Even If Knicks Gave Away Promising Talent, Carmelo Anthony Installs Prominence

For now, anyway, it's about survival for the New York Knicks, an urban community that can finally sigh relief with the Carmelo Anthony acquisition to significantly cease the perpetual drama in the Big Apple, to diminish the mystery of uncertainty amidst the melodrama and even to abate prolonged and strange rumors which had been fueled by the over-hyped business issues.

This isn't the same team that we saw at the beginning of the season, not after the Knicks wisely chose to upgrade its roster, not after the Knickerbockers pulled off a massive deal, probably one of the most blockbuster deals in franchise history, for an opportunity, a chance to contend in the Eastern Conference.

All of a sudden, as the NBA advances near the midway point, the Knicks resurrected, and for once, aren't a mortal franchise deprived of talent or a shot to rise to preeminence or even into top-notch contention, maybe not this season, but a couple of seasons from now, if the Knicks manufacture talented role players to supplement in the company of a legit superstar tandem.

It's as if a party visited Broadway for a celebration to welcome the Knicks newest addition, and as it all ended so sweetly for New York; owner James Dolan finally relaxed after he won the Anthony sweepstakes over the Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and his cryptic Nets. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers poured onto the streets, perhaps to crowd the busiest location in the urban town, thrilled over the business deal that sent Anthony to the Knicks, tempted to dispatch a horrid era of woes and heartaches when traditionally the franchise was once well-known in the NBA.

It was all done by Dolan, one of the richest owners in the league, when he moved late Monday night to put a halt to the drama that lingered forever it seemed. That's how the Knicks were brilliant buyers and also granted Anthony his wish to play in New York, a place that will uplift his professional status. It's the opposite of Denver, a place he called home, but he truly had the enthusiasm to join the Knicks and had regularly begged to migrate to the East Coast.

Thing is, if he had never pulled the trigger and traded for 'Melo, Dolan would have clearly been lambasted for turning down a proposed deal from the Denver Nuggets in hopes to obtain Anthony. Point is, if he had never aggressively invited in offers for the availability of the targeted star on the market, Dolan would have obviously been labeled a moron for not constructing a deal to lure Anthony to Broadway, where he'll be a primary asset for a revitalized basketball team that obliges fans.

There's no doubt that the Knicks needed Anthony, just as much as he really wanted to wear a Knicks uniform, that fans implored for him and he wanted to form a sturdy nucleus with Stoudemire. All along, the Knicks were one player away from climbing into contention, and with Anthony, a clutch superstar and one of the centerpieces to the recreation of a championship-caliber team, New York has reclaimed relevancy and ended abysmal disasters.


The reality is that the mediocrity has faded away, as the Knicks are at long last, relevant by the creation of strong talent to frighten its opponents if they dominate at will. What could be a way to bolster the likelihood of a championship, is clearly the main attraction on Broadway, particularly if he delivers the prize to New York. The fear of gambling a promising lineup wasn't a problem for Dolan, a brave chairman who decided to trade his stars in the future in exchange for Anthony, the Brooklyn-born All-Star forward and former Syracuse star.

When he chose to send his promising stars elsewhere, mostly anxious to win a title sooner than later, the Knicks theoretically vaulted to the top of a premier franchise. For months, as we know already, Anthony had aimed to be a resident of the Knicks, and indeed, his dream came true after all. Growing up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, he was optimistic that he'd suddenly land with the Knicks as they plan to retool in what has been a rebuilding mode.

It's apparent that the Knicks ambitious plan to likely bring in either Chris Paul or Deron Williams next season is the next priority, when Dolan was dauntless to do away with point guard Raymond Felton, 26, although he averaged 17 points and 9.0 assists. That is, of course, only a bit of the nucleus lost. The price for Anthony was steep, but the Knicks are winners after all and benefited in the end.

This forced Dolan to make drastic maneuvers in which he traded his two talented forwards. He shipped off Danilo Gallinari, a sharpshooter who had posted nearly 16 points a game, and he sent away Wilson Chandler in that deal also, a shooter who was having a breakthrough season. Throw in his rookie center Timofey Mozgov, who was sent to the Nuggets.

