Where Does Lee Fit For 2010?

What a disaster. Now we can’t sign any FA next summer, what exactly was the point of all this losing and intentional salary purging?

What are you talking about?

So we can keep D.Lee and still sign a max F.A. thats not too bad at all

And Hopefully We Get rid of Jeffries And Curry then we can get 2 max F.A. i dont know what NYK orange is talking about.

What’s a better idea, keeping Lee for this year and maybe resigning him to be the second best player on team next year (the first best being the max player we sign), or getting some cheaper players and/or cap relief for him now?

If I was Donnie I would be calling Washington or Dallas or some good but not great playoff team who might give us something for Lee. Maybe you get a young payer like Javale McGee or maybe you get some cap relief. Either would be more valuable than losing him next year for nothing.

If trading Lee for young cheap talent was possible this offseason it would have been done already. But grabbing something before the deadline should be an option. I’d love to have JaVale McGee. I have a feeling he’s going to have a killer soph season.

If _avi_ is your 2nd best player, you are in the basement of the NBA.

I agree with Tommy, Hill and Douglas are insurance policies. This is making Hill look like a smarter and smarter draft pick. Big men are exponentially more expensive than guards and wings. Having a promising front court presence on a rookie contract is a valuable asset. A hole at the 1 or 2 is less expensive to fill and a 4 or 5.

One thing I disagree with is the attitude Lee and Nate knowing they are expendable. I think they want to be on a 2010 Knicks team. They’re going play like they are worth the money. I think Nate will at least. He constantly tweets about how excited he is to play for the Knicks next season. As much as the runt pisses me off sometimes, having a player that genuinely wants to be here is immensely satisfying. Especially one as talented as he is.

Speaking of renouncing rights. Memphis might renounce the rights to Juan Carlos Navarro to sign AI. Does anyone know his contract situation in Europe? Could he be an option for us?

*”than” not “and”

He was last year and we were in a playoff race for while.

I think we’re hoping Wil or Galo become our 2nd best player.

Most likely Lee and N8 will be traded at the deadline along with Jeffries and God willing Curry. if either couldve been traded this offseason i am sure Donnie would have done it.

There would have to be some serious re-tooling to be done during the season to make this work. Otherwise we sign Lebron and Lee and have a nice little roster of 8 players with no capspace left (9 if you count our 2nd round Draft pick, we don’t have a 1st rounder in 2010). Three of those 8 are Small forwards, one of them is Curry, one of them is Jeffries, with Douglas as the ONLY guard in town.

I realize that this Knicks team is far from the finished product. But even if we’re “sticking to the plan” and waiting patiently for 2010 to arrive, Lebron alone won’t make this mess work. Walsh needs to adress this guard issue via trade. That’s why I can’t see Lee finishing the season as a Knick. He and Chandler are about the only valuable trade assets that we have.

He signed a 5 year deal with Barcelona in 2008 worht about 20 million i am not sure if there is a buyout, but usually there is

i wanted to say “worth”

I misread the article. Signing Lebron and Lee would be nice, although 2 stars is what we really wanted in 2010. I just don’t see Lebron coming to a team with an 8 player roster because we are paying him half the salary cap. I really think we NEED to move JJ/Curry I know easier said than done.

Tommy: do you assume Lee and Robinson will not give full effort? I believe each player will play his heart out for a bigger contract. do you assume each player will not improve the holes in his respective game? If you do each will not be work what they will get this year much less a big payday? If we sign Chris Bosh for 2010 do we really want to keep Lee? I don’t think so. If Nate continues to improve his shot and his defense and his judgment he may be worth keeping with a pay raise. I guess I find it hard to speculate on the changes that will undoubted occur between now and 2010. Help me out!!

I feel like signing Lee and Lebron would be Great especially since in 2011 we would have enough to sign another max FA, i didnt mean to put you down with what i said

Three sign and trades trades for David Lee that would make the other teams significantly better:

David Lee (at 8 million)

for

Demar DeRozen, Patrick O’Bryant, Amir Johnson

David Lee (at 8 Million) and Eddy Curry

for

Eric Dampier, Sean Williams, Kris Humphries

David Lee (at 7.5 million) and Jared Jeffries

for

JaVale McGee, Deshawn Stevenson, Mike James, Deshawn Stevenson

I would do all three of those trades for the Knicks, and I think those moves would make all three of those teams borderline title contenders. What do you all think?

