So Donnie Walsh made several references to a Mike "D'Antonio" today. Newsday columnist Johnette Howard wondered if it was a Freudian slip, considering that D'Antoni just never could beat the Spurs.
Aside from that, lots of questions about the future that really can only be answered in time. Let's take a look at what's ahead now that Walsh has his coach in place:
1. Assemble a staff -- As we reported today, D'Antoni might not be able to take his entire group with him from Phoenix, but we already know that his older brother, Dan, is coming. The other who might join him is longtime assistant Phil Weber, who was a standout at Long Island Lutheran and grew up in Northport. We were able to confirm our speculation from today's story that Herb Williams will remain on the Knicks bench as an assistant coach. Six-plus seasons and counting for Herb. D'Antoni expects to only keep a staff of four, so that final spot may be up for grabs. Longtime Knicks player development coach, Greg Brittenham, should get some serious consideration, but there will be a lot of young coaches pushing for this job. We've already heard that Kenny Anderson -- the Molloy legend and dude who joked about having to sell one of his cars during the NBA lockout and has been coaching on the minor league basketball circuit -- is hoping to get his name in the mix.
2. Prepare for the Draft -- Walsh said he will send Mike D'Antoni to represent the Knicks at the draft lottery next Tuesday and hope he brings good luck. At best the Knicks would love the opportunity to select Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, who is expected to go as high as No. 1 in the draft and is a great fit for the D'Antoni system. There are plenty of point guards to choose from in this draft and that seems the obvious hole to fill, though Walsh has said he usually prefers to go with the "best player available" over filling a need. And if the Knicks do not go for any other point guard, another option might be 6-9 swingman Danilo Gallinari of Italy, whom D'Antoni knows through his Italian League contacts and, with a terrific shot and strong ball-handling skills, is another that fits the system. Gallinari is compares to Toni Kukoc, I'm told, though, at 19 years old, needs a lot more physical development to handle the NBA game.
3. Hire a General Manager -- You can expect Glen Grunwald will remain in place at least through the draft, but it is more than likely that Walsh will look to hire his own guy to run the everyday front office duties. Walsh and D'Antoni both may be in on this decision, so you can figure they will look at D'Antoni colleagues such as Wizards executive Tommy Sheppard, whom D'Antoni worked with in Denver, Bulls consultant Jim Paxson (coincidentally the brother of the GM D'Antoni spurned for the Knicks), former Bucks GM Larry Harris (whom Isiah Thomas almost managed to get to take Zach Randolph's contract) and Raptors assistant GM Maurizio Gheradini, whom D'Antoni knows from the Italian League team, Bennetton. A wild card candidate that must be kept an eye on is Denver Nuggets executive Mark Warkentien, whom Walsh likes because he has a history of revamping rosters and moving otherwise immovable contracts. Warkentien has an incredible track record of making deals that we'll detail down the road if it sounds like he's in the mix. Right now he has his hands full with the Nuggets and their issues.
4. Roster Evaluation -- There isn't much Walsh can do with most of the current roster, but there will have to be a decision made on Stephon Marbury, who is in the final year of his contract ($21 million) and could be a buyout candidate if they decide it best to remove him from the locker room. Another buyout candidate could be the oft-injured Jerome James and a player Walsh will likely try to move is Zach Randolph, whose contract is an albatross. Expect the athletic players -- Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler, Renaldo Balkman, Jared Jeffries and David Lee -- to have the easiest time fitting into D'Antoni's system.
Comments (67)
One thing is certain: I never want to see Crawford, Curry, Marbury, Zach, Jerome. and Q on this team again. Too bad we'll probably see Crawford take half-court shots and Quentin throw up bricks again this year.
As for everything else, I agree. I hope he hires a defensive assistant though. WTF is Herb doing there? What a loser. The guy is a horrible coach yet he keeps kissing everyone's ass and keeping his job.
Hey! No dissin' on herb! Let the man sit quietly on the bench year after year!