So mostly, the Knicks mortgaged the team's future to take a gamble on 'Melo, daring enough to threw in his club's 2014 first-round pick, two second-round picks it possessed next year and in 2013 from the Warriors, $3 million in cash. Alas, he could have sadly ruined his relationship with veteran general manager Donnie Walsh, a mastermind who may opt to leave after he had disapproved of selling much of its current roster.

Was Dolan listening to Isiah Thomas, the juvenile manipulator and instigator? Maybe he took advice from a former NBA personality with no coaching personality whatsoever. Maybe he's close to rehiring Thomas, coach of Florida International University, a mediocre basketball program with no driven mindset or spirit.

If he does rehire Thomas, we can imagine the dispirited souls of basketball fans in Time Square and the local tabloids ridiculing the outrageous decisions. Meanwhile, the Knicks received Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman and Anthony Carter. In a three-way deal, obviously, the Knicks traded Anthony Randolph and Eddy Curry to the Minnesota T-Wolves and will reportedly send Corey Brewer in return.

The awful thought of it is the Knicks gave up all of this for Anthony, and in all honesty, the Nuggets amazingly earned more in return, although the Knicks win the 'Melo sweepstakes. So this deal won't be a waste by the offseason, Anthony is expected to be given a three-year, $65 million extension. The addition of Billups is useful for the fact that he provides veteran leadership, but at the age 34, he is well past his prime.

The folks on Seventh Avenue will still celebrate for, surprisingly, the stud Landry Fields, an impressive rookie, who wasn't part of such a colossal package. Although he's the star player everybody in New York longed for, Walsh had not expressed interest in Anthony and didn't envision him in the future plans.

Whatever anybody believes, the Knicks improves greatly, without question.

Knicks Could Implode With Isiah Thomas Rehiring, James Dolan Is to Fault

There is, no doubt, a dumbfounded surprise immensely is purging the feasibility of the recovery on a wealthy franchise. But with impetuously pulling off bad choices to solidify an uncompetitive texture, the New York Knicks, a team tormented of Isiah Thomas’ acquisitions and lawsuit in his regime as an executive running a mediocre organization, is constantly punctuated by troubles or afflictions that dismantle hopefulness.

In retrospect, the return of Thomas is utterly repulsive and risky as the Knicks are seeking to rebuild as a prime contender and escape the disastrous letdowns. With any improvement in a doomed culture, the daunting assignment of revamping an unfavorable team is to assign someone other than Thomas the consultant role.

But evidently, however, the Knicks are foolishly trusting in a heedless and insidious man who stifled the Knicks on the possibilities of rising as a flourishing contender in the Eastern Conference. So often it’s the devastating egos that threatens, and then suddenly ruptures a developing team with all the drama.

He is, without debate, a consultant for the Knicks, but could potentially sabotage the pursuit of a reconstructed organization and could malign the team’s image. The most impressive thing about this confusing hiring, though, is what was on the mind of owner James Dolan, who wrongly allowed Thomas to rejoin the Knicks and employed an embattled executive to endure in making all the drastic advancements and decision-making. That’s genuinely not such an exceptional idea when he is reputed to be the next general manager and demand much credit in the front office, despite that he is disapproved and chastised for greatly embarrassing and slaughtering the Knicks.

If ever there were a less stubborn and inattentive ownership, the reunion with Thomas would have never happened. By reputation, he wouldn’t have qualified, and shouldn’t have been hired in the first place for leaving behind stains and heavy burdens when his successor, Donnie Walsh, arrived to eradicate destruction that had poisoned and hindered the persistent vanity of reaching unbelievable heights.

Therefore, the truth is that Thomas is ultimately justified as someone who arrogantly initiates confrontation and divides a unified core, even though he assembled a fairly reliable team, but in the end, it collapsed as players abruptly left to avoid the discontent and verbal feuds. Why must the Knicks, as one of the wealthiest enterprises with an intellectual chairman, bring aboard the instigating and adolescent Thomas, who rapidly dragged down the assurance?


