“…The Knicks could have enough cap room to sign two maximum-salaried players, and they seem to be counting on the idea that the stars will confer with one another on July 1. The roster will look a lot more attractive to James if he knows Bosh is coming, too.
Smith said those conversations would probably happen, “but at the end of the day, they’re great players and they really believe they can do it without each other.’’ In other words, James, Bosh and Wade may talk about the idea of joining forces but will ultimately prefer to have their own team.
“Let’s not give guys a lot of accolades on a team that has that many losses,’’ Smith said. “I call it being a looter in a riot. It’s easy to get great numbers with all of the chaos going on.’’
…Smith contrasted the Nets and the Knicks of today with the Orlando Magic of 1999-2000. That team, coached by Doc Rivers, went 41-41 and nearly made the playoffs, despite following a similar payroll-purging blueprint. Orlando cleared enough cap space in 2000 to sign Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady.
“He won 41 games with a team that shouldn’t have won any,’’ Smith said of Rivers, “and he attracted Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady. Go back and look at all the quotes that they said: ‘Man, he won 41 games with those guys and those guys play hard. I wouldn’t mind playing with those guys.’.. ”
All great points. Rivers did a great job in Orlando and he had to…How else could you recruit players to Orlando? Mickey Mouse? EPCOT? Or $$$$$ and flexibility? The Magic wanted Hill, who wanted to leave Detroit, and Tim Duncan, who didn’t want to leave San Antonio. They “settled” on T-Mac and Hill. Point being, for them it had little to do with wins and more to do with “reason to leave” which both Hill and Mac had. Wouldn’t Hill have had NY on top of his list if they had the wiggle room?
Again, we had JVG on the radio show and he thinks the prudent play was to do what Walsh is doing because it gives them great flexibility moving forward. And Jeff isn’t the most popular person when it comes to MSG. And Eric Snow, who played with Lebron, has been on record saying that Lebron has done plenty for the city of Cleveland already.
What does it all mean?
In the meantime, no one knows what’s going to happen. Smith is a great mind, but I’m not sure he’s the right choice to talk to considering he wanted to join the front office two years ago, which is why we picked Snow’s brain. And the Knicks passed on the Molloy product, who I once saw run full court (92 feet), and dunk while taking just 3 dribbles to do it, in favor of Mark Jackson. He’s a professional and a great one, and no longer is a broadcaster with MSG Network…I’m just saying.
As I’ve always said, I hope all this is about obtaining a star player. There’s little reason to have to justify what a star player, combined with cap flexibility, can accomplish.
the pitchforks and torches are out on the other thread..
LMAO>> good not to be one of the few voices in the crowd calling for the coach’s head..
welcom to the dark side y’all.
“LMAO>> good not to be one of the few voices in the crowd calling for the coach’s head”
You’re one of the “Crusaders” Big, don’t be modest.
Hardly a “crusader”…lol. Right big?
But you’re not calling for the coach’s head. Not yet. We agree on that.
I’m not calling for the “coach”‘s head just yet, ONLY because I am hoping that maybe some Free Agent is dumb enough to think he’s “the greatest coach in the world” and that somehow he is the key to their championship dreams. After July I probably will be, I would be willing to reconsider if he would stop being so stubborn and hire an assistant to handle the defensive responsibilities.
co sign
Well I really believe in this coach! I believe he’s a total disaster and should be shipped back to PHX with a note “We are soooo sorry!”
But Tommy Dee can’t say this in public because he might not get access to those practices where our Knicks work soooo hard in practice.
That’s got to be the problem in that they leave it all in practice! So folks, trade in your tickets for the practices!
well i do know how practice goes.
SHOOT.
the guys who takes the most shots an play the least D are the 1′s who play in the real time games as u can tell by now..
I don’t want his head, I just want him to get his head out of his book and into the game he’s playing. Coach against the team your playing with the personnel you have. toward the goal of getting better every game. You don’t have to score over 100 points every game. You just have to score one more than your opponent.
If the summer goes through, I’ll give him a max of 20 games to see what he’s got.
Anymore would be unfair, because I would be joining all those who excused this past two seasons of coaching because “he didn’t have his players”.
LOL I would give him until the deadline.
Realistically, I’m sure he isn’t going anywhere until 2011-’12 season though.
I know he’s going to get fired though. When you can’t communicate with your players OR your GM you’re not going to last very long in this league as a coach UNLESS you’ve won everywhere you have gone. Which clearly after these past two car wrecks of seasons he hasn’t. The Knicks will win less games than they did last year. Who thought that was possible? I didn’t even think it would be this bad and I didn’t have any faith in the coach at all.
lol. If you’re gonna take a gun out, then use it! Stop with the incremental stuff!
Why would you want to keep a coach around that is not developing our current players and has a system that is awful? Do you really expect LBJ not be able to see this and expect LBJ to get us a ring over a Kobe?
Kobe ain’t afraid of 7SOL, Spurs, Thunder, Jazz and Dallas either!
