Category Archives: 2009 Active Off season
At first the thought intrigued me. Imagine Allen Iverson in a Knicks uniform.
And when I thought more about it, I realized that we really aren’t part of the 
Isiah Thomas Era anymore. Imagine if Zeke were still calling the shots this summer?
Fortunately for Knicks fans, he isn’t, and they all should pinch themselves every time they think of the team that resides at 2 Penn Plaza.
Even though they came into the league together, I always felt that Iverson was grouped in with Stephon Marbury far too often. Iverson could be a pain, just ask Larry Brown, but if you’ve ever talked with one of his teammates, no one has played harder for 48 minutes than AI. As for practice, well, we ain’t talkin’ about practice. More.
I believe Iverson has received a bad rap, but bringing him in just isn’t the right move for the organization at this time.
“…Sessions still could return for the Bucks’ $1 million qualifying offer, but he has little incentive to do that since he would remain a restricted free agent next summer. And he sure doesn’t want to go through the endless waiting and uncertainty again, does he?
It has become abundantly clear that Sessions will not receive a mid-level exception offer (starting at $5.8 million). But if the New York Knicks are offering a deal in the $4 million per year range, it seems downright foolish for Sessions not to accept it.
Sessions would have a chance to start with the Knicks and play in coach Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo system. And hey, maybe he would have a chance to play with LeBron James in future years, if the Cleveland star decides to pack his bags for Broadway when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Current Bucks player Charlie Bell went through the unpleasantness of unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2007, an incident that scarred him and led to a difficult 2007-’08 season.
“It gets frustrating as the summer goes on,” Bell said. “He (Sessions) is doing a good job. I was frustrated; I had some issues going on.
“You want to get to whatever city you’re going to get to, and get relaxed. It’s a lot of pressure, it really is…
…The Bucks now have 17 players on their roster, including Sessions…”
In other news, Berman is reporting that Iverson to the Knicks is not happening.
I’m still shocked that the Bucks would just let Sessions walk…and the Iverson news doesn’t surprise me. At this stage of rebuilding the franchise, Iverson just doesn’t fit.
Some believe that Nate Robinson‘s arrest yesterday should spell the end of the guard’s career in New York as it may be the final nail, while others aren’t so quick to believe Nate will be gone as a result of yesterday.
Clearly, if you were hoping that this summer would be a time for growth for a player who needs to grow up, this is a disappointment.
Loading ...Clippers’ coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy sounds as if the team is
ready to hit training camp with the current roster following a trade for Rasual Butler, according to the LA Times.
“…Butler, a seven-year veteran, stressed he won’t demand that role right away. His arrival adds another option at shooting guard and small forward to go along with Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Ricky Davis and Mardy Collins. Dunleavy remains noncommittal about whether Butler would start, other than he’d play at both shooting guard and small forward.
Although Dunleavy remained open to trades and absorbing the rest of a $7.3-million trade exception they had after shipping Zach Randolph last month to the Memphis Grizzlies, he admitted, “I’m totally comfortable with where we are…”
As we’ve told you, the Clippers aren’t pushing to acquire Ramon Sessions, and with the Bucks trade yesterday it appears that the Knicks could be the sweepstakes winners by default.
It makes sense that the Knicks keep an eye on David Kahn’s trip to meet with Camp Rubio, which he is in fact doing this week. It would appear that if the Timberwolves can’t work out a buyout with Rubio or a trade with the Knicks this week, all sides will move on. Rubio will stay in Spain, the Wolves will stand behind Jonny Flynn, who continues to impress, and the Knicks will sit back down with Sessions and his agent Monday at the earliest.
Rubio was the Knicks’ target on draft night and it would seem that the Knicks feel his acquisition would be attractive to a 2010 free agent if Walsh can’t move center Eddy Curry‘s contract by next summer.
The team was reportedly in heavy talks with the Washington Wizards around draft night regarding the 5th overall pick (eventually traded to Minnesota) and it is unknown what the pieces were , but one has to figure that the price was too steep to move up not knowing if Rubio would fall that far, which he did.
Reports out of Minnesota say that Rubio has some $600,000 in endorsements, plus $500,000 from the Wolves, which can be used towards his $6.6 million dollar buyout from DKV Joventut, the Spanish team that currently holds his rights. In New York, Rubio would be sure to see millions in endorsement deals, but is there a sensible trade for both sides?
With thejournalnews’ Mike Dougherty.
