New Look Knicks All About Versatility-Knicks Season Preview

[New York]

Heading into the off-season the New York Knicks were coming off of a historic run that saw them put together a record of 137 - 27 over the past two seasons and 32-8 in the playoffs in that same stretch. This includes a stellar 72-10 season with a 16-2 playoff run in this most recent season. This team was led by a big five of Greg Oden, Pau Gasol, Larry Nance, Wilson Chandler, and John Stockton as well as key reserves/role players like Andrew Bogut, Vasily Karasev, and Charles Smith. Surprisingly more than half of those 8 players that made up the Knicks championship rotation are now on new teams. 


Gone are: Greg Oden, Wilson Chandler, Charles Smith, Vasily Karasev, Andrew Bogut
In their place are: Tom Heinsohn, Bobby Jones, Juan Antonio Corbalan, Billy Knight


Not to mention new players  that weren't a part of any trade that sent the above players out

Maurice Harkless, Tyrone Corbin, Spencer Hawes, Austin Rivers.


And players that were on the Knicks last season but couldn't crack the rotation such as:

Ryan Gomes & Jimmy Oliver 


You'll notice two things when comparing the old roster to the new one. First the talent level on the new look Knicks is definitely lower (by design, the field is open for a bunch of teams to win the title). Second, this team is an extremely versatile group now with players that can fill multiple roles on the roster.


In this article we'll be focusing on that second point and looking at some of the different lineups this roster could run as well as the individual players that make up the roster. 

Traditional Lineups 

- These are pretty straight forward, these are the "obvious" lineups that the Knicks are expected to run coming out of the off-season. But despite the name even these lineups aren't super traditional because you could argue that Maurice Harkless and Billy Knight are Small Forwards especially Harkless who isn't extremely quick. But this is as traditional as it's going to get for the team this year and I think they've shown in the past they don't mind going a bit outside of the box if it helps them win. 

A Simple Flip

- This lineup isn't much different than the traditional lineups because as the title says, they are a simple flip at the forward positions. Larry Nance has shown he is capable of being an all-star at the SF spot and Tom Heinsohn (along with Gail Goodrich) just got the Warriors to the 2nd round of the playoffs as a PF so you could argue that this is the best direction to take with these two all-stars. 

The Big Lineup

- The Knicks are going to have a big lineup regardless more than likely but this is the first time they go big and have a legit scoring threat at the SG spot with Larry Nance sliding to the position he originally won 6th Man of The Year at. Bobby Jones gets the chance to step into the starting lineup in this scenario as another versatile forward that could play the 3, 4 or 5. 

Legends Throwback Lineup

This was originally going to be called the "small lineup" and while it is somewhat small I thought a callback to a particular ABCA Legends lineup was more fitting. That lineup was actually a bit smaller in the front court and bigger in the backcourt than this hypothetical as it saw saw a 5'11 PG, 6'3 SG, 6'5 SF, 6'9 PF, and 6'10 C take the court together but that's the vibe I got off of this lineup. Juan Antonio Corbalan becomes the primary ball handler here due to being an excellent passer who has the potential to make things tough on opposing PGs. John Stockton becomes the secondary ball handler and the 3 & D guy (i.e Otis Birdsong) with this setup. Heinsohn & Nance play the roles of Adrian Dantley and Elvin Hayes while Pau Gasol channels his inner Tyrone Hill to put us over the top 

That's just 4-5 different lineups the Knicks could run but definitely not the only ones that could be thrown out there. Before we finish up here though lets take a look at the players individually and get a better idea of how versatile each of them are. 


Tom Heinsohn - Small Forward/Power Foward

- All-Star Game MVP last season at the Power Forward spot and a 20 - 10 threat every night at that spot but at 6'7", with great shooting, respectable quickness, and impressive perimeter defense it's hard not to see him as a Small Forward as well. 

Pau Gasol - Power Forward/Center

- Back on the Mexico City Titans he was a Center, once he came to New York he started off as a Center with Greg Oden surprisingly playing Power Forward before then transitioning over to the Power Forward role full time. Now with Greg Oden in Boston, and with both Larry Nance & Tom Heinsohn holding down the Power Forward spots he'll now find himself back at Center. If he had better perimeter defense I could even argue that he could slide to the Small Forward spot but that would be a stretch at this point. 

Larry Nance - Shooting Guard/Small Forward/Power Forward/Center

- Larry Nance isn't just one of the most versatile players on this roster but also one of the most versatile players in the league. In three seasons, he's a two time all-star and he hasn't even made it at what many consider his natural position yet. He initially made the all-star team as a shooting guard, then followed that up with an all-star season at the Small Forward spot. Then obviously he's capable of playing both of the front court position since his natural position is a 6'10 athletic Power Forward. 

