Forget Tanking: Knicks Fans Should Embrace Early Wins

The case for just rolling with it.

After being the NBA’s last winless team, the New York Knicks have won five of six games thanks to pure domination by Kristaps Porzingis and contributions from other supporting members. This is the most excited Knicks fans have been in, well, years, and rightfully so. Like the 2017 New York Yankees, no one expected this team to amount to much this year. The hustle, KP’s awakening and the wins are injecting life into a fanbase that has experienced far too many low points.

There are two words for the fans who are concerned that wins will screw the Knicks over in the draft: don’t be. Even with the early season excitement, the ceiling for this year’s team is relatively low to begin with, so freaking out in the beginning of November about draft positioning in June is unnecessary. There’s nothing wrong with the youngsters getting a taste of victory. Given the nucleus of this team, it’s better to take development and winning over pure tanking and losing this season. Perhaps the narrative changes should New York start selling off older assets as the season goes along.

If the Knicks were a team like the Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Hawks, it would make sense why fans should be more inclined to root in favor of tanking for a franchise cornerstone. And sure, the more franchise cornerstones the merrier, but it’s not like the Knicks are devoid of any star talent. For all we know, Frank Ntilikina could develop into a franchise player of his own accord based on his defense, length, and high basketball IQ. People are so headstrong about getting a top-three pick when a player drafted later than that can still become a transcendent talent.

Winning also helps raise the trade value of veterans who could benefit other teams. It’s better to trade a player who’s playing well on a good team than a player who’s playing well on a bad one. A team should always sell high and trade from a point of strength. For example, why should the Knicks want to trade Courtney Lee if he’s playing an integral role on the team? If he’s coveted by New York and not perceived as expendable, another suitor would need to strongly entice the Knicks to give up the wing player.

Let’s also take a moment to reflect on the Knicks’ recent past, which might be the blueprint for New York’s season this year. Last season’s Knicks team was 16–13 on Christmas and then went 15–38 in their remaining 53 games. The year before that, the Knicks started the season 22–22 before dropping 28 of their final 38 games. Here’s a look at the Knicks’ schedule over the next three months.

As you can see, the Knicks have some easy games in November and an easy stretch in December before a brutal month in January. New York will play 11, seven and four home games and four, eight and 12 away games in November, December and January, respectively. History could very easily repeat itself in terms of a hot start but a slow second half, which could convince the Knicks to sell.

Furthermore…

• As good as Jarrett Jack has been as a floor general since first getting the starting job three games ago, we should remember he’s 34 years old, has past knee injuries and played 36 games over the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons. Ntilikina has shown substantial potential on both ends of the floor but one would think he’s a candidate to hit a wall as many rookies are wont to do. Ron Baker is a quality backup given his high basketball IQ, defense and passing, but the Knicks are in trouble if he’s New York’s best guard on the floor.
• Porzingis can’t play in God mode every night… can he? He’s going to have bad shooting nights, he’s going to get into occasional foul trouble, he’ll face tough defenders and he’ll have to learn how to work out of future double-teams. It’s up to the team around him to make shots when he can’t.
• Do the Knicks trade a big once Joakim Noah returns? If so, how does that impact the team? New York has had early success with Kyle O’Quinn off the bench, and trading the 27-year old could lead to a significant decrease in bench production. O’Quinn is second in total rebounding percentage and true shooting percentage and has the fourth-highest net rating.

In order for the Knicks to finish in the bottom-three of the league, they’d need some combination of trades, injury and regression across the board. The latter two are not ideal things to occur for a developing team and it could be argued that keeping veterans around to guide players is a more beneficial method than obtaining second round picks. If you’re scared that the Knicks won’t finish in a position to draft a player like Luka Doncic, Michael Porter Jr. or Marvin Bagley III, remember three things: it’s a long season, the draft order is determined by a lottery system and teams can always make trades. Should the Knicks look to be sellers, New York can acquire picks and young pieces and then package various assets in a bigger deal if need be.

Until then, sit back and enjoy the wins. We’re getting a glimpse at the future, and it’s going to be pretty damn glorious.