We have 2 years to get rid of randolph. Surely someone will suck it up and take a 20 and 10 guy, and trade us whatever crap they have, as long as the contracts expire before 2010.
Assuming Randolph is gone, Curry will revert to his 2006 self. You know, the one that almost made the all star team, and scored 20 points in like 18 straight games.
Q is a 3 point specialist who can't shoot. He needs to leave the NBA. Sorry.
Just keep marbury and let his contract. maybe he'll explode in his contract year and get us into an 7th or 8th seed ala 2004.
Jerome better not be on the roster, what a joke. Also Jeffries has 4 mroe years on the contract, but noone is going to take him, so we'll suck it up.
If we can dump Randolph, we'll have the money to resign Nate and Lee and still get LeBron. The #1 priority is dumping Randolph. Some way, somehow, it has to be done.
now if only the rangers blog could be as clear and concise as this blog, especially the latest one --- good stuff, and i can follow it to the end --- unlike the rangers blogger, who desperately tries to be hip and seems to care more about describing what music he had playing in his car on his way to Long beach
Who gives a rat's ass?
jay, Curry sucks ass. He was never close to making any all star teams. Averaging 19 and 7 for a center his size and ability is a joke. The guy never had the heart and never will.
Peace is trashing this blog.
he has ruined a couple of blogs already. on one site he actually got banned
than he is bringing his troll freinds over here
can anyone here get peace to shut up already?
he contribute nothing but garbage in any blog
I'd think that they'd have to move Curry if D'Antoni wants to run.
If Walsh could successfully dump Randolph's contract and move Curry for a more athletic big, then he will have had an incredibly successful summer.
I heard Walsh on Mike and the Mad Dog yesterday. I gotta say, I really like the guy. He's a straight shooter, and just makes sense. Even if you don't agree completely with the D'Antoni signing, you've got to respect him for him for his reasoning on it. It makes a lot more sense than anything Isiah ever did...
Let's pray for a great draft and lots of roster changes. 140 to 120 point blow-outs with the same old slow, can't pass shlubs will not be any better than what we had the last 3 years. Suns-style circus offense with no defense in the Garden will be a joke. Or is the idea to create Show Time East and attract LeBron?
DTR
Allan - Greg Brittenham is a strength and conditioning coach, i dont think he has any aspirations to sit on the bench and coach. check the facts before you write.
STFU... the all of yous!
Alan -
Do you make anything of the fact that Marbury was at the press conference, but he wasn't announced by their PR director as being in attendance (while Q and Nate were)? Or about D'Antoni's frequent reference to "a good teammate" as the type of player they want to bring in?
It bothered me to read some of Marbury's comments about how it will be exciting to bring ooh's and ahh's and "park-style" basketball back to the Garden. Bring winning back to the Garden. That's all we care about.
I usually give him the benefit of the doubt, but I just don't see this working with Marbury. At least not with him at the point. They gotta buy him out or make him a 2 guard. I'd rather have an unathletic guy who will make the right decision than a guy like Marbury running this new offense.
Roster evaluation had been completed, and quite accurately as the seasons passed have borne out, two years ago.
WORTHLESS, BUT NOT GOING ANYWHERE DUE TO THEIR ZEKE-FAT CONTRACTS:
Loser Marbury. The guy with the fictional injury. And the Weed Wallace connections. Get in the truck.
Lazy Eddy. Defenseless, unmotivated, and completely worthless.
Fat Zach. Good for two midseason trips per year to check out his strip clubs in Gary, Ind. and other assorted business ventures.
Break A Backboard Crawford. Nobody wants a 40 percent mindless gunner. Or a one-dimensional player who lacks just one (sic) skill: defense.
Jerome James: Born worthless.
Little Man Nate: A wiz during the girls' summer league. A puppy when playing with the men.
Q (injured): Back nixes this once-serviceable talent.
Malik Rose (age): Father Time pays his check.
Randi Morris: More of a wimp than Lazy Eddy.
Jared Jeffries: Zeke's example of overpaying role players. Decent skills on a good team. A horrid contract for every club.
