Via SNY super sleuth Adam Zagoria
“…Nate Robinson’s agent has requested that the Knicks deal the diminutive guard and says the team has agreed to try and move him.
“Yes, I have because coach has not played him, does not plan to play him and does not want him on the team,” Aaron Goodwin wrote in an email.
“Coach told the press, ‘I would play SATAN if that could help me win,’ and when his team shot 4-for-23 in the 3rd quarter against Chicago, he didn’t even look Nate’s way.”
Asked if Knicks president Donnie Walsh had agreed to work with him on a trade, Goodwin said: “Yes, Donnie has agreed to work with me. more.”
This isn’t to say that Nate will be dealt any time soon. Several sources that I’ve spoken to who are close to the Knicks have told me that Walsh actively tried to move Nate and there was zero interest. And as we reported Portland, the logical destination seeing that Nate is from Seattle, showed no interest in bringing Robinson in.
Seeing that he didn’t receive a single offer this summer, it’s hard to believe he has much (any) trade value.
The only offer I think Nate had this summer was overseas. I think he should of took it. He would not of had to pay these ridiculus taxes in the U.S.
Everyone has negative things to say about nate. I thought it was a good idea to bench nate because tony douglas would get his minutes. The problem is Tony Douglas is NOT getting any minutes. Duhon is going to break down sooner or later. The injuries will start to come if coach DumbAntoni keeps playing this 6 man rotation.
I still believe that Nate will be a very good player. Not here in NY but some team is going to get a very good player. This is nate’s wake up call. He will learn from this experience in NY. Nate wil grow up and then you will see how good a player we could of had. Its too bad we had to have the young and dumb nate.
This is the right thing to do. Even though he has worn out his welcome here, Nate does not deserve to be buried on an NBA bench. He is far too talented. I hope that he does get traded. Perhaps there is a player of equal talent level who is also under performing / in the coach’s doghouse that the Knicks could swap out for. Perhaps this might be a change of scenery trade.
Like Augustin?? In Larry Browns Dog House
He “deserves” nothing. He made this mess by not playing the way his coach needs him to.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, he’s another worthless asset our former GM drafted that we are now stuck with (with partial credit to DW for giving signing him last summer).
“Deserves?” I presume you’ve watched nearly every Knick game this year, so I’m a bit surprised you have so much sympathy for a player who clearly does not make the Knicks a better team. Addition by subtraction. It’s one thing if he “could” make them a better team but can’t find playing time due to too much talent ahead of him, but the fact remains, Nate has all-but benched himself. The only thing Nate deserves is the bench.
I don’t feel sorry for him at all. 3 coaches and 5 years he’s had a chance to make it work.
He’s done in NY. It’ll be interesting to see what Donnie can get for him.
Amen.
He needs to be used in a multi player deal
Weren’t the Clippers interested in Sessions and Iverson during the off season?
What about something based around N8 and Camby..I know the salaries don’t match but they are two players we’ve heard about being traded.
Nate would be a nice fit in LA. Cheap version of what Baron Davis had in GS with Monta Ellis. Camby would be a nice fit in NY playing next to Lee and Gallo especially since it doesn’t appear that Hill will be getting any PT this year.
Doubt LAC make this trade until Blake Griffen comes back healthy. Camby has played so well for them (despite the record). Maybe closer to the deadline.
i wonder if his benching and the fact that Walsh has tried to deal him and no one even had any interest at all shows Nate that he needs to change if he want’s to be part of a winning team. He wants to be liked by everyone, thats why he acts the way he does, and wanting to be liked is fine, but when you take away from the credibility of the team by shooting at the wrong basket and getting all pumped up after every basket made in the 4th quarter down by 20 and playing as much defense as a Michael Jordan cardboard cutout, you deserve the benching…
To be fair, Nate has been singled out by D’Antoni. Why is he being benched? Poor shot selection? Shotty defense? Not for anything, but I can point to other players on this team with the exact same flaws.
Nate does not deserve to be labeled as a player that cannot play in the NBA. Like I said, D’Antoni does not like him as a player. That is fine. But that does not mean that Nate has no spot in this league. I hope he gets traded sooner rather than later so he can go get some minutes elsewhere.
He’s been singled out because he was, seemingly, the only player who would not conform to what his coach needed him to do. Basketball is a team game.
Good riddance to him.
If he has a spot in this league, then he’ll be traded on or after the 22nd.
To Contenders needing some scoring off the bench..To A Small Market Team Needing Some Fans..Dont Know An Exact Team Though? Id take T Will Though..
we arent getting anything for him..
the coach made sure of that by teh constant bad mouthing and public embarrassment of seven straight DNP-CDs.
This is another asset of the franchise that has been squandered by this coach
Larry Hughes got traded from Chicago. So did Al Harrington from GS. He’ll get traded, whether we get anything of value is another story.
I don’t know if they want to take the gamble but he would be a nice fit in OKL behind Harden and Westbrook. Would help to sell some tickets too.
i dont doubt he will find a new home.
The coach has burnt this bridge and the GM is now forced to make the move or risk another distraction all year.. if they still care about this year..
illogical d’antoni hate. nate robinson defined nate robinsons value. his issues are obvious, i will not repeat it ad naseum.
zero contract offers and no trade value is d’antoni’s fault?
he’s been benched in ONLY the last few weeks…how do you explain last summer…Anyone could have made a run at him. at this point you can say benching is not helping his value but whats more important…nate’s value or friggin’ winning?
how do you explain last summer
I have explained it countless times.. Nate was not out in the market soliciting deals.. He said he wanted to come back to NY and would play for the qualifier if necessary..
