New York Knicks - Analysing the off-season thus far

The New York Knicks‘ front office was pretty busy during the NBA off-season, re-signing several players and adding a few big names through trades and free agency. Let’s look at each move and examine the impact that it’ll have on the team during the course of the season:

J.R. Smith

Re-signing J. R. Smith: Though some Knicks fans voiced their displeasure over this move, it was the most logical course of action for the Knicks to re-sign J.R Smith, their second highest scorer after Carmelo Anthony and winner of this year’s sixth Man of the Year award.

Amar’e Stoudemire and his wobbly knees are apparently on course for a minutes limit this season (20 minutes per game and even lesser on the second game of back-to-backs), and the dearth of cap space meant that the Knicks couldn’t scour the free agency market for a reliable scorer.

Their best option was to re-sign the volatile and unpredictable Smith, who averaged 18.1 points per game while clocking 33.5 minutes. But he disappeared during the 2013 playoffs, averaging 14.3 points while hitting a measly 33.1% of his shots.

The 3-pointer, his bread and butter, failed him miserably during the Playoffs where he shot only 27.3% from beyond the arc. The NBA recently suspended him for 5 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, after he failed a drug test for the second time.

Re-signing Pablo Prigioni: This was a really smart move by Glen Grunwald, the Knicks GM. Prigioni really helped the Knicks during his first year with them. His hard-nosed defence won him plaudits from NBA pundits in his rookie season.

Coach Woodson’s two-point guard tandem of Prigioni and Raymond Felton formed a formidable backcourt, especially on defence. Prigioni really knows to orchestrate an offence, having played for 17 years in his native Argentina and Spain.

His on-ball defence has been described as “pest-like” and has troubled many elite guards in the NBA. With the Knicks strapped for cash, Prigioni’s $1.5 million salary comes as a welcome change.

Signing Metta World Peace: The Knicks really hit the lottery on this one. Moving swiftly after the Los Angeles Lakers amnestied World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest), the Knicks signed him on a two-year deal, the first guaranteed.

Metta World Peace

The World Peace signing makes a whole lot of sense for the Knicks. They get a reliable backup for Carmelo Anthony. World Peace also brings something to the table that the Knicks sorely lack – tenacious defence.

During his 14-year span in the NBA, World Peace has proven to be a pesky defender, getting selected to four All-NBA Defence Teams, en route to winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2004. He also brings valuable championship experience to the Knicks, having won the title with the Lakers in 2010.

But there is also a possibility of this move backfiring for the Knicks as World Peace’s behaviour on court can be described as eccentric. He is infamously known for his role in the Pistons-Pacers brawl in 2004 and for elbowing James Harden in the head during his tenure with the Lakers. His 14-year career has witnessed a total of 86 suspended games, including the playoffs.