I am not a gambler, but I know a big risk when I see one. With rumors swirling around that the Knicks might be willing to offer Wilson Chandler
for the Wizards’ #5 overall selection, I figured that I would chime in before anything comes to a head. The Knicks have to acquire young talent. It is fair to say that. But in dealing away Wilson Chandler, Donnie Walsh would be dealing away a young player for the sake of bringing in just one other young player. It is not surprising to see the Wizards be so willing to move out of the fifth spot. After all, this draft is not necessarily the cream of the crop when it comes to drafts. The Wizards want to win now, and to do so, they need productive players that can contribute immediately. With the Cavs coming off a Cinderella season, the Magic potentially losing Hedo Turkoglu, and the Celtics getting older, the Wizards see an opening in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks were the 4th best team in the East. Get my drift?
Wilson Chandler, love him, hate him, or fall in between, is a productive player. Forget about the nonsense that he would not be a good player in a more traditional system. Chandler has game. He showed it under Isaiah two years ago. Last year, he was near the top of the sophomore class. As an inconsistent 21 year old, Chandler was essentially a 15 ppg and 5 rpg SF that was arguably the team’s best defender. Playing the 2, 3, or 4, Chandler was also arguably the most versatile player on the team. Right now, Chandler is a starter on a mediocre team, and perhaps the 6th man on a championship caliber team. He is that good now, and he has the potential to be a very, VERY special player. If he was in this year’s draft (he is younger than many of the 1st round prospects), Wilson would be a lock for the lottery, and perhaps a lock for the top 10.
So why the rumors about trading him for a player that has never played one second in the NBA? Plenty of great college players have floundered in the NBA, while many decent college players have emerged as studs in the pros. Why again are we thinking about dealing him for an unknown? The answer is simple. To be a champion, Donne Walsh might think that he has 
to gamble a little bit. In all likelihood, Walsh will not mess around with his 2010 plan. So that leaves him with the ability to make good draft picks and acquire underrated talent with the MLE. Walsh might be tempted to gamble away one of his most valuable chips in order to reap a bigger bounty. While Chandler has all-star potential, Walsh might want to find a kid that has all-pro potential. The Knicks need star power. Aside from the Pistons a few years ago who has multiple all-star type players, most championship teams have a mega-star. Look at this year’s Final Four. The Lakers have Kobe. The Nuggets have Melo. The Magic have Howard. The Cavs have the King. Wilson Chandler will not be one of those players. No matter how effective he has been and how much potential he has shown in his first two years as a pro. Tyreke Evans, Steph Curry, and Ricky Rubio all have that potential as pros. They all have the potential to put the Knicks on the map again. They all have the potential to be a league icon. They might not be. In fact, the odds are heavily against all three being all-pro players. Very heavily. But that would be the hope if Donnie Walsh was to trade one of only beacons of light leading the Knicks through their darkened tunnel. In trading Wilson, Donnie would hope to throw dynamite into that tunnel and to blow it out of existence.
So does Donnie go all in and gamble away Wilson Chandler for the right to draft a college player (or Rubio)? That is an extremely tough call. If Walsh could ensure a crack at Rubio, then I would probably do that. Otherwise, I would have to think long and hard about it.
History has shown that it is easier to find a player like Wilson Chandler than it is to find an elite PG. If the Knicks deal away Chandler, they will still have Al Harrington and Danilo Gallinari to man the position. If Harrington
is in the long term plans, then this trade makes more sense to me. Also, come next summer, we all know that Donnie will target LeBron James, who just so happens to play the same position as Wilson Chandler. Again, that is a major gamble. Also, one of my favorites, Ron Artest is a free agent and might be lured to the idea of playing for his favorite team, even if it means playing for the MLE. There are potential replacements for Wilson Chandler.
Solution: I am not opposed to dealing away Chandler. Not in the least. I love how hard he plays, but he is inconsistent. But is dealing him for the 5th pick getting equal value? Would including him in a deal for, perhaps, Amare Stoudemire make more sense? The Wizards rejected the idea of trading Caron Butler for Amare, and if Butler is the ceiling for Amare’s trade value, then the Knicks might be able to work something out for the star PF. The best bet for the Knicks would be to try and find a way to buy a pick before Thursday. If they can somehow acquire a mid-first round pick, they can use that to sweeten the Larry Hughes for Thomas, #5, and James pot. That is easier said than done, but that scenario could work. Or would adding Duhon / Jeffries to the mix better our offer? I am not sure. This rumor has the potential to get very interesting. But if Chandler can be moved for a bona fide star, then I am not sure that the #5 pick is worth Chandler.
