After the Knicks’ 108-105 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden nearly two weeks ago, a local Philadelphia reporter asked Knicks head coach Dave Fizdale if there was a common path in the 76ers’ successful rebuild and the Knicks’ current reconstruction project.
“It’s similar but a little different from the standpoint of we’re definitely playing a ton of young guys like they did,” responded Fizdale. “What they didn’t have was Kristaps sitting over there. So I don’t anticipate our struggle being as long as theirs. For [76ers head coach] Brett [Brown] to go through three years of just taking it and trying to get them better and digging until they got the combination of guys they wanted out there. But yeah, I look at them and obviously I’m hopeful when you look at how they’ve grown their deal.”
The 76ers’ key decision makers made the determination that the most prudent long-term strategy to become a playoff team and ultimately an NBA title contender was to endure four seasons—from the 2013-14 season through the 2016-17 campaign—of finishing near or at the bottom of the NBA standings to secure high lottery draft picks. It became known as The Process.
It yielded huge dividends in the persons of Joel Embiid, who the 76ers drafted third overall in 2014, and Ben Simmons, the top pick in 2016. The Sixers made the dramatic jump from being 28-54 two seasons ago to 52-30 last season, losing to the Boston Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They were 31-17, fourth in the East, before facing the San Antonio Spurs at home last night (Wednesday).
Conversely, the Knicks were 10-35, holding the third worst record in the NBA when they hosted the Houston Rockets at MSG last night. They were striving to end a six-game losing streak and win only their fourth game since Dec. 1. With the Feb. 7 trade deadline approaching, it is uncertain if the Knicks will remain patient and stick to their stated plan of methodically building a sustainable winner or revert to quick, short-term solutions carried out by prior regimes that had negative results.
Team president Steve Mills has vowed to maintain the Knicks’ salary cap flexibility to be in position to sign a free-agent to a max contract this summer. Signing Kristaps Porzingis to an extension is also a priority. Furthermore, deciding whether 20-year-old Frank Ntilikina, whose lack of offensive production has been a source of frustration for many Knicks fans, is in their future plans is another critical deliberation for Mills and general manager Scott Perry.
Despite their current struggles, there is hope the Knicks can be vastly improved next season. The 76ers are the model and inspiration.