Category Archives: Wilson Chandler
This is something I’ve talked about a ton on twitter, but the likelihood of Wilson Chandler returning to the Knicks is just too much of a long shot in my opinion. Too many variables.
The question is how to get Chandler back. A sign-and-trade with Denver is possible, since the Nuggets once liked rookie Landry Fields, who had a terrible playoffs. Fields did not feel comfortable playing with Anthony, but he thrived with the Nuggets’ Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton and Timofey Mozgov.
The Knicks also could go under the salary cap if they decide to buy out Chauncey Billups by Friday. If they bring Billups back, the Knicks could also sign Chandler to the mid-level exception on a long-term deal, if Chandler is willing to take less money to play in New York. The sense is he’s not thrilled with the Rocky Mountains and was despondent in his final weeks as a Knick with rumors he was bound for Denver.
Alan Hahn has reported countless times that the Nuggets wanted nothing to do with Fields. They are happy with Arron Afflalo and hope to spend money on him moving forward. Fields could be a cheaper option if the market for Afflalo is too high. Also, I remember reading reports when Chandler was in NY before the trade that his team led by Happy Walters was going to ask for 5 years 60 million. Obviously, that’s out of the Knicks price range.
By now everyone has seen the reported deal that Donnie Walsh has turned down, and of course it has to include something about the owner.
It is believed that Walsh and Mike D’Antoni feel the team would be giving up too much. Garden chairman James Dolan has had direct involvement in the negotiations and may ultimately overrule his basketball staff
And you’d have to assume that the “starter” is Landry Fields. This deal doesn’t solve the team’s need up front and Billups isn’t a Mike D’Antoni-type point guard, so I can see the hesitation. It is a ton. Plus, Donnie Walsh, since he’s been here, waits until the deadline before dealing. Of course, he did pull the trigger on several deals in November of 2008, but any time the deadline rolls around Walsh traditionally stays patient. That is to say I don’t buy an owner override if this exact deal happens 9 days from now. Walsh won’t deal with a game left before the break and one has to assume, based on history, that a deal won’t happen during it either. But it’s good to know that it appears both parties are working on banging out a deal.
Last I heard, the teams were getting very close.
For me, if the Nuggets took back two starters and you substituted Chandler for Gallinari that deal has to be made.
I can understand Denver’s hesitation on including Chandler and instead preferring Gallinari, who, the Knicks desperately want to keep. Gallo is just 22, on a good contract and of course was the first 1st round draft pick of the Walsh era in New York.
Chandler is on a different contract, but it appears the rumors that he’ll be asking for 5 years/60 million have quieted although he has hired Amar’e Stoudemire’s agent Hap Walters, a shrewd mid-season move that may just keep him in New York.
Stay tuned.
@AdamZagoria: For the #Knicks Wilson Chandler and Eddy Curry missed practice 4 personal reasons
Feb 10, 2011 @ 06:02 PM from Mobile WebFirst of all, it’s totally unfair to compare good, up and coming players to established stars. I knew Mets fans who 
hesitated in giving up farm grown pitcher Ed Yarnall along with super-stud prospect Preston Wilson for…Mike Piazza.
I knew plenty of people who thought Steven Rice was a can’t miss All-Star and demanded he get held out of a trade for….Mark Messier.
Where would the Yankees be if they didn’t deal can’t miss Hall of Famer Roberto Kelly for Paul O’Neill or if they took the chance to deal (hold your breath!!) Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock for Tino Martinez and Jeff Nelson. The latter may have been the best deal they ever made.
So when people talk about the rise in Chandler’s play this season, accolades are warranted and everyone knows the idea would be not to deal Chandler if you believe Donnie Walsh. And in fairness, Chandler is not really a prospect as it relates to other sports, he is entering the land of proven players.
People I’ve talked to around the league believe that the reason Denver isn’t really overly keen on Chandler is because many feel he’s a product of this system. But if you’ve watched him play the 3 and are familiar with his skills on both sides of the ball, he is far from a product of space. He can score in many ways and after an adjustment to his shooting stroke, his jumper is pure. It goes through the basket with this “don’t even think about hitting the rim or make the net move” authority that the greats possess. And he attacks the rim with serious acceleration.
But to compare Melo to Chandler, or to think that Chandler has come anywhere near Melo’s level, to me, is misleading.
The Knicks know they are Anthony’s preferred franchise, but there is a serious debate within the organization about how much of an upgrade Anthony would actually be if the Knicks have to hand over Chandler and, say either Landry Fields or Danilo Gallinari, as part of any deal to acquire the Nuggets forward.
