Patrick Ewing Jr. has dealt with the expectations of a hall of fame name is whole life, and as Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel explains, he’s trying to make his own name at the NBA predraft camp.

“I’ve been living with the comparisons all my life — it comes with the territory — but I’m doing my own thing,” Ewing Jr. said during the NBA Draft Camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports this week. “I’m not a center. I never tried to be a center, and I know what I am.”

Ewing is an NBA player, and has the potential the perfect role player on a good team, Andrew documented how we at TKB feel about him. Heck if Luke Walton can last this long, so can Ewing.

Marc Berman reports, in what should be viewed as a positive turn of events, that the days of Stephan Marbury dividing the Knicks appear to be over. Team president Donnie Walsh responded to questions about Marbury’s “coach killing” history with “I know one thing. Mike’s not going to be the problem,” Walsh said edgily. “Let’s put it that way. If that’s what you want me to say, I just said it.”. For what it’s worth reports are that Marbury is working out and plans to be in the best shape of his career.

Those that have listened to me on the radio this year know my thoughts about Stephan Marbury. Although an immensely talented player, he has never shown he could lead a team like a point guard should. When Isiah Thomas described his criteria for a point guard to be “one that leads and plays defense” I laughed because neither of those have been strengths of Marbury. The only value Steph has left, in my opinion, is that expiring contract. My concern is that a “leopard doesn’t change his stripes”and having Marbury around this team will continue to poison any progress going forward. Its a tough situation because, until the contract expires , you basically have to find a role that doesn’t harm the team for Stephan. The last thing you want to do is allow his bad karma to force a trade of the contract that hurts the team financially against the cap. I doubt Donnie Walsh will do this because he has been so adamant about his stance against the exact opposite. I will tell you one thing, Donnie Walsh doesn’t mince words and play games like a certain former GM/coach.

So Andrew Smith and I were kicking around some trade ideas and here’s one that seems to make a ton of sense.  It’s a four way deal with the Knicks, Raptors, Kings and Suns.

Knicks trade Jamal Crawford to the Raptors; Toronto trades TJ Ford to the Kings; Suns get John Salmons and the Knicks end up with Leandro Barbosa.

Obviously, the Knicks get a guy accustomed to D’Antoni who can slide right in at the two who can score (15ppg) with less volume shots. You can play him 30 minutes and rotate in Nate Robinson, and whatever rookie PG you draft. Should the Knicks draft Gallinari, I’d expect them to deal Wilson Chandler, who has some value, or keep Chandler and start him with Gallinari off the bench. And before those of you jump on the Shandon Anderson/Howard Eisley argument, understand that Barbosa is a great young talent (see last summer playing for Brazil.)

The Kings get their point guard and the Suns get a great talent no one talks about in Salmons, who’s stuck behind Artest out there in Sac town. The question becomes would the Raptors bite on Crawford?

Marc Berman of the NY Post profiles LSU freshman Anthony Randolph. According to Randolph the Knicks, Charlotte and Milwaukee are most interested in his services. Berman states that the Knicks have already scheduled a workout for Randolph in June. By the way if your looking for some numbers he averaged 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks his freshman year. To read more about Anthony Randolph check out his profile at draftexpress.com.

Add another name of intrigue. Draft Express has this analysis of Randolph “It all starts with his physical tools…6-10 or 6-11, incredibly long, left-handed, fluid, quick, explosive off his feet, with great open-court speed…Randolph fits the bill and then some. He does have an extremely lanky frame, one that might struggle to put on significant weight even down the road.” Sounds a bit like Marcus Camby, but we all know how that turned out. Again I am not sure if this is the kind of player worth taking at #6. It sounds like Randolph can be a valuable asset to a club that is closer to contention then the Knicks. For the record I like these types of players and believe the Knicks are going to need a couple more when its all said and done. Remember what Pat Riley said “no rebounds = no rings”. Of course you have to have a foundation to get to the point where you are talking championship. We all know the Knicks are no where near that.