“…It’s been a little frustrating, but my agent came up a couple of weeks ago and we had a meeting with Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni and found out where we were, and the purpose behind what’s going on, and it kind of all makes sense to me now,” Lee said. “We agreed on what I thought I was worth, so it’s not a money issue. What it comes down to is they need their flexibility for the 2010 summer. Whether they can get LeBron or not, they need to have the flexibility to make a run at a guy like that. And that’s completely understandable from my standpoint. We’re going to continue to work on a few sign-and-trade possibilities; otherwise, we’ll continue to work on a one-year-deal…”
“…With Minnesota Timberwolves’ President David Kahn bound for Spain this week, some feel the trip isn’t necessarily to bring Ricky Rubio back to Minnesota.
One insider tells RealGM’s Alex Kennedy that Kahn could be working out a scenario where Rubio would be dealt to the New York Knicks.
“The Knicks have closed off negotiations with all free agent point guards until next week. I think they’re making a push for Rubio and if that fails, then they’ll reopen talks with their other options,” says the source.
“Kahn and [Knicks' President] Donnie Walsh are close and New York is looking for a cheap point guard who could help attract free agents next summer. Rubio fits that mold. I think that’s what this latest trip to Spain is about, working something out with New York.”
The Knicks have been in talks with multiple free agent point guards, most notably Ramon Sessions….”
Speaking of Sessions, Hahn says Walsh has drawn a line in the sand.
We know Rubio has been the target all along so we’ll have to see if this report has any merritt. It seems like his buyout situation shouldn’t be as difficult as it’s being made out to be.
To me, any discussions still come down to who the Wolves would want from our roster and that has to start with Wilson Chandler.
“…While Clippers are in striking distance on deal 4 R. Sessions, Knicks aren’t giving up. Still looking to trade player 2 free up more cash…”
As I said to Gery in a response to that post, it feels like these “clues” are straight out of Scooby Doo.
Just as I was told, the Clips are apparently out of the mix, meaning the Knicks have no real competition with the exception of the Bucks matching any offer. But in order for the “coast to be clear” for the Bucks not to match, it makes sense that they move another contract.
Now, they have pieces like Cuttino Mobley’s contract so I really expect Walsh to pull the trigger on a deal that allows them to bring in Sessions.
That is if they truly want him, which may be the biggest mystery of this whole thing.
Despite the latest tweet from Gary Woelfel… 
“…Knicks almost had deal 4 R. Sessions a month ago. Now Clippers apparently close. Mike Dunleavy mum on topic…”
…a source has confirmed that the negotiations will commence again.
And lets be clear, it hasn’t been a month because we told you that Walsh was waiting until after August 1st, which Woelfel later tweeted himself (see July 31st.)
Considering how certain agents have misjudged the market this summer, and from what I’ve been told, it’s clear that Sessions’ agent Chubby Wells is forcing Ramon on the Clippers as means to force a better deal from Donnie Walsh.
There is speculation but nothing clear as to what the hold up is with Sessions and the Knicks in agreeing on an offer sheet. Sessions and his agent would be making a huge mistake if he tried to play hardball with the Knicks and their 2010 plan especially if he passes on the opportunity to give himself the chance to join a team that will have great roster flexibility after this season and the possibility of playing with a star player.
Either way, all signs are still pointing to the Knicks and Sessions working out a deal, if the player and the agent can understand what this organization is trying to build moving forward and are wise enough to get on board.
Again, if the Bucks aren’t just playing possum ready to match reasonable offers.
So if you’re Walsh, you have to figure out, numbers-wise, what makes the best sense for your organization’s future and what’s attractive to the player, versus what you think the Bucks will match.
Hence the holdup.
But fans should be careful not to knee jerk. Obviously, we want to make moves and add talent, but without Walsh’s patience, which some find annoying, the team could be making a brash mistake. And we’ve seen plenty of those, haven’t we?
I’ll reiterate what Walsh said to me during the draft workouts when I asked him if he were confident that he could improve the roster to a playoff level. He said:
“I won’t be confident until I do it.”
Meaning, he knew there would be plenty of obstacles.
The Waiting is the Hardest Part…
Steve Kyler gets further into the discussion we had on TKB.tv on Friday.
“…The Waiting Game: For both restricted free agents Ramon Sessions and David Lee this summer has been about being patient and waiting out the process, and this week has been more of the same. Neither player seems any closer to a deal and the word is the Knicks – who seem to have both players waiting in the wings with baited breath - are not moving towards a deal anytime soon.
League sources say that Ramon Session’s camp has re-entered talks with the Clippers about a sign-and-trade deal, however that does not appear to be moving any faster than the Knicks deal leaving Sessions as one of the best free agent names on the market.
The common belief is that Milwaukee will match any deal under $4 million per season, and most teams feel that Sessions can be had at $4 million, a price tag his camp does not seem ready to accept. Much like Boston’s Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Sessions may have to come to grips with the notion this won’t be his big summer payday and look at shorter term deals. The problem there is its believed if a deal clocks in under $15 million total the Bucks might match that too, leaving Sessions with limited options.
