Stackhouse: Nate Treatment “Not Fair”

The attention given to Nate Robinson is really getting ridiculous. Management has better things to be concerned with than Nate’s minutes. Unless there are trades, next season we go to war with Douglas, Chandler, Gallinari, Jeffries and Curry (with Hill off the bench). Management has got to be concerned with getting more cap space, signing some significant upgrades and keeping Lee on board. Nate is turning out to be just another one year rental and a distraction at that. Nobody is at fault except maybe Nate. Your thoughts

Shouldn’t read to much into this guys comments. He’s an NBA has been that’s just speaking his mind.

He never stuck with any team he was on and was considered a journey man later in his career.

It’s all good Stack!!!

no finger point?

LMAO…

Seriuously though.. the thing that differentiates the great coaches(Coughlin, Riley, Keenan) is having a short memory for these things..

Making your point then moving forward on a equal footing.. and not holding a grudge or treating player differently.

Not fair can mean a lot of things.. it doesnt make any of them right.

I think it is totally Nate’s fault. He has continually frustrated D’antoni over the last year and half with his ‘antics’, and never learned a lesson. They took a risk bringing him back, especially after his run in with the police in the off season, now he has continueds to goof around so it was only a matter of time. And maybe Dantoni is holding a grudge, but at the end of the day they are winning without him.

Larry Hughes got himself minutes after early DNP-CDs, maybe Nate can learn from him.

Sour grapes.

I couldn’t care less about Jerry Stackhouse’s opinion, he couldn’t even get an offer from the Knicks, his feelings are hurt. Like I said he doesn’t know Nate Robinson’s resume anyways, I’m sure Stack wouldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt if he had to deal with his antics on a daily basis. Of course that’s pure speculation…

But there’s no reason to change things if the Knicks keep winning. Only Marc Berman is stubborn enough to ask a hundred players what they think about this situation just to make the Knicks look bad. Now THAT IS STUBBORN. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

Berman is just reporting what Chris Russo asked Stack in an interview..

Props to Berman for getting the info out there.. He didnt spin the interview and he wasnt a particpant.. Just a listener like me.

Stack played 16 years int he NBA.. He is just giving his opinion of coaches in general and a coach’s tratment of a player.. No need to hate on Stack Or Berman for that matter.

Everyone keeps ignoring the fact that we started winning when Nate got benched. Yea we beat the Nets with him but there the Nets….

Those coaches couldn’t wait to clean house…

and keenan traded gartner bc he thought he was soft.

mike gartner…nice guy 600 goals.

keenan also benched leetch and messier during a playoff game.

sometimes a coach doesn’t like a player….not a crime

Nate will be traded at some point the numbers are not that complicated as Alan Hahn and others are making it out to be.

A few possibilites :

Portland

Jerryd Bayless

and

Juwan Howard

for

Nate Robinson

Sacramento

Kenny Thomas

and

Sergio Rodriguez

for

Nate Robinson

and

Jared Jefferies

Houston

Tracy McGrady

for

Nate Robinson

and

Larry Hughes / AL Harrington

and

Darko Millic / Jared Jefferies

These are just a few trades that work, there is NO reason to buy him out and get nothing on the $4 mil investment. Nate has value as a 6th man off the bench hes a pure scorer and can put up 40pts on a given night.

so they win 7 out of ten after winning 1 of their first 10 and we are all supposed to throw rose petals and dance around like Mayans during Summer solstice?

Marc Jackson called the knicks recent run a sugar high yesterday .. becuase of the short rotation and hitting shots.. Lets just ignore that and make excuses that he has some agenda.

when we were 1-9 I said we were not as bad as the record and now that we are 7-3 in the last 10 I say we may not be as good as the record

but its x mas so lets all eat gingerbread.. drink rum and enjoy the wins.. i guess

That trade for Kenny Thomas also works without S-Rod.

I read Berman as well isola and Beck articles almost on daily basis. Well, berman’s ones are useless unless we say criticize is only demolishing things. He spent last year talking about marbury, gordon and lopez regarding the draft of danilo. this year was the draft again and then nate. He must be an unhappy person to write like this.

lol Stackhouse. Hes a bum who cares what he says.

