The New York Knicks have been unattractive for quite a few years now. The last time a big free agent chose to join the New York Knicks, it’s still starting to date. Since Amar’e Stoudemire in 2010, we can cite Joakim Noah in 2016, but the case of “Jooks” is special since he grew up in New York and was determined to one day wear the jersey of the franchise.
In addition to the sporting mediocrity that has become chronic, the Knicks should still in theory attract more people given the potential that New York represents. However, the years follow each other and look alike. A factor is sometimes overlooked by the general public to help explain this disenchantment: the training center.
Unlike the Brooklyn Nets, who train Industry City, about fifteen minutes from Barclays Center and barely more from downtown. The Knicks are still based in Tarrytown, 45 km from Madison Square Garden and 22 km from the northern border of Manhattan. Many players consider the car journey, frequently in the middle of traffic jams, between their home and the meeting place to be a real pain.
Not great either, the fact that the Knicks always take off from Westchester County airport, 1 hour by car and 45 minutes by train from MSG, rather than La Guardia or Newark, all half an hour by car .
Podcast episode #48: Should we be afraid of the Sixers?
When Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving decided to join the Nets rather than the Knicks, Jared Dudley explained:
“The first thing I would do if I was in charge of the Knicks? I would get rid of this training center. Nobody wants to live in this area or go to work there. To convince the players, you have to be as close as possible possible in the city. That’s why Kevin Durant chose Brooklyn.
DeAndre Jordan told him the Nets were training two minutes away from Barclays. He and Kyrie didn’t even know. When I played in Brooklyn, I lived downtown and it took me 12 minutes to get to practice. It’s a huge bonus.”
It doesn’t appear to be in the Knicks’ front office plans to revise its plans on this file, although a change in this regard could be a plus at the negotiating table if the franchise recovers. In the coming years…
