I don't think it's as simple "Well those guys are all bench guys".
Lopez has started on a contender in Portland. He is a starting quality Center on a good team, however he can not be your go to scorer in the paint.
Yes after that, the rest of the guys are backups. However that's ok. You need a good team in this league to have both starters and some quality backups. Spurs, Golden State even Cleveland have quality bench players.
With Williams (4) Thomas (3) Galloway (2) and Grant (1) I think our bench is set for a few years. With Lopez, KP and Melo likely our starting front court. We are 2 players away - a starting high quality SG and a starting high quality point guard away from being a contender. Afflalo and Calderon are both past their prime and also not good enough to be the 3rd/4th best players on a good team right now.
Way I see it, with free agency this summer, if Phil can get 1 starter and then maybe 1 starter in 2017 via free agency again, in the 2017-18 season we have a legit shot at making a real run. KP will be 22, Melo will be 32, we'll have a loaded team with guys in their prime. It's all about getting that starting backcourt better and younger via free agency.
Even if say we won 42 games this year which is what we were on pace to do at 21-21, would we have made the playoffs? Would it have pushed the front office to overpay players like Afflalo, believe that Calderon can last another few years as starter? I think the way things have gone down are actually better for the franchise in the longrun. It should be clear to Phil now that he can not rely on Melo as a franchise player throughout a season (Although Melo is clearly an all-star and top 25 player he does not stay healthy enough). It's clear he can not rely on the Afflalo/Calderon backcourt another season. He knows he has some young guys like Porzingis, Williams, Lopez, Thomas, Galloway, Grant who can be part of a top 9 on a contender. I think if we would have won 42-43 games or maybe sneaked into the playoffs, it would have given them a false sense of loyalty to the Afflalo/Calderon backcourt which they shouldn't have.
The real positive to me is that we've got 6-7 young players around Melo, and we have capspace this summer and next to acheieve what we need to become a strong playoff team for consecutive years. That is a far more important thing than to make a 1 year run and then overpay or invest in older players that won't be able to sustain their level. Just think about what some of us were saying a few weeks back. Pay Afflalo 30 M/3 years or something like that. There was this belief that the Knicks were already there and that's been wiped out now. I feel this is a positive in that it'll show the front office they ought to be extremely aggressive in trades and free agency this summer. They've got 6-7 players and Melo for next 3 years but need 2 major additions to get competitive to the level of being a consistent year in year out playoff team.
I see us being far far more aggressive in trades for future longterm assets and in free agency this summer the way things have gone vs had the team been able to sneak into the playoffs. The worst thing this team could have done is invest longterm in Afflalo and think Calderon was going to get the job done another year. There's no more dispute now. Can't rely on Afflalo to be the team's 3rd best player on a consistent basis, and can't rely on Jose as the team's starting point. I don't mind either playing being back another year, but not as a starter. With this in mind, Phil Jackson has to know he has to make some moves. I think the aggressive pursuit of backcourt players will be far greater now than had the team won 41+ games. The Knicks will rely on internal growth from KP, Grant etc. but they'll also know now they have to get some veterans who are younger and better. I can't see us just making a few small moves this summer now.
2/8/2016 9:06 AM