I allways like Stack game but he’s wrong about N8,I love N8 and was pulling for him but when your down by 20 you don’t cater to the crowd you play dee.It’s sad you can’t have fun and play ball because I think is just having fun his way with the dancing and stuff but when your trying to get your team off a losing streak I can see how that would rub the coach the wrong way.I wish they can work it out because I love N8 and saw some promise with Dant motivating N8 for more steals,it sad for me to give up on him.But we are winning and Hughes is playing my game which is DEE.I can’t wait to see him back,Lee is on fire lately and I’ll Will is back hopefully,Gallo is playing defense well which is great because we have Chandler,Hughes and now Gallo all playing great DEE.

didnt you guys all know?

You can only hate on the players/coaches that BiggieSmalls says you should hate on.

guy has been benched for what… 8 games?

Serisouly now… this whole thing is out of control. Players get benched. Showboating when down big in the 4th quarter and not getting back on D, while during a MISERABLE start to the season (Nate has NOT been good this year) seems like reason enough to be benched to me.

If we stop winning… mix it up… but dont break what is working because a young player with absolutely NOTHING on his resume (other then 2 slam dunk contest wins… one of which was an absolute joke) is mad he isnt getting his minutes.

I like nate and his game but dude needed an attitude adjustment. Cant argue with the W/L… he will get another shot when he is needed. Its about the Knicks, not about Nate.

i hope nate gets traded.. then when the knicks start losing again.. i want to see who mike is gona blame.. knicks just got lucky and playing against low ranked teams.. lets see the six man team make the playoff with mike..

Agreed, Especially the Dunk contest point. I am a fan of Nate and all but Iggy should of won his dunks were amazing.

Stack is another player who has been a victim of bench rot. He’s coming to the aid of his fellow NBA player who, like him in back in his day, is having trouble reaching his potential. Nothing more, nothing less. No use reading too much into it. Stackhouse is just one opinion of many.

Nate is talented, but obviously has no future here in NY. Both D’antoni AND Nate could have handled themselves differently, but when it comes down to it, no one is really at fault. Some coaches and players are just oil and water and right now D’antoni is more valuable to this team than Nate. With little veteran leadership, this team is just not built to get the best out of him. Put him in Boston, Dallas, Phoenix or LA and maybe you have a different story.

Regardless, Nate’s absence is having little to no negative affect on the team outside the media hooplah that is “Nate-Gate.” I wish Robinson the best of luck elsewhere, I hope D’antoni does too.

Haha! You’re so clever gbaked, you made a funny!

*blank stare*

Big is right. Period.

If I read “should of” just one more time…

My stomach turns every time. I swear.

What exactly does “should of” mean?

The same as “could of”?

Or “might of”?

Damn, that gets under my skin. LOL

I think the most telling moment in this whole saga was when N8 commented to the reporters that he “wasn’t given the opportunity to play the way he likes to play,” as this clearly showed yet another selfish, unrelenting athlete confused about what’s more important – himself, or the team.

If N8 actually took 30 seconds to realize that he’s been handed the opportunity of a lifetime, and that maturity and growth dictates any professional’s success, than this wouldn’t even be an issue.

But it’s clear that N8 has the attention span of a gnat and probably about the same IQ as one. Truthfully, he picked the wrong sport, if you ask me. Only in football are you allowed to dance around like a jackass after scoring a touchdown – while still being down by 20 points.

D’antoni’s stubbornly short rotation is completely separate issue from the Nate debacle. That’s a point that should be made clear. We can easily play an 8 man rotation without Nate’s shenanigans. It’s about giving Douglas more minutes, which D’antoni did last game.

My bad you are right I forgot this was a Chris Russo story.

thats fine.. call a spade a spade.. and if its personal say it is.. and get rid of the player..

Leetch amd Mess were ont he ice for the final minutes of the Cup game.. again.. coach made his point then played his best players.. showing it wasnt personal.

