Time to hand out Knicks and NBA awards to best at season's end
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson against the Washington Wizards on April 2, 2023. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
NEW ORLEANS — With the regular season ending — even if it seemed to end for many players and teams about a week ago as load management and tanking hit ridiculous levels — it’s finally time to make decisions on awards. It's a debate that seemed to begin about five months ago. Remember when Jayson Tatum and Luka Doncic were clear picks for those who wanted to debate the Most Valuable Player Award about 10 games into the season?
I am happy to report that this is not a season that I was given a ballot for the awards — avoiding the possibility of fans in either Philadelphia, Denver or Milwaukee staging protests when I arrive if I didn’t vote their way in the MVP ballot.
So before I give my picks for the NBA award season, a brief primer on something closer to home — the players who have earned honors in a Knicks-only ballot.
Five years ago the NBA fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600,000 for admitting the team was tanking. It’s probably a good bet that Cuban will be donating to NBA Charities once again after the team — while still alive for a playoff berth — shut down much of their roster and made a very ugly effort to get out of the final play-in spot and into the lottery. There they could hope to avoid surrendering their first-round pick to the Knicks.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass issued a statement Saturday explaining, "The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to Friday night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions.”
The Mavericks took sole possession of the 10th-worst record with their effort — I use the term loosely — in losing at home to Chicago, shutting down Luka Doncic on Slovenia Night in the opening minute of the second quarter. They could still fall out of that spot with a win over San Antonio today, which they seemingly will do everything they can to avoid.
Still, there is some justice if the Knicks miss out on the chance to grab the Dallas Mavericks first-round pick this summer.
Figure it this way — the Knicks obtained the pick when they dealt away Kristaps Porzingis, completing a tank of their own to clear cap space in an effort to chase free agents like Kevin Durant. And yes, Kyrie Irving.
The Knicks still have a chance to get the pick despite the Mavs fielding a pickup team down the stretch to try to hang onto the pick. But even with the 10th spot now, the pick doesn’t finalize until the lottery. There is a chance that one of the teams behind the Mavs could jump into the top three spots in the lottery — talkathon.com has it at a 20.2% chance of Dallas dropping out of the top 10.
Randle was on course to play in all 82 games this season and in a battle for total minutes played in the NBA when he suffered a sprained ankle with five games left, accentuating just how difficult it is today to play every game. But the Knicks will have one player do it when they finish the regular season, and perhaps an unlikely one — Isaiah Hartenstein.
Hartenstein, after joining the Knicks as a free agent, struggled early in the season with Achilles problems and it limited his play, too — opening him to the possibility of a DNP-coach’s decision. But he managed to find his way to the finish line for the first time in his career.
“I just kept pushing through it, kept doing the little things to help your body,” Hartenstein said. “I think our staff did a really good job of making sure I progressed the right way. … Got to give a lot of props to the training staff, they did a great job of making sure I did the right stuff to build the Achilles back up and now play 82 games. It’s something special. Also got to thank all the people around you, training staff, strength coaches, making sure my body can handle it.”
"I just think dependability is such a big part of this league,” Thibodeau said. “You want to be able to depend on people and I think that’s important for the team to grow. Julius would’ve been there, if he didn’t get a sprained ankle, and there’s nothing you can do about that. Injuries are part of the game. But it says a lot when someone does that.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