Nate wasnt getting more than 4 or 5 mil a year.. It’s just his value.. Any t3eam that may have been interested (playoff teams that needed a scoring off the bench) was cautious that the Knicks would surely match a salary that low and try to force a sign and trade.
If The coach dint want him on the team then why the hell didnt they just come out and cut ties with the RFA? with draw the qualifier so Nate could go out and get a deal unencumbered by teh RFA tag?
I dont hear any comments about Lee not getting any offer sheets and he and his Agent were basically going door to door looking for ANY multi year deal to get him paid.. And he got nothing too..
What’s more important this year? Trading players who dont fit in next year. The GM and the coach dont care abotu winning this year.. they have said as much countless times that this is all about 2010// this year is a throw away.. the one year players know it… the coach and GM know it.. and most fans know it..
The coach should not be worried about creating value of players who do not play the way he needs them to. He should care only about winning.
If Nate is embarrassed about being benched, then Nate needs to play the way his coach needs him to.
Screw Nate.
This is exciting, because we clearly don’t need him and he obviously isn’t a part of the future, so as of right now he is just dead weight on the bench. No matter what we get, whether it;s picks or another player or ANYTHING, it will be a positive addition.
yeah we clearly dont need a perennial contender for sixth man award, crowd favorite and offensive dynamo that can create his own shot at any time.
Toney Douglas is getting those minutes.. oh wait..
You forgot to mention: constant distraction, horrible team player, momentum killer and freak-show midget.
Good riddance.
HERI is a midget?
Why would you say we clearly don’t need him? Because we are on a mini-win streak. The kool-aid is getting stronger after each win.
Against good teams like the LA Lakers and Orlando you’ll see how much we miss Nate’s scoring. Bulls also thought they would be better off without Ben Gordon.
maybe we could trade him for a player who is a better fit. clearly his role here is done. anyone who blames robinson for our woes is foolish but we are a team with holes…if he can be used to fill one…so be it.
Potentially it is.
“Goodwin called the decision to play Bender instead of Robinson, ”pretty ridiculous” and indicative of D’Antoni’s stance toward Robinson. ”
It is one thing to represent your client and it is another to be insulted that a 7′ big was needed at that juncture of the game rather than 5’9″ Nate.
C’mon, that sounds like a High School parent wanting to know why his kid wasn’t put in regardless of the situation.
I think what he means is _’antoni is essentially playing ONE GUARD and did so in a back to back situation, but to help ease the strain and “expand” the rotation he plays a 7′ Forward.
Once again this coach has taken it to the next level in what can only be described as personal.
or described as ‘winning’
I think the Knicks didn’t handle this situation well – OK Nate will not veto any trade at this point obviously, but he was just starting to play well. His trade value was low enough, maybe Donnie Walsh will be asking for Adam Morrison.
Nate Robinson isn’t enough for DJ Augustin – he was a lottery pick and Nate is not a Larry Brown favorite. Brown is unpredictable though… I wonder how this situation will turn out.
is this the same Larry Brown that wanted him sent to the D League.. and called him a circus act.. or the same Larry Brown who begged for Stevie Franchise and then said What is this guy named Steve Francis doing on my team?
we could’ve had ariza on our team if it wasnt for brown..
he didnt call him a circus act,he called him a “HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL”
the comment was meant to be derisive, and it holds true today.
Quote; He (the coach) added that it wasn’t personal and that it had more to do with his preference rookie Toney Douglas AND HIS EMPHASIS ON DEFENSE.
What a fake this guy is. Are you kidding me!!!!!
Quote; “The only thing I don’t want to get into is, is it a personality thing,” “Like I don’t play a guy because of this. That has nothing to do with it. I’ve got to figure out what is best for the Knicks and how we function and that’s my whole goal. And the rest of this stuff, I get a little annoyed with that.”
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You don’t want to get questioned about your coaching strategies then you should have taken the Chicago job. THIS IS NEW YORK!!!!!!!!
I am in favor of this move, don’t get me wrong but this guy doesn’t know how to handle these kind of situations like Marbury last year. Who is next????
What he’s saying is that he is sitting nate because he thinks the team can come together an win with the rotation as is (without him)
And so far, He is right! That’s all he’s saying. It’s not that he doesn’t like nate as a person, he just doesn’t like him as a basketball player.
And what can i say, d’antoni is a strict coach, but it;s about time we had one.
yeah this six man rotation is really a great long term strategy to build a winning team.. When Duhon has his tongue dragging up court and cant get over the line in 8 seconds..
The coach doesnt like Nate as a PERSON. His early evaluation was that Nate was a great talent who he was excited to coach.
If he had a problem with “nate the basketball player” then he should have the same problem with the rest of this roster that makes the same mistakes on the court.
Couldnt have said it better myself…I guess thats why you said it, and I didnt.
that’s real talk..
