a lot of people have intimated that the lottery process was a fixed event. That Stern and the NBA brain trust, conspired to give the Knicks the first pick in the draft and give them a clear shot at drafting far and away the best college player in the nation in Ewing. Apparently there is Zabruder-like evidence of such a conspiracy...
i can see how some people would think that garnering Ewing would be a boon to the Knicks franchise, based in the largest media market in the country, and in turn, aid the NBA in becoming the most popular sport in the world, which it was, with the help of a guy named Jordan who played in the second largest media market. Ultimately, i see the choice of Ewing to be the albatross the Knicks would wear for the last 15 years. Sure, Ewing made the Knicks a playoff team, and brought myself and other long time fans closer to a championship then we had been since before i was born, but those of us who live and die with the Knicks, those of us who know better, are cursed to remember only a mistaken shot—the finger roll...
some people remember that 1995 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals as Reggie Miller "choke" series, or the most egregious piece of non-officiating since 1993. i and others like me recall that game as the last time we wanted to see Ewing in a Knick uniform...
you see, drafting Ewing was not a gift, it was a well placed curse, meant to torment the Knick fan into thinking that we would ever be anything more than the team that propped up the Chicago Bulls to three straight titles and made Michael Jordan. An unwitting pawn in Stern's master plan. Maybe it was a conspiracy and the Knicks merely made a deal with the devil. And make no mistake, Stern is the devil...
it would take another 5 years to shed the physical nature of the franchise's albatross, only to descend deeper into the abyss through the work of Isiah Thomas and the wreckage he made of the once proud Knicks. It wasn't until a year and half ago that the sun finally peaked through the dark clouds to present Donnie Walsh, a respected basketball man, originally from this fine city, to begin to wash away the filth left behind by that day in 1986...
Yesterday, Walsh consummated a three-way deal to obtain Tracy McGrady and his $23 million-expiring contract for what, in my opinion, amounts to a bag of basketballs and a pair of old Chuck Taylor's. Sure, pundits on ESPN and TNT are worried that the Knicks might very well be mortgaging the team's future by giving the Houston Rockets access to what could be two basically unprotected lottery picks in 2011 and 2012, for nothing more than a decent shot at LeBron James, arguably the games best player, and other NBA Superstars that will be available as of July 1st. i would take any two of those guys over anyone who will be eligible for the NBA draft in 2011 or 2012, let alone lottery-worth...
in McGrady, the Knicks get a two month rental on a guy the Knick fans have always fawned over, ever since the Knicks won their last playoff series to date against the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors sported two great young players that year, Vince Carter and his cousin, rookie Tracy McGrady. During the series, Vincanity played like Vince Cortho, but McGrady, only 22 at the time, made the series competitive and announced his entrance into the NBA elite...
much has been made of McGrady's health in the later part of his career with the Oralndo Magic and then Houston Rockets. Back troubles and knee surgeries have plagued him, leading to micro-fracture surgery last February. But it seems to me if he didn't have to carry those franchises on his back all these years he would be healthier. The Knicks don't need McGrady to carry them anywhere. The Knicks merely need the clock to tick and the days to turn, until 1995 is but a memory and the clock strike midnight July 1st...
so...now what? Of course, the prize of this years free agent class is James, but i'm here to tell you—don't be fooled by a wolf in sheep's clothing...
while watching the early match-up on TNT last night between James' Cleveland Cavaliers and my pick to come out of the western conference Denver Nuggets, i noticed something that just might change minds at Two Pennsylvania Plaza, and reveal something i've always suspected. King James might not be ready for prime time...
with the game on the line James and Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony played each other on both ends of the floor. Both teams ran their offenses through their superstars. Anthony, used the dribble to create offense for himself and his teammates including a wonderful circus finish beyond the broken ankles of his defender, James, and the eventual game winner, an 18-footer right in the eye of the King. Over the same stretch of time, James while covered by Melo, settled for three straight 23-foot+ jump shots, netting one. On the final play of the game it wasn't until the Cavs used a ball screen to free James from Melo, as the Nuggets switched on defense leaving Aaron Affalo to check the Cleveland star. James then thought it prudent to use the dribble to create a chance at the tying bucket. Affalo was able to provide stout defense and James forced a poor shot resulting in the Nuggets win on the road. James stalked off the court hastily and seemingly in a huff about a foul that wasn't there let alone called...
it was a telling minute of basketball. Faced with the prospect of driving against a player of equal height and skill (more or less) James deferred to his jumper, which can be erratic, rather than challenge his equal. That's not the kind of attitude i want out of one of my max-contract players...
this is not to say that James isn't a great finisher, i once saw him go toe-to-toe with Gilbert Arenas, long before his current troubles, beating the Washington Bullets into submission in a Conference Semifinal in the Spring of 2006, but it seems to me that James cowers in the face of comparable defenders, say like, Melo, or Kobe Bryant...
regardless, i believe the Knicks have finally turned the corner. Next season will be the first season of the rest of our Knick lives. LeBron or not. I just hope that Walsh, coach Mike D'Antoni take heed to what is clearly in front of them. Nothing in the NBA, including one of its best players is cut and dry...
i was born a mere month and a half after the Knicks last championship season, so there are few Knick fans that have waited longer for the the franchise to once again stand atop the NBA as Champions. Today is the day, the beginning of what should wipe away the pain and torment of the last 36...
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