Chandler trade was horrendous.
Jr and Iman trade was almost as bad. You have to deal with the end results.
Phil flunked this year, Fisher too. There's no way around it.
Wow havent seen this handle in some time. Whats good fam
At same time, just like back in the day, I disagree with that statement wholeheartedly. Sometimes you need to take a major step back to take a major step forward.
Sure Phil just got the Knicks their worst record in franchise history, but that is because whenever we have been bad enough to get the worst record in the past, we pull some dumb *** **** like trading away an expiring contract and a young Trevor Ariza at the trade deadline for Steve Francis. And in often cases it doesnt even matter because even if we were that bad we wouldnt have the draft pick to capitalize.
Tjhis season was a perfect storm IMO, and despite the team maybe not living up to Phil's now notorious preseason prediction, Phil stayed calm, stayed focus, and kept going with the flow. I 100$ respect that after seeing decades of inept GMs press the panic button whenever possible. Phil did the opposite, Phil saw the ship ready to sink and he blew the ******* thing up instead of trying to do a last minute repair job.
Like ive said over and over, even at our most positive/unrealistic expectations this team had 0 shot at winning a playoff series. This was a gap year for this team in any way you tried to look at it. No matter hoew successful we might have been, we were not going for a title this year. The plan has always been to utilize the cap space we have in 2015 and retool this team to hopefully make a run after that, but nobody thought this team was going anywhere this season.
So instead of trying to go for the classic 23-33 win Knicks, why not be really really really bad for once? Sure it gives the NY media dummies bulletin board material when they can shove it in your face that we got the worst record in franchise history any chance they can get but like I have said it was a perfect sorm and Phil knew that. It was a gap year, we have our draft pick, and there is a talented draft class coming in. We were always planing on retooling the roster this summer and now we are retooling with a likely top 3 pick/franchise player coming in instead of a pick somehwere between 10-15 like we would have had if this were a "successful season."
IMO Phil did a fantastic job this season. He is the first Knicks executive EVER to embrace a long term vision and look to the draft as the best way to go after a franchise player. Now, no matter what might happen in free agency, we are going to have a top draft pick and nobody could take that away from us. I wouldn't say Phil was perfect. Like I said, I think he could have done better with the Chandler trade, but if I am grading Phil on a Pass/Fair grade it would be Pass all day long no question about it.
Anybody who thinks that Phil "failed" in his first season is either very short sighted or media folk. What? You think Phil is going to walk through the door and use his presence alone to elevate a garbage roster to championship contender? That is the kind of dumb *** thinking that Knicks fans are wrongly criticized for having. The whole "You can't rebuild in NY" rumors.
Well, that is exactly what Phil is doing right now and we have a top draft pick coming in because of it. The #1 reason why I was upset when we brought in PJ originally was because I thought he viewed this as a money grab, and being a 70+ year old who had never been on a losing team or in a front office position, I didn't think Phil would have the time and/or patience to do what this team needed and would look for the quick fix in free agency instead of utilizing our draft pick(s). Well Phil proved otherwise this season and I must admit, I am cautiously optimistic about it.
Patience.
EDIT: and who gives a **** about his preseason playoff position? I dont get why media is so caught up about this.
It is all about the end result and the end result is that the Knicks are currently in a better postiom than we would be if we had snuck into the Playoffs like Brooklyn did and like Phil "predicted."
Phil saw an opportunity for a better option and he took it. After years and years of seeing moves like the Steve Francis trade, I love to see Phil make minor current sacrifices for the good of our future.
It isnt Phil's ******* fault that JR and Shump decided to destroy every ounce of trade value they once had before he got there. Phil gave them a chance and they blew it. Phil wanted a top pick and he knew that wasnt possible with the inevitable late season meaningless run that comes with a guy like JR Smith.
Would you rather Phil have taken the "high road" and kept JR/Shump because he couldnt find "equal trade value" and then miss out on a top 5 pick because JR decides to turn his game randomly on during a meaningless March-April stretch (like he did last year) causing the Knicks to finish with 27 wins and a 6-8 lottery spot? Then the offseason comes and Shump signs elsewhere in RFA and we are still stuck with JR's bum *** and his contract?
Sure Phil could have plyed the "high road," kept both of them, hurt our biggest asset in the process (draft pick), lose Shump anyway, still be stuck with JR, and have a 6-8 spot in the lotto instead of #2... Is that more of a "desirable" situation to be in right now than dumping JR and Shump for a bunch of chumps, getting JR's contract off our hands without taking one back, and getting enough losses to secure ourself of a top 5 pick and greater than a 55% chance of getting top 3?
Would Phil have been more successful this season had he did that? Come on now. Think LONG TERM for me one time. I get it that the Knicks sucked this season and at the time (right now) that seems like the biggest deal in the world, but nobody will remember **** about this season if we end up getting a franchise player out of it in the draft. Now that may or may not happen but at least for once we have a shot.
Remember how ******* pathetic the Thunder were before they got Kevin Durant? Or during Their first season in OKC right before they got Harden? Thats right nobody gives a ****. What people do give a **** about is that they landed Durant, Westbrook, and Harden in consecutive drafts.
