It's not an uncommon practice for newspaper sports sections to pull their beat reporters from the teams they're covering. And from time to time, those moves are performance-based.
But they were never based on the team's performance until now.
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The New York Times on Tuesday took a public jab at the New York Knicks, who a day earlier got rid of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in a three-team trade in a move to free up cap space for the 2015-16 season.
The Knicks, however, aren't even halfway through the 2014-15 season but are in the midst of a nightmarish year with a 5-32 record. So in trading two of the team's more "productive" players, the franchise drew the criticism of the Times in an article titled, "Wanted: Better Basketball for a Beleaguered Reporter."
"The Knicks, in an effort to rebuild through the N.B.A. draft and free agency, appear to have officially given up on this season. They're an unthinkable 5-32, and on Monday night they traded away J. R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, leaving a roster that might struggle against an N.B.A. Development League team.
"So the Sports department's editors feel it is only merciful to give our Knicks beat writer, Scott Cacciola, a break from such woeful basketball. He deserves to see the game played at a higher level. For the next month or so, we would like to point him to some good, quality basketball, wherever it may be. Any suggestions?
"Maybe there is another N.B.A. team that warrants his attention, or perhaps a high school or college squad. For that matter, maybe you know of a strong coed team at your local Y that Scott should write about. Tell us where to send him. Submit your ideas in the comments section."
The article received 150 responses as of Tuesday night, with suggestions ranging from the Chicago Bulls to Division III Lawrence University to a seventh-grade Westchester Jewish Basketball League team and so on and so forth. ...
Deadspin jumped on the Times bandwagon, admonishing the Knicks for throwing in the towel on the 2014-15 season:
"Part of the sports social contract is that teams should try and win games: this is why tanking is so offensive," Deadspin writes. "...The Knicks have broken the sports social contract, and the Times should therefore feel no obligation to cover them the way they always have."
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