Alan Hahn is in Orlando getting a feel for what direction the Knicks may go with the sixth pick and he notices Donnie Walsh is “purposely all over the place.”

More importantly, Hahn has talked to several top talents and to a man each seemed very gitty about the idea of playing in D’Antoni’s system.

Got to know several players in the meet-and-greet on Thursday here. Really like Jerryd Bayless’ directness and confidence (“You won’t find a player in the universe more competitve than me,” he said). Michael Beasley will be a great personality in the NBA, very warm-and-fuzzy kind of guy. OJ Mayo did a lot of “Yes, sir” and “No, sir” with his responses and stayed consistent, even through some tough questions about his agent controversy. Derrick Rose already carries himself like a superstar, but not in an arrogant way. Just in thay way that tells you he knows what he is and what he is about to be.

Kevin Love was very talkative. And the one thing I got from each of them is a huge smile whenever the words “Mike D’Antoni’s system” were mentioned.

If for no other reason, D’Antoni’s hire has caught the attention of players, which is a complete 180 from playing for Isiah Thomas, which can only be a good thing. It makes you think that if Walsh can wheel and deal, and make changes like adding a shooter and a shot blocker, things may turn around rather quickly at 2 Penn Plaza.

Marc Berman of the NY Post writes today that there is a possibility of the Knicks trading their first round pick. During a state of the union in Orlando Walsh was quoted as saying: “We’re going to look at every option. Trade it outright for a very good NBA player, trade back for multiple picks, or trade up. There’s a lot of different things you do. You explore everything.” Berman also points out how you could argue that picks 3 through 12 are very similar.

All along I have had this feeling that the Knicks will trade this pick. There seems to be no real “impact player” outside of Beasley and Rose. If OJ Mayo is the “best of the rest” that might not be the kind of risk this team wants to take. I am on record as saying that trading the pick for established talent is the way to go as long as you don’t bust the salary cap in the process. Now if a player like Carmelo Anthony is available then all bets are off. I believe its starting to look like the only way to 1) Move contracts like Zach Randolph for cap relief and 2) Get any type of guarenteed peformance out of the six pick would be to package it in a deal. Just a week into writing for Knicksblog and I already have waffled on my thoughts. For the record, I spoke to my friend Anthony Donahue who works for ESPN and is a Knicks season ticket holder and he has a sense that this pick will be traded. “Rice Balls” has a tendency to be correct when assessing the pulse of this team so I will take that into consideration.

As has been suggested in the media several times since the regular season has ended, Marc Berman reports in today’s New York Post that a league executive has confirmed that the Toronto Raptors are actively shopping point guard T.J. Ford.

A reporter for the Racine-Journal Times in Wisconsin suggested the Raptors trade Ford to the Clippers in exchange for small forward Corey Maggette as it would fit a need for both teams.

I know that Ford is one of the slightest point guards in the league, is very vulnerable to being posted up, and is most importantly injury-prone. But, according to ESPN.com’s John Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Rating (Insider subscription necessary), Ford was the 6th most effective point guard in the NBA last season behind Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, Deron Williams, and teammate Jose Calderon.

The Raptors are not going to enter next season with both Calderon and Ford on the roster and they have made it clear that Calderon is who they would like to retain. They could be in the market for a 2-guard, as Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker may not be their answer, or a small forward, despite Jamario Moon‘s respectable second-half performance.

As for the Knicks, the acquisition of Ford would give them more of a pure point guard to run D’Antoni’s system, than say Jerryd Bayless, O.J. Mayo, and (gulp) Stephon Marbury. I am in the group of Knick fans who feels that if the opportunity presented itself to deal Jamal Crawford straight up for T.J. Ford, it would be a no-brainer. In an exclusive interview with TheKnicksBlog, SNY’s Brandon Tierney gave the opposite opinion, saying that in no way would he ever even consider this deal. (Crawford ranked 21st among NBA shooting guards in Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Rating)

