Cast your mind back to July of 2016; Derrick Rose raised many eyebrows as he declared the New York Knicks a 'super team' in the ilk of the new-look Golden State Warriors. At the time Rose's comments seemed farfetched; the Knicks had not reached the playoffs since 2013 and were entering the new campaign with a past-their-prime trio of the former MVP point guard, Joakim Noah and Carmelo Anthony alongside sophomore Kristaps Porzingis. Compared to the Warriors, who had just added 2014 MVP Kevin Durant to a roster that included unanimous MVP Stephen Curry, All-Stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. Yes, it was a pretty ridiculous claim by Rose. But even the most pessimistic of Knicks fan would've expected the team to at least challenge for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. In typical New York basketball fashion, the 2016-17 campaign has been nothing short of a disaster. Their offensive rating is only good enough for 17th best in the league (seventh in the east) and their defensive rating is only ahead of the Suns, Nuggets and Lakers. 

Off-court issues have overshadowed the poor standard on show at The Garden. President Phil Jackson's disputes with Anthony have been well publicised while Rose dealt with a high-profile court hearing, and Noah was recently handed a hefty suspension by the NBA. Not to mention the team's handling of legend Charles Oakley.

Last night, the end of New York's season was confirmed as they were officially eliminated from playoff content with seven games still to play. The Knicks were blown out on their home court by the resurgent Miami Heat and it left them nine games back from eighth-placed Indiana. Of course, Twitter reacted to the confirmation.

In truth, their playoff hopes have been slim for some time. The Big Apple franchise has been below .500 since the turn of the year, and have only gotten worse. 

Their focus must now switch to developing their young players in the remaining outings and ensuring they have the best possible chance of a high draft pick in the lottery. Currently on 28-47, they are the fifth worst team in the NBA and have a good chance of picking up a future star in the loaded 2017 draft class. 

The future of Anthony is still a conundrum. Surely the time has come for both parties to go their separate ways. Only time will tell.