Before the tip-off of this 2014-15 NBA season, Phil Jackson, the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks believed that he assembled a team good enough to qualify for a playoff spot.

That hasn't been the case.

The 5-32 Knicks, fresh off of securing yet another loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, 105-83 (12 straight), are on pace to challenge the (2012) 7-59, Charlotte Bobcats for the worst record in NBA history.

The climate around the Knicks has become so putrid that change was evident and Jackson initiated operation codename: Blow It Up.

Yesterday evening, the Knicks joined the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal which expressed the Knicks state of mind, fixated on the future.

The Knicks dealt Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cavs.

Point Guard/Shooting Guard Iman Shumpert and Shooting Guard J.R. Smith traded by the New York Knicks to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo Credit: NBA

The Cavs sent Dion Waiters to the Thunder while dealing Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson to the Knicks.

Dion Waiters on his way to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a three-way deal involving the Cavs, Knicks, and Thunder. Photo Credit: NBA

Cleveland Cavaliers send Alex Kirk and Lou Amundson to New York Knicks in three-way deal also involving the Oklahoma City Thunder. Photo Credit: NBA

The Thunder shipped Lance Thomas to the Knicks and a protected future first-round pick to the Cavs, who sent their 2019 second-round pick to the Knicks.

Former Oklahoma City Thunder Forward Lance Thomas is on his way to the New York Knicks in a deal which included the Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo Credit: NBA

I will miss what Shumpert brought to this Knicks team on the defensive end of the floor, as well as, his potential as an all-around player.

It needed to go.

All of the players the Knicks received in this trade have non-guaranteed contracts.

It is the season of giving and it seems like the Orange and Blue New York team is the only team that is not participating in the festivities.

With this trade, the Knicks shed the contracts of Smith and Shumpert off the books and waived C Samuel Dalembert, moves which will save the team an excess of $20-million in salary and luxury taxes according to ESPN.com.

It also gives the Knicks $30-million in cap space to offer to free-agents in the upcoming off-season period.

In this trade, the Knicks recognized that this season is a forgone conclusion while the other two trade partners in this deal have the opportunity to reap the benefits of their acquisitions immediately.

The Cavs bolstered their perimeter defense in gaining Iman Shumpert and added a streaky but proven scorer in Smith, who is now in a better environment.

Dion Waiters can help the Thunder offensively despite the logjam at the shooting guard position (Reggie Jackson, Anthony Morrow, Jeremy Lamb even Russell Westbrook).

Although Shumpert is out with a shoulder injury, Smith can come in and provide another scoring option for the inconsistent Cavs who are currently missing Lebron James due to knee and back injuries.

Former New York Knicks point guard/shooting guard Iman Shumpert. Photo Credit: NBA

When Shumpert returns, Kyrie Irving should benefit, as Waiters and his 10.5 points per game and need to have the ball in his hands to make plays for himself and others occasionally, will no longer be an issue.

Shumpert does not need the ball to be effective and adds defense to a team sorely lacking that element after losing big-man Anderson Varejao for the season due to a torn-Achilles.

For Smith, a winning environment is what he needs.

Former New York Knicks forward and Sixth Man of the Year, J.R. Smith. Photo Credit: NBA

The last time Smith was in a situation where winning was a priority, he won the sixth-man of the year award, just saying.

For OKC, I understand the acquisition of bringing in a guy like Waiters to a team whose focal points in Westbrook and Kevin Durant have missed significant time on the court this season but then again I don't.

How will Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks manage his guard situation?

Waiters needs the ball to be effective and so does Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Anthony Morrow.

He cannot play these guards and keep everyone happy which means someone may be the odd man out in OKC.

Another reason why this move is questionable is because the Thunder failed to sure up their most important need in a low-post threat.

It's the reason why they targeted Bulls C Pau Gasol this past off-season.

Serge Ibaka is a nice player but prefers to do most of his damage from outside opposed to under the basket.

Kendrick Perkins, enough said.

It seems like this trade was a win for every team involved except the Knicks for various reasons.

Hopefully this move is one of many moves the Knicks will make when they will actually be required to do so from the public at large.

The 2015 free-agency period can't come any quicker can it?

Mason Plumlee and Jarrett Still Starting and Still Shining

Jarrett Jack and Mason Plumlee continue to start for the Brooklyn Nets; while Deron Williams and Brook Lopez provide their services off the bench.

