The New York Knicks President of Basketball Operations Steve Mills preached patience in a recent interview as the team front office is working through an organizational plan.
“I believe the fans will accept a team that has a plan and you stick with it and if you deliver players, you do have some hope. [Porzingis] is an elite player in the NBA. He has an injury, but he’s a very special player. We added some players in the draft. Hopefully this year will be a big move for Frank. He’s a lot more confident. We think we have something we can see is different as long as we have the patience to stick to it.”
This year for a change, with Steve Mills as team leader, it looks like the team from the Big Apple won’t be settling with a roster quick-fix and trying to sign (pseudo) star players, neglecting the team’s future by sending draft picks away while asking nonsense role or old, sometimes both, players in return.
In the past five years the Knicks missed the playoffs every single season and fired four head coaches, with none of them being able to reach the 40 wins mark.
On this week’s interview to Newsday, Steve Mills, the new President of Basketball Operations, told fans to have some patient.
On Thursday (septmeber 13th), NBC Sports Boston’s A. Sherrod Blakely, who covers the Celtics, said the Knicks has already “zeroed in” on Kyrie Irving.
“He’s the no. 1 target. I’ve spoken with people within [the Knicks]organization. They have made it absolutely crystal clear to me that, if they had their pick of guys that are going to be in the free-agent market [next]summer, Kyrie would be their first, second, third, and fourth choice. He is a guy they definitely want.”
It could sound a bit ludacris at first picturing Kyrie leaving the Celtics for the Knicks, but we all remember when he left LeBron James and the for-sure-going-to-the-Finals-
According to NBC reporting altogether with Mills speech, it sure looks like the Knicks are planning the 2019-20 season already, which is good for a change after many years going after the Carmelo Anthonys and LaMarcus Aldridges of the world. Also, by keeping their draft picks and actually using them by selecting Kristaps Porzingis, Frank Ntilikina and now Kevin Knox, we could be in the presence of something interesting if we had a Kyrie Irving to the mix, or even a Jimmy Buttler or Kevin Durant.
Cap space, young and talented core surrounding a superstar that’s something we haven’t been able to use in the same sentence for a long time while talking about the Knicks.
The Knicks also have a new head coach for the upcoming season in David Fizdale, a two time NBA champion (2012 and 2013) as an assistant coach with the Miami Heat (take that for data!).
However, let’s get one thing straight: the roster won’t be good right away but at least they won’t be fake-hustling for a playoff spot. They are what they are. And right now, they’re young. Their best player, Porzingis, is injured and he’s only expected to be back around holiday season. They have a new coach, meaning a new system. Eight players are under contract past the 2018-19 season. So, as Steve Mills put it this week, let’s be patient for a change with the Knicks.
Let’s all give Emmanuel Mudiay, Noah Vonleh, Mario Hezonja and Trey Burke a career second chance. We’ve been demanding the Knicks to have some plan and for the first time in few years it does look like they have one. Now let’s give them some time.