Next-Year Knicks

By Alex Khilnani

To all those diehard Knick fans - the Knicks will not make the playoffs this year. Although they are only a few games out of the playoffs in the lowly Eastern Conference, they will fall short because they just don't have the talent to take it to the next level. Sprewell, Houston, and co. played hard and overachieved this year, but they can't compete with players like Tracy McGrady and Michael Jordan for the eighth and final playoff spot. Therefore, it is time to look ahead to next season.

Next year, the Knicks will go deep in the playoffs and maybe to the Conference Finals. However, the Knicks' success will depend on how healthy the whole squad is, the quality of the draft, and the level of play from Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell, and Antonio McDyess.

The health of the players is the key for a playoff run. Earlier this season, when McDyess went down, he took the season with him. His absence deprived the Knicks of a consistent and dominant big man. The Knicks had a chance to make the playoffs and succeed because they had a legitimate big man in McDyess. They could call McDyess a low-post presence because the East lacked a force. The same could be said about small forward Latrell Sprewell. When Sprewell broke his hand in an alleged "boating accident" and was forced to sit on the bench the first three weeks of the season, the Knicks went 1-8. When he returned, he provided some much-needed energy to a lethargic team. Furthermore, he is the heart and soul of the Knicks, the player who carried his team to the finals in 1999. If the Knicks can stay healthy throughout the season, they could be a force to be reckoned with.

A team's drafting is reflected in its success. Ben Wallace, the All-Star center and potential MVP candidate, was signed by the Pistons as a rookie free agent. The Lakers obtained Kobe Bryant when they traded center Vlade Divac to Charlotte for the rights to Bryant. Even farther back, the Bulls drafted Michael Jordan third. Many teams can claim success with the draft. Many teams except the Knicks. In the 1994 draft, they drafted Charlie Ward and Monty Williams. In the 1996 draft, the Knicks got John Wallace, Walter McCarty, and Dontae Jones. All three turned out to be role players. Later, Knicks General Manager Ed Tapscott drafted the French Folly, otherwise known as the Frenchman who shares a poster with Vince Carter. In the 2002 draft, they traded their future in Maybyner "Nene" Hilario away to dreadful Denver for Frank Williams (can you say 'bust'?) and a seemingly recovered Antonio McDyess. The trade prompted many Knick fans to shout obscenities directed at Scott Layden. The bad history of drafts should not chase away Knicks fans however. This years draft features big men Darko Milicic, Chris Marcus, James Lang, and others. Not to mention the big prize, LeBron James and his H2. Knick's General Manager Scott Layden can redeem himself by drafting James Lang, a 6'11" center out of Central Park Christian High School in Birmingham, Alabama. Or, if the lottery goes their way and they move up, Layden can take Chris Marcus, a center out of Western Kentucky. Marcus' draft stock has slipped in the last couple of years due to injury, but at one point, he was a lock for the lottery picks. If the Knicks take a chance on him, they would reverse all the bad fortune they have had with the Draft, including the 2001 draft in which they selected Eric Chenowith and Michael Wright or Loren Woods (a supposed top-13 pick). One bright spot is Yugoslavian star Milos Vujanic of the European League. He was taken last year with a pick that many people have considered to be the steal of the draft and Layden's best pick so far as Knicks' GM. Garnering rave reviews from fellow countryman Vlade Divac, Vujanic is among the scoring leaders in the European League. He is only 23 years old and is ready to make the jump from Europe to the NBA, starting next year. The Knicks have a bright future with Vujanic and whoever they pick, but only if Layden decides to work on draft night.

Next season, if the Knicks can play at the level they're playing at right now, with only Houston and Sprewell, then they will be in great shape. With a starting lineup of Vujanic, Houston, Sprewell, McDyess, and Thomas, they will have a great chance to go far into the playoffs. If Houston and Sprewell can average a combined 40 points as they have in the past, then the Knicks will be fine. Coupled with an NBA-ready Vujanic, the Knicks will have no trouble scoring one hundred points a night. McDyess and Thomas may be the best front court in the East, only second to perhaps Jermaine O'Neal and Brad Miller of the Indiana Pacers. The starting five of the Knicks will have to play well, but the bench needs to come through as well. Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Othella Harrington, Michael Doleac, and Lee Nailon will have to play at a high level if they want to succeed. If all many of those things happen, the Knicks will have a great season next year and an even brighter future.