Would the Knicks be doing too much damage to their emerging core of young players if they made such a deal? It is a hard question to answer, for fans, for analysts, even for the Knicks’ president, Donnie Walsh.
It depends on if the Knicks need to deal, yes. But if Melo tells Denver only deal me to New York, something that may be coming, it would seem that a financially proper package of Chandler, Curry’s contract a first round pick and probably Landry Fields would get it done. Except the Knicks would have to get more back from Denver if they are going to give up Fields in the same way the Yankees snagged Nelson, a venerable throw in, who anchored the 8th inning for the Yankees from the right side. That inclusion was a MAJOR key to the Yankees championship success.
Chandler hasn’t proven he can be the consistent fourth quarter half court finisher that Melo has been for years. The guy is a finisher, and to have two or 3 consistent finishers, you have a competitive championship team offensively with the ability to shape up front.
Again, the looming CBA still poses too many questions, but one that is an easy one for me is that star players close games. The line between a young up and coming borderline All-Star, and a young perennial All-Star who knows how to make shots or get fouled in the fourth quarter, is not nearly as thin as you may think.
“Wilson’s a restricted free agent and I’m going to sign him,” Walsh said yesterday. “He’s a helluva player.” …”I’m confident even if it’s not there [ability to match], we’re going to sign him,” Walsh said. “That’s our intention when the time comes.”…”Wilson has played at the top of the league in some games this year and [Tuesday] night was a good example, the way he played against a top team and they couldn’t deal with him,” Walsh said. “He was shooting well from the outside, his uncanny ability to change direction in the air. He’s gotten stronger and become a better defender. His game has jumped a lot.”
How does this relate to Carmelo Anthony?
You can understand why D’Antoni winces whenever someone brings up trade rumors involving Carmelo Anthony. As much as the Knicks would love to add Anthony to their mix, as each game passes, the idea of including Chandler in a trade with the Nuggets – who, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, are quite fond of him – is met with stronger resistance.
There remains another caveat: Chandler will be a restricted free agent this summer and will need a contract, too. It will take some creative bookkeeping, but the plan is to carve out enough room to have the ability to sign Anthony and also re-sign Chandler.
When Amar’e Stoudemire steps to the line at MSG when the team is winning, he is greeted with a chorus of “M-V-P” chants from the Garden faithful. The funniest part about that was the idea 
that when Stoudemire first signed there was a common fear of injury issues and the fact that he doesn’t play any defense. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been more than impressed with Amar’e's post and help-side defense, and he rarely ever gets beat down court. His 2.3 blocks per game are a career high, and many of those have come on hustle back attempts to protect the rim. Sure he has lapses, but he also is working his tail off on the offensive end.
The point is, and I’ve had a great conversation about this on Twitter today, it’s wrong to typecast a star player. Carmelo Anthony is known for scoring and not so much for defense, but I saw plenty of defense from him last year in the playoffs. Word is he wants to win a ring. So please spare me this idea that he can’t fit into an offensive system and he can’t play defense. Yes, it’s premature to talk about Melo and New York, but it’s also premature to lose perspective after one great offensive game.
No one loves Wilson Chandler more than I do. I was the guy telling people to trade Balkman so the kid could play. Big East coaches were telling me about him before the Knicks drafted him. Everyone loved Balkman’s hustle. Balkman is barely in the league anymore.
But let’s get one thing straight, Chandler’s ceiling is no where near Melo’s. Melo repeatedly does what Will did last night. If you think Will is a better defender, maybe I’ll give him the slight edge. But Melo is a special talent who knows how to put the ball in the basket in the fourth quarter. He can take pressure off of Amar’e and he can learn to be a better defender. He has the tools. He also knows how to do what he does while prepping his body for the playoffs, where he has played 45 games, despite only getting out of the 1st round once in 7 years. They have lost to the Spurs, the Lakers twice and the Jazz. They have also been tripped up by the Timberwolves and Clippers, in his earlier days.
Let’s say Chandler and Gallinari reach their fulll potential. When will that be? Next year? The year after? Maybe Chandler is already there. He’s a heck of a kid and a heck of a talent.
But he’s not Melo. Melo and Amar’e don’t lose to the Cavs on the road. They don’t lose at home to Philly. And most importantly, they can at least compete against Orlando and Miami with Amar’e at the absolute top of his game.