ITS NOT THE MISTAKES HE MAKES,its the constant not listening to what the coach tells him to do,everyone makes mistakes.Nate should be totaly concentrating on basketball and the situation at hand,not worring about “saluting some moron who he plays video games with on line” or “Oh boy! I know WILL FERRELL”…Nate brought this shit on himself ,and i bet you 100.00 within 3 or 4 years will have an audition with the HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
DANPHONY is the best at being PHONY
Ill predict he goes to Orlando for a trade exception and haunts us for the next 5 years..
The coach has succeeded in destroying any value this player may have in the league. All for what is obviously a personal vendetta having nothing to do with basketball
good for Goodwin.. Im glad he came out with this statement
we could of traded marbury
if he played him i know marbury was going to have his best year as a knick last year but danni boy knew that an said phuk it kill is value an let him be bought out.
Its absurd to call this a personal vendetta. We have played much, much, much better without nate in the rotation. He is immature and doesn’t know how to play within the team, so the coach sat him. That happens; it’s a sport.
To think he has a personal vendetta is just ridiculous, presumptious, and completely unrealistic. How can you say it has nothing to do with basketball when we haven’t won a game where nate played significant minutes, and are above .500 without him.
You just want to come up with somehting to hate on about MD.
Yea, maybe he is worsening nate’s value, but he is raising lee’s, jeffries, hughes, and harringtons value SIGNIFICANTLY in the process, so it’s worth it.
there were at least two games that were losses in this 7 game stretch of DNPs that NAte COULD HAVE helped.
you can call this personal vendetta anything you like.. But people who ordinarily would side with the coach and against Nate can see it and it is real.
Nate singlehandedly won games for the Knicks last year, when Duhon started stinking it up.
There weren’t 4 other players on the court with him covering up his definciencies on defense andplaying as a unit?…last year there were posters calling him one of the “faces” of the league and a superstar….i rolled my eyes then…he was OVERVALUED…he is now appropriately valued and some people can’t handle being wrong.
He still single handedly helps the Knicks win…but he does it by sitting on the bench.
Stan Van Gundy likes defensive players,there is no way in hell that he takes Nate Robinson on his team.(he yells at dwight howard ,more than dantoni yells at nate)
Wow. Dantoni is so petulant. How many things is he gonna handle this badly?
Failing Upwards.
yep.D’antoni is a bonified prick!
nate will go to another team
an become 1 of the best
under 5’10 players eva..
2bad he won’t be on the knicks.
goodluck nate
sometimes change is better for a player an he doesn’t even know it until it happens..
Until Nate improves his defense he will never be on the level of Iverson, Bogues, Tiny Archibal and the other under 6ft players who were more than just a sideshow.
The Knicks will never get a fair deal the way D’Antoni has been handling this situation so far. I think Nate has been in the doghouse for too long from a strategic standpoint – maybe he’d have played better and automatically raised his trade value.
The Knicks are winning though, it was not a bad decision from a pure basketball standpoint. But strategically… D’Antoni didn’t put the Knicks in a good position, his attitude towards Nate was kinda gross, he went too far in my opinion.
it’s all good
danni boy is the greatest coach of all time without a ring or trip to the finals
lmao.
phil or any good coach would have this team at 500 or 2 3 game under..
it’s a poor coaching staff with no clue
an don’t bring up phoenix thats the past rite now he can’t coach for shit..
Yeah, the knicks coaching has stunk for a long time. Pat Riley would have the current team at 500.
an 1 more thing nate being traded has been in the works for almost a month
now he will be traded next week or in 2 3 weeks..
Any good coach in this league will never play Nate, unfortunately for this sport there are so few of them. This league becomes to players. That’s the reason why you wait so long before winning again in international competitions. Still you had to put together an incredible amount of fantastic players to reach the goal, almost failing to Spain. That said, i wish Nate may find a confortable situation out of Ny.
DaGawd, u might have single handedly ruined the comment section of this blog. The better the knicks play, the more you hate on them. You stick to crazy delusions and love players who don’t even care about winning… you are the symbol for the type of attitude that made past GMs fail so miserably.
Every single player in our rotation is playing much better right now, a few even better than they ever have, and we have gone 6-4 in the last 10, but yet you are on here bashing the coach and the GM for relentlessly than ever. What are you scared of?
*more* relentlessly.
should be “more relentless”
scared of what?
i call it the way i see it.
danni boy isn’t winning no ring in the nba
an don’t think other players isn’t observing whats going on to nate.
last but not least only clowns would want to play for danni boy.
i don’t like his circus style coaching.
i don’t really have a prob with donnie
next year is judgement time for him.
i want the best for the knicks but danni boy isn’t going to bring that here or anywhere
You want the best for the Knicks….hahahaha
You’re the most negative commenter on this blog, you usually only post when they lose and you’re always putting down the same people. Like some other posters you are only happy if the Knicks win if they do it with people they like.
It’s the same post over and over…..
as DaGawd -
“im DaGawd son
danni boy sucks for real son
we need to keep it real son
nate is the illest, steph is the illest, isiah is the illest (for my boy blackwood….son)
charlie murphy would be a better coach than danni boy cuz of his blackness son”
reply by Blackwood –
“Finally somebody said it. I hate how people diss Isiah and Steph. Bad attitudes?..why are people so scared of strong Black men? Layden sucked, Donnie Sucks, Dantoni sucks, Gallo sucks, Eminem Sucks, Larry Bird Sucks, Dirk Sucks, Robert Deniro Sucks, Al Pacino sucks, Andy Petite sucks, Guliani sucks, Dinkins was great, Jesus sucks (the white version not the real black version)”
reply by – BiggieSmalls
“I dont care if the team has won a significant amount of games since Nates been benched. Dantoni is a buck tooth hillbilly and Nate is an offensive dynamo, crowd favorite and 6th man of the year award type. It’s not his fault that NO other team in the league has ZERO interest in signing or trading for him. It’s not his fault his antics hurt the team, the team should realize he’s amazing and that the hillbilly lost the lockeroom. I dont care how many games they win Hillbilly lost the lockeroom.”
