Losses pile up as Knicks eye next year

The Knicks sit on the precipice of unfortunate history.

With one more defeat — whether it’s Saturday against the Pistons or anytime over the next two weeks — they’ll have secured at least 50 losses in four consecutive seasons. That hasn’t been done in New York since the early 1960s, when Wilt Chamberlain was dropping 100 points in a game against the Knicks.

Not even Isiah Thomas can claim to have steered the Knicks to such consistent ineptitude. Each defeat also solidifies the Knicks’ status as the worst NBA franchise over the last 17 years, with a grand total of seven playoff victories during that stretch. The misery aligns almost exactly with James Dolan’s takeover in 1999.

The bottom-line ($$$) isn’t affected much. If a disgruntled fan doesn’t want to buy a ticket, there will always be another Times Square tourist to take that spot and fill up the Garden.

But what about in the eyes of free agents? Let’s remember that the Knicks couldn’t even get an audience with Kevin Durant two summers ago, despite the fact that he was holding his meetings in the Hamptons.

Jeff Hornacek, who might not be around for much longer, addressed that topic with a longterm view on Friday, with an understanding that New York’s greatest draw is recovering from a torn ACL. His point was that the Knicks can’t offer much this summer but hope to be in the mix during the summer of 2019 when Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love and Klay Thompson hit the market.

“I think where you got to look at, ‘Are we ready next year?’ With KP coming back probably a little later, no (we’re not ready),” Hornacek said. “But the pieces are being laid down.”

Hornacek added that ditching the triangle has helped with the perception of the Knicks, which might’ve hit an all-time low last year when Phil Jackson was feuding with Carmelo Anthony and Charles Oakley was arrested at MSG.

“I think (the triangle) probably was (an issue to potential free agents). I think we truly believed that we could blend it (in with another offense), and we found out that probably wasn’t great,” Hornacek said. “So most of the teams, if you look around the league, most of the teams play the same way. There’s not a lot of difference in how teams play. It’s getting certain guys, with their abilities, to put them in those positions to succeed.”

Yesterday it was the triangle, today it’s the cap space in 2019. The future is always brighter than the present.