Walsh Puts Plan in Motion

TOMMY, WHENS THE PRESS CONFERENCE!

lets get this straight! We gave up (basic) Jordan HIll and a first round pick , to be in position to maybe,sign a Free Agent? what will happen to Mcgrady next year? or S.ROD?

I love it… Tmac will be gone next year

Great deal!!!! We can set a dinasty or build a very good team. No more nate al hughes jj lee duhon hill….It’s a dream come true.

IN LEBRON WE TRUST

P.S.

SPEND THE MONEY WISELY

T-Mac has no future on this team, never been a winner & will try to demand some 10+ mil next year. So we really didn’t receive anything except cap space.

OK, Donnie Walsh you are now on the clock…

After the disaster that was Scott Layden (the Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley contracts still blow my mind) and the even bigger disaster that was Mr. Thomas, it’s a weird feeling sitting here today watching this team operate under a man with a plan…a good plan that he is sticking to and that he talks openly about. There are no surprises with Donnie…to this point he has laid out a clear goal and has not swayed from the path one inch. I love him for that. He has done a great job of undoing the mess he inherited and I have 100% trust in him going forward. I won’t blame him if Lebron stays in Cleveland because I trust that he will do everything in his power to bring him here. For now, this is easily the best I’ve felt as a Knicks fan in many years. Knowing that I can wake up on July 1st with hope. And even if this summer doesn’t turn into a dream scenario I trust that Donnie won’t panic and carry his millions of dollars of cap space forward until the right situation presents itself…and that is worth more than any draft pick.

i would have been MUCH happier with some more protection on the pick… but overall. good deal.

I give it a B+

Big risk. It’s LBJ or nothing now.

Tough deals, but the right thing to do. Donnie’s got big balls.

After seeing Jordan Hill fall flat on his face last night, Donnie had no problem including him in the deal. I just wish he could have picked up Ty Thomas also. The kid’s a beast.

No one’s talking about Sergio Rodriguez. He can play. Donnie finally came through.

A couple days ago I didn’t like this deal. Now I do.

Walsh is taking a gamble but it is well worth it. They way I see it is if Wade goes to Chicago or Amare joins Wade in Miami, Then Lebron is going to need another stud and the Cavs won’t beable to do it, apologies to Mo Williams and Jamison. He will then come to NY and hopefully bring along Bosh. If not Bosh maybe Johnson.

In my opinion we are almost guaranteed at least Lebron, Wade, Johnson, Bosh, or Amare. Maybe thats my cocky NY is better than everywhere else kicking in. maybe not.

But if we don’t use our cap space, it will be a downer because then in essence we gave up Hill and picks for nothing.

“_avi_ has no future on this team, never been a winner & will try to demand some 10+ mil next year.”

fixed.

Definitely. DW now has officially stepped into the pressure cooker. I understand that no matter what this team will be better after the summer, but we all know what this team needs.
Thing is, we need to have a complete roster. If we could sign two major guns, we only have 6 players: Curry, Dougas, Gallo, Chandler, Bosh, Bron (speculating according to what I want of course). Who fills out the rest of the team? With what money?
That’s why I think that, in times like these (when things might not go according to what your plans are and how money you have available), picks are extremely useful: to get cheap, useful young guys with a ton of future.
Anyway, let’s start with the praying.

Donnie must be walking around singing this right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YUuyzQDmjY

thats not true

he is a great addition to be sure.

B+ is pretty damn good. Plus, not getting the pick from Bos drops it down a little.

Unfortunately, Lee is still very much in the plan. Lee has not been on the block since early last season

Donnie 2010 plan is as follows:
1. LBJ
2. Wade
3. Bosh
4. Lee
5. Johnson

If Giddens looks good, Hill never develops, T-Mac has something left (enough to help lure LeBron) and LeBron signs, this will be a good/above averagedeal. If not it’s an average deal at best and a terrible deal at worse. imho of course.

Not moving Lee for something is a greek tragedy to put it mildly. That could have gotten us a couple of future 1st rounders and softened the blow.

Sure it is.

And, that looks increasingly unlikely.

It’s a risk worth taking. After nearly a decade of suffocating under bad contracts, this is a breath of fresh air. Is the price high? Perhaps. However, the Knicks did it to themselves and it was going to hurt a bit to get out from under all the past bad deals. Now there is a chance for 2 max FAs. Or maybe just one or none, but certainly, there is now flexibility. Good job, Donnie.

“we gave up Hill and picks for nothing”
We gave up Hill and 2 potential lottery picks for a prayer and according to 80% of you, it’s a good deal. July will be here soon enough.

you are a drama queen

i guess getting those young guns is equivilent to a late 1st in 2011. I’ll take it.

But it’s true. We gave up this years lottery pick for a once in a lifetime chance. I agree: LBJ or bust

Because no way Wade comes here.

Forgot about Lee. This poor man can basically enjoy the rest of his life in New Jersey (he’ll still be near the team he cares so much about). We need players who to step up and lead a team. Despite Lee’s efforts (which I appreciate), he just dissapears when we are in dire need of scoring, not to mention his legendary obsolete defense, which just doesn’ cut it on a winning team. At best, 2nd string on a winning team.
And please, I’m no hater. He’s got great skills on one end of the court, but nonexistent on the other. We can’t pay 8-12 mil to a player without a complete skill set. Sorry. Watching players just run past him in the lane is just both pianful and ridiculous.

its a once and a lifetime opportunity. Jordan Hill won’t affect our chances at making the playoffs-he’s not a difference maker

(i meant our 2009 pick)

I was following you up until:

“would have liked to see the Knicks get a pick for Nate, but it’s not the end of the world. Just like it isn’t now if Lebron decides to stay.”

Really so if Lebron stays in Cleveland somehow this was all worth it?

Lee above Johnson?

the problem with trading lee is that he has a full no trade and with that playoff bonus, he is not going to accept a trade to a team out of it.

he also knows that playing in the spotlight of NYC and playing well will help him to get more exposure and possibly more money. So the teams that could trade for him was very limited.

he also loves NYC from what I understand, making it even harder to find a team for him.

