Andrea Bargnani: hasty business by the New York Knicks

Bargnani will team up with Tyson Chandler #6 and Amar’e Stoudemire (not pictured) if he remains in NYC. (Getty Images)

On the other hand, by no means can Bargnani be classified as untalented. He is a proven scorer and can command the floor to make space for his teammates. Of all those first round picks who have failed in the NBA since the onset of this millennium, Bargnani could be amongst the few players to upend his critics’ opinions even now.

While he is rediscovering his shooting touch that saw him average 21.4 PPG, Bargnani’s affluence to a host of injuries has plagued his progress in the NBA. Since then, he has barely had jaws drop. Last season, he chipped in with 12.4 PPG but as has been the trademark of his stay in the league, another injury ended his campaign. The Knicks are gambling heavily on a man who could well be more prominent on the doctor’s table than on the court.

The Knicks can take a few positives from the Bargnani trade. They are letting go of an aging Marcus Camby and sporadic performers in the form of Steve Novak and Quentin Richardson. These players don’t fit in aptly in the rotational Mike Woodson system either.

Getting in Bargnani could see guarantees in the scoring department for Woodson. He can also raffle in the threes to add to his mobility for his size. Furthermore, in 2015, only Raymond Felton and Tim Hardaway Jr. will be players on contract at the Madison Square Garden, meaning the Knicks might have enough cap space to bring in a notable player or two.

Entering the 2006 draft, Bargnani drew comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki because of his ball-handling skills and perimeter shooting which showed promise. But if the Knicks are going to expect anything of that sort from Bargnani, they need to stop dreaming and come back to reality.

Firstly, Bargnani isn’t anywhere as good a defender as the Knicks need right now to plug the leaks. He will be fighting for a spot on the starting line-up with Amar’e Stoudamire, who can be lacklustre on defence himself. Add to that, they have Carmelo Antony, who is in his prime and yet hasn’t figured a way to work on his man marking.

Now, if the Knicks finished last season as one of the worst defensive teams, they aren’t justifying the Bargnani trade by any means. He is not a good rebounder either – laying more groundwork for why everyone in the NBA seems to be mocking this deal. It tots up even further pressure on Tyson Chandler, whose patience to do all of the work in defence will only be tested.

The Knicks start next season without a retired Jason Kidd and Baron Davis, who is in prime retirement shape with his paunch. They could also lose J.R. Smith, Pablo Prigiani and Chris Copeland to free agency.

This raises questions as to why the Knicks aren’t trying to sign players to play point guard, shooting guard or a key rotational player. If there is a problem, shouldn’t the team be trying to tackle that? Instead, why is this team gambling on someone who could well add fuel to fire?

Only Glen Grunwald, the Knicks General Manager, and the rest of management knows why. Adding Bargnani also covers up cap space that could be used to sign players this off-season such as Tony Allen, O.J. Mayo and Monta Ellis.

These players will receive lucrative offers elsewhere – at least twice the amount the trunk loaded Knicks can guarantee. The more we talk about this, the more our friend Baggio, like other Knicks fans, will be banging his head in frustration.

Today, the Knicks are considered an elite team in the NBA. The team has worked hard to reach here after the ill-fated spells in the early 2000s. But by gambling and doing hasty business on deals that won’t help the franchise, they are only doing more harm than good.

While the NBA rosters could be tinkered with in the next couple months, the city of New York will be hoping that the Knicks make more promising purchases than Bargnani in the off-season. They need to ensure they revitalise after a drubbing handed out by the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

By signing Bargnani and letting go of important draft picks, they are only hurtling towards the reverse. If good fortune prevails it could work out but as of now, the consensus is predicting the opposite.

Author’s note: Joe Baggio is a fictional character and just a representation of the fans.