Sporting News: Duhon on top of Knicks PG list

by Tommy Dee on June 30th, 2008 at 11:43 am

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.
  • theghostofwillisreed

    am i the only one who sees duhon as a slightly better howard eisley?

    no. thanks.

  • Grandmama

    I would make him plan B, not the first choice. he has a chance to be a standout player if he reaches full potential, but who knows. At least he’ll come cheap?

    Monta Ellis would be a coup. I like Felton too. We should exhaust these options before signing Duhon to any deal.

  • vino

    Yes and Yes. Duhon is pretty good. Hell, he started over Ben Gordon, and he earned that spot with good play, not with high draft status (I don’t even think he got drafted). I always kind of viewed him as the perfect backup pg. I still think that we can use two point guards, with a buyout of Marbury. I wouldn’t mind it if Duhon is one of them.

  • krumbledkookie

    I like Duhon – his capabilities would fit very well here. Were the Knicks to sign him, I would not complain.

    However, Monta Ellis would be choice No. 1, for obvious reasons.

  • South Dakota Hook

    Gallinari is a point forward. A lot of offense will run through him. Duhon can hit a 3 (35%)

    Sign Duhon and trade Lee for Deng, and we’d be in business, assuming Randolph and Curry can play defense

  • vino

    Deng? What about the all-mighty LeBron in two years? We can’t have Deng and LeBron.

    This is absolutely agent angling. The Knicks need a point. There is an opportunity to have a starting spot. The Knicks hired a coach that helped a good player become a two time MVP. Why would Duhon not want to come here? His agent wants him to be here, but unlike some other spots where an agent would angle for a specific spot, this actually makes sense for us.

    There is one problem. Duhon made over 3 mill next year. Are the Knicks prepared to pay him in excess of 4? Do they want to use practically all of the exception on one player? Well, if they pay 4 for Duhon, then they will have 2 left for one or even two other players. As I noted before, I think that we also have our veterans exception that we get every other year.

    I think that Duhon would fit, even if we brought him in as a backup. Give him 25 minutes a night off the bench and he will be effective.

  • vino

    Given the FA class this year, what does everyone think the Knicks should do? Realistically?