Via NY Post

According to an NBA executive familiar with Knicks team president Donnie Walsh’s thinking, the Knicks are willing to include in a trade anyone other than Amar’e Stoudemire for Chris Paul, knowing how badly the superstar point guard wants to come to New York.

The Knicks will soon find out if Paul is available.

On Monday, Paul is expected to meet with new Hornets GM Dell Demps, new coach Monty Williams and president Hugh Weber in the Big Easy, according to a Hornets official.

“Amar’e won’t be traded, but everyone else is available,” the executive said…Also, their three Golden State acquisitions can only be traded separately until Dec. 15 and can not be paired up in a trade. The biggest trade pawn of the Golden State trio is coveted Anthony Randolph…”

The last part of the statement is not true. The Knicks are under the cap and can trade any of the recently acquired players in a package (thanks DL for the confirmation) before Dec 15th.

And it’s pretty common knowledge that any player on the roster is available especially if it means not having to take back Okafor’s contract. As we reported yesterday, it sounds more and more like Tony Parker is firmly in place next year as a back up plan should the Hornets hold Okafor as the deal breaker.

I would think that they’d want Anthony Randolph over Gallinari, who would be quite partner stretching the floor with Paul and Stoudemire. I would also have to imagine that the Knicks would hold off Gallo AND Randolph in a deal. But at this point you never know.

Because I love debate, and of course, accountability, here is Slam magazine’s article of the “Best 25 players under 25.”

What you need to know (stick your chest out main man “Yo Son”) Wilson Chandler ranks 23, Danilo Gallinari ranks at 30 and…wait for it…Brook Lopez is top 15.

At this point it’s fair, yet I disagree in parts. Have at it.

Oh, also, Russell Westbrook is ions ahead of OJ Mayo.

Via Daily News:

“…Gallinari, in an interview reported by La Stampa, had this to say about his season, the Italian national team, his desire to finish his career in Italy and, of course, LBJ.

“The vote for my season is 8 (out of 10)” said Gallinari. “I have played 81 games and I have again the pleasure to play after a season with big problems at my back and the surgery. We had too many ups and downs and without maintaining continuity is difficult to reach high goals.

“I have talked with Italian Federation President Dino Meneghin but not with the coach Simone Pianigiani. I would like to play but there are some factors to consider: my body and to be ready for the next season with Knicks. I really hope LeBron James (the best player in the League according to Gallinari) will be a Knick. But, however, it is going to be an important season for us” who finished talking about the future of his career. “My project is to finish the career in Italy with Milano…”

The word “tampering” was thrown around, but I can’t believe that this is any real violation. Also, Marc Berman has an article in the NY Post that is neatly tucked away behind the NFL draft coverage. He interviewed Bill Walker who had some interesting things to say about the locker room. What he’s mentioning is a knock that I’ve had, particularly with a player like David Lee. But I’m with Walker on this one, and have been for some time now and even looked at the Celtics as an example weeks ago. All coaches need help from winning players. You can also win together. But locker room leadership is something brought by the players as well. It has to be.

“…“What I can tell from over there [in Boston], KG, Paul and Ray take the initiative every day,” Walker said. “You just had guys be more accountable for everything. That’s where it starts. The head coach can only say so much. You have to have guys in the locker room take what the coach says and make sure it gets applied. There weren’t enough leaders in the locker room…”

The simple question is: why not report this DURING the season? Because negitivity, no matter how off base, creates headlines.

The season started with questions of his health. All Danilo Gallinari has done is play in 77 games to date and average nearly 14.6 ppg and 5 rebounds with an efficiency rating of +14.45.

Coming into the season I said Gallo would average in the neighborhood of 14 points 6 rebounds 5 assists in some 25-30 minutes per game. Those were quite lofty expectations from my end. Maybe even a bit unfair. To be honest, in his first full season, Gallinari has exceeded most, if not all, expectations.

His assists numbers are down, but the trepidation that Knicks fans had from a health standpoint has been quieted. All in all, I’d say he’s had a pretty solid year.

Yes, he’s floated at times, maybe more often than not. Yes, he could rebound more. He could be more aggressive and improve on beating his man off the bounce. But he’s also had moments where he’s lit the Garden on fire. He hasn’t won too many games by himself, but he’s proven to be a pretty valuable piece. He can defend and block shots as well.