Plus there are all sorts of issues with trading him because of the 1 year contract he signed. Nate was easier because he made less money, but my understanding is Lee was a difficult trade.

Plus… with trading hill… we need a center. I dont think Donnie will put Mike D in a position where he has to start Bender every night. Unless we were getting a center back, it was a difficult trade to make.

I am not a huge Lee fan. i dont like 1 way players unless that 1 way is lock-down-D. But, if he is willing to take a discount, he could be a good signing.

If bosh does not work out… LBJ along with Lee and Camby may not be that bad a thing. Just thinking out loud.

??? did anyone we take back signed more then the rest of the season?

Really, “Lee is very much in the plan?” Wow, where do you get such rock solid inside information?

That Nate deal was pointless and terrible.

Why just give Nate to Boston. What purpose did that serve?

DAMN SOOOO I GUESS WE’RE STUCK W/ AL HUH???

fkn blows….def woulda have loved to have gotten tyrus thomas….we would have been the most athletic team w/ him, giddens,walker, chandler, s-rod, etc…too badd….

we’re def going to get killllled on the boards….lol, lee’s going to need to avg 20rebs a game for us to compete….we’ll see….

Someone want to explain how the Bulls can move John Salmons for two expiring deals and we have to package our Lottery pick last year, swap picks next year and give up our 2012 pick to move 1mm more in Salary in JJ?

You have to grade this deal now…you can’t look back on it in 6 months and crap on Donnie if Lebron stays in Cleveland. We all wanted a shot at a big summer and Donnie has given us that. Even if they don’t have a huge summer then they take the millions in cap space and move forward. I trust that Donnie won’t panic and blow the cash…he will wait until the right situation presents itself. Hopefully that will be this year, but if not then we wait. Donnie has proven to be patient and stick to his guns…give him a chance to get this right and build a winner now. Don’t hate if August rolls around and Lebron stays in Cleveland.

Good post. Please good lord, let Lee not be here come July.

Why is everyone so sure Wade is happy playing in a half empty arena for a fan base that could care less and a team that is fairly mediocre?

who’s going to play defense?
We have NO defensive presence….ZIP
But we got a passer and we got a shooter…

the rest of this season is going to be scary….and interesting.

but…..
good riddins

I wonder how much begging Al buckets had to do to not get traded…

Charlotte just got tougher…

I like yahoo Sports – they’re the new Hahn !

Why do people say it’s Wade, James or bust? Trust me if the Knicks got James, Bosh, Wade I’ll be happy too, but the whole point is to have some breathing room, something we haven’t had in ten years. Think about that. Let that sink in. The Knicks with a sane GM have an opportunity to become a being time playoff team come next year. The KNICKS. Stop making it sound as if it’s only about james and wade. What about the other FAs, I mean this is the biggest FA class in NBA history. How about signing young talented players for less and adding some solid veteran core players around them to go with McGrady and Lee? That’s what’s important. That’s how teams become threats. It’s not just about LJ and Wade. It’s about getting the hustlers, the tough players, savvy veterans to make a team an Eastern Conference contender. Will I like LJ and Wade here, of course, fine by me, but they are worried where they are and we’re still worried about them. Worry about the cap and the flux of talent and veterans this summer and build from there.

You are a clown.

Well Mr. Know it all, other than the fact that Salmons is a heck of a lot better than JJ, and there is a HUGE chance he opts out next year (who the hell wants to stay in Milwaukee)?

I wonder why Houston was insisting on Hill in the package.
Maybe they have a more patient fan base that lets players develop, but that’s just a guess.

We also made some moves that made absolutely no sense.

Darko for Cardinal?

Nate for garbage?

This summer either the Knicks start to build a dynasty or we become the Clippers of the 80s (minus the draft picks).

No championship team minus the Pistons have won a championship through trades/free agency in the last twenty years without having a building block acquired through the draft.

July 1.

I would rather have Joe Johnson with the ebola virus than David Lee as a maing piece.

“How about signing young talented players for less and adding some solid veteran core players around them to go with McGrady and Lee?”

Man good luck with that plan.

Bill Walker and JR Giddens

Yea, I really don’t get that. It would make sense if the teams we were dealing with were division rivals or something like that, and wanted to block us from a chance to get bigtime FAs. But Sacramento and Houston? Might just speak to how putrid Jeffries is.

New York fans impatient? Really? Get outta here…

Try more like the clippers…..this is a joke.

This is the best news ever!!! Getting rid of JJ and clearing space will gaurantess us 2 stars. I just can’t wait until Lebron and Bosh signs with the Knicks this summer. This trade is going to be the start of a dynasty… Especially when we get Lebron. I’m a little excited to see Tmac play, and I’m sad to see my boy Nate go. Good luck Nate! Then we can watch Hill become a stud else where just like Ariza, but we had to do this trade..

Bill Walker and JR Giddens are good players. How is that nothing? As opposed to watching Nate skip out the door after the season and get nothing in return?

“I like yahoo Sports – they’re the new Hahn !”

+1

Carinal getting bought out, Nate for two players as opposed to nothing.

So you think we are going to resign them in the offseason?

So Donnie you admit you screwed at least one draft up, now add on a few more and what did we get back exactly?

Nothing but cap space so that we can sign some free agents that will probably not even come here…..great……GM of the year award. Like just how many top players are there? Are they all coming here?

Wake me up in 2014.

Gallo or Chandler might be that building block. Might not be superstars, but with a Lebron-caliber free agent, there’s no reason they cant’ be building blocks.

I wish this approach could be taken by the fans. The fact that we actually have cap room in and of itself is a miracle. Just remember the literal sh!tstorm of horrible contracts DW took on and completely dismantled (aside from bad contract numero uno: Curry – and let’s face it, he had no shot to move him).

So why didn’t we just buy out Darko? Why trade him for Cardinal

A. John salmon is MUCH better than Jared jeffries, and makes less money than him.

B. they got NOTHING for salmons. We got a chance to look at a player who was once a superstar, and even if he has lost a step, will still be BY FAR the best guard we have had on the knicks in a while… if he pans out we can resign him as a complementary piece.