So, we ask you TKB readers,

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Earlier today NY Daily News NBA columnist Mitch Lawrence made another appearance with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts. The majority of the conversation was about the Conference Finals, but he did delve into the Knicks and his thoughts on what they may do with the #6 pick. To hear the interview go over at WFAN.com

Hearing all the talk about the conference finals makes me cringe. The last time the Lakers played the Celtics in the Finals it was 1987 and I was in the 5th grade. Does anyone remember the old Sega game Lakers vs. Celtics? Lets remember that same summer of 1987 Rick Pitino was hired to coach the Knicks and did a pretty good job the next two seasons. That Knicks team was coming off a 24 win season and no direction. Sound Familar? Mitch Lawrence does a great job as always. I may be biased because he came on my show many times, but he is one of the most accessible writers in this town. I wonder if he has finally arrived in this town now that Joe Benigno called him “bro” as they exited the interview. For what its worth Joe kept his negativity to a minimum during the segment, although his conspiracy theory about the Lakers and Celtics was classic.

Today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer has some pretty interesting quotes from Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford, who were in Seattle for a tournament.

Crawford on Isiah Thomas:  “I was really close to Isiah personally, but it was tough on him, the way he was treated by the fans and everything, and I think it was tough on his part. So it may be best what’s going on. I think he’s relieved now. I think (team president) Mr. (Donnie) Walsh will do a good job as well as Coach D’Antoni.”

Crawford on Mike D’Antoni: “I’m very excited about Coach D’Antoni. I got the opportunity to speak with him, and the way he wants to play fits my style to a T. The good thing about Coach D’Antoni is I think he can adjust his style to whomever he is coaching. And I think that’s a sign of a great coach. I am going to get in tip-top shape because I know how Coach D’Antoni likes to play, and just work on my weaknesses like defense and better shot selection and watch a lot of tapes. I wasn’t necessarily shocked (about Thomas’ firing), but a little disappointed because I liked my relationship with Coach Thomas. But I was not disappointed at all when I heard about Coach D’Antoni, I was ecstatic.”

Crawford on the roster: “Last year was tough. For all the talent and everything coming into the season, I thought we’d at least be a playoff team, and for us not to reach that, it was probably the most disappointing season of my career. I think with any team it doesn’t matter how much talent you have — if you don’t play together, it doesn’t really mean anything. I think it’s a combination of everything — hanging out more, giving yourself up for the team. If your role on the team is to score you have to come and do that every night. If your role is to set picks and get rebounds you have to do that every night.”

 Robinson on team unity: “Whatever it is, if we need to go to the movies with each other, on the road, team dinners, team functions, guys supporting guys, barbeques, every little thing. Whenever somebody has something, everyone on the team should show up, that shows the love and bond as teammates. Guys just have to do it for each other and we’ll be all right.”

Robinson on D’Antoni: “I’m excited. I can’t even lie to you, man. I had a long talk with him and he’s ready to win, and that’s what I’m ready to do, I’m ready to win and change the whole team around. I’m trying to change the whole game and I’m trying to turn the league around by showing them that I can play.”

Robinson on next year: “It’s going to be fun because he (D’Antoni) likes to win and he likes to have fun. He is preaching having fun and sharing the ball and playing as a team, teamwork. And that’s what we need. And for our team if each guy individually buys into what he’s selling, the sky’s the limit for our team.”

These two could realistically be our starting backcourt on opening night next season. It’s good to see that Crawford recognizes his weaknesses and is working to improve on those facets of his game. The article compares Robinson to Barbosa, which is definitely a very fair comparison, it will be tough to go into the season with Nate as our starter though because of his inability to run an offense.

Danilo Gallinari got another vote of confidence. This time former St. John’s basketball coach, and current international draft expert at ESPN, Fran Fraschilla gave Marc Berman of the Post a thumbs up. Fraschilla also believes that no point guard will be worth a pick at number six, unless you are talking about combo guard OJ Mayo. Berman also discusses the buzz about D’Antoni “not liking” Gallinari.

