Trade Signals More Change In New York

By | 2016-10-28T19:25:47-08:00 January 7th, 2015|News|Comments Off on Trade Signals More Change In New York

The game continued to change for Derek Fisher and the New York Knicks on Monday night in Memphis.

Prior to the team’s game with the Grizzlies, news broke of a three-team trade involving the Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder. In the trade, New York shipped guards Iman Shumpert and J.R.Smith to Cleveland in exchange for forward Lou Amundson and center Alex Kirk and a 2019 second-round draft choice from the Cavs and forward Lance Thomas from the Thunder.

Utah Jazz v New York Knicks

All three players they acquired were then waived by New York. The Knicks also waived Samuel Dalembert, who was the team’s starting center at the outset of the season and started 21 games for New York.

Despite playing without Smith and Dalembert, as well as Shumpert, who missed the previous 12 games with a shoulder injury, the Knicks offered some resistance to the Grizzlies (25-9), who currently hold the third best record in the Western Conference and fourth best in the NBA.

After falling behind by as much as 12 in the first frame, New York rallied in the second and at one point pulled ahead by three. But Memphis closed the half on a 21-7 run to pull ahead by double digits at the break and never looked back on the way to a 105-83 victory over New York. For the Knicks (5-32) it was their 12 straight loss, marking the franchise’s longest losing streak since the 1984-85 season.

Afterward, Coach Fisher reflected on a night that changed the face of the Knicks.

“This was an impactful night,” Derek said afterward. “Before the game, losing a couple of guys that we could’ve used tonight, it would’ve been helpful

[to have them]. But I thought the guys that were still here in the building they came out to try to compete, to try to win and Memphis was the better team.”

Derek told reporters after the game that the transaction created a unique experience for him, having to notify the players that they had been traded, then notifying the team that three teammates were no longer such.

But Fish noted that the sequence of events, which could have created an awkward division in the locker room instead created one more moment of unity that was special to him.

“It’s different. I can honestly say I’m not sure I really have experienced it as a player, where, right before a tip-off a teammate is not there with you. But as a coach, it still means a lot. Talking to each of the guys right before the game was tough and then having to notify the rest of the players, who weren’t aware, that three teammates weren’t going to be there. But I thought we had a great moment before coming out. All three guys were still in our locker room with us before we came out on the floor, saying that all three of them were still a member of this team as of now, but once we break this huddle, we won’t be with them anymore.” 

Derek also commended the commitment of each of the departing players to the team during their tenure with the Knicks, particularly during this transitional season as they all put hard work into learning a new Knicks scheme.

“The three guys who aren’t with us anymore, I spoke to each of them before the game and told them how much I and we appreciate the efforts made in this transition process, trying to learn what we were offering, what we’re teaching and all three guys made an effort to do so,” he said. “We often lose sight of the fact that guys are human, they have families involved, lives outside of just basketball, so I wanted to make sure they understand how much we appreciate their effort and their time here.”

New York Knicks Public Practice at the Madison Square Garden

The trade signified a clear step forward for the Knicks as Team President Phil Jackson attempts to maneuver to free up space under the salary cap that will allow him to build a formidable team around franchise star Carmelo Anthony in the present and in future seasons.

“As our journey moves through this season, we will search for the type of players that fit the style we hope to exhibit for our fans. Our desire is to improve our ability to compete,” Jackson said. “In addition, these transactions improve our flexibility to the current roster and the salary cap for future seasons.”

After speaking with Jackson about the trade, Derek noted that the transitional period in New York is ongoing and stated that he believes the work the Knicks front office is doing this season will have a positive impact on the culture of the franchise as the process moves forward. 

“I think Phil is continuing to look at how we transition as we change the culture of the New York Knicks,” Derek said.  “For now at least, we go with what we have. But I don’t think this in any way signals the end of our transition process.  I think our front office will continue to look at what we can do to replace a couple of these guys but also how we’re going to build our roster going forward in the short term and long term.”