C. We got a young, good PG on a rookie contract. Our backcourt will now be S-rod and mcgrady instead of duhon and NOTHING. That are huge upgrades, but we aren’t commited to either of them past this year. You have been complaining all year that the organization doesn’t get a PG, so we get one with a lot of potential.

Those are some reasons.

You tend to bend things towards your point of view (which is always negetive.) You have been saying all year that you hate how donnie is sitting on JJ and not trading him, and of course we finally pull it off and u don’t like it.

Yahoo Sports has been the best sports website for years now, people still just don’t know it. I don’t even pay attention to most other sports media outlets anymore.

Those contracts were expiring in 2011 anyway

What plan? You have the most cap space in the NBA! Look at free agency. When I say young players I mean those like Paul or other stars not named James or Wade whose going to break the bank. People need to stop making it sound as if Lee is terrible or something. I guarantee you this, If theKnicks do get a seasoned veteran whether James or Wallace(just saying) or whoever, the can’t play that way with proven veterans. I guaantee u if lee is here next year his D is going have to pick up or else it’s he’s going to get barked on.

“Wake me up in 2014.”

You mean 2013. If they don’t trade that pick (top 1 protected, sounds funny to even type it) to get rid of Lee.

If they come in and show somethign? Yeah, they’re extremely cheap players.

Knicks4life is complaining about the darko trade and the nate trade.

I can’t believe we lost nate and darko… what a shame… we’ll never be the same.

I think im done with the forum for a while.

Hollinger chat:

“Kings didn’t like Sergio but I don’t know why — he played quite well for them and I think he’ll kill in D’Antoni’s system.“

2 years of tanking, trading basically unprotected draft picks and trading Hill (probable bust, but still) does not equal T-Mac and Lee as your go to players

Jordan Hill=FAIL

Knicks got a draft pick from Boston.

Good trade in my opinion. Donnie had absolutely no leverage, and Morey did the right thing by extracting a lot out of him. It was a trade that kind of had to be done for DW’s plan to take effect. Lets see what he does with this now. Officially on the clock for 2010 now, a lot of stuff better go down now. I like Sergio, and anything is a major step up above Suckhon. If nothing else past this year, T-Mac will make the end of this season much more exciting in my opinion, and if remotely healthy will give us the first playmaking perimeter player in a long time. Maybe he can really help us.

“You have to grade this deal now…you can’t look back on it in 6 months and crap on Donnie if Lebron stays in Cleveland.”

We needed to be stockpiling picks. Even if they were for 3 years down the line. _avi_ I’m sure could have netted at least that.

For trading our “Amar’e” for only cap space it is an extreme risk, some might argue it is a foolish one.

LeBron is on the winningest team in the NBA who has now proven they are willing to spend to get better (by getting Jamison). Why wouldn’t he sign a short extension (3 years) and do this all over again then?

If I have to grade him now, without seeing T-Mac play, I’d give him a C+.

I’ll give him an A- for the balls to go out on a limb like this though. But then again at his age this is his last job why would he care if he fails? He’s implied as much himself.

To save the team $1.5 million in salary and luxury tax?

Great! Just in time to miss out on ALL the superstar FA’s coming up in ’09 and ’10. Do you really just like hating on the Knicks?

To play devil’s (Walsh) advocate, the team has NO shooting guards with Nate (who was extremely undersized) and Hughes is gone and wasn’t playing anyway (right?).

it saves us close to 2 million dollars I think. Minnesota wants to give Darko a look and is willing to pay that money to check him out I guess. There’s also cash considerations going to Minnesota.

Bron must be laughing his butt out looking at the roster, This will be the mother of all rebuilds and he is supposed to sign on the dotted line. Sure.

c’mon, 2011? Why about 2011 when u could get things done right away? Now with that cap space u can broker a deal with Curry and get him waived. 2011? You worried about 2011 when all knick are thing about is 2010?

Quick question it’s 3:38 did nate get traded or not? Same goes for Harrington

had*

Giddens could be a cheap option.

have you seen John Salmons this year?

he had a good playoff last year but has not played well at all this year..

and he doesnt have an opt out in his contract as per the usual sources.

Um….T-mac is a shooting guard…..

Yes John Salmons and JJ are not even in the same league. One is a solid rotation player is pretty versatile. The other is one of the worst rotation players in the league who can only play help defense and is basically a 4 who can’t guard 4s and 5s.

Ah didn’t see your correction. My mistake.

Everyone is saying T-Mac won’t be able to play and hat he will also be gone.

Like I said “devil’s advocate”.

And Jeffries has lit the world on fire this season.

So the point of the nate trade was…?

Via Twitter:

Ronnie brewer has been traded to grizzlies for a pick, source says.

Because knicks4life is too busy hating on the Knicks for some unknown reason.

“I guaantee u if lee is here next year his D is going have to pick up or else it’s he’s going to get barked on.”

How long has Lee been in the league now?

And I’ve been telling myself that about Curry for years now . . . he still won’t jump.

Jordan Hill= INCOMPLETE

“Lebron-caliber free agent”

The only “Lebron-caliber free agent” is LeBron.

That’s why this plan is LeBron or Bust.

No shots.

Who said go to players? I just added Tmac and Lee thinking they could fit in with probable fAs coming in. Tmac I won’t if he stays healthy and maybe will have better dfense with veteran leaders around him.

Jordan Hill’s Knicks Career=FAIL

Also via Twitter:

This means Memphis is unlikely to pay Rudy Gay this summer.

saying mcgrady has lost a step is exceedingly kind.. more like 3 or 4..maybe more.. we dont really know if he can “step” at this point.

and S Rod — who i like — was available for a trade exception (ask Memphis) and was a third stringer in Sacto.

I dont like sending Nate off for nothing..

I dont like the lack of substantial protection on the 2012 pick

i dont like dropping the ball on Ty Thomas/Al Harrington.

No I saw what you were doing, the type threw me off. And according to his trainer, Tmac could suit up immediately.

its South Beach.