That’s just it, the guy may be a vain prima donna, but the dude wants to win. If he gets here by any sort of fate and if he doesn’t like what he sees either in the coach or the coaching staff, they’ll bolt
@ Has:
seriously, the entire season? If things don’t go right?
Wow, that patience is outstanding. Personally, I thought your deadline was quite realistic, but if the guy gets an instant playoff team through the summer, they guy’ll be burning in the hot box next season.
Yeah but LBJ would be wise to spend the next 2 years in Cleveland and come to the Nets when they get to Brooklyn or just bite the bullet and go directly to the Nets next year.
Either way, we need LBJ more than he needs us. Newark would be filled each night if LBJ went there and teamed up with Lopez. He can get his own coach instantly there because Kiki is moving back upstairs.
Walsh has his work out out for him to get LBJ.
That’s correct. It just might play a little bit in our favor that they’re Brooklyn plans might be too late, but you never know what goes through a star’s mind.
Well lets hope the fact that there illegally kicking people out of there home & neighborhood to make some fat kat developer and now a russian crime boss rich would be a turn off!! I may tell those community groups to start protesting to LBJ & Nike big time letting them know nothing but bad pub would be coming there way!!
sounds like a plan
i have said it b4 in hahn’s site
i think lbj signs a 3 year extension with the cavs an then sign with the nets or like u said mayb he’ll bite the bullet.
if donnie is smart he would sign 2 3 talented players.
I’ll take his head-get him out of here ASAP! It will never work with this guy in charge.
Get used to him..D’Antoni isn’t going anywhere….anytime soon.
Neither am I
Neither am I
You want any action on your claim that the Knicks are “winning 30-35 games” this year? That’s a bet I’ll take-except that would be akin to stealing.
Stay drunk my friend!
Relax guys dantoni gets one more year from me these past two I can’t count due to the fact any other coach would have plus or minus 6 wins with those squads
Yikes! Some of ya would hand your life savings to Bernie” Madoff for one more year to see if just needed more money to make it happen!
lol.
it is what it is
it’s like lil wayne fans u can’t tell them dude is garbage..
thats where your wrong
Every day, week,month, year this coach stays here means that a day week, month, year these players are not developing. We are already in the hole and it’s time to start digging ourselves out.
This coach is the wrong tool for that!
How long do many of ya need to see before concluding hat this coach isn’t the answer?
do you see a system here that works or have value but is missing only great players?
Yikes! We can’t keep calling ourselves the mecca of basketball when we see severe bad coaching after watching it for years! Soooooo Sad!
I’ll surely go on record and say this coach should have been fired after the 1st 12 games of this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA0POyuACgY&
No words.
Every Knicks fan’s nightmare.
I thought that was the owner and coach!
How crazy would it be to have Lebron go to Brooklyn, insted of coming to our garden?
Would it really be our worst nightmare?
Could you imagine the rivalry?
No matter who goes where, I believe that the Knicks and the Nets will become more dominant once again during the upcoming decade, and I am extremely excited for the potential of that, as well as the buzz that will be created within the boroughs.
Having said that, nothing would please me more than watching the Knicks beat the living shit out of the Nets 4x per season!
Hell of a sales pitch for LeBron, new owner, cap space, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Brooklyn NY, young talent, 2 lottery picks in 2010 draft. Did I miss anything?
http://www.nolandgrab.org/images/LeBronJayZ.jpg
Not so sure about that.
A problem for the Nets is that its not Brooklyn for another couple of years. Is James going to want to be in Newark until 2012? Also, we don’t know where the Nets will be drafting in this upcoming draft-with their luck they’ll probably miss out on Wall.
I love Brooklyn also (I am a proud resident), but to most of the high profile types it usually falls far short of Manhattan.
Jay Z is a factor, but the Knicks would obviously have enough star types of their own to woo LeBron, if necessary (Spike Lee
for example).
Who knows? I think he’s nuts to leave Cleveland to begin with.
Dont know if being used to disguise gentrification and the strong arming of a community is a good look for LBJ! I am going to drop those no land grab folks and tell them while they give that appeal all they got that they should flood LBJ & Nike with pleas not to support gentrification and the displacement of the working men and women in order to build a playground for the power elite & uber rich!!
What’s so funny is that to Ratner, the Nets have always been merely a means to an end (What a clown!). Presumably the politicians supporting this project felt (and still feel) the same way, although you wouldn’t know it by the way they acted today. It is a disgrace that people are losing their homes, and Markowitz completely writes them off by describing them as “disgruntled Knick fans”. Very typical.
Yea why would he care about the people of BK….oh wait he is there borough president!!! lmaoo he could care less look at the people who are breaking ground (besides the rapper sellout & the blind guy) and tell me what they have in common and tell me your shocked there sucking the blood out of a community!! lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA0POyuACgY&
breaking ground or breaking wind
in brooklyn?
The Nets suck.
Logo sucks.
Jersey sucks.
Arena sucks.
Team sucks.
History sucks.
They have Brook Lopez and a 2010 first round draft pick. That’s it.
