I have to say, I heard alot about Jennings, the Oak Hill product, who has made national news with the controversial decision to go play professional basketball in Europe for a year before entering next year’s draft. Such a move is unprecented and could have disasterous implications. That said, Jennings, who shares the ball as well as anyone I’ve seen un some time, based on some video highlights and coversations with trusted sources, would be a pretty strong and talented lead guard for Mike D’Antoni to mold.

Let it be said, yes we need a big man who can block shots, but I want this kid with the ball in a Knicks uniform in 2009.

SNY’s own Adam Zagoria got the chance to see Jennings against St. Benedict’s last year, here were his thoughts:

“He has some Kenny Anderson and Jason Kidd in him as in he likes to make the hard pass that other guards just can’t make. He’s a scorer, can go off for 35-40 every night. He needs to mature physically and mentally in order to handle the NBA guards. A lot can happen in a year, he could get hurt, but he should be a lottery pick next year. He has vision that other guards just don’t have. He’s clearly an elite talent.“

My first thought was that he’s eerily similar to Kenny, a guy who was a hero for NYC point guards growing up including yours truly (ok I grew up in Westchester but “the kid” came to my high school to put on a show since at the time we were in the same league).

If we see it, I’d like to think that Donnie and D’Antoni will see it too. Yes we need a big shot blocker, but between Jennings, Ty Lawson and Darren Collison, the Knicks will should find a future lead guard via the 2009 draft.

Just got finished with lunch during which I got to see today’s highlights of Team USA dismantling some helpless country.

I understand the competition is what it is, but, man, Dwyane is healthy again and has that explosion back. I think Wade is done in Miami after 2010, and obviously Lebron is option one, yet the more I think of it I’d really love to see Wade in NY.

I know he’s weird, (dating Starr Jones?) and he’s been hurt, but if his knee is stable for the time being, you’d be hard pressed to find many players in the league that have the total package he possesses. And he’s got something to prove to the world.

2010 is a long way away, but keep a close eye on Wade’s athleticism in Beijing, he may just turn out to be the best player on the floor during the entire Olympics.

The Arlington Heights Daily Herald is reporting the Chicago Bulls are receiving some interest for guard Larry Hughes and may accept a bad contract in return. Of the names mentioned, one belongs to Jared Jeffries.

“The Bulls also have discovered some interest in guard Larry Hughes, as long as they’re willing to take a big contract in return. Since the Bulls need to thin out their backcourt, some possibilities could include Portland’s Joe Przybilla, New York’s Jared Jeffries, Dallas’ Erick Dampier or Denver’s Kenyon Martin.”

Hughes is due to make $12.8 and 13.65 million and will come off the books after 2009/10. Jeffries and either Jerome James or Malik Rose would be a match.

Yeah so Knicks City Dancer tryouts are going down (insert Isiah Thomas joke here) and the 17th spot is down to three talented ladies: Jen, Elizabeth and CeCe. Vote for the one who will finalize, with no respect to the Liberty (it’s the Liberty, right?), the only group worth watching on the basketball court at MSG over the past few years.

By the way, when asked why New York should vote for her, Jen said, “Because I’m from the Jersey Shore!!”

And wait one of the girls name is Elizabeth Dee. Uh, no relation….

As we think back to all the speculation surrounding who Donnie Walsh would hire as head coach, few people in NY understood the fascination with Mike D’Antoni.

“He can’t coach defense,” was one of the sentiments heard.

“He has Steve Nash and Stoudemire.”

“What has he won?”

In actuality, what we’ve come to learn is that players LOVE playing for him, and judging by what we are hearing from China, the coach’s reputation is having a tremendous impact on the future of the Knicks organization.

You’ve heard the quotes from Kobe, which gives credence to the fact that from a system standpoint, the D’Antoni hire just made the Knicks a more valuable place to play.

But consider this. We understand D’Antoni to be a very respected man, which is to say that he’s not in China to talk about 2010 with players like Lebron, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade or Carmelo Anthony. He’s there to win for his country. But you can sure as heck bet the ability to showcase his coaching talent and personality, was a major factor in the decision for Walsh to pass over Mark Jackson, and bring D’Antoni to NY.

Players are smart also and they understand “tampering”, but between the lines during practice or during some down time, there has to be some jovial forward thinking as to what it would be like to play in a fun and productive offensive system under the lights of the greatest stage on earth.

