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New York Knicks Finishes Near Bottom In ESPN Summer Forecast

By Kenneth Teape

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ESPN has released their annual Summer Forecast, and fans of the New York Knicks will not like what they see in their Eastern Conference predictions.

Over at ESPN, they have begun releasing their eighth edition of their Summer Forecast. Over the next couple of weeks as we get closer to training camp and the regular season, they will be releasing their predictions for the upcoming season. They will have team win-loss projections and also pick some award winners and an NBA Champion.

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This is something that always conjures a ton of debate among fans of teams, and this season will be no different. The first thing that they released was their Eastern Conference predictions. These predictions are predicated based on the predictions and opinions of a panel that has more than 200 people. That group of people won’t be making many friends with some of their predictions, and one group that will surely be upset is the New York Knicks fanbase.

The people over at the ESPN Summer Forecast are predicting the Knicks to finish 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 25-57 record and ahead of only the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, who don’t actually try to win games. That is an eight game improvement over last season, but would still leave the Knicks as one of the worst teams in the NBA.

While it is understandable that some people are down on the Knicks after they just finished the worst season in franchise history, and eight game increase seems to be on the low side of a projection. Last season the Knicks waived the white flag shortly into January, as they traded Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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It was clear Phil Jackson wanted to clean house and start over, and that became even more painfully clear when Carmelo Anthony opted for surgery after the All-Star break. The Knicks then fielded a team more closely resembling one from the NBA D-League than pro circuit.

But, Jackson redeemed himself during the offseason. Armed with a ton of cap space and the fourth overall pick, Jackson rebuilt the roster from top to bottom. He selected Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick, and then traded underachieving Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to combo guard Jerian Grant. The fact the Knicks got anything for Hardaway Jr. after he failed in an expanded role last season, let alone a top-20 pick, was a surprise.

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Jackson did not stop there though, as he filled the roster out with nice complementary pieces. He was unable to land the second superstar next to Anthony that he set out to, but he didn’t come away empty handed. He reshaped the Knicks front court, bringing in Robin Lopez, Derrick Williams and Kevin Seraphin as a free agents, while also sign-and-trading for Kyle O’Quinn from the Orlando Magic. All three should help in the rebounding department and protecting the rim defensively, both areas the Knicks can always get some help in.

Jackson also added Arron Afflalo to help fill what had turned into a gaping hole at shooting guard. He has experience playing next to Anthony and will bring some veteran leadership to a team lacking much at this time. He should help improve their three-point shooting and help the Knicks on the defensive end on the perimeter, where they struggled mightily last season.

Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas were also retained. They will be great for the end of the bench as their professionalism and work ethic should rub off on the rest of their teammates. They also flourished in the triangle offense last season, and Derek Fisher knows if he needs to go to them in a pinch what they will bring to the table.

The key to a Knicks turnaround though is Anthony. If he is healthy, the Knicks have a chance winning every night as he is capable of carrying an offense by himself. If the Knicks are able to find a consistent scorer next to him, which will be no small task, their chances of winning will improve as well.

While the Knicks are far from a finished product, their outlook as definitely improved this offseason and will see improvement on last season. Finishing only above of the 76ers seems to be selling them a little short though, as their offseason was stronger than people give them credit for.

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