Marc Berman Chats With Al Harrington

Big fan of Al but he can not be your starting pf if eddy curry is your starting center. he is not a good enough rebounder to make up for eddy curry’s lack of rebounds. however, offensively they compliment each other nicely. we need David Lee or we will be very sorry.

You never cease to amaze me with your hot air articles and unfounded beliefs. How can you say he was our best player? Why, because he scored a lot of points? He produced ONE win for us last season. Check out thewagesofwins.com and look at their formula, which shows how meaningless Harrington is for our team. He is a player that needs to take over 1,200 shots for the season to be “productive,” which is at least 100 more than the next guy on our team. He takes a lot of forced/bad shots, gets 1 assist a game, and while standing at 6-9/6-10 only 6 rebounds and less than half a bock a game. If he ends up being our starting PF next year, no FA will want to join our team. How can you honestly say he was our “best” player last year with a straight face. Have you heard of David Lee, who produced about 15 wins for us last season, the most by anyone on our team by at least 10 wins. Unless this is a really early April Fools post, I think you need to do more research before you make any other posts. Also, your article on RFA, WOW. I guess Tommy didn’t have time to review that one. And your thoughts against adding a veteran point guard, we need one to better develop and market Danillo and Wilson to entice FA’s to come here next year. Ever heard of planning for the future in an intelligent way?

Well, at least you are consistent.

ny post is reporting that Walsh is going to meet with Jamaal Tinsley next week. Ugh

David Lee was our best player? Why did he have a bigger impact than Harrington in the win/loss column your opinion?

I know that he’s great rebounder and a good finisher but he’s not much of a factor offensively, he cannot create his own shot (stats prove it – his “assisted” points percentage is extremely high) and he’s not a 4th quarter player neither. He’s not even a better defender than Harrington.

And this whole “Harrington needs to take over 1,200 shots for the season to be productive” argument is ridiculous. You’re totally wrong, he averaged 20.1 points on 44,6% shooting which is not bad for a leading scorer. That’s a better FG% than Joe Johnson, Dwyane Wade and, Carmelo Anthony for example. But he has to become a better passer.

Are you really comparing Al Harrington to Wade, Melo and JJ? Well then Nene, Okafor, Brooke Lopez, Haslem, Thad Young, Calderon and others are better than Wade, Melo and JJ too. Never thought about basing a player’s abilities on one category. Great idea, thanks for the tip.

_avi_ Lee isn’t a good fit either, Curry needs to be paired with a good defender and rebounder with a jumpshot.

Chris didn’t write the article…. Why the anger?

No way _avi_ Lee was responsible for 15 wins last year. Essentially half the Knicks wins last year. I don’t care what “formula” they used, I watched the games, and he missed crucial free throws in several games. How many was he responsible for losing? Al Harrington’s ideal position is SF, he can guard some 4′s but he isn’t a good enough rebounder to play significant minutes at that spot IMO. When your team is as bad as the Knicks were last year, it doesn’t matter who the “best” player was, who cares?

As far a signing a veteran point guard to “market” other players on the team, I’m assuming by making them look better. Do you really think other players are really that stupid? Players know when 1 player is responsible for a teams/teammates success, and if that player isn’t going to be around long term (Jason Kidd won’t be playing at a high level much longer and to a lesser extent the same goes for Andre Miller) it isn’t much of a selling point.

Danilo Galinari and Wilson Chandler need to show promise on their own and if they are to be solid pieces it will show regardless who they are playing with. Especially Chandler, if he is to prove he can play the 2, he needs to show the ability to create his own shot.

Can’t you understand what my point is????

I did not compare Harrington to Wade, Melo and Johnson (OBVIOUSLY), but you said that “He is a player that needs to take over 1,200 shots for the season to be productive” which is a miconception because he averaged 20 points per game with a good FG%. I did compare him to Wade and Melo and I never said that FG% defines the quality of a player..

Harrington would be a great 3rd or 4th guy, he’s perfect in the Lamar Odom type role. Now if we can only bring aboard a Kobe Bryant and Paul Gasol type, Harrington’s role is set….

they call him jordan hill

what’s up with people on this board thinking Curry is gonna start at Center? you are delusional man.

ok.

a) al harrington shot 44.6% with the Knicks. His percentage for the season was a shade uner 44%.
b) I don’t know where you got that he shot a better percentage than Wade or Melo. Melo shot 44.3 % and took 5 less shots for the year. And that’s a superstar we’re talking about. Wade shot 49.1% from the field. Joe Johnson basically shot the same percentage but contributed 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Harrington, at the power forward spot, did nothing but shoot. 6 rebounds and 1.4 assists..

“I did NOT compare” – forgot to add “NOT”

Harrington is obviously not a perfect player and I criticized him for many reasons.

But he did have a better FG% than Melo : 44.6% is better than 44.3%.