He has some room to improve, obviously. He needs to get much stronger, so I’m curious:

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He’s averaging a shade under 22 points per game over his last five and his body is no worse for wear. It was the biggest fear about Danilo Gallinari from fans, and probably some withing the organization, but so far Gallo has responded and it seems that he’s making a huge push to end the season on a strong note.

But there were times where he would looked lost and tentitive. He would defer shots and settle for too many threes. Against the Hawks a few weeks ago, Gallo went 4-5 from three and managed 27 points, meaning he was scoring from everywhere. And just the other night against the Nuggets, he matched Carmelo Anthony in the third quarter and helped the Knicks close out the game down the stretch in what was a highly entertaining game at the Garden.

But what’s changed?

Well for me I look at the series of events. First, Nate Robinson was traded. Second, Al Harrington was moved to the bench. Then Wilson Chandler gets hurt, and finally David Lee misses a game and the team, behind Gallo, beats Philly.

I know this about the young Italian. He’s confident and soft spoken. But he has a burning desire to be the best. You see that come out after he hits a big shot. But I think he’s still understanding life in the NBA and in the big city, and that adjustment has had an impact during the year. I think he’s a good kid, who defers to the veterans like Harrington and Lee, because of the three of them, he’s the only one who is sure that he’ll be a Knick next year.  In essence, over these past few games, I think his confidence soared and he’s playing like he thinks he’s the man.

That’s a slippery slope, because veterans make sure to put rookies, or young players,  in their place. It’s their duty to set them straight.

But these aren’t normal circumstances for development.

What I’ve seen is a player who feels good, and is playing with a ton of confidence.

Check out fromthebaseline, who have put together a great breakdown of what they’ve seen different in Gallo’s game.

Via Denver Post

“…When Anthony came out, he talked about the gall of Gallinari, who was trash-talking with the all-star. And he also discussed the not-so-ambiguous comments Knicks president Donnie Walsh made to the New York Post, suggesting that even though the Knicks have money to spend this summer, they are looking at rebuilding over the next couple years — and Melo could be available after 2011.

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen the next year,” Anthony said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I don’t see why anybody wouldn’t want to play here in New York…”

As I’ve said, Melo is great leverage for this summer. Would Lebron allow for the opportunity to pass him by with the idea of having to GET THROUGH the Knicks should Carmelo make the jump? This is what the plan is about to me. They have the opportunity to give Lebron everything, should he pass the team can add pieces this season in the form of a max player and vets maybe on 1 year deals, the possibility of sign and trades, then have space to add the game changer.

At least that’s what I’ve always felt.

What does that mean for fans? Well, if Lebron stays,  I would think a team ready to make the playoffs in the bottom tier and make a push. Have another year of development with added piece, particularly defensively, around Gallinari, Toney Douglas and Wilson Chandler. The chance to add a 1st round pick this year and/or two possible quality second rounders as well.

Then be ready to become a Eastern Conference contender in 2011 if they can convince Melo, who doesn’t seem like he needs all that much convincing.

Big C…

Danilo Gallinari seemed to have hit “the wall” after being asked to knock down two big three pointers against the Bulls on Feb 17th. It’s almost as though the Knicks 21-year-old forward has become gun shy because of his missed opportunity. Or maybe he just needs some time to adjust to the additions of Tracy McGrady, Sergio Rodriguez, Bill Walker and Eddie House.

We’ve seen flashes of brilliance from Gallo this year, and we’ve seen times where he disappears. He’ll always have his doubters who love to pop out of the wood work, but at the end of the day, I think all Knick fans would have signed for 14 points and 5 rebounds, while playing 32 minutes per game before the season started.

But, much more importantly, he’s played in all but 1 of the team’s 58 games this year.

To me, it seems he’s wearing down and that’s not uncommon. This is the first time that he’s played this many games in his life. It appears that it’s affecting his jump shooting as his 3-point% has dipped below 40%.

I figured him to be above 40% from three, but that may have been a bit premature on my end. Dirk Nowitzki, a player whom Gallinari is often compared (for some reason), has only done it twice in his career. In fact, Gallo’s numbers are similar to Peja Stojakovic’s first full NBA season. Hedu Turkoglu didn’t average 30 minutes per game until his 6th NBA season.

I’ve always thought Gallo has the ability to be a Glen Rice-type, and the numbers from Rice’s first season are pretty close to Gallo’s.

In fact, Rice was vilified on draft night for not having the ability to create his own shot. In fact, Rick Barry wanted the Heat to take OU’s Stacey King.

