The New York Knicks are — once again, and unsurprisingly — one of the worst teams around the NBA. Over the past two decades, their on-court futility has been matched only by their front office ineptitude. The result has been that marquee (and even not-so-marquee) free agents have avoided playing in New York at almost all costs.
It’s perfectly understandable. There’s little-to-no allure in joining an organization that has consistently shown a lack of foresight or ingenuity in both roster construction and proper management of the personnel they have on hand at any given time. That’s been compounded by a string of subpar executive-level decision-making and a rotating coaching cast.
So it’s no surprise that they strike out with the big names each offseason, but if that wasn’t bad enough, even players toward the end of their careers are shunning the Knicks, even if they happen to be their last chance at staying in the league. Here’s what Nets analyst Richard Jefferson said on air during a battle of the boroughs on Sunday night at MSG.
“When the Knicks wanted me to play for them, I knew my time in this league was over.”
– @Rjeff24 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/P58WTxRBIO
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) November 24, 2019
This hilarious even for Jefferson, who’s never been known to pull any punches. To their credit, the Knicks boast an intriguing young core that includes rookie R.J. Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, and Kevin Knox, but they currently sit at 4-12 on the season, and they’ve recently added to their troubles by more or less publicly putting coach David Fizdale on notice.
As usual, the Knicks are their own worst enemy in that regard. Only time will tell if they’ll be able to develop their young talent and climb their way back into respectability, or whether there’s simply more of the same in store. As it stands, many players continue to avoid the Knicks at all cost.
