According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Chris Paul wants out of New Orleans with the Knicks, Magic, and Lakers as his top 3 potential destinations. According to Berger’s source, “Paul wants to follow LeBron’s model of teaming up with great players.”

Perhaps it was the recent fallout with New Orleans’ ex-gm Jeff Bower and the uncertainty of the organization’s future that has changed Paul’s tune. Either way, if true, this is yet another opportunity that the Knicks have to jump on.

In looking at potential packages that the Magic or Lakers could offer, (ORL: Jameer Nelson, Ryan Anderson, Mickael Pietrus) or (LAL: Andrew Bynum). Let’s hear some creative offers, and are you willing to include anybody and everybody on the roster?

Stay tuned…..

This is a pretty awesome story by Harvey Araton that will be featured in tomorrow’s New York Times. Obviously from a basketball perspective, the Knicks did what they had to do.

But every fan respects the effort David Lee brought night in and night out, and more importantly, he embraced what the organization had to offer, which at the time that he arrived in New York was very little.

Good stuff D-Lee, good luck in Oak-Town.

Via SI-

“The players were all mad at LeBron,” said this insider, a former player of enormous influence. “Nobody respects him for going after a championship like that. They want to beat him now more than ever.

“But when the owner acted the way he did, he was letting LeBron off the hook. Now the players feel like they have to come to LeBron’s defense and back him up against Gilbert.”

The situation was poorly handled by everyone. Sadly, this is what sport has come to, but with the news about the possibility of Melo and Paul coming to NY it could turn out to be a good thing for NY and an even worse thing for the NBA. The precedent has been set.

Via Libertyorachampionship

ESPN was exposed as the bloated corporate whore of a sports news station it has become. It’s bad enough that the mainstream news media has devolved into a shill for ones they’re supposed to be keeping honest, but now the sports media? ESPN allowed for a full hour of their programming to be turned into an infomercial for LeBron James. Five minutes into the broadcast and I had the face of someone who swallowed their own vomit. Because I did throw up, around Stu Scott’s 12th reference to James as “the King” as ESPN broadcasters asked piercing questions like “Are you a nail biter?” and LeBron referred to himself in the third person. Even if LeBron said “New York”, I was going to need a shower. At least ESPN noted the criticism. Stu Scott, although his tongue must have sore from all the b*ll-licking he did the night before, called ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning show to defend the station (blaming society by saying “what isn’t over the top these days”) and then excoriate Cleveland and the Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert for their bashing of LeBron’s decision.

Harsh words, yes, but this is going to take a long time for fans to get over. And it seems that ESPN has been exposed and that wound may hurt more if you’re a pure sports fanatic.

Knicks Vs. Lakers…

The Knicks will take on the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers today at 4:00 (east coast time). The game will be aired on MSG. The coaching staff could not have been happy with the interior defense in yesterday’s game as well as the high foul totals (some of which can be attributed to rookie refs) both surely will be a focus in today’s game.

For the Lakers, look for two former NYC-area high school stars Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter as both have been impressive in the Lakers first two games and are trying to crack what is probably the toughest rotation to crack in the NBA.

In other notes, I could not find a link but there are reports that Timofey Mozgov’s three-year contract only guarantees the first year… Thatta boy, Donnie.

This was mentioned in the comments section on the Summer League game thread, so kudos to the commenter who brought this up. But, it’s one thing that I think deserves discussion.

Amar’e Stoudemire who will be 28 in November is the OLDEST player on the Knicks roster. When was the last time we could say that the Knicks fielded a young team? If ever? Now, obviously you need established veterans to be a legitimate title contender.

But, in comparison to baseball, there is always the cop-out that you can’t rebuild in New York, when it is actually the opposite, New York fans love seeing development of players in their own uniform. As Knicks fans, we’ve seen Wilson Chandler develop from a clueless rookie, Gallinari has improved a ton, and hopefully the same for Douglas.

I think Amar’e has proven that he is excited to take on the role as the leader of this team, and Ronny Turiaf will also provide leadership for the younger guys. So, I ask, do you think the Knicks need to add one more crafty vet to help the youngsters? Maybe a Kurt Thomas? Or do you bring back Eddie House? Or do you want to see a roster entirely comprised of young players and let them mold on their own?

Our friend Seth from P&T is out in Vegas….

The Knicks will open up their Las Vegas Summer League today at 4:00 P.M. against the Nuggets. The game will be broadcast on NBA TV.

Personally, I’m very excited to see how much Toney Douglas has developed and if Bill Walker can elevate his game to be a major contributor. It’s easy to tell in the summer league because if you notice a real disparity here it usually means they are not only ready to be on a roster but to contribute.

Also, interesting note in the New York Times today, that new point guard Raymond Felton played for Dan D’Antoni’s AAU team. And, a great quote from Mike D’Antoni on Anthony Randolph.

Via NY Daily News

There is no doubt that Thomas still has Dolan’s ear. When the Knicks wanted to make one last pitch to James’ camp, Dolan decided to send Thomas and not D’Antoni to Cleveland. Walsh contends that Thomas was heading to Cleveland for a college recruiting trip and volunteered to help the Knicks.

Of course, Thomas also had selfish reasons to help out. He desperately wants back in the league and looked at James as his golden ticket. Thomas couldn’t close the deal but the fact that he was representing the Knicks under these circumstances is telling for Walsh, D’Antoni, Houston and the Knicks.

“He knew people in James’ circle,” Walsh said Friday. “He didn’t see (James’ business manager) Maverick Carter or LeBron. It was another guy in their camp so I thanked him for it.”

Sweet…

Via NY Daily News

League sources have told the New York Daily News that Pat Riley will at some point replace Erik Spoelstra as head coach of the Heat.”Pat won’t come back for just Wade and Bosh, because that’s not a sure thing in Pat’s mind,” said one Eastern Conference coach before Miami officially landed LeBron James.

“But with LeBron and those two, that’s a sure thing for Pat. He will come back if they get LeBron.”

First SVG, now Spolestra…Pat Riley is an absolute shameless scumbag…back to fetching tape Erik.