Disclaimer*** – i was parodying those commenters
Dont use quotes unless you are quoting verbatim
I did not say that.
Note the disclaimer – it was a parody
Also let me clarify Biggie that I think you are easily one the best posters to this blog. It’s just that this Nate benching has clearly affected you personally enough that it shows in your posts. Pre “Nate-Gate” Biggie would at least play a little devils advocate but it’s clearly affected you because you’re such a Nate fan. I was just giving you a hard time and I don’t put you in the same category as the haters on the blog.
At the same time in my opinion even if Nate’s benching isn’t the main reason they are winning why even mess with the current play by making changes?
thanks for that.. But Im not really a “Nate fan”.. Im a Knicks fan.. any player that will help us out — either on the court or through a trade — Im down with..
Ive said many man y times that I would have traded Nate last year to Sacto at the deadline.. I would move any of these players for the right deal..
My issue with this coach is predominantly the short rotation. I dont think it is sustainable .. and when the coach says he would play Satan if he would help get a win I just think it is disingenuous as he clearly has a personal issue with Nate that transcends anything on the court.
Again.. Im not loyal to the coach, GM or any of these players.. But Im not going to give the coach a pass for destroying another asset of this franchise.
I’m sorry, I just don’t think that a 5’8″ shooting guard is all that much of an assest to begin with…I think some people can get fooled with the unbelievably atheltic plays the little man makes…but his hieght and style of play simply don’t mesh…
you’re giving his trade value way too much credit, whether he plays or not we aren’t getting much back for nate
last year he could have ridded us of Jared Jeffries contract.. that is immense value..
Why do the haters always make this about Nate’s height? He has proven that he is an NBA player.. Other people have made long and illustrious careers at Nate’s height or shorter..
Nate was almost Sixth man of the year last year.. That is quite an accomplishment when you are on a 30 win team..
The details of that trade proposal were never confirmed. He is an NBA player, no question about that. But even in Nate’s prime with the knicks he was not a starter. He almost won sixth man of the year? I’ll admit he was in the running at some point, but there was no question at the end of the season that he was not worthy of sixth man of the year. Let’s face it, he couldn’t even start on the knicks last year.
Let me repeat that so it sinks in…he couldn’t even start on the knicks last year
oh and he doesn’t listen to his coach…we were not getting much back for nate…before or after this benching began
I’m also surprised that you believe that nate’s hieght is not an issue when he plays like an nba shooting guard. You don’t think that hurts his trade value? If he played like a point, it might be less of a problem.
Nate will never be a starter.. and should not be a starter.. that doesnt mean he is not valuable..
He came in 3rd in the sixth man voting.. that is a fact..
Sorry, but I still don’t believe that we were ever going to get anything great back for nate….this year
It also appears that ridding the contract of jeffries is not going to be that impossible after all
the knicks suck win or lose
what is there record?
hey buddy answer that?
this coach can’t coach that’s the problem
but then u got these fools
with no intelligence of b-ball never played ball just watched it
an think they know.
i don’t like nate but danni boy is stupid for not playing him.
the knicks suck
an the coaching is worse than the players..
aslong as danni boy is here there is no reason to be happy cuz no ring is coming this way with him as he coach..
u talking like the knicks were a 500 team or over
the knicks suck.
they suck
u got it now?
they suck
Da Gawd you just started your last post with:
“the knicks suck win or lose”
you just proved you’re not a Knick fan…why do you post here?
damm the kool aid must be like an orgasm
again your talking like the knicks are going to win it all this year
talking like they good.
lmao.
I need a translator. Does anyone speak broken up jibberish with a hint of misspellings and made up words?
i guess u don’t listen to mnm then..
lmao
ok buddy
i bet your in the countryside of n.y or a small shitty city
or not even in america
i don’t even know what mnm is….I have lived in manhattan for the last 18 years
Where are you from?
Does everyone in your neighborhood speak that way? I can just imagine walking through your neighborhood and not understanding a single word anyone is speaking. Now that would feel like being in a foreign country. But something tells me that your dialect is quite rare in your neighborhood too. You’re probably one of the few people that actually speaks that way.
Most people that live in the United States of America speak like adults. You’ll find that out as you grow up.
lmao..
speak like what?
let me guess chelsea?
u not saying anything buddy.
i’m way beyond u on alot of levels
your a square
tripped in a box an can’t think outside of it..
lmao.
come on now lil buddy get some common sense
unless u don’t have it it’s kool
can’t knock a fool with no mental tools..
I live in the Upper West Side. I still haven’t figured out were you live. Sounds like planet wanna be gansta to me lol
I bet you dont even live in new york city. You put too much effort typing your speech for it to be authentic
na i’m from hillbilly bashing blvd
seems like u a wonna be trying to be from nyc
i bet your from the south..