We’ve heard Deron Williams absolutely loves D’Antoni, which is a shame since he just re-upped for 4 years in Utah. Williams is a heady player, so if he sees it, you can bet for sure that the other players on Team USA trust and respect D’Antoni as well.

Or how about Chris Paul?

We’re hearing in practice every time D’Antoni speaks he’s glued to him and feels without the style of play D’Antoni basically invented in Phoenix, Paul would not the player he is today.

That in itself is worth the hire, as there will be several job openings once 2010 comes around and maybe the players are submitting their resumes, albeit subconsciously, this summer. If it’s not Paul or Williams it will be someone else. A point guard with talent that D’Antoni can push to the next level who just may be surrounded by one of the Big Three free agents.

Remember, the Knicks do have some leverage, and D’Antoni, who’s teams are always the most fit in the NBA, will make sure that coming to NY is an honor, not a pre-retirement home.

We’re also hearing that D’Antoni isn’t taking any crap from players who feel the need to take plays off. The other day he got in a certain superstar’s ear feeling that he was dogging it.

You listening Eddy Curry?

It sounds as if Team USA is convinced by D’Antoni the tactician, and the man, which means in 2010 one or two of the chosen ones should have D’Antoni as the head coach as well.

It’s the same impact Donnie Walsh hoped the coach would have when he waited to hire him.

1999 team + Gang Starr= one heck of a video.

In a move that makes no apparent sense to me on the Kings’ end, Sacramento has agreed to trade Ron Artest to Houston for Bobby Jackson, the draft rights to Donte Greene, a future 1st round pick, and cash considerations.

Let me start this by saying one thing: shame on Donnie Walsh and shame on the Kings. Donte Greene may turn into a good player down the line, but other than that, this move makes no sense for the Kings who I would hope could have received a better package than what they took from Houston.

Now to Donnie Walsh and the Knicks. I understand Walsh’s history with Ron Artest. Who doesn’t? But that said, I cannot understand why he would not take another chance on this guy. Artest has always been described as a player who can not only score 20 points in a game, but also be a guy who could keep his opponent from doing the same. His defensive prowess, I believe, stems from two things: athleticism and heart. Artest plays the game as hard as anyone and he takes pride in his defensive effort. Who on the Knicks in the last 3 years have I been able to say that about? If anyone thinks of one, let me know.

Offensively, Artest is just as talented. He averaged over 20 ppg last season, shooting over 38% from the three, and also averaged 3.5 apg. He is as complete a player as there is in the NBA, and he was given away for nothing.

Artest is also a FA after this season. Bringing him on-board would make complete sense financially.

And lastly, Artest, in my opinion, was born to play for the Knicks. The Queens product played prep ball at LaSalle and probably could have played anywhere he wanted to in the NCAA, but chose to play college ball at St. John’s. After starring at St. John’s, the Knicks made a gigantic mistake by not drafting him, and have been clueless in not attempting to reverse that decision. Artest has hinted ever since he has gotten into the league that he would want to play for the Knicks. With Artest, it would not be a money thing, despite what he might have said in the media. Regardless of his baggage, Artest should be a Knick because in that baggage, Artest carries something that not many others in the league do: a yearning to come home to New York to play for his hometown team, the the NEW YORK Knicks!

I believe that Walsh has some plans up his sleeve, but I think that it is about time that he pulls them out. This Artest deal makes me furious.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that the Sacramento Kings have traded Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Bobby Jackson, Donte Greene, and their 2009 first-round pick.

The deal cannot be processed until August 14th, the first day when 2008 draft picks can switch teams.

Oh, what it must feel like to have cap space. The Rockets are going to break records next season on the defensive end of the court.

As expected Donnie Walsh has just announced the team has waived Taurean Green and Bobby Jones who were acquired yesterday, along with a 2010 second round pick, for reserve forward Renaldo Balkman.

Watch today’s episode of the Nooner over at TheNoonerBlog.com.

At WasWatching, Steve Lombardi says that Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes will make rehab starts for the Charlestown RiverDogs.

Adam Zagoria at ZagsBlog has full coverage of the Big East media day.

Brian Basset at TheJetsBlog has a look at the what the Jets have done on defense, while Anthony De Rosa at Giants Football Blog has Giants Training Camp coverage.

Toby Hyde at Mets Minor League Blog gives an update on Fernando Martinez, who is ‘coming along’ after his latest injury.

Lastly, at SNY.tv, Ted Berg says, although he looks just like Tom Morello, Raul Ibanez isn’t nearly as ‘awesome.’

