I agree that the Knicks, (depending on how Phil completes his roster) seem to be moving toward that no-mans land of 7th to 8th seed, followed by a first round loss while playing themselves out of a 2017 Draft Lottery which is projected to be loaded next June. Phil is feeling the heat in year 3, and the Durant/Westbrook pipe dreams are just that. The killer is both Melo’s no-trade clause, and no great young players other than maybe Batum are available this summer. Jackson’s ability to round out the roster with sensible Free Agent contracts or trades this summer while while maintaining his 2017 Draft Picks and Cap space flexibility for next summer would still allow him enough assets to put a competitive team on the court now (which will both attract future Free Agents and make Knick players desirable in future trade scenarios) and still have enough left in the cupboard to make moves that will benefit the team’s long term future (Porzingis). Renting a clearly motivated Rose and his expiring contract while shedding the 28 mil owed Lopez after this season was one such move. Expansion has diluted the talent pool and created a much greater demand for than supply of All-Star caliber players (there are only 25–30 each season), and 15 All-NBA players to be divided by 30 teams. Those players want to win, and that makes the talent pool for Lottery teams even smaller. General Managers in this era have to be both lucky and good.