Somehow we've made it round to a 7th season of the UBAS. That's amazing, I still remember the hubbub around the draft and season 1 - by far the most buzz I can remember around any of the leagues I've been involved in.
Knicks have been around since Day 1 and competed in the Season 1 Finals (that we would have won had I coached it better) before getting over the hump and winning Season 2 in an epic battle with the Chaps over 7 games.
Since then Knicks have always been a playoff team in the ultra-strong NBA conference. Always finishing between 52 and 59 wins, always looking at the chance of a title.
Last year we were 3-0 down to the Bucks in the conference semis and fought back to 3-3 only to be squeaked out and miss out on a chance to go for glory again.
This year is different overall - the Lakers have gotten even stronger and expect them to be around 60 wins again but will anyone else crack 60 wins? Maybe the Rens in the ABA? The Knicks may.. we'll certainly be up there in the mid-high 50s and we have a pretty good shot at 60. I think we'll take the NBA and beat out the Rens over 7 games all in the New York area to claim our 2nd title... but maybe I'm just an optimist? Here's why...
Draft & Pre-Season Trades
So we only had two picks in the draft and it seemed like a pretty steady pickup to go with a SF for our first (or SG and bump up SF) and then a long term big with second. The best SF in the draft for my money was Shareef Abdur Rahim. When he hadn't gone in the first 8 picks I made a swift decision to swoop on him. I gave up a personal favourite in super-sub combo guard Gus Williams, but my logic was I could patch a decent SG easier than SF so we traded Gus for the #9 and nabbed Shareef. Whilst sitting quite happily I was able to trade off a little now for a potential later by letting Julius Randle go to grab Sidney Moncrief. Moncrief is a stud of UBA baller at SG spot and, even in his final decent year, is good enough to start on a playoff squad so I'm glad he's my primary bench guard... he plays PG too so he gives me further depth behind CP3, West and Armstrong! Still with my pick in place I was really pleased to grab Mo' Lucas at 27. Mo is a bit off this year but goes .52, .54, .57, .5 the next four years with big boards and solid D at PF/C (as a bonus he even plays SF next year). Rounding out the draft was my 51st pick where I was looking for a backup combo guard next year to plug the Gus gap. Phil Chenier was my choice, solid combo guard who puts up 20+ a night, plays great D and a decent TS%. Next year is his best at around 0.52 per min, not startling but as a backup I think that's respectable.
Then we swung a big trade. Elgin was the SF/PF of our future, but he plays heavy minutes and has a large number of injuries over the next few years (and that stung me a bit with the Stars this year in the UBAL). I switched him for an 82 game machine of similar impact in Dolph Schayes. I added in Thomas Barlow as a solid backup and picked up the intriguing Johnny Green. I think from the outside this looked like a very balanced trade, but both Barlow and Baylor were injury prone.. Green and Schayes aren't so it was a great win-win for me to get the same sort of balance and add durability and future to the Knicks.
Backcourt
You know I could almost stop here, we have (as one GM put it) a filthy backcourt with Chris Paul and Jerry West. CP3 is the best PG in the game right now - a two-way exceptional talent. West is the perfect compliment with his hustle, defense and shooting. Together they are formidable and they will dominate the game, Paul with his assists, West with scoring and both defensively (they could average 6 steals a game with those two alone). Off the bench we have Sidney Moncrief who I believe is a real spark guy (was shocked when he was dropped for his last mega year but happy to add him) and an ultra steady backup PG in Darryl Armstrong. Chenier adds a little further depth as combo guard but will only likely see time when West and Paul miss a game or two. We've also got Toni Kukoc as a bit of an ex-factor SG - he misses lots of games, but he is a factor on court and a different style of player.
Frontcourt
I wish I had as much faith in my front court as I do in my back! It's strong but not as the back. It's solid though and Dolph Schayes as our PF is rock steady, 7 years of 82 games which is pretty attractive and a couple of years where he moves to SF right around the time Shareef Abdur Rahim hangs up his boots for us. Speaking of Shareef, he's my likely starting SF, but I see him splitting time at SF with the surprising Johnny Green (a great draft pickup by Rob I must say)... not many SFs have a rebound rate like Green (15.7%) whilst still shooting nearly 58%. Third string SF is Kukoc again, quite like that... At PF behind Schayes it's Shareef and Green again - both provide enough rebounds and defense to keep the game moving and then there's Mo' Lucas who's not ready this year but will play in emergency situations!
Centre
So in my crazy rating system we now have backcourt, frontcourt and centres. Centres are out on their own and I feel pretty comfy with the versatile big shoes of Yao Ming as my main man this year. He plays 77 games and is good for 23 and 11 most nights whilst blocking a bunch of shots too. His primary backup is Greg Monroe and our C for the future we hope - his rating is pretty close to Ming this year but he's definitely the backup heading into the start of the season. I did look at trading 'Moose' Monroe but didn't get significant enough offers to date so that will be our depth and hopeful leader moving forwards. Did someone say backup? Got two very good Cs coming off the bench too; Ace provides a 20/9 guy and Halbert is a defensive specialist who eats boards and weak shots for breakfast - both will get a little time through the year.
Prediction
So difficult to gauge your wins in these leagues... we could go 60+ if everything falls our way, but that's not guaranteed... and nor is it necessary. A high playoff birth (1-4) is my usual requirement to be considered a likely contender. If I had to put a number on it... I'd go with a conservative 57 wins. I think that will likely get us the number two seed in the conference. The title, well that's within our sights, but you have to win a lot of games and have a bit of luck to achieve it. My bold prediction would be 60 wins and a title. I think we'll come up just short on the wins... let's hope not on the title too.
Future
So did we mortgage the future for now wins? Not yet. I'm not adverse to ramping up a team for a single campaign now and again (see UBAL 14 Stars) but I've been relatively conservative with the Knicks franchise keeping it in the 'championship zone' without ever being the favourites. Ming goes this year but Monroe could easily fill that void (and Chuck has a bigger year next year). We lose Moncrief and Armstrong drops but CP3 and West are as good as ever, Schayes goes on for the next 6 and SF with Shareef and, to a lesser extent Green, and the upswing of Kukoc is reasonably covered. Chenier next year will fill Sid's role this year (and a bit of Darryl). So we're pretty steady - that's probably a 50-55 game season next year if we don't trade or strengthen. I think that's a pretty decent outlook without youngsters on board.
Trade Market
The NYKs have been one of the trade leaders over the last few years. We trade fast and often when I can see benefit and this year could well be more of the same. We've got a solid core and no major gaps, but I'm always keen to explore ways the team can improve... every single year in the UBAS we've been involved in some big trades... heck one year we even had Wilt... come and make a play for all of them, just know what you're asking for and come with the currency to pay for it!
Looking forward to Season 7 - the year New York based teams dominate?
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