Berman likes the attention though.

yes we did start winning but making the correlation is over simplification.

you people are all high if you don’t think d’antoni has once again screwed this up….he IS a control freak beyond reason; a grudge-holding a**hole, and don’t think for a second that walsh isn’t frustrated by the treatment of nate, just like he was when he was blindsided my marbury’s benching last season. regardless of whether marbury deserved it or not, he did abide my walsh’s request to show up to camp in shape and was even used in the preseason before the blatant diss in game 1, and we all know how shocked walsh was by those turn of events.

and the free agents out there who are supposedly clamoring to come play in new york are paying attention to the circus atmosphere created by this wishy-washy coach…and i use the term “coach” loosely: i’ve never seen anyone mismanage a roster like this, be it the erratic playing time given to players, the short rotation, growing younger players (lack thereof), etc. and don’t give me this “well, we’re winning” excuse. everyone knows that this season isn’t about winning. it’s not like we’re trying to build a winning culture with a bunch of rent-a-players….

d’antoni is chasing a valuable asset out of town, and walsh is too spineless to call him on it. and, really, what kind of coach are you if you can’t reel in nate’s talent and get him under control?! he’s as talented of a basketball player that we have and he wants to be here…cut his minutes to send a message, but 9 DNPs in a row?!?! that’s not a stubborn grudge?

and all of you people who tend to judge players on their resumes, please tell me what d’antoni has won…runner-up in the western conference finals?

it’s not pretty, folks.

Correct me if I am wrong but I seem to remember a player wearing #4 (at the tim last year) who was our best and most consistent offensive weapon for most of last year.

Nothing on his resume? he was third is sixth man voting on a 30 something win team.

I agree but it is definitely a factor in my opinion… amongst others.

that wasnt his quote.. not even close.. But you can not deny tht Nate has handled this episode better than anyone expected .. and better than the coach has handled it..

“Regardless, Nate’s absence is having little to no negative affect on the team”

This statement is true, anything else is simply false.

No one can say the team is winning BECAUSE he is out.

There is no denying he helped the team win more than a couple of games last year, especially after Duhon broke down. He could still help this team if he makes some changes in his approach to the game.

he was the most consistent offensive weapon for about 20 games on a team that received the 8th pick in the draft.

3rd place on 6th man of the year… ok… he has that and 2 slam dunk contests. Not the stuff of legends.

Look – I like nate as a player, but him being benched for a little while is not the end of the world.

yes… low ranked teams like the Hawks and the Suns…

They are playing good ball.

The reason you dont just trade nate is because when they do (if the do) start losing alot again you can shake things up by reinserting him.

aside from the chicago game his rotation is short but not crazy

no no no… i am just trying to get this…

hating on Coach D, Donnie Walsh and Lee is all good

Hating on Nate, and Stack is bad.

oh… and hating on berman is bad…
HA

Quite good company with you guys.

it is without a doubt a factor.

Its not just the winning… its the much better team play.

If we can’t give you the “we’re winning” excuse then don’t give us the “D’Antoni has never led a team to the Finals” argument. You can’t have it both ways.

I’m fine with the benching, but D’Antoni should have said “OK you won’t play until Christmas – if you act like a professional you’ll get your minutes back against Miami if not you’ll never wear that jersey again”. But the problem is deeper than that, Mike D’Antoni just hates Nate Robinson. What a waste of talent.

right. that quote about how nate is a horrible player and has no place in the NBA was way out of line…

oh wait…

The quote was:

“… I just feel I haven’t gotten that privilege to play the way I’d like to play.”

This exact quote was written in every single paper in the area. I said “opportunity” while he said “priviledge.” Not too different, really. But I forgot, you’re Biggie Smalls – I bet you were there for the media gathering. *rolls eyes*

And for the record, I think D’Antoni is handling it just fine. Honestly, if he seems a little snippy, it’s because he’s probably wondering – like most intelligent people would – why people don’t realize that this benching of Nate is LOOONG overdue.

my guess is the potental FA are noticing that the knicks are winning and playing some good ball. The same knicks that everyone thought had no chance of ever winning a game.