You sound like a typical self-hater to me. You probably won’t tell me where you live because you don’t even know the neighborhood’s in nyc. I doubt you are from new york.
lmao
I think Nate should man up and apologize to Coach. He is starting to sound like Marbury reincarnated. He is like the class clown, He should be embarrassed. So much talent going to waste.
MAN UP NATE AND PLAY!!! DONT BE A STEPH!!!
You can make random long-shot predictions about a coach who will or won’t ever get a ring, but there is no basis to that, it’s just jibber-jabber. Plenty of great coaches and great teams don’t win rings… And plenty of average coaches with great teams do win rings. There’s only one lakers or celtics every year. 29 coaches lose. And if you watched basketball you would know that a few of those suns team’s could have beat any team in the league in a 7 game series with another ounce of luck.
But D’Antoni has proven he can win a lot of games, and so far our record is better than it ever was under zeke, even without z-bo and crawford.
but the FACTS are that we are 6-3 since benching nate, and the better we do the more you hate on the decision… which means that you aren’t actually analyzing anything that is going on, you are just hating for the sake of it. Clearly, he isn’t the type of player our coach wants, and we play better without him, so we look to trade him.
sarcastic remarks like ‘dantoni is the best coach in the world, LMAO, are annoying and immature… nobody says that except for you, so that you can argue with yourself… think about it.
Can you name a coach who won a ring with teams that played as porous defense as D’ANtoni’s? Not saying it will never happen, but the percentages are against it.
you also cant prove this “addition by subtraction” theory that DNPing Nate means the team plays better.
The record without Nate could be a result of many many variables. To assign the reason for the improvement to removing Nate from the equation is circumspect. It violates basic cause and effect rules.
Actually deriving a hypothesis and correlating the reasons of performance through results and statistical analysis to a specific variable is not circumspect. It’s the basis of a persuasive argument.
It can also be persuasively argued that Al’s book club was the catalyst for the good play and not Nate’s benching. That’s why its a very good debate.
Jeff, don’t try to confuse haters with stats and rational thought
good point jeff
Time for N8 to grow up otherwise, he’ll probably be out of the league soon.
Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas, and now D’Antoni, they all got fed up with N8′s antics & lack of discipline.
Nate wont be out of the league.. Thats just Silly.. PLayers like Ron Artest still have jobs in the NBA for chrissakes..
Another coach could easily utilize him correctly and get useful court minutes out of him.
I completely discount the Zeke and Larry Brown experience. And quit frankly, after the way marbury was run out of town last year (and im no Marbury apologist) this could be called a pattern with this coach.
lol Artest is a much better player than nate on so many differnent levels. That is a terrible comparision.
Yeah, but Ron has also been a much bigger distraction…he caused the ugliest incident in league history at the Palace..he instigated more problems on court than anyone else with his faux toughness and posturing and he even had the nerve to ask for half the season off to promote his rap album (this was after Indiana sttod by him after the melee)…he’s a way bigger idiot than Nate is..so the level of idiot compared to talent is comparable with Nate
so on a knucklehead to talent ratio they are about equal…hmm ok, but i would still take artest 10 times out of 10. Most of artest’s issues were off the court, nate has on the court issues like being a huge defensive liability (let’s not even go there with artest) and not listening to his coach on the court
seriously, who would rather have on your team, with all their issues…artest or nate? maybe the ratio isn’t equal after all
Artests biggest issue was on the court!!!!…or did you forget he caused a riot in an NBA stadium?? He also admitted he drank liquor during games!!! …..As far as I know the only person showing up drunk to Knicks games is Duhon, not Nate. Ron has a better chance of sabotaging a contender than Nate does.
lol, i can’t believe you have me defending artest…i don’t even really like the guy….how did this happen lol
anyway…I dont remember duhon showing up drunk for a knick game…did that really happen or are you making that up?
If Nate would spend his energy playing defense and playing the game the way it should be he would get more minutes. He will always be an adolecent not because of his height but the way he acts. He being shorter than any other NBA player is just and excuse at this point in his career. He shouldnt use it anymore. He might just be content in his career. Maybe he thinks he cant get any better?
This Nate benching may be the best thing for his career long term. He finally has a coach who took a stand to all the little things Nate does that have kept him from realizing his potential.
The guy is scary talented and an amazing competitor during the game but he doesn’t take pre-game warm ups seriously, has failed to put the time in to become a PG (he would rather be a 5’7 SG?), refuses to consistently put pressure on the ball and get over screens, salutes his video game friends at the foul line (and yeah I know MJ closed his eyes once), shoots at the wrong basket, throws water on teamates during time outs. Drives with a suspended liscense and tweets about it. Fools around with opposing players during pre-game warm ups. The list goes on and on with this guy. He needs to grow up and mature and so I was in favor of the benching, short term loss for the team but what should be an overall long term gain. Plus I always figured there was more to the story than was being leaked to the media.
All that said, some bloggers here are under the impression that this team has enough talent to win consistently without Nate. Really? I disagree, but we’ll see. In the interim, D’Antoni needs to find a way to reduce Duhon and Lee’s minutes otherwise he would be making the same exact mistake as last year. That is my real problem with D”antoni, he does not learn from his mistakes. Whether it be Marbury, or managing the end of games (he is making the same mistakes he made with PHX in the playoffs with the Knicks now) and his refusal to emphasize defense on a consistent defense or put someone on his staff to help with defense. He thinks winning games means hitting shots.
