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Just when it seemed that Patrick Ewing would finally win the headline for the Knicks, we could even get an idea of his honorary participation in a ceremony of the championship ring shortly after, the lottery gods chuckled and said : aside, Big Fella, you had your turn 34 years ago.
Nobody made fun of the Knicks' statistical odds of getting choice # 1 – to use on Zion Williamson, the talented talent of current generation – before the lottery draw on Tuesday night. But what happened at the show in Chicago, once the Knicks reached the final round of four, was felt like a groin kick, a head start at the end of the fourth quarter . The promise of Sion was summarily ejected from Madison Square Garden as a mocking fan against its owner, James L. Dolan.
With a 14% chance, the Knicks suddenly became the big favorite against the odds of New Orleans and Memphis, with 6%, and with Team LA-Bron, also known as Lakers, with 2%.
Finishing third, behind the Pelicans and Grizzlies, was not a disaster – and one day it could even be considered a blessing. But not today, a depressing reminder of the time elapsed since the Garden, the world's most famous self-proclaimed arena, was in fact the center of the NBA. universe.
[[[[N.B.A. lottery summary: Pelicans win the first choice.]
The project experts insist that the Knicks are still well placed with the third choice because there are three perspectives – Williamson; R.J. Barrett, his roommate at Duke's; and Ja Morant, the leader of the Murray State, which is far superior to all the others.
Of course, these experts artificially fabricate a break line for those who "can not miss" each year. Almost always, it does not work that way, as Kawhi Leonard (n ° 15 in 2011), Giannis Antetokounmpo (n ° 15 in 2013) and Donovan Mitchell (n ° 13 in 2017) would say.
The two most recent selections # 3 are encouraging: Luka Doncic of Dallas, rookie of the year this season, and Jayson Tatum of Boston, selected by Duke in 2017. Philadelphia has not spared the President of the time, Phil Jackson, to place him in fourth place (in place of Kristaps Porzingis) in 2015.
The projections are fun. Knowledge requires patience. Nothing definitive can be said about this class – including Williamson – until next season at the earliest. But for now, the Knicks' inability to win the jackpot is at least momentarily easing the luster of their booming superpower status.
[LalégendedeZionWilliamson?[ThelegendofZionWilliamson?[LalégendedeZionWilliamson?[ThelegendofZionWilliamson?It started well before it happened to Duke.]
Without Williamson as the centerpiece, they may have difficulty putting together a set that would make them serious contenders for an agreement with Anthony Davis for New Orleans, if that was even part of the Knicks plan. But their lack of attractive assets raises another compelling question: what exactly are they going to sell to Kevin Durant and other impending free agents, in addition to the following? a building at the tax shelter, while the season of unscrupulous maneuvers begins in July?
You watched the Golden State Warriors share the ball so selflessly by beating Portland in the first game of the Western Conference Finals after the lottery game and wondering: Will Durant leave all this precision to come with Allonzo Trier?
You watched the Warriors harass damian Lillard, often indomitable Blazers, in a night of shooting for four against twelve with seven turnovers, and you thought: Durant would like to fall back to the defense with Dennis Smith Jr. and Kevin Knox?
You see how many contributors, in addition to the players called "max (salary)", you have to play until the spring, and you have to be imaginative to name only one. among current Knicks players who could honestly be considered a solid dude spinning on a serious playoff contender.
Perhaps the lure of Garden and Midtown Manhattan will be enough for Durant to attempt what LeBron James has never envisioned – the opportunity to resurrect N.B.A. basketball just off Broadway. But it goes without saying that Durant, even in tandem with Kyrie Irving, is too smart to take that step without at least doing his homework and asking difficult questions to Dolan himself.
If this is the case, President James will have some explanations to make given the treatment of Knicks's aging stars, not only in his time of volatility, but going back decades.
Few were the Knicks fixtures that left the garden without any grudge. Walt Frazier was traded to Cleveland. Willis Reed was canned as coach 14 in his second season. Bob McAdoo was traded to the dead in the night. Earl Monroe was unceremoniously dropped. Bernard King was cut after carefully rehabilitating his surgically repaired knee. Ewing asked to be treated and, presumably as a refund, was never invited to return – not until the Knicks needed him Tuesday night as they tried to replenish the 1985 inaugural lottery. who had landed in New York.
A pardoning soul, apparently, Ewing, dressed in a blue-knicks costume, played with the endless network that extolled the potential marriage between Knicks and Zion. It was shameful and plainly unfair to other teams engaged on the occasion and especially with Williamson, 18, whose impressionable head was prematurely filled with visions of the size of the big apple.
The only time he did not smile at the camera was when he learned where he had landed. Someone may want to inform him that he has probably been lucky. The TV stations will not fail to follow him to New Orleans as they sued LeBron in Cleveland. Not to be ordained Savior of the Knicks is also not the most desirable appointment in the world. For the most recent historical example, call Porzingis in Latvia and ask him how that happened.
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