They are noticing the good words that have been said about Coach D by everyone, for most of his career.

Walsh is too spineless to call out his coach? Over the player he gave a gift of a contract to with no major accomplishments and is generally seen of as having a bad attitude?

Seriously? Really? This is what you type?

yes… chandler, Ghostface and Gallo have really regressed as players under Coach D.

How do you think he should reel in nates talents? One way would be to bench him for a little while… seems like an idea. What would you do?

Mike D accomplishments:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_D%27Antoni

yes, it is mostly in europe… but it is still impressive nonetheless.

Why don’t you learn to read? Then tackle reading comprehension shortly thereafter.

Biggie simply said there is “No need to hate on Stack Or Berman for that matter.”

Berman is simply quoting a player who was asked a question from a completely different person, not himself (Chris Russo).

Yes, get quiet now…

smh

It doesn’t have a to be a ‘grudge’ just because a player isn’t playing. Stop turning everything into a soap opera. D’Antoni can do whatever he wants, as long as he’s making our team play play good basketball. He is charged with turning the biggest joke of a franchise/team (ever) into a serious team worthy of respect, and i don’t care if he puts a dunce cap on Nate during every game he sits… He’s not going to be here any more so why waist any time with him Why sit here and lament about the ‘treatment’ of a player who EVERYONE knows is GONE, (for those of you who think deciding who to play says something about how players are ‘treated.’) … Who cares if the coach looks “stubborn.” His job is to win an he’s doing it right now. Who cares if JERRY STAKCHOUSE thinks he is a ‘control freak’ (awfully strong words for a player who has nothing to do with our team, no?) Who cares if people on blogs think he is some sort of evil monster with vengeful vendettas… Clearly he has been trying to get nate to cooperate for 2 years and he has yet to do so. What’s to complain about here? And clearly he runs a tight ship and is trying to change the culture of our team, and i think it’s working.

If we continue playing well and make the playoffs, i wonder what these guys will come up with to discredit the coach;

What are the stats? 0-9 when nate plays more than 20 minutes. 6-3 and he doesn’t play at all…
3 consecutive coaches who have had to bench him?
4 years of losing and not caring.

If you can’t admit that you know Nate has had a negetive impact on this team, and that everyone in new york has been tired of his antics and lack of team play for a few years now, than you are lying yourself. Get over it, and stop looking for things to complain about just because you have pessimism signed into your brain as a result of the last decade of awfulness.

IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT!!!!
We are winning you people are acting like we are losing and in need of scoring and Nate’s just sitting on the bench.

Yea everyone in our rotation has improved thier values and their over-all level of play significantly,… and so has the team as a hole.

but the one 5-10 clown who the coach finally gives up on and moves to the bench (and producing the best month of knicks BBALL in YEARS), is a huge disaster and proves that the coach is a moron.

Yes Al Harrington’s team play has great ever since and so are all those assists Toney Douglas has been racking up in the last 10 games.

Knock yourself out, drawing that conclusion. Its exactly what _’antoni wants you all to do. Especially by benching Nate when the schedule became more favorable to the team. He’ll probably insert him when they start facing tougher teams in the hopes of blaming some losses on Nate’s presence back in the lineup.

Yeah, I can be a conspiracy theorist in concluding the contrast.

Even in Nate’s All-star-esque February and March last year, we went 8-21. And 2 of those wins (Hornets and Hawks), Nate was a non-factor. In fact, he didn’t even play in our win against the Hawks. D’antoni has already given Nate free reign and it got us nowhere.

GMs aren’t stupid, they know that just because a player can score does not mean they have an impressive resume, especially if character issues come with it.

D’antoni has made his mistakes but don’t sit there and act like Nate is a savior in waiting for this team.

To …”…privilege to play the way I’d like to play.” Could be and I would argue should be interpreted to mean he would like to be PLAYING. Period.

I think you guys are just trying to paint Nate into a corner. He hasn’t said anything in the media that has given the impression of him being an overly selfish player.