Consider it a misfortune, at a time the Knicks were looking to rise on the NBA scene as a growing and young core, that they chose to rehire Thomas to be affiliated with the team he badly mishandled and let down time and time again. Instead of curing mediocrity and restoring a sense of righteousness, the maniacal feuds between him and former point guard Stephen Marbury delayed the Knicks progress of sprouting as typical opponents.

It’s amazing how no one took notice of the time when a federal court jury found Thomas’ employer, Madison Square Garden and Dolan guilty on a sexual harassment lawsuit. And nonetheless, the Knicks are giving a troubled Thomas a second chance, unwilling to quit on him even when he cost the team $11 million in a shameful lawsuit, and even when he traded the No. 9 pick overall in the 2010 draft to Phoenix in the Marbury deal.

It’s too bad Knicks fans cannot fire Dolan. It’s impossible to fire the chairman of the team, when he possibly wouldn’t fire himself until he sells the team. But as long as Dolan is the owner of the Knicks, the disoriented and bombastic franchise will topple. A few days ago, Dolan announced that he allowed Thomas to return, perturbing fans awaiting a postseason appearance, and better yet, a championship appearance.

But none of that is happening anytime soon, and as long as Thomas is voicing the calls, the Knicks fans are faced with sadness, anguish and hopelessness, while anxious to figure out why Dolan is fascinated with Thomas. He’s fortunate the Knicks have handed the general manager gig to him, arguably the most powerful assignment as Dolan continuously engages in pampering Thomas, even when he underachieved and failed constructing a productive team or installing urgency of managing the most dysfunctional team in the NBA.

For nine consecutive seasons, it has been painful to watch and endure the disappointing losses, but now it should be more hurtful to hear the Knicks hand the hardest task and heavy responsibilities to Thomas. In every way, he hadn’t delivered a winning or an efficient team and was unsuccessful in overhauling a lousy team, but was always in disputes with Marbury and unwisely demolished the Knicks when he overpaid Jerome James. It’s still really bonkers that he tossed out unproven money to Eddy Curry. In other words, Dolan is rehiring a fool, a fool, I tell you.

For all the damage he caused, there’s no way in my mind I would have brought back Thomas. Outside of the world’s famous venue, the Madison Square Garden, that is, they should have hung a sign on the door or placed a billboard on a ten-story building nearby that said “NO THOMAS ALLOW, NO BRAIN DEAD IDIOT ALLOW!”

But this hiring is enough to make me nauseated and disgusted, with the Knicks refusing to understand that he didn’t only destroy New York, but the Continental Basketball Association as well. There are red flags, Dolan. However, you ignored everyone. You rehired him. Without reflecting back on the misery, he desperately gave the duties to Thomas, ignoring the availability of Golden State’s GM Chris Mullin, a familiar name that Walsh requested Dolan to hire.

Now that Dolan has similar habits as the Oakland Raiders sullied owner Al Davis, he’s watching a promising franchise attenuate completely by refusing to listen to Walsh demands after he pledged that he would be able to voice all the personnel decisions. Well, he lied. And he whispered sweet things in his hear, and as usual, Walsh fell for it.

It was an elementary strategy for alluring the masterminded architect, but according to reports he is distraught with Thomas rejoining and threatened to quit. In a matter of time, the local tabloids in New York will likely ridicule the Knicks and Dolan for making the dumbest choice by giving Thomas the duties of recruiting and assisting the franchise, as the newspaper stands may become the hottest spot in the urban communities.

There were, however, other candidates more worthy, such as Mullin, Kevin Pritchard or Mark Warkentien, but out of all the potential candidates to fill in the vacancy, he was aroused with Thomas, something I never understood. To put it into perspective, it was a very faulty choice, a regrettable decision that wasn’t worth the hassle.

So now Dolan has confidence that he’ll be a brilliant recruiter, meaning Thomas can talk Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul into joining forces with Amar’e Stoudimire in New York, and eventually he’ll become the general manager. But as we know, Thomas is inept. Dolan is a fool. And I am his worst critic. This is a disadvantage and a downfall, but we can enjoy it before it shrinks greatly. And perhaps, it won’t be very long before it happens.

Good luck.