It wasn't supposed to be that way, but injuries to both stars have kept them away from the court recently, and Jack and Plumlee have stepped up in their absence, so here we are.

It continued tonight against the Sacramento Kings with Plumlee and Jack in the starting lineup, opposed to Williams and Lopez.

There's a synergy there and the Kings experienced the dynamic duo's exploits tonight as the Nets, were able to sustain their late second quarter surge throughout the second half, pulling out a 107-99 win in front of a sellout crowd.

The Nets scored their highest point total (by quarter) of the game in the second with 30 points and the most important scores occurred in the closing minutes.

With 4:20 left, and the Nets leading by a deuce, 46-44, Plumlee and Co. organized a 11-0 run which improved their lead to double-digits, as they entered the intermission period up 13, 57-44.

Brooklyn Nets point guard, Jarrett Jack

Plumlee scored half of the points in the run, which included two slams, while Alan Anderson and Jack accounted for the other six.

Plumlee and Jack also scored 10 and 12 respectively, leading the team in scoring individually into halftime.

At some point, you have to ask yourself where are Williams and Lopez?

After all, they did play and provide stability off the bench, but the more Williams and Lopez play in the roles they are currently reflecting, the more they are becoming after-thoughts.

Williams and Lopez, who subbed for Jack and Plumlee respectively in tonight's contest, have me questioning whether or not the crowd is cheering their arrival into the game or the play of the two they have come to replace on the floor.

Just a thought.

If you're wondering, Lopez scored 11 points with six rebounds while Williams chipped in six points and three assists.

The Nets improved to (14-16) overall on the season while the Kings dropped to (13-18), after defeating the New York Knicks just two days ago in OT, 135-129, which really isn't news by the way.

Unfortunately for the Kings, they were unable to sweep the state of New York tonight, as Brooklyn seems to be the only team that matters in the mecca, as far as basketball is concerned.

With the way the Nets are playing collectively, this alignment seems to be the recipe for success.

Plumlee, who had the challenge of facing up against DeMarcus Cousins (7th in All-Star balloting for front-court players with 117,003), one of the best young bigs in the game, held his own scoring 22 points with 4 rebounds, while Cousins produced a double-double in 24 and 14.

Jack and Joe Johnson both scored 16 points.

Brooklyn Nets shooting guard, Joe Johnson

Since Jack and Plumlee replaced Williams and Lopez in the starting lineup, the Nets are 4-1.

It's a small sample size but you cannot argue with results.

To be honest, if Jack and Plumlee started the season, they could've been viable candidates to make the All-Star team as alternates on a team where no-one else deserves the honor.

Another key stat in tonight's game was the fact that Plumlee got to the line eight times, sinking 10 of 16 free throws.

"They got it to me on the block a little bit more and in transition I got fouled a bit," said Plumlee post-game.

"They wanted to foul, so they called them, and I got to the free throw line."

It seems like the only facet of Plumlee's game that is lacking is a face-up game and a 15-foot jumpshot, which is what makes Plumlee's development thus far and production such a surprise.

Although Plumlee and Jack were the stars of the game, the play of the game award goes to Kevin Garnett who flashed back to his Minnesota days for one play late in the third.

With 16.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Kevin Garnett rebounded a miss shot from Kings guard Ray McCallum and led a two-man fast-break, in which Sergey Karasev served him up an alley-oop slam, which Garnett completed emphatically, much to the delight of the crowd.

"I know I'm like 150 years... I can actually dunk the ball," said Garnett regarding his slam-dunk.

"You can't start in the league if you can't dunk."

Garnett finished with 10 points on the night.

With all the success the Nets are experiencing as of this moment, something has to be done about Williams and Lopez.

Two of the highest paid players on the team have accepted their new-found roles as bench players but how long can this last to this team's benefit.

There are a number of players around the league that can produce the numbers that Lopez and Williams are averaging off the bench for a discounted price.

Just saying.

After falling to 5-26 following their 102-91 loss to the Washington Wizards on Christmas Day, New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony shared his thoughts on the current state of the players comparing it to one of the fans that lives and dies by the orange and blue.

