The Knicks Move

by David Yeung

After all the missed layups by Charles Smith, the woeful 2 for 18 performance in Game 7 of the Championship series by John Starks, and the painful-to-watch missed finger-roll by their franchise player Patrick Ewing, even an idiot would recognize that the Knicks simply stink.

All those self-created championship dreams turn out to be absolute nonsense. Just as what I wrote couple months ago before the season started, as much as I love the Knicks, admit it, with the players they have, they aren't going nowhere!

Charles Smith's departure marks the beginning of an end to the Knicks era, if there were any. Since his arriving the Big Apple in the summer of 1992, he has never fulfilled what the Knicks expected him to be-- a 20-point, 8-rebound power forward who was not only talented but also very aggressive. Knick fans saw neither.

If Smith were that 20-8 player whom the Knicks acquired, he would probably have worthed the 21 million New York was paying him.

Yet coming into this season, Smith is averaging a pathetic stat line of 7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists, a 38.8% shooting percentage, and a 70.9% free throw percentage--all of them career lows!

Smith's play in the last three seasons had been (yukkk) horrendous. His many creative ways to embarrass himself and to kill the Knicks were more than qualified to make his own special video tape and deliver it to Dave Letterman's late show as a showcase named "Top TEN Ways to Ruin Your Team in a Basketball Game: Live Action by Charles Smith."

It would be an excellent hoop lesson as Charles shows you every single ugly and embarrassing thing that a basketball player is not supposed to do on the court.

The top ten list would include:

1.) Charles getting the ball right under the basket four times and failed to either convert a simple layup or get fouled, given that Charles is a 6'10"power forward. (Believe me, it demands a genius to do that. Even Spike Lee would have at least gotten the foul shots).

2.) Charles catching the ball at midcourt during a fast break. As nobody from the opposing team was able to get back, Charles was so hyper that he decided to imitate Michael Jordan in the Slam Dunk contest, ran with full speed towards the basketball, and slammed it with the most beautiful posture in his life, except that he forgot to dribble! Since the moment he caught the ball at midcourt, he was called traveling for 50 steps by the officials.

3.) Charles embracing his six-man role and vowing that he would do a good job. By the time he actually came off the bench, he averaged about 16 airballs a game, not to mention his eight turnovers, six traveling calls, and four missed layups.

Fans are always the best judges in sports. They cheer what they like, and boo what they don't. It is that simple.

All these days with Smith getting all the boos, it is not like the fans are animals who want to boo him for the heck of it. They are giving Smith a hard time because Smith is giving them a hard time. The team chemistry which Riley instilled is no longer there. Personnel changes are imminent. Breaking apart is inevitable.

The deal is brilliant in the way that the Knicks unload Charles Smith, a villain in New York, and his heavy contract. Whomever the Knicks get for Smith does not really matter because management is preparing for a big-time overhaul anyway. The deal is not designed to strengthen the current team.

Instead, the purpose is to get the $$$ and prepare for the future. Don't expect the Knicks to re-sign J.R. Reid after this season. What management is looking for is not mediocrity.

The reportedly 8 million total that the Knicks save by releasing Smith and Monty Williams is hefty enough to bring New York at least one, if not more, big-name free agent (even by today's crazy standard).

Acouple free agents the Knicks are strongly considering include Reggie Miller, Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, Kenny Anderson, and Gary Payton. What the Knicks desperately need is a top notch shooting guard to go along with Patrick Ewing.

If the Knicks cannot pull off a big-time off-guard, expect the Knicks to make a megadeal that would send away the likes of Charles Oakley, John Starks, and Doug Christie in order to get a Jimmy Jackson, a Isiah Rider, Steve Smith, or maybe a Mitch Richmond.

Again, a 2-guard who can run the court well and provide the fast break threat is what the Knicks desperately need. Yes, Hubert Davis is a hell of a shooter, but he is not the athletic "slasher" type whom Don Nelson is enamored with. Plus, his performance at crunch time is still unproven.

With Anthony Mason securing the small forward spot, Charlie Ward and Derek Harper splitting the point position and of course, Patrick Ewing in the middle, the Knicks do have a very solid base to build upon.

Management has just made a perfect step one. I am not worried, rather, encouraged that the Knicks will once again be active in the market and attempt to build another championship caliber team.

After all, this is New York, fans will not allow the team to sink, reporters will not give management any breaks, players will not let the team to fall apart. Don't forget: anything less than a championship won't satisfy New York. Period.