Chris Sheridan writes that the King (sorry Henrik) has talked about the possibilities when he enters free agency, and mentions among other things, Brooklyn is his favorite borough.

“They have a right to dream about it, and I can’t take that away from them. My friendship was way before Jay was part-owner of the Nets, and I loved the Garden way before I got to the NBA,” James said. “For some reason when I get to the Garden I always play well, so they want me to do it 41 games instead of just two nights a year.”

Knicks fans were in abundant supply at midday Monday as James and the rest of Team USA were introduced at a Nike press conference at Rockefeller Center, and James played to the crowd like a true showman — sprinting with a wide smile and open arms into bleacher seats erected at both ends of a temporary court, embracing dozens of youngsters clad in blue “United We Rise” T-shirts.

Earlier, James waved demonstrably at a boatful of tourists from the deck of a ship the team chartered for a photo shoot in New York Harbor with the Statue of Liberty as the backdrop.

“I never thought about doing it, but once you get out there & I’m a big kid personally, I got two young sons at home and I know what they like, so anytime I get around a group of kids it’s like a kid in the candy store for me. So, I’m happy I was able to put smiles on those kids faces,” James said. “It made my day, totally.”

The crowd ate up his act, as did his teammates.

“Was that New York-driven? No, I think it was James-driven. That’s who he is,” Kidd said. “He’s a kid, he’s full of energy, he has a lot of personality … LeBron just has a lot of personality — you see it in the commercials — and that’s him, and for him to interact with the kids, it might put a little stress on security, but for the kids to be able to touch him and see him in that light, you can’t ask anything more than that.”

Again, we’re hearing the Nets move to Brooklyn is in serious doubt in 2010-11, meaning the team would have to play in Newark until the politics are sorted out. We know about his friendship with Jigga-man, but, honestly, passing up on the opportunity to play at the Garden for 2-3 years in Newark?

This will get really interesting.

See the photo. We can dream a little.

databasebasketball.com is one of the statistical sites that I rely on to get my information. After reading Tommy’s post about the possibility of Duhon I became intrigued and did some statistical research. Now, let me preface this by saying I am not one to just look at stats, but I was interested in Duhon’s production. databaseBasketball compares similar types of players with a statistical formula. The player that compares best with Duhon: Steve Blake. If you could get Duhon as a free agent then you can keep David Lee and possibly move him for cap space or to fill another need. I realize that this is all speculation, but I will keep an eye on Duhon because he might be the fiscally responsible type of stopgap point guard this team needs.

Hahn has implemented this live chat stuff, and we think it’s great. He discusses several scenarios including Monte Ellis, Duhon, David Lee and Zach Randolph.

Ellis not be my ideal PG either, but who cares if he fits with Crawford. If we get Ellis we should move JCraw, stat. Ellis is a long shot at best, so it doesn’t really matter. That said, I’m somewhat excited to see what Crawford can do off the ball in D’Antoni’s system.

Great Lebron piece by the fans at waitingfornextyear.com, as they try and distinguish how the Nets clearing cap space is the first bad sign Lebron may be skipping town in 2010.

“The basis for all of this is simple. The Nets traded Richard Jefferson, thus freeing the $15 million dollars he’s due in 2010 from their roster. As of right now, the only money the Nets have locked in for 2010 is the $17 million due to Vince Carter. So, according to the popular sentiment, this means the Nets are lined up to bring LeBron James aboard in 2010. Ok, so the Nets also have team options for Yi Jianlian and Sean Williams, and they will have qualifying options for Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, and Maurice Ager. So there you have it. Your 2010 Nets. Perhaps Devin Harris will still be there. Harris, Vince, LeBron, Yi, Boone, a pair of Williams’, and an Ager.

What the great lie doesn’t tell you is that the Cavaliers have $0 tied up for 2010. It’s possible that Delonte West and Daniel Gibson could both still be there. J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson will likely still be there. Who knows who else the Cavs may sign or trade for between now and then. The biggest thing the Great Lie overlooks, though, is the fact that LeBron will be a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent. You might know these better as players who hold their Bird Rights. Tonight I went through and read the Collective Bargaining Agreement line by line in an attempt to better understand the Cavaliers’ unique advantage in keeping LeBron. You know what I found out? I could barely understand one single paragraph of that thing. Legalese is like a foreign language to me. Thankfully, I found this nice little tool to assist me in understanding how Bird Rights work.”

Fret not, loyal Cavs fans, from what we’re hearing the Nets may not move to Brooklyn until 2011 or 2012, if at all, which means King James in Newark just doesn’t have the same bling to it.

