@ZachLowe_NBA
To restate the obvious, players and agents increasingly look at the Knicks as a destination of absolute last resort.
Make Phil Jackson the most highly paid GM in history.
Proceed to hire inexperienced Phil Jackson stooges as coaches that eventually disregard his opinions.
Fire them and hire more stooges.
Insult the best player on the planet in an interview that has a strong, strong, whiff of racism in it.
Alienate the best player on the team 6 months after extending his contract.
Luck into Porzingis with the 4th pick (wouldn't have picked him if we were 3rd) and fail to build around him or build a system that brings the best out of him.
Push an antiquated system that noone players full time anymore.
Fill the last few seasons with so much off the court shenanigans that sought after free agents no longer consider New York as a viable option.
Fill the last few seasons with so much off the court shenanigans that even Porzingis (a 2nd year player!), is seemingly hatching a plot to rid the team of Jackson.
Welcome to the Phil Jackson era in the Dolan Knicks era. Just when we thought it couldn't get worse under Dolan, Jackson came along.
Note: I haven't even mentioned in the above list the botched and utterly inept transfer strategy and dealings we've had under Jackson. After an initial season of contract stripping and building for a cap and free agent splurge, we've repeatedly shot ourselves on the foot.
We're not crap enough to get into the lottery, and even if we did, we lack the intelligence to use that pick to start rebuilding.
We're not young enough to sell the "we'll get better in the future" ticket that at least makes us feel a plan is in place.
We're not good enough to believe that this year's experiences will make us better next year.
And we don't have a GM on board that gives us the belief that there's actually a plan in place to take us back challenging for the Eastern conference title within the next 10+ years.
And now we're not even an attractive destination for free agents, in spite of the fact that the Knicks are in New York and play in Madison Square Garden. How atrocious do you have to be in your job as GM and Owner that you can't even capitalise on the fact almost every player would love to play in New York, would love to play in the city where the largest media reside waiting to over hype any player on the team, enjoy the financial boost that gives to their profile, and play in arguably the most famous arena on the planet.
