BALLIN’ & FALLIN’
Stumblin’ and bumblin’ Knicks drop to eighth as lottery losers
Clyde Frazier, resplendent in a custom-made suit for Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery, can’t hide his disappointment as the Knicks’ fate is revealed. Seeded seventh in the lottery, with fingers crossed hoping to move into the top three, they slid one spot and will pick eighth next month.
CLYDE Frazier did all he could. He had a crazy, loud purple and gold suit tailored and brought along his two NBA championship rings and his lucky chain. But none of it mattered after the Knicks landed in the eighth spot in the June NBA draft during Tuesday night’s lottery in Manhattan.
“We were hoping for a better pick,” Frazier said after the Celtics, Lakers and 76ers claimed the top three spots.
It begs the question whether this was the last disappointment of the 2016-17 season or the first dubious sign of a just as frustrating 2017-18. All signs point to the latter
Team president Phil Jackson said afterward he was hopeful the Knicks could acquire “someone who can contribute this year.” But it would be foolish to think one single player is going to turn the Knicks into a winner.
The Knicks won’t get any better until they change the culture that has doomed the past two seasons and frustrated Kristaps Porzingis to the point he skipped his exit meeting with Jackson at the conclusion of last season.
“He’s probably frustrated, like all of us, with the season that we had,” said Frazier, who 50 years ago was the Knicks first-round draft choice , selected No. 5 overall.
It is more than that. Let’s face it. If you serve steak on a garbage can lid, it is going to ruin the steak. Tuesday night the Knicks were searching for a chance at steak without offering any hint how they plan to clean up their own issues.
There is no way to feel comfortable about anyone the Knicks select in next month’s draft, having seen what has happened to Porzingis, the No. 4 overall pick in 2015. Though there was plenty of head scratching the night he was selected, given he was a virtual unknown in America, it didn’t take long for Jackson and the Knicks to hear praise for the 7-foot-3 Latvian. Two years later, Porzingis is frustrated with the direction of the team. Not good.
Also, it is fair to question whether the Knicks can develop a high draft pick, after watching Porzingis struggle with inconsistency and play more talent than structure. He played in 66 games and averaged 18.1 points after, averaging 14.3 during his rookie season. And though most of his other numbers were up across the board, it was clear Porzingis struggled with his health and his game, especially in January — when he went through a threeweek stretch where he missed six of 10 games with injury.
It also became clear Porzingis wasn’t happy with the way Carmelo Anthony was being treated. Jackson seemed to take shots at the Knicks leader throughout the season — whether it was a conf idant criticizing Anthony’s game or Jackson endorsing articles with the same message. Before the ink was dry on the Knicks season, Jackson said it would be best if Anthony found another team.
Anthony’s role was to nurture Porzingis, teach him how to be a pro, how to prepare his body throughout the season, and how to deal with fans and the media. Porzingis also got to see how to hold up under the criticism of a team president.
Jackson seemed to put all the blame for the Knicks’ poor season on the “rebelliousness” on the team, saying “there was too much push and pull between players and coaches.” He said the Knicks didn’t have an identity and said he would be more of a “mentor” this upcoming season.
Without a f irst-round pick last year, Jackson tried to fortify his team by trading for Derrick Rose and spending $72 million of freeagent money Joakim Noah. We all know how that turned out.
Now Jackson would have you believe he can build a team around Ron Baker, Willy Hernangomez and Lance Thomas — players he talked up at the end of the season more than Porzingis.
Add Ja ckson’s determination to continue running the triangle offense, and it is hard to imagine any of the 2017 draft picks being happy about the potential of being selected by the Knicks. Would you?