On second thought, this would open up the opportunity to rule NY, like he did last winter, (I know, I know… WHY would he come to a crappy team? Simple, the Knicks will be pretty solid by then-Trust us) meaning you’re going to have to convince him to stay home. And by convince, we don’t mean trading for Vince Carter. You’ve got 2 years, we’ve got 2 and the Nets, well, the Nets have their hands full with politics.

Game on.

UPDATE…1:22pm

Sources have told TKB that this could be agent angling, and that Duhon is not necessarily on the top of Walsh’s list.

I think he will be a factor and could very well be in a Knick uniform, should they struggle to find a match with Lee.

As per Sean Deveney:

Word is that, when the NBA free-agent season opens tomorrow morning, the Knicks will reveal their top target: Bulls point guard Chris Duhon, an unrestricted free agent. New York GM Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D’Antoni are expected to meet with Duhon early on Tuesday, when NBA teams are free to contact and woo available players.

Duhon’s agent, Kevin Bradbury, could not concretely confirm the Knicks’ interest. He did say, “Chris’ all-around game could blossom under an offensive coach like Mike D’Antoni. No one knows what will happen at this point, and who knows where things will end up, but the Knicks are a team we would hope would be genuinely interested. Chris is only 25, so he has room to grow.”

Ultimately, what D’Antoni will need in his uptempo system is a point guard who can advance the ball and get it to scorers. The Knicks, stuck with the likes of score-first guards Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford, are desperate for a point guard who will look to pass first. That, along with defense, has been Duhon’s calling card in four NBA seasons. Despite averaging just 25.8 minutes in his career with the Bulls, Duhon has put up 4.5 assists against 1.4 turnovers, and nearly a steal per game.

If the Knicks sign Duhon, it will be another signal of what has become obvious in New York: The Knicks will seek a buyout or outright release for Marbury, who doesn’t seem to have a place in D’Antoni’s offense. Duhon has never been a 35-minute-per-night player, and it’s unknown whether he can handle the workload. But the Knicks seem willing to explore that question.

“He has shown the ability to distribute the ball, but he can also shoot from the perimeter,” Bradbury said. “He hasn’t always been allowed to do that. His defense, of course, everybody knows about. That’s unquestioned.

I’m not anti-Duhon, but I’m interested to see who the Knicks can land in dangling David Lee. That said, I can’t argue with a pass-first distributor with a 4-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, who is also a rock-solid, on-ball defender.

Ok, so this team has plenty of needs, and the pick of Gallinari may not plug that many holes. Obviously, the next step is to snag a point guard. But there are plenty of other glaring needs before this team can consider competing night in and night out.

POINT GUARD- This is coming, and David Lee is going, that much seems to be clear. I believe that Walsh will acquire the “engine” at some point before the summer league.

ON BALL DEFENDER- The key to any great defensive team lies in the pressure a guard can place on the other team’s PG. See Rajon Rondo, he’s a terror. This is where acquiring a solid PG is essential, but I also see this as a role that the pesky Nate Robinson can grow into -an energetic 20-25 minute a night pest.

PERIMETER DEFENDER- Gallinari is not at the NBA level defensively, but Wilson Chandler is. I feel that D’Antoni should scrap the Q-Rich at SF experiment, and start Chandler, who has the athleticism, size, strength and shot-blocking skill to be an elite defender.

PROTECT THE HOOP- Should Walsh move Lee, he’ll need to bring in a defender at the 4/5 to make up for the rebounding and hopefully reek some havoc as a shot blocker. Slim pickin’s, but I want Stromile Swift (player option at 5 mill), or  the Sonics’ Robert Swift, who was just given a qualifying offer, meaning should the Knicks offer the MLE, the Sonics can match, however, it’s a risk, considering the last Sonics big man we signed.

CATCH AND SHOOTER- I think Gallinari is a great fit here as someone who is long and can get his shot off in the half court with ease. I also think with Q at the two for a few minutes, he’s a option to knock down threes. Most importantly, the team will need someone who can alleviate double teams that will hopefully surround the Knicks big men.

Walsh has his blueprint of wants, we have ours. Let’s see what happens.

As we head into the Fourth of July holiday weekend there is still basketball talk surrounding the Knicks. First the guys over at  The Hoop Doctors talk about the possibility of Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden for Zach Randolph. Predictably the Bulls didn’t pull the trigger on the deal.

Finally, I really enjoyed reading Alan Hahn’s column from the other day where he talks about Gallinari and some of the challenges he overcame in Europe. Still think the kid isn’t tough?

Luis Fernandez, the European talent evaluator for draftexpress.com, has the following take on Gallinari.

