Sports franchises go through periods of times where they need to rid the roster, start over, rebuild from the ground up. For the New York Knicks, this has been going on for the better part of 15 years now. A franchise that was once a force in the NBA's eastern conference in the 90's, has become an afterthought, and a joke to most basketball fans. With the exception of the 2012-2013 campaign the Knicks have been a mess. A mess that has been created by an owner , a tyrant, for that manner, who is absolutely clueless in James Dolan. He had the right idea hiring Donnie Walsh, who had the vision moving in the right direction, but Walsh resigned, a move made which i firmly believe was a direct result of pressure from above to acquire Carmelo Anthony.
Cue the next big move, hiring Phil Jackson, the Zen-master, arguably the greatest coach in NBA history to head basketball operations. He'll fix this mess right? Well in his tenure here the Knicks have yet to be even competitive. Drafting arguably our best rookie since Patrick Ewing in Kristaps Porzingis, and a slew of offseason moves that landed us Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee, and Brandon Jennings , hasn't lived up to on paper expectations. In fact what we see on a nightly basis is a team that can score, but lack the discipline defensively that is needed to hold down the opposing team in the closing minutes of a game. They also sorely lack veteran leadership. That's where our supposed superstar comes in to play. Sorry knick fans Carmelo isn't that guy. He proves time and time again he hasn't matured enough to lead a franchise. He's a guy that would be a robin to a batman. A Scottie Pippen to a Michael Jordan. A player that compliments a superstars skill set.
For the Knicks to be competitive again the time has come to TRADE CARMELO ANTHONY. The time has come for a full youth movement, led by Porzingis. The kid has superstar written all over him. His game mirrors that of Hakeem Olajuwon, and Dirk Nowitzki rolled in to one. Trading Carmelo doesn't have to net us an A-1 guy in return either. Build through the draft. Hijack a team desperate for that championship piece like the Celtics did a few years back for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett when they dealt them to Brooklyn. And it doesn't have to be right this second. Wait for the right deal. Carmelo is going to be difficult to deal because his contract envokes a 15% salary increase once dealt rocketing his salary from 24 mill per to about 29 mill per, but there is a team out there that will be willing to take that on. Look at the way Lebron constantly whines to his franchise that he needs "playmakers".
I have no hatred for Carmelo. This ship has sailed. Its time to bring back meaningful basketball to the mecca again. Its time for Phil Jackson to realize that the triangle offense hasn't been successful since the early 2000s. Its time for the New York Knicks to get back to that gritty defensive style of ball that made us the bullies of the east in the 90s. No matter what team came in to the building the Garden was a place opposing teams HATED to play. Lets build that again, the time has come.
Michael Ruda will be offering his insights, analysts and knowledge on the world of sports, WWE, and more as part of "Ruda's Ramblings". Also look out and subscribe to his podcast WHAT'S THE RUCKUS
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