I’m imagining it’s the morning of Wednesday, April 27. It could be a beautiful day, it could be snowing, who knows. The night before, the Knicks lost the sixth and final game of their first-round playoff series against the Heat. It went something like:

Amar’e and Melo combine for 67 points in a Game One win on the road.

Miami wins the next two.

Knicks go up 20 at half, Miami comes back, Toney Douglas hits seven threes in the second half to preserve the Game Four win and tie the series.

Miami wins the next two, series over.

The offseason has now fully dawned on the New York metropolitan area (which of course includes Newark, New Jersey, home of the long-since-eliminated Nets). It’s been an action-packed year for the hometown teams, from high-profile to high-volume free agent signings, but for both the season, and most importantly, the near future, will be defined by their big splash, in-season acquisitions of Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams. If the offseason symbolized the initial ante for two franchises looking to step into NBA relevance, both went all-in by gutting their rosters in pursuit of the marquee names that their fan bases craved and their owners deemed necessary to move closer to contention.

On this day, with the season in the rear-view mirror, it’s now time to look toward the future. And to do so, one might wonder, which team is better equipped for the long haul? The short term? If you were an aspiring G.M. — and let’s be honest, who isn’t? — which organization would you prefer to work for? Which mix of players and contracts would you choose to give you the best opportunity to mold it into a true contender?

On its face, the answer would have to lean towards the Knicks, the playoff team and the one with not one, but two All-Stars. Simple math and prevailing wisdom would say two BIG names is better than one, and that, coupled with the history and geographical location of the team that plays at Madison Square Garden would understandably lead some to assume the Knicks would be the pick. But with the fourth and final matchup of the two coming tonight, I’m not so sure I’d be comfortable going along for that ride in logic.

Superstars

If you don’t know anything about basketball and find yourself in the position of needing to pretend you do, it’s likely you could say “you win with superstars,” and find little-to-no argument. (If you want to cover yourself, expect to note the most popular exception to this “rule,” the 2004 Pistons). While history supports this NBA truth, it remains difficult to execute for a few reasons, the most significant is the actual definition of a “superstar.”

What makes a player a superstar? I have some theories, and most of them involve scoring (points per game), marketing (and subsequently, All-Star appearances and individual honors), and team success. By these standards, you could argue that,between the two teams, the Knicks have double the star power of their cross-river counterpart.

But upon further review, I tend to believe that Williams is the only true superstar (or whatever you choose to call it) of the bunch, the only one capable of living up to a maximum contract and all that comes with it.  As even the staunchest Knicks fans would tell you by now, the deficiencies that Melo and Amar’e exhibit in other areas of the game such as defensive and rebounding are so glaring that it’s difficult to figure them as true franchise cornerstones.  Williams, on the other hand, contributes in all facets of the game and plays a far more valuable position than the others.  Even if all else were equal (which is not the case), I’d rather have an elite point guard than a one-dimensional power forward that doesn’t rebound or play defense or a volume scoring wing with a knack for losing his cool when things don’t go his way.

You could certainly argue that Anthony and Staudemire are worthy of maximum contracts under the league’s current salary structure, but it’s also difficult to conceive of these two leading a winning team based on their styles of play and inconvenient weaknesses.  Considering the likelihood of the cap going down, the situation becomes even more precarious.  With two guys making such a significant portion of the salary allotment, it sure looks like a lot of holes to fill with limited funds.

Perhaps the most important obstacle in the way of choosing the Nets on the strength of Williams is his uncertain contract status. Whereas the Knicks are committed to two guys to whom I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving max deals, New Jersey faces the very real possibility of Williams declining his player option after next season and becoming a free agent.  Or, even worse, doing what Anthony did this year and forcing a trade.

That seems unlikely for two reasons: 1) contracts signed before the new C.B.A. are almost certainly going to be more player-freindly, and thus there is incentive for him to not only play out next year with the Nets, but maybe even consider accepting his player option for 2012-13 (for nearly $18 million) and 2) because, contrary to what you may be hearing from the media, players forcing trades just isn’t all that common.  And besides, all he has to do is look at the team across the river to see that teaming up with other “stars” doesn’t always lead to more winning.

Supporting Casts

Basketball is unlike baseball or football. It is far more difficult to predict the results of a roster shakeup in an NBA rotation than it is to patch a few holes in a batting order. Player A doesn’t hit lefties well? Platoon him. You have a running back who isn’t all that skilled at blitz pickups? Find him a backup to bring in on passing downs.

