Rebuilding the New York Knicks as Championship Contender

Analysis by David Yeung

However, among the few contenders, when pretty much everyone is competing in such a high level, what determines the eventual champion is no longer just pure talent. The inside fire, the desire, the confidence, the I-want-it-more-than-you-do attitude, and the ability to elevate one's performance at the most crucial moment are what decide the ultimate winner.

In the case of the New York Knickerbockers, after four courageous, remarkable, yet futile title runs, they seem to be running out of gas, time, and patience.

Entering this frustrating season, Ewing and his teammates don not resemble the slightest traits of the "old Knicks" anymore: no defensive tenacity, lack of team chemistry, and the worst of all, their dearth of desire.

You can blame ex-head coach Don Nelson's ever-laid-back coaching; you can say the stellar Bulls will once again crush New York's title run anyway.

But the bottomline is: Patrick Ewing and the Knicks have lost faith and desire!. Instead of team-first, me-second, it's now me-first. It is no surprise that team turmoil happens from time to time. An NBA championship don't seem to be within the Knicks' reach anymore.

The Knicks may no longer have interest in an NBA title, but New York does! Management vowed that a big-time overhaul will take place as soon as this season is over. Major trades, blockbuster acquisitions of free agents are widely expected.

Some say management has shown tremendous interest in Reggie Miller, the Knicks' nemesis; others follow the hype and want Alonzo Mourning to come to New York.

An unprecedented huge amount of rumors concerning off-season moves has been spread around the league. Not only the Knicks, but also the Miami Heat and the LA Lakers are expected to be hyper-active in this year's off-season.

In case you don't know, the list of free agents-to-be is impossible! All-stars including Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, John Stockton, Miller, Mourning, Juwan Howard, Gary Payton, Dennis Rodman, Kenny Anderson, and Dikembe Mutombo will all become free agents.

The Knicks, like many other teams, have certain target free agents. Salary cap allows the Knicks to spend approximately 12 million in free agency, which is a huge sum of greens.

If management can spend the bucks wisely, I guarantee you that the Knicks will be back to serious title contention as soon as next season.

The hottest names that are related to the Knicks are Mourning and Miller. The former is considered the best front-court player in this year's free agent market; while the latter is the best shooter in this universe other than Michael Jordan.

But let me tell you: don't follow the hype because the Knicks can do better things with their money than blindly putting enormous money in either Alonzo or Reggie.

Mourning reportedly will take nothing less than 11 million per year; while Reggie is reconsidering Indiana's 7 million per year contract. If New York were to sign one of the two, all their free agency money would be used up. More importantly, Reggie and Alonzo are so insanely overpriced. They are not worth 10 million!

Who I think should be the top target of the Knicks is Juwan Howard.

The Knicks are well aware that the win-one-with-Ewing era is over. What Don Nelson said about Ewing should at most be the second-best player in the team is not nonsense. The man is over-the-hill and is not the same dominating self as he used to be.

If management were to continue to stick with Ewing as their top player, New York would continue to be titleless since 1973. New York deserves a better team and a new leader to build around with. And nobody fits that role better than Juwan Howard.

Provided that Mason will never be a big scoring threat, together with the overall decline of Ewing's game, a front court scorer is one of the two positions that the Knicks are desperate to fill (guard is the other one).

Playing alongside with Chris Webber in Washington might mean a lot of fun for Howard, but it also means that he will forever be the number two guy in that team, which he does not deserve.

While without a real point guard feeding him the ball in Washington this season, Howard continues to blossom in only his second season, averaging 21 points a game. He is young but so talented that not even Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen, or Shawn Kemp are as impressive as Juwan at this stage of their careers.

Juwan Howard is the real thing! He is no trouble X-generation players who has an obnoxious attitude. Juwan Howard should become the front court star of the Knicks, and his excellent ability to score will also free up both Mason and Ewing from doing more than they can offensively, which in return allows them to play better defense.

Howard will take up around 5-6 million of the Knicks' free agent money, which means that the Knicks will still have another 5-6 million to pursue another top-flight free agent.