Obviously the idea is to keep everyone, but that can’t happen. But this much I know. This team, even with a tweek here and there, is not beating Miami, Orlando or Boston this year in a 7 game series unless each have significant injuries. They can scratch, claw and shoot their way into games and have a chance, but they won’t win. Just like the early 90s Knicks against Airness and Sitting Bull Pippen, the Knicks lacked the talent despite how much you loved Starks and Mason.
This team is 20-14 and I love watching them grow and develop as much as the next fan. Last night was as impressive an offensive performance as you’ll ever see. They can do that more consistently with a constant talent. Melo can most certainly fit into the style offensively and if he can’t someone better teach him how to.
Talent is number one in this league. And star players who desperately want to win can transform. It’s why they are stars.
Great job by BP and Sebastian Pruiti taking an in-depth look at Wilson Chandler’s development this season.
The key to Chandler making jump shots is catching the ball in rhythm. As we saw against Miami and Orlando, even though he scored from everywhere against the latter, aggressive close outs lead to rushed shots out of rhythm. Expect to see that tonight. That’s where Will has to utilize his pump fake and cause the fly by, then attack the rim.
We’ve often spoke about the keys to the pick and roll as well as the various options the Knicks get off it. For more on the subject check out Hahn’s breakdown and chat with Mike D’Antoni.
We’ve also talked about the role of the 4 man in Mike D’Antoni’s system, and how space is the key. Here, he talks specifically about Wilson Chandler‘s impact at the 4 position and a real specific breakdown on the options in the PnR.
Chandler’s work on 4s defensively has been nothing short of tremendous. He had to guard Boozer yesterday for crying out loud. I still think the Knicks may have trouble in big spots in half court games because of their lack of size, but they didn’t show it yesterday, that’s for sure.
Again, the stretch 4 is a player, like Chandler, who can stretch the defense to the perimeter and guard the 4 position.
It’s been a huge reason for the Knicks’ success thus far.
First of all, Gallinari’s defense against Durant will not go unnoticed here. After watching the game a few more times, his length was a real factor in keeping KD to around his average.
Secondly, Gallo’s huge shots in the second quarter opened the game up for the Knicks and the biggest trend I see isn’t just that he hits 3s, it’s WHERE he hits them from.
When Gallo can hit the wing 3, spots behind the arc but more foul line extended than top key or corner, he and the Knicks are impossible to guard. Impossible. The same can be said for Wilson Chandler.
Hitting the shot and making the defense respect that part of the floor does 2 things:
1) it creates more space for Stoudemire either 1 on 1 or in the pick and roll and
2) it allows for action from Gallo off of it in terms of head fake drives and other moves to keep defenders off balance creating action towards the basket, and FT attempts.
Keep an eye out for that tomorrow…
Kevin Durant looks like his legs could break at any moment, yet that doesn’t stop coach Scott Brooks from rolling him out there 40 minutes per night.
He’s like a thoroughbred who can run all day long on legs as thick as cocktail straws.
The same absolutely holds true for Amar’e Stoudemire, who averages less minutes per game than Durant.
Stars are stars in the NBA because they can log heavy minutes and be productive. It’s why they make All-Star teams. It’s why their stats are higher. They can do more per minute and play more minutes.
With that said, the biggest criticism of Mike D’Antoni has been the idea that he’s logging players too many minutes. Amar’e’ being banged up is a big story, despite the fact that in every sport players are rarely 100%.
The Thunder’s coach, has done a great job with the team. They’ve already won 20 games. His job is to get them in the top half of the Western Conference and a home playoff series. His job is to ride his star player or players.
D’Antoni’s job is to make the playoffs. So, what’s the difference?
D’Antoni has stated he needs to play more guys off the bench, which is true, but the guys on the bench including a hurting Toney Douglas, look worse when Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler struggle together.
It’s that simple really.
D’Antoni wants to continue to develop both so instead of playing them 25 minutes when they are off, he’ll go 33-35, with them. And they usually are unproductive like they were the other night in Cleveland. But they can’t complain of over usage.
Jeff Green plays 39 minutes per game. When he has a bad game (see game vs the Bulls)…they lose.
Ronny Turiaf and Douglas have battled injuries and Timofey Mozgov has struggled with his confidence. The team needs players who can come off the bench and be productive obviously, but mostly when Gallo and Chandler are off. When both are on, the Knicks have 4 legitimate weapons along side Stoudemire and Felton.
The two young forwards just aren’t stars night in and night out. This is not to say they won’t be, but they are being leaned on to be productive.
They just can’t do it on a nightly basis and it magnifies minutes, and the fact that the bench hasn’t been productive.
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