It is undeniable that Knicks are among the East's worst teams, but they have proven All-Star through Carmelo Anthony and an interesting rookie in Kristaps Porzingis that can be utilized to establish blocks to possibly more quickly change the wave.
Phil Jackson may have had the chance to include real talent at the trade deadline, but the greatest asset he had was that which he declined to give up, according to ESPN. Jackson had a firm decision that the Knicks will hold onto their 2018 first round pick.
It is unclear how often the Knicks were asked to choose before the deadline, but what is evident is that it was beyond limits.
According to a source familiar with the Club's thinking via Fox Sports, Jackson said that they were not dealing it. As a result, Knicks fans should rejoice.
Meanwhile, New York Knicks looked at players such as Ricky Rubio and Jeff Teague as latent trade targets, but it is unclear if the pick and a combination of lesser players would have been enough to snoop either of those people loose. Maintaining the pick shows a change in the organizational philosophy, one that has a continuous record of accomplishment of carelessly giving away picks as part of questionable deals in the past.
The draft picks are crucial in forming a successful team because they can translate into talented, productive players who are on cheap rookie scale contracts. In case a team is smart in picking the right players, it is advantageous, leaving much money under the salary cap besides proven talent in free agency.
In the recent years, the combination of cap space and a large market is no longer important for star free agents. If a legitimate star is set to change teams, he should know that contending for a title is at least likelihood in his new situation. As a result, it so important to start building a real foundation and it appears as though the man in charge in New York Knicks has finally convinced ownership to realize it.
Here is how New York Knicks performed in 2015 season.