"I feel what the fans are feeling," Anthony said, according to ESPNNY.com. "The Fans are dying, we're dying....As much as I feel for the fans, I feel for us going through it too."

He's not lying.

On ESPN FirstTake with Cari Champion, Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, last week Chris Rock stopped by as their guest and when asked about the state of the Knicks, Rock said that the Knicks were "Eddie Curry Bad."

If you know the Knicks, then you KNOW what Eddie Curry bad is.

The Knicks are in the midst of a six-game losing streak, with their last win coming in Boston almost two weeks ago. Tonight they will travel to the west to take on the "okay", 12-17 Sacramento Kings at 10 pm tonight.

It will probably be a loss but what's new.

As far as the losses are concerned, first-year Head Coach Derek Fisher remains as cool as ice-cream on the sidelines, keeping his emotions in check without showing any signs of melting throughout this season.

"No I have plenty of (emotion)," Fisher said, according to ESPN.

"It's just there are appropriate times to do it....Emotions during the game are already high enough. Oftentimes that's when you see confrontations between players and coaches.

"There are ways to be confrontational and let guys know how you feel without being angry and out of control. But as time goes on, the longer I'm here, the more you'll see."

There it is, Fisher expressing himself the only way Fisher can.

Fisher won't say he's suffering but it's obvious he is, especially for a first-year Head Coach whose playing career revolved around winning championships and having a win-at-all-cost type of mentality.

And if this hurts Fisher, you can only imagine how the newly appointed President of Basketball Operations in Phil Jackson feels.

Jackson is a two-time NBA Champion as a player and an 11-time NBA Champion as a Head Coach.

His Wins, have Wins.

So in his first experience as a general manager, without the opportunity to pace along the sidelines and teach and draw up strategies for the players to digest and implement, Jackson is out of his natural element.

Knicks fans did not expect the 2014-15 Jackson-Knicks to win a championship in its first year, but Jackson hauling in an excess of $12-million over the next 5-years should, at least translate to the 8th seed this year right?

It all goes back to Jackson's first summer as a GM and the transactions he executed.

He fired then Head Coach Mike Woodson and his coaching staff and replaced them with Derek Fisher and Kurt Rambis.

Phil Jackson signed Jason Smith.

He also traded center Tyson Chandler and point guard Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks for guards Jose Calderon, Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington, center Samuel Dalembert and two second-round draft picks.

Jackson extended Anthony to a 5-year deal worth over $120-million, re-signed Cole Aldrich, drafted Cleanthony Early, exercised the third-year option on point guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and acquired forwards Quincy Acy and Travis Outlaw from the Sacramento Kings for guard Wayne Ellington and forward Jeremy Tyler.

It was a busy off-season, including many moves which have yet to pay dividends.

Chandler has rejuvenated the Mavericks providing the authority in the middle that is so absent from the Knicks right now as Dalembert's efforts scream "Release".

Ellington could've been a viable option from the perimeter but the log-jam at the shooting-guard position with Hardaway Jr., Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith forced Jackson to part ways with the shooter.

Calderon suffered an injury early in the season, forcing Fisher to start Larkin, which spelled trouble for the Knicks as early as the first month.

Anthony is Anthony and everyone else has struggled to grasp the concept of the new "Triangle" offense.

To be honest, Jackson didn't sign many winners and that can have an effect on a franchise hoping to change its dreadful past into an optimistic future.

Aaron Brooks, backing up Derrick Rose for the Chicago Bulls could have helped.

Rumors circled around Pau Gasol wanting to team-up with Jackson once again, but he, like Brooks elected to go to a winner in the Bulls.

Shaun Livingston, Kris Humphries (actually playing well for Washington), Rasaul Butler (Shooting 51.2% from three), and Al-Farouq Aminu (a good defender) were all available, and Jackson failed to sign these players who are all playing essential roles for their teams, who all sport winning records (Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks respectively).

Jackson made moves with the future in mind and the immediate future of this season is an absolute travesty.

I hate to mention Andrea Bargnani and his allergic reaction to playing basketball.

What saves Jackson is the fact that it is only year-one.

Rome wasn't built in one day.

Even pancakes take time to make.

The Knicks need time.

If you want some good news: the Knicks are on pace to secure a top-5 pick in a draft that boasts potential stars in center Jahlil Okafor (Duke), guard Emmanuel Mudiay (China) and forward Karl Towns (Kentucky).

