The New York Knicks just blew up the team and gave up on the season, getting rid of three of their top eight players, and about to shut down their superstar.
Reports have J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert getting traded to the Cleveland Cavs for three players that the team plans to ultimately put onto the waiver wires (Lance Thomas, Alex Kirk, and Louis Amundsen). The Knicks will also get a first round draft pick in 2009 for Smith and Shumpert.
Speaking of waivers, the Knicks just waived Samuel Dalembert, their former starting center and bright spot for the Knicks early on the season.
You could tell something was brewing with the Knicks. There were rumors all throughout the last week about shutting down Carmelo Anthony for the rest of the aeason. And as much as I dislike the way Carmelo plays, his one-sided approach to the game actually benefits this season’s Knicks who are terrible on both sides of the court.
The trading of Smith, whom was the only other legit scorer on the team outside of Anthony signals that it’s time to rebuild. The Knicks haven’t just played, they’ve shown no potential to improving. Their 5-32 record continues the worst start to the season in the team’s history.
Just five wins. That’s tied with Minnesota and Philadelphia for the fewest wins in the league. Yes, they’re now tied with the Philadelphia 76ers whom started the season with 17 straight losses.
In fact, Philadelphia actually has a better winning percentage due to having fewer losses (28) than the Knicks. At least it’ll be exciting to see what young players like Cleanthony Early can do and I’d rather watch Tim Hardaway Jr. shoot 15 shots than J.R. Smith.