I guarantee you Duhin still starts. We’re talking about _’antoni here aren’t we?

Or did we trade him too?

Damn, I wish.

Maybe Nate helps Boston beat Cleveland? LOL!

We didn’t drop the ball on Thomas/Harrington, Bulls just pulled the offer.

We also don’t know what McGrady is going to look like after being fully recovered from microfracture surgery (2 year recovery to full strength), either.

And we got two good young players for Nate, who will be chomping at the bit and do whatever D’Antoni says to get playing time.

Agree that S Rod could’ve been had cheaper but still glad we got him, and I’m hopeful 2012 pick isn’t high after the Knicks turn itno a good team.

I “hate’” the fact that we traded away our future (draft picks) when we would have had the money to sign a max FA anyway.

I “hate” that we traded Nate to our mortal enemy Boston for players who will not be here next year.

I “hate” the fact that our team has shown no heart this season.

I disagree with the strategy we are following in building this team, the way D’Antoni is coaching the team this year, and the way we used the young guys the 1st half of the season. Doesn’t make me more or less of a fan than anybody else.

I still wish the team the best and hope we sign two max FAs.

You can still disagree with a war but pray for the safety of the troops because you love your country.

It was rumored yesterday but I haven’t found it anywhere saying that it’s official…

Agree with you on the backcourt.
You still gotta admit that if Gallo and Chandler start getting at least 10 boards a game we’re gonna get pounded in the paint. It’s not like Bender going to present and imposing post threath, or Gallo for that matter.

I could care less about Darko.

Nate being traded to Boston makes no sense. Who trades one of their best players to their division rival? We got no draft picks or additional cap space.

Go cry to Tommy again. P***y.

“Just in time to miss out on ALL the superstar FA’s”

ALL?

ALL who?

This magical FA class is not that deep.

Does anyone know if the Knicks can use the Mid Level or Bi-Level Exception to sign some guys in summer if they buyout Curry to save 2 million, and then sign 2 max players with Chandler , Gallo and Douglas plus cap holds at the vet min for the other 10 spots to be right at the cap. This question is critical in terms of building a team that can compete for title next yr if we are lucky enough to land 2 max players. If we can use MLE or BLE we can possibly bring in a pt guard or resign tmac for cheap or Sergio or players like that to round out the team rather than just 2nd rd picks or bottom feeders of the league.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/knicks/2010/02/knicks-closing-in-on-tracy-mcg.html#ixzz0fvGtEMX4

If that is true DVJ, I take back everything I said about the trade.

I’ll be in favor of it . . .again.

But we are sending cash to Minnesota anyway?

Could care less about Darko, Trade just doesn’t make any sense.

Is there a trade exception created?

For the millionth time, no MLE or BLE if we’re under the cap…

lol. Suckhon always manages to still start. Again, I ask how bad can a player be until he gets benched? I’d rather see Eddy Curry as our pg than Suckhon. They probably move at the same speed anyway.

Everyone’s saying that we didn’t get a pick hence why the trade makes no sense…

I hope it’s not a 2nd rounder (55ish pick)

“So the point of the nate trade was…?” First off, thanks to Nate for showing heart and being the only Knick to show he could take the ball to the basket. Nate was guy, can’t wait to see him arrive in the playoffs.

So you think the only point nate is for trade picks? I mean we are getting back House who is a proven 3point threat and champion with the Celtics. Who might be here for next seaons FAs. It’s not about change of scenery. Giddons is talent and so is Walker, both bring a lot of athletisicm and versitilty, something they couldn’t do in Boston. These are the type of moves that could help knicks, bring some youth, length, talent, athletsicm to a team that is very robotic in the knicks. I guarantee you if these players went to another team and brokeout people would say “man, who knew they were going to be good like that. I wish we had them.” That’s how it always is especially if you’re a knick fan.

One of several things that I am upset about is that we seem to be trying to save cash. We didn’t send $3m in any deal, nor did we trade Cuttino Mobley’s insurance-covered contract, nor did we use the trade exception to add salary. The Knicks are rolling in dough. Why aren’t we sending cash instead of picks? Makes no sense to me.

Nice analogy. You went to the Kellen Winslow Jr. School of Trivializing War To Relate To Sports?

We would have signed one max player. One. And which would have wanted to come play for a team with the starting backcourt involving Curry & Jeffries? We can buy draft picks (literally) so I don’t think it’s the end of the world that we gave one pick and may (repeat: MAY) swap another.

So you hate that we traded someone who won’t be here next year for two guys who may be here next year if they impress the coach/Prez?

It’s the player’s own fault for not showing heart. Are these not prideful guys? How can they look at themselves in the mirror after a game like the on I was forced to watch Tuesday night? They don’t put effort, but never seem to realize that if they busted their humps every night that the team may have actually brought them back.

I can understand the disagreeing the strategy. But to be honest, this was the best way to go. Blow it up and start over. D’Antoni is being forced to deal with diva veterans crying about playing time when they know this is about the future. Good soldiers get rewarded.

I don’t think the young guys were that misused. Maybe Douglas, who can’t possibly be worse than Duhon. But Hill is still too raw. Gallo & Chandler play over 30 mins a game so I assume you aren’t including them in the misuse of young players.

Think about the midst of the Isiah Error and where we are now. I never in a million years thought it could happen, but here we are.

Giddens and walker won’t crack the rotation…nate is more effective off of the bench than eddie house will ever be…ainge is laughing at the moment…

interesting…id be more than happy with lbj and gay.

If Bosh says no to NY, were do you think Donnie is not going to go to Lee?

I don’t think Donnie has even entertained the though of trading Lee since before last season trade deadline.

Johnson is the fallback if LBJ or Wade say no. That’s why I put Lee over Johnson, not because Lee is better, but because Lee is Donnie’s fallback option to Bosh

No pick at all.

Very good analyzes on that trent.

because Houston wanted picks

I’m not even commenting on the “our Amar’e” line….and the Cavs are a winning team because Lebron plays for them. If he leaves Cleveland is probably battling Chicago for the 8th seed. If Lebron was on the Knicks this year they’re probably fighting for a top 4 spot.