And I was wrong about Wade because I saw his playoffs averages – my bad. I’m sorry for that.

But of course Melo is a better player, as a matter of fact he’s a top 5 player in this league and I used to say that before the playoffs. My only point was, Harrington did not move the ball enough but he was really productive with his shot.

First of all it’s summer time and you guys shouldn’t be so serious about rumors and chatter. Let DW do his job and check into things and possibilities. Then he will meet back with his staff to discuss them. Also relax with DL he’s a good player but not worth what he’s asking for. You know it. If he’s frustrated, it’s his own fault. He said that he’s done everything the team has asked him to do and that he’s worked hard. That’s all true but he still plays no defense and his team was bad last year. Alot of knicks fans are acting like desperate women!!. No one knows who the starting lineup will look like. Not even DW and Mike Dee!!!

oh come on guys … harrington is a goner next year …
he will always be a big scorer on a bad team

Manners,

First of all, it’s a Knicks website near the end of July, the middle of the off-season and trades and signings are happening everyday that are shaping teams futures.

“Don’t be so serious about rumors and chatter?” Fantastically stupid

If you read this site and what a ton of commentors consistently say is that DL is NOT worth his money. So not sure wtf you are reading.

Plus, it’s Bartlestein’s fault D.Lee isn’t signed long-term with the Knicks. Again, part of the “rumors and chatter” we shouldn’t listen to.

His team was bad partly because he didn’t play defense. He had a big role on this team and he was the reason so many big guys increased their FG% due to his shitty weak side help.

Finally, the reason we are clamoring is that DW does NOT know what the team will be next year. Exactly the point. WTF is he doing? Are we going young? old? short contracts? Who are our targets? No one seems to know what the hell is going on. Look at the list of PG’s that were of interest since the beginning of the year (please correct me if I am missing guys)

-Rudy Fernandez
-Steve Nash
-Ramon Sessions
-Pablo Giovany
-Ricky Rubio
-Jason Kidd
-Jordan Farmar
-Steve Blake
-Earl Watson

Shareef Abdur Rahim

Perhaps but he was a great third option for the Pacers. 13.3 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game (and the intangible ability to create his own shot) in 2003-2004 when the Pacers had the best regular season record of the Eastern Conference (61-21).

LeBron James would love to have that in Cleveland.

As good as J Hill will be and I think the skys the limit in regard to his potential he is NOT nearly as good as DLee right now. Coach even said so. Also the key to sucess is depth which is what has doomed my metsies this yr. Having DLee on this roster will only benefit J Hill and in case of injury we atleast know that we will have good depth at the pf, c, and sf positions. IMO it is rediculous to think that Hill and Douglas are going to replace Nate and DLee or even put up close to the numbers they put up. J Hill isnt going to lead the league in double doubles and ghostface isnt gonna come in and bring energy and heart off the bench and be unguardble like Kyrptonate…. keep Dlee and keep Nate, two guys who get practically no love for this site yet gave their heart and souls to this organization. sorry i have the worst grammar.

who the hell is starting at center???? if you want to trade curry you have to showcase him and if he is in as good of shape he is 3 yrs ago he will be one of the best offensive centers in the game….. remember when he manhandled d howard. curry will have a huge yr. no pun intended.

[...] off to Marc Berman (and hat tips to TKB), who amid all the free agent poop-flinging, took some time to talk to a real-life Knick. Al [...]

Right now, D Lee is the starting Center again, unfortunately, and Darko will get a shot there before Curry does. It’s time to stop hangin on to what Eddy did 3 years ago and ignore everything else he’s done.

Three years ago, the offense walked the ball up court and fed it to him every time, and lived with his horrid turnovers and accepted their fate as a stagnant offensive team. First of all, fat chance (no pun intended) of Eddy being as basketball ready this year as he was 3 years ago . Second, even if he was, his game is a horrible fit for D’Antoni, and unlike Isiah who had a vested interest in featuring Eddy, Mike’s not going to put up with his complete disregard for rebounding and hustle.

I can see where you’re comin from with the “we gotta feature him to trade him” point, but I don’t think Mike’s gonna do that. One, Mike is a great coach, unlike Isiah. Great coaches don’t put their integrity and credibility with the team on the line for a bum like Eddy Curry. Second, Eddy could actually hurt his stock more than help it by playing because face it, he’s a fat lazy bum that doesn’t do 9 out of the 10 things your centers should do, even when he’s on his game (which again, he probably is not).

Lebron, Bosh, Harrington….Nate, Chandler, Gallo, Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas….sounds like Championship team to me.

it’s july 09, i can dream, right?

Not sure what you meant in the last section of that comment, but if you tried to say that I am against adding a veteran PG, you are wrong.

If you think that I am stupid for thinking that we should add a veteran PG, then please elaborate.

