The Knicks have dealt Pablo Prigioni to the Houston Rockets for point guard Alexey Shved and the Rockets’ second-round picks in 2017 and 2019. On top of the second round picks and Shved’s expiring contract, the Knicks shed Prigs’ salary for next season, which is just a slight salary dump due to Prigioni’s guarantee next season being $300,000 over a minimum cap hold spot.
The Rockets’ unprotected second-round picks in 2017 and 2019 are unlikely to be good picks, but they are unprotected and that serves some real value. The Knicks not getting them until two years from now is a bit rough, though, and that hurts the value of the deal. I guess overall I’ll go with B/B+. Either way, it is Jackson’s best trade so far. But of course, while it was his best trade it was also one of his least consequential. Like getting an A+ on a paper that only counts for 5% of your total grade. It’s still good to get the A+, but keep it in perspective.
As for Prigioni, I wish him the best. He seemed like a great guy and he was a good Knick. He also did very well in the playoffs, so I suspect that the Rockets will be happy to have him in this year’s playoffs.
In other trade deadline news, Knicks target (kind of), Goran Dragic, was dealt to the Heat for two first round picks, Danny Granger, Justin Hamilton, Norris Cole and former Knick Shawne “Extra E” Williams.
Also, former Knick Steve Novak has found his way to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal sending Enes Kanter to the Thunder for Reggie Jackson, Perry Jones and Kendrick Perkins.
According to ESPN, the New York Knicks have shutdown Carmelo Anthony for the season. For the Knicks, the news has some upside. First off, without ‘Melo, New York will likely end up with a better spot in the draft. Second, giving Anthony rest should extend his career. Given that the Knicks are tied to Carmelo until Buck Rodgers returns to Earth, the less tread on his tires, the more bang New York can get for it’s buck.
My stomach, in gif form.
So, then how come this doesn’t sit right with my stomach?
Well the reason the Knicks are shutting Carmelo down is because Carmelo Anthony’s knee has shut down Carmelo Anthony. Had New York done this a month ago, I wouldn’t be so worried. Putting a merely banged up Carmelo Anthony on ice is a good idea. Calling it a season for ‘Melo because he needs knee surgery is, well, a necessity. Carmelo Anthony is getting an extended rest much like your 40 year old cousin is finally going to put his dream of being a rapper on hold so he can get a real career.
In my travels there are people in my “NBA circle” that I can talk hoops with on a high level. Then there are the people that aren’t necessarily writers or bloggers, “regular folk” if you will, that will seek me out for my Knicks knowledge. Since about November, whenever I have a conversation with people of the latter group it goes something like this: ”
Feel Lucky?
Regular folk: “Tough season for the Knicks, right?”
Me: “Yeah, it’s been brutal to watch.”
Regular folk: “Well at least you know they’ll be a lot better next year, right?”
Me: “No. Unfortunately that’s not the case. They’d have to be unbelievably lucky to be good in the next few years.”
How the conversation proceeds usually depends on societal etiquette. People that don’t like the response to “how’s your day” to be “really crappy” will usually change the subject. Others will proceed with a Q&A on why I’m so down on the team. My reasoning is simple: Phil Jackson, a person who has never run an NBA team as a GM before, has to pick the right person in this draft, sign the right big name free agent, fill out the bench with proper role players, and make sure to have the right coach on the sidelines to lead the team.
We won’t know the answer to those first three events until the end of the summer. However, Anthony’s injury throws a wrench into the whole plan.
Carmelo Anthony is supposedly getting a procedure that “includes a left knee patella tendon debridement and repair,” and is likely to need “four to six months” of rest. Calling a situation where a player can’t play basketball for half a year “shutting him down for the season” hearkens to recent Knick regimes that downplayed injuries. If Vegas took odds based on how the Knicks communicated injuries, one could make a fortune taking the under.
Even in Phil Jackson’s best case scenario, if Anthony’s health doesn’t hold up, then the Knicks ceiling seems to be the 2012 team. Carmelo Anthony would be Amar’e Stoudemire, Marc Gasol would be Tyson Chandler, and Jahlil Okafor would be Carmelo Anthony.
So what’s it like to be an optimistic Knicks fan? You have to hope the Knicks get a good pick in the draft. Then you have to hope they pick the right player. You have to believe they’ll do something with their cap space this summer to get a second star. You’ll have to think New York will go out and get good role players to fill the rest of their roster. You’ll need to believe that either Derek Fisher is a pretty good coach when given the right players, or that the Knicks will figure out he’s not and get someone who is. And now you’ll need to trust that Carmelo Anthony will be healthy so in 4 years from now he’s not working out a buy-out on one of the league’s worst teams to be a bit player on a team with playoff chances.
The Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets are discussing a deal that would bring Kevin Garnett back to Minnesota, the place where his brilliant career began and to the franchise that he put on the map.
Jerome Kersey, the versatile small forward who helped the Portland Trail Blazers reach two NBA Finals and won a title with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999, died Wednesday. He was 52.
A leading orthopedic surgeon told The Post Phil Jackson's possible four- to six-month timetable for Carmelo Anthony seems a worst-case scenario, allowing for the possibility other damage is found during…
