Hill “Very Serious” About Knicks

by Myles A. Mills on July 6th, 2009 at 11:11 pm

To the delight of many Knick fans, we learned that Jason Kidd decided to stay in Dallas on Sunday night.  Today, Grant Hill and Donnie Walsh met up to talk about Hill, the 36 year old model citizen, donning a Knicks uniform next year.  Via Alan Hahn:

“After Hill’s meeting with Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni at the Garden at about noon, a stop at the Westchester practice facility and then dinner in the evening, the Knicks were hopeful they’re not being used as leverage again.

And Hill, who on Sunday met with Doc Rivers in Orlando about joining the Celtics, said he is “very serious” about the Knicks. “I’ve always been a fan of the Knicks and the city,” Hill told reporters during his visit at the Garden Monday. “Obviously, they’ve gone through a lot the last few years, but I’m a big fan of Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni, so I’m definitely interested. I’m just taking it all in.”

Hey, you guys know I support signing Hill, but I’m not willing to make him out to be more than he is.  He’ll be 37  when the season starts, and he’s never had a consistent 3 point shot.  But, he played in all 82 games last year for Phoenix, starting in 67 of them, and producing at a 12 ppg, 5 rpg clip.  Plus, it’s more than the stats.  The Knicks have Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, and even Al Harrington to play at SF, but Hill brings leadership and class to this organization;  He brings a certain level of professionalism.  The deal wouldn’t be long term anyway.  Hahn notes that the Nuggets and Celtics are the other teams that have shown the most interest in Hill.  Interesting tidbit from Hahn though:

“ D’Antoni envisions him as one of those coveted high-IQ point forwards who could fill the gaping hole at the two-guard spot and join fellow Duke alum Chris Duhon in the backcourt.”

If Hill is going to play shooting guard, then I like this deal that much more.  I would still take Grant Hill over Larry Hughes, and again he’s a smart, versatile player, even as he approaches 40.  And he shot at a 52% clip from the field last year.  It’s a shame that Hill’s injuries derailed his career;  He was a phenomenal player his first six years in the league.

About Myles A. Mills

Myles is a sophomore at The Browning School, an all-boys private school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He's been a Knick fan as long as he can remember, and 02-03 was the last season he could remember in entirety. He hopes to one day see the Knicks in the playoffs. Myles is also fond of the Mets, and follows them vehemently, but his the bulk of his time goes to the Knicks. Myles wants to be a radio hosts on WFAN or ESPN 1050 radio, and he hopes to write for theknicksblog.com for years to come. View all posts by Myles A. Mills →
  • Magik_Trick

    I really like Hill myself, we definitely need a better leader, and he could be a huge help to this team..

    But besides the financial, it doesn’t make sense for the same reasons it didnt make sense for Kidd, Hes near the end of his career and hasnt won a championship, yet

    Why would he turn down a potential championship opportunity in Boston, or another contending city, to join a rebuilding process, at the age of 36

    If all it took was to like our staff for someone to join the team, then I have a feeling that were going to win championships for the next 10 years, but thats not how things work..

    Fellas, I think were being used again…

  • CircleLimit4

    I’m not sure i want Hill as our shooting guard when he can’t knock down a shot beyond 18 ft. I really don’t see any advantage to signing him that outweighs our 2010 cap concerns. I feel like we’re going after him just for the sake of signing someone.

  • barnaby8787

    Yeah, i don’t see hill as a 2 guard. I think his signing makes chandler expendable in a trade as he can help gallinari along. Granted, if chandler stayed, he could help there as well…

  • Cammydog0123

    http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=mpga7h

    I thought of a trade so great donnie walsh wont think of it. The knicks want cap space. the rockets need a pg and a big center and dont want t mac. the bulls dont want hinrich cuz of derrick rose. heres a perfect 3 way team trade that works for every team and improves every team. SHOW THIS TO EVERY SO THIS CAN GET AROUND.

  • Cheech

    i completely agree tommy. i said this in one of the previous posts about hill. if he can play the two for us, then i love this move. Hes not a great 3 point shooter but he can knock it down when open. i think hes a better 3 ball shooter than hughes. And anyway, hughes is just a chucker.

