(SP) – The NBA league office confirmed today that the Knicks will not be granted official Super Team status for the 2017-18 season after failing to make the Eastern Conference playoffs last season despite having the prestigious designation.
“In order for Super Team status to mean anything, we must make sure teams who use it are meeting the standards,” said commissioner Adam Silver. “It’s about the brand and image of the term. It’s the gold standard. If every team calls themselves a Super Team, then what does it really mean? That’s why we are banning the Knicks from claiming Super Team status for the 2017-2018 season.”
Knicks point guard Derrick Rose declared his squad a “super team” in the preseason before they went 31-51 and finished with the sixth-worst record in the NBA.
“We will have strict standards going forward on which teams can and can not use the term,” said Silver. “Obviously, it would simply be a good rule of thumb for the Knicks to never use it. But beyond that, we are only granting Super Team status to the Warriors next year and whichever team LeBron plays for. We will also consider the San Antonio Spurs if they acquire Chris Paul.”
Silver says the league will also consider a certified designation for the league’s bottom dwellers.
“It’s like grades of meat. You want to know what you’re paying for and we want fans to know what they’re watching each night,” said the commissioner. “That’s why we may classify a few of our worst teams, the Nets and the Sacramento Kings, for example, with Shit Squad status.”