I really Think That Lee and n8 are professionals on the court and once they start playing they will give it all they have to win, i really pray we dont get Bosh i dont want him here i would rather have David Lee or Jordan Hill, Wade either he said he doesnt want to be here so Screw him.

Not saying they would play less hard, but have to see how they respond to D’antoni.

OK a few things

I cant understand how David Lee is more important than Nate in that if we sign Bosh or Amare he Comes off the bench, Just straight up Lee may be more valuable than Nate but for our team in 2010 he isn’t.

So lets say the stars align and we get Lebron and Bosh/Amare the starting line up could be:

PG – Lebron James
SG – Danilo Gallinari
SF – Wilson Chandler
PF – AL Harrington
C – Chris Bosh/ Amare

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Lebron wanted to play PG and try and average a triple double like Oscar Robertson. Back to Lee, I would much rather AL at the 4 over Lee hes a much better scorer and all around better player and his 3pt range makes him a perfect fit in the system, so then it comes down to who is better off the bench Nate or David that’s a no brainier.

In closing Nate > Lee in 2010

So true. DLee is so overrated. Time to send his butt packing.

Why would anyone take on Curry’s albatross deal even if it included Lee? There is a reason why we are trying to get rid of this guy at all costs, no team is gonna show up and take him off our hands that easy.

Your right, but hopefully some team is desperate at the deadline

Curry does have a horrible deal. But for a team that isnt trying to be players in 2010 FA market, Curry could actually been seen as good asset. A really big expiring deal.

So if you’re the Mavericks, and you trade for Lee and Curry, you get David Lee, and then the next year you can flip Curry’s huge expiring for another player at the deadline.

i dont know why everybody picks on D.Lee he played hard and he played very good for us last year. Contract issues aside he has been good for the Knicks.

I dont think hill is going to be traded unless it is for rubio or a star (not lebron type star but a support star) i think if we walsh thinks hill can take lee’s place he wont trade for a reg player instead of a cheaper lee(i think he will be better because of outside shot and he is alittle bigger and can become stronger)

I would argue Nate is the more valuable player at his price and position and what he brings to the team than Lee at his price, position and what he brings.

Lee will arguably command a deal starting at 8 plus mil ayear next year. IF Lebron comes that eats up substantial minutes int eh front court that would otherwise go to Lee. Lee’s rebounding, while stellar, is completely replaceable and not worth making him your 2nd or third highest paid player on the team.

Nate will likely get a deal starting at 4 or 5 mil a year. As a bench player providing energy and scoring he is infinitely more valuable to a playoff team. He can create his own shot, can pass and is a decent off the ball defender. At 4.5 mil and as the 2nd player off the bench I would rather have Nate on my team than Lee at 8.5 sharing minutes with Lebron in the front court.

Yeah, a trade with the Mavs seems the most logical. We take Dampier for a year, they get Curry and a young solid PF in Lee. Since Cuban has taken himself out of the 2010 sweepstakes that could be a match.

what about Nowitski?

Do you think they would trade Nowitzki?

No.. he is a max player and the face of the franchise in Dallas

The long form version of my comment is why would Dallas take Eddy C AND Lee when they have Nowitski at the 4/5.

That would commit almost (or over) 40 mil to post players (EC 11, Lee 9, Dirk 21)

So true, Hopefully in a few years Gallo can be something like Dirk

I don’t think the one year contracts mean we are automatically letting them walk. It just gives us the option, depending on what else goes on next summer. If we somehow sign LeBron and Amare, lets say, we might have room to make one more signing and maybe if nate wants to play for cheap he can be that third signing. (thinkin 5 millionish?)

Nate would be crazy in a good way behind an amazing leader like lebron and on team that will definitely be winning games.

You have to remember that if we do clear the space and get 2 huge FA’s, we still will need to fill out the roster.

