We all know that isn’t going to happen, but at least D’Antoni won’t be hampered by salary-cap restrictions or luxury-tax concerns in New York. There also are growing rumors that he’ll be able to attract LeBron James and/or Dwyane Wade when both become free agents in 2010.

Don’t laugh. It could happen.

“You know what? He’s actually more detailed than people think,” Kobe Bryant said. “I used to think playing against Phoenix that the players are just freelancing, but he draws all that stuff up, and he can have 10 options on one play. I’ve never seen an offensive mind like his. And I don’t know any player on this team that doesn’t think (he) wouldn’t be fun to play for.”

James, who’s hounded by these questions every time he lands in New York, remains coy on the subject.

“(Fans in New York) have a right to dream about it. I can’t take that away from them,” James said. “I loved the Garden way before I got to the NBA, and for some reason, when I get to the Garden, I always play well. So (the fans) want me to do it 41 games a year instead of two games a year. And it’s been great (working with D’Antoni). He’s one of the best coaches we have in the league. He’s going to bring that style to the East Coast, and I’m very excited for him, very happy for him. Best of luck to him.”

Andrew Smith, our legal expert, is filtering through the papers regarding the Nets move to Brooklyn. Should the move be held up, and there is every reason to think it will,  it appears the Nets will be forced to play in Newark. It is our understanding that the State may object to a short-term move and may force the team to sign a several year lease. Lots of legalities to sort through and Andrew will post when his research is completed. This process has a powerful impact on the future of King James.

We all laughed when Marbury talked about going to Italy. Actually I didn’t laugh I said good riddance. I don’t want to overreact to the Childress move because playing overseas is more detailed then just money. You hear stories about players going to different countries and they wind up miserable because of the difficulty adjusting to the culture. That is probably why Childress has an opt out every year of his deal. However, this is something to keep an eye on. Just imagine you now have to compete with the “world” to keep your free agent. Do you think there is room for Zach Randolph’s agreement somewhere overseas?

Talked to a few people — scouts, an agent who has several European players and knows Gallinari well (but doesn’t represent him), a well-informed European reporter, a current Knick who is working out with Gallinari and a person deep within the Knick braintrust — and this is what I’ve come up with:

- Braintrust guy on the suggestion that the Knicks already know they won’t be able to count on Gallinari this season: “That is as far from the truth as you can get.”

- Agent (who usually have agendas because it’s not their player): “This kid’s got a chance to be special . . . What people don’t get with Danilo is he’s a good-looking kid and people think he’s a pretty boy. He’s a tough kid. He won’t back down.”

- Scout: “He’s 19 years old. What we’ve got to understand is this: if Derrick Rose was in Milan, he would have played half a game. These are men that they’re playing against. Danilo Gallinari was a leading scorer and he was doing that at 18 years old.”

- Reporter: “The assumption that Gallinari is injury prone is absurd, at least at this stage of his career.”

- Current Knick: “Great kid. Really works hard and can shoot the s–t out of it. Definitely a 3.”

This is the most polarizing Knick in quite some time. He has barely been on the team a month and you hear tons of speculation, criticism, and rumors. I really think we need to relax and give him a chance to develop. Sometimes New York fans can really bring out the worst in a player. I hope this is not the beginning of the constant harping on Gallinari. My advice is manage your expectations and enjoy watching this team grow and develop from the mess it has been.

Tommy Dee writes- The sentence in bold above gives us some validation, as our European scout shared the same thing, something those of us who’ve had friends enjoy long careers in Europe already knew:

Not too many people give the Eilte League in Europe enough respect.

UPDATED 1:23 p.m. A person with knowledge of the situation says the Knicks are one of several teams monitoring Deng’s situation closely, hoping things will deteriorate and Chicago will be forced to consider a sign-and-trade. The Knicks don’t have cap room this year or next, so a sign-and-trade is their only chance of getting Deng. Several teams with cap room next season are hoping Deng takes the Bulls’ qualifying offer and will be unrestricted next summer, including Miami, Memphis, and Portland, according to the source.

As the current Knicks roster stands, there is no clear backup center to speak of, unless of course David Lee and Malik Rose fit that bill…… I didn’t think so either.
So there you have it, Donnie has to go get a shot-blocking center to provide the type of interior defense that only appears in the Garden nowadays when a visiting player kills the Knicks with it. But there is one minor problem: who can we go get?

I have given this thought, and I have decided that while I would love to add a player who can help us well into the future, I would be willing to bring on a veteran stopgap to keep us from making a foolish trade for a young player.

