NBA Season Preview

Due up: The New York Knickerbockers

After being taken under the wing of coaching extraordinare Larry Brown last season, Knicks players probably thought life couldn't get any better. But indeed they are twice blessed, as this season they will be led by a man who defines both leadership and class, Isiah Lord Thomas III (his real name, check wikipedia). In his previous role as general manager of the Knicks, Thomas has assembled arguably the finest roster in NBA history. The line-up is stacked with superstars such as Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jerome James, and Mo Taylor, just to name a few. The most shrewd part of his acquisitions however, was the vision he possessed to build the Knicks around team-first guys with reasonable contracts. This has created both a cohesive locker room as well as roster flexibility because the Knicks remain well under the salary cap. He has also wisely held on to his draft picks in order to keep an influx of young talent coming in every season. Oh wait, he hasn't done any of those things, in fact quite the opposite. Not only has Isiah Thomas been almost inarguably the worst general manager in the history of professional sports, he is very close to running a once great franchise into the ground while spending absurd amounts of other people's money. Last year the Knicks had the highest payroll in the NBA by far, an astonishing $124 million dollars, and yet had the second WORST record in the league. This is especially troubling for the Knicks because, unlike baseball, the NBA has a little thing called a salary cap. The Knicks were nearly $75 million dollars over the cap last year and will have to pay over $60 million in penalties, so in essence the Knicks payroll in 2005-06 was right around $185 million dollars. Compare that to the Charlotte Bobcats, who not only won three more games than the Knicks but did so with a payroll that hovered around $30 million dollars. So Isiah's strategy was to spend 6x as much as the Bobcats in order to win less games, genius. Not only that, there is little hope on the horizon. In addition to possessing numerous untradeable contracts (that is because the only GM stupid enough to trade for them is Isiah Thomas, and he can't very well trade with himself, can he?), the Knicks are also without their first round pick this year because of the unbelievably stupid trade Isiah made for Eddy Curry, an overweight center with a heart problem, both literally and figuratively. On top of all that Isiah has been given one year to turn it around by owner James Dolan so he will no doubt pull out all the stops and add more even more payroll if he deems it necessary. It all adds up to an exciting year for New York Knicks fans, one that is delightful to watch the way liposuction is on Dr. 90210.

Outlook: Shit will hit the fan. The only thing worse than Stephon Marbury leading your team while on a tight leash is Stephon Marbury leading your team while he has free reign to do as he pleases. The Knicks roster could not be more mis-matched for one another, three shoot first point guards (Marbury, Francis, and Nate Robinson), two selfish gunners (Jamal Crawford and Jalen Rose), and two guys with big-time question marks about their health (Curry and Quentin Richardson). Throw in good for nothing Jerome James and you got yourself a team! The person I feel most for is Arizona alum Channing Frye, who not only will have to witness this disaster first-hand but will also have his growth stunted as a result of being a part of this ridiculous joke of a basketball team.