I don’t want softie Bosh here period.Lee and N8 will stay because it’s going to be easy to move Curry and JJ.Curry might even get us a number one.he’s lean down 40 pounds with the weight of the world off his shoulders he’s had a rough go and should be back to form commanding a number one.Some of you are laughing now but watch Curry this year,for as much stuff that happen to him,I predict a total turnaround from him.Once we move Curry I predict we sign Lee long term with 7 per counting towards 2010.N8 we could keep depending how well he improves to adapt to DAnt system,if N8 ever gets it he’s my sleeper star along with Gallo,TWill and Darko and Curry we have alot of supprises this year.I like our future with Lebron it looks so bright I have to wear shades,to me Gallo becomes allstar this year,he has the sweetest shot here in NY since Allan.

i think this is where having a very well respected coach pays dividends.

A guy like Thomas at the helm, and I can see Lee or Nate ignoring him as the season wears on. But with Coach D… other coaches in the league will probably frown upon discontent against him and it may hurt their value.

Being a malcontent generally costs you money.

but EC is an expiring deal, and Lee would have bird rights. Cuban is not afraid to spend money.

Wouldnt a back to the basket C like EC be best suited to play next to a 4 that can hang around the arc? Like Dirk?

Rebuilding will come one day for Dallas… it may be later rather than sooner… but it’s coming. Even Cuban knows it. I don’t know if I recall Dirk saying he’d def resign with Dallas. I’d think he’s too busy sorting out getting con’d by some chick.
If he doesn’t sign, Mark Cuban is just the only one about crazy enough to do a trade for Curry. Not saying it’s def going to happen. But I could see how it could.

I’ll agree with you that it might be easier than one would think to get rid of Curry or Jeffries, but under no circumstances whatsoever is either of them – individually, together in a package, doesn’t matter – going to get us a #1 pick. There’s just no way.

Rene- I think those shades you are wearing are rose colored. No team gives up a 1 for Curry even if he gets back to 2006-07 form. Our best hope is a trade that is convenient for both teams, we get cap relief and they get a useful playre from us.

i Have to agree with you about Bosh, i would rather have Amare/ Jordan hill than him, JJ will be easy to trade during the season and a Very good point about eddy Curry, he will be determined to play well just to keep his carer alive after last seasons on and off court problems. and i would not mind keeping D.Lee at all, i think he would work well with jordan hill

Tommy, You made one critical error that threw your piece completely off. Sports reporters rarely make astute points, and only a few do research, even minimal. That Reina seemed to make an astute point should have trigger a response to look at his figures and argument more deliberately.

Our salary commitments for next year are 27,568,907 for six players (can’t assume EC and/or JJ gone until…). If we add LeBron’s max allowable $16,568,907 salary (105% of this years salary), We will come to $43,905,132 for 7 players. Assuming the guidance figure of 50M (we’ll get to that later), not only did Reina not get it right, but didn’t bother to include the 5 phantom salaries in his calculations(assuming he did any). Assuming minimum wage is 500,000 (probably a little lower but don’t bust my chops for this one) that’s an additional 2,500,000M: total = 46,405,132. 3.6M won’t buy you much.

Lee, Nate, Darko etc. would have to sign before we sign a max player under most scenarios only if we needed to keep his Bird rights to sign him –we don’t. It would be nice to sign a player before renouncing these rights, but not necessary. We can sign them even after renouncing.

Final point. NBA cap guidance of 50M, in all probability, is a worst case scenario — and should be for planning. Translated, it means we have no clue what our revenues will be, but we’re taking a wild guess that it won’t be less than 50M. The 2010 cap guidance was 62M or 64M when Donnie embarked on his 2010 plan. Of course, the economic crash/downturn took care of that. The economy is still in turbulent times, far too soon to take an educated guess as to where it, or NBA revenues, will be in 10 months. Top Economists don’t know if we hit a false flat before dropping significantly lower again or it will sky rocket as fast as it came down.

By couching his arguments with “under one of the NBA’s projections of the 2010 salary cap” Reina has said absolutely nothing of value. Under one NBA projection (64M), lebron could be had with any one cap hold included or we could sign 2 max players. We just don’t know.

Walsh signs Lee and Nate to buy some time. See if they show significant improvement or assimilate D’s system better with one more year in it — reassess their value to the team. Smart move. Now he has options no matter how the wind blows.