As we have seen in the aftermath of the Knicks-Nuggets trade (but not solely because of the aftermath of the trade), the primary reason for their divergent paths is a stark difference in fit. The Nuggets traded a pure scorer in Anthony, the player many deemed the most indispensable part of the team, and without question its public face. In return they got a 6’10″ wing with a sweet shooting stroke and feel for the game (Danilo Gallinari), a backup point guard (Raymond Felton), another capable rotation wing prone to ups and downs (Wilson Chandler) and a Russian rookie center that can only be considered “a project” (Timofey Mosgov). The result? The Nuggets lead the league in offensive rating (119 points per 100 possessions) despite the loss of their supposed game-changer in that area.

Few would have argued that Anthony was not the best player in the trade, and while that may be true (though I’m not sure if it is — Gallinari may very well be a better player now or in the future), we have since seen the impact that two ball-dominating players can have on the floor. Staudemire and Anthony both take about 20 shots per game, and do so in a fashion that does little to facilitate the success of their teammates — in the last 13 games, Anthony has had more than three assists just twice.

The Knicks don’t have many good players on their team, but the few who do provide value, like rookie Landry Fields, have found it increasingly difficult to contribute since the structure of the offense changed with the trade. He is likely the best player on the team aside from the two max guys, yet in the last 17 games he has broken double figures in scoring just seven times. What’s more disappointing is that during that same span, he has only attempted double digits in shots attempted four times. They feature a trio of interesting rotation pieces, led by 6’9″ Shawne Williams and his 42% three-point shooting, but neither he nor Toney Douglas nor Bill Walker strike me as guys you can’t find during any given offseason.

On the other hand, Williams’ skills as a distributor and scorer when necessary portend very real possibilities for success in New Jersey. Despite his puzzling inability to rebound the ball, Brook Lopez is for the Nets what the Knicks and most teams can only wish they had: a legitimately skilled seven-footer capable of dominating on the offensive end. It’s possible that he is suffering from a perception that he may never be an elite big man (and the rebounding issue that has taken on a life of its own), but there aren’t many who score 20 points per game on nearly 50% shooting and a repertoire that suggests he will continue to grow alongside one of the game’s premier point men. At 22 and only about to finish his third season, I have to wonder if we may be sleeping on this guy.

Along with Lopez, the Nets feature two of the most underrated players in the league, both so adept at doing what they do well, that it’s difficult to imagine any situation in which they wouldn’t thrive. One is Anthony Morrow. He is one of, if not the best shooter in the league (47% FG, 45% 3-point and 89% FT for his career). A specialist only in that he does one thing so exceptionally well, but, at 25 years old, is not limited like many of the designated shooters in the league. The other is Kris Humphries. No, he isn’t the Most Improved Player, but boy can he rebound. He’s third in the league in Total Rebounding Rate among those who qualify, and that comes with a respectable dose of efficient scoring (10 PPG on over 52% shooting).  As far as fit, there may be no better frontcourt complement for Lopez than this.

As for the aforementioned spending spree they went on last summer? Well, they definitely threw away some money. In particular, Travis Outlaw should not get five years and $35 million. But the rest of the questionable contracts they gave out were either not too long (Jordan Farmar 3/12) or not too much money (Johan Petro 3/10). And let’s be honest, are any of those deals that difficult to move?

Cap Space

Once at the forefront of the Knicks’ master plan, cap flexibility has all but left the building. Again, we don’t know what the new C.B.A. will entail, but it’s hard to imagine it allowing teams more money to spend on players. What does that mean for this Knicks? For one, it means that they will spend the duration of Amare’s contract with the task of finding a starting point guard and center and filling a rotation with difference makers on defense with an extremely limited budget. Last time I checked, that’s not easy to do.

The cap situation for the Nets, of course, comes down to Williams and his willingness to stick around. Really, this whole exercise comes down to Deron. There are few players more worthy of a max deal, so if he does decide to stick around after next year, they are instantly in better shape than a handful of teams. Some smart management (and remember, you’re the one calling the shots) and development of the current core and you might have yourself a playoff team next season (if there is a next season) without doing much. Consider the cap space and the alleged appeal of playing for a billionaire owner and hip-hop mogul in a brand new arena in a cool neighborhood…I think I have made up my mind.

Charlie Widdoes contributes to ClipperBlog as well as Stacheketball and would like to wish his mom and sister a happy birthday!  Follow him on twitter: @charliewiddoes.