And like I said yesterday…compiling draft picks will turn you into the Bulls…a lot of lottery talent but barely .500. I’ll trade that for a chance at real success any day.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap/

Saying that they did get a pick. Not sure what year, I assume it’s 2011.

The Spurs have traded Theo Ratliff to Charlotte, source tells Y! Sports.

Agree, somewhat. But Giddens and Walker could help out this a lot and Eddie is a ver dangerous shooter who could add to next years team or else he’s gone, which okay by me. See, Nate wanted to move on, there’s nothing you can do about that. And only reason Gids or Walker won’t crack the rotation isn because of a star hungry coach.

“starting backcourt involving Curry & Jeffries”

Hell no one would want to play with that backcourt. But Curry and Jeffries play in the front court.

“You went to the Kellen Winslow Jr. School of Trivializing War To Relate To Sports?”

Don’t be stupid. I was saying you can still love your team and cheer for the players while hating the decisions of management. Trivializing a war would be me saying these guys are “heros” like Clyde does every broadcast.

“I don’t think the young guys were that misused.”

Really? How many plays per game did we run for Gallo or Chandler in the 1st half of the season? How many games did Douglas or Hill get more than 15 minutes? We had Bender playing more minutes that either of them. Cmon man. Just cmon.

Teams might not want cash? Would rather have cheap controlled salaries for rookie players? Just guessing though, no one really knows for sure.

Yup. With another star there, the seats will be filled, and Miami is a multi-cultural interational city with lots of entertainment for rich ballplayers and their families.

I can easliy see Bosh there as he is a warm weather guy.

Why can’t Walker/Giddens crack the rotation? It’s not like we have a ton of players from our rotation back.

Duhon, Tmac, Gallo, Chandler, Lee. Harrington, House off bench. 7 man rotation?

“Nate wanted to move on, there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Tmac wanted to move on and look what Houston did about it.

I LOVE IT!!!!!

Listen…Walsh did his job….he wanted to have maximum flexibility for 2010…

He gets rid of the craxy Z-BO contract…it was previously UNTRADEABLE!!!

He gets rid of Jamal Crawford…another crazy contract

He gets rid of Jarred Jeffries…brutal contract

He has made some mistakes….drafting Hill in the 1st place…not moving up to the 5th pick last year…could have Curry or Rubio….drafting Gallo instead of Brook Lopez…..not trading Nate and Jeffries last year to Sacramento….

BUT…to be in the position that we are in right now is amazing….LETS GO!!!!!!

Grading the Deal for New York: A (with an asterisk)

The asterisk stays until July 2010 when this deal will be fairly judged for the Knicks.

I don’t see a fair argument against why the Knicks shouldn’t have made this move. Walsh’s mission since taking over the Knicks has been to position for 2010 and creating two max slots puts them in the best possible position. Realistically, the Knicks didn’t have enough to attract a true top-3 player in the NBA without the second max slot because they didn’t have enough talented pieces.

It is a risky move to be certain, but the greater failure in not landing LeBron would be to have not taken this deal.

If the deal does work, the Knicks have basically traded Jordan Hill and a pick in the late 20s during the 2012 draft (no 2011 swap) for LeBron James and another superstar.

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/src_feature_pieces/870/20100218/grading_the_deal_knicks_rockets_kings_all_win_with_trade/#ixzz0fvLd0iFg

Crap. Forgot S-Rod. I retract that statement.

But that’s CURRY not Lee. There’s no way you can compare Lee to Curry, no way. If a Lebron or Paul came here next year, you think Lee could pull that with them? Curry just doesn’t want to make the effort, Lee has tremendously. We’ll see with a true team behind him how good he’ll be.

But then we’d have Gallo, Chandler, Gay & Bron who basically all play the same poitions.

It seems you’re very attached to an arrogant, showboating, immature shoot-first 5’8″ guard. Why? He’s a nice piece if you’re a championship caliber team, but why keep him around and have him whoop it up after drilling a 3 to pull the Knicks withing 15 in the 4th quarter again?

Nate wanted to stay.

It is rumored that he veteod at least two trades before this one.

i often said to those who don’t like this trades that they have little team mentality.
biggie seems to me the accounter counting the dollars on behalf of his company day after day, be conservative and stay alive…..

You say, it’ kind of a gamble. I say, we set a dynasty for next ten years if HE comes.

You say, we already had a lot of cap. I say, we have more now and this trade opens some opportunities for this summer. What if tmac reveals to be still good for example? Really, the only thing that counts is to spend these millions of dollars wisely and remember that times of contracts a la hughes are over in a couple of years.

for sure i agree with you entirely on one point: i don’t want lee no rings for the future.

What did they do?

that would be a terrible idea, they play the same position…. I know were trying to get stars here and stuff, but stockpiling a bunch of SF’s is not the way to go. I know it seems like we gave away our entire team this weekend, but we still have Gallo and Will.

hes an expiring?

a gay BJ?

well zbo’s contract wasn’t untradeable. LA traded him that same season. his contract was brutal, yes, but he can play, which is why we were able to move him.

Finally, a voice of reason.

Bill Walker and Giddens both have team options for the next 2 years. Walker’s team option for next year is $854,389 and the year after its $916,100. Giddens options are $1,100,640 and $1,986,655 with a qualifying offer for 2012/13 for $2,979,982.

They will both probably be here the next couple of years at least as we try to develop them. Walker is only 22 and Giddens is 25.

Sergio will be on the roster next season as well as he has a qualifying offer for $2,805,888.

So essentially we will have a roster that will include all three of those guys, Gallo, Chandy, Curry, Douglas and we can resign House for cheap and he excels in D’Antoni’s systems plus 2 max guys thats 10 guys already without talking about resigning McGrady for cheap. We will have roughly $30-35 million in money 2 max deals will leave us with roughly 3-5 million to spend on filling out the roster.

