Frank Isola: Not buying that the Knicks are still best in New York

In an article filled with one-liners, Frank Isola offers readers a witty tour of the Knicks off-season, one that is not likely to leave New York fans in a good mood. Bottom line for the Knick beat writer: "the Nets have surpassed the Knicks as the best team in New York. If you believe the orange and blue are a serious threat to win you probably believe in unicorns, Baron Davis' alien story and Metta World Peace."

The problem, writes Isola, is James Dolan. "What worries you more than just the composition of the roster is the dysfunction inside James Dolan's house. Okay, that's somewhat redundant but it's still troubling."

Isola compares the Knicks off-season with that of the Nets, who he says are now the best team in the city. It's not just that Mikhail Prokhorov has spent and spent, it's that the Knicks have made a series of moves that aren't awful in themselves, but don't solve any of the Knicks problems.

The trade for Andrea Bargnani, he writes, wasn't a bad deal, considering what they gave up, but "Scoring, however, wasn't the Knicks’ problem last season as much as defense was. And Bargnani ain't helping in that area. The same goes for rebounding."

As for Metta World Peace, he quotes a Lakers coach as saying, "Most of the time, he has good days. But when he has a bad day it is a really bad day." Then, there's word that Dolan is ready to trade Iman Shumpert, that the Knicks hid J.R. Smith's surgery, etc., etc.

Isola finds it telling that the Knicks didn't have press conferences for any of their signings while the Nets devoted an hour and a half of live television on YES to theirs. "The Knicks, who have their own network, went as dark as the Garden in June."

• As teams get better in the East, and James Dolan up to his old tricks, Knicks could be headed for a fall - Frank Isola - New York Daily News