Marc Berman wrote a piece this morning chronicling Eddy Curry‘s growing frustration sitting at the end of Coach D’Antoni’s bench. In
the article, Curry seems adamant about the fact that he is not going to opt out his contract for next season.
I feel bad for Curry, not necessarily because he worked so hard to get back onto the court (let’s face it, that is his job as an extremely well paid professional athlete), but more because he is clearly hungry to play. Since Curry has returned, he has not had much of a chance to prove himself to the coaches and to the fans. Citing a game where Curry threw the team out of sync, D’Antoni appears to have cleared a spot on the pine next to Nate Robinson and Darko Milicic.
When I saw Curry play in his limited minutes, I saw a guy that was ready to play again. He seems quicker and in pretty good shape. However, his style does not fit what the Knicks are trying to accomplish. At times, transitioning Curry into this rotation is like putting a square peg in a round hole. Curry is not going to change his game. He has made a career of being a strong low post scorer. He does not belong out near the three point line or running the high pick and roll. That is not his game, and it never will be.
As for Tracy McGrady, ESPN is reporting that the fallen Rockets star will not play in the next two games while the team tries to figure out how McGrady fits into the rotation (if at all).
We have talked about this a lot, and truthfully, there is not much to say. I am sure Walsh would love to shed Curry on the Rockets, but I am sure that the Rockets might be able to get a better player if they are willing to accept contracts that extend beyond the season. At this point, I almost wonder if the Rockets would consider buying out the remainder of McGrady’s contract if they do not have him in their plans.
The Knicks have the potential pieces to make a deal happen in my opinion. However, I do not see the point in dealing away Larry Hughes or Al Harrington considering how well each has played this season. A deal of Darko / Mobley / Nate for T Mac works accoridng to the ESPN trade machine, but I honestly do not know how trading Mobley’s contract would work under the NBA’s rules. If the Rockets plan to keep McGrady in the dark, then I can see how Darko and Nate would help them out. Time will tell, I guess.
Very interesting article for my fellow bloggers. I took no part in the creation of this article nor have I added or ommited any portuin thereof. I pleasantly present this inormation regarding my beloved Knicks for entertainment purposes only. If anyone is offended by this posting I apologize. (yeah right)
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Skip to Content ↓HomeAboutPrivacyContactPollsLeBron James Optimism-O-Meter Eddy To Knicks: “Play Me, Trade Me, Or Cut Me Loose”?
Dec 26th, 2009 12:54 am
by Dan L. 6 comments
In each of two road losses two weeks ago to the Bobcats and Bulls, the turning point to the Knicks’ demise may have been the plodding, turn over laden minutes Mike D’Antoni set aside for Eddy Curry.
Since those losses, Curry has not played, and he’s getting frustrated (via Newsday’s Neil Best):
“I just leave it up to him, and when he decides he wants to play me, if he decides, I’ll play, and if not, then I’ll try to figure something out.”
***
“During the game, when I’m sitting over there and time is just ticking away, a lot of stuff crosses my mind, but it’s too early for that.”
The implication here is that “that” is a trade or a buyout. He was asked how he would feel if the remainder of his season turns out to be one DNP after another:
“At that point, I would hope both sides would do what’s right. If [D'Antoni] decided to go that long, he probably would have made up in his mind, if he hasn’t already, that I’m not a fit for this team. I would hope we could work something out.”
I understand Curry’s frustration. He worked hard all summer and during the start of the season to get himself into the type shape that he is required to be in, and now he doesn’t play.
But Curry needs to understand that he is in a situation of his own making. He has always had a responsibility to keep himself in shape. It’s part of what he’s being paid $11 million to do. If he’d done that throughout his career he’d never have lost his timing, and quite frankly, his game, which is nothing like what it used to be.
Instead, he used injury as an excuse to turn his back on his responsibilities and his team. He didn’t stop collecting paychecks though.
That’s what I call a lack of professionalism.
Even more glaring is that Curry has absolutely no sense of the context of his situation, saying:
“I try not to think of the reasons because that’s so out of my control, it’s ridiculous.”
