Knicks facts or fiction

I decided to play my own version of ESPN's fact or for fiction concerning this Knicks.

The Knicks made a mistake in giving up so much for Carmelo Anthony. Fiction. Carmelo Anthony was on the Knicks radar the moment Lebron made his decision. Because Lebron spurned the Knicks and even worse stayed in the Eastern Conference means the Knicks will have to be able to deal with him if they are to do anything at all over the next few years. Carmelo Anthony, despite his flaws,  is one of the few players in the league who has consistently proven that he can win a head to head match up with Lebron. As much as I loved the Cock and Wilson "silent Bob" Chandler neither inspire the same confidence should the Knicks find themselves having to beat a team with Lebron James on it 4 times in 7 games to advance in the playoffs. Therefore getting Carmelo Anthony was imperative for the Knicks at any cost.

The Knicks are a lock to form their own Big three with Chris Paul in 2012. Fiction (sort of). If Glen Grunwald is named the permanent team President you can kiss CP3 goodbye. Donnie Walsh was never on board with 3 stars, and made that clear to all that listened to him after the Carmelo trade. Walsh clearly said the Knicks need to fill out their roster and a build up the supporting cast around their two stars. Grunwald is on board with Walsh in terms of that thinking, but has an advantage over Donnie in that Dolan actually likes Grunwald and hired him of his own free will. Dolan always felt that Walsh was forced on him by Stern. Grunwald worked closely with Walsh to institute his plan to rebuild the Knicks and believes in the framework that Donnie laid out, which is not yet complete. Donnie left the job basically half done. So if Grunwald keeps the top job, then there will not be a CP3 in New York, however that could change if Dolan brings back Isiah Thomas or a Team President anxious to do something splashy right out of the gate, which in that case signing Paul would accomplish that.

Landry Fields is a bad fit for a Knicks team with Carmelo. Fiction. Carmelo Anthony is a wing player and does not dominate the ball as much as say a Lebron or Kobe does. Therefore his impact on a teams system of offense is not as much as one might think. Carmelo Isos but so did Earl Monroe and that did not stop Bill Bradley (who couldn't create his own shot off the dribble) from getting his opportunities to score. Carmelo literally got to New York and played a game that night. D'Antoni had very little time to teach Carmelo his system of offense and out of necessity pretty much had to let Melo do what he did in Denver. The key in whether or not Fields fits with Carmelo is Chauncey Billups or whomever ends up playing point guard in the future. Fields is a system player. He was drafted because he fit the system that coach D'Antoni runs. Therefore whether Carmelo was here or not, if the team is not running D'Antoni's system effectively then Fields will struggle. Do a better job playing D'Antoni's offense Fields will play better.

Mile D'Antoni will not be head coach of the Knicks if the 2011-12 season is missed. Fiction, but again like Chris Paul coming to New York is fiction. James Dolan was willing to give Mike D'Antoni another season to coach the Knicks. D'Antoni has proven that he can coach talent, which not every NBA coach can do well. D'Antoni when he had decent talent in Phoenix won 58 games a year and made two trips to the conference finals. Do not think that James Dolan does not know this. Secondly if the season is missed then there will not be a lot of potential candidates available as teams will not likely grant permission for the Knicks to talk to their coaches, so really short of handing the job to Mike Woodson who has not proven to be a better coach than D'Antoni, or grossly overpaying someone like John Calipari to leave Kentucky, D'Antoni would probably be the safest short term bet. D'Antoni will likely get a one year extension to coach the team should the season be missed. Although if a new guy is brought in to run the team who insists on bringing in his own coach (Dizzy), or if Phil Jackson decides he wants D'Antoni's job then all bets are off.

The Knicks as presently constructed are a top 4 team in the East. Fact. The Knicks finished 6th in the East last season. Now I will go on record as stating that if there is a season and Billups, Amare, and Carmelo stay reasonably healthy, the Knicks are better than the 5th place Hawks. Orlando could be influx especially if Howard is looking to leave. Boston is an older team with bench problems, so the Knicks can step into 4th place.  Now that will be contingent on the three top players playing well, Ronny Turiaf staying healthy (after seeing Jordan's last game Ronny needs to stay healthy), Fields returning to pre-trade form. Also the Knicks will need somebody other than Toney Douglas to step up from the bench bros. But I will go on record as saying that the Knicks are the 4th seed in the East if a season gets played in some shape or form.