Now, it seems impossible to just start ranking players out of the blue: Jordan Clarkson or Kent Bazemore? Kevin Garnett or Amare Stoudemire? So, I'm going to go team-by-team, and then at the end compile them all into a humongo-list of the 450 NBA players.
Important question, before we start: what's the criteria? Good question, Jordan. I'm ranking based on one question: who would I rather have, if I was an NBA GM? Thus, a player's salary is essentially only used as a tiebreaker between two otherwise-equal players, and an elite roleplayer can edge out an aging star, etc.
Since the playoffs are about to start, thus leaving 14 of the teams completely out of the public conscience, let's start at the bottom of the standings and work our way up. That's right! That means...the Knicks are on the clock! Damn, this is going to start out pretty ugly isn't it? Hopefully I can stick with this until it actually gets fun.
Without further ado, your 2014-15 New York Knickerbockers!
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| Best team nickname fashioned after a piece of outdated clothing, hands down. Sorry, Spurs. |
1. Carmelo Anthony - SF (Injured) 24.2ppg, 6.6rpg, 21.6 PER
Don't overthink this one: Carmelo is by far the best player on this team even despite his increasing age (30) and high price tag ($22.4mil this season, or about as much as the Knicks are paying Amare Stoudemire - who you'll notice didn't make this list, because he plays for the Dallas Mavericks). Carmelo is an incredible shotmaker, even if that comes at the price of him being incredibly ball-dominant (32.9% usage rate). On a team like this, however, I'm sure his teammates are actually pretty content to let him dribble and shoot as he wishes.
2. Jose Calderon - PG 9.1ppg, 4.7apg, 11.4 PER
Leading the Knicks in assists, and the only 40% 3-point shooter on the team, Calderon fits a bunch of roles that just aren't utilized on a bad team.
3. Tim Hardaway Jr. - SG 11.1ppg, 11.6 PER
I'm ranking Hardaway Jr. this high purely based on his potential, based on flashes shown in midseason. His upside seems to be as a jumpshooter, although he definitely hasn't figured out the defensive side of the NBA game yet. That can change with more playing time though, and perhaps some of the defensive woes have come from simply playing on an apathetic, lottery-bound team.
4. Alexey Shved - G 14.8ppg, 4.6rpg, 3.6apg, 20.6 PER
Shved spent most of the year on the Sixers, padding his stats, then sat the bench for a short period with the Rockets, before finally getting a chance to play (and shine) with the Knicks. Shved fills out the entire stat sheet, and gets to the free-throw line fairly consistently, which is a plus. Hard to tell if he's a good stats, bad team guy, though.
5. Andrea Bargnani - C 14.8ppg, 4.4rpg, 16.7 PER
The former #1 overall pick never really panned out as a sweet-shooting big man. Really, the "stretch 5" part of his game just means that he doesn't factor into the rebounding game, and his 36% 3FG rate doesn't validate his position so far from the basket anyway. Weird to think that Bargs and LaMarcus Aldridge (now THAT is what a stretch 4 can really look like) went 1-2 in the '06 Draft.
(Coach Derek Fisher would rank here if he could actually suit up and play in games)
6. Langston Galloway - PG 11.6ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.2apg, 11.8 PER
An undrafted free agent, Galloway is taking the minutes that Shane Larkin apparently didn't want. A good-enough shooter, Galloway jumps off the stats sheet in rebounds: 3.5 defensive rebounds per game, and he's 6'2''! I appreciate point guards who work to get the ball back on offense.
7. Lance Thomas - SF 8.3ppg, 8.7 PER
Here's where it starts to get really ugly: Lance Thomas is your replacement for Melo, New York! You're only losing 16 points/game, and 13 points of PER in your starting lineup - oh wow, no wonder the Knicks are the worst team in the league.
8. Cole Aldrich - C 5.3ppg, 5.4rpg, 17.5 PER
When Aldrich went to Kansas, I thought he was an unstoppable force. Turns out, that may have been the peak of his powers. But Aldrich absolutely gets after it on the defensive end nowadays, and leads the team in rebounding rate by a comfortable margin. Hey, like Jalen Rose says - all a big man has to do is prove that he can walk and chew gum at the same time. Just look at Kendrick Perkins' career whenever you're feeling down, Cole. If he can do it, you can do it!
9. Cleanthony Early - SF 5.4ppg, 8.7 PER
I may have him ranked 4 spots too high here based solely on his FANTASTIC first/last name combo. And basketball is such a great sport to call out a guy's name to as you take an ill-advised jumper on the playground (Kobe!/Lebron!/Mosgov!). And I just love thinking about Marv Albert calling out a "Cleanthony Early!" in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals (keep dreaming, Knicks fans). Do I have anything to say about Early's game? No.
10. Shane Larkin - PG 6.2ppg, 2.9apg, 10.9 PER
Barry Larkin's son! He needs to have a "carrying tool" (sorry for the baseball term, but it works here) in order to stick on a team. You can get better defensively, or improve your 3-point shooting, or work harder rebounding, but you've gotta have one thing that separates you from the rest of the world. Larkin has the pedigree, just not the results to show from that yet.
11. Jason Smith - PF 7.8ppg, 3.9rpg, 11.9 PER
A huge guy (7'0'') who can't shoot, and doesn't rebound. What is there to love?
12. Lou Amundson - PF 6.1ppg, 6.2rpg, 1.26bpg, 12.8 PER
Defensively solid, but that's not a standout point as most backup centers are good defensively in the NBA. Just don't ask Sweet Lou to shoot free throws (44% career).
13. Quincy Acy - PF 5.8ppg, 4.4rpg, 12.1 PER
Energy guy with a great beard. Reggie Evans 2.0?
14. Travis Wear - SF 3.9ppg, 8.6 PER
Who?
15. Ricky Ledo - SG 8.4ppg, 8.5 PER
Who?
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