Gallo is often knocked for the same thing as well as for not being aggressive enough. And we’ve defended him after being called a one-trick pony. He does settle for too many jumpers. And Gallo has a long way to go to match Rice’s ability on the blocks. Rice was always a mismatch because he was too big for two guards, as he could post them, and he could take slower forwards on the perimeter. He, like Gallo, was a pretty efficient stand-still catch and shooter. Rice, offensively, could be unstoppable, but was a liability defensively.

Gallinari has a ways to go, but I’m curious as to how the fans feel about his first full year.

With that said:

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Via Hahn’s Tweet-

“…The #Knicks‘ trades from Thursday have been officially completed (all physicals went thru). McGrady et al will dress tonight vs OKC…”

With that being said, here’s what I’d like to see.

PG- Rodriguez (Evaluate him from the get go, in the starting role)
SG- McGrady
SF/PF- Chandler
SF/PF- Gallinari
C- Lee

Rotation- Harrington, House (fills Nate’s role on the 2nd unit), Bender, Douglas…

Now I know that Duhon will play, but it they want to run all game, then they have to go with the combination of Douglas/Rodriquez…both have the ability to be really effective in the open floor. And with Douglas, you can play him off the ball with McGrady at the 1.

They can go really long with McGrady/Chandler/Bender/Gallo/Lee but I’m not sure that will be a combination.

The coach will begin his search for combinations tonight, and you have to wonder if he stretches the rotation.

I’d give Bill Walker a look too.

There’s a lot of guards, and they have at least one open roster spot. I think they’ll add some sort of depth up front. Who that is, at this point, is anyone’s guess.

I read a note by one of the local columnists who described Jordan Hill working out well after practice and I just want to make sure that fans understand that is very much common place with the Knicks rookie.

Walsh told reporters a few weeks ago in talking about Hill that his range as a shooter has surprised him the most.

During practices, Hill regularly drills jump shots, something that he didn’t do early on in training camp and in the regular season. He also has worked on “counter moves” in the post, which allow for him to showcase his nice touch. Sometimes he takes a bad shot, and sometimes he rushes one, but all in all he has the makings of a very nice inside/outside game.

Should Hill be involved in a deal for Tracy McGrady, which is continuing to gain steam with Jared Jeffries‘ name is in fact involved, it may agitate some fans who believe that drafting players is as important to the Knicks as anything. See, I disagree, STARS are the most important.

Sure you want to sprinkle in a young player here or there, and they most definitely will try to take advantage of the end of the draft this year. I look at teams like Memphis, Minnesota and Oklahoma City who have multiple first round picks who may be willing to part with a later one much like the Lakers did last season, for cash considerations and maybe a second rounder.

So the team has options, and it still has Danilo Gallinari, Toney Douglas and Wilson Chandler- draft picks all.

And there is still the opportunity to make other deals.

So I can understand the fans’ hesitency of giving up Hill PLUS draft picks, and it’s a question Walsh is mulling.

And as much as I really like Hill’s upside, I just don’t think he can afford to let this opportunity slip.

Seth from P & T has a must-buy T-Shirt for all you fans excited about tomorrow night’s game. Pay homage and Declare.

Get all your updates from KnickBlog.com (not TKB) from a cool new I-Phone App.

Knicks Mecca has some interesting trade possibilites.

Great link to an apparent NBA commercial starring Danilo Gallinari (finger point to AD1 for the link)

Via NY Post-

“…Danilo Gallinari, who leads the league in 3-pointers made, is expected to be named today to the roster for the 3-point shooting contest during All-Star Weekend.

The official announcement has yet to be made, but Gallo said he’s going to win and expects to, another reason, I guess, to watch the night before.

Update:  Frank Isola is reporting that “Danilo Gallinari has yet to be informed that he will participate in the 3-point contest at All-Star Weekend in Dallas but word around the league is that the second-year forward will be invited to the event.”

Dino’s comments: “”I will win it. I’m telling you right now I’m going there to win.”

Original Post

Via ESPN:

“Phoenix Suns center Channing Frye has been selected for the All-Star Weekend’s 3-point Shootout in Arlington, Texas, according to a report in The Arizona Republic.

“Frye would become the first center to compete in the 3-point contest since Seattle’s Sam Perkins, a forward-center, in 1997.

“Frye, who ranks second in the NBA with 114 3-pointers made, is shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc, which is seventh-best in the league.”

Ya know who ranks first with 122 3-pointers made?

He’s still waiting for an invite…