WAITING GAME
Fizdale: Knicks will make ‘big moves’ next summer to bring in stars to help
The Knicks weren't very active in free agency but they picked up a default victory when LeBron James left the Eastern Conference. “Hal-le-lu-jah,” coach David Fizdale rejoiced Tuesday.
Fizdale plans to capitalize on the vacancy with an understanding it'll require stars on the Knicks – as in plural – because that's what today's landscape dictates. Fizdale was part of this wave of superteam formations as an assistant coach with the Miami Heat, witnessing firsthand how Dwyane Wade needed LeBron – and both needed Chris Bosh – to conquer the NBA.
Their movement graduated to another level with the Warriors, who agreed to sign DeMarcus Cousins not long after smashing LeBron's oneman show in the Finals.
“One just won't do it anymore,” Fizdale said Tuesday. “We saw it with the greatest player in the world. It's hard. And Kevin Love is no slouch. He's a multi-time All-Star player. So it's just really tough. And now with what's going on (with the Warriors), good grief. You got to have a couple of guys to get to that mountaintop, yeah.”
So where does this leave the Knicks, who've lost at least 50 games in four straight seasons? They feel there's already one star in tow with Kristaps Porzingis and they'll be able to recruit the second next summer when cap space opens.
On Tuesday, Fizdale became the latest to jump on the 2019 free agency bandwagon. It's to the point the organization has placed immense pressure on itself to secure one of the marquee free agents of 2019, whether it's Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard or another of similar ilk.
“We knew coming into this July there wasn't a lot of money to spend, we wanted to be real strategic with who we went after and if it fit the kind of guys we wanted to have here,” Fizdale said. “I felt like we've done that and now we can just lock in, get into the group we have, start developing these guys, growing these guys, let them go through the ups and downs. And as we get our culture in place, KP gets healthy, we start moving into next summer, I really feel like we'll have the bricks in place to make some big moves.”
Their big signing this week was Mario Hezonja, who averaged 6.1 points through three seasons in the NBA. The appeal to Hezonja, 23, is his upside, but he's only coming on a one-year contract.
The Lakers' LeBron jackpot also reiterated a stark contrast between the NBA's marquee franchises on opposite coasts. L.A. has always attracted the biggest stars -whether it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain or Shaquille O'Neal forcing their way to the Lakers – while the Knicks settled for much less and zero championships in 45 years.
Fizdale, who grew up in L.A. as a Lakers fan, knows the history well. But he's also a salesman who believes the Knicks can change the narrative by next summer.
“Despite the number of rings the Knicks have, the history and the fanbase and the passion of the team and the city is all the same from that standpoint,” he said. “I just feel like if we continue to build this the right way, (Scott Perry and Steve Mills) have done an incredible job of lining it up so that we're in a position next summer to make moves. I just feel like with the relationships we've built and our approach to the game and our view of players and the way we view guys and the way we treat guys and the culture we want to build I really think we're going to find somebody who fits the bill.”