Maybe Knicks president Phil Jackson can finally stir the Knicks-Nets rivalry pot this summer by convincing Brooklyn’s raging-hot center Brook Lopez to swap boroughs.
Amid a heated playoff push, the Nets arrived at the Garden Wednesday, and nipped the Knicks in the final seconds, 100-98, in a rivalry deserving more buzz. Lopez won Wednesday’s game with his putback with two seconds left after his initial tip-in attempt missed. The Knicks’ big men on the court were Jason Smith and Lance Thomas.
Of all their needs in surrounding Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks most want a low-post center to anchor the triangle offense. Two of those potential free agents are Lopez, who has an opt-out clause and could become a free agent, and Detroit’s Greg Monroe, who will play at MSG in the season finale on April 15.
Despite his defensive deficiencies, Lopez is playing like a 20-and-10 guy and showed his sweet postgame Wednesday with an efficient 18 points and five blocks, making big plays on both ends late.
Lopez scored three key buckets in the final 4:45 to finish 9-of-15. He forced an airball on a Lance Thomas shot with 1:35 left and blocked Shane Larkin on a drive, forcing a 24-second violation.
Though everything Jackson has touched as Knicks president turns to dust, the Zen Master still has currency in this town. It may be his most Zen-like achievement yet in basketball.
Despite presiding over the worst team in Knicks history, many fans are under the spell that Jackson will get it done, recruit the right free agents in 2015 and 2016 and magically have the ping-pong balls fall the Knicks’ way in mid-May.
Earlier this season, Lopez and Monroe were trade bait. Lopez wasn’t even starting, serving as Mason Plumlee’s understudy, and Oklahoma City made a play for him.
Lopez and Plumlee don’t make a good on-court pairing, most scouts agree. And that may not bode well for Lopez’s future in Brooklyn. Meanwhile, the Pistons were trying to snag a first-rounder for Monroe in the fall before his game took off. Now that the Pistons have fallen flat on their faces, perhaps president/coach Stan Van Gundy won’t be breaking the bank for the former Georgetown pivot.
Lopez has led Brooklyn to the cusp of a playoff berth, tied for seventh. Lopez won Player of the Week honors Monday and capped his marvelous March with a 24-and-11 night versus Indiana Tuesday. In 16 March games, he was one of only two players in the league to average at least 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. The other? Anthony Davis.
“It really starts in the middle with Brook Lopez for them,’’ coach Derek Fisher said before Lopez won it. “He does a lot of things really well, kind of anchors them.’’
Lopez has said little regarding what he will do with his opt-out clause. When asked before the game if he enjoyed the atmosphere at MSG, Lopez said, “Playing in Madison Square Garden, you dream of that. Fans are always there regardless of the Knicks’ progress on the floor. They’re always loud and bring great energy. It’s fun to come here and play the Knicks.’’
There’s no guarantee Lopez opts out of his $16.7 million final year. But with his history of foot issues that includes another metatarsal fracture last winter and stock on the rise, Lopez may not risk another injury in 2015-16 without locking in long-term.
Lopez isn’t a great rebounder but his deliberate game — his ability to take up space inside and score in the post — makes him a smart fit for Jackson’s triangle. Lopez said Wednesday night his surge has nothing to do with Kevin Garnett’s departure.
“It’s just the opposite,” he said. “Things I learned from him day in [and] day out can’t be explained. He showed me how to be a true professional. His approach to the game is nothing I’d ever seen before.’’
Of the five Knicks under contract for next season (and we include Langston Galloway’s partial guarantee), not one is a power forward or center. Jahilil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns are the two bigs that may go first and second in the draft. Towns, in particular, may fit nicely with Lopez — or Monroe.
With the Knicks’ historically bad record this season, even Jackson expressed concern about attracting free agents. He should be very concerned. But in Lopez, here’s a guy familiar with living in the New York area. Perhaps Lopez, a Net for seven seasons, will tire of being with an organization still second banana in the Big Apple.
The odds are long the two most prominent free-agent bigs, LaMarcus Aldridge and Marc Gasol, leave their small-market clubs in Portland and Memphis, respectively. Aldridge intimated he wants to stay in Portland despite an interesting comment this week that his decision to reject surgery and play with an injured thumb has gone underplayed.
“I’m used to it,’’ Aldridge said. “Put me in New York or Chicago and of course it would be a bigger deal made of it. I think guys who do well definitely get more hype than me at times, but I’m used to it.’’
Maybe Lopez, a former All-Star benched in December without much fanfare, will want the bigger stage this summer.