What is ridiculous is that Eddy could have played over the last two years if he just stayed in shape. What’s ridiculous is that Curry would collect close to $20 million over the last 2 years while playing in less than a handful of games because he couldn’t keep himself away from the feeding trough while he was hurt. What’s ridiculous is that he’s been healthy for all of several months and he thinks he can start making demands for playing time. What’s ridiculous is that he thinks keeping himself in the type of shape that is implied by a eight figure contract entitles him to call his lack of playing time ridiculous when it’s clear he damages the team.
But Curry’s failure to grasp the irony of his situation is really a tangential issue. The main issue is that Curry wants out. I’m sure the Knicks would love to trade him as badly as he wants to be traded, but the market for a still overweight, lead-footen, center who doesn’t block shots, rebound or play defense is about equivalent to the market for a 5′7 shooting guard with poor shot selection who doesn’t play D or pass. Especially when the Knicks aren’t taking back any contracts beyond this year.
If the Knicks could trade Curry they should have done it yesterday.
Instead there are two ways Curry could get out of his situation. The first is a buy-out.
I can’t claim to know how the collective bargaining agreement would treat a buyout the year before a player option. The Knicks should jump at the opportunity if as part of it, Curry forfeits his option year. The Knicks should give Curry 100% of this year’s salary in a lump sum under that circumstance and wish him the best of luck.
If that isn’t possible though under the collective bargaining agreement, or if Curry isn’t willing to go along with it, then he should explore the other way to escape from New York. His player option.
That seems like a non-starter though. As Curry said (via Berman):
“I would never [opt-out].”
Ok Eddy. Then you should get used to your spot at the end of the bench and collect your dozen or so million dollars next year from your courtside seat, whether you like it or not.
Update:
According to Larry Coon’s salary cap FAQ, after a buyout, the team’s cap number is adjusted downwards to reflect the buyout amount, rather than the original contract amount.
Also, after a bit of further research, it seems that it is possible to buy out an option year. The only provisos are that the player contract has to have a option buy-out clause and that the option buy-out clause cannot exceed 50% of the option year salary.
Thus, the Knicks and Curry could theoretically agree to buy out Curry’s option year but it could not for more than half his option year salary, which is about $11 million. In other words, f the Knicks bought out Curry to the maximum amount permitted under the CBA, they would save about 5.5 million under the 2010 cap.
Incidentally, they could do the same thing with Jeffries and save another 3.5 million or so based his approximate $7 million salary for his option year.
If the Knicks can’t trade either and either or both agree to such a buy-out, the Knicks are looking at another$3.5 to $9 million under the cap in 2010.
Excellent post – Eddy is persona non grata – until something is done about is salary cap hit – just Jerome James ignore and throw a party he is no longer on the Knicks. His lack of conditioning during his stay w/ the Knicks – especially recent past – has been a disgrace and pretty much represents along with Starbury this lost decade. Next year he will have value an expiring contract – hopefully he can be traded next February for something of value long term.
If his fat a$$ really wants to play so bad accept a buyout and see what other team wants an Eddie Curry on its roster.
His comments are absolutely baffling. I’ll leave it there before I say something that is not kind.
i can understand his frustrattion. listen a lot of eddy’s weight gain came because of personal issues…… the big guy went through A LOT of personal issues last year. now he works his you know what off and wants to play and he cant. i would be frustrated too.
To be fair – there were conditioning concerns even in Chicago – way before the recent personal issues – which I offer my best wishes to him on a personal front – but as a professional athlete and entertainer – he has been far less than professional in his craft and conditioning.
agreed, but everyone deserves another chance. eddy got himself into decent shape……
This was perhaps Eddie’s 3rd chance and that is just with the Knicks. In Chicago Skiles desperately tried to get Eddie to “jump” for rebounds and stop running away from Earl Boykins driving to the basket.
Thing is, even in the games where Eddie came back he didn’t make an effort to defend, block a shot, or rebound. Why exactly does Eddie “deserve” to play. The organization may want him to play so it can trade him, but in no way does he “deserve” it nor should D’Antoni be forced to play him.
