The New York Knicks are an abysmal 5-31, the worst record in the NBA. It's gotten so bad that even The New York Times can't abstain from a little snarky jabbing at the team.
Tuesday's issue of the NYT pleads for something resembling good basketball for their Knicks reporter to cover. Pointing out that the league's worst team just traded away two of its better players in J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, the Times is officially on the hunt for a respectable basketball game where it can send Knicks beat reporter Scott Cacciola:
This is fantastic. (If only they'd shown me such mercy in 2005. And 2006, 2007...) pic.twitter.com/w2UCZu9Foe
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) January 6, 2015
As the Knicks work to install the triangle offense under the leadership of first-year coach Derek Fisher, the team isn't just losing -- it's failing miserably. New York has lost 22 of its last 23 games, and it ranks 29th in points per game.
In addition to unloading Smith and Shumpert to free up cap space for next year, the Knicks are considering shutting down Carmelo Anthony for a lengthy period of time. It's clear the team is looking ahead to next year, when it will have over $30 million in free agent money along with a top pick -- possibly the No. 1 overall pick.
Some prominent NBA reporters chimed in on the Times' stunt:
He deserves at least a week of Warriors games http://t.co/AsvkR2u9kB
— J.A. Adande (@jadande) January 6, 2015
Oh, and if you'd like to tell @ScottCacciola's editors where to send him, here's the link. http://t.co/0EKAONKrwd
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) January 6, 2015
They do say it's always darkest before the dawn. But nobody thought it would get this dark.