PROVEN TALENTS WHO WILL PROBABLY SPLIT:
David Lee: Good role player on a title team. Expect to see him in San Antonio, New Orleans, Orlando, or Phoenix in a year or two.
QUESTIONABLE TALENTS:
Renaldo Balkman: Zeke's answer to Gitmo. Zeke tortured this kid. A new coach can only help.
Mardy Collins: See Balkman, but with less potential. A fourth guard on a three-guard team. If he learns to play defense. And handle.
Fred Jones: Already the fourth guard on a lousy team. That to which Collins aspires.
Wilson Chandler: A few weeks at the end of a 23-win season mean nothing.
DRAFT PICKS:
A 19-year-old Italian would be better than a Rucker League All-Star, but then Rucker offers so little these days. Rose will not happen unless Stern rigs the lottery. See the Los Angeles Lakers' personal escorts to the free throw line against Utah. Fix City, USA.
And the 2009 Lottery pick belongs to Utah. Courtesy of Zeke.
Too bad the second-rate hockey writer didn't tell you about all of this. But he's been busy. Shining Jim Dolan's shoes. And appeasing the Missus at Home Depot.
"Do you make anything of the fact that Marbury was at the press conference, but he wasn't announced by their PR director as being in attendance (while Q and Nate were)?"
very good point. was marbury late getting there, or was he sitting there the whole time?
alan do you know marbury's proximity to q and nate during the press conference?
Regurgitated, useless garbage from the parents' basement.
DFTT!
What ever the team they can't turn the ball over. We are among the leaders in turnovers. Jamal Crawford is a turn over waiting to happen and show no signs of letting up. And I could say the same with a bunch of the Knicks. So smart ball handling, positioning, and shot selection are key Mike D's player skills. But what is the most essential is an orchestrator. Even if we go with Rose - he is a rookie and will have no experience so we have to cross our fingers and hope he is a genie in a bottle as with all rookies. Steph is a question mark. But, we are due for a good outing form him. He moves in cycles - up & down. I would buyout Marbury if we can get an experienced point guard from free agency and the draft one to learn on the job. No easy way out for the Knicks. Hard decisions to come.
Regurgitated, useless garbage from the parents' basement.
OSO,
That's a bit of harsh description to describe your puppet posts. However, if that's the way you want it, that's the tag we shall all use to describe your mindless drivel.
Fixer Community
AMEN TO THAT.
PEACEMAN NEEDS TO BE BANNED HERE TOO
What should D'Antoni do? Increase the value of his players
The Line-Up Theory: How D'Antoni Can Redeem Knicks Roster and Isiah
http://sportsonmymind.com/2008/05/14/how-mike-dantoni-can-redeem-knicks-roster-and-isiah/
and why are folks messing with Peaceman?
MODI
Fixer Community put it best. I will copy-paste for emphasis
"Peace is trashing this blog.
he has ruined a couple of blogs already. on one site he actually got banned
than he is bringing his troll freinds over here
he contribute nothing but garbage in any blog"
how anyone can stand and read Peaceman's incredible stupidity is beyond me.
watch him come back with profanity filled tirade that'll make prison guards blush
Peaceman is only suited for Marc Berman's joke of a blog.
Just a note:
The Knicks 2009 draft pick is LOTTERY PROTECTED until 2010.
Good catch Mark. Thanks.
LOL.. Someone has a Crush on me?
Sorry dude...I'm straight!
You really need to learn ...NO means NO!
Alan please look at the IP address of the Hack
that keeps posting my name? Trailer trash right?
jay, Curry sucks ass.
Posted by George | May 14, 2008 04:22
Straight from Berman's to here!
Fixer Community put it best. I will copy-paste for emphasis
"Peace is trashing this blog.
he has ruined a couple of blogs already. on one site he actually got banned
than he is bringing his troll freinds over here
he contribute nothing but garbage in any blog"
Posted by A Regular Blogger | May 14, 2008 18:24
Looking at your last sentence......how long have you been
"Special?" Get a Life!
