Commentary: New York Knicks disappoint many hopeful fans

“They’re trash,” Stephen A. Smith said. “They stink, period.” 

Strong words from Smith in his Nov. 11 broadcast of the “Stephen A. Smith Show” express his opinion of the Knicks’ first few weeks of the season.

The NBA season is just under 40 games in, and it seems as though the Knicks will disappoint hopeful fans once again. The Knicks have missed the playoffs for the past six seasons, while teams such as the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers have been able to rebuild in a shorter time period.

The last time the Knicks made the postseason was in the 2012-13 season. The following season, they started to have a steady decline winning just 38 games. In the past six years, they have not been able to crack 40 wins (their highest win count being 37) which is rarely good enough to clinch the playoffs. Despite the tremendous amount of roster changes, they have gone through five coaching changes since their last playoff appearance. 

Knicks fans have been tired of watching every game knowing there are high odds that they lose. Junior Evan Kupferberg, a lifelong Knicks fan, thinks that their current performance is extremely underwhelming, and it all goes back to the poor team management. 

“As a lifelong Knicks fan, it is frustrating that the team has not made the playoffs in six years,” Kupferberg said. “The main issue with the Knicks is the owner James Dolan because no free agent wants to come to New York under the ownership of him [Dolan].”

Over the past six seasons, Knicks fans have watched as other franchises rebuilt their teams after a few unsuccessful years. For example, the 76ers, along with the Knicks, did not make the playoffs in 2013, prior to several years of success. However, the 76ers made two consecutive playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019 after going through a five-year playoff drought. While five years is a long time, it is still not nearly as bad as the Knicks’ current six and possibly seven-year drought. 

“The 76ers rebuilt in a shorter time and are doing much better than the Knicks,” Sophomore Ethan Ippolito said. “It really comes down to coaching and the front office.” 

Also, the Brooklyn Nets came back from a three-year playoff hiatus in their 2018-19 season which was even quicker than the 76ers. The Nets have started off their 2019 campaign with an 16-20 record, and they have some potential for a playoff appearance even without star players Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant

All that can be said for the Knicks is that the continued poor performance and management is doing a lot of harm to their fan base, and their reputation as a team.