John Stockton - Point Guard/Shooting guard

- One of the top point guards in the league since the creation draft, he has led the league in passing 5 out of the 6 seasons we've had so far so it's no question that's he is as much of a Point Guard as you can be. But he's also one of the league's top shooters, and one of the best defenders as well so it's not hard to see him sliding over the shooting guard spot for stretches. The one thing that may make you hesitate is him being 6'1 but as you'll see me mention later on, I've never been one to worry much about height. 

Bobby Jones - Small Forward/Power Forward/Center

- One of the newer Knicks and also one of the most versatile. Bobby Jones has been talked about throughout the draft process due to his defensive versatility that makes him look like he'll be one of the best defenders in the league at some point. He's not much on the offensive end but he's capable enough athletically to slide away from his natural position of Power Forward if his team wants to play big or small. 

Maurice Harkless - Shooting Guard/Small Forward/Power Forward

- On most teams Mo Harkless would be classified as a Small Forward that could maybe play some Power Forward but in my eyes I think he can play any of the middle three positions. Working from the top down, he's 6'9", is pretty strong, and has good potential as a post defender and shot blocker so I could definitely see his role being a small ball Power Forward. His ability to play the SF spot goes without saying and even though he's not the quickest player he is a quality perimeter defender and stealer so in a lot of matchups I could see him thriving at SG. 

Juan Antonio Corbalan - Point Guard/Shooting Guard

- I know at 6'0 most would say he's strictly a Point Guard but I'd then remind people that this guy (Click Here For Zoran) was my starting Shooting Guard early on in his career. He's obviously a Point Guard primarily but if we felt we had a better player to play at PG, I have no concern with him starting at Shooting Guard for stretches. 

Ryan Gomes - Small Forward/Power Forward

- When Ryan Gomes is described it'd be as a jack of all trades type player because there's not much that he can't do. He has a respectable 3-point shot, can defend the post, is a respectable ball handler, can defender the perimeter, can score on the inside, can hit the jumpshot, and can rebound. If he was a bit better perimeter defender and a bit quicker I'd argue that he could even give spot minutes at Shooting Guard but I think it's clear that he is a combo-forward/tweener or whatever you want to call it. 

Billy Knight - Shooting Guard/Small Forward

Standing at 6 feet, 6 inches he's quick enough to guard shooting guards but strong enough to also match up with Small Forwards. He's not much of a shooter but that's not a part of his game so much like Larry Nance it doesn't take anything away from him. He's already shown he can score at both positions in Summer League and Pre-Season so now we just have to see if that carries over to the regular season.

The Rest
Tyrone Corbin - Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Spencer Hawes - Center/Power Forward
Austin Rivers - Shooting Guard
Jimmy Oliver - Shooting Guard
Ndudi Ebi - Shooting Guard/Small Foward
Tim Hardaway Jr. - Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Oscar Schmidt - Small Forward/Power Forward

[Brooklyn]

Definitely a very versatile team, I can see you having fun playing with the roster options all season. Stockton at SG is really interesting with Corbalan at PG, it's probably the roster I like most just because I'm a fan of having two solid PGs in the backcourt at the same time, and its not like Stockton can't score. Corbalan was a guy I wanted to get in the draft, but didn't want to pick him as high at #7 and couldn't grab another pick later in the round. Knight is also a really interesting player that I had my eye on.

Off the top of my head it looks like the major changes from last season are Oden and Smith out and Heinsohn, Jones and Corbalan in? I think that's pretty good return considering Jones and Corbalan are quite young, and Smith is the most over-achieving player in the history of sim leagues. I would have liked to see one more season with the same group to see the run for a 3-peat, and although the team is smaller now it's not like a 3-peat is out of the question.

Not sure how I feel about dismantling the team a bit for the purpose of giving the field a better chance at the title though. It's a nice thing to do, but watching a legitimate dynasty at work is just as fun as having more parity. Its your call at the end of the day and I bet this season is actually more fun for you than the past two just because of all the roster options you can play with, but I don't think a dynasty hurts the league as long as the GM respects the other GMs, which you clearly do.

[Perth]

yikes stripes a third title maybe!

[New York]

Aug 1, 2016 15:13:29 GMT Brooklyn said:

Definitely a very versatile team, I can see you having fun playing with the roster options all season. Stockton at SG is really interesting with Corbalan at PG, it's probably the roster I like most just because I'm a fan of having two solid PGs in the backcourt at the same time, and its not like Stockton can't score. Corbalan was a guy I wanted to get in the draft, but didn't want to pick him as high at #7 and couldn't grab another pick later in the round. Knight is also a really interesting player that I had my eye on.