They would suck significantly less with LeBron. I even think some of the younger Knick fans would become traitors and join their ranks.
The Nets had a lot more fans than I would have ever thought they would have when they had Kidd and co. LeBron would be a whole different animal.
If LeBron signs with the Knicks he’ll be the most mediocre superstar in NBA history.
Nets = Mediocre.
You forgot they also have no fans.
I think there the only team in NBA history who could not get a packed house for a championship game!! lmaooo
and the KNICKS aresoooo good!! you know if we FAIL to sign LEBRON,this whole plan was a big loser…A BIG LOSER
Firing D’antoni would be a backwards step right now. Might as well see how the summer pans out. Don’t worry though, I have my pitchfork and torch nearby for 2010-11.
I think after this past 2 seasons the patience as is thin as it gets. Is it really that big of a backwards step?
Say you’re a GM and you hired D’antoni, and come summer time you strike out on LBJ and Wade, but Bosh agrees only if D’antoni’s not the head coach. What do you do?
You spend 2 years dismantling a team, arguably making the roster worse with at the seasons go on and fire the coach before the big free agency move? Boston gave Doc Rivers a fair shake when they brought in the big 3 and that worked pretty well.
But why would Bosh demand that he not play for his Team USA coach? Has he made comments about that?
+ 1
FIRING dANTONI WOULD BE A BIG STEP FORWARD
Well, this should go to show how much of a fraud this coach is. From when he was first hired I was one to say it was a bad idea and that his whole philosophy is garbage. It should have been evident enough back in his coaching days in Denver.
Then I reeeaallly hated hiring this guy when he banished marbury to the bench on his “clean” slate. I held it to myself back then because chances are a lot of u would have called me crazy after everybody got moist over the little few games the knicks won to begin the season two years ago.
A real coach leads men, believes in his men and gets them to return the favor. Dantoni has done the exact opposite since he has been here and it has been painfully evident. And I’m tired of all this “his players” BS I keep seeing. Wtf does that mean anyway?….tell me which coach wouldn’t succeed with “his” players…..and what every coach means by “his players” is STARS!…….so I guess Adelman has “his players” in houston huh? Because from the looks of it, regardless of which group of mediocre players he has on the court playing for him for the past couple of years, he still manages to put a winning product on the floor, just to name an example.
The excuses for D’antoni just get more embarassing and embarassing as time goes on. Some people need to stop already or just plead insanity
Take it easy ladies….I’m trying to hold back but if you keep pressing me….the police will have to be put on patrol.
If I come back after my nightly 2 mile jog and I still see these negative comments…we’re going to have a problem.
LOL
Stay Patient My Friends
In Donnie We Trust.
I still enjoy your little words at the end of your short rants, but I’m still waiting to hear your own predictions for this upcoming summer, since you’re always giving assurances, how about you show some of that confidence to predict what’ll happen in july?
How you include the upcoming draft as well?
I really like to know the future, it helps manange expectations.
WHO IS THIS JERK^
Dude, you need to get laid!
Fight gentrification “NO LAND GRABS” protect your rights from political corruption!!
And while your at it throw dirt on the nets!! lol kill 2 birds with one stone!!
What really pisses me off is that despite having to wait 2 years to move to Brooklyn, they’ll have a more than legitimate shot at Wall, Turner or Cousins and then they have another top 15 to look forward to.
It doesn’t matter who they land during this upcoming summer, it’ll take a good coach to turn this team into a really tough team next season.
Once again, that’s a true rebuilding process.
+1
Thats what good management can do for a team! We had a shot at that with back to back lottery picks but nooooooooo we needed guys that fit this coaches style (or where off spring of his friends lol) but whats done is done you traded one lottery pick for cap space may as well trade the other or try to in an attempt to get the guy who will help us safe face no matter if nothing else happens and that is CP3!! Lebron is an up in the air fingers crossed type of thing but a trade for CP3 is a sure thing no wondering no hoping and best case it would be the 2 of them on Main street going hard for the ring!! Think donnie think!!! lol
Well, I’m still a bit fuzzy on this whole Paul thing that some keep posting about. What is this trade you propose to make it happen?
Not saying its a slam dunk to happen just that donnie needs to do everything he can to try and make it happen.
Gallo & Chandler & the EC expiring to N.O for CP3, there set in the back court for the next 4 years and there bleeding money! They cant afford him and to be honest dollar for dollar Collison is the way for them to go!
Gallo gives them a young cheap lottery pick talent in the front court with Chandler (I would move West for a high pick as well if I was them) and they become a good young talented team along the lines of the Thunder.
We get CP3 to be the best PG in the game on Broadway!! “CAN YOU NOT JUST SEE IT” he would have the garden rocking and move in to the superstar status(as far as marketing) for real!! What player would not want to team up with him??
After that sign and trade Lee to try and fill some holes, I was thinking Portland for Rudy and change, but I would be good with trading him to GS for Brandan Wright & Kelenna Azubuike. money adds up if Lee is in the 8 to 10mil range. Gives them a great rebounder & scorer who is allergic to Dee like donnie nelson likes lol.