Where were all of you guys picking apart Lee’s statements about going where the money is, in spite of the team’s intention of preserving cap space in order to become a better team next year by delving into the free agent market?

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

“yes, it is mostly in europe… but it is still impressive nonetheless.”

The Knicks play in the NBA.

to be clear..

you can make whatever points you want about any PLAYER.. you can debate Nate’s worth until your fingers bleed.. Make a good point and we can have a reasoned discussion.

But to start slamming Berman for something he REPORTED WORD FOR WORD is ridiculous..

And to say Screw Stack.. he never won anything.. when he was in the league 16 years and expressed an opinion as a long time NBA player is just missing the point..

Sugar coat it all you want HAS…

The team right now is better without Nate in the line up.

The #’s don’t lie and when I say #’s…I mean the win loss record.

6-3 without him playing 1 minute and 7-3 if you include that game where he played 10 garbage minutes.

Both are at fault, I don’t buy in to that we are better with out him.

I have no doubt that we can achieve the same record with him as well.

Management/D’Antoni are the ones bringing this unwanted attention to the team.

If there is a trade in the works than let’em know, and he’s tired of getting questions about N8?

Way to go Stackhouse and all others, both have been childish and yes knicks management as well as the coach can handle this situation a whole lot better.

If we’re going to change the culture of the team than do it the right way. The coach’s comments day to day make it no better.

I think it’s been pretty obvious since last year that nate has not been playing the way D’antoni wants him. Nate simply isn’t talented enough to get away with that. He’s not as good as Iverson was when he was in his prime and could carry the whole team on his shoulders to the finals. I actually like that we have a coach with a vision and he doesn’t allow a player who is slightly above average (at best) get in the way.

Bottom line is that D’antoni is nate’s boss and when someone doesn’t listen to their boss they usually get suspended or fired. It’s as simple as that.

I’m not against the benching, that is the coach’s decision and he has to live it whether it is success or failure. I just hope walsh moves nate quickly so he can play again. From an entertainment standpoint he is good for basketball and should be playing somewhere. .

say what u want about his Marbury infatuation but the dude works hard..

he’s broke some stories while Isola is getitng his hair did for another TV appearance..

“No one can say the team is winning BECAUSE he is out.”

I never said that. In fact I’ve defended that exact point many times.

“There is no denying he helped the team win more than a couple of games last year, especially after Duhon broke down.”

He’s also helped this team lose more than a couple of games.

“He could still help this team if he makes some changes in his approach to the game.”

That “if” has been in the works for over a year with absolutely no change. D’antoni let Nate do his think all Feb and March of last year with less than encouraging results. Nate filled up a stat sheet but couldn’t lead us to many wins, save the “Will Farrel” win over the Granger-less Pacers. Nate is coming up on 26 and the same problems with immaturity and over the top ball dominance that plagued him 2 years ago.

I do think Nate has the ability to help us, but not to the point that will make both him and D’antoni happy. Again it’s oil and water, NY is just not built for Nate Robinson right now. I’d rather Nate try to find his identity elsewhere and give his minutes to Douglas.

I think it’s been pretty obvious since last year that nate has not been playing the way D’antoni wants him. Nate simply isn’t talented enough to get away with that. He’s not as good as Iverson was when he was in his prime and could carry the whole team on his shoulders to the finals. I actually like that we have a coach with a vision and he doesn’t allow a player who is slightly above average (at best) get in the way.

Bottom line is that D’antoni is nate’s boss and when someone doesn’t listen to their boss they usually get suspended or fired. It’s as simple as that.

I’m not against the benching, that is the coach’s decision and he has to live it whether it is success or failure. I just hope walsh moves nate quickly so he can play again. From an entertainment standpoint he is good for basketball and should be playing somewhere.

you made that change.. which is a big difference..

He also said something right after that (that can arguably be transcribed with a comma) that made me think it was a great quote when it happened — and I saw it on the LIVE post game show.. I didnt read it out of context for the first time in a paper..