DID ANYONE CONFIRM IF THE TYRUS THOMAS DEAL TO CHARLOTTE GOT DONE?????? cause maybe the ratliff deal made them pull out…

IS AL HARRINGTON STILL A KNICK????PLZZZZZZ SUM1 TELL ME NOO

Well not the last trade which matters the most. Im just saying you have young guys in Walker and Gidden who might breakout. They might be yoour sleepers if they play,lol. I’m all for going in a new direction. soemtimes you don’t knw what you’re going to get. That’s what plague the Knicks. We say naw we don’t jennings he’s too flashy, naw we don’t want Evans too young and unproven in NCAA because we never chances on young talent. Well, lets see these guys have.

“You have to grade this deal now…”
Now, it sucks. Traded JJ, Hill and 2 barely protected picks for a 3rd string pg on a lottery team and a sg who has been injured most of the year.
If Bron signs in July, it is a good deal. If he does not and Hill starts beasting in Houston next year, this trade is as good as the Curry, Marbury trades.
If all else fails, I just hope they tank hard enough to get the #1 pick in 2011, no breathing room.

Didn’t notice my typo. You knew what I meant. Rapid fire comments and my mind gets jumbled in my old age.

Gallo had tons of plays run for him. Be serious. Chandler has developed into a primary scoring option for us, but early in the year he was shying away from taking/making his own shots. He wasn’t very confident in his game and you could see it in his body language. Whatever changed, the guy finally goes after his shots more (by his shots I mean driving, pulling up instead of settling for deep jump shots). Hill, as I said, was still VERY raw, so why would you play him 15 minutes if he wouldn’t be able to help you very much? I agree I’m still confused as to why Douglas doesn’t play more, but I feel that he’s similar to Nate, and when Nate wasn’t playing they relied on Hughes more? I dunno. I hate Duhon and can’t stand watching him suck it up, but maybe Douglas hasn’t shown much to get on the court. Who knows.

I was not against trading Nate (see below).

I was for his benching by D’Antoni, just not as many games as he received.

But he is arguably the Knicks 2nd or 3rd best player and arguably the most marketable right now. Why just give him away to a team in your division. Who does that?

That is my point.

Then why did we also trade Milicic for a deal that will save us about $1.8m? Dolan sucks.

I’m surprised that you guys aren’t bitching about Walsh not being able to trade Curry……..

Agreed

That is still speculation but you are probably right, either way still an upgrade

I agree on this, I’m not sure why he really had to get him for no pick especially since Boston has a late on anyway

Also agreed, at least top 5 I would have liked

Did you see the deal Chicago got for Thomas? Way better than our offer, especially with the way Deng is playing lately which makes Harrington not as helpful to them.

You can’t put breathing room on the court. The point is to build a team that can win. You guys need to look at what just happened very closely and ask yourself, how do you get a team of 13 players that can play playoff ball with $32,000 in cap space and only one real starter left in Wilson Chandler. (Danilo is not a starter and we’ll figure that out by the time D’Antoni is gone). And not to mention that one of those starters must be a point guard with at least one decent back-up. DO you have enough cash to make that happen next year. Pay attention folks — you don’t. Sit down and try to build the team yourself under the current CBA. What do you think you’ll have next year, unless you have LeBron and Wade who will attract more cheap labor through mid-level exceptions and Million dollar exceptions because they are winners. Otherwise it’s a plan for failure.

Biggie is right the only reason (and the main reason) is because it’s South Beach.

They have terrible fans there who are mainly transplants anyway so there building will never be filled.

I mean it is an “interational city” after all. Doesn’t sound to great there

Nah man not me I’ve been begging the Knicks to draft a PG for the past ten years. I’m all with you for giving guys legitimate shots. But we know D’Antoni already, those guys aren’t going to play and aren’t going to be here next year. Remember Chris Wilcox?

And I actually would have liked this trade (TMac) if we didn’t throw in all of those picks with it. The picks are why I’m so pissed of today.

Same with Nate trade. If we get a pick I’m all for it.

Because 8 years before of tanking on accident was so much better?

“If T-Mac reveals to be still good” he will sign for a team that can offer him more than the minimum; unlike the Knicks, who after signing to max/near max FAs will have no more money.

I was looking at the knicks on the roster on their main website for the first time (nice graphics) and noticed half of the team gone. Wow, what a day makes. but more oppotunites given to SRod, Doug , Giddens, Walker, I hope.(Not paging DA)

At what roster though? That’s the whole point. The only players under contract are Gallo (very promising young player), Chandler (promising young player), Douglas (potentially solid young player), and Curry (very valuable expiring contract). That’s it. Lebron can come here and basically have a large say in creating the team he wants to play with. Cleveland can’t offer that – they can offer him an extension and a Rasheed Wallace type veteran MLE.

DVJ,if Mcgrady still has it,will the KNICKS try to sign him? and for how much?

And my point is we didn’t just give him away. As someone pointed out below, because they have cheap team options, they’ll stick around.

Who did he have in those 8 years besides Yao? So having a baot load of money come next season won’t make him better? What his “tanking” is going to spread on the other talented FAs?

So Salmons = JJ + hill + 2 picks?

Knicks4Life, the Knicks had no choice. Donnie mucked around this summer and frightened teams off Nate and Lee when he might have been able to create a sign and trade situation. But he was looking only for expiring contracts so it seems. By waiting so long to address Nate and Lee, Nate had no option except to enter into a new agreement which allowed him the right to not be traded before the trade deadline without his permission. Nate would only grant permission to be traded to a Championship contender — the Lakers of the Celtics.

D’Antoni wanted Nate out. Clash of personalities. Donnie, upon demand from Nate’s agent and Nate, were willing to get him out of the locker room and try to get something in return. They didn’t get a fair return, but they also considered themselves rewarding Nate for years of service by letting him go and earn his next contract and allowing D’Antoni to play Douglas serious minutes.

Donnie really had no choice because he was going to get nothing for Nate in the summer. This is the best he could have done because of how he set it up from the beginning.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your math is really off. None of those guys can be retained for anything more than the minimum if we get 2 max guys, along with anyone else not on the roster because all the cap space would go to the max deals

I think we gave up too much to have a shot at 2 free agents especially when there are better options out there for them this summer. The teams we’re competing against in free agency have better talent on their rosters than we do so that will hurt us. Can’t judge this fully until this summer though so I’m hoping for the best.