Dealing Wilson Chandler for a draft pick has major boom or bust potential.
Walsh has been around this league and this game to understand that it does not matter where a player gets drafted in the draft. It matters if that player can actually play.If the 5th overall pick can play better than Wilson, then go for it. If not, then do not. It is as simple as that. I’ll trust Donnie on this one.
Good Stuff.
The Key point are this:
WC will HAVE TO play the 3 spot. This conflicts with Gallo
Wilson is NOT a 2 guard. He can not handle the ball or pass the ball.
The 3 is the easiest position in the league to fill. PTown is looking to give away Outlaw who would arguably give you more than Chandler
A top PG is a much more valuable asset than a small forward
Packaging WC with JJ to DC makes sense to shed some salary for 2010/11
if donnie keeps the 8th, and gets the 5th, get griffin.
I would deal Wilson and Gallo for him. Haha.
i would too.but the gallo griffin tandem would be amazing.
I wouldn’t call “Wilson would be a lock for the lottery, and perhaps a lock for the top 10″. Earl Clark who is physically and emotionally the same type of player as Chandler is more than likely a 14 to 16 pick in this draft. Even DeRozan is barely hanging on to a top 10 spot.
If Donnie and the Knicks feel that Rubio is a franchise type player, and you have a legit chance to get him, then you get him, end of the story.
Knicks can easily find another athletic swingman in this draft, Sam Young, Omri Casspi, Chase Budinger, Derrick Brown, etc.
Earl Clark is a top 5 talent in this draft he just has other questions in his game.
I heard Rubio has a awful workout in Sac I still take him at 5 if he falls.
WISON CHANDLER is an ok player ,but he is prolly the only thing the knicks have that other teams feel is worth something.he will either turn out good or not ,but if DONNIE feels RUBIO OR CURRY are worth the risk,ill take his word for it
if he had better basketball “SMARTS” i would feel a little bit more leary of trading him. but he doesnt seem to be the brightest bulb.this makes me think “how good can he possibly turn out to be”?
Im not against trading chandler. And i frimly agree with everything Biggie said in the beginning of these comments. Wilson does block danilo, and he cant pass or dribble. With this said, i would be willing to trade him for the number 5 pick, but i think we mite be giving up a bit much as of now. If wash could throw in a pick next year, i would be really interested.
Rubio is a prodigy star TODAY.. Donnie is playing everyone on this.. He knows it.
He is playing coy.. he doesnt even want to meet with him.and all the PGs are equal. come on..
he’s playing this like a fiddle.
go get em DW
Knicks Get: Mike James, Etan Thomas, #5
Wizards Get: Wilson Chandler, Larry Hughes
Sounds like were getting the wrong end of the trade…
WILSON CHANDLER is soft and dumb…. Why the Knicks fans always OVERRATE their players??
Who am I?
And on an aside, if Chandler is soft, then what is Gallo?
I would trade Chandler if the trade would go something like this, but there are two issues with it.
Knicks get: Caron Butler, Mike James, Etan Thomas, #5 Pick
Wizards get: Larry Hughes, Jeffries, Chandler, Duhon
I doubt the Wizards would take this because of giving away Butler, so that’s the first issue. The second issue is that Butler’s contract goes into 2010, but he could be considered a good sidekick to LeBron, even though they play the same position. Plus he’s already a proven All-Star. I’d rather keep Wilson though and just throw Duhon into the deal.
Nice piece, Chris
I love you mentionned Will played also well for Isiah … I was a little fed up hearing Will was good only because of MD system
I’d really like us to keep him, he’s getting better and better. I see him, with his versatility, as the perfect 6th man should DW be able to build a contending team after 2010
If not, well there’s a lot of time left before he becomes less cheap than today. He has room to improve so why trade him now ??? if he improves his numbers he will become even more valuable and could get us a 2010 pick, when the draft is supposed to be far better.
Only scenario I’d trade him to DC is if R Rubio is still available at #5 on draft night.
I’m going to repeat what I said about Chandler in another tread, but in more detail.
There are two schools of thought on Chandler.
