The Knicks Are Redefining the Meaning of “Dysfunctional”

This probably is not going to come as a shock to most of America (or the world), but the New York Knicks are a complete trainwreck.

This organization is a different kind of trainwreck, though. They are the type of trainwreck that redefines the meaning of a trainwreck. The Knicks are a mess. The Browns and Jets are laughing at them. New Year’s Eve Mariah Carey thinks they are spinning out of control.

Last night, though, was a new low, even by Knickerbocker standards.

Last night, the Clippers came to New York and played the Knicks in a primetime, nationally-televised game. The Clippers have been struggling as well, having lost five out of their previous six games and having been without star point guard Chris Paul since January 16th. The potential was there for a less-than-stellar game, but what we got was much more than what we expected.

Midway through the first quarter, with the game tied at 19 and Latvian unicorn Kristaps Porzingis at the line, a disagreement between Knicks legend Charles Oakley and Madison Square Garden security escalated into a fight. Judge for yourself what exactly happened:

Soooooo Charles Oakley just got into a fight at he Knicks game. pic.twitter.com/klZBD89VI7

— Ian Schafer (@ischafer) February 9, 2017

Oakley was an integral part of the Knicks’ success in the 1990s, helping lead the team to the 1994 NBA Finals and several 50-win seasons in that time period. During his career, he played just as he behaved on Wednesday night; with an enforcer’s mentality and a reckless abandon. He once slapped Scottie Pippen and tried to end Charles Barkley’s life in a preseason game. The fact that he would get arrested at a Knicks game isn’t exactly a surprise, especially when you consider that he doesn’t have the best relationship with owner James Dolan.

However, there have been two wildly different accounts of how everything went down last night at the Garden.

The Knicks organization contends that Oakley arrived at the game shortly after it started, almost immediately began hurling insults at Dolan (who was seated two rows down from Oakley), and was confronted by MSG security. Oakley, as could be seen on the ESPN broadcast, engaged in a physical altercation with the authorities and was arrested for three counts of assault and one for trespassing.

Oakley, on the other hand, says that he never directed any comments toward Dolan during the game and was escorted out of the game by Garden security for no particular reason. Oakley also added that Garden security asked him why his seat was so close to Dolan’s, forcing Oakley to explain that he bought his own way into the game. The authorities persisted, and that is when the fight escalated. There are multiple witnesses who have backed up both stories, and the truth of what happened is likely somewhere in the middle between the two.

This was the Knicks’ response to Oakley’s ejection from the arena last night. I assure that 100% of this is real:

pic.twitter.com/EebgCEqQxC

— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) February 9, 2017

The last line of the statement is my personal favorite: “He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon.” There is a good deal of irony in that sentence. For example, just two years ago, Dolan received an email from a disgruntled, lifelong Knick fan about how badly the franchise was run. The fan, who at the time had rooted for the team for 60 years, ran through a laundry list of disgraces to the team and urged Dolan to sell the franchise. Dolan responded, suggesting that the fan was an “alcoholic” who was a “negative force” to anyone he came in contact with. But yes, Oakley is the one who needs help in this dispute.

Disparaging those who have given years of service to the franchise, particularly through a statement on Twitter, is not a way to professionally run an organization. Oh, right, Knicks brass already did that just this past Tuesday.

Bleacher’s Ding almost rings the bell, but I learned you don’t change the spot on a leopard with Michael Graham in my CBA daze.

— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) February 7, 2017

I mean, this franchise is the definition of dysfunctional. Jackson seemingly agreed with an article suggesting that Carmelo Anthony, the best player on the team, has not a care in the world for winning. Subtweeting the other half in a relationship is something you do right before a nasty breakup; Phil Jackson, unless he trades Melo, is stuck with him for another two years. I think his only strategy here is to make Anthony so angry that he waives his no-trade clause and agrees to play somewhere else. There is literally no way this relationship works unless that happens.

Remember when Jackson was brought in as team president to be a steady presence and a beacon of stability for the franchise? Yeah, he’s actually been the opposite. Jackson’s leadership of the Knicks has left the team without much of a direction and, besides from Porzingis, not much of a future, either. Free agents don’t want to play for the Knicks and coaches don’t want to coach for the team, either.

Don’t believe me on that last point? This is what current head coach Jeff Hornacek had to say about the team’s exploits before the organization collectively cratered last night:

“I kind of, not was warned, but it was expected that it was going to be something all the time, and it’s lived up to the billing. It’s been something all year. So, OK, let’s go play a game and try to win.”

That’s spectacular. To an extent, I kind of feel bad for Hornacek; this could be his last opportunity to be an NBA head coach and he is not being allowed to function normally. At the same time, he probably knew exactly what he was getting into with the Knicks, so this probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to him, even as the season has gotten more and more out of hand.

Speaking of out of hand, we will likely never know what really happened between James Dolan and Charles Oakley on Wednesday. What we do know is that the Knicks have definitively hit rock bottom…. for now.