I have no doubt that Houston will turn those picks into gold though.

Why the hell not? Was darko doing us any good over in Europe? So why not save almost $2 mil (I know, chump change, right?) and bring in a guy who will actually try to play.

No no no. We have to renounce their rights to have enough to sign two max free agents.

If it’s just the picks my man, let’s just hope that we’re good and those picks are nowhere near the lottery.

He pushed this trade hard, now that it’s reality, he is hedging in case July in Bronless.

The whole point is we can sign two of those players, which those other teams can’t.

In case July IS Bronless.

Other than Miami. My bad.

Gallo had tons of plays run for him?

Agree Chandler has become more aggressive (which I have been begging for Gallo to become) I think he was still recovering from his injury and was telling people like Mucha to stay patient with him; disagree that he had plays run for him.

I actually agree (somewhat) that Hill was too raw to play extended minutes. But if we could have used him in spot duty like Memphis uses Thabeet.

Trust me as much as you hate Duhon, add 5x that and you have mine. I loathe him (as a basketball not a person).

It’s because it’s virtually impossible to trade Curry this season.

Although 99/100 he goes back to cleveland, we should at least try to sign big Z….we have no size on this team now….who’s the backup center for lee, harrington? We need someone and his name better not be cheick samb

ahhhhhhhhh. NO THEY WON’T.

You have me acting like Shakes now (no offense Shakes) with the all caps.

We have to renounce their rights to be able to sign two max FAs.

And if we don’t sign two max FAs . . . major major fail.

My God I’m all over the place today. I know that is incorrect. Don’t even bother, working and following this has fried my brain. But I still think we can resign them after renouncing their rights.

“Lebron can come here and basically have a large say in creating the team he wants to play with”
Like I said, the mother of all rebuilds. Cleveland is offering him the best team in the league now and a shot at a chip this year and next. Hmmm, tough choice.
There is a difference between reality and wishful thinking.

Thats why sports fans, including knick fans always fall into traps or dont get better, because they always say, man, tmac didn’t make it out the first round, we dont want him.” “Or he always getting injured.” Then he goes to bulls and makes them a eastern conference team.(just saying) At the end of the day tmac is a guy who could get any team over the hump, especially one going into the offseason with a lot of cap. You all just talk for the sake of talking. instead of sitting bakc and saying we’re making progress. five months u werent happy. five months later you’re still not happy. overanalzye things too much. who knows having a huge cap could bring us talent in next year or two and that might be a gold mine and then we could flip that and two or three draft picks. Walsh isn’t a idiot, he’s going to get u a few draft picks. relax.

Next season? different story. He’s an expiring! I hate the NBA. Eddy Curry’s fat ass as $10 mil coming off the books is will be valuable. Ugh.

Agreed.

I’m going to hate the draft lottery this year.

lets hope this means we dont end up signing carlos boozer and amare stoudemire. overall i think giving up JJ and hill, with or without picks, was a good move. the knicks get a good player in tmac and hopefully have enough in them to compete in lebron sweeps.

It’s only the best team because Lebron is on it. As a team, they’re mediocre. Take Bron away and they’re fighting to just make the playoffs.

That’s the question we’re going to have to wait on bob.

Me personally, I think if he can stay healthy, they would try to bring back McGrady over Lee because he’ll be cheaper and he’s a better fit in the system. How much is McGrady worth? Let’s see what he can do in these next 29 games. We’re 7 1/2 games out of the playoffs. Do I think we’re making the playoffs? No

If McGrady is healthy, how can you go wrong with Lebron, Bosh, McGrady, Chandler, Gallo? (If we’re fortunate enough to sign those 2).

Or even Joe Johnson, McGrady, Amare, Gallo and Wilson.

This season is over barnaby.

And no way does Big Z sign here.

Naw, I was just being sarcastic…..he’s obviously not tradable this year. Now that Donnie has lived up to his promise to put us in a position to make a run at the free agent market this summer, I think I’ll be done reading the comments section on this blog. Any bitching between now and then is just so that Biggie and Has can hear themselves bitch.

This has got to be the most risky trade of all time.

If we don’t sign a top-5 FA this summer, it’s a total disaster. Basically we will be the worst team in the NBA for the next 2 years without a draft pick. Anyone who thinks it’s fine since we have “breathing room” is insane – we gave up 3 high picks to get rid of one contract that was ending next year anyway. I.e. we did it for this year. I hope it works.

If we sign 2 max contracts, don’t worry, we’ll figure the rest out. Curry’s contract will be worth a lot by next year’s trade deadline, we can probably get Elton Brand or Jose Calderon, etc, someone who’s very good but slightly overpaid with many years left. Think of how much we could have gotten for it now if it was expiring. And we’ll just use all our exceptions and stuff starting 2011.

Won’t we all. But that’s freakin’ Zeke haunting us from the grave. Thank God that we are a year away from having his stranglehold on this franchise over with (Curry gone after next season, this draft pick travesty behind us). At least he gave us Chandler.

Dude, I was referring to EQ’s comment on the Knicks purposely tanking the last 2 years, not McGrady’s

The other teams don’t have to, we unfortunately do. Chicago already has Rose, Deng and Noah, the Clippers already have Baron Davis, Kaman, Griffin and Gordon and if the Heat and Cavs keep Wade (Miami can then sign a max free agent) and Lebron they will also be better destinations than the Knicks. Those teams don’t need two max guys. We will only have Gallo, Chandler, Douglass and Curry.

Also the Clippers will have their 1st round pick which, based on their bad record (they actually have 2 more wins than we do), will be pretty high while we will swap picks with Houston who has 9 more wins than we do and should get better with Martin on their squad (they’re only 2 1/2 games out of the 8th playoff spot in the west).

Makes some sense. But I would have rather seen Nate expire than go to Boston.