(Image via AP 3/29/11)

Follow Ryan on Twitter @rpravato, where there’s usually an ulterior motive for everything he does.

(Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images; copyright: 2011 NBAE)

No, not Michael Strahan.

I’m talking about the guy on the far left who attended Monday night’s Nets-Suns game. WHOA.

For such a great mustache, coupled with his intent to singlehandedly bring back the jheri curl, I am pleased to announce his induction to the Stacheketball Hall of Fame. Mustachioed Jheri Curl NBA Fan will be the first fan to ever be inducted into the Hall ‒ and as a first ballot HOFer to boot!

Well done, sir.

Cardboard Gerald is the manager at the Bobcats SB Nation blog, Rufus on Fire. He’s also a little twerp that’s into not just the NBA, but also doodling, hip-hop, TV and sneakers as well. You can follow him on Twitter @CardboardGerald.

Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports / AP

So think about this scenario:

It’s a tie game, 7 seconds left in the 4th Quarter, and unfortunately the other team has the ball. Normally what do coaches do in these kind of situations? Do you try and get a steal? Defend it and hope the other team doesn’t make a basket to force Overtime? Do you foul and hope the player chokes and not make any freethrows? This kind of decision could either spell a win for your team or a lose.

Last Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the New Jersey Nets on a clutch bucket by Brook Lopez from 6 ft away. To be honest, I am pretty confused about what Cleveland wanted to do. It seemed like for the first few seconds, they were gonna defend the play. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. They wanted to foul and it seems like Ryan Hollins was in charge of intentionally fouling Brook Lopez on that play. Yes he did intentionally foul Brook but did not get the call. Wanna know why he didn’t get the foul call? Well I’ll let you watch the video and see for yourself.

Okay, seriously? That is not how you intentionally foul. Slapping Brook Lopez’s back would not get you a call and if he did a get a call it would’ve been an and 1. You’re playing pro basketball Ryan Hollins, and I am pretty sure that they teach you how to foul intentionally. Remember this foul on Hollins by Jarvis Hayes?

That is how you intentionally foul. It might look like a flagrant (nowadays) but the purpose of intentionally fouling a player (most of the time) is to not let him get a shot up. In Hollins case, he should’ve bear hugged him as soon as Brook got the ball. Not let him back you down and throw up a 6 ft mini hook.

These kind of instances is what could cost you a game and in the Cavaliers case, it did.

Al is a contributor to Stacheketball, if you have any tips on ways to cook Bacon, and tips on how to get Jessica Alba and Keira Knightly to go on a date with him, then you should tweet him at @ahmong.

Rip Hamilton has not been happen in Detroit. He has been frustrated and angry and it shows in his 8 technicals (good for fourth most in the NBA).

Don’t worry, Rip, Carmelo and the Nets are here to rescue you and possibly reunite you with your old teammate, Chauncey Billups according to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sources: Proposed deal is ‘melo, billups, hamilton, carter to NJ for harris, favors, uzoh, graham and picks. Murphy and Petro to DET.

Nets are looking at a roster of Billups, Hamilton, Anthony, Humpries, Lopez with Morrow and Outlaw off the bench. Not bad, but is this team really better than the current Denver Nuggets? Let us know in the comments section.

Shane is a part-time contributor for Stacheketball and a full-time lover of breakfast for dinner. Find him tweeting nonsense at @Suga_Shane

I don’t think I have ever seen a stadium this empty and this is freakin New Jersey, not some little town with no transportation nearby. The Washington Nationals aka the Montreal Expos laughed when they saw this photo. They were actually giving the Nets advice on how to fill the seats.

First off, everyone knew the Nets were gonna be bad this year no shock there, but this bad? No chance in hell. The fact that they are this historically bad a team only makes me want to see them live and in the flesh even more. No way was I going to leave a Nets game when there are this few people. It’s disrespectful to these players with self esteem issues. I mean it’s bad enough that they have to play for the Nets, a team whose coach was forced to come down from the GM cushion to coach when he explicitly said he had no desire to. I can picture leaving my seat heading to an exit when a Nets player like Josh Boone looks at me and says “Where you going? Come on! Stick around, it’s not even halftime yet” and I would slowly shy back into my seat.

When there are about 100 fans in an NBA arena, there is no actual noise being made so anything you want to say can be heard by the players and coaches. This leads to some awesome heckle opportunities.