As I said N.O can easily say no but things are just falling in to place for this to happen, there money issues our freed up money.
Forgive me guys for hoping this GM would try to do something right besides getting ready to throw money at people like Pac Man Jones in a strip club lol but I will be honest if he has the vision to TRY and make that move I will have way more respect for him as a GM even if he failed!
“Gallo & Chandler & the EC expiring to N.O for CP3, there set in the back court for the next 4 years and there bleeding money! ”
I’m not against getting Paul but I wouldn’t include Gallo. Any other scenario you can come up with I’m down. I can’t argue against Paul, even though I don’t like his game he is better than any other PG in the league but I think it’s really close with him and D. Williams.
“They cant afford him and to be honest dollar for dollar Collison is the way for them to go!”
I agree
“After that sign and trade Lee to try and fill some holes, I was thinking Portland for Rudy and change, but I would be good with trading him to GS for Brandan Wright & Kelenna Azubuike. money adds up if Lee is in the 8 to 10mil range. Gives them a great rebounder & scorer who is allergic to Dee like donnie nelson likes lol.”
If we’re trading our all star to GSW then Anthony Randolph has to be coming back. Any trade conversations between us and them starts with Randolph.
“As I said N.O can easily say no but things are just falling in to place for this to happen, there money issues our freed up money.”
Makes sense to me…just no Gallo.
“Forgive me guys for hoping this GM would try to do something right besides getting ready to throw money at people like Pac Man Jones in a strip club lol but I will be honest if he has the vision to TRY and make that move I will have way more respect for him as a GM even if he failed!”
By the time next season starts, your respect for Donnie will be at an all time high.
Good post blackwood
I really like AR but go youtube Brandan Wright and you will see that he has the better skill sets. Give him a I promise you will be impressed but I would not be against getting AR back but Brandan Wright he would be the man!!
I think any fan would love to have Paul on their team, and yes, EC’s contract will be useful to either get back a big contract or to get young players + picks.
Thing is, what other payers would we have after Chandler and Gallo our gone, forgetting the fact that they were supposed to be “the cornerstone of the team’s rebuilding process”.
I understand, by the way you’re proposing to use Lee, to use him straight up for a trade at the beginning of the season? (If I’m wrong pleasy clarify that).
So how do we fill our hole at SF/PF after that trade. Yes, in your scenario we’d get back the best floor general in the league, but we’d lose 2 strong pieces and I’m not sure with what pieces we can fill that void.
May I’m not understanding, but what would the line up look after that, and at what point during the year does this scenario go down?
Please, don’t get me wrong, it would amazing to have Paul here, I’m just wondering about the rest of the team.
My thinking Is both in the off season (not sure exactly when we can begin negotiating trades or S&T’s but I am thinking ASAP!
I also understand we would be thin as far as depth go’s of the top but as we know it would be part of the rebuilding process but lets give it a look…
pg)CP3=15mil
sg)Azubuike, Kelenna=3.3mil
sf)Walker=855,000grand
pf)Brandan Wright=3.3mil
c) TBD Buy a late 1rd pick or maybe a 2nd rd pick or the D league.
At that point where at about 22mil spent so we still have options when you think our cap is what 53mil? Thats 31mil left to make moves we could still drop 17 on a max guy and still have 14mil to fill things out.
Mind you im just giving a frame work but the numbers work as does the balance and talent. I will let you fill in what ever max FA you want in the frame work CP3 as the first move and we would be in the lead of anybody else competing with us for LBJ or any other FA. IMO
Thanks for taking the time to give what im saying some thought.
Azubuike & Wright are sleeper there up side is crazy Youtube those guys you will see what I mean.
Man you are 100% correct on Azubuike & Wright if they can come back from major season ending surgeries. Those 2 guys are ballers with huge upside. I like Randolph and would not mind getting Turiaf who is undersized but is a good rebounder and weak side shot blocker.
Also I am curious to see what Lee will demand this summer with so many teams having money to burn. His numbers will put him in the 2nd-3rd tier of FA’s.
Thanks RR….yea man those guys are young and real damn good and just bench dudes over there! Wright had a shoulder injury im pretty he will bounce back, I say the same about Kelenna Azubuike because there not rushing him back at all so he would be all healed up by the start of next season. We would have the biggest turn around in NBA history with CP3 and those 2 kids!! With a few more pieces and we are banging with the best teams in the NBA!
The Warriors are always good for giving away their talent. I posted this link from D Aldrige:
http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/david_aldridge/03/08/morning.tip/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1
I have been pushing for the trade of M Ellis but like I said before I am all in on CP3. I think CP3 & Ellis are 1st & 2nd in the league in steals but some guys on this site say Ellis plays no D.
I would love to see if they could get either 1 but the Knicks really need to hold onto Gallo.. All the Gallo haters are being really impatient. The kid is putting up better numbers through his 1st 90 games than guys like Dirk & T Parker who came to the league at a similar age from Europe.. B Berry & E Snow are saying this kid will be a star when he gets older with his abilties, size, & great shooting touch. I really listen when former NBA players talk about guys becoming stars.