The connection between D’Antoni and Gallinari has been generously voiced: the Knicks coach shared team with Danilo’s father, Vittorio, back in the eighties, when Olimpia Milano dominated Europe (the great Bob McAdoo joined them too).

Now, many can think this is a sentimental pick, or something similar.

Wrong.

Gallinari is for real, an excellent basketball player– talented, skilled and competitive. He’s a good kid, a good teammate and a winner. You know, the kind of assets the Knicks are overloaded with, right?

Besides, looking around the draft reviews, it’s worth mentioning that Danilo’s defense is significantly underrated at this point. He’s not the quickest player around, but he enjoys better lateral quickness than he’s given credit for. This past season, officiating as the team’s go-to anchor, Gallinari didn’t put much emphasis on defense, but the previous campaign he proved capable of staying in front of most wings, even significantly smaller ones than him.

Of course we might end up finding better players picked after the Italian, but he brings very nice value at the sixth spot.

Marbury made his “This is my year” declaration months earlier than usual, and there is little doubt that he wants to play out the final season of his contract in New York. But there is a strong possibility he will not get that opportunity. If club president Donnie Walsh acquires a point guard, Marbury likely will be released, according to a league source.

Marbury cleared one hurdle on Thursday when Walsh elected not to take a point guard in the draft. Instead, Walsh picked Italian forward Danilo Gallinari at No.6 and later said of the backcourt, “I think there are other ways to solve the problem if we have to.”

Any trade for a point guard likely would include forward David Lee for a number of reasons: he is one of the few Knicks with trade value; he’s looking for a contract extension; and Walsh didn’t draft Gallinari to have him sit on the bench. The Bobcats’ Raymond Felton and the Trail Blazers’ Steve Blake are possible options, although the Knicks want to exercise fiscal responsibility with an eye on the 2010 free-agent market.

Marc Berman of the Post mentions that Donnie Walsh and Chris Mullin maybe close to swinging a deal that would move Ellis into the Knicks’ backcourt. He also notes other options at PG, which we talked about yesterday.

“I think we can use help (at point guard),” Walsh said. “But we probably could go in the way we are but we’ll probably look for help.”

Golden State’s Monta Ellis is a wonderful point-guard-of-the-future candidate but that has to be a sign-and-trade scenario because Warriors general manager Chris Mullin would match a two-year deal. Walsh and Mullin are close, making a transaction doable.

Other young free-agent point guards available for mid-level money are Chris Duhon, Brooklyn’s Sebastian Telfair, Keyon Dooling and Tyronn Lue. Memphis has a glut of point guards after obtaining O.J. Mayo and may trade Mike Conley or Kyle Lowry. The Bulls, who desperately tried to get David Lee David Lee in the Eddy Curry deal three years ago, are also expected to shop Kurt Heinrich and restricted free agent Ben Gordon.

Walsh said he is confident he can sign a solid player with a two-year deal, but believes he may have to wait it out into August in some cases. Veteran point guards Sam Cassell and Carlos Arroyo are also free agents.

Ellis jumps to the top of the list in terms of who I’d want despite his so-so asst/TO ratio. There’s something about him I really like, he plays really hard. Not sure if he’s a “pure” PG, but he’s a great defender and distributor. We’ll keep our ears open on those rumors as well. Expect Lee to go.

Interesting that Berman mentions Dooling, who is not a PG, and Conley, who had some growing pains in Memphis.

Conley has his own blog on yardbarker.com, so feel free to leave him a comment here (you’ll need an account, but it’s worth it.)

Leave it to an out of town clown, er, “writer” to sum up Chicago’s feelings on the Knicks’ pick of Gallinari.

DRAFT GRADE: D
New York Knicks. It didn’t take the New York fans at the draft long to start booing. Welcome to New York, Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni. They said it would take awhile, but New Yorkers aren’t that patient. They booed loudly and often as Italian forward Danilo Gallinari walked across the stage. The question is if LeBron James wants to play with him. Anyone seen Frederic Weis? Ouch.
Sam Smith

Last year I had a long e-mail exchange with Smith who admitted to me that he was trying to razz Knick fans. Here is another example of Smitty trying to placate Knick fans, the one’s who booed the pick other night.

I can’t really blame him, those dopey Knick fans gave him the ammo. But, to relate the kid to Weis shows equal ignorance, meaning he’s never seen him play.

But hey Sammy, why let facts get in the way of a good story, right? A “D” is way off base here, which means whatever credibility you had just drove off in your clown car.

Honk Honk.

Ken Berger of Newsday discusses the Knicks point guard situation in this morning’s Newsday. Names that he cites as realistic options for the Knicks include Monta Ellis, Raymond Felton, and Steve Blake among others. He also names some lesser known quantities such as Jordan Farmer, Beno Udrih, and Kyle Lowry.

