The New York Knicks failed to land any of the marquee free agents they were pursuing, but have still made some positive strides this offseason. Here are three things we learned about the Knicks in free agency:
Only winning will bring in top free agents
New York struck out on DeAndre Jordan, LaMarcus Aldridge, and even Greg Monroe, all of whom were seriously considering the Knicks at some point or another. Jordan and Aldridge may have been long shots, but Monroe choosing to sign with Milwaukee over New York was one of the biggest shockers of the entire offseason. However, it also signaled that star free agents aren't going to flock to NYC just to play in the Big Apple - the Knicks are going to need to show promise on the court for that to happen.
No fireworks, but a logical start
"Looking back on his measured, deliberate rebuilding of the team over the past few weeks, the Zen Master (Phil Jackson) calls to mind not a disinterested codger, but another famous New York City boss: Goodfellas' Paulie Cicero, who "might've moved slow, but it was only because [he] didn't have to move for anybody,"' Vice Sports' Joseph Flynn wrote in a recent article. "Once he finally got around to building the team he'd so thoroughly demolished, Jackson somehow got fans buzzing over strange old-man terms like "patience" and "financial prudence."
The additions of pieces such as former Blazers big man Robin Lopez and swingman Arron Afflalo may not qualify as sexy per se, but the long-term gambit that Phil Jackson and the front office has thrown down is reason enough for major optimism for those used to the James Dolan "throw darts wearing a blindfold" method.
Jose Calderon, trade chip?
You may have heard that the Knicks were engaged with the Warriors on trade talks centered around former New York forward David Lee prior to him being sent to the Celtics on Tuesday.
What hasn't been common knowledge until now is that guard Jose Calderon would likely have been the centerpiece of such a deal if New York hadn't balked, per sources close to the negotiations cited by Keith Schlosser of theKnicksBlog.
Calderon has been on and off the block for what seems like forever now, so the Knicks' decision to protect Calderon in trade talks with Golden State -- if that was indeed the case -- is interesting to say the least.
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