Addition of veterans in Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Pablo Prigioni has the roster looking slightly old for the NBA of today
The New York Knicks have been one of the most aggressive team in the offseason and made a number of changes in their roster from last year. The Knicks decided against matching Houston Rockets $25.1 million offer for their point guard Jeremy Lin, and instead acquired former guard Raymond Felton in a sign and trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
But their offseason shopping did not end here as the Knicks had planned to add some depth and veteran experience around the team’s core in the summer. The Knicks recruited Jason Kidd from the Dallas Mavericks, and signed Marcus Camby and Argentinean guard Pablo Prigioni. They also brought back reserve guard J.R. Smith and decided against renewing a contract with Baron Davis, although he is still with the team in an un-titled capacity.
The changes have the Knicks looking good for next season, and should set up to be a great rivalry between the Knicks and their rivals, the newly moved Brooklyn Nets. All season long, people have talked about how these two teams have looked to out-do each other particularly in player acquisitions as they battle for fan loyalty in New York. However, the Knicks might have made a slight error in their acquisitions, and have gathered a number of veterans in the roster.
Kidd is 39, Marcus Camby is 38 while Prigioni is 35. In addition, Rasheed Wallace is expected to join the team for training camp, although he does not have a guaranteed contract with the team as of yet. These signings have made the Knicks roster a lot older than it was next season.
“The 2012 Knicks will be almost five years older than they were last year, when the average player was 27 years and 300 days old. Assuming Wallace signs, their top 13 players would be, on average, 32 years and 240 days old—the oldest team in NBA history, according to Stats LLC. No team has ever gotten so much older from one season to the next,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
The Knicks wanted to surround the team core of Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler with savvy players who had playoff experience. They achieved their objective, but might have gone a little overboard in doing so. In a league where teams are gradually moving towards small ball, run and gun, style of play, the Knicks might struggle to keep up.
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