Now that the season has taken a turn for the worse, since they are 5-4 and the season is already far too advanced for to turn it around, the ever-unhappy Knicks fans are in search of the next mythical creature destined to lead the franchise the glory it has deserved since it last won an NBA Finals, back in 1973.
New York Knicks tickets will certainly continue to sell as the front court trio of Carmelo, Stat, and Tyson Chandler remain one of the most talented front courts in the league. However, rumors are running abound of a shift in the lineup, with a supposed trade for Dwight Howard. The New York Daily News hinted to as much in a recent article.
The thing is the New York Knicks fan base has become obsessed with attracting a superstar in the past few seasons. First, it was LeBron James and Chris Bosh, then it was Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, and now it is Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Yes Paul has landed with the Clippers, but never underestimate the Knicks ability to create a scenario in which the point will land in the Big Apple. Stoudemire has learned to ignore the rumors and Howard is likely heeding little attention to these newest innuendos.
Certainly Mark Miller of Scoop Du Jour seems to imply as much in his January 10, 2012 article. He also begins the article with an interesting declaration, that “the Knicks were expected to dominate this season”. The Knicks were certainly supposed to win the Atlantic Division – a division currently led by the intriguing Philadelphia 76ers – but this basketball team was never quite expected to compete for control of the Eastern Conference, even with Baron Davis as point guard.
Of course, the latest roster obsession on the Knicks roster is rookie point guard Iman Shumpert. Shumpert is an athletically gifted young man, but he has had his basketball IQ questioned throughout college and just before the NBA draft. He just moved into the starting lineup and has performed quite admirably in the short time has handled the point full time. He is still a rookie and is still susceptible to play unbecoming a professional basketball player. When he does stumble and when Baron eats way too many hamburgers then the clamoring for Chris Paul will begin all over again, only this time it will be about how he will come a running once he is freed via free agency.