No King, but New York Still in Better Place

Donnie Walsh spent two long seasons steering the New York Knicks in the direction of intended failure waiting for his opportunity to bring LeBron James to New York, thus saving the Knicks, restoring basketball relevance to a city that pined for it. While part B of that plan failed, Walsh has still won.

The idea of having James (who I will no longer refer to as LeBron) had Knicks fans salivating and while some may see Walsh's salary purge and subsequent tenure of losing as a failure, the Knicks now have something they have not had since the 1990s: the ability to operate.

With the ridiculous contracts of Jared Jeffries, Zach Randolph, Cuttino Mobley and Stephon Marbury off the books and Eddy Curry's big gut soon on the move, the Knicks have gained the financial flexibility needed to operate a basketball team, and that goes beyond signing free agents.

Now, the Knicks can make trades that don't require them taking back burdensome contracts and old washed up players. They have useful, youthful pieces that can both help the team win now and be part of a trade for a bigger name down the road. They have an enticing star in Amare Stoudemire, a young shooter with length in Danilo Gallinari, a traditional and useful point guard in Ray Felton and finally, a team ready to compete.

Let me put it this way. I believe that the Knicks will be in the playoffs this coming season. But if they don't they can add pieces. That has never been the case before, and for Knicks fans, that is a reality not seen in a while.