If the New York Knicks are not going after the biggest name in free agency, then they are not trying. That is the New York way.
LeBron James coming on the market? Clearly he is going to New York. Where else would he go? Dwight Howard wants a trade to where? Of course, the Knicks!
James and Howard do not appear headed to the Big Apple. So who are the Knicks targeting now?
Let’s try former Mike D’Antoni favorite Steve Nash.
Nash is a free agent next summer. After Dwight Howard and Deron Williams there may not be a bigger name on the unrestricted free agent market. The Suns seem reluctant to trade him and Nash is not going to force his way out. Free agency seems to be the best bet for the Knicks to acquire Nash since they do not have the assets to pull off that kind of trade.
It is also pretty difficult considering the Knicks have $58.8 million committed in salary next year if all options are declined according to ShamSports. That won’t stop Knicks fans from dreaming Nash would take the $5 million mid-level exception.
That must be one of the nice things of having a baseball team that can go out and spend as much money as they want (two of them!) and live in the largest media market int he world. The national media always has a focus on New York City, you cannot blame Knicks fans if there is a sense of entitlement and a yearning for the team to return to national prominence. Admittedly, there is a special magic to Madison Square Garden and it was good to see the building full and loud for meaningful games last year.
That was what made the splashy move of acquiring Amar’e Stoudemire and re-pairing him with Mike D’Antoni a big hit in New York. The Knicks after years of being stuck in salary cap hell — Eddy Curry was big… just not a big name — they mattered again. Then New York added Carmelo Anthony in a mid-season trade. All of a sudden, the Knicks had two perennial All Stars and the Garden rocking like it was 1994.
At least in spirit. The wins are not there yet.
New York is 20-22 since the Carmelo Anthony trade, not including a four-game sweep at the Celtics’ hands. You can argue the team has taken a step back in the win column because of how much New York had to gut its team to acquire Anthony for his star power.
What the team is missing right now is a true point guard to manage all those high-volume shooters. Anthony and Stoudemire are only successful when they have the ball in their hands. Right now, the Knicks are using Toney Douglass, Iman Shumpert and Mike Bibby as point guards as they wait for Baron Davis to get healthy. Douglass and Shumpert are actually shooting guards and Bibby is not starting material.
This set up has led to an offense that does not resemble Mike D’Antoni’s famous Seven Second or Less offense. The Knicks are 23rd in the league in offensive rating with 97.6 points per 100 possessions, according to HoopData. Further, they are 25th in assist rate at 16.9.
Steve Nash undoubtedly would do a lot to fix that. He had 26 points and 11 assists in Phoenix’s 91-88 win over New York on Wednesday.
The question is would Nash go to New York? The signs seem to point to “perhaps.”
Nash lives in New York in the offseason, he hosts his annual charity soccer match in Chinatown and he has a lot of ties to the city. Not to mention there is that whole “basketball capital of the world”thing. Stoudemire and D’Antoni are in New York which adds to the comfort factor of playing in New York. That is, if they stay, which always seems to be fluid in the always searching for a quick win New York atmosphere.
Going against the Knicks, Nash has made a home in Phoenix during the last seven years with the Suns. He has no desire to force his way out of Phoenix and that does not seem to change.
With Nash getting advanced in years (he will be 38 when he hits free agency), he might also be looking for a quick shot at a championship. Nobody knows how important money might be when he hits free agency.
New York will continue have its name tied to Nash until it is clear they cannot get him. Nash is going to continue playing for Phoenix.