David Lee on the other hand has several teams open to the idea of a sign-and-trade, including the Chicago Bulls. Lee’s camp has been pressing for a multi-year deal worth $9 to $10 million per season and that number doesn’t seem to bother anyone other than the Knicks. The Knicks have talked about sign-and-trade scenarios basically telling teams their goal is to retain David, not trade him, they simply won’t meet the price tag this summer.
The Knicks have put a number of scenarios on the table including a one-year deal at $7 million and a rumored 4-year deal worth $32 to $36 million. The common question asked about Lee is “why don’t they trade him?” The short answer is because they want to keep him, it’s just finding a way to do that without eating into their 2010 cap space too significantly.The notion that Lee should simply take the Knicks one-year offer and sign a bigger deal next summer is not guaranteed. Lee could get seriously injured or simply not factor into the Knicks plans when they have to start renouncing rights to gain cap room. The fear from Lee’s camp is he takes the one-year and then find himself on the open market without Bird Rights.
Knicks free agent Nate Robinson‘s situation seems to be tied to Ramon Sessions, with Knicks sources saying that Lil’ Nate will likely be retained regardless of what Sessions does, it’s just that the Knicks are not in a hurry to ink Nate and potentially alienate Sessions. The Knicks have been talking about moving off a guaranteed contract with sources close to the situation saying Jared Jeffries and Chris Duhon seem to be the names in play with the Wizards and Orlando having had talks, which were classified as low level inquiries with not a tremendous amount of interest…”
John Hollinger of ESPN wrote an interesting article recapping the summer
thus far in the Eastern Conference. I agreed with him on many levels, including the off-season’s that the Raptors (he calls them the Euraptors) and the Pistons have had. He claims that the Raptors spent a lot of money, but he is not sure if it will work. He thinks it might, but there is no guarantee. My take is that if Chris Bosh is the elite, max superstar that he himself claims to be, then adding supplemental players around him should be a good thing for that franchise. Even with all of their acquisitions, however, all eyes are still on Chris Bosh. As for the Pistons, Hollinger seems baffled at the moves that Joe Dumars has made. Frankly, I am too. Ben Gordon was a pretty good idea, but that team needs a true point guard more than a pure scorer. Charlie Villanueva received a contract that now looks to be more than market value. Then Dumars shelled out a contract to Chris Wilcox for 2 years and $6 million when better players were out there for the taking.
Anyway, back to the Knicks. Hollinger wrote the following regarding the Knicks:
“New York: The Knicks didn’t sign anybody, which is probably a good thing considering whom they targeted. Jason Kidd? Grant Hill? Does this make any sense for a rebuilding team? Hey, you want to put in an offer for Adrian Dantley while you’re at it?
They still haven’t moved to retain David Lee or Nate Robinson, as they’re caught in a quandary of whether to forfeit their 2010 cap space and a possible run at LeBron James. Trading Quentin Richardson for Darko Milicic will help a bit as they now have a legit center — albeit one who plays hard in around one game in five — but that’s about the high point of the summer thus far.”
The fact of the matter is that Donnie Walsh has not done much this summer. He has shown interest in and offered contracts to a couple of guys, but the only new players that he has added to this point have been Jordan Hill, Toney Douglas, and Darko Milicic. He has added three able bodies to a roster that was lacking in that area last season.
As the summer continues to shake out, it is looking more and more likely that Walsh will be able to piece together a competitive roster. If the Knicks do not add Sessions, Walsh will have the entire MLE and the bi-annual exception to play around with. Walsh can conceivably split up the MLE and bring in multiple players capable of playing rotation minutes. Names like Allen Iverson, Wally Szczerbiak, Rashad McCants, Gerald green, Jason Williams, Jamaal Tinsley, CJ Watson, Leon Powe (he is set to miss the first couple of months, but I would be willing to take a gamble on the cheap), Carlos Delfino (he will probably go back to Europe), among others can be had for less than the MLE.
Sessions is the only free agent remaining (aside from our own guys) that I would be willing to give a multi-year contract to of any significant price. Aside from that, I am willing to let Walsh build a team of talented players still looking for jobs. If for nothing else, Walsh has the chance to stockpile assets to trade during the season. The NBA season is filled with unexpected injuries, and depending on how well some of these free agents can play, Walsh might be surprised to see what a desperate contending team might be willing to part with to save a season. Or, some of these free agents can provide roster insurance if Walsh decides to trade away either Nate Robinson or David Lee in an effort to dump Curry’s or Jeffries’ contracts.
I have no problem with the way Walsh has handled this off-season. It is frustrating to wait, but there have been plenty of teams that have stood pat. Patience is a key here. Slow, maybe, but “roadkill” might be overstating this situation a bit.
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