Yeah, I’d like to keep Nate over Lee also, not only because he is probably cheaper, but he is a greater value.

I made the point in an old post that going into a game saying I’m going to get 10-12 rebounds doesn’t always equate to playing hard. Which is the impression I get from _avi_. It’s just like a player going into a game saying I’m going to get 30 or I’m going to get 5 steals or 15 assists.

Playing hard is doing what is needed by the team at any given point in the game, saying I want to win this game tonight.

A player can disregard other facets of the game just to focus on getting boards, or gamble on defense to get steals and leaving his teammates to rotate unnecessarily to get steals, or take bad shots and break plays to pad your scoring average or pass up open shots and make bad passes leading to turnovers just to get an extra assist or two.

The most important thing is winning and doing whatever it takes to do that that is playing hard. Once Lee is known for climbing out of the 3 row after diving into the crowd to save a possession or picking himself off the ground after taking a charge or diving for a loose ball or giving a hard foul to a player trying to get an easy basket in the lane or blocking a couple shots every once in awhile, THEN I’ll consider Lee to be working hard or to be a blue collar player like a lot of delusional fans think he is.

Nate and David have been working out with teammates at Knicks facilities, at times, during this summer. They could have worked at any gym, but didn’t. Even during contract negotiations that have been less than amicable.

That is a good sign. As I said the other day, makes me think that they envision themselves as Knicks, not one year rentals.

They have never shown that they are not professional in their approach to the game, never unwilling to give effort, never remotely a problem in the locker room and never unloyal. Whatever your position on their value to the team, there is no reason to assume anything less than what they have always given:100% effort.

Why is there all this mention of Dampier? Dampier has 2 years left on his contract so we’d have 2 overpriced centers til 2011.

I don’t care what people’s opinions are. It’s evident that Lee is a hard worker who was over over matched due to the fact this isn’t the University of Florida where he’s back to playing the 5. Are there better PFs than Lee? Yes, but he’s also better than a lot. This is based on what he’s doing out there. Also, I think he can fit into the “team” concept a lot better which (I would assume) D’Antoni is attempting to truly install.

A lot of times we, as Knick fans, want to be the Lakers, instead of Mike’s Run N Gun Suns… or even the Pistons. We don’t need the best players, we need to have the best “team” if we wanna be successful.

Excellent post JR, i think D.Lee is a hardworker contrary to what others here think and he IS a Team Player, Thanks

I see zero, nada, zilch, zippo chance of luring Lebron without also having a great guard, power forward and center in place. He might come if Wade came too, but that seems impossible. Why would LBJ come to a team that has no stars or center or deep playoff potential?

DTR

What team has all of those three and the cap space for Lebron?

Hmmm… No.

1. The Raptors already have Bosh and Bargnani and they needed to add a talented swingman – DeRozan fits the bill. They’d never trade him for Lee.

2. What? You lose David Lee just to add Dampier’s contract which is bigger than Jeffries’?

3. I don’t see it happening.

Peace.

Mark Cuban is not afraid to spend money because he has plenty of it. He has it because he’s a brilliant man and a shrewd businessman. Legend has it that when he was just a young boy, he sold garbage bags to make money to buy basketball sneakers. My guess is, he no longer takes out his own garbage. No need for Eddie.

gbaked,

I’ve read your posts and usually, you make solid points. This was not your finest moment!

EC is 2.5 years removed from being a force on the offensive end. He showed up to his most important job audition without an essential piece of equipment. Is he anywhere near game shape mentally? Was he ever? For his first job interview, he showed up looking like the thing that ate MSG. His body is his most important piece of equipment. Professionalism?

No, Cuban will spend his money, but wisely. To quote Frank Zappa, rearranging punctuation and emphasis a bit, “EDDIE! ARE YOU KIDDING?”

pass the dutchie on the left hand side.

A fantasy league team, of course.

If Beasley can get his act together, Miami will come awfully close next summer.

how can you be desperate for eddy curry?

D.LEE IS WHAT HE IS A SOLID PLAYER U GUYS EXPECT LEE TO BE A SUPERSTAR OVERNITE
LEE HAS IMPROVED EVERY YEAR AN I THINK HE WILL A AN ALLSTAR SOMEDAY.