The best thing for Nate is to get as far away from this coach as possible. And that is what will likely happen.. I tend to agree with you on this thread but have some issues — issues brought up by others not just you..
1. pregame warmups? who cares? Lebron jokes incessantly before games..players prepare in many different ways.. Nate does what he does. He gets ready fo rthe game in his own way.. On awinning team it would be looked at comparible to Nick Swisher was for the Yankees
2. failed to put int he time at PG .. He went to the Summer league in his third year to work at PG. Im not sure he is a natural ball distributing PG no matter how hard he tries.. But it is on the coach to recognize what a player can and cant do.
3. getting over screens etc .. I can make a list of every player on this team getting lazy at defense and the coach looking the other way..
4. pre free throw routine? nit is picked.. who cares?
5. shoots at the wrong basket? Hughes did the same thing recently to no fanfare.
6. throws water at tema mates? that was the Z Bo thing.. guilt on both sides.. intensity of a game sometimes gets to players.. it happens
7. twitter and whatever else.. a lot of players have done much much worse than drive with a suspended license. I just got pulled over and found that same license issue.. thats life.,
if this is the offical list then i gotta say the coach has over reacted and is wasting an asset of the franchise for really nothing but a personal agenda.
What is your point biggie? Are you saying we aren’t better without him? Because clearly, we are… How much longer to we have to play plus 500 for you to admit it was the right move.
Everybody knows that nate is not a smart player, doesn’t take it seriously, plays no defense at all, and acts like a clown. We have been trying to create a new culture, and the coach thought nate wasn’t adapting so we sat him, win 6 of our next 9 games, and you make a list of excuses for why this benching was a bad decision. Do you not like the fact that we are winning and that everyone is playing their best ball?
I don think this six or seven man rotation is a long term solution to anything.
It is simply ridiculous to not use a player who can help.
I dont think there is any relation between removing a player from the rotation and the team playing better. you simply cant make that leap of cause and effect with any certainty. The reason for each win over the past two weeks is varied.
I don think that simply removing a player who was in contention for sixth man of the year last year has long term benefits.
This whole culture thing is a red herring.. Many posters here have itemized the instances of a double standard regarding on the court break downs.
It is what it is.. At minimum the coach has squandered an asset of the franchise. And you cant associate Jeffries pick up in play with Nate being off the court..
So i think something having to do with Nate’s contract situation makes it so that we are only supposed to get about 2 million in return. I don’t know why i just remember reading that.
How does nate for sergio rodriguez sound, straight up?
he’s a true pointguard, and a good player who hasn’t gotten any real run, but its worth taking a chance because he is a RFA after this year.
That was meant to be at the bottom.
Nate’s trade value is 2.5 mil because he is a base year player.. I think he makes 4 plus another mil if the team makes the playoffs — you have to take it as all incentives are made.. not much of a difference anyway
Nate for Sergio sounds great.. Only problem is no one will give anything of value because of the coaches scorched earth strategy
This isn’t the kind of situation where someone is injured or hasn’t played in a while (curry or marbury). The league knows what nate can do, he just found his way out of the rotation, but people who want him are taking a risk on the potential they know he has. Just like if randolph is in the dog house it doesn’t mean teams won’t want him.
I don’t see this as a personal slight against nate; dantoni just like short rotations… hughes was out of it in the beginnig of the year, and now nate is.
he didnt “just make his way out of the rotation” .. The coach said he was not a winner and would not be a part of what he was developing..
That put a big FOR SALE sign on Nate.. Good luck to Donnie trying to get equal — or any — value for a player who is being dissed by the coach openly.
RAndolph’s coach has not publicly undressed him in the media.. Nelson is doing the smart thing by giving him some minutes to wheet peoples appetite and maintain the value of a player whom he clearly does not like.
oh yeah, I forgot…Don Nelson is the poster boy for how to handle a player that you want to trade. ugh
no.. i did not say “poster boy” .. that is your word.
I am mearly contrasting the treatment of two players by two coaches.. you erroneously extrapolate that to some other conclusions..
ok, i extrapolated your statement in the interest of sarcasm…maybe that wasn’t fair…but there are probably 28 other coaches in the nba that would prove your point better than Don Nelson…that’s all i meant
Taken in isolation I agree they would not seem like much, but when you take them all together they help explain why D’Antoni is so frustrated with him. I didn’t even mention the dancing with his team down or his role in the Denver brawl, or the stories Hahn used to write about Nate wearing on his teamates nerves.
Plus you can’t compare Nate with LBJ (whose pregame routine is extremely annoying for someone who has won nothing). Nate has to work harder than the players twice his size. Guys like Hughes and Harrington can make up for not getting over screens because they have the size to make up for their mistakes. Nate doesn’t .
I commend Nate for playing in the Summer League, improving his offensive game, and for being one of the few Knicks who actually shows any heart on the floor duing the past 4 years. But he needs to get his head right if he wants to become a winning player in this league.
Lebron…it’s Kevin Garnett he wants his pre game chalk ritual thingy back.
Biggie – I’d like to get rid of all the players that consistently underperform and don’t make the team better. In time we hopefully will do so.
