New York Knicks president Phil Jackson thinks his team is going to playoffs this season. “In what league,” you ask? The NBA. And no, they haven’t expanded the playoffs to 30 teams.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, Jackson is serious when stating his beliefs.
Someone may want to monitor Jackson on a daily basis to make sure he’s not developing early stages of old man’s syndrome. In case you didn’t pay attention to the Knicks last season (don’t worry, you we not alone), they won 37 games in a weak Eastern Conference, just one game back of the eighth and final playoff spot.
Not bad, even if the East is the inferior conference in the Association. That said, the team who finished behind the Knicks added guys named LeBron James and Kevin Love. Unless Jackson thought the Cavs played in the West, the Knicks have another team to worry about in their race to the postseason.
And what about that roster? Props to Jackson for keeping Carmelo Anthony around to sell tickets. But third-grade level research will show that Carmelo doesn’t equal wins. Here is the Knicks’ roster heading into training camp.
| Name | Position | Age | 2014 Salary |
| Quincy Acy | SF | 23 | $915,243 |
| Cole Aldrich | C | 25 | $915,243 |
| Carmelo Anthony | SF | 30 | $22,458,401 |
| Andrea Bargnani | C | 28 | $11,500,000 |
| Jose Calderon | PG | 32 | $7,097,191 |
| Samuel Dalembert | C | 33 | $4,051,527 |
| Cleanthony Early | SF | 23 | $507,336 |
| Langston Galloway | PG | 22 | |
| Tim Hardaway Jr. | SG | 22 | $1,250,640 |
| Shane Larkin | PG | 21 | $1,606,080 |
| Travis Outlaw | SF | 30 | $3,000,000 |
| Pablo Prigioni | PG | 37 | $1,662,961 |
| Orlando Sanchez | PF | 26 | |
| Iman Shumpert | SG | 24 | $2,616,975 |
| J.R. Smith | SG | 29 | $5,982,375 |
| Jason Smith | C | 28 | $3,278,000 |
| Amar’e Stoudemire | PF | 31 | $23,410,988 |
| Travis Wear | SF | 24 |
It’s hard to look at this roster and find more than 37 wins. Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler were traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for two players who have a combined age of 64 and take up over $11 million in salary.
Maybe Jackson meant they believe they’re a playoff team at some point? It’s a good thing they have a ton of draft picks over the next few ye………oh, wait
At least they brought in proven coaching…I mean, signed really good free agents….oh boy, this could be a long season for the Knickerbockers.
Photo: CBS Sports