As for al harrington that guy is only a scorer and an ok 1 also.

Guys keep knocking lee when he was the knicks best player last year.

I will state this again.
ASLONG AS DUHON IS THE KNICKS STARTING P.G THEY WILL SUCK.
I HOPE t.doug gets some burn an starts I really do.

Signing duhon for 6mil was the worse move donnie has done. Signing duhon period was bad.

Every1 knocks zeke but he tried an he bought in talented players they just didn’t play well together.zeke worse signings is jerome then curry then jefferies
best trade marbury an z-bo

Donnie signed Danphony to bring excitement back to the garden that’s it DANPHONY isn’t going to win anything in nyc an if u think players want to play for danphony your wrong mayb amare that’s it.

I have started in other blogs dantoni is a rucker style coach..

JUST SIGN IVERSON ALREADY….

arrogantly twisting the sterile canvas snoot of a fully charged icing annointment utensil,he poots forth a quarter ounce green rosette near the summit of a dense but radiant muffin of his own design

you would rather have jordan hill than chris bosh? are you high? that is like 100 on the ridiculous meter

are you saying we wont have enough room to sign 1 max player?

Rene, you don’t want Mr. Softee Bosh, but the stay puff marshmallow man will bring you a #1?

If Curry would prove good enough to be the 5th man off the bench in D’s 9 man rotation, I’d be surprised. Even if we wanted to showcase him, who knows if he’ll get into the kind of basketball shape that we can show. Remember, D’s system is predicated on 7 seconds and shoot, not 7 seconds and WHERE’S EDDIE?. By the time the shot goes up, Eddie will be somewhere between realizing that the guy who jumped got the rebound 3 seconds ago, and half-court.

IF EC does lose the 40 pounds, he will still be heavier than he was the last time he was an offensive force, 2.5 years ago. I’m not laughing by the way. Eddie will always represent the Isiah reign. The quicker I put that in the rear view mirror, the sooner I can move forward and never look back.

I, too, had hope that all his loss would cause Eddie to refocus, mature and reassess/prioritise what is most important in his life. Again, does a man who comes to his biggest audition for his boss without an essential piece of equipment, seem focused to you?

Face it guys, the most likely scenario is that EC gives us cap space in 2011. If lucky, he will fetch a slightly shinier piece of trash in his expiring year. If Walsh does better, the man is Houdini reincarnate.

I would be the happiest person on this board to be proven wrong.

Sorry, Eddie already ate the Muffin Man too, Captain.

About the professional behavior I agree for Lee but not for Nate. Did you miss the “hello fellow call of duty players” free throw thing ?

nah, dampier’s last year is not guaranteed.

is there anyone on this blog that would have rather signed RAMON SESSIONS this year and instead of a MAX LEBRON JAMES, 3 very good players under the max? doesnt that make more sense?you would have a starting 5 of very good player ,then its d’anphonies job to turn them into a great team…..anybody?

Delusional fan here.

I can’t argue, at this point, whether David or Nate has more value to this team beyond this year. I love the little guy. If he ever learns to play 5 on 5 basketball, he will be a star — multiple 6th man awards. In accomplishing that, his value in the market would shoot sky high and blow up your argument, Biggie (nice problem though). He may still be worth resigning at inflated prices, but he would probably cost more than David at that point.

You have both expressed your preference for a strong defensive presence at David’s positions. Fair enough. If defense is of paramount importance, Lee’s not worth it. That’s a valid enough reason. No need to diminish David’s accomplishments to prove your point, or enhance Nate’s. I assume you would avoid Amar’e and Bosh for the same reason. I do respect your reasoning though.

Lee’s rebounds are completely replaceable? I, too, would trade David for D Howard in a second. Yet 16 rebounds is a rarity in any system.

It’s D’Antoni’s system that inflates his stats, any good rebounder could do it. Amar’e never even reached double digits and he has inches on _. Marion had nearly 12 (his best). He also had over 11 in Miami, so he’s a legit rebounder in any system. David has also been the top rebounder in many games played against leagues top rebounders. Often does it against 3 men, his teammates not being inclined to block their man out.