    Also, Hill can do some things! He can pass and hes smart, if someone goes backdoor he can get them the ball. Signing hill would mean that Dave Lee is not the second best passer on the team anymore after duhon. I mean really wilson chandler rarely makes a smart, inventive pass. And the same goes for Al. Hughes never passes no matter what. Hill can rebound and he is smart. He can fill up the stat sheet, on top of his intangibles. If we can get him for 2 mill, thats a great move! Jerome James got 6 mill a year. Grant hill is better than jerome james on one leg!

    And maybe we can trade Al or Wilson in a rbio deal!!!

  • Myles A. Mills

    tommy?

  • Cheech

    Sorry, i meant myles. ‘I completely agree myles.”

    I think hill would be a good fit.

  • Cheech

    My bad. My bad.

  • J-Knick

    DW must have something up his sleeve. Hill is a 3, and completly out of position at the 2.

    There’s gonna be a trade on wednesday involving either Chandler or Harrington. Maybe with a Robinson or Lee S&T. Donnie said recently he had some “leeway” for giving Kidd the MLE … Curry or Jefferies might be in the works too

    I hope it’s for Rubio …

  • Cheech

    But seriously does anybody agree that his smarts and versatility and passing ability would be much appreciated at the two guard on this team?

  • barnaby8787

    That trade is TERRIBLE. First off, Dikembe is a free agent. Second off, why would the bulls want duhon back now that rose is there? Also, why would houston take on three terrible contracts when they need money next year especially that yao is a free agent? Terrible trade.

  • barnaby8787

    I dont know why nor am i getting my hopes up but I kind of think that grant’s coming in so that we can trade nate and chandler to minny for rubio and brian cardinal

  • barnaby8787

    That our D-Lee and Wilson to portland for steve blake, travis outlaw, and either bayless or rudy…?

  • Myles A. Mills

    no problem

  • Bart

    LOL

  • Bart

    For the Vet minimum why not.

  • 3dsoul

    Hill is still a good player and he is a solid, not spectacular, but solid defender. he’s put up good numbers 2 years in a row in phoenix.

    50% from the field is very good, and his free throw shooting and passing are excellent. at the bargain price, we would be lucky to get him this year.
    we need a two, badly

  • knicksbro

    Myles, aren’t you a sneaker head or am I thinking of someone else?

  • knicksbro

    Wow, that D Lee and Wilson trade would be just AWFUL for us…

    But about the Rubio trade, I agree. Donnie says he has something going on that he doesn’t talk about much…I think its either the Tmac trade or the Rubio trade because I haven’t been hearing anything about the Knicks and Rubio for a long time…it makes sense that he wouldn’t want other teams finding out about Rubio…

  • Cammydog0123

    http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=mpga7h

    I thought of a trade so great donnie walsh wont think of it. The knicks want cap space. the rockets need a pg and a big center and dont want t mac. the bulls dont want hinrich cuz of derrick rose. heres a perfect 3 way team trade that works for every team and improves every team. SHOW THIS TO EVERY SO THIS CAN GET AROUND…

  • http://nes247.com/?p=2779 Today’s Celtics Links 7/7 at New England Sports 24/7

    [...] Celtics Pistons Nation Blog   A very dark day, Sheed to sign with Boston The Knicks Blog    Hill “Very Serious” About Knicks Bucks Diary    The NBA’s 10 best outside jump shooters Boston Sports Media   Spears [...]

  • Cammydog0123

    http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=msoduc

    I LISTENED TO EVERYONE COMPLAINING, DUHON WOULDNT FIT IN CHICAGO YOU’RE RIGHT. FINE I CAME UP WITH A NEW TRADE. A 4 WAY DEAL TRADE HAVING THE KNICKS BLAZERS ROCKETS AND BULLS. THE BULLS DEAL HINRICH AND THE KNICKS GET MONEY HELP THE BLAZERS GET DAVID LEE AND THE ROCKETS GET HINRICH AND A BIG MAN IN CURRY. CHECK THIS OUT.