The Knicks will also have enough money coming off the cap next off-season, to sign a max player when unrestricted free-agents in Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Jefferson, Goran Dragic, and Paul Millsap, among others, will all be available.

But the 2015 NBA Draft and the 2015 NBA Off-Season seem like years away and New Yorkers are hurting as we speak.

Until then there's not much we can do except "Hold On......." like Drake said.

And cut Jackson some slack because it's his first year.

At 10:33, Phil Jackson tweeted to #Knicksnation: "Merry Christmas to all and Peace on earth. Please be assured your hopes and wishes are getting through to Santa. He will bring a better 2015 than 14. The effort and skill of our team will grow as the players learn how to play with and for each other."

Let's hope so.

A Josh Smith - Dwight Howard Reunion is on Tap

Forward Josh Smith, cleared waivers today after being waived by the Detroit Pistons on Monday. Smith is reported to be headed to the state of Texas to join James Harden and the Houston Rockets organization.

The Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies were all suitors for the services of the forward, reported by ESPN.com, and in the end, Smith chose to re-join his AAU buddy, Dwight Howard.

With this acquisition, it seems like Houston may not have a problem after all.

The 2014-15 season was the second year of the 4-year, $54 million dollar deal Smith signed in the summer of 2013, now an after-thought as his days in the motor-city have shifted to the lone-star state.

In Detroit, Smith was expected to form a formidable front-court along with Bigs Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, but the overcrowding of the post-area shifted Smith out-of-position thoroughly exposing him at the three.

It's no secret that Smith cannot shoot with consistency to say the least.

If CP3, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers formulate the members of Lob-City out west, Smith is, and was the lone-member of Brick-City, Mid-West.

Yes, he is that bad from outside.

According to Basketball-Reference.com, from 3-10 feet from the basket, Smith is shooting a career 35% from the basket.

From 10-16 feet, Smith is shooting 26%, and from 16 to the three-point shot, 34% and 27% respectively.

Reading those statistics can ruin your day and at this particular juncture in time, your holiday season, but Smith isn't all that bad.

He is a two-way player.

His sanctuary is underneath the basket.

Like Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, Smith excels in Bully-ball.

In 2-point field goals and from 0-3 feet from the basket, Smith is shooting 48% and 67% respectively, which includes what he does best: finishing at the rim and dunking.

Smith can also handle the ball like a point-forward and is a willing passer, averaging 4.7 assists this season.

Alongside Howard, who isn't the most offensively polished big-man in the middle, Smith will have many chances to clean the glass and convert easy baskets.

A career average of 7.8 rebounds says so.

Not to mention the easy highlights that are almost a given when Harden and Smith run the break, which should make Smith an instant fan favorite in H-Town.

On a team among the upper-echelon of the Western Conference, the Rockets grant Smith the opportunity to do something that he hasn't been able to do for a while: compete.

Let's be honest, the Eastern Conference is weak compared to the West outside of Chicago, Washington, Cleveland and Toronto (Not sold on Atlanta yet, despite its 21-7 record), and honestly, Detroit did Smith a service.

The motor-city is in the midst of a rebuilding process. Piston's ownership is rewarding Stan Van Gundy, this off-season, with full basketball autonomy, as he is the Head Coach and the President of Basketball Operations.

Stan is concentrated on grooming the young talent in Detroit which means winning, for now, is not a priority.

Translation: It is not the right place for a capable hot-head like Josh Smith.

In Houston, Smith can make a difference.

Imagine Howard and Smith in the lane combining their career averages in block shots of 2.2 and 2.0 respectively, while Patrick Beverley terrorizes guards on the perimeter.

Imagine a world where Smith will be encouraged to face-up and play closer to the basket which will benefit his game and pad his stats all-together.

Imagine Smith learning from one of the best big-men in the history of the NBA in Head Coach Kevin McHale, who has just signed a three-year extension, worth over $13-million per-season to remain in Texas.

Imagine the new big-three in the West: Harden, Howard and Smith.

It all sounds nice doesn't it?

Factor in the fact that Houston will be paying Howard for one season, via the pro-rated portion of the bi-annual exception of $2.077 million, reported by Bleacherreport.com and you have what is called, a steal.