New York Knicks v Memphis Grizzlies

In the short term, the trade left the Knicks a little more short-handed than Coach Fisher had initially planned when the team headed on the road to Memphis after Sunday’s loss at home to Milwaukee. The Knicks were already without Anthony, who continues to battle a left knee injury and big man Amar’e Stoudemire who has missed the last six games with a right knee injury. After making his season debut last week, Andrea Bargnani also missed his second consecutive game with a calf injury.

The myriad ailments, combined with the the trade left New York with just nine active players for Monday’s game and a starting five that featured point guards Shane Larkin and Jose Calderon sharing the backcourt, shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. manning the small forward spot and Jason Smith and Cole Aldrich playing the two frontcourt spots.

The quintet struggled to find a rhythm early on, allowing Memphis to build an 11-2 lead in the first three-and-a-half minutes and establish a 12-point advantage halfway through the first frame. But in the closing minutes of the frame, New York started to find something. A trey by Hardaway cut the deficit and Calderon followed with a three of his own to quickly make it a six-point game. The Knicks had the deficit down to four after a mid-range bucket by Larkin with just over 30 seconds left in the quarter, but a three-point play by former Knick Beno Udrih sent the Grizz into the second quarter with a seven-point lead.

“We had to make some adjustments in terms of some things we could do offensively and defensively,” Derek said. “You saw us play some zone, which we hadn’t done before and which in some spurts was effective.” 

The Knicks kept coming in the second, led by their four-man bench of Pablo Prigioni, Cleanthony Early, Quincy Acy and Travis Wear. All four players scored within the first four minutes of the frame, capped by a layup from Acy that tied the game at 22-22. Acy continues to shine for New York in any role. He finished Monday’s game with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-8 from the field and tacked on 14 rebounds in 31 minutes of action off the bench.

New York Knicks v Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis briefly pulled back ahead on a bucket by Quincy Pondexter, but a pair of Hardaway free throws knotted the score again. Then after another score by Pondexter, the Knicks pulled ahead for the first time when Calderon buried a three to put them up 27-26. Calderon followed with a mid-range jumper to make it a three-point game, but a trey by Vince Carter tied the score at 29-29 with 4:46 and kicked off Memphis’s big run to end the half in front by 11.

New York managed to trim the deficit back down to single digits on a pair of occasions early in the second half, but after a Larkin layup made it a nine-point game midway through the third, the Grizzlies went on a 13-0 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes to put the game away. 

Despite their inability to keep pace with Memphis in the second half, Coach Fisher saw some things over the course of the game he believes his Knicks can build on as they move forward with a young and hungry roster.

“The nine guys that were out there I think were trying their best and I think for most of this season guys have done that,” he said. “We just haven’t come up on the winning end as much as we’d like to. On a tough night where you lose some guys, I still think we’re moving toward our future right now.” 

NEXT UP

The Knicks (5-32) get another opportunity to take a step toward that future on Wednesday night when they continue their road trip in Washington against the Wizards (23-11), who currently it fourth in the Eastern Conference. 

The game marks the third meeting this season between the two teams, who last met on Christmas Day in New York, a game Washington emerged from with a 102-91 victory. It was the first of three straight wins for the Wizards, though they’ve hit a rough stretch since with losses in three of their last four games. 

But the Wizards still present a huge challenge for the Knicks with perhaps the league’s best backcourt duo in John Wall and Bradley Beal. They also bring it in the frontcourt with Marcin Gortat and Nene Hilario, and swingman Paul Pierce has always been a thorn in New York’s side.

It will be an even bigger challenge with Anthony, Stoudemire and Bargnani all questionable to play. The Knicks did call up Langston Galloway from the D-League to lengthen their bench. 

“It makes it more challenging in terms of being able to win games when you lose guys that can play, that have some experience in this league. We’re playing a lot of young guys right now that are learning how to play. I think they’re getting great experience. But we want to have a chance every night,” Derek said. “We’re not giving up on what we’re trying to do at this point in terms of this season. I think each move still symbolizes what we need to do in order to try and get better as we build this.”

Tip-off of Wednesday’s game is slated for 7 p.m. ET and it can be seen on MSG.

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