WOODSON’S CHARGE: GM Glen Grunwald (inset) is leaving it up to coach Mike Woodson (pictured talking with Carmelo Anthony) to turn the Knicks around after making only a minor move to acquire Kenyon Martin after jettisoning Ronnie Brewer to the Thunder for a 2014 second-round pick. (
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TORONTO — We already know Glen Grunwald isn’t the type of general manager who courts attention or is prone to hyperbole. Heck, the guy acts as if he’d rather have root canal than speak publicly about the status of the Knicks.
So we weren’t expecting he’d be waving pom-poms over the trade of Ronnie Brewer to the Thunder yesterday and the acquisition of Kenyon Martin. In reality, Grunwald acquired a player who might offer some help for a player who was of no help.
What Grunwald did convey in his first media availability since October is that there is enough talent on the Knicks’ current roster to contend for an NBA championship, and he’s optimistic that could happen if “we remain healthy and play to our potential.”
The only problem is the Knicks haven’t done that lately and, with the passing of the trade deadline, there’s no reason to believe this period of mediocrity will change anytime soon.
On paper, Martin seems like he might be a good fit. At 6-foot-9, he can offer a post presence the Knicks lack with Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby out with injuries. But at 35, he’s long past his prime and is basically an insurance policy if either Wallace or Camby don’t make it back.
The real message the Knicks sent yesterday is that it’s up to coach Mike Woodson and his current group of players to figure out how to win consistently again. The front office has done its part by basically doing nothing.
“Obviously, we have to play better,” Grunwald, on a conference call, said of a team that is 14-14 over its last 28 games and plays at the Raptors tonight. “We’ve had some difficult games. Teams will go through that. I’m optimistic Woody, the coaching staff and the players will get back to their winning ways.”
Of course the Knicks have been saying that for the better part of two months now when, except for a five-game winning streak that ended on Feb. 4, their play has been spotty at best. The Knicks’ effort at Indianapolis was alarmingly bad coming off the All-Star break as they allowed the Pacers to score a season-high 125 points.
“We’re fooling ourselves if we think we’re going to get somewhere playing this kind of defense,” Knicks center Tyson Chandler said after the game.
It was an easy assessment for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. But all the Knicks have to fall back on is their experience, their pride and a talent level that suddenly looks questionable.
“They’ve all won in this league at some level,” Grunwald said of his roster. “I’m optimistic we’re going to get back on track to where we were earlier in the season.”
Earlier in the season, the Knicks were one of the best defensive teams in the league. Now they’re playing like one of the worst. Earlier in the season, they were making 3-point shots from all over the court. Now, their 3-point game has gone from unreliable to a liability. Earlier in the season, the Knicks played defense with passion and energy. At Indianapolis, they played as if they were still on the All-Star break.
These Knicks were actually supposed to be better at this point of the season than they were when they were without Iman Shumpert and Amar’e Stoudemire. It hasn’t turned out that way. Shumpert is still a long way from what he was before the devastating knee injury he suffered in the playoffs, while Stoudemire’s impact off the bench has been limited to momentary flashes.
Grunwald made his first big splash as a GM by getting Chandler from the defending champion Mavericks before the 2011-12 strike-shortened season. But he couldn’t pull off a major trade this year without giving up Shumpert, which he wisely wasn’t going to do.
So the Knicks are stuck with themselves and whatever Martin can add. Good luck with that.
george.willis@nypost.com