I'm telling you all, OJ Mayo is the guy we should be focusing on. Watch his game, he's the next great 2-guard in the NBA. We should draft him and put Crawford on the block. He plays great D as well. Mark my words gents. I'm hoping we fall anywhere from 3-5 so we can get him.
knick fans,
patience is a vurtue, no quick fixes here
diaw, barbosa, nash, baron davis, jamal tinsley,
jermaine o;neil make no sense for this team.
1. draft a stud point guard
2. second round draft a european player that is a
great shooter.
3. put a package together for josh smith, atlanta
won't pay this guy.
4. let the marbury & rose contracts expire
5. add another lottery pick next year & get ready
for the free-agent class in 2010.
we don't get a second round pick this year. Isiah traded it away for a player he cut before the season started, Demetris Nichols.
The David Stern PR Festival Continued in La La Land Wednesday night.
Mrs. Bryant's Diamond Buyer, and we're not talking minor league baseball here, and pals get 42 escorts to charity stripe. Utah receives only 28. David Stern's Western Conference PR Scheme Team wins by seven.
Why even play the games? The Refs, on orders from Mr. Stern, are simply giving this series to Mrs. Bryant's Diamond Buyer and Purchaser of Silence.
The second-rate hockey writer, Marbury's personal spinmeister, and George Vecsey's belligerent, myopic brother refuse to even address the matter. Dolan and Rupe have the kind of mindless hacks on their payrolls who can only fail in their own sea of turbulent spin. And then there's the Knicks.
Correct me if I'm wrong but Lebron is not the only one available in 2010. Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Kaman, TJ Ford...everyone from the awesome 2003 draft class. Are Chris Paul and Deron Williams available in 2009 or 2010?
Correct me if I'm wrong but Lebron is not the only one available in 2010. Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Kaman, TJ Ford...everyone from the awesome 2003 draft class. Are Chris Paul and Deron Williams available in 2009 or 2010?
@Harold - Before you even bother coming out of the lurker shadow to take me on, you should really do your homework. I know Greg Brittenham quite well and know exactly what his role is. He is listed officially -- and announced -- as an assistant coach. He is also "Director of Player Development" and spends most of his time on game nights sweating bullets with whomever decided to come out and do a pregame workout. He opts not to sit on the bench and that was my point....if D'Antoni is only keeping four assistants, he will likely want all four on the bench. Fixers, somebody get the bug spray. Don't walk into this place and take on the host without a legit argument. Aw man, crazy.
Samir--a hoops fanatic's best friend: www.hoopshype.com . Click on "salaries" and then on the team you want to see. It breaks down every player's salary by year, and shows how many years their deals extend. It's a great tool for figuring out what teams might do.
Pearl Monroe is going to be at j&r this saturday for an autograph session, for anyone who is interested.
Posted by George | May 14, 2008 18:36
Peaceman is only suited for Marc Berman's joke of a blog.
george
Peace ruined berman's blog, isola's and knickdefense.
he is now royally trashing knicksfanatics all by himself
im glad the anti-peaceman are gradually coming out of the closet. he is a disgrace to blogosphere
what a looser
I see that peace is making friends and influencing people wherever he goes. Great job pal. You'll soon be laughed off the blogosphere.
Posted by Alan | May 15, 2008 09:29
"@Harold - Before you even bother coming out of the lurker shadow to take me on,"
Seems the second-rate hockey writer's a tad upset. Touchy, touchy. Wonder if he learned that tantrum act from his boss, Jimmy Dolan.
"Fixers, somebody get the bug spray. Don't walk into this place and take on the host without a legit argument. Aw man, crazy."
Yeah, I agree. Pointing out that the second-rate hockey writer called Break A Backboard Crawford is a one-dimensional player who lacks just one (sic) skill: defense is really crazy.
Same with noting that others correctly outlined Zeke's myriad of overpaid failures on the Knicks roster and on the court this past season and for the next three seasons to come while the second-rate hockey writer stood before the camera with the young Newsday babe is just crazy.