Alright, I really do like your scenario, it is a beautiful sight. I’d do anything though to keep Gallo. I’d also have a hard time to let Will go, but if it gets such a player, I’m all for it. Maybe you can hang onto Walker and package him with Douglas + EC and see how that works out.
Of course LBJ would be the primary target the for FAgency, then Gallo could be finally used in the position I think he needs which is the PF.
Here’s the difficul part, as good as Paul is and as much as we want LBJ, they’re both ball dominant players, LBJ needs a PG that’s a mere facilitator not the floor general type of guy. So if you have CP3, Bosh would be the right way to go.
Then you need to go after Camby and of course, get a PF/C out the 1st draft /buy one) and then trade those 2 2nds for another 1st rd and I’d like to get Kalin Lucas for the backup PG (great player).
I’m not clear on what would have to be done to attempt a S&T with Lee, but in the end, it is a most tempting scenario.
Thanks SilentJay….Just trying to demonstrate how creative thinking can leap frog this team or team from worse to first! I think as the best PG in the league CP3 would facilitate LBJ, his ball dominance is more based on his circumstance in N.O then his need to. But even if thats the case Bosh is fine as his go to post guy or an other option is put this frame work together fill in the holes with a band aid and there is still 2011. Only issue with 2011 is that based on how the CBA turns out a guy like Mello has to want to take a hit on a few million bucks but would being the man in NYC balance that out for him? There are questions and holes but I believe thinking like this would be the way to save our team.
If people think Joe Johnson dominates the ball…..watch Paul.
We’ll see what happens.
I couldn’t care less about what a TNT analyst has to say about 2010 (Kenny Smith in particular, his POV is always short-sighted in my opinion) – I mean I’m still waiting for evidence.
“Gallinari’s a future All-Star, LeBron will with the Knicks!”
“Gallinari is unproven, LeBron will resign with the Cavaliers!”
“The Knicks have enough capspace to sign another max FA!”
“The Knicks suck – they’ll never be enticing enough to sign 2 max FA’s!”
Pure speculation. And very repetitive.
Been saying since Walsh came in that in order to attract a premium free agent the Knicks would need to remain competitive.
Losing a 100 games in two years and having your team quit at the end of each season isn’t exactly a great recruiting tool to a free agent interested in winning championships.
But hey I didn’t anticipate that the Knicks would have room for two max free agents so lets see what happens.
As for the coach, he has done nothing in NY to impress anyone, which is why I can’t understand people defending him or Walsh, but lets see what happens this summer.
That’s where DW got it wrong, he thought that by getting guys like Wilcox, Thomas or Harrington, D’antoni would be able to work with them.
Stars look at the roster around them, and the Knicks as of next year will have 3. I’m not complaining about the cap space, it’s great, but star player will wanna see an all around roster.
Insted of trying to “remain competitive”, young players or picks could’ve been traded for guys like Craw, Z-Bo, Lee, Nate, Marbury, etc. Maybe the Knicks would have a young cheap roster with upside, but DW opted for money insteadof young talent.
That’s that. All the chips are in for the summer, and so we wait for those days that will likely decide this team’s fate for the next 3-5 years.
LeBron, Wade and Bosh aren’t the only intriguing potential free agents on the market this summer. Another one is reigning executive of the year Mark Warkentien. According to sources, Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke has made no efforts to negotiate an extension for Warkentien, whose contract runs out after this season. Three situations bear watching if the Nuggets make the ill-fated decision to let Wark walk: The Knicks, Clippers, and Pacers. Although the Clippers have a bright young executive in Neil Olshey taking over for Mike Dunleavy, Olshey would benefit from an experienced hand to help him navigate a crucial time for the franchise. Despite the well documented negatives of working for Sterling, running the Clippers actually is an extremely attractive job. They’re in the league’s second-biggest market, have a talented roster, and the cap space to lure a premier free agent. The Knicks? Warkentien and Donnie Walsh are buddies, too, and according to sources, Walsh finally has the go-ahead to hire a No. 2 basketball man and heir apparent now that the spinoff of Madison Square Garden from parent company Cablevision has been completed. In fact, if Walsh doesn’t hire Warkentien, it is believed that he’d recommend that Pacers owner Herb Simon do it. The Pacers are badly in need of someone with Warkentien’s shrewd eye for talent and negotiating skills as they try not to waste the prime of Danny Granger’s career.
They “settled” on T-Mac and Hill. Point being, for them it had little to do with wins and more to do with “reason to leave” which both Hill and Mac had.
T-Mac was in TOR at the time playing in the shadows of VC and wanted to get out and establish himself as his own star. That was his motivating factor to leave to ORL. Hill was playing with Allan Houston at the time (I was at Michigan during this time). As soon as Houston took the NYK deal, Hill was determined to get out and get his.