I think it was something like

I just feel I haven’t gotten that privilege to play the way I’d like to play, hard team ball.

correct me if I am wrong.. But the quote int he paper was fragment.

so tell the truth.. treat everyone the same.. and it you dont want someone on the team move him.

Somebody put something in this guys mouth to shut him up please.

You of all people should know you just can’t move him Biggie.

Let him sit on the bench.

Dantoni demands respect and guess what? He’s getting it !!!

In Donnie we Trust!!

No one is calling it “the end of the world”.

There are 2 issues most people could have with Nate’s “benching”.

1) If it is based strictly on basketball it is a double standard. He is simply singling out Nate and making an example out of him. Everyone on this team has blown defensive assignments etc.

2) If it is being used as a motivating tool/to teach a lesson, the time to lift the moratorium was after he had been benched for several games and playing the 1st game of a back to back with an injury in your back court. He could have given him 5-10 mins in good faith, allowing him to show he had renewed his focus. If he failed to do that _’antoni would be free to banish him again.

Instead it seems like he is going to throw the baby out with the bath water and in the process effectively devalue the player and force Walsh to possibly eat another contract 2 years in a row, when he had never done it in his career.

Any objective person knows that Berman and the Post would seek out ANY angle to turn a spark into a forest fire. He must have been so happy to have been listening to the radio at that moment so he could run back to his blog and let everyone know Jerry Stackhouse’s opinion.

If he had to he’d go to every player he could talk to and ask their opinion on D’Antoni, ignore all the positive ones (of which most are) and publish the negative ones.

You don’t think the Post is just out to stir up controversy? What other paper sent reporters to Nate Robinson’s house to perpetuate the suspended license story long after it was a dead issue and Nate apologized for it?

Answer: None.

You quiet now?

Dude, I was agreeing with you lol.

“That “if” has been in the works for over a year with absolutely no change”

I hear what you’re saying, but he has never been benched in the way he has been this season. I would say, let’s see if it has affected him positively. That’s all. If not give him spot mins much in the way Curry has been used in order to trade him. Or cut him, waive him or whatever, who cares.

“In Donnie we Trust!!”

What can I do to get you to stop saying that.

Hey I respect the fact that he’s not a d*ckrider and he’s a blue collar. That’s why I read his articles.

I can’t front.

But his ridiculous infatuation with Marbury, the fact that he didn’t give Gallinari a chance because he wanted Gordon or Lopez, his willingness to sell and GENERATE controversy (“Nate acting too polite” etc – which is scandalous in my opinion) and his contradictory statements/opinions about Donnie Walsh’s plan are questionable. And I’m being nice.

LOL. Retired English teacher here. It gets to me too, as do other literacy goofs. I just don’t let them get in the way of discerning the poster’s intent.

HaS I have to say that I don’t always agree with you, but you do demonstrate logic and coherence in your viewpoint without ad hominums, and name-calling.

With the exception of “Snowed-in Sunday,” that is what makes this the blog for adults.

a little perspective about robinson’s skill set may help you…he’s just NOT THAT GREAT. An above average scorer and below average in just about every other facet gets you a seat on the bench…why is that so hard to digest?

Sorry, I guess I’m so used to us being in disagreement, I didn’t even realize lol.

I agree that Nate should have received spot minutes in our losses to Chicago and Charlotte, when Hughes was hurting/out. But D’antoni has made up his mind that Nate has no future here, he didn’t even want us to resign Nate this year. The last thing we need is for Nate to get comfortable enough to veto a trade. But then again D’antoni’s short rotation will only hold up for so long and he’s not positively affecting Nate’s value, so it’s a treacherous tightrope the franchise has to walk.

RIDICULOUS!

6-3 with out him is way overrated, I don’t believe the hype.

Would have achieve the same results with or with him.

The knicks organization can handle this situation way better, but we’re acting foolishy ourselves.

You don’t want the attention of the N8 situation well I sure as hell can’t tell.

He’s a troll.

OMG, now we went from talking an article, to Berman, to the Post?

The post is a racist, gossip rag of a paper. No one is trying to champion the NY Post as a gem in the world of journalism lol.