His child dying is tragic and I feel bad for him, but all his other problems were self-inflicted and now he feels as if people “owe’ him playing time because now he is finally thin enough to see his own feet.
this team could really benefit from curry. he sucks defensivley, but so does practically everyone else on this team… i dont care about our recent stretch of holding opponents under 100 ppg….. most of these teams have been under five hundred. also, the double teams that a healthy eddy curry could draw could do wonders. ie set up wide open threes for the itallion stallion. eddy must learn how to pass and not turn the ball over, i understand. eddy curry is one of the most dominant low post players in the game…. hes shown that in the past at least imo. the guy got his butt back in shape, play him for more than 10 minutes and for a couple of games and see what he can give you. giving curry 10 minutes here or there isnt going to get him back into rhtyhm, remember this is like pre-season for him.
But what kind of message would that send to guys like Tony Douglas and Hill who have been busting their butts since they got to the NBA.
Or even Nate whose actions weren’t half as horrendous as Curry.
It sucks for Mac to have a coach like Adelman but the Rockets have moved on and should trade him period.
yeah, it sucks to have a professional coach with a winning track record who has won consistently with multiple teams…i mean seriously, that just blows.
Yeah its beyond baffling, its absolutely disgraceful. The guy feels entitled to playing time after finally working to earn his ridiculous contract rather than sitting on his butt and doing nothing for 2 years while earning 20 million. What a joke. If he wants to play so badly, why not just accept a buyout or better yet exercise his player option at the end of this year and opt out? Oh no wait, that would mean giving up the 12 million he is scheduled to make for doing nothing. Why doesn’t he just shut up and accept his money gracefully and be a good cheerleader like his mentor and role model Jerome James.
There is absolutely ZERO chance that Eddie gets a buy out from Donnie. I think he can still be traded.
If he cannot be traded that large 11mil next year will be an expiring and we can trade him to a team looking to cut cost.
The buyout would make sense for both sides, though.
If Curry gets the rest of this season and his option bought out for say 5 million, then he could sign on with a team in need a of post scorer, such as the Spurs, for the veteran’s minimum. If he can play decently there, there is no reason why he cannot receive a 2 year deal for 4 million per season. Under that scenario, Curry might lose a couple of million in the short term, but at least he would have a career to continue into his thirties. Let’s face it, he is not going to have a career if he stays here.
Things are always more complicated than that, though. Consider a buyout a very long shot.
This reminds me of marbury, these guys EXPECT to be be paid and to play no matter their circumstance, history, or skill set.There is a startling lack of reflection or self assessment. However, I completely agree, if they negotiate a fair settlement where everyone takes a haircut, fine. What is unacceptable is this consistent refrain…”pay me my entire contract because that is what you owe me and release me immediately so i can be a free agent.”
These guys signed a contract which they and the Knicks must honor, they don’t get to be “bought out” cause they lose playing time or fall out of favor. If they want “out” so bad then offer up some of that ridiculous money as a price for your free agency, if not, then sit quietly until your number is called or your contract expires.
I am so frustrated with these millionaire prima donnas and their fan supporters who put their short term individual success over the organizations long term outlook.
“The Knicks have the potential pieces to make a deal happen in my opinion. However, I do not see the point in dealing away Larry Hughes or Al Harrington considering how well each has played this season.”
Nuh uh. You do it in a heartbeat. If you’re getting all expiring money back, you don’t even hesitate.
the only way we can trade curry is if we give up gallo…. trading al or larry will not make some other team take on curry imo. do not trade gallo, i will cry every night.
I did not say that trading Al or Hughes would rid us of Curry.
What I tried to say was that I would not trade either of them for a player who might not be healthy. We might be able to get better production out of Hughes and definitely will out of Harrington.
Gotcha, Chris. I agree.
sorry chris. i misunderstood you. great point.
Eddie has a point. Say what you want about how he dogged it for sometime and had those injuries and heart aliment. But He worked his butt off to get in shape. People struggle for years trying to lose weight and he did it in less than a year. He needs to play. He is a true inside, down low in the box presence. Offensively that is!!!!.
I don’t care how much weight he lost. have you guys watched what happens when we play him? All he can do is try to back his ass up and get an entry pass, which usually results in a turnover, and if he does get the ball he’s a bigger black hole than harrington.
I mean, if you’ve watched him play for us, you would have no reason to except him (or want him) to play.
I am an avid (NO PUN INTENDED!!!) ‘keep Lee’ supporter, but that’s for another thread.
