The New York Knicks have cut PF Kurt Thomas from the roster in order to make room for the newly signed SF James Singleton. The significance of this signing may have fairly limited importance but sometimes you have to search through the rubble to find the true jewel. In this case this cut may have given us insight into the injury progress of PF Rasheed Wallace.
Let’s first give credence to what Thomas did for the Knicks this year. His stats aren’t going to ‘Wow’ you in any regard but his early-season presence was needed as he’d come in on occasion and play relatively good defense while providing some sort of front court depth. The season would go onward and we’d see spurts of Kurt (rhyming points?). The Knicks would get to a part of their season in which Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and Carmelo Anthony would all be out with injuries. During this west coast trip it looked as if the Knicks would lose control of the division, but they didn’t.
They were losers of four straight and were hoping to salvage their west coast trip with a victory over the Utah Jazz. Thomas helped lead the Knicks to a gritty win while playing on a foot that had a stress fracture in it. This Knicks season might not be remembered for the heroics of Thomas but it is a defining victory that has to be looked at as one of the veterans doing veteran things, like playing on a foot that had a stress fracture in it. A performance that reminded Knicks fans to why and how Glen Grunwald assembled this team: to win a championship. The game might have given the Knicks enough confidence and edginess to get them back into playoff mode, something that has now spawned a 13 game winning streak.
The move by Grunawald almost certainly raises the possibility that Rasheed Wallace has a chance to play in the postseason given the fact that he has been injured since December and the team has left him on the roster. I understand the fascination with Wallace because of his ability to defend, score in the post, and hit the long ball, but if he can’t recover in time for the playoffs, why keep him? Grunwald either has plans to try and re-sign Wallace this summer and thinks that keeping him on the roster greatly boosts the chances of him returning or he figures the potential of him being ready during the playoffs far outweighs any temporary help he could get in the meantime. The Knicks are going to need either Stoudemire or Wallace for the thick of the playoffs and Grunwald knows that. This Knicks fan won’t forget Thomas’s sacrifice and I know it was part of a process that allowed for greater things, for a possibility of a championship.
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