NEW YORK _ The Knicks sit on the precipice of unfortunate history.
With one more defeat _ whether it's Saturday against the Pistons or anytime over the next two weeks _ they'll have secured at least 50 losses in four consecutive seasons. That hasn't been done in New York since the early 1960s, when Wilt Chamberlain was dropping 100 points in a game against the Knicks.
Not even Isiah Thomas can claim to have steered the Knicks to such consistent ineptitude. Each defeat also solidifies the Knicks' status as the worst NBA franchise over the last 17 years, with a grand total of seven playoff victories during that stretch. The misery aligns almost exactly with James Dolan's takeover in 1999.
The bottom-line ($$$) isn't affected much. If a disgruntled fan doesn't want to buy a ticket, there will always be another Times Square tourist to take that spot and fill up the Garden. The Knicks and Lakers are annually locked in a battle for the most valuable franchise, no matter how many lottery balls they compile.
But what about in the eyes of free agents? Let's remember that the Knicks couldn't even get an audience with Kevin Durant two summers ago, despite the fact he was holding his meetings in the Hamptons.
Jeff Hornacek, who might not be around for much longer, addressed that topic with a long-term view on Friday, with an understanding that New York's greatest draw is recovering from a torn ACL. His point was that the Knicks can't offer much this summer _ whether in the way of winning or cap space _ but hope to be in the mix during summer of 2019 when Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Love and Klay Thompson hit the market.
"I think where you got to look at, 'Are we ready next year?' With KP coming back probably a little later, no (we're not ready)," Hornacek said. "But the pieces are being laid down. You have Porzingis and a lot of guys around the league have talked about wanting to play with him. They know he's a great player.
"And what we were able to do without him this year getting a lot of guys experience, they see the pieces and sometimes that's all it takes is one guy, one year and then another guy another year, and then you're alright. So I think that's the selling point. ...You see what our point guards are starting to do. Tim (Hardaway Jr.) has been a starter for a full year. As a free agent, you look at, can I make difference? And I think guys can say that."
Hornacek added that ditching the triangle has helped with the perception of the Knicks, which might've hit an all-time low last year when Phil Jackson was feuding with Carmelo Anthony and Charles Oakley was arrested at MSG.
"I think (the triangle) probably was (an issue to potential free agents). I think we truly believed that we could blend it (in with another offense), and we found out that probably wasn't great," Hornacek said. "So most of the teams, if you look around the league, most of the teams play the same way. There's not a lot of difference in how teams play. It's getting certain guys, with their abilities, to put them in those positions to succeed.
"Again, if you look at down the road, I don't think we're that far off. You have a cornerstone star in K.P., you have some other really good players already on the team. You can look at Minnesota for an example. They had great players in (Karl-Anthony) Towns and (Andrew) Wiggins, top picks in the draft. And where were they? And then all of a sudden you add (Jimmy) Butler, and (Taj) Gibson and a couple veterans, and now all of a sudden they're really good. So sometimes it's just that one or two pieces that kind of ties everything together. ...I don't think it's a five-, six-year process."
Or, it could be a 20-year process with 10 different coaches. Just ask any observer old enough to remember Patrick Ewing being traded and Jeff Van Gundy quitting unexpectedly. Since then it's just been one introductory press conference after another, a series of new plans and restructurings that've left the Knicks on the verge of a fourth consecutive season with 50 defeats.
Yesterday it was the triangle, today it's the cap space in 2019. The future is always brighter than the present.
