LET THE JIM-SANITY BEGIN
No guarantees as Fredette gets set to join Knicks today
WHILE some were clamoring for Brandon Jennings at the trade deadline, Phil Jackson appears to have responded with Jimmer Fredette. Or as Carmelo Anthony called him the other day, “Jimmy.”
The Knicks are expected to sign the former firstround pick from upstate Glens Falls to a 10-day contract on Monday with no guarantee of playing time considering the Knicks have plenty of guards — Jose Calderon, Arron Afflalo, Langston Galloway and Sasha Vujacic, who has momentarily moved ahead of rookie Jerian Grant — in the rotation.
Fredette has dominated the D-League with the Westchester Knicks and was recently named MVP of the minor-league All-Star Game. In 233 career NBA games for three teams, Fredette is averaging 6 points and now he gets another chance with the team he grew up supporting.
Fredette’s feel-good story is one of perseverance to be sure but it’s also a complicated tale. It’s a curious addition because Jackson has traditionally preferred big guards. Some NBA scouts question whether the 6-foot-2 Fredette is too good for the D-League but not good enough for the NBA.
He is averaging 22.3 points in the D-League but with all 30 teams allowed to sign him, Fredette remained available until now. With the Knicks sitting at 24-33 entering Monday’s game against Toronto it is unclear what role, if any, Fredette will have.
If Fredette plays ahead of Grant, it reflects poorly on Jackson, whose decision to trade Tim Hardaway Jr. for the draft rights to Grant last June upset Anthony.
Since Derek Fisher’s firing, there have been reports of a love triangle with Fisher, Hardaway and an unidentified woman. There are some players who feel Hardaway was exiled to solve a potentially explosive locker room issue.
Now Fredette arrives less than a week after Jackson failed to make a move at the trade deadline and with the team fighting to stay relevant in the playoff race. The players will undoubtedly question the move.
There is one theory that Fredette’s promotion is a response to the criticism the Knicks received for not making a trade when the four teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings did just that. Plus, Fredette has something of a cult following among fans and even a select group of media members who chronicled Fredette’s progress in the D-League as if he were an 18-year-old top prospect in the Yankees’ system.
A telling scene unfolded on Saturday after Anthony had finished talking about the Knicks ending a seven-game losing streak by beating Minnesota. A reporter sheepishly told Anthony that he wanted to change the topic and began saying that “the team is probably going to make a signing in a couple of days.” Anthony interrupted by asking “who we getting?”
Anthony chuckled when told Fredette is likely to be signed and then referred to his soon-to-be new teammate by the wrong name.
“To be honest with you,” Anthony said, “I haven’t seen Jimmy play in a long time. I’ve been hearing about what’s he’s doing down there in the D-League but I haven’t seen him play in action for a long time.”
Carmelo smiled and playfully chided the reporter, “I thought you were telling me we were about to sign someone.”
The last high profile D-League player the Knicks signed, Jeremy Lin, was never fully embraced by the Knicks’ best player. In fairness, Anthony seemed slightly put off by the notion that he had to adjust his game to Lin, not vice versa. Initially, Anthony was not happy with Jackson’s decision to draft Kristaps Porzingis, but he quickly learned that Porzingis was better than advertised and could help the team. Jackson, though, couldn’t find help for his slumping team at the trade deadline and instead is bringing in a player who failed to make a mark at three previous NBA stops: Sacramento, Chicago and New Orleans. This could be his last chance.
For his sake, hopefully he sticks around long enough for the players to learn his name.