So, let’s see what fruit 2010 FA will bear…
>>How else could you recruit players to Orlando? Mickey Mouse? EPCOT? Or $$$$$ and flexibility?<<
How about great weather and no income tax?
frankly this whole LBJ to Nets scenario makes me want to laugh out loud! Brooklyn, jayZ, beyonce, potential first pick, new coach…. WHATEVER! its still the NETS. We are talking about the nets for crying out loud… Mucha said it above..they will always be the Nets…
Hey, the Clips are in LA aren’t they? They even share the arena with the Lakers, why do they perennially suck? because they are the Clips. Simple. Remember when Kobe wanted to jump ship to go to the clips? Yeah right..why didnt he? Because nobody, nobody who is a star player will go to the second team in the market if they can go to the first.
LBJ will play at the garden and afterwards he’ll have a drink with JayZ and Beyonce in some filthy rich nightclub…
Great post!!
wow shocking that you like that post DVJ. I agree good post, except the Nets are rightly or wrongly perceived to have better young talent than the Knicks. Thats because they have a team that focuses on and spotlights their young guys, even if they are one of the worst teams in league history. Plus they could have John Wall or Turner coming next year, which would instantly give them a sick young core of Wall/Turner, Lopez, Harris, Lee, and Yi. Thats a ready made team that needs one superstar to be a contender in my opinion. The Knicks, due to the worst gm in the history of the league don’t have a draft pick this year and were in a much tougher situation than the Nets to begin with. But I still say it would be much better if the Knicks tanked this year by spotlighting Gallo, Chandler, Hill, and Douglas(even though it wouldn’t even be tanking because the veterans suck so much anyway that the young guys are better) and relied on Dantoni to try and coach them to be better than they are. Dantoni clearly hasn’t done this, and instead we are stuck with Chucketts enhancing his stats at the cost of gallo and wilson, and Douglas and Hill barely played, while the coach did a horrible job anyway with his veterans. Not the proper way to rebuild..starting with the coach.
the knicks will draft wall if they got the first pick
then trade harris or keep both an see how it works
Tthere is also no way that LeBron James is playing in Newark for two years. This is a guy who wants to be an international/global star-that ain’t happening in Newark.
Its Cleveland or NY for LeBron. it’s simple.
In a world without consequences he would come to NY and become the single most recognized NY sports figure since babe ruth! he would be celebrated as the savior of the garden, the messiah who ended 9 years of agony! etc, etc. cant you see the headlines after he delivers his first championship to the city.. I bet he can!
but we do live in a world with consequences and in this world he may feel pressured by not being the traitor, and not leaving his cozy little hometown (which isnt even Cleveland but Akron of course) even tough he could have. Look, there is LeBron he could have been the king of the world and yet here he is, he stuck with us, what a character.. what a people’s champion!
so which storyline will it be? both compelling, one more than the other for us.. but I do not see a third storyline here… good young team from the swamps… are you kidding? good night.
i herd he might sign with a euro team an
litterally be GLOBAL
“That’s real talk”
how many more losing seasons for the KNICKs till we are not the mecca of basketball?havent wononein 40 years.we sucked big time in the 70s,sucked big time in the 80s we were very good in the 90s,and we suck big time in 2000-2010……how does that make msg,the mecca of hoops?
in the same vien,why does this guy DVJ think that Walsh is the MECCA GM of nba hoops?he has less rings than the KNICKS
Off topic but did anyone read halns blog about gallo? I like that kid even more.
He’s a great kid. Gallinari’s mentality is the main reason why I believe that Gallinari’ll be a star.
*believe that he’ll
I just hope he can keep that same mentality as his career advances and doesn’t lose that attitude if he gets benched next season or sees less minutes.
I still think -in Gallo’s development context- that the best that can happen is for a coach who truly knows how to get the best out of his players lands on NYC. I just don’t see D’antoni as that person.
Gallinari’s shot selection has been more diverse as of late. He’s clearly trying to imitate Nowitzki’s midrange jumper when smaller players are guarding him. He’s an absolute keeper in my opinion.
Agreed def a keeper always liked that gallo pick as much as other think it was the wrong choice. But with him starting to post up smaller defenders and driving ny big defenders I think this kid will be a star or close to it. Noe reading that piece by haln how he wants to gaur the other teams star and doing a pretty good job for the most part and not going to the coach complaining about the few shot attemps but instead to let the coach knows he who he wants to defend that’s what is missing in today’s game. Gallo was pissed Manu scored that many points he didn’t care about the amount he scored he was more upset about how many Manu had. Give him to his 3 year I still say this is his first.
I’m really hoping he bulks up a hell of a lot in the offseason, as well as work on his athleticsm so he can take up the PF next season, that’s where he’ll be able to do most damage I think.
He’s got the touch, you can tell he already started working on his post game and everyday he takes less 3 pointers. His working on his versatility and that’s improvement already.
I cannot think of one team in any sport that gutted itself, void of a core and no top draft picks to ever become competitive basically over night since the advent of free agency.