If you mean Miller or Kidd for the full MLE, why is that so dumb? Are they not good point guards? Can they not help this team win games? Did I miss something?

As for young point guards, who do you want? Ricky Rubio? Please. Ramon Sessions? I have called for him numerous times on this site. I would love to have him. Who else? Give me a name, please. Donnie Walsh cannot go into his secret lab and create one out of thin air. Tell me the young PG that Walsh has to get and I will listen. If that young PG is better than some of the other veterans I have mentioned, then fine. But you do not get a young player just because he is young. A guy like Miller is 33 and probably has about 3-4 seasons left in him. At that point, there will be plenty of new “young” PGs that will have come into the league. Right now the Knicks are in a rebuilding mode. But keep in mind, that rebuilding process ends next summer when our entire plan for the future will unfold. That is the situation the Knicks are in right now.

As for other veteran PGs, if we cannot get depth with a young PG, then maybe you’re right, maybe we should just let Chris Duhon run around for 40 minutes a night. Maybe we should just leave him out to dry like last year.

you forgot SERGIO!

Wow, do not call Eddy Curry a bum. What that man went through last year with his personal life is proabbly more than all of us comibined. Have some sympthay for the big guy and give him another chance. you can’t say eddy can’t fit in mikes system until he gets a chance and if there is one thing thomas knows is talent and he gave a boatload to get eddy because eddy is extremely talented. Three years ago he almost made the all star team you cant deny that. i am so sick of people saying oh eddy curry was a product of getting the ball every possesion or DLee is a product of mikes system when the hell will some of you give credit to players when they deserve it. eddy curry is not a bum…. bums dont manhandle d howard.

DLee & Nate probably also gave their heart out to get a nice contract after their rookie one. it’s not just about love for the Knicks !

Come on dude, i’m not calling Eddy a bad person, he’s a very humble and likable guy. But he’s a horrible basketball player, especially at the money he makes. If you’re an athlete and you suck, fans are going to call you a bum, that’s how it is. The DLee comparison is ridiculous, and pretty much why you never heard me make that argument.

It amazes me how people can give so much credit to ONE “almost” all-star season. Check the numbers from that year if you don’t remember, but his turnover rate, and his blocks and rebound rate were the WORST in the NBA for starting centers. I’m not kidding, the WORST or near worst out of 32 starting center at absolutely critical categories for his position. This is during his career season btw. One good game against a young Dwight Howard THREE years ago….who cares? How can you still be impressed by that when you weigh that against everything else he’s accomplished (or not accomplished I should say)?

BTW, isiah may be a good judge of young talent in the draft, but he makes the worst decisions on who to bring in. Every single one of his acquisitions were terrible when you consider their contract versus their talent. Crawford, Jeffries, Jerome James, QRich, Penny Hardway, Steve Francis, Eddy Curry. Those names read like a list of the most overpaid players in the entire league but they are actually all guys that came in during Isiah’s watch. Isiah bringing in Eddy says nothing about his so called “talent.”

Are you talkin gto Mr. Alvino? I was responding to dsres, not you Chris. He’s trying to explain how _avi_ Lee was responsible for 15 wins last year, basically half the Knicks win total.

As for the point guard thing, I’d settle for Sessions. I think he’ll turn out to be a solid pro. He’s a good passer, penetrator and he’s young, so yeah I’d say he’s worth the risk. I’d even go for the 4 yr offer to try to discourage the Bucks from matching. What I meant about the older point guard thing, I meant do people think that other PLAYERS are that stupid to sign with a team to play with guys that look good playing with a guy who won’t be there to play with them or will be too old to build something with (i.e. Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and to a lesser extent Andre Miller)? Not to mention I don’t think any of those guys get the Knicks into the playoffs.

Sidebar: Brandon Jennings has the chance to become a star and if that happens, a lot of Knicks fans will be sorry. Everyone is so quick to throw the young guy under the bus, he’s NINETEEN! WTF? When I was 19 I thought I was invincible, so imagine being a talented, handsome millionaire ball player? Give the young dude a break. Comparing him to Stephon Marbury is a little premature. If he gets the right coaching, is put around the right people and basketball minds, he may turn out to be a stud.

As for your theory of plenty of “new ‘young’ point guards” coming into the league by then, doesn’t that contradict your “rebuilding process ends next summer when our entire plan for the future will unfold.” theory, if in 4 years we’ll be looking at some other team’s point guard?

There is too many hypotheticals at play hopefully things will be more clear after next year’s free agency period. I just don’t understand why people talk so optimistically about next year as if the savior is going to be signed, but no one can list beyond 2-3 players that can do turn a team around drastically. Have you checked out that 2010 free agent list? It’s not very deep.

And even If Duhon played only 20 mins a game he’s still not turning into Stockton, Magic or Mark Jackson.