Not sure how you know it is a personal agenda/vendetta. Nate has consistently shown that while he is talented he does not make the people around him better and his teams don’t win consistently. Perhaps on a team like the Celtics, with veterans that could keep him in line, he would add major value, but on this team, right now, he is not part of the solution.
I think that the complete lack of interest by other teams so far speaks volumes to how Nate is perceived by other people who know a lot more about basketball than blogging fans. I also find it interesting that the only player I’ve heard come to his defense is on another team.
Anybody heard anything from other Knicks about Nate’s benching?
Nothing because his own teamates were getting tired of it also.
in Hahn’s blog Lee made some sympathetic comments about Nate..
But in general players are not going to get in between what is clearly a HUGE rift between the coach and the player..
I agree, I don’t think that any of the players on the knicks had any problem with nate. He seems like a great locker room guy to me.
He just isn’t playing the right type of basketball for this team and sadly that will be his downfall in New York.
Duhon at least has made comments about certain players not taking things seriously..it was seemed to be directed at Nate…according to certain writers..jus saying
no one knows who Duhon was talking about because he didnt name names..
And Duhon was tactless for speaking like thatg to the media and not addressing it in private.. the coach even admonished him for that..
He could have been talking about Lee for all you know.
you just got pulled over?did you twitter while the cop was writing the ticket?intensity of the game?how many times in the last 10 years did you see teamates fight each other?also ,Nate is playing for his career,he should act serious during a game,its not nit-picking to get on this guy about saluting and tugging on his ear,(HES NOT THERE YET) Nates problem is that he wants to act like a star,before actually becomming one.concentrate on the game at hand,and maybe some coach will take him seriously.I think Lebron is an a-hole,but i guess he can get away with goofin around pre-game,but you cant compare him to Nate Robinson
i was texting.. does that count?
im comparing the actions of basketball players..
I respect you for calling Lebron out for the same actions and not having a double standard like most people on this blog.
You’re right there shouldn’t be a double standard…at the same time though the truth of the matter is that Lebron also plays the right way..he brings it 100% every night, plays defense, never gives up on a play, passes to open teamates, doesn’t freeze anyone out, supports the guys on his team and never shows up his coach.
If Nate at least played the right way consistently and played played consistent defense, didn’t show up his coach then D’Antoni would probably deal with the antics also.
While othe players on the team also share some of Nates issues, Nate displays the most of them at the same time, the most often. You can’t bench the whole team so bench the most egregious offender.
Plus I think this has more to do with wanting Nate to want to be traded than any personal vendetta. Nate has veto power…if the team is winning and Nate is playing then Nate will veto any trade. This is prolly a Walsh directive as much as Dantoni. I don’t think it’s a coincidence this happened 2 weeks before Nate is trade eligible.
Of course there is a double standard. When a player wins games, makes the finals and Eastern Conference finals he is afforded more slack than a player who has never had a winning record. Fair or unfair players, just like all of us working stiffs, are judged by results.
Charles Barkley has horrible work habits and was a huge distraction on and off the floor. But, he went to the finals and had playoff success so he is not remembered for his Nate like antics. If Nate’s teams start winning, people will be more prone to overlook some of his immature ways. It is why Lebron, Shaq, and to a certain extent, Allen Iverson get more slack than some other people.
double standards among fans is one thing –
.. But people in power (supervisors, coaches, bosses etc.. ) should now show such inconsistencies as it divides and causes dissention.
It’s one thing to say Nate is a distraction, then it’s another for DA to make so many excuses. How many excuses have DA made in two years? How about in two months? This is not just about Nate, it’s about DA’s poor decision making and minipulative actions. If DA didn’t want Nate the “baskeball player” why bring him back? People talk about Nate’s immaturity, but why bench him now, why not in October or last year when he was talking back to DA? Guess they played Nate to get his trade value up and then when DA found out no team wanted him, he said “the trade value experiment is done, I’ll just bench him like I wanted to do for the longest.” DA went from Nate is Nate, to I don’t like him as a basketball player. He didn’t bench him after Nate shot at the wrong basket against the Nets, he benched him after that breakout game against the Hawks. I don’t understand it. Then DA makes all these excuses about rotation and why players aren’t getting minutes. It’s just weak. I’m not saying his benching of Nate isn’t working because it looks like it is, but coaching decisions and stubborn actions is just wrong. I feel for Nate, Milicic, Landry, Douglas and Hill. Ijust feel if used these players properly, he could better efforts from the team as a whole. I always say if you could involve players off the bench in the game, you give team better chemistry and spirit. Guess whatever works his way. Just don’t mess with Bender’s momentum. I guarantee you he benches Bender for the whole game tomorrow, lol.
Coach has definitely made some mistakes, but benching Nate isn’t one of them. I love the Nate the person, but disdain Nate the immature basketball player. I’ve always hated how Nate seems unaffected by all the losing. I hope we can get a 2nd round pick for him and that he matures finally and blossoms somewhere.
I would like to see Hill get more minutes, but I’m waiting to see how things go with the trade deadline before having a hairy about it. The situation may resolve itself.
“…made some mistakes?” Sounds like a understatement in terms of DA.
I feel for Nate coz I am a fan….but he should think twice by yelling at coach in public on TV during a game. This is why he is in the doghouse. No telling what has happened in the locker room between the 2 of them. But I remember seeing b4 the win streak Mike D yelling at Nate for missing a defensive assignment and Nate yelling back at him and waving a “whatever” jester.