The ONLY way i trade him is to dump Curry; absolutely no budging on that one, IMO. Lee is a great piece for the future and to have next to (_________). but if we can ditch curry, it makes 2 max FA’s (or close) a possibility, so that we could get (___________) AND a great big man (bosh), which more than compensates for the loss of Lee.
If Lee can dump curry for PURE expiring contracts (maybe a draft pick or a really cheap young piece), then I’m in, but otherwise, no way.
We should start thinking about ways to trade curry… not just for pure cap space, which might be impossible, but maybe for another post 2010 contract, just not as big.
For example, if we work out some sort of trade that gets rid of curry but brings back a guy who makes 6 mil next year, at least we will have saved something.
If these buyouts are possible, then trading JJ and buying out Curry could lead to keeping lee, signing lebron, and having MAX room in 2011.
Happy New Year to all Knick fans out there.
Maybe nate should let know eddy curry that he pays his agent hundreds of thousands (maybe even millions) of dollars to be the bad guy in these types of situations. Nate may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but at least he knows that.
Chris, I’m pretty sure you are in the minority when it comes to feeling sorry for curry. I feel more empathy for the thousands of season ticket holders (myself included) and millions of knick fans that helped pay his salary over the past two years when he decided not to try his best to contribute to the team. He makes me want to puke.
**let eddy curry know…
You have to feel something for a guy who has a three year old son who witnesed his mother murdered. If you dont feel sorry for someone who went through that you must be an evil, heartless fool.
I am in favor of playing Eddy Curry because he won’t be traded sitting on the bench. He is surely not going to give up his contract. Bottom line is that it is just ridiculus if u think this guy is going to give up free money. It is way too early to determine if he would be bad for the team. I rather see him in the 3rd Qtr of the Bulls game then seeing us take all those peremiter shots. He belongs on the Block when he is in the game having the offense feed off of him. It beats lauching those 3′s.
I can’t believe that Knick fans are that stupid to not know that we are trying to move this guy from the roster. We have to display him. We have a offensive coach so he should know how to get him the ball where he can be effective. I want this Guy out of here yesterday but any idiot knows in order for that to happen you have to prove to the GMs that Curry can still play. Who buys a used car without test driving it?
Evil heartless fool? Well merry christmas to you too lol
But stupid? Try reading the new york times one day. You will find a dozen stories much more tragic than eddy’s every day. I feel sorry for those people too.
What you didn’t understand was that I was referring to eddy’s professional dilemma. I don’t think he has the right to demand minutes on this team while we are winning often close games. I don’t want to sacrifice wins in an attempt to fool other professional gms that eddy curry is worth taking a $12 million cap hit in the summer of 2010. Only play him if he can help us win. The fact is that we look horrible when he is on the floor. He should see garbage time only now.
This is the best knicks blog in town whenever that idiot Heri is not posting here. LoL
we’ve been blessed for days without Heri and his helmet. LoL
it’s a wonderful life and great holidays without the Rubio psychopath.
I can’t believe there are people actually advocating for giving Eddie Curry miinutes because he finally “got himself into shape”.
This enrages me even more than those who say Duhon is a suitable PG who has a good assist/turnover ratio.
And I thought Heri and Thall were banned. No such luck.
What a way to ruin the holiday cheer. Bah humbug.
K4L
i’m giving props to the bloggers here (excluding that wacko Heri) for being the best blog in town and you reciprocate by bamboozling me??? ha ha ha
Heri all by himself destroyed 4 or 5 sites already. i enjoy reading the postings here but PLEASE do not let Heri & his helmet ruin this site. LoL
Cheers and happy new yr to all (except to Heri, the Navy SeaBiscuit) . HA HA HA
Lol. Yeah I admit it was uncalled for.
You can see the mood I’m in with this Curry love fest.
What if every Knick fan donated $5 to a fund that Eddy could receive if he accepted a buy out from the Knicks for $11 million minus that amount. Let’s assume that there are at least 1 million Knicks fan nationwide. That’s $5 million. We could probably get some corporate sponsors to kick in another $2 million for the publicity. If Eddy would then let the Knicks buy him out for $4 million, the Knicks would save $7 million on the cap. Dolan could thank the fans by splurging on $7 million worth of fan giveaways.
