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Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated, who did a great job of breaking the Randolph-to-LA, has learned that it was more than just a second round pick exchange.
“I have learned that the Clippers’ offer to the Knicks for Zach Randolph last week was much more audacious than first suspected. In addition to Randolph, they wanted the Knicks to send them a first-round pick and $3 million in exchange for Brevin Knight. The Knicks said no.”
Obviously, Knight wasn’t the deal breaker, the first rounder was, which makes a lot of sense. Had the Knicks not lost the rights to a first rounder in the Marbury deal, maybe Walsh pulls the trigger. Based on how well he sniffed this one out, I trust Thomsen on this one.
…Andrew Smith writes…
Now, this makes a little more sense. I didn’t think Walsh would turn down a golden opportunity for cap relief, now we know there was a catch.
Umm I think before so readily buying this explanation you should check out Alan Hahn’s take, which I find a lot more plausible. I agree with Hahn - this explanation was probably leaked by someone close to Walsh so that he doesn’t look so bad for having turned down a GOLDEN opportunity to unload ZBo. Even if the Clippers did ask for a 1st rounder and cash and demanded the Knicks take Brevin Knight, is that really the end of discussions? The Nuggets unloaded Camby for the right to swap second rounders with the Clippers next year - you’re telling me the Knicks couldn’t have talked the Clippers down from the first round pick to something like that? Knight’s contract ends next year anyway, he’d have fit in perfectly with the plan for cap room in 2010, so it would be pretty inexcusable for Knight to be a dealbreaker. And the Knicks have no shortage of cash, so the $3M is pretty negligible. STOP BUYING THE COMPANY LINE! Let’s be honest here - D’Antoni’s hiring might be making New York a more appealing destination to players, but he’s still an awful fit for this roster as is. If his appeal was really so great, wouldn’t some real marquee free agents - like Elton Brand, Monta Ellis, Baron Davis, Corey Maggette, etc. - been MORE willing to take LESS cash to come here and be part of the purported revitalization effort? Instead, we had to settle for Chris Duhon, and that too after outrageously overpaying him (you’re bonkers if you think he’s worth nearly $6M a year the next two seasons). Excuse me if I think that this whole “D’Antoni’s changing perceptions” bit is being overplayed. You’re telling me you’re happy with Duhon and Danilo (who’s already out with a bad back - how the hell does someone that young already have back problems?!?! Why isn’t this a concern to anyone?) over having Jerryd Bayless, who’s absolutely lighting up the summer league? I’ve bled orange and blue my whole life, and I really wanted to be optimistic about this new Knicks regime, but here’s the bottomline; Walsh can say all the right things (but realistically how hard is it say that, anyone with an iota of basketball sense could see this team needs drastic changes from the Isiah era), but he hasn’t done anything to warrant any faith yet. So far Donnie’s brought in D’Antoni, Danilo, and Duhon - three D’s for the Big D, and I’m giving the start of this era an F. We need to stop being so happy about having someone other than Isiah running the show (and, as happy as I am that he’s gone, let’s not forget that Isiah brought in David Lee and Wilson Chandler, who trump anything Donnie’s done so far), and start asking if this guy is really better than the last era. Are you really happy with Duhon, Danilo, and Anthony Roberson? Does this strike you as the type of change that we really need, as opposed to buying out Marbury and unloading ZBo at all costs? Its not rocket science to figure out what the Knicks need to do; Donnie hasn’t done anything remotely close to what is needed so far. I pray that things will change, and in a hurry, but like I said on draft night, Walsh has defecated on any newfound optimism I was enjoying for the Knicks…
Umm I think before so readily buying this explanation you should check out Alan Hahn’s take, which I find a lot more plausible. I agree with Hahn - this explanation was probably leaked by someone close to Walsh so that he doesn’t look so bad for having turned down a GOLDEN opportunity to unload ZBo. Even if the Clippers did ask for a 1st rounder and cash and demanded the Knicks take Brevin Knight, is that really the end of discussions? The Nuggets unloaded Camby for the right to swap second rounders with the Clippers next year - you’re telling me the Knicks couldn’t have talked the Clippers down from the first round pick to something like that? Knight’s contract ends next year anyway, he’d have fit in perfectly with the plan for cap room in 2010, so it would be pretty inexcusable for Knight to be a dealbreaker. And the Knicks have no shortage of cash, so the $3M is pretty negligible. STOP BUYING THE COMPANY LINE! Let’s be honest here - D’Antoni’s hiring might be making New York a more appealing destination to players, but he’s still an awful fit for this roster as is. If his appeal was really so great, wouldn’t some real marquee free agents - like Elton Brand, Monta Ellis, Baron Davis, Corey Maggette, etc. - been MORE willing to take LESS cash to come here and be part of the purported revitalization effort? Instead, we had to settle for Chris Duhon, and that too after outrageously overpaying him (you’re bonkers if you think he’s worth nearly $6M a year the next two seasons). Excuse me if I think that this whole “D’Antoni’s changing perceptions” bit is being overplayed. You’re telling me you’re happy with Duhon and Danilo (who’s already out with a bad back - how does someone that young already have back problems?!?! Why isn’t this a concern to anyone?) over having Jerryd Bayless, who’s absolutely lighting up the summer league? I’ve bled orange and blue my whole life, and I really wanted to be optimistic about this new Knicks regime, but here’s the bottomline; Walsh can say all the right things (but realistically how hard is it say that, anyone with an iota of basketball sense could see this team needs drastic changes from the Isiah era), but he hasn’t done anything to warrant any faith yet. So far Donnie’s brought in D’Antoni, Danilo, and Duhon - three D’s for the Big D, and I’m giving the start of this era an F. We need to stop being so happy about having someone other than Isiah running the show (and, as happy as I am that he’s gone, let’s not forget that Isiah brought in David Lee and Wilson Chandler, who trump anything Donnie’s done so far), and start asking if this guy is really better than the last era. Are you really happy with Duhon, Danilo, and Anthony Roberson? Does this strike you as the type of change that we really need, as opposed to buying out Marbury and unloading ZBo at all costs? Its not rocket science to figure out what the Knicks need to do; Donnie hasn’t done anything remotely close to what is needed so far. I pray that things will change, and in a hurry, but like I said on draft night, Walsh has defecated on any newfound optimism I was enjoying for the Knicks…