Tough spot for the little man…Mike D is too proud, one of his faults. But Mike D better get used to the “We want Nate” chants… Which we know pisses him off…Welcome to New York!
I thought when we drafted Nate we had a potentially very good player. But I saw he was a SG in a PG’s body. I knew he would have to get rid of the shooters mentality and learn to play basketball the right way. No he could never be a true pass first orchestrating type PG but he would be serviceable and able to run the team and score. Add energy and some scoring off the bench but he would also HAVE to learn to run a team adequately and play some defense.
In his second year he went to the summer league and tore it up. I was impressed that it seemed he was learning how to run the team and was working hard on it.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Did his ego get the best of him? He could be out of the NBA after this year. Or have to play overseas or settle for the league minimum. It’s a shame because the guy has the talent. He has shown some amazing athletic ability but just doesn’t get it. Kind of like Jerome James only 2 feet shorter. I have seen Jerome when he wanted to play and he was a solid quality center.
It’s all about how much you want it and learning what you have to do to get it. No matter how much Nate wants it, he cannot do what is necessary to get it. He could have had a 15 year career as a backup PG/SG maybe even ending up like Eddie House and getting a ring. But House is pure magic and knows it, that shot is almost automatic. Nate has so much more to offer and just let it all slip through his fingers.
He refused to learn the finer points of the game at the NBA level. He could not deal with the fact that he could not just get by on his physical ability alone.
Jerome James was never a solid quality center. Ever.
I never said he was. I said he showed he could be if he really wanted to. He had a great run in the playoffs before we signed him and I saw flashes when he wanted to really play. He just got his big contract and retired without having to play. So much for the NBA’s great idea of having guaranteed contracts.
In fact one thing that has degraded the NBA is the guaranteed contract. You have no incentive to become a much better player. You made your money and now you can get by with the minimum effort. Football is a much more competitive sport because of their contract situation, they can be cut even if the team takes a cap hit. In the NFL it’s easier to replace players, there’s always someone working his butt off trying to take your job.
Too much complacency in the NBA.
Football has its own issues with players holding out and causing distractions all throughout training camp and during the regular season. Players are worried about getting extensions two to three years before there current contract even runs out because they aren’t guarenteed. You have guys like TO forcing their way out of good teams to get better contracts. You have tragic stories like Leon Washington who gets hurt and may be done career wise and never got any significant money (compared to the other outrageous sports contracts). The owners and coaches in football treat their players like crap and the NFL union is not strong enough to do anything about it.
I hate guaranteed contracts, but football is not the ideal. Probably something in the middle. Football will probably get it right after this season when the hard cap goes away.
in the knicks 17 losses, no player on our team has had more then 7 assists. During our 9 wins, one player has had at least 8 assists, except for one game we won, where the team high in assists was 5, but we were playing the nets so we won anyway.
The PG has to get guys open looks.
Here we go again? Any way you slice it, it’s N.F.G. It’s a failure of proper communication between Walsh and -D. Why sign anybody for this?
Maybe you can package Nate in a trade to Minnesota?
Nate Gate is the story of a dunb Walsh for resigning Nate, or a dumb coach that can’t deal with Walsh’s signing.
Psychology 101, when ever something bad happens to the organization, the organization must blame itself and not the players/player. The organization can’t change the players themselves, the organization can only change itself.
Walsh and -D weren’t on the same page when Nate was resigned. Nate is young and was productive last season off the bench. Walsh and -D are again in an obvious failure of proper communication as to who should be on the team.
As fans we should pick who fu@ked up between -D and Walsh. Nate was decent last season and young enough to be decent again.
I myself see a weakness in the coach being able to work with and deal with a players weakness. It’s something that holds the coach back from greatness because he does bring many positives.
I guess this is why the coaches are always being fired. Theirs is a battle of their own weaknesses against their own strengths.
We have seen this same weakness in -D before, it is nothing new to us.
Seriously, 9 separate posts in a row? NINE? SMH.
hahahaha….whats sad is when the Knicks lose there are 150 posts in 30 minutes when they win there are only 30 posts and 28 of the are Heri….hahaha
hey HAS,YOU WANNA GO DOWN TO HERI’S,AND BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA HIM? LOL THIS BLOG IS FINISHED
look below, this guy is still going lol…what a psycho
I picture this guy like dustin hoffman’s character in Rain Man
Instead of “time to watch wapner” it’s “time to post on the knicks blog”
take your meds Heri
So who are you? The one that blames Isiah for Marbury and Curry, but blames Nate and not -D or Walsh for this?
For is not a double standard a tool of the ignorant?
Interesting game tonight. The Bobcats inside players (according to their own teamates and coach) have underperformed and showed no heart thus far this season. Will the Knicks take adavantage of the Bobcats in the paint or take 456 three pointers. Will Duhon take adavantage of a struggling Raymond Felton and DJ Augustine? Will Gallo be overwhelmed by Jackson and Wallace. Will D’Antoni be outcoached by Larry Brown.
Tonight will be a good indication if the Knicks have taken the turn to becoming a borderline 8 seed in the East or continue to be bottom feeders. If they are playoff bound, they have to beat a team like the Bobcats at home.