First, great work by Marc Berman who has been one of the most active beat reporters at the pre-draft camp. Since I am an alumni of St. John’s I admired the job he did while I was there recruiting Ron Artest, Eric Barkley, and Lavar Postell for that team. Mike Jarvis was the one that coached that group to the elite eight in 1999, but it was with the talent that Fraschilla recruited. With that being said I am very leery of anyone deemed a “international expert”. If all you do is analyze European talent you might become a bit bias in your analysis. However, it is another piece of information to chew on until the draft next month.

Once again I hear the name OJ Mayo. There has been lots of debate on this site from the fans about Mayo. I have a feeling if the Knicks pass on him that it might bring on some of the same frustration that happened in ’99 when Ron Artest was overlooked. I have confidence that Donnie Walsh will do the right thing, but according to someone I talked to he really does like Eric Gordon. Wow, with all the buzz at pre-draft camp I can’t wait to see the rumors fly as we approach the draft in late June.

Newsday’s Alan Hahn does another great job of updating us on whats happening in Orlando and the pre-draft camp. Two interesting tidbits in today’s “Knicks Fix”. The first is a conversation with Patrick Ewing about not being offered a job with the Knicks and how special it would be to see his son wear orange and blue. Alan also outlines two potential Zach Randolph trades that fell through in the eleventh hour due to to the greed of Isiah Thomas.

I understand why people would be sentimental about Ewing coming back to coach with the Knicks, but honestly do we really know how good a coach he is? I have heard he has done wonders with Yao Ming and Dwight Howard, but don’t you think that might have something to do with the fact they are very talented? Ewing was more of a finesse center and those two have completely different games. This team is desperate for top of the line coaching and I just don’t know if Ewing fits that description. As for the Isiah story, all I could say is: good riddance to bad rubbish.

Chad Ford of ESPN spoke to a source close to the Suns who said Mike D’Antoni wasn’t in love with Danilo Gallinari when he watched him on tape earlier this year.

For the second straight time I have Italy’s Danilo Gallinari going to the Knicks with the sixth pick in my latest mock draft. It makes a lot of sense. Gallinari’s father played with new coach Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni likes European players and knows how to use them. Gallinari’s style of play is perfect for the offense D’Antoni likes to run.

But there’s a hitch. A Suns source swore to me Tuesday night that when they showed D’Antoni tape of Gallinari during the year, he wasn’t a fan.

“Mike said he’s just not sure the kid has what it takes to make it in the NBA,” the source said. “He said he’d be very nervous picking him in the mid-first round. I doubt he’s become converted since he joined the Knicks.”

Another source made an even more compelling argument: “Whether Mike loves him or hates him, Donnie Walsh is making this pick. He’s the guy who has to take the heat and he’s not going to pass that decision on to anyone else. What matters most is whether Donnie likes him.”

Take this for what it’s worth. Obviously, watching a tape some time ago, and actually scouting someone live, are two different things. It’s hard to imagine that D’Antoni has a problem with the kid’s skill set, he’s perfect for the offensive system. Maybe it’s his attitude, and like with Mayo I’d pass, this team already has plenty of that.

Marc Berman of the NY Post gives a blog update from the NBA’s pre-draft camp in Orlando. Among the topics he discusses his Michael Jordan’s take on the Knicks, the future of the Knicks coaching staff, and the first signs of a relaxed MSG media policy. There is also some words from old friend Larry Brown, now the coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. You could also read his entire column about MJ and the Knicks here.

Its nice to see MJ saying nice things about Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh, but wasn’t it Jeff Van Gundy that called him a “con man” that smiled in your face while he ripped your heart out? As far as the media policy, this is the first I have heard of things being better with respect to accessibility. Its a positive sign because I think part of the turnaround is the team embracing their stakeholders. Improved access will help all of us better understand whats going on and leave less for interpretation. In my opinion, speculation leads to trouble in this city. Then you get the kind of atmosphere you have had at MSG for nearly ten years. I am also glad to see Larry Brown doing well. Although I think he did a bad job with the team two years ago, he was in an impossible situation. I am sure he will wind up on his feet.