If Lee is the best rebounder D’s had and he’s not legit, then logic would follow that he is made for D’s system. That would make him of greater value to the Knicks than market value, no?

HaS, Bowens was a one dimensional player who went out every night with the idea of shuting down the other teams best players. Was San Antonio wrong in starting him in over 100 playoff games? Could they have won a few more championships had they only started a guy who could crack the top 200 in scoring?

Besides rebounding, David is very adept at finding the right man after rebounding, and getting the ball to him quickly. A subtle attribute, but not an insignificant one in D’s system. He doesn’t make many bad passes and rarely takes poor shots (passes up a few too many open ones though).

DLee will never be a great defender. Poor instincts for it and bad lateral movement. Not a thing you can coach. Hopefully this year, he will have better help defenders and not annoy you as much.

I cannot disagree with you more about his hard work. At 6’9″ he is battling guys like Shaq and Howard almost every night. That takes a lot out of anyone. On a weak rebounding team, he has more value putting all his focus on keeping the monsters off the glass than taking a charge. He takes that kind of punishment on every possession. His production tells you what kind of worker he is. That he doesn’t end up on the ground more, or the third row, tells you too.

Wherever David and Nate end up playing, I will be fans of theirs. They were the reason to watch the Knicks and the main reason we could even dream of a playoff birth. They would compliment LBJ beautifully and will be significant players on any winning team.

I hope it’s ours!

I agree with everything you wrote except I don’t believe that they were taken as insurance policies. They were the best available players available at 8 and 29. Let’s face it, except for the 3, we could use help at every position. For the reasons you stated, Hill would have been the right choice even if David was signed long term.

Big men not only have more value, they are harder to predict success based on potential. Love the pick though.

I think David will play hard team ball too. Donnie did a great job calling David in to expain the teams position. The kid was slammed pretty hard and took a big fall from what he was led to believe as opposed to the reality of the market. The interview with him after he and DW talked was a good one and led me to believe that David would be a Knick.

David showed maturity in accepting that the plan was right for the organization, even if it was at his expense. Donnie did a nice job of picking David up, brushing him off and rebuilding his confidence. He convinced David that his market value was not at issue. Just that his market value might not be affordable within the confines of the long term plan. At least as the cap stands now.

That’s more immaturity than unprofessionalism, though I get your point. We can all agree he’s immature.

What I meant was that he always comes to practice on time (and approaches it with the right attitude), doesn’t cause distractions, comes to camp in good shape, doesn’t forget his sneakers, always seems to want to improve, even if it isn’t always obvious to us. Good, supportive teammate too.

His lack of maturity holds him back from being the player we have all caught glimpses of. The shame is, he may never grow up. Don’t give up hope though.

How is a trade (Marbury) a good one if it still haunts our team six years later. That 2010 Draft pick that we still owe the Jazz could be John Wall or Willie Warren for all we know. In 2004 we already missed out on players like Josh Smith or Jameer Nelson. And for what? A couple of 30 win seasons?

In the same mould: Curry was not only a godawful signing, he was a godawful S+T that eventually cost us a 2nd overall(!) pick which could have been Lamarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay.

This Knicks Team could have been in absolute brilliant shape and loaded with young talent if it weren’t for those crappy deals. Instead our hopes for the future lie on the bad back of Gallo and the average shoulders of Wilson Chandler.
If you are a bad team, built through the draft!

I also would be more worried about Harrington or Hughes. How will they react if they don’t see as much minutes and touches as they envisioned? Having 2/3 of your team in a contract year may also have its downside.

Agree about David being a hard worker, team player and good fit for D’Antoni’s system.

J-Knick, are you sure about Dampier’s contract. I was under the impression that at least a good chunk of that money was guaranteed.

That’s a huge IF. Wade is already tiring of his act.

And the great center? If LBJ comes aboard and the salary cap hovers near 50M, they’re left with 5 minimum wage players and the MLE.

Not that close really. Perhaps LeBron will settle for just Wade to partner with.

Hope not.

I’m not that well informed about the Heat’s salary cap situation other than that they want to be players for a max free agent. So you’re probably right. Then again every team that’s going to pursue Lebron has to deal with its own ifs.

