2010-2011 Finish: 41-41

What went well

The Knicks entered the 2010-11 season with a bloated payroll and a roster fraught with tension. Despite paying the luxury tax, the team was unable to get out of the second round where the Philadelphia 76ers made quick work out of them. So what would Dunadan do to improve this season? Maybe start with cutting some salary.

The offseason began with David Lee demanding a trade out of the Big Apple. The Knicks found a partner in Miami who sent them Trevor Ariza and Evan Turner for Lee and a 1st rounder. Dunadan would start Turner out of position at PG for much of the season. Unfortunately it didn't work out that well for him. He continued to shed salary by sending sharpshooter Anthony Morrow off to the Sacramento Kings for Bill Walker and a 2nd rounder. The Knicks then retained Nate Robinson and Ronnie Brewer, as well as grabbing a pair of big men in Shaquille O'Neal and Timofey Mozgov. Finally, they shipped off Earl Clark to the Magic for future considerations and big man Tyson Chandler to the Lakers for the often injured Troy Murphy and shooter Omri Casspi.

This iteration of the Knicks were nothing special, playing decent ball but not overachieving. Aware of his team's flagging popularity with the fans, Dunadan splashed out just before the trade deadline, sending Murphy and a 1st rounder to the dropping Bulls for Luol Deng. It was enough to secure a playoff spot, but would it hoist the Knicks ahead of the competition?  

What went worse

Nope, the Knicks met up with the Sixers again and got swept in the first round of the playoffs. Manu Ginobili took care of business while the Knicks couldn't put together enough points to win any games at all.

Stars

- Luol Deng, F -

Getting Deng for peanuts really helps the Knicks. He is a well-rounded player that can score. The jump-shooter has had some issues with injuries in the past, but the 2010-11 season (where he played for three teams!) may have been his best one in a long time.


- Paul Millsap, F

Millsap continues to defy expectations and play well, earning a starting role at PF with the Knicks. He averaged a career-high 12.2 points per game with 7.7 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 1.8 assists in 2010-11


Goats
 

- Andris Biedrins, C

Another poor season from big man Biedrins makes him a possible amnesty candidate this season. He's played in only 94 games in the past two seasons and struggled at the end of the year with an ankle injury. If he can make a comeback, he will be worth his nearly $10 million salary but otherwise he's just another overpaid, broken-down big man.


Looking to the future

The Knicks begin the new season with an already bloated payroll. Shaq retired but his departure barely makes a dent in the salary structure since he made the minimum. The good news is that the Knicks are a fairly complete team at this moment. But it is a team with questions: what will Deron Williams decide to do? Will Turner ever realize his potential? Will Biedrins completely suck again this season? How and where can the Knicks trim salary? Besides Biedrins, Dunadan should also consider moving both Nate Robinson and Ronnie Brewer to teams with cap room. Neither are worth the cash they pull in.

In the draft, Dunadan selected Kenneth Faried. One of the best rebounders on the board, Faried should see major minutes off the bench, maybe even replacing Millsap at some point the starting lineup. In the second round, the Knicks lucked into sharpshooter Davis Bertans. A steal at #47, it may be a few season before we see him in a New York uniform.