe. Both post up, have limited range, and struggle with rim protection and defense on the perimeter. They would mirror each other's games and wouldn't work on the floor at the same time. Matching those two players together with Carmelo Anthony at small forward might just give the Knicks the worst defensive front court in the NBA.
Not selecting Okafor because Monroe is "about as close to a done deal as you can get" wouldn't make any sense either, since the Okafor is arguably close to an equal to or better than Monroe on the offensive end before he even sets foot on a NBA court. Why pass on a 19-year-old Okafor on a rookie deal to get a 24-year-old Monroe on a max contract? It doesn't make any sense.
In the next few months, all sorts of stories like the Monroe thing are going to show up in the papers. The most important thing Knicks fans can do is ignore them. They're fodder to fill space and nothing else. The only thing that is a done deal for the Knicks on April 15 is that they won't play in the postseason.
Everything else is conjecture.
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Knicks fans wanted meaningful games in April, right? I guess this isn't what they had in mind. The Knicks play for the chance to hold onto sole possession of the worst record in the league tonight against Detroit at the Garden. It is fan appreciation night and the best thing the team could do for their fans is to walk out with a loss.
No one is advocating for the players not to try their hardest or for Derek Fisher to sabotage the club with bad lineups (well some people might be, but not me), but a loss would be best for the long-term fortunes of the franchise. A win could tie them with Philadelphia for the third-worst record in the league, which would make the chances of earning a top selection even worse. It would also make it possible to drop down to the sixth seed. I'll pass, and so will all Knicks fans.
You can follow me on Twitter @Schmeelk for everything Knicks, Giants and the world of sports.