As I mentioned, a great guard is what New York is dying for also. Derek Harper is already the oldest point guard in the league and it does not make sense to invest another 2 years in the 34-year-old man.

Meanwhile, there is a load of top notch free agent point guards this year, including Gary Payton, Kenny Anderson, Tim Hardaway, Robert Pack, and Mark Price.

My guess is, if Seattle doesn't win a championship this year, which is likely, Payton will pretty much want out. And my another guess is that 6 to 7 million should be enough to bring Payton, whom I think is the best defensive point guard in the game, to the Big Apple.

Averaging 20 points, 7.4 assists (tenth best in NBA), and 2.8 steals (number one in the league), Payton is enjoying a career-best season. With him being the floor leader, the Knicks can immediately have a solid back court.

Howard and Payton will take up pretty much 90% of New York's free agent money, but they will worth every penny they earn. It would be a total no-brainer to decide whether spending 10 million in Miller or Alonzo, or to get both Payton and Howard. This is what spending money wisely is about.

Now, with Howard starting at power forward, Payton at the point, Ewing at center of course, and Mason at small forward, the only vulnerable position left is shooting guard.

John Starks has been too erratic and too streaky a shooter to rely upon, while Hubert Davis is physically too small to defend all the taller and bigger guards.

The addition of Howard, however, will make Charles Oakley expendable. A trade that sends Oakley and another Knick away for a prominent shooting guard to round up the starting five will be the best possible move.

Personally I would love to get Glen Rice of Charlotte Hornets. First of all, Charlotte has neither a quality center nor a real power forward. The 7-foot tall Matt Geiger is playing out of position at power forward; while the feeble Robert Parish is playing center.

While the Hornets are desperate for big bodies down low, they have an excess of perimeter players: Scott Burrell, Dell Curry, along with Rice are all sharp shooters who have the ability to bury long-range bombs from any place on the court.

That makes at least one of the shooters expendable. Therefore, in my opinion, a trade that sends Oakley and maybe John Starks to Charlotte for Rice and maybe Geiger will benefit both ball clubs. And if you don't think Rice belongs to the caliber of Reggie Miller, lets check out some of the stats.

Rice is average an NBA's eleventh best scoring average at 22.4 points, compared to Miller's 21 (eighteen in the league). Rice's 3-point percentage is also eleventh best in the league at .429, while Miller is not even among the top 15.

I am not suggesting that Rice is a better shooter than Miller, as we all know Miller during playoffs, especially at crunch time, belongs to Jordan's caliber, what I am trying to say is that Rice is underrated and he will be a perfect fit at the shooting guard position.

If the Knicks still have some money left after signing Howard and Payton, try to get Robert Pack of Washington because he is almost the most underpriced yet solid player in the market. Here is my proposed lineup for the Knicks:

• Small Forward: Anthony Mason (whom the Knicks re-signed last year)
• Power Forward: Juwan Howard (via free agency)
• Center: Patrick Ewing (has one year left on his contract)
• Point Guard: Gary Payton (via free agency)
• Shooting Guard: Glen Rice (via trade for Charles Oakley and maybe John Starks)
• Key Reserves: Hubert Davis, Charlie Ward, maybe Matt Geiger and Robert Pack.

With a lineup consisting four All-Stars, this team will go far.

Offensively, the Knicks will be razor-sharp as they have awesome low-post players in Ewing and Howard, a phenomenal floor leader/penetrator in Payton, and deadly outside shooters in Rice and Davis; Defensively, Payton, Mason are both prominent defenders who can pretty much stop anyone in their positions at will. Ewing is still the fourth, fifth best big man in the league who can pose a serious intimidation to anyone attempt to attack New York's basket.

The only flip side of this lineup is Ewing's age and his free agent status next year. Yet as the franchise player of New York, he should be finishing his career in New York unless someone offers New York a Michael Jordan that management cannot resist.

Can't wait to see the 1996 New York Knicks!