The Sports Rumors

Bold Men Take Bold Actions

Everyone has an opinion on how to fix the New York Knicks.  You ask the roughly 20 million New Yorkers out there and you’ll get 20 million different ways to do it.  But at the end of the day, everything I’m hearing is the same stuff just recycled and reworeded.

“Fire Isiah Thomas.  That’s the problem!”

“Get rid of Isiah and trade Stephon Marbury.”

“Trade Jared Jefferies and Marbury for solid young guys… and get rid of Isiah.”

If this were a video game in which you could package a $20 million dollar bust of a player along with an overpaid Jared Jefferies, and trade them for Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, then yes, these ideas would work.  If firing Isiah Thomas would suddenly make the Knicks play at an elite level like they were with their last coach, Larry Brown, then yes, you have solved the problem.  (Note to readers:  I was being sarcastic about Larry Brown).  Fixing a team that is in utter disarray is not as simple as it seems.  You can’t trade your junk for someone else’s goods with the click of a button.  This is real life, with real people and real issues.

Common consensus among those who are familiar with the NBA, the salary cap, and how things really work is to move the priciest and most disappointing players piece by piece.  You start by getting rid of Marbury and his large salary.  You move Zach Randolph, who you just acquired this past year by the way, and clear up some space.  You go down the list of overpriced players and move them, piece by piece, until you have cleared some cap room.  You bring in a new coach who will breathe new life into the city and the team.  Take care of all that and make a run at Lebron, Wade, or Melo in two years.  If we lived in a clean world without politics and hidden agendas, then this would work. 

However, things aren’t that simple.  Do you think Knicks owner James Dolan is really that dumb when it comes to Isiah Thomas?  Do you really think that he doesn’t see the fact that Isiah Thomas is not a good coach?  Of course he does!  But what we don’t know is the exact reasons for Dolan choosing not to fire, or anger, Isiah Thomas.  Much like Marbury had “dirt” on Isiah, it seems through rumors and people who know what’s what, that Isiah has a lot on Dolan.  This team is so dysfunctional, from the ballboys to the owner, that common logic and common sense don’t apply.  You can talk about moving this player and that player until your blue in the face. Your ideas are probably great, definitely better than what the Knicks have done up to this point, but those ideas and scenarios don’t matter because there is more than what meets the eye with the New York Knicks.  We simply don’t know the dirt that’s been swept under the rug for years, the same dirt that is keeping franchise benefiting moves from being made. 

Here’s where my idea or suggestion comes in.  It’s time for David Stern to get involved.  He is the commissioner of the league and he is the one who oversees everything.  We’re not talking about the struggling Seattle Sonics or the Milwaukee Bucks organization.  We’re talking about a marquee franchise in the most marketable city in the country, if not the world.  New York is not Memphis.  New York is New York.  You cannot have this kind of a bottom feeding franchise in your most marketable segment. 

Take any sport.  Let’s look at the NFL.  The NFL draws the most interest when its marquee teams have success.  Hate them or love them, but the Dallas Cowboys draw interest from everyone.  The New York Giants draw interest from everyone.  The Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Skins and so forth all draw a lot of interest because their markets are so enormous.  They are nationally relevant.  San Diego Chargers barely sold out their playoff games!  Ditto with Tampa Bay.  Big teams in big markets make leagues successful.  Look at the MLB.  Baseball is at its peak when the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox are involved.  Your opinion, good or bad for either team, is irrelevant.  You are interested either way; better for the league.  The success of failure of the Kansas City Royals doesn’t mean jack.  The failure of the Yankees or Sox means something.  And more directly, look at the NBA.  Come playoff time this year, I guarantee you the ratings will be higher than they have been in recent years.  I guarantee it.  You know why?  Because the Boston Celtics are good.  Because the Los Angeles Lakers are good.  People watch because they want to cheer them or hate them.  Either way, they’re watching.  The Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs of recent years have both been better basketball teams than the current Lakers and current Celtics.    No one cared.  People crave Boston.  People crave LA.  People want to see New York!

So David Stern needs to get involved NOW before it gets too late and the Knicks miss the boat on having a chance to nab one of the young anchors of the league (Lebron in particular). 

What exactly should he do? 

David Stern is a very, very bright man.  Though I don’t always agree with his decisions (dress code for example), I have always had the utmost respect for how he handles his matters and keeps the league relevant, despite the fact that it has to compete with the NFL when football season is at its peak interest.  If I were in Stern’s shoes, I would take this bold, unprecedented action. 

Have a meeting with James Dolan.  Tell him he has three months to make some drastic changes that will show that he is on track to getting the team better.  That starts with firing Isiah Thomas, followed by moving some of the enormous, wasted contracts and freeing up cap space.  I’m not giving him half a year; I’m giving him three months.  If I don’t see him making moves, taking action, then that’s it.  He’s out.  I don’t know the legal course of action that would need to take place but there are ways of forcing someone to sell their stakes if you really want to them to.  Sometimes, as the big boss, you have to be a bully for the sake of the future success. 

The new owner, whoever it may be, would have a daunting and difficult task but he could go down as a New York legend if he pulls it off.  Here are the immediate moves, in order of necessity. 

Trade Stephon Marbury to whoever is willing to give you the highest draft choice in return.  I don’t care if it is the second round pick number 20; take it.   

Same thing goes for Jared Jefferies.  He may not even be worth a draft choice, so take the cheapest bum off of the other team who is willing to take his contract on and leave it at that. 

Inside, you have Zach Randolph, Eddy Curry and David Lee.  You want to keep David Lee because he’s a good teammate and a good character guy you want to have.  You need to move either Curry or Randolph.  I’ll move Randolph because he has a history of having attitude issues and his contract is significantly bigger.  I don’t care about how he’s acting right now; I’m going by reputations and history, and his isn’t very good.  I’d trade him for the best young player (low salary) or draft choice that I can get in return.  You know you’re not going to get a player as skilled as Randolph, but I’ll take 40 cents to a dollar at this point. 

That leaves you with Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford, David Lee and Eddy Curry as your nucleus.  You are still stuck with heavy salaries with Malik Rose ($7 mil), Quentin Richardson ($8 mil), and Jerome James ($5 mil).  Trade them to whoever wants them for future draft picks or expiring contracts if you can get them.  Even if you trade Richardson to the freaking Heat for a 2011 second round pick, do it.  You are getting all of these disgusting rosters off your books.  You have to come to grips with the fact that you will not be competitive for the next two years, but you are building for the future. 

Your roster, if you move all those salaries off your books in the next 12 months or so will look like this by the start of the 2009 season; Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson at point, Mardy Collins at shooting guard, Renaldo Balkman at small forward, David Lee at power forward, and Eddy Curry at center.  If you win 20 games, congrats-a-freakin-lations.  We’re not worried about 2009.  You have now freed up money to throw at Bron Bron, who seems to have a fondness for New York (much to the dismay of his hometown, Cleveland).  You also have accumulated some draft picks, which may or may not be worth anything.  You also have money to chase down some other free agents and if you have a solid young coach, someone like Eddie Jordan, then you are set.  You will be a playoff team the instant Lebron signs with you and big time players will want to come play in New York and be a part of turning around one of the greatest franchises in all of sports.

If they follow this path, bite the bullet and be terrible for the next two years but clear the salaries and the current administration, the years 2010 through the day Lebron James retires will be oh so nice. 

Make it happen David Stern.  We want New York to be New York again.