In most cases what Walsh has done requires 3-5 years to build a team back up, no matter how much cap space there is. The lack of young talent and #1 picks makes it closer to 5 years. For instance look at the Detroit Lions. Matt Millen screwed that team up for years. Now they hopefully have a good GM coach combination. But they have picks and added more with trades. They took a franchise QB and are building around him and trying to put together a defense too. Are they winning?……no and it might take a few more years before they build a competitive team.
There is no way that Walsh can put together a competitive team so quickly. We do not have a Paul Pierce as a piece to add to KG and Allen to form a BIG 3 and a Rondo, Big Baby, Perkins and the other role players Boston had on their roster. If not for some injuries they might have gotten a second championship and if healthy they might do it this year. We have nothing…….no core of players, no draft picks, nothing.
I just cannot see how Walsh can put together a team that’s competitive next season let alone 2 or 3 more years. What he did to the team logically takes up to 5 years to rebuild considering the lack of core and draft picks. I am going by the history of sports franchises. If I am wrong someone please show me a team that did it the way Walsh is going about it.
Look at the Yankees of the 1990′s, they built that team on home grown players then added some trades in Scott Brocious and Paul O’Neil and a free agent here or there and won. When they stopped and just went with free agents they stopped winning. You need a core of home grown players and to keep adding home grown players only filling in with free agents and trades to make a winning team.
Lakers:
Derek Fisher- Lakers 1st round 24th pick 1996.
Kobe Bryant- traded at draft time to the lakers 1st round pick 13th by the Hornets 1996.
Bynum- Lakers 1st round 10th pick 2005
Ron Artest- free agent 2009
Pau Gasol- Gotten by trade, basically given as a gift 2008.
Lamar Odom- Gotten by trade from Heat 2004.
That is a championship caliber team, look at how they were built. That is the way to build a team and it did not take over night. It started in 1996 with a great draft and the addition of Shaq. Even with all that talent there were down years as they replenished their stock of players. But they always had a core and Kobe.
We have nothing……zero.
I agree wholeheartedky with your POV. Walsh is merely reconstructing through the free agency. A rebuilding process can be attributed to what the Bulls, Nets and Clips are trying to do and what Minny’s begun to do already.
Believe me, Walsh’s plan might just have a positive result in contrast to this past decade’s. Also, the fact that we’re missing our pick this year really puts a dent in what DW was trying to do, imo. Would I have kept my 8th lottery pick and kept 2011 and 2012? Hell Yes, but I guess DW saw fittest to have more cash to adjust his timetable to the time given when he came, including the fact that not having that pick made it seem really clear how difficult it’d be to receive any top players with any resemblance of a core. I’m not trying to justify DW at all, on the contrary, giving up so much to lose Jeffries seemed wrong to me, but his chips are all in for 2010, and anyone who says money should be saved for 2011 is out of his/her mind.
But someone willing to call this rebuilding is plain wrong.
Ok I hear what u are saying but u can’t compare rebuilding the different sports different rules different cap situation but ok u
used the lions Matt millen screwed that franchise up like u said agreed how did he do it? Bad drafting it wasn’t a failed let’s clear cap and sign free agents he made bad drafting ie Joey harrington. U said the Yankees of the 90′s ok they had a core that came up jeter Andy posada mo but how have they sustained winning? Signing huge free agents ie the best that’s there meaning spending the most money ie cc aj and making huge trades arod yes it wasn’t working for awhile ie giambi Randy etc but the yankees aren’t using the draft to keep themselves good they use trades and free agents. U mentioned the lakers they drafted good players ok good point I don’t disagree with you saying building through the draft is a great idea but how often is the free agent class gonna be this great? There are many ways to rebuild in the NBA draft picks trades cap space. Would u have rather we kept all the players we had with the expiring in 2011 1 years after the greatest free agent class? Then we only have Carmelo to fight over in 2011? We would still have our picks that would be 2 pick possibly not in the lottery based on the team we had ( zach and craw) maybe range ( 12-19) would we really get a difference maker in that range? Most NBA drafts you have to have a top 3 pick to get a star you can build around obviously there are exceptions. I would rather have the chance at the greatest player right now than heading to a first round exit of the playoffs even if we don’t get a max player I rather have the space and build the team how I want it. Btw we only lost 1 pick in the tmac trade. How many ppl here said they didn’t want hill and would be a busy and that Donnie made a huge mistake taking him?
good post but the Knicks were in a much different situation. Due to the hurricane that was Isiah Thomas, we had the worst roster pretty much ever..look how much we were paying for a team that couldn’t even make the playoffs. Due to trades such as the Marbury rape, we didn’t have a draft pick in 2010 anyway. We had very little in the way of young assets, and were basically screwed. I think this was the only way to rebuild the team, although I still dislike the Tmac/Hill trade because I think we needed HIll to stay and turn into a good player.
I see your point. But We don’t know if we’ll even get the chance to fight for Melo, so that’s something. On the other hand, while I really like the idea of having so much cash to have this summer, no matter what goes down, we’ll still be down a PG (thinking that D’antoni’s system is 100% PG guided) and a C.
Say only one max guy comes and then we can address these issues, but there aren’t many PG of Nash’s caliber on this league.