Will the Knicks be able to shed some more salary in order to establish a better supporting cast?
Will Gallos back be healthy enough for him to make a big impression?
How is our PG situation going to turn out?
What’s going on with the Jets and Brooklyn?
Will the Cavs be able to bring in some young talent to show Lebron that there’s actually a future for that roster?

It pretty much depends on what Lebron wants, and I’m not too sure he himself has figured that out by now.

Does he want to play with Wade… Miami.
Does he want the big City and the Spotlight… New York.
Does he want to win now… Cleveland.
Does he want a well rounded pool of bright young talent… maybe New Jersey.

BiggieL,

You had me with you until “I will state this again”. It kept spiraling down from there. Not sure about David being an all star (but maybe). However, in Isiah’s warped world of talent acquisitions, David’s king of the Hill (no pun intended).

The reason everyone knocks Zeke is because he was the worst gm in recent memory. That’s nearly unanimous. You and his mom are the last holdouts (and his mom is wavering).

BTW — evaluating whether the talent you acquire will gel is an important responsibility of being a gm. You don’t just say this guys good, and this one’s good, and this one too. Now let’s see if we can fit them all in the paint at the same time.

Please (3x),

You didn’t even have to list all the players we didn’t get because of the draft giveaways. Most of those choices are hindsight and Isiah would have been drafting any way… and he had no foresight.

The best reason for not dealing for Curry and Marbury is the obvious. We would never have had to see Marbury and Curry don our blue and orange uniforms.

Harrington and Hughes are savvy veterans who have already seen big contracts and like their current lifestyles (I imagine). They know that selfish play and disruptive behavior is rarely rewarded and that teamwork is, even if it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. gms do plenty of homework before signing players.

If their minutes are predicated on solid play and teamwork, there is very little downside.

Well I think I read several times including on this blog that he needed to log 2100 minutes in 2009-2010 to get his final year’s guaranteed.

Miami has a few million less than us in cap room and fewer players under it. If Wade decided to leave, they have nothing to build around. Plenty of cap room though. (good luck with that). Beasley has unquestionable talent, but that’s not the problem. He’s a bigger if than Gallo’s back, and that will always concern me.

The biggest IF is still the economy and will dictate everything. Not a great time to be a gm. There’s no reason to believe that there will be any reliable cap guidance until after the season. The plan to clear cap space, bid on an unprecidented talent pool, and build around 2010, was a good one. Not just for Donnie, but all rebuiding teams. Now 2011 seems like the earliest likely timeframe. Not a good time to be rebuilding or a small market team or from the midwest (hardest hit). Way too much uncertainty to predict anything.

LeBron and his advisors are too shrewd to not wait until the story unfolds before making a decision. Don’t lock into anything, so no reason to try to figure it out.

I don’t believe that LBJ is looking to just win it now. He’s looking for many championships. He’s chasing Jordan’s legacy, and maybe Kobe’s too. One ring won’t cut it.

Don’t count on Brooklyn!

Here’s one more IF for you. IF the NBA economy remains bad, and many of the teams that had planned to bid on max fas can no longer do so, and those that can can’t afford complimentary players, will the opt out free agents opt out or try the market in 2011?

thanks for that info.

Curry’s deal expires at the end of the 2010-2011 season, so if he were traded at the deadline, that would only leave a couple of months plus one season remaining.

Tommy,

If you recall the Gary Grant/Willie Anderson Knicks before the Houston/Childs summer, the entire team (almost) was on expiring deals, and overperformed, because they wanted their next contracts.

Same with the Magic in Doc Rivers’ first year. A bunch of no names who went .500.

That was an excellent and very well thought out post, DW. I agree on almost all counts.

Listen, I like _avi_ Lee, really I do, what I don’t like is people giving him a pass (fans and media) all the time. Charles Oakley was shorter and less athletic than Lee is and he was the best help defender the Knicks had while he was here. Anthony Mason was even shorter than Oak and he was one of the better defenders the Knicks ever had. At theire sizes they often guarded the other teams’ centers. Not too mention tag teaming against oe of the greatest, most offensively creative and fundamentally sound pivots to ever play the game, Hakeem Olajuwon, and held their own. Stop making excuses for _avi_, with his athleticism he should average at least HALF a block a game. Defense is all about effort. He’s the same height as Karl Malone, who also was a more than decent defender, he wasn’t athletic enough to block shots but he stripped the ball down low, took charges and got steals.

