The NBA season is now a little more than half over. While some teams have already cemented their fate, others are still looking to make a second-half push. Both New York teams are having a down year but in different ways. With only one week to go until all-star break here are where the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets stand.

The team that has been in the news a lot is the New York Knicks. With all the Carmelo Anthony trade talk, Phil Jackson criticism, and now Charles Oakley drama the Knicks are a mess. The team is currently 12th in the Eastern Conference standings. Luckily for the Knicks, the bottom of the conference is so weak that they are only 3.5 games out of the 8th seed. If the Knicks want a real shot at making the playoffs then the drama surrounding the organization will have to come to an end. Players say that rumors and news reports don’t affect them, but it has to be taking a toll on them by now. The New York media will continue to pressure this team to make a move and will not give up. At this point, Knicks fans either want Phil Jackson out or James Dolan to sell the team. Fans have been begging Dolan to sell the team for a long time now but have had no luck, Jackson on the other hand, can opt out his current contract, he would be leaving $12 million on the table. The only way to remove him immediately is by firing him. The truth is the Knicks may be stuck with what they have.

Across the bridge, things aren’t looking much better. The Brooklyn Nets are 9-44 and are dead last in the standings. The good news is the Nets are not suffering from internal conflict like their Manhattan counterpart. The only issue with the Nets is they do not have enough talent on their roster. Brook Lopez is their best player by far and he is a boarder line all-star. The teams second best player, Jeremy Lin, has only appeared in 12 games this season. While the Nets have built a much younger roster than last season, none of the players are standout studs. The young players on the team will need more time to develop in order to make an impact on the team. Unless general manager Sean Marks pulls off an amazing trade, the Nets have basically sealed their fate as the worst team in the league this season.

It has been a long season for fans of both teams. The trade deadline will reveal a lot about what direction these teams are heading. The Knicks could trade Anthony in an attempt to start a rebuilding process. Their options will be limited due to Anthony having a no-trade clause and having so much cap space committed to Anthony, Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah. The Nets could be a facilitator in a three-team trade if it means they will receive a draft pick or a player. While the Nets have a better financial situation they do not have enough assets to trade for an all-star level player. With that being said, there have been crazy things that have happened at the  trade deadline in years past, and maybe one of these two teams will shock the NBA with a move they make. We will just have to wait and see.