by Joesph "Joey" ButtsA short recap of this offseason for our New York Knickerbockers and what we hope comes next Finally, things seem to be clearing up in New York. Well, at least to some degree. Our unicorn of a player, in Kristaps Porzingis, says he wants to be a “king” here. The trade rumors around him have ceased. Carmelo is still hanging around, for better or worse, and is being dangled in front of every playoff team in every major city. But that is not such a bad thing. As soon as Phil Jackson was fired, the Knickerbockers remained silent. For once, there was no drama. Phil isn’t out yelling inconceivable things about his players and the organization that make you wonder how in the world did this guy win 11 championships and be dubbed ‘Zen Master’. But that’s all over now. The biggest splash that we have made this offseason is signing the once-a-Knick, Tim Hardaway Jr. It was an incredibly high contract for the young man. Many believe he did not deserve that $72 mil over four years. But hey, let’s just wait and see right? That is all we can do. He has a lot to live up to. While he was working in Atlanta, he was solid. Averaging about 18 points per game as a starter and ended the season at about 14 points per game. Not bad, right? But also not $72 mil. Now, assuming Melo is dished out before the season starts, the three top paid players on the Knicks would be Hardaway, Joakim Noah, and Courtney Lee. None of whom should be in the top three on any team in the league. Along with Hardaway, our blue and orange signed a veteran 6’3’’ point guard, Ramon Sessions. I haven’t heard that name in a long time, so I have no idea what to expect. The only thing I know is that he will be a guy out there with a ton of experience. Perfect for helping to mold our new young stud Frank Ntilikina, the very tall and young rookie point guard out from France. all culture. Now we just wait and see how these guys will get along. How well can they mesh together? Will Courtney Lee and Hardaway be able to play on the court together? How will Willy Hernangomez be in his second season? People are already saying he will be a double-double machine. I don’t know if it’s fair to sell that yet. He’s great, no doubt. Great rebounder, has good footwork in the post, and is an excellent passer for a big man. The comparisons to the Spaniard Marc Gasol are completely justified. But as a long time Knicks fan, I know it is not smart to get your hopes up (even though I always do). Carmelo and Amar were supposed to bring us to the Eastern Conference Finals. When that didn’t work, it was the latter's fault. Jeremy Lin was a huge surprise for New York. Those were some great days and amazing stories, but now it doesn’t even feel like that happened. Then, there were the years of utter destruction for the franchise which including tanked seasons. That 17 win season in 2014 hurt more than when my ex broke up with me via text 3,000 miles away. Then, it all changed. We hired Phil to bring New York back. He drafted New York City’s new hope, being Kristaps Porzingis, who we all know and now love. We are finally committed to the rebuild phase. Which I thought we had been doing from 2003 - 2012 and again in 2014 but clearly not, I was wrong. Phil’s replacement, Steve Mills, is now in control. He is steering the ship in the direction he thinks is best. Avoiding huge icebergs and playing it safe with smaller catches, but while spending a little more money. I love it. The Knicks aren’t the laughing stock of the NBA anymore. Well sort of. But it is all I can ask for. We should be patient, because our time is approaching! Porzingis is heading into his third season. We should expect him to be an all-star. He has clearly been putting in the work, just check out his instagram. Man, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to bring it back to how it was in 2013...Kidd, Sheed, Artest, Melo, Prigioni, Shump, JR, Tyson, Felton, fifty-something wins, and of course Spike on the sidelines. What a team. That’s what the fans are looking for, that real New York basketball culture.
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