Frank Isola notes today that Steve Mills, the man behind the Isiah Thomas hiring, has been demoted.

Steve Mills was responsible for hiring both Isiah Thomas and Anucha Browne Sanders so it was only a matter of time before Mills would be held accountable for one of the most embarrassing periods in Madison Square Garden history.

Today, Mills was replaced as president of Madison Square Garden sports by Scott O’Neil, who enjoyed a long stint with the NBA. A press release issued by the Garden said that “as part of the reorganization, Steve Mills becomes president, business operations, MSG Sports Teams, reporting to Mr. O’Neil.”

The Garden was held liable for sexually harassing Browne Sanders, a former top executive. Browne Sanders accused the Garden of firing her in retaliation for her complaints about the alleged harassment. The lawsuit alleged that after Browne Sanders’ lawyer told Madison Square Garden of her complaint, Madison Square Garden forced her out of work while it investigated the situation. Madison Square Garden says it fired Browne Sanders because of “an inability to fulfill professional responsibilities.” However, Mills had repeatedly given her glowing evaluations.

The trial caused a rift between Mills and Thomas, who continues to claim that he never sexually harassed Browne Sanders. Privately, Thomas blamed Mills for giving Browne Sanders too much power in the organization.

Ah, “Teflon” Steve Mills not making basketball decisions makes me feel so much better. I never understood why he was devoid of any blame, but he was as guilty as anyone for the organization’s downfall.

Put a check mark in Donnie Walsh’s column.

Breaking News from ESPN:

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy received a 15-month prison sentence Tuesday for his role in betting on NBA games. Donaghy also must undergo counseling for gambling addiction upon a supervised release.

I am no where near a legal expert, but as long as he never referees a basketball game again I can’t complain. The NBA has the bigger issue to convince the casual fan/conspiracy theorist that its games are not tainted going forward.

Right when we started TKB a few months ago, I felt it was important to get a feel from the fans just how signifcant an impact the Donaghy situation had on both the league and the game.

I’ve concluded that, since sports is the ultimate source of “reality” television, and even though fans do live and die with their teams, it’s really just another source of entertainment.

Last week, I got the chance to chat about it with CNN, and the story aired today.

Donaghy, of course, will be sentenced today.

Just to clarify the specifics of the deal, the Nuggets have the option to swap the 2010 second round pick with the Clippers as per the Marcus Camby deal, meaning the Knicks would get the Clippers pick.

I, for one, was always split on Renaldo Balkman as a player. It’s hard not to root for one of the few guys that hustled on this team. And yes, he dunked everything. In fact, I would have morning sit downs with friends at work who were proud South Carolina Gamecock alumns who would pick him for their fantasy teams.

And be in last place.

Let’s be realistic here, he was an awful draft pick. I hate the 20/20 hindsight people who say “awe man we could have drafted ______ but our GM was an idiot.” I still get crazy when people say we passed on Karl Malone for Kenny Walker.

The draft is a crapshoot, we know this, but I think I’d rather have Rajon Rondo or Jordan Farmar in the backcourt at this point. Moreover, why on earth didn’t Isiah try and trade up to the mid-teens?
Oh well, that’s history now that Balkman is in Denver.

The point is moot, the idea here is that the guy who drafted Balkman and annointed him the fan’s new favorite, is also the guy who stunted his growth by drafting another small forward a year later. Frankly, I’m not sure any of Isiah Thomas’ bizarre bench decisions were as head scratching as benching Balkman early last year.

In fairness, Balkman is not a power forward, he’s an energy player who hurts a team at the 3 because he can’t shoot and hurts at team at the 4 because at barely over 200lbs, he can’t guard the post. Sure, he made up for it with dunks, lose balls, tips and steals, but that only equals some 10-15 minutes per game, max. A player with those skills has a place on the court in lopsided games and shootouts, which was every Knick game this year, but in tight games, it’s hard to justify them being on the court.

More minutes would have allowed for Balkman’s weaknesses to be exposed, weaknesses that Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari simply don’t have.

From a trade standpoint, ignore the money aspect. Yes, the Knicks save $2 million dollars, but this is about roster flexibility. There are more moves coming, so let’s be patient here.

Balkman was not a difference maker, if you understand the game you know that Gallinari and Chandler have higher ceilings and deserve to play more. At the end of the day, if this sets up another deal it’s the right move.

Rating: B