NBA Preview: Kidd in and Lin out unlikely to lift New York Knicks

New York Knicks

Placing last season: 36-30 (7^th in Eastern Conference, Playoffs: First round exit)

Key moves: The Knicks most notable move was their refusal to sign Jeremy Lin to a longer-term contract, allowing him to move to the Houston Rockets.

Just a week before that move they picked up future hall of famer Jason Kidd (above) who at 39 isn’t realistically going to play a big role in the carrying the Knicks forward.

Via various trades, the Knicks also picked up fan favourite Raymond Felton and Marcus Camby, who will offer the club a new dimension this season.

Challenges ahead: Whether Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire can coexist is still up in the air. The two have put in the best part of 1 and a half seasons with the Knicks and have done little to prove that putting the two together was worth the Knicks shelling out all that money.

As it stands there are a lot of good players, Amare Stoudemire on the decline and Carmelo Anthony in his prime. This is simply not a title challenging team, which is what Knicks management had hoped it would be by now.

Reason to be positive: If Stoudemire and Anthony can learn to fit well together the Knicks could really be formidable. The Knicks are front-court heavy with Stoudemire, Anthony, Camby and Chandler and will look to dominate teams in the post.

Prediction: 46-36 (5^th in Eastern Conference)

image: © Keith Allison

Jason Torquato

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Jason Torquato has always been passionate about sport and has played golf and tennis from a young age. In recent years, he has mostly enjoyed sport from his sofa, which has allowed him to accumulate knowledge and good understanding of numerous disciplines, with a special focus on American sports. Jason can’t fall asleep or wake up without listening to a sport podcast.