I’ll start things off with a $25 donation.
Does anyone know if this would violate any NBA rules?
Curry doesn’t deserve another cent and fans shouldn’t spend their hard earned money towards any kind of Eddie Curry fund.
You miss the point entirely Knicks4life. Of course Curry doesn’t deserve another dime. In fact, if there was justice, he’d be forced to return the $20 million Dolan paid him to get fat and sexually harass his limo driver. But we don’t deserve Curry costing us the chance to sign 2 max free agents and finally build a winner. If the only way we can make that happen is to pay Curry to leave and free up some cap space, then I’m willing to put a few or my hard earned dollars towards that.
I don’t like Dolan, and I’m not looking to do him any favors, and if this were to ever actually happen then I would expect him to do something extra special for the fans who helped out.
I have the right to be frustrated. Knicks fans have the right to be frustrated. Donnie Walsh has the right to be frustrated… but Eddy Curry? No way.
I tried to show him love and support last season – even though this bum was out-of-shape. But it’s over. The fact that he’s complaining about his lack of playing time is the icing on the cake. And the fact that he “worked so hard to get back” is not extraordinary anyways, it is the minumum level of professionalism that he’s supposed to bring. $11 million per year guys. $11 million.
i think its easier said than down considering all the crap eddy went through last year especially personally.
I don’t think we all need to talk about what we’ve been though to justify Curry’s lack of professionalism – I didn’t expect him to play/to play well but he’s getting paid. You can’t tell me that he HAD to become overweight.
The fact that he’s feeling “frustrated” about his lack of PT is insulting! He worked hard to come back – that’s cool – but that’s what regular people do everyday! This guy would have been fired long ago in the job market!
Conclusion : Eddy Curry work hard and shut the hell up!
i wonder if u can buyout a coach..
lmao..
Agreeeeeed!!!!!
The way that some of these multi-millionaire athletes think is mind boggling. Instead of pandering to idiots such as Curry, the organization should be making life as difficult as possible for him and thus send others the message that as a very well paid athlete you have an obligation to keep yourself in peak physical condition. Then again how difficult can things really get for Curry when you are being paid 10 million plus dollars a year to play video games, which is what Curry did for a lot of the offseason. No coach in his right mind would want the liability that is Eddy Curry on their team. He has proven himself to have a poor work ethic and therefore deserves nothing. His main focus is money. will he get another contract? That’s why he finally lost a little weight. He wants more $$$$. Let him become as disenchanted as he likes along with with his I’ll do it my way instead of the right way mate. They are at the end of the bench where they belong. The team has demonstrated that they play much better without either of them. Curry will never give up the money for next year by opting out. We are stuck with him. The best we can probably hope for is that some team desperate for cap space wants his large expiring contract in February 2011.
I met John Bender today at the city center in White Plains. he was really tall, which really puts thing in perspective; he can shoot threes, but the center on the basketball team at my highschool was 6-2 and therefore too big to be able to shoot from outside.
He wasn’t very friendly, i said “Let’s make the playoffs”, and he said “yea we’ll try” and a really indifferent way… haha
When you see them in person it makes you realize that basketball is just their job; not their lives.
In fact, i’m pretty sure that the most avid bloggers here (myself included) care more about, and spend more time thinking about the knicks, than most players on the team do. That’s just the way it works.
But there are, of course, players who defy that norm. They are awesome players to have on your team, because they are usually the best.
You can say that about Jon Bender a person who has been out of the game for 5 years but Id expect a different reaction from a Star..(Kobe, Lebron, Shaq, CP3)..
i disagee.there are a lot of nuts out there.you cant expect them to be totaly friendly to you…Suppose it were you,you’re walkin own the street ,doin what everybody gets to do yer goin to the bank,some guy who does nothing,has no prospects in his life except thinking about the NY KNICKERBOCKERS,PLUS HE CARRIES in his back pocket an unread copy of “CATCHER IN THE RYE” HE COMES RUNNING up to you at a bank machine,,acting as if you are long lost friends.that shit is creepy.
You don’t know what a player’s going through in his personal life – maybe he’s thinking about his children, maybe he didn’t have enough time to have lunch, maybe he’s just in a bad mood… It’s not that they don’t care about the Knicks, they just don’t know you.