Peter Vecsey weighs in on why the Gallinari pick is not so bad, but buried in that article is the fact that the Knicks may be making Beno Udrih their focus. Problem with that is the inability to offer Udrih more then the mid-level exception.

I have to admit I have not watch enough of Udrih from the West Coast. He averaged  12 points and 4 assists for Sacramento last year. He sounds like the solid point guard that could thrive in the D’Antoni system.  Berger also points out that Baron Davis would love to play in New York, but that the Knicks don’t see him as an affordable option. Right now I predict the Knicks will try to sign a Udrih or Arroyo type point guard. I don’t think they give away David Lee unless cap flexibility comes with such a move.

It’s clear with the selection of forward Danilo Gallinari, Donnie Walsh has added a good, young and talented player to the roster. In fact, he should factor into the rotation right away with a defined role, something that few players on this team have.

That said, knowing what we know, Walsh is actively looking to get his point guard. However, with the Nets still awaiting the okay to build in Brooklyn, (which we hear has a next-to-no chance of happening) and by clearing cap space the other night, we have an all out cross-river brawl on our hands between Walsh and Rod Thorn.

Again, the Brooklyn decision has major ramifications, as Lebron James would factor into the Nets plans. I’d be shocked if he spurned the Knicks to play in Newark. Either way, it appears that King James in Brooklyn is a long shot, that is until the Supreme Court makes the ultimate decision.

So here’s Walsh, trying to clear space for 2010, but he has to monitor this Nets situation clearly. Should James go to Brooklyn, Walsh has to make a run at a Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul or Chris Bosh.

That said, with guards that amounted to the WORST team assists in the league, Walsh knows his next priority.

Here is a couple of options Walsh can consider at Point Guard.

VIA TRADES

Raymond Felton- Simply put the engine D’Antoni needs. He’s not a great shooter, but is a terror in the open court. He thinks pass first, not surprisingly since he’s a Carolina product. Can Walsh convince his old buddy Larry Brown to work out a deal? We think so.

Kirk Hinrich- With Derrick Rose on board, Hinrich becomes expendable, but there are two problems.

1. Any deal with the Bulls would have to include the contract of well-traveled Larry Hughes.
2. Hinrich’s deal goes past 2010.

Steve Blake- Even with Bayless coming on board, I think Blake is a long shot. The Blazers need a veteran someone to get the ball in the right places, and Blake does just that.

VIA MLE

Carlos Arroyo- Walsh has said he could be active in the FA market without overspending, which sounds like offering Arroyo the MLE. This would be the last resort for Walsh, albeit a solid one.

Chris Duhon- Not Hinrich, but a heady PG with strong IQ that could make a good platoon situation with Marbury. Reminds me a ton of Charlie Ward.

Other MLE Options (not a chance)

Jayson Williams, Earl Boykins, Tyrone Lue.

Prediction

I really think a deal with Felton and Lee can happen, but Lee has a bunch of leverage should he not like the idea of going to the Bobcats. Maybe the Knicks extend him then make a deal. Charlotte would be a great fit for him. I think Felton, Duhon and Arroyo are real possibilities, which may make Nate expendable.

Off the bat we knew the Augustin pick made no sense for the Bobcats. But that doesn’t mean, apparently, that Ray Felton is going to be shipped. We speculated Lee and a player, but GM Rod Higgins shot that down today.

Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins says drafting D.J. Augustin isn’t intended to supplant Raymond Felton as the team’s starting point guard.

Specifically, Higgins said, there’s “no truth” to a report out of New York that the Bobcats might trade Felton to the Knicks for power forward David Lee.

Augustin should get minutes right away, but I’m not buying shifting Felton to the 2 as a combo backcourt. Felton would be a great “engine” for D’Antoni. Lee is the issue, since he can tell a team that he won’t re-sign if he doesn’t like where he ends up.

Now that everyone has heard the analysis and had time to think about the Knicks selection of Danilo Gallinari at #6 here are some Saturday morning tidbits from the papers.

Ken Berger of Newsday discusses how Gallinari’s game will translate in the NBA

Marc Berman outlines some interesting information about the Knicks international scouting

Alan Hahn talks about the next piece to the puzzle and tells fans not to jump off the ledge

Frank Isola thinks that Gallinari could mean the end of David Lee

Like I said with Tommy Dee on Knicksblog Radio yesterday we all need to calm down for a bit. Lets give Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh some time to work their plan. Part of the outcry is that Knicks fans are so use to the Isiah Thomas era where there was no plan. I do not sense, at least at this point, that Donnie Walsh is going down the same road.