Potential buy-out options include guys like Stromile Swift and Raef LaFrentz, both of whom are in the final years of their current contracts. Swift, if bought out would require a deal worth more than the minimum, and thus would only be an option for the Knicks via trade. Swift for Rose anyone? LaFrentz on the other hand would have been absolutely perfect for the Knicks about 6 years ago. He was a sweet-shooting, shot-blocking center who would have been an ideal complement to either Zach Randolph or Eddy Curry. Now, I am not so sure. But if he were available without the Knicks having to give up anything, I believe that he would be a decent stopgap backup for us. How about Q-Rich and Malik Rose for LaFrentz and Martell Webster? I would do it, but would Portland? Theo Ratliff is a free-agent, but why would he sign a minimum salary deal to come play for the Knicks when he can sign the same deal to play for the Celtics or another contender? That’s simple, he wouldn’t (although I would love to have him).

Young shot-blockers are out there, but I am not sure how readily available they are. Sean Williams of the Nets comes to mind, and to a lesser extent, Hilton Armstrong of the Hornets. Neither team figures to give up on these guys, and I am not sure if the Knicks would have what it would take to get either of them Armstrong has had a rough start to his career, and I do not think that the Hornets would sell low on him just yet.

One player who I would love to see the Knicks get on the cheap would be Shelden Williams. I know he is too small to be a real center, but I believe that he is the type of player that the Knicks can really use. He can come in and rebound and play interior defense, two traits that would be ideal for a bench player. His stock is really low right now, and maybe the Knicks can get him for Renaldo Balkman and a swap of future second round picks. Or maybe the Knicks can take on Abdur-Rahim’s final two years and send Malik Rose the other way. After all, the Kings have plenty of players in front of Williams, including Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson, and Brad Miller. While I am not sure if either deal would work financially, I think that they would both be good moves.

Lastly, would anyone be against exploring a deal that would send Eddy Curry to Memphis for Crittenton/Lowry and Darko Milicic. Memphis needs a post scorer, and Curry would fit in well there, as there is no one else there to clog up the paint on offense. Curry’s contract is not overly cumbersome, but it can potentially go through the ’10-’11 season, which is something the Knicks do not want. In Milicic, the Knicks would get a good shooting shot-blocker who, while not as offensively talented as Curry, will keep more people out the paint than Curry will. Milicic reminds me of a poor man’s Raef LaFrentz with a bit less range on his jump shot. (As I noted above, I think that a young LaFrentz would be perfect for the Knicks.) The Knicks would also be able to bring on a young point guard like Crittenton to hopefully develop behind Duhon. Giving up on Curry would be a tough thing to do, but this move would also create cap relief for the summer of ’10. I’d go for this if it were on the table.

Those were just some options that I feel the Knicks can look into without completely overhauling our roster. I am curious to know what everyone thinks, and hopefully hear more potential ideas for Donnie to consider. Every Knick fan from Donnie Walsh onward knows that the Knicks need an interior defender who can deflect shots and deter players from driving down the lane. However, does anyone know who that guy is?

Let me start from the beginning with the idea that the Knicks are not a match for Emeka Okafor. Last winter while I was home from school, I talked with my friend and fellow Knicks fanatic about the prospect of landing Okafor in a deal that would include Eddy Curry. This was before Curry went out for the season with an injury. Okafor, while still young, has not lived up to the billing as a pure force on the block. He has been very good, but he is what he is: a 6”10 4/5 that rebounds, defends (although he is softer than I would have anticipated), and can block shots. He is not a go-to on the offensive block, and I am not sure if he ever really will be.

Earlier in the spring, I even commented on this blog (I am not going to look back for it, so please take my word for it) that I would love to see the Knicks land Okafor. He is a good guy and seems like a winning type player, despite his inability to land his Bobcats into the playoffs thus far. That said, the thought of him making $14 million is ludicrous. Walsh has to steer clear of that at all costs……. unless of course they can ship Randolph in a deal for him. Then I am absolutely onboard.

Next, Al Harrington is a very good player, and can be a good starting forward in this league. But comparisons to Amare? They are not that similar. Amare is more explosive, a better rebounder, and is a better scorer going to the basket. Harrington has the better outside jump shot. That might be about it.