You’re right about Amar’e, but not because he can’t be, he just doesn’t make the effort to be. He is the most talented player, _’antoni has ever coached and he could have lead that team if not the league in rebounding while he Mikey was there. Whether he wasn’t demanding enough as a coach or didn’t push Stoudemire hard enough is up for debate. If he came to play here I’d like a different coach at the helm, unless _’antoni hires a defensive coordinator.

Bowen’s contributions often don’t show up in the box score, but to dismiss him as a one-dimensional player? One could argue that he was the 2nd most important player on that team during those championship runs. Here’s a guy who goes out and guards the other team’s best player every night. From Nowitzki to Kobe to Nash. That is invaluable, especially when you have a guy in Duncan who is virtually unstoppable. I understand the point you are trying to make, but I said when a player goes out trying to pad numbers, blocks, steals etc. it can be bad for a team. For instance, Iverson has been among the leaders in steals throughout his career, but it’s widely known he often gambles on defense and puts his teammates in precarious positions because of it. His best years were when he had big men behind him to erase his mistakes, Tyrone Hill, Theo Ratliff etc.

When you have a player who is only concerned with rebounding it can be just like having a player who is only concerned with scoring and just as selfish. Allowing the opposing team to shoot in order to get the rebound. Ignoring your rotations to be in a better position for the rebound. As for boxing out, watch Lee play, he doesn’t box out often. He uses his athleticism to rebound, boxing out doesn’t always lead to that person getting the board, it allows a teammate to get the rebound. Therefore “production” isn’t always an accurate barometer of hard work/effort.

If you are ever going to have a one-dimensional player let it be a defensive stalwart who can guard multiple positions.

I really hope we don’t get Amare, unless it was on some kind of fire sale price. Doesn’t play defense nor defend the paint (and unlike DLee, there is no physical reason why he is not a good shot blocker), his game is dependent on explosiveness and he has already had microfracture surgery on one knee, so I wouldn’t count on the explosiveness lasting much longer. Little or no finesse game offensively and not even an adequate passer. Poor rebounder for his size and explosiveness. You guys knock DLee all the time for his defense and lack of offensive game (not necessarily you, Jeff), but Amare is not as good of a rebounder, is not a better defender (though he should be) and is nowhere near as good an outlet passer or passer in a set as Lee. Through in the knee and his detached retina issue, which is serious and will not go away, and he is one play or accident away from being a shell of his former self or never able to play again. I say pass.

Well whether or not they were the best players available remains to be seen, doesn’t it? I didn’t mean to imply that insurance was the only reason to take them, they are talented and promising players who filled holes in our lineup.

Well the first response is a decent point (although I don’t see it as impossible) , the second a stupid point, the third is not a point.

The last year of Eric Dampier’s contract is not guaranteed. So you would be wiping off 10 million dollars of Eddy Curry’s contract . I hate to break it to you, but the question isn’t wether the Knicks would do that deal, it’s wether the Mavs would.

Fore the Washington idea, tell me who doesn’t do that deal. If it’s anyone it’s Washington.

But a top 7 of : Arenas, Foye, Mike Miller, Caron Butler, Antwan Jamison, David Lee and Brenden Haywood looks awfully dangerous and versatile to me. If Arenas is the 06′/07′ Arenas, that’s a championship contender.

If Cuban is such a shrewd business man, how about he tries to put together a team that actually has a chance at a championship?

Dallas top 6:

Kidd, Terry, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion, Dirk, David Lee.

That’s a good team. The current one has no chance at making it past the second round of the playoffs. He has to know that.

Or the clippers….. Good thing their coach is a dunce.

Man, that’s some fine writing/reporting. It would be funny if that was actually Donnie Walsh. I know he has the free time these days.

S&T Nate & Jeffries for Camby & Telfair

Problem solved. Renounce Camby’s Right’s after the season and have enough to keep Lee and get another player.