Don't get the second-rate hockey writer upset or he'll have another Jimmy Dolan and ban you from the blog.
Off to Home Depot.
@ John Q Mike Q Aka Anonymous aka Mak!
Your not worth it! It seems your "kind"
have succeeded into turning this into an insult blog!
Grow up, shave that beard so you don't look so much like
your Mother!
@ Mak.
Drop the legal action against the Bronx Zoo!
The Zoo had nothing to do with those tourists
mistake that led them to pet your kids @ the Monkey cage!
Kenny Andersen is looking for a job. Is he broke?
He should get a job at Home Depot.
Can CP3 closeout the Spurs tonight? Sure hope so.
@ Peace is worthless and useless.
So true, so true. LOL
More trolls, or trollish impersonations at least, around here now than those crazy Rasberry ants in Texas I've been reading about.
Interesting comments about Lee not fitting in with D'Antoni's system, and Mike's apparent coolness toward drafting him (which I can understand). Lee doesn't need to be an outside threat to succeed in the seven-second offense. A midrange (12-15 feet) jumper will be helpful, but the main thing is trailing the break. What is Stoudemire, after all? Certainly not an outside shooter. He's possibly the league's best big-man finisher, and a good (if unsophisticated) low-post scorer (and his defense isn't any worse than Dave's is). In order to be a part of the break, Lee needs to work on his hands, his timing, and on finishing at the rim.
A fast break offense can be effective with four running, plus a fatso on the low block who supplies half-court set offense. Lee's athletic enough that he can help cover for the absence of a running center. It sounds like he's taking his likely upcoming role pretty seriously too, by seeking out Nash. Good for him, and good for the Knicks.
Peace...hard to tell, sometimes, with the several impersonations going on around here, but if that was you at 20:12, don't give in, man. You're basically a good-hearted guy. Don't trade pus. It may seem like a blow to your pride, but some fights are too small to be worth fighting. You can ignore him and be more of an adult for it.
alan or anyone else,
What do you guys know about Kosta Koufos from Ohio state,
I heard he might be the next Dirk Nowitzki...he is 7 feet tall and can hit 3 pointers and run the floor. Is he the real deal? He is projected to be a 14th round pick, do you think the knicks should make a move to get him?
@ Mike,
your right bro, I shouldn't FTT! Funny thing is with Mike & John Q,
I'm sure their whole family's not annoying. Some are dead. LOL
I'm done! I will ignore them!
Cool, Peace.
Stevek...14th round? Dude, not even the NFL draft has 14 rounds, and those teams carry 55 guys! The NBA draft is only 2 rounds long. Or maybe you meant the 14th pick...I'll go out on a limb and say, that unless the Knicks take him with their lottery pick, they won't be able to put together any kind of package for that.
I screwed up, I meant the 14th overall, But baseball has over 14 rounds and their roster are less than the NFL's 55.
ESPN has Koufos going to Chicago at 9th overall. Maybe the Bulls might want Curry back, now that he has proven his ticker is still working....
Fair point about baseball, stevek. But each major league team has at least three affiliates (A-AA-AAA), each of which also carries 25 players. So there are many hidden professionals within a major league team's system.
Kind of off-topic, but that's why I think baseball and hockey don't have age-limit issues like basketball and football do: there are minor pro leagues where teenagers can earn a salary and play in relative obscurity, without the pressure and temptation of the show.
But anyway...
I doubt Chicago will want Eddy back. His heart is still uninsurable, and therefore so is his contract (I'm not 100% sure of that, but I do know Q's contract is uninsured). If anything, I'd try to unload Zach, who doesn't have the health problems, and also has a much worse contract.
Comment from: A Voice [ Visitor ]
Thank you O&B sir. That is almost the confirmation that I have been looking for that Thomas is still in control.