This next one hurts. I have been warning Knicks’ fans to keep their eyes peeled to the Nets situation because they had an overload of talent and not enough spots to keep it all. So today the Nets alleviated their roster problem. Guard Marcus Williams was sent packing, handing off the baton to a future first round pick en route to New Jersey. My liking for Williams has been well documented on this site, and therefore I will simply wish him luck in California and congratulate Warriors fans on bringing in a guy who can develop into a stud lead guard.

But I have one problem with what Tommy said about the Knicks inability to trade players for future number one picks. I understand that you have a negative view of our players, and I can see why on many levels. However, to place higher trade value on Marcus Williams, who has not proven anything yet, than Nate Robinson is foolish. Nate can be a big-time scorer in this league. He has a 40-point game already under his belt and has on many occasions provided instant offense for the Knicks. I know why Donnie will not deal Nate for a 1^st round pick, and it is not because no team would have interest. Rather it is because Walsh would be a fool to deal him for a probable late 1^st rounder.

As for Deng, I thought the idea this off-season was for the Knicks to save money for 2010. As good as Deng will be, the only way the Knicks could make this move would be to deal Randolph and Lee. And I think the Bulls will find a more attractive offer than that. I do not want to deal anymore future picks. We cannot keep falling into that trap.

Last but not least, Crawford for Crittenton and Bucker? I am all for trying to get Crittenton, but Crawford? Please. Crittenton is a third string point guard and Buckner should never be on the Knicks radar. Why would Walsh trade our best player for a package of them?

Tommy Dee says… Let me first respond by welcoming Chris to the staff, his posts were very insightful and his passion is inspiring. But he needs a little education, and one that I have no problem helping him with.

That said, any discussions regarding dealing for Okafor ends here. And for Curry? It ended there.

Secondly, Harrington was compared to a “lite” version of Amare. I understand that the comparisons may not be that close, my point, which I thought was clear, was that Harrington is the prototype big in D’Antoni’s offense. He’s big, agile, can shoot in the pick and roll and runs the floor and finishes at the rim. He settles for Js but is a good athlete. Not on Amare’s level. Okay let’s stop mentioning that name.

Who on earth would trade an early first round pick for Nate Robinson? Honestly, name one lottery team that needs a combo guard that hasn’t found a niche and wants big money.

Lastly, the Crittenton deal was one that struck me because Andrew Smith and I discussed his game all day. Talk about a kid with upside. Third stringer? Maybe, but we’re still waiting for Crawford to prove that he can be a winning player. And we’re not alone. I’ve never seen such a love/hate relationship with a player. If you love streetball, you love Crawford, if you understand winning basketball, you know that he’s been a major part of the problem. High volume shooting ball dominating guards are half court offense killers, which is where close games are won and lost.

Can D’Antoni make Crawford and All-Star? Maybe. Will teams ever want to deal for him? Big question.

Which is why Crittenton and a defender in Buckner is a solid, cheap value in exchange for Crawford. So he and Mayo can score a million points and lose.

I like Crawford as a person, I really do. And I’m excited about the possibility of him becoming a complete player, I’m just very doubtful.

Sick crossovers don’t mean anything if we ain’t getting Ws.

Commercialappeal.com is reporting that the Grizzlies’ backcourt glut means they may have to say goodbye to Javaris Crittenton.

Crittenton is a gifted guard who falls under the category of “can he be harnessed” but the guy is a sound defender with some point skills. He likes to pass, but is turnover prone.

His stats are unimpressive, but sometimes you just have to trust your eyes and Andrew and I think the kid has the chance to be really good. He could excel under D’Antoni. Yes, I know so can Crawford, but Memphis is under the cap and this could be a great way to start to shed salary moving forward.

Admittedly, with 16 roster spots and just having signed Roberson and Duhon, it makes little sense as the Knicks have their own glut of flawed guards. But Roberson may be a nonfactor this season and Walsh could make a big deal and bring in less contract.

What about Crawford for Crittenton and defensive specialist Greg Buckner?  We may have to throw in Balkman from a roster standpoint and since Memphis would try and dump Jaric’s salary.

We know Walsh loves the ACC and the kid was quite a talent coming out of high school. Check out the Top 10 that year.

1. Oden
2. Durant
3. Brandan Wright
4. Chase Buddinger
5. Thaddeus Young
6. Spencer Hawes
7. Crittenton
8. Wayne Ellington
9. Ty Lawson
10. Brook Lopez

This would be a great move if the Knicks could pull it off. Deng is an athletic foward who can score and has a great wingspan. I believe he would be a perfect fit in the D’Antoni scheme. Not sure what it will take to acquire Deng, but this is worth keeping an eye on.