A failed summer has left the Knicks in a deeper hole than ever
- The 4-18 New York Knicks have lost eight straight games and are on the verge of another lost season.
- The Knicks expected to be better this year after a busy offseason, but instead have built a clumsy roster that hasn't put anyone in a position to succeed.
- The Knicks notoriously missed on the top free agents this summer, but just as damaging has been how they missed other opportunities this summer.
- Help doesn't appear to be on the way, and the future looks bleak.
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The New York Knicks have lost over 50 games for five straight seasons, missed the playoffs the last six years, and won just one playoff series this century.
Yet the first 22 games for the 2019-20 season may be the lowest of the lows.
On Thursday, the Knicks fell to the Denver Nuggets, 129-92, their eighth straight loss, bringing them to 4-18 on the season.
Throughout this losing streak - their eighth losing streak of eight or more games since 2015 - the Knicks have been outscored by a total of 138 points, or 17.2 points per game. For reference, the 2015-16 Philadelphia 76ers, who won a league-low 10 games, were outscored by an average of 10.2 points per game that season.
No one is in a position to succeed
What has made this season's rocky start worse is that the Knicks themselves did not expect to be here.
After striking out on the summer's top free agents, the Knicks signed Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Marcus Morris, Wayne Ellington, Taj Gibson, Reggie Bullock, and Elfrid Payton to short deals for a combined $149 million.
The Knicks front office, led by president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry, said they felt the signings would make the Knicks tough and competitive. A playoff seed likely wasn't in the plans, but the Knicks thought they could win 30-40 games, a significant improvement over last year's 17-65 team.
What's resulted is an ill-fitting cluster of players that leaves no one in a position to succeed.
But to most NBA observers, this roster made little sense from the outset. There was not enough shooting, and too much positional and skill overlap.
The Knicks have a back-court of Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith Jr., and Payton, three guards who offer almost no shooting from the outside and struggle to play next to each other because of their lack of shooting. Ntilikina has taken a positive step forward in his third season, but only out of necessity, as he finally got increased playing time because of early-season injuries to Smith and Payton. All three are healthy now, and someone is bound to have their minutes cut short.
The front-court situation is worse. Almost any combination the Knicks put out there leaves them at a disadvantage offensively and defensively.
Gibson provides a dose of shooting and defense at center but eats into critical minutes for Robinson, the Knicks' bright spot last year. Randle and Robinson get in each other's way on the court, exacerbated by the lack of shooting around them. Morris, Randle, and Portis have a positional overlap and weaknesses that hurt one another on the floor. The Knicks are a -28 in 119 minutes with the three players on the floor.
Knox, the Knicks' ninth pick in the 2018 draft, has suffered most, as he's been relegated to the bench and even been a healthy scratch some games.
R.J. Barrett may be a more natural small forward but has played shooting guard and point guard because of the Knicks' logjam at other spots.
And certainly not head coach David Fizdale, who will almost assuredly be fired (ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in November that the seeds have already been planted), barring a miraculous turn-around.
Fizdale has not helped the Knicks. They lack identity on both ends of the floor, and the rotations and philosophies are inconsistent and often puzzling. But he was also handed a roster that didn't make sense, with expectations to win some games. Perhaps the league's best coaches could squeeze more wins out of this roster, but probably not many.
Lost opportunities this offseason
A lot has been made of the Knicks' decision to trade Kristaps Porzingis and their failure to sign any stars in free agency afterward. There is an argument that none of those outcomes have been all that bad for the Knicks.
Porzingis asked for a trade and did not want to be with the Knicks. As has been reported by multiple outlets, the Knicks had essentially laid the groundwork for a Porzingis deal before he made the request. Could they have found a better trade? Perhaps. But in return, they got a young player they liked in Smith, two future first-round picks that projected as mid- to late first-rounders, and cap space.
The free agency misses may not be so bad, either. Kyrie Irving has already missed several weeks this season with a shoulder injury. He also has a history of knee injuries, plus questions about his ability to lead a team.
Kevin Durant is likely to miss the entire 2019-20 season with a torn Achilles. When he returns, he'll be 32, coming off an injury that has historically been damaging to players.
The max contracts for those players may not look so good for the Nets down the line.
The Memphis Grizzlies acquired a lightly protected first-round pick from the Golden State Warriors to take on Andre Iguodala this offseason. The Los Angeles Clippers received a lottery-protected first-round pick from the Miami Heat to take on Moe Harkless this season. The Knicks should have been in on both of those deals to acquire solid veterans, plus an asset.
The Houston Rockets were desperate to trade Chris Paul this summer, eventually sending him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with two first-round picks, for Russell Westbrook. Couldn't the Knicks, flush with cap space, have taken on Paul, along with two picks?
The Indiana Pacers signed 26-year-old guard Malcolm Brogdon to a four-year, $80 million contract. Brogdon is now averaging 18.9 points and 7.9 assists per game for the 14-7 Pacers. The Knicks could have outbid the Pacers for his services. Brogdon's deal looked like an overpay at the time (the Milwaukee Bucks chose not to match the offer), but it can be argued that Brogdon is the type of player the Knicks should have been in on anyway.
Some combination of these moves would have the Knicks in a better place than they are today. At the very least, the Knicks could have continued to stockpile draft picks by taking on these players.
There have been darker moments for the Knicks this century, like in 2007, when a jury ruled that Madison Square Garden owed former executive Anucha Browne Sanders $11.6 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit against former executive Isiah Thomas. Bad basketball and poor strategy are not that.
But the Knicks' future looks bleak. From where is help coming? Is Barrett cut out to be a franchise star the team can build around? Will it be a new coach who will have to sort through this roster? A prized executive to construct a fresh rebuild? Is it tanking again for a top draft pick?
It won't come from Commissioner Adam Silver, who said Thursday that he wouldn't step in to help the team.
"I wouldn't. It's not my role," Silver said Thursday on WFAN. "Of course, I work for 30 teams. And the 29 other teams want to beat that team."
The Knicks seem to be proving that things don't, in fact, have to turn around. They may soon be starting from scratch once again.
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