1. D'Antoni is not a Walsh type of coach. He is a Dolan-Mills-Thomas type of coach. Big name. Expanding pockets. Plus how in the world could Walsh be serious about D'Antoni (including negotiating the contract) and get the man's name wrong? Let's be real.
2. Thomas never wanted to coach, but once he became coach because Dolan was unwilling to spend more money after paying off Brown, Thomas did not want to quit. However, Thomas did want to establish a Phoenix style offense as evidenced by the type of players he drafted. Remember the reason he drafted Balkman was to beat D'Antoni to the punch. Note that Thomas has given D'Antoni the nucleus he will have two years from now -- not the star but the supporting nucleus.
3. And this is the critical point thanks to your regular O&B: It appears that Thomas may have been in Europe the same time as D'Antoni(o)'s agent. Go to Alan Hahn's website and listen to his radio interview with Michael Kay last week (May 10th Post) where Alan predicts that a D'Antoni(o) deal will not happen because the agent is in Europe and there is no way he and Walsh would be negotiating the contract that fast that far apart physically. Alan opined that you don't talk numbers that big over the phone. You must sit down and talk it out.
Interestingly, D'Antoni's agent, Warren Le Garie, returned to the states on Thursday May 8th after watching the Euroleague final four which was scheduled from May 2-4th. In an interview on the 8th, he declared that no offers had been made to D'Antoni as word was leaking out to D'Antoni's national media friends.
According to Berman, Thomas was in France and Italy (Spain was not mentioned) last week before the announcement this week. Thomas was to scout Danilo Galinari of Milan and Nicolas Batum of LeMans in the upcoming French and Italian League playoffs this week.
So one may wonder when and where did Thomas and LeGarie meet. What was LeGarie doing between the 4th and the 7th in Europe? And where was Thomas? Was he really there? Also note in a story about a miffed Reinsdorf, the Bulls owner maintained that he did not want to negotiate with the agent but directly with D'Antoni(o). Did this piss the agent and D'Antoni(o) off? Lot's of questions, but they all lead to the fact that Thomas, who knows D'Antoni's name is still making millions as a Knick power.
Also note that Galinari did not play in the Euroleague final four as his team, AJ Milano, didn't even reach the Top 16. Galinari is a forward who won the Italian All-Atar 3 pt shooting competition but only shot 31% from the three point line during the regular season. Nicolas Batum's team, LeMans Sarthe Basket, also did not advance to the Top 16 and therefore did not play in the final four in Madrid. Batum is also a 20 year old forward who averaged 8.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 13 games. Is this the guy Walsh wanted him to look at? Really. I mean, really?
Sorry for calling you out Zeke and Jimmy D, but some other "genius" is bound to raise it sooner or later, although it was raised here first, a long time ago as you were supposedly walking , being pushed out the door. You got your man in D'Antoni without being totally smoked out as the spook sitting by the door. No, you are the Invisible Man. Almost. Congratulations.
2008-05-16 @ 04:25:07 am
Goto Page: Previous page 1, 2
Alan. See what I mean, from my e-mail? (re:23:46) The troll has spawned doppelgangers. The good news is that most of us would rather talk basketball instead.
Interesting that Walsh is considering Bickerstaff--I'd read somewhere that the two weren't particularly close. But Bernie has experience with rebuilding. The thought of Billy King still makes me nervous--his entire cache' right now rests on one good half-season from the Sixers. He's also the GM who kept them down for over five years with some terrible free-agent signings.
Speaking of GM'ing, reports today suggest that the Blazers will look to move their top pick and maybe others. Walsh has to be looking at picking up more picks over the next few years.
Alan, any rumblings on maneuvering for more picks from the likes of portland and Seattle?
I doubt the Sonics will trade any picks, Willis. In addition to screwing over the city of Seattle, the new owners are committed to building an entire team from the draft. If they trade anything, it'll be lower-first round, and they won't be looking for big contracts in return.
A little nugget from Vecsey today:
"Donnie Walsh's disinclination to volunteer the name of the European coach he interviewed regarding the Knicks' job, notwithstanding, a source reveals it was Italian (but of course) Ettore Messina, whose CSKA Moscow team won the European Championship two weeks ago in Madrid."
Go global or don't go at all! We need every advantage we can get to turn this around. Mining some gems from the International squads can help.
@Mike - definately the Sonics are on the "pre- 00's Clippers" philosophy, but at a certain point they have to win some actual games. An expiring Malik Rose to steady their big men could be a bandage they could consider. I agree with you that they could move a lower first round pick or two - those can be valuable picks to us as we currently have none for some time to come thanks to "The Architect"
Willis -
I like what you're thinking about trying to take on more draft picks (how nice would it be just to have a second round pick to take a flyer on a big guy), but i don't wan't the knicks trading any expiring contracts.
The focus of the summer should be on moving Zach and his heavy contract.
See item # 50.
evidence hypocrisy and insanity and incoherentness
Click Here Fixers
@ Old school Oak, Mike, Trane, MattB, Marzak, NYC 2 infinity,
You guys are excellent reads, and don't deserve the troll infestation. Their motive is as clear as their origin. They even post
using other Fixer's handels. Alan has stated off line that he will delete such imposters in the future and bookmark their IP address! I will be adult enough to ignore them!
So FYI any future posts by me will only be about hoop!
Ignore a child and he will stop! DFTT!
4 days till "Ping Pong Balls." That event should result in
quality posting until the actual Draft, unless we get 1-2.
That would be narrowed down to Rose or Beasley!
Lets hope the Sonics don't get 1...because with Durant
they would not take Beasley. We need Rose or we will be stuck with Marbury! YUCK! BTW...how did we miss this?
Barkley's Big Troubles
Let's hope Curry knows if he wants to play AT ALL, he'll have come to camp in shape for once.
PG is needed, so is a shot blocker...but, everyone is forgetting someone has to MAKE the shots.
SO, it's still necessary to pick up someone who can consistently shoot the basketball. Q has proven he's washed up, so even if we pay a veteran min. to get a skilled shooter, it should help when the "bomb squad" can't do anything but clang.
If the Run & Gun included mostly lay-ups, this team would be OK...but, I don't see that happening seeing as consistent jump shots are such a rarity.
@ Old School Oakley.
Food for thought ( from the SAC BEE )
The Kings basically are sitting back and waiting for forward Ron Artest and his agent, Mark Stevens, to decide whether to accept the final year ($8.45 million) of his contract or opt for free agency.
"I'm sure Mark is going to do his due diligence, and they will decide what they are going to do," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said. "They have up to June 30 to make a notification of their decision."
Here's the deal: Artest, 29 in November, is like 99.9999 percent of all people: He wants to get paid. Preferably, it would be here because he likes it here, and the Kings, the owners of his Larry Bird rights, can pay him the most. Yet if the Kings won't sign him to a long-term deal, Artest probably would prefer to go someplace where that is a possibility.
The Kings are playing salary cap poker. They don't want to clog up the cap because they plan to make a free-agency splash sooner rather than later. Yet that plan might not coincide with those of Artest or Francisco García, whose rookie deal will end following the 2009-10 season.
Should Artest choose to opt out, he likely could get a deal in the two-year range averaging about $6 million. The Kings always can sign-and-trade, but that's taking on money in return.
There will be tough decisions by each party. Some folks in this town would drive Artest to the airport in a limo. Others would barricade the jet bridge. Hopefully, this statement won't backfire before the paper hits my front door, but Artest to my knowledge avoided trouble off the court this past season and has cooled out on the court during the past two seasons.
And remember how bad a dude Rasheed Wallace used to be? Some observers branded him an inoperable cancer, and an extremist or two thought he should be tossed from the league because of his outbursts.
The Knicks better move on this! The Kings want Cap room?
Rose and his expiring contract for Artest works!
DFTT!
Peace, we are rebuilding and have character issues all over the organization, why would we want to bring in Artest? Why would Donnie Walsh want to reunite with Artest? When the Knicks thought they were a few pieces away from a playoff run Artest made sense but now, while we are going younger Artest is the wrong kind of guy to bring in especially with our history of bring in guys other teams want to dump or have been traded numerous times (Marburry, Curry, Zach, Q-Rich, Crawford); i.e. our starting line-up last year.
@Knicks4life
Artest would be an asset! His defense speaks for itself
and he can run the court and hit the trey! For the money we
would be able to pick him up for is PEANUTS compared to Zach's
salary! Keep in mind his youngest daugter's affliction is best treated @ Sloan Kettering right here in NYC!
"Peace, we are rebuilding " thats not what DAntoni said!
He said we are not starting from square one!
Artest's defensive toughness would hopefully rub off
on the rest of the team, something we lacked for years!
@ Peaceman
Ur right Artest can help the knicks.
was that ur opinion or the opinion of ur cellmate in jail?
DFTT!
I would love to see Curry, minus 50 pounds (at least), running the floor. He'd discover a whole new game he never knew existed before...it'll be interesting to see what happens with this team this summer. Will players spontaneously work out together, to adapt to D'Antoni's style? That might seem like a ridiculous question, but there'd be no way to signal to themselves and all the fans that they're serious about succeeding. And that's all we want to see, is a good team that's really trying. At least in the short term.
You've been pulling for Artest for as long as I've known you online, Peace. At his best, Ron's a top-20 (gotta make room for the up & comers) player. Last year, his heart wasn't really in it, and he never really seemed comfortable with his teammates or his coach (and I think Theus did a hell of a coaching job, by the way). I think, now that D'Antoni's here, there could be some fire to all your smoke. : ) Artest reminds me, in some ways, of another D'Antoni star...Shawn Marion. Marion's taller, and more of a long-range bomber, but he's equally a two-way player and rebounder, like Ron. Artest can shoot effectively, and finish. He would add critical dimensions: versatile defense and offense both inside & out. The question is: where is his head? You put it nicely: the Kings are playing salary poker. Should Artest even come available, I agree with knicks4life: I really, REALLY doubt Walsh would want anything to do with him again. But I think he'd be a perfect fit with D'Antoni's system.
So much up in the air right now, such as, what to do with a mid-level exception? Because another desirable player for D'Antoni is right across the river: a running shotblocker named Diop. (And he'd be worth it!)
@ Mike,
Artest is a CHEAP high risk/ high reward!
The money he commands is pure insignificant when you compare
the rest of the Knicks salary! Artest is going to happen here in NY
like it or not! It turns my stomach when Artest could be a Knick for
less than what Jerome James makes!
ARTEST 2008-2009 or BUST!
TAZ is Peacemans alter ego.
Trying a bogus blogger to support him.
seen it many times.
Now that the team will have a clear game philosophy, I'm a lot more amenable to the idea of Artest coming to the Knicks, Peace. Apt comparison with Rasheed, who at times seemed to do nothing good in Portland. I think Sheed's story is, he's a good guy who didn't want to be the franchise guy, so he rebelled. I think Rasheed and Ron both have a little genuine craziness in them. But I also think that Artest will love D'Antoni's style--if he comes here, that is--enough that he'd be likely to toe the line. The caveat is, Detroit had Chauncey and Big Ben (who I think was the heart of that championship team) to keep him in line. New York has no real leaders. Lee could become that, but he's still too young to get through to a veteran like Ron.
But I'll concede this much: now that D'Antoni's here, I see some serious potential for him.
This is what I meant before.
Peaceman and TAZ are ruining this blog.
TAZ is Peaceman anyway, same person, so why even use 2 handles.
I've seen it before. Peace trashed a few other sites.
That's why he got banned at KnickDefense
.
great stuff Alan!!! I have to admit I am a bit excited with the walsh era... I just hope they can accomplish the impossible and resurrect the knicks from the grave. I think if they get the point guard they want in the draft they will buy-out Marbury's contract. But we will c how everything turns out in the future.
Go KNICKS !!!