1. He’s a very inefficient scorer that is not special at anything else either. The evidence for this is actually extremely strong. Stats guys will point out that his TS%, eFG% and FG% are all quite a bit below average relative to other starting SFs. Basically, in English, he’s not a very good 3 point shooter but shoots a lot if them (a terrible idea). He also rarely uses his athletic ability to get to the free throw line. That’s an extremely significant attribute to be missing. If you draw a lot of fouls you can get 3 points on some easy shots or 2 free throws if you miss (getting 2 free throws is better than most shots because the probability of hitting them is higher than for the average shot – at least for a good free throw shooter). So lacking this is a major downside in his game. All his other stats are about average at best (rebounds, blocks, steals, assists etc…) for a SF.
2. All the above is true, but some of his flaws will be very easy to correct because they are mental. He also has the athleticism and work ethic to correct much of the remainder. Last year was basically his rookie year and he finished the year playing at a higher level than he did when he started (rebounding and various shooting stats were higher).
I more or less subscribe the second view.
I think you have to build age, experience, athleticism, work ethic etc.. into any evaluation of a young talent. Some people may overdo it (including some GMs on Thursday night LMAO), but to look at stats alone and/or a player in his current snapshot in time is basically leaving out a major part of the probabilities. That’s a ridiculous way of thinking about things – especially if you are stats and numbers oriented to begin with.
To me Chandler is a MORTAL LOCK to improve if he stays healthy.
It’s going to be easy to teach him how to avoid some of those bad 3 pointers he takes from time to time. It’s also going to be easy to teach him that many of the 2 pointers he takes just inside the arc are especially dumb because they are very difficult low percentage shots, but you only get 2 points for making them (a very dumb idea). So to me, he can improve his scoring efficiency enough to get to a more average level just by tweaking his shot selection.
Second, he HAS the athleticism to get to the hoop and draw fouls. He has demonstrated that ability on many nights. The key is going to be getting him to maintain that level of aggressiveness on a more consistent basis. That will be up to D’Antoni and whether or not he has the proper mental makeup. It’s not a mortal lock, but I think we can expect more.
Third, he was a better shooter last year than the year before and he was better at the end of the season than he was for much of the rest of the season. I think we can expect a little more improvement this year.
Fourth, he clearly has a strong work ethic. The coaches all say so. The players all say so. He has been twittering and saying himself that the recent surgery is going to stop him from working as hard on his game this off season as he wanted to.
Fifth, he’s an above average defender.
Sixth, he’s extremely versatile and can play anywhere from the 2 to the 4 depending on the matchups.
OK, now that I’ve given what I feel is an unbiased look at the pluses, minuses, question marks etc…. it is necessary to determine where he is now and to guess what his potential is.
To me, right now he is clearly a below average starting SF. There’s almost no doubt about that. The stats scream it and he plays in a system that tends to help statistically.
However, given his age, lack of experience, athletic gifts, and the ease with which some of his flaws can be corrected, I think it’s almost certain he can become an above average SG/SF with borderline All-Star possibilities.
So after the first 4 selections of the draft and we get to see who is left at #5, we have to ask whether any of the players available at that point can be as good/better and have the same probability of doing so. The other miscellaneous details (expiring contracts etc…) seem less significant than usual because none of the players mentioned are ever going to be part of the core and I am already sure that Walsh will handle that part correctly.
I wish we could get caron, but we can’t unfortunately. He’s too good. The only way we could maybe get him is if the 5th pick wasn’t involved, but then it’s obviously not worth it.
Honestly, If we could pull in haywood instead of thomas, I think that hughes and chandler for a 5th, james, and haywood is worth it. Haywood provides size that we could definitely use. I would then see if we could somehow shop the 8th pick w/ harrington to memphis for the 2 and cap filler. I’m not sure if they would do that but honestly, harrington in that lineup could be scary. If not, maybe OKC would want him if rubio made it to three, but then again, they do have jeff green.
Since we are just throwing stuff out there….
Larry and Will for 5th Mike james and Haywood.
then Al and 8th for Amare or Bosh…..
Or find a way to keep Wil and 8, while getting 5. Find another pick. Trade Duhon. Do whatever you have to do.
Then trade Wil, Q Rich, and Harrington for Amare and a filler..
Amare
Filler
Rubio (?)
Evans (?)
Or try and get Mike Miller and 18 for Mobley’s deal. Check if cap space is valuable to the Wolves.
Yeah see if anybody else wanna join in on the price cutting.Can’t wait until thursday. Theres a good chance after Thursday We will look like a playoff team.
Looks like it’s not going to happen!
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AkZYls_uNMFxbHDqglflfGc5nYcB?slug=aw-wasmintrade062309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns