Basketball is a game of probabilities and uncertainty. If Raymond Felton takes a wide open layup, even if the shot rolls agonizingly off the rim, we would recognize that results notwithstanding it was a good possession. Similarly, if Raymond Felton makes a shot with two men in his face, even if the ball drops, thats nevertheless a bad possession. Regardless of the result, we know that if the Knicks create more offensive possessions like the first scenario, they will be in better shape.
This extends to the front office. Trades, drafting, and free agent signings are all imperfect sciences no front office can ever make the right move every time. With this in mind, it is often more important not to judge the outcome of a move, but the process and thinking that went into that move.
Which brings us to the Andrea Bargnani trade. Because in this case, the process behind the trade is more distressing than the actual trade itself.
The proposed move, which will likely send Steve Novak, Marcus Camby, a 2016 1st round pick, two future 2nd round picks and a signed and traded spare part still to be determined possibly Quentin Richardson to Toronto for Bargnani, if nothing else provides great insight into how ownership thinks. It is yet another example of a front office that has proven to be reactive, shortsighted, and inexplicably scornful of the cheap and often productive labor that can be achieved through the draft. To illustrate these points, lets introduce two general process rules:
