The 2019-20 Knicks Season Is Over if NBA Plan Is Approved
Per Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA is back. In a barrage of his signature Twitter reports Wednesday morning, Wojnarowski explained that there will be 22 NBA teams returning to action for the continuation of the 2019-2020 season. He first announced that each of the 22 teams that will be playing this summer will play eight regular season games at Disney World in Orlando, FL, and added that this was for seeding purposes for the playoffs.
Wojnarowski went on to discuss the NBA's Board of Governors' intention to hold a phone call mid-day Thursday to approve the league's plan to resume play. When it came to actually naming the teams that will be playing, the results are sure to disappoint the Knicks fans who wanted to see the team's young players squeeze in a few extra games' worth of experience.
The teams joining the 16 current playoff teams in Orlando include the New Orleans Pelicans, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Phoenix Suns, the Sacramento Kings, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Washington Wizards. Wojnarowski included that if the 9th seed is more than 4 games behind the 8th seed by the end of the regular season games scheduled to be played, then the 8th seed will make the playoffs; if the 9th seed team is fewer than 4 games behind the 8th seeded squad, then there will be a play-in tournament which involves double-elimination for the 8th seed and single-elimination for the 9th.
As you may have noticed, the New York Knicks are not part of the NBA's plan to return to play. Despite playing at the pace of a lowly-seeded Eastern playoff team under Mike Miller, the 4-18 start by the franchise should have been enough to let fans know that a playoff trip was not in the cards this season. The team will finish their 2020 campaign with a record of 21-45 and begin focusing on its head coaching search in place of preparing for the playoffs.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Tom Thibodeau was the "overwhelming favorite" for the Knicks' head coaching vacancy, and that regardless of which candidates he has in mind, team president Leon Rose will begin the interview process once it has been announced that the Knicks' season is officially over. I wrote and made a video about Tom Thibodeau and his potential future involvement with the Knicks last week, and you can find that piece here.
The Knicks are likely not upset that they will not be returning to play this season. I doubt the players, whether veterans or not, were interested in going to Orlando simply to play regular season games and potentially have a chance at squeezing their way into the playoffs. The games may have provided some good experience for the team's young core, but being able to carry on with their offseason routines was probably their preferred outcome.
