New York Knicks: The Rivalry That Never Was

By Owen Sanborn | Feb 7, 2015

Feb 6, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket past Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Johnson (7) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

I remember watching a New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets game for the first time during the winter of 2012. Carmelo Anthony was leading perhaps the best Knicks team in years and Deron Williams was the head-lining act (funny to think that now, huh?) of a Nets team on the rise in the Eastern Conference.

The game was nationally televised and ESPN was hyping its relevance as a rivalry for many years to come.

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I will admit, you could tell the game had some juice. The crowd had some extra dose of nasty in them, and the players had a certain pep in their step making the atmosphere almost playoff-like. Jay-Z and Beyonce were in the stands, Spike Lee was doing Spike Lee things from his perch along the sidelines; these are all great ingredients for an outstanding rivalry.

Or so we thought.

Fast forward to this month and I found myself in a similar position to that winter night in 2012. I sat down on my couch, popped open my lap top and noticed that the Knicks were playing against the Nets in Brooklyn.

Only this time instead of watching two ascending teams trade blows for the right to establish their own chance at Eastern Conference supremacy (or the team that would lose to the Miami Heat in the conference finals back in 2012), I got to watch Cole Aldrich perfect his very much imperfect post game.

The Brooklyn crowd was in a deep haze. Although the arena ambiance and broadcast presentation are top notch, I feel like I am watching a play when the Nets are on rather than a sporting event. You can feel the crowd’s presence whenever you watch a Warriors or Thunder game on television, the Nets fans (Knicks fans as well) just feel … there.

And who can blame them honestly, the product on the floor is outrageously boring. I realize that the Nets are straggling hard onto an eighth seed in the dreaded Eastern Conference, but that shouldn’t be something to be proud of given the state of their inflated payroll.

Would you rather be a fan of the Orlando Magic or Nets right now? For me, the answer would be the Magic, and it’s not really close.

That goes for the Knicks, too. I don’t care if they have an ample amount of cap space heading into the summer. I don’t care if Melo is going to be doing his best Kobe Bryant impression and try to recruit all-star free agents to join forces with him in the Big Apple.

The Knicks are going to get left at the alter once again during the free agency frenzy, making them prime candidates to throw a max contract at a player that does not quite deserve it just like during the summer of 2010 (I’m sorry, Amare. I love you, but your contract makes A-Rod’s a bit more tolerable.).

In a complete contrast to the Knicks, the Nets are stuck in payroll hell with the inflated salaries of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez. They are going to have to swap their first round pick with Atlanta this season because of the Joe Johnson trade and will be under the same restrictions with Boston during the 2016, 2017 and 2018 drafts because of the Garnett-Pierce trade.

In other words, both of New York’s basketball teams are on a path to be cellar dwellers for years to come.

Perhaps Spike Lee and Mikhail Prokhorov could partake in a Twitter feud or media battle to spice things up. Barring that kind of outrageousness, this next generation rivalry that was supposed to be will never hold any significance.

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