2016-2017 Season Preview: New York Knicks

Last year, the Knicks had made nice improvements from their horrific campaign in 2014-2015. The team had finished 32-50 and began to emerge with some youth. Kristaps Porzingis, the 4th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, shocked the sports world with his impressive play, and others like Robin Lopez and Derrick Williams proved to be nice complementary players. Fast forward one year, and the Knicks are now primed to make a strong playoff push.

The Knicks have turned to Jeff Hornacek (middle) to lead their squad

The addition of head coach Jeff Hornacek will be under the microscope as some suspect that he will be unable to run the triangle offense. In three seasons with the Phoenix Suns, he compiled a record of 101-112 (.474), and was fired by the organization this past February. At this point, Knicks fans are simply happy that Derek Fisher is no longer associated with the team, but there will be pressure on Hornacek to deliver for a franchise that has not won an NBA title since 1973. 

In this article, we will take a preview at the 2016-2017 New York Knicks team, offering predictions both individually and as a team. 

2016-2017 Season Preview: Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets concluded the 2015-2016 season with a 21-61 record, finishing second-to-last in the Eastern Conference. The organization, however, turned a page when they rid themselves of GM Billy King and head coach Lionel Hollins. King, of-course, is infamously known for pulling the trigger on the 2013 trade that brought in Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry. The Nets mortgaged their future in that deal by sending away three first-round picks, as well as useful role players like Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace. As we know, the exchange was a massive flop on Brooklyn's behalf, and they will continue to pay for it in the coming years.

Sean Marks (left) and Kenny Atkinson (right) will look to bring life back to Brooklyn

In February, Brooklyn hired Sean Marks to be their new general manager. The former power forward had been just five years removed from playing in the NBA but spent a significant portion of time in the San Antonio Spurs front office. The organization then turned it's attention to the vacant head coach position. They brought in Kenny Atkinson, previously the assistant coach for the Knicks and Hawks, to help develop a new, young group of Nets in order to return to NBA relevance. Time will tell to see if that was the right move. 

In this article, we will take a preview at the 2016-2017 Brooklyn Nets team, offering predictions both individually and as a team. 

Knicks make final roster cuts

On Friday, the New York Knicks trimmed down their roster to 15, letting go of 5 players in the process. The team's final preseason game had come to a close the previous day, and GM Phil Jackson knew that he had several tough decisions to make. 

Some of the players were expected to be let go, but others had put up a strong showing in the preseason exhibition games. The following players were left off the roster: Chasson Randle, J.P. Tokoto, Lou Amundson, Cleanthony Early, and Damien Inglis. 

Oct. 21, 2016 – NYK announced today that the team has waived Randle, Tokoto, Amundson, Early & Inglis. The roster now stands at 15 players.

— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) October 21, 2016

That leaves the final roster to include:

Guards: Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee, Brandon Jennings, Sasha Vujacic, Justin Holiday, Ron Baker

Forwards: Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Lance Thomas, Maurice Ndour

Centers: Joakim Noah, Willy Hernangomez, Kyle O'Quinn, Marshall Plumlee

In this article, we'll take a closer look at the players that were let go.

Previewing the National League Wildcard Game

Both the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants finished the 2016 season with an 87-75 record, and they will square off on Wednesday, October 5th for the National League wildcard game. Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Mets, and San Francisco will send out their ace Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74 ERA). In this article, we will preview the match-up. 

Mets acquire Fernando Salas

On August 31, the Mets announced a trade with the Angels that brought reliever Fernando Salas to Queens.  It was a one-for-one swap, as New York sent prospect Erik Manoah to Los Angeles in the deal. Salas, a pending free agent, will strictly be a one month rental for the Mets, but they will look for him to become an important piece of their bullpen down the stretch.

For more details on this trade, continue reading. 

Rangers continue to add youth, sign LW Jimmy Vesey

The Rangers ended the 2015-2016 season in disappointment as they were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. For the most part, fans were worried about what the future looked like for New York, as the team hit a stalemate in it's development process. Last year, they had the highest average age of their players in the entire league, sitting at roughly 28 years old. Some fans wanted to strip the entire organization apart, while others wanted to gear up for another Stanley Cup run in the not-so-distant future.

GM Jeff Gorton had big decisions to make for the Rangers this off-season

The Rangers did not commit to either direction, however, as they have managed to keep their core intact while adding young, controllable pieces through free agency and trades. The latest addition goes by the name of Jimmy Vesey, who was a highly sought-after free agent that should immediately provide head coach Alain Vigneault with another weapon to use.

For more on Vesey and the Rangers off-season transactions, keep reading. 

Reaction to the Aroldis Chapman deal

On Monday, the Yankees finally decided to shift into 'seller' mode as they shipped off top closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs. This move marked a significant change in the franchise's direction, as they are expected to continue shipping off their veteran players and soon-to-be free agents. 

Chapman, originally acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in December 2015, was suspended for the first 30 games of the 2016 season due to an off-season personal conduct policy violation. In other words, he was allegedly involved in a domestic incident with his girlfriend, an event that the Yankees knew about before bringing him in. 

In this article, we will take a look at the Chapman deal, breaking down who exactly the Yankees managed to snag in this deal, and how the players may impact the team going forward.