It's been a very hot past four months in the Big Apple. Of course, it wasn't the hot summer Cam'ron promised it'd be, but it was still on fire in New York.
The Yankees started off slow, then exploded upon the American League and now are on the cusp of taking over the AL East, which is an annual event in the Bronx. The New York Giants, by all means, suck. The Jets lost Chad Pennington (another annual event), and their coach proved to be a snitch after getting blasted by the New England Patriots in Week 1. Shit, ESPN even released a mini-series called "The Bronx Is Burning", detailing the Yankees' 1977 World Series season.
But no team has provided more public fodder than the Knicks, who missed the playoffs in the lackluster Eastern Conference and have endured months of questionable trades, draft choices, and a wacky interview by their best player that wasn't even close to the wackiest thing that occurred in Knicksville.
Since the ending of the 2006-2007 NBA regular season, the New York Knicks have managed to stay in the news, and at the tip of people's tongues (sometimes, literally). This proves to be extremely remarkable given the fact that the 'Bockers were 16 games under .500 and played with the chemistry of a group of guys playing a fifth consecutive pick-up game at the gym. I guess GM/Head coach Isiah Thomas and the Knicks decided that the only way to get back to elite status was by making themselves more interesting to the public.
During June's draft, Thomas traded Steve Francis and Channing Frye to the Trail Blazers for Zach Randolph, Fred Jones, and Dan Dickau. The deal seemed perfect for the Knicks at the time, until you realize that Randolph further cripples the Knicks' payroll (he's scheduled to make $13 million in '07-'08) and basically has the same game as Eddy Curry, which will be interesting seeing as though they both prod around the lane, have no range outside of 12 feet, and play not a lick of inside defense. But it does make the Knicks more interesting, right?
About a week later, guard Stephon Marbury appeared on the NYC show, "Mike'd Up", as a guest and proved to the world that he was indeed crazy. No more words can do that interview justice, so I'll just post it.
And, to top the summer off, the sexual harassment trial against Thomas and Madison Square Garden started earlier this month. A former Knicks employee claimed that Thomas called her a bitch on numerous occasions, asked her to go off-site for what was believed to be a sexual encounter, and said he loved her. To put it plainly, Isiah is fucking up. Seriously, after further screwing up the Knicks roster, making horrible trades that never had the salary cap in mind, coaching the team out of playoff contention, and then this, I'm concerned that Thomas physically threatened owner James Dolan to keep his job. I'm just saying.
On top of that, Marbury testified that he slept with one of the plaintiff's interns in the backseat of his car, amazing considering he's married and all. Of course, that led to this:
However, the Knicks' summer wasn't all that bad. Nate Robinson took home MVP honors at the NBA Vegas Summer League, and Randolph will get New York 25 and 10 next year in the East, even if he and Curry will get in each other's way all season. And the Knicks might even get an old friend back for cheap, old and washed up as he may be.
That's it, though. Everything else is chaos and a disaster waiting to happen. The Knicks may be better than last year, and they may not be better. But, one thing's for sure, they will be interesting to watch.
5 comments:
Yeah it's been nothing but roller coasters and fireworks in Gotham City this past summer.
You know what Trey, I follow Isiah Thomas although I absolutely hated him as a player, but his "act" is wearing thin now. If the Knicks do not win a playoff series (yeah I know they have to make the playoffs first) then I am going to trash Isiah Thomas until the day he's gone.
Knicks have become nothing more than a laughingstock.
Good post Trey, you kinda surprised me there when I clicked on the link.
Appreciate it, but you hated Isiah Thomas the player? I don't know if we can still be cool lol.
But for all the fireworks going on there, the Knicks should be improved this year.
You should be trashing Marbury more, he's the real reason for the failures
No, I didn't care for the player. He was a great player but there was something about his personality which turned me off. I do respect his plight in life though.
There is some truth to your Marbury statement, but I think the lack of team defense is really what's killing the Knicks.
I think the lack of offensive chemistry is what's killing the Knicks. Every "point" guard on their team, with the exception of Dickau, is a shoot-first, shoot-second guard. Q can't create his own shot and is erratic from 3. Balkman and Chandler are good for that team, but there are too many bad shots to notice how much they help/will help them.
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