The NY Post is basically a tabloid. Seriously, are we really talking about this. They write stories with the angle to sell the most newspapers. Who cares?

ok.. so why doesnt AL Harrington have a seat for having the same skill set?

Other players on the team are above average at one thing and below average at others.. Yet Nate catches the brunt..

Just calling it like I see it.

ill answer my own post..

its not about on the court..

Cause as Tommy says.. “sometimes a coach doesn’t like a player”.. Its personal.. IOt is what it is.. If the coach doesnt like the player send him home with a buyout and lets move on.

100% cosign.. very reasoned post.. and thread..

6 players isnt crazy? The media in Chicago is riding Vinny Del Negro for using a seven man rotation.

Doesn that mean Stackhouse didnt make the comments?

Seriously though.. This Nate controversy isnt just going away no matter how much the coach and GM try to mitigate it..

Im not making any blanket statements about the Posts reporting.. Just commenting on a DIRECT QUOTE from a 16 year NBA vet in repsonse to a question by a sports talk show host..

It wasnt Berman went out and solicited the quotes and spun the story in any way to make a point or “sell papers”//

Sorry if that is stating the obvious.. But some want to distort the issue.

question for the nate-pom pom wavers:

are you nate robinson fans or are you new york knickerbockers fans? honestly i really can’t tell. because you’re missing a pretty decent run that the knicks are on.

I don’t really understand how this is still an issue, rather than Berman wanting to stir things up as per usual. I agree, Nate has a spot on the team, especially when Hughes went down. That was absolutely ridiculous to not play him in Chicago last week and when the team is having trouble scoring I really do think he should be playing. But to try and argue that at least at times Nate hasn’t negatively impacted this team just seems wrong. Clearly this winning streak is somewhat correlated to Nate not playing, I don’t know if anyone is really trying to argue that. This teams defense is all of a sudden pretty good, and it is definitely not a coincidence that nate has not been playing for this. I really agree that at times this does come across as a personal vendetta, but it really is impossible to argue with the results right now. And while I feel bad, there is no reason the Knicks should trade him as it seems like it will be really difficult, and buying him out also doesn’t seem right as the Knicks will lose him for free. It is a tough situation.

Whats with all the buyout talk ?

I don’t believe in them. You dont let the patients run the asylum. I believe in honoring contracts.
Once you sign on the dotted line, Noone owes anyone any favors. This is the real world.

PS. He signed a contract to be a part of the NYKnicks. He didn’t sign a contract stipulating anything about minutes played per game.

nice win tonight!

Agree with Stack. Someone mentioned the Parcell’s, the Couglin’s, etc ., being control freaks. I guarantee you half of those aforementioned coaches would give the player they’re benching an opportunity to redeem themselves, not bench them for a whole season. Ok, the Knicks are playing well, I don’t take anything from them and maybe Nate is a link to their past struggles. The keyword: Maybe. This issue here isn’t about Nate’s past or DA putting a winning squad on the floor, it’s his attitude. If he was such a good coach towards his players like we’ve been hearing, why not give Nate the opportunity like he has given Duhon and Hughes to prove himself. Walsh: Well, if we didn’t want him, coach DA and I wouldn’t have brought him back and give him two million more. Ok, so why isn’t DA given him another chance? Would that hurt? So, what Stack saying is the truth. Just because a team is winning, you sit a good, hearty player for nine straight games? Really? A guy you wanted to bring back? So what about Marbury? He didn’t do anything detremental to the team and he sits for a year? That’s crazy. DA isn’t a coach, he’s a guy who benefited from having HOF and all-star caliber players. To those who agree with and bad mouthing Nate, I would love to your son, nephew or brother languishing out there on the bench. This isn’t about getting on DA, worrying about Nate and not being real Knick fans, it’s being a man and not benching people and making excuses during the pregame and then changing what you said and saying something different in the postgame. if DA was real say the truth and call it a day. But then again he has respect of the players in the league? I don’t see how from the way he treats the players whether it was marbury or Hill. Guess team chemistry doesn’t matter.

ITS “SHOULD HAVE”