A discount! Surely you jest! Granted, Lee has shown improvement offensively, but his defense remains non-existent. He tried for 12 mil extenion last year, crying about how disrespected he felt. No, direspect is the multitude of players rushing pass, over and thru his imaginary D. Surely he’ll feel that he warrants a max deal!

Depends on what the Cap number is. We have roughly 17-21 mil committed to next year, if the cap is at $53 (the low end) million then yes we have to renounce their rights if the cap is at $58 million (the high end) then we can afford to keep their 4.7 million in deals and still over 2 make deals at $16 million each. Which would give us 10 players on the roster with roughly 1 million left over and a second round pick to sign.

Not to mention that David Lee is willing to do a sign and trade and Eddy Curry’s contract will then be an expiring deal. If we can do a Sign and Trade of Lee and Curry for someone (Maybe Bosh that way Toronto gets something in return for him) it would save us another 11 million. the Salary wouldnt have to match since both clubs would be under the cap.

espn reporting that Bill Walker and JR Giddens are now Knicks. Seems that Walker has some solid NBA potential, though he hasn’t gotten much burn this year for the Celts (injured).

do you think it’s possible for the Knicks to bring back Lee in addition to signing two max guys? would Bird Rules apply here?

The swapping of picks is for the 2011 draft not 2010.

I think the Gallo/Chandler combo is a good selling point. We’re New York. That sells itself. CC calls Lebron all the time to tell him about NY (and probably how much cash money there is to be had out here). I just think when all things are weighed, Lebron knows he will be King here. Literally. he will be the King of all sports. He will be a global icon. Obviously I’m hopeful he comes here, but I also don’t think he wants to go to the cursed Clips. Honestly, I think it’s a 3 horse race with us, Chi-town and the Cavs.

that’s an opinion, not a fact. Fact is they are the best now.
Let’s assume Bron is on the Knicks team, do you tink they would be the best team in the league?

Unless I am reading this trade wrong, we do not have a pick this year (we already knew that) next year we have a pick, we will swap our pick with Houston if our pick is higher and then in 2012 we do not have a first round pick as of now but that gives Donnie 2 years to trade someone to get that pick back. We can always use the money we have (saved 1.8 in the Milicic deal) the $3 mil from Mobley etc to buy back a late round pick. Who knows maybe some fool takes Eddy Curry’s expiring in a sign and trade with David Lee on draft night.

It is the picks. Let’s hope for all our sanity that donnie knows something we don’t. Because I just can’t fanthom what it would be like if he does not.

My son and I have tix to the game monday night.Hope T-MAC plays

You’re right about 2011 picks, my bad.

I think NY as a selling point means something but not as much as it once did since we’re knee-deep in the information age and the Knicks haven’t had much to brag about in the last decade. Guess it depends on his motivation because if you put Lebron on Chicago, LA or Cleveland those teams are immediately much better then Lebron on the Knicks are. I’m hoping for the best though.

I know its only for the rest of the year,but i was hoping to get rid of Al Buckets

Why are some fans/media still angry at this deal and thinking negatively –

“Well, what IF we don’t get the big free agents”

Its incredible leverage to sit down and tell these guys “look what we did to try and bring you here”

ALSO – even if the small percentage that you don’t land LeBron or Wade – the cap room will allow D’Antoni to put together guys for HIS system and not have who he’s dealing with now

His system creates open shots (see Barbosa, Raja Bell)

Understand this, the Knicks are putting all their eggs into one basket. I can think of a ton of other teams that have more of a possibility to contend, than the Knicks. Lebron will want to win, not help a team to grow.

As far as Jordan Hill is concerned, the Knicks first said that he was their future and that he reminded them of Amare S. Fine way to show it. Now poor Jordan is further away from starting than ever before. The Knicks just promised to give their rookie more looks, yeah right.

What I do not understand is why trade for Hill (Houston) when you do not plan on using him. Your system kills guys who, with the minutes, could excell. What a waste on both ends of the court.

Kudos to Donnie Walsh for taking less than 2 season to essentially cleaning up the mess called the 2000-2008 Knicks. When you look at the value of draft picks and expiring contracts in today’s NBA it’s almost imcomprehensible how Isiah and Scott Layden buried this team.

They may or may not sign Lebron/Wade/Bosh/Johnson over the summer but must have a pretty good indication of what will happen-if not, they would have done whatever they could to add draft choices somewhere along the way.

I’m not all that worried about losing Jordan Hill, he isn’t the first 8th pick in the draft (or even earlier) to fail to make an impact in the NBA-look at Tyrus Thomas, who seems like a player with a much bigger upside than Hill, getting traded as an expiring and Joe Alexander, another #8, being unable to break into the Bucks lineup after an injury. They never had a pick this year (when it would have been a good player) because of the Curry fiasco and by 2012, if they aren’t good, who really cares?

No it’s not possible to get 2 max + Lee, unless Lee signs for the minimum.
We have to give up our Bird rights on Lee to sign 2 max..

I’m confused. The Knicks have been god awful for the last 10 years. They’ve been so bad that I literally have stopped watching NBA basketball… I breathe basketball, I can sit and watch a 12 year old aau game but I couldn’t watch the knicks over the last 10 years. I’m drinking the LeBron kool aid… I’m all about these trades because now we have a freaking shot. It’s 50/50 with LeBron. He’s either staying in Cleveland or he’ll be wearing the number 6 for the knickerbockers. But what if he doesnt? If he doesn’t… we rebuild. We buy smart, we buy draft picks, we rebuild and we hammer home the idea of NY Pride. Stop bitching and whining and try and sip on some optimism.

Jordan Hill recently was an important factor to the success of the Knicks. He was playing very well averaging about 13 minutes per game in the last four games. The team was showing more confidence in him, but this was all a facade. The Knicks did not know what they had with Hill and fail in trading him away instead of developing Him. In the end, Hill would have had way more appeal to the other stars available for next season, than T-mac ever will.

And IMO LeBron is destined to win five championships REGARDLESS of what team he is on. So if he is not a Knick we’re in trouble anyway so we might as well start the rebuild with a fresh slate.