New York Knicks Roster for 2016-17 Season -The Starting Lineup Imagined
Three years of absence in the playoffs is enough reason for New York Knicks president Phil Jackson to reinvent the team and aim returning to the fastlane in Eastern Conference. Three new starters are set for 2016-2017 season hoping to erase the 50 losses incurred and 13th place finish in 2015-2016.
Carmelo Anthony will team up with Chicago Bulls' superstar point guard Derrick Rose and shooting guard Justin Holiday. The Knicks acquired Holiday and the former MVP Rose from the Bulls during the second-round pick in exchange of Jose Calderon and Robin Lopez as well as backup guard Jerian Grant. The surplus in the salary cap was then utilized to signing in center Joakim Noah for a $72-million four-year contract, another four-year contract with shooting guard Courtney Lee ($48 million) and point guard Brandon Jennings for one-year contract of $5 million.
The challenge for the Knicks is how to revamp two top trades Noah and Rose back into their fighting form. Especially that Noah just seen 29 games last season, finishing a career-low 4.3 points per game on 38.3 percent shooting. Rose played more than 51 games last season with a decent statistics of 16.4 points per game and 4.7 assists, but these figures are far from his better days five years ago when he won the MVP award. Even so, Rose will be an important upgrade over Calderon if he can keep up with the pace this season.
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Although unable to get any of the NBA's top free agents like Kevin Durant, Ray Allen and Al Horford the Knicks hopes to make it to the playoffs and win their first-round series. The team is still seen as an underdog for the Eastern Conference though, after a good show from LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers and the edge other team like Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.
Anyway, the better news is that Knicks are on the right track to get potential players in free agency next year when the salary cap could be adjusted to almost $15 million, coinciding when the NBA's best player like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry can become free agents.
Now to wrap-up, the starting lineup for Knicks will still bank on Carmelo Anthony as small forward, Derrick Rose as point guard, Joakim Noah will play center, shooting guard role for Courtney Lee and the blooming star Kristaps Porzingis as power forward.
Suppporting from off the bench are Brandon Jennings, Justin Holiday, Sasha Vujacic, Lance Thomas, Kyle O'Quinn, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Willy Hernangomez and Marshall Plumlee.