Off the top of my head it looks like the major changes from last season are Oden and Smith out and Heinsohn, Jones and Corbalan in? I think that's pretty good return considering Jones and Corbalan are quite young, and Smith is the most over-achieving player in the history of sim leagues. I would have liked to see one more season with the same group to see the run for a 3-peat, and although the team is smaller now it's not like a 3-peat is out of the question.

Not sure how I feel about dismantling the team a bit for the purpose of giving the field a better chance at the title though. It's a nice thing to do, but watching a legitimate dynasty at work is just as fun as having more parity. Its your call at the end of the day and I bet this season is actually more fun for you than the past two just because of all the roster options you can play with, but I don't think a dynasty hurts the league as long as the GM respects the other GMs, which you clearly do.

You know the funny thing is I also strongly considered pick Corbalan at 8 but banked on him slipping to 22 for me. When it didn't work out, I went with my backup plan of Knight. I was actually pretty close to landing him with just some future picks pre-draft but couldn't get the deal done in time so I'm glad to eventually have got him. 

I'm probably going to start off with a traditional lineup mainly because my team is really lacking a third string PG to step into the backup role if J.A.C moves into the starting lineup but I am really interested in eventually trying that lineup out. 

I think my team definitely took a step back talent wise when you look at what I had compared to what I've got now but I like where I am for the next couple of seasons. I'm probably not the favorite but I do think we can compete with the top teams and potentially win another title this season. 

As for dismantling my team, it wasn't that it wasn't fun for me personally because I definitely enjoyed having built a team from creation up to get to that point. But it did get tiring hearing "we might as well end the season now" or whatever the complaint was that day. Honestly if I wasn't simming I probably wouldn't worry as much about it, but since I'm doing that I've been trying to do as much as possible to keep people involved and I think breaking up my team helped with that. 

[Brooklyn]

Aug 1, 2016 16:42:26 GMT New York said:

Aug 1, 2016 15:13:29 GMT Brooklyn said:

Definitely a very versatile team, I can see you having fun playing with the roster options all season. Stockton at SG is really interesting with Corbalan at PG, it's probably the roster I like most just because I'm a fan of having two solid PGs in the backcourt at the same time, and its not like Stockton can't score. Corbalan was a guy I wanted to get in the draft, but didn't want to pick him as high at #7 and couldn't grab another pick later in the round. Knight is also a really interesting player that I had my eye on.

Off the top of my head it looks like the major changes from last season are Oden and Smith out and Heinsohn, Jones and Corbalan in? I think that's pretty good return considering Jones and Corbalan are quite young, and Smith is the most over-achieving player in the history of sim leagues. I would have liked to see one more season with the same group to see the run for a 3-peat, and although the team is smaller now it's not like a 3-peat is out of the question.

Not sure how I feel about dismantling the team a bit for the purpose of giving the field a better chance at the title though. It's a nice thing to do, but watching a legitimate dynasty at work is just as fun as having more parity. Its your call at the end of the day and I bet this season is actually more fun for you than the past two just because of all the roster options you can play with, but I don't think a dynasty hurts the league as long as the GM respects the other GMs, which you clearly do.

You know the funny thing is I also strongly considered pick Corbalan at 8 but banked on him slipping to 22 for me. When it didn't work out, I went with my backup plan of Knight. I was actually pretty close to landing him with just some future picks pre-draft but couldn't get the deal done in time so I'm glad to eventually have got him. 

I'm probably going to start off with a traditional lineup mainly because my team is really lacking a third string PG to step into the backup role if J.A.C moves into the starting lineup but I am really interested in eventually trying that lineup out. 

I think my team definitely took a step back talent wise when you look at what I had compared to what I've got now but I like where I am for the next couple of seasons. I'm probably not the favorite but I do think we can compete with the top teams and potentially win another title this season. 

As for dismantling my team, it wasn't that it wasn't fun for me personally because I definitely enjoyed having built a team from creation up to get to that point. But it did get tiring hearing "we might as well end the season now" or whatever the complaint was that day. Honestly if I wasn't simming I probably wouldn't worry as much about it, but since I'm doing that I've been trying to do as much as possible to keep people involved and I think breaking up my team helped with that. 

I can only speak for myself but I find it more interesting to see a dynasty play out compared to having more teams have a run at the title (maybe cause my team isn't a contender anyways). And I'm sure I said many times that we might as well end the season now but that was more of a matter-of-fact statement than a complaint

[Sarawak]

150 pp
PP Credited