That’s why I gave the Nets, Bulls and Clips as examples. Take a look at they’re setup. Cash + a great PG and C’s in all these cases (Harris + Lopez, Rose + Noah, Davis + Kaman). They may not have the $ this franchise does, but they have all stars in their teams waiting for whoever lands in those respective teams. That’s the result of smart rebuilding cycles. You can save money, get caps of big trades, and get consistent top 10 or top 5 looks at drafts.
I think we need to take a closer look at LBJ’s agent, Leon Rose.
His clients include Eddy Curry, Andrea Bargnani and Rip Hamilton. He could help NY orchestrate a Curry cap relief trade to Detroit for Rip, who would be great with LBJ. He also would benefit from any trade that removes Chris Bosh from Toronto and makes Andrea the main man there.
Word is that Toronto would do a sign and trade of Bosh for Lee and Chandler in a heartbeat. If Donnie can nail that down, and work in concert with Leon in the offseason, what’s to stop us from thinking LBJ’s name won’t be on the back of a Knicks jersey next year?
Leon is a true power player. Don’t overlook the reality here.
That’s so many IFs……..
In my somewhat long life I have never seen a situation were any IFs worked out that way…..never.
Never in sports that’s for sure. It’s all a major crap shoot and to think that all those pieces have to fall into place….no way.
Murphy’s laws.
•If anything can go wrong, it will
•If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong
•If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway
Yep, It may NVER sink in to some that players like LBJ might have a brain and realize that he doesn’t need to come to a team where he would literally be singing “It ME against the world”.
We have so many pieces missing including
No center, No real pt guard, No bench, No banging PF, No real SG and etc.
co sign.
Hence the impossibility of having 2 max guys
While agents are true arqchetypes of what this game really is coming to -stars in their own fields- they also demand a high price for their best products.
Can they really orchetsrate such a move like that? To arrange 2 top players and Hamilton to converge in one place? That would be impressive, I admit, but I’m not sure such things can be done. Sure, one agent can talk to a GM into moving his disgruntled player (T-Mac’s case), and Rose could have put in a nice word so Toronto would take Lee + Chandler (it’s a good deal) so I can see that happening too.
But taking it so far as to see him doing all that, plus taking James away from Cleveland?
Wow, that would really be a huge power player, and Rose defintiely is at the top of his field, I just don’t see him pulling all that together.
It is a world of possibilities….
Why would they have to include Chandler? If the Knicks Bosh and Lee wanted to do a sign and trade then no other player is needed. The knicks don’t need a sweetener for that since only Bosh and Lee would be in position of power i that scenario. To include Chandler would be stupid . This sign and trade thing is only done so that the players can get an extra year which makes it a little easier on the teams in terms of annual salary . The player might be more inclined to take like a mil less if they will get an extra year.
lmao! The goal is to get totally max under salary cap so we can go out and sign 12 players.
It would be easier just to apply for another franchise. We can call ourselves the KnickKnacks! Although Stern might consider that name redundant and already what we are now! lol
Is there a Jerry West or Rod Thorn out there we can get to run this team?
I wouldn’t include Chandler, but ask yourself this, is Lee as good as Bosh?
Noooo
Despite all the doubt I strongly believe that The Knicks and Nets will supplant Boston and Toronto in the standings . To me both teams have put them selves in position to be significantly better . These to teams will be exciting to watch next year along with Chicago. Eventually these 3 teams will be the top 3 in the east maybe 2 or 3 seasons from now. The knicks will sign star power despite what haters may say. The team record wont be a problem since the team will basically be restructured.
Who………who are these players? When someone gives me a realistic scenario I will continue to ask…..Who. I looked at every team in the NBA and what players they would trade and who was a UFA and there is just not enough players of quality to go around, the Knicks are not the only team with cap space.
Yes. The Knicks realistic scenario (besides making the 2 stars attempt) is to get those 2 2nd rounders hold on to their assets (unless Walsh knows something we don’t), try and make the bestout of this upcoming summer, and make the best possible squad for the next season, so the picks given don’t go to good use in the future.
But like I said, it’s a world of possibilities….
I see the Knicks overpaying for Gay and signing Boozer to the max (who really doesn’t care about winning, he’s a mercenary and will go wherever the money is) they’ll have about 3.5-4 million left to fill out the rest of the roster.
I hope I’m wrong.
Hey they’ll be in the playoffs!
That’s a definitely one scenario but what I’m wondering is if Boozer is really in a position to command a max contract (considering that Amare will also be in play as well as Bosh) and how much it would take to get Gay away from Memphis. Those amounts will end up deciding if DW has enough cash to try to offer Camby a job here.
It isn’t really the dream scenario, but better than walking away with nothing. Personally, I’ve always seen as Wallace at vet min a nice possibility off the bench because of his toughness and experience. He can teach a thing or two to rest of the team defense wise. What about Bell?
What do you think can be done with those 2nd rounders? (regardless of the fact that they won’t see any minutes because of the coach and they’ll probably be used as trade chips later on)