The Knicks Fix

From Bokonon, a fellow Fixer and Knicks fan since the 70s. Worth a re-post here in big print. Bokonon has found Zen in his fanhood.

His words:

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It doesn't matter if I am willing to give the Walsh/D'Antoni regime a chance or not. It's not up to me. Knicks management couldn't care less if I approve and that is the way it should be. They should be in it to contend and win for the long haul, not to appease some fans with a win now or else attitude.

I'm a fan though and and I have to give them a chance. I gave Isiah and Stephon about three years. I was so ecstatic when they got rid of Layden that I didn't care who they hired. I don't recall a lot of Isiah-bashing going on right after he was hired, but maybe that's me. I recall the papers talking about how Isiah brought the Knicks back to being relevant again. They were on the back page for the first time since Van Gundy left. Then Isiah brought Marbury home and it was like a love-fest.

What happened?

Losing, and lots of it, on a scale that dwarfed even the Layden years. (yes Eisley, and Shandon Anderson had a better winning percentage than Steph and Eddy, go check, I'll wait...).

I still stuck by them until it became apparent that Isiah either didn't have a plan, or didn't have a clue. Every other week we got a new direction for the team. It was Phoenix Suns style East, then it was power ball, then it was you can't rebuild in the NBA you have to go for it now instead of waiting for the guy you want. Then it was you have to be patient, we're rebuilding.

I personally don't mind genuine incompetence as much as I mind someone trying to snow me. Either way it meant he had to go. He had his chance, he blew it. You didn't make us any prouder Isiah.

Now it is Walsh's turn. I will give him a chance whether it matters or not. I'm sure J.Dolan doesn't care one way or the other if you and I give him a chance.

Donnie seems to have a plan. So far he has followed through on what he has stated he would do. You could say that he went back on his first promise of more emphasis on defense, but how can you even tell? From the coach he hired?

How do you know D'Antoni won't stress defense? Riley was a defensive coach before he came to NY, although he wasn't known for his teams' defense, but for his wide-open run-and-gun style. With a different type of group, he changed it up and came up with something else that was successful. I'm not saying D'Antoni is going to suddenly turn into Greg Popovich or Chuck Daly. But how does anyone really know how he will coach this bunch? They haven't even been to camp, or even all been together in the same place yet.

I think we can all assume they will try to run on offense, but every coach knows you can't fast break off of baseline inbounds passes after opponents made shots. You have to play some defense to run, and some would be more than none which was what kind of defense we had under Isiah. Other than that, you can assume nothing. They haven't played one game, not even preseason, and some people are ready to give evaluations on not only Walsh's, but D'Antoni's jobs with the Knicks.

As for Duhon, they paid him the same per year that the Sonics gave Earl Watson three years ago when Earl had comparable numbers with the Grizzlies to Duhon's with the Bulls. The Sonics already had a starting point guard at the time.

Maybe D'Antoni sees something in the kid. He's the coach. Shouldn't he be able to choose the guy who he thinks can run his team on the floor at least as a stop-gap until they can acquire a permanent point? What did they give him a two year deal? Sorry but that's a lot different than the JJames or Jeffries deals.

As for Marbury, he has to go. It's not about his talent level, or who is a better player than who, or who has better stats. He is a culture. He is the face of the hapless laughing stock New York Knicks and he needs to go, preferably quietly after this season with his contract expiring.

As for his stats; stats can be misleading. They don't keep a Games gave up on stat. Or a disregarded the coaches instructions and decided to freelance per game stat. Or a seconds dribbled off the clock while pounding the ball looking for his shot per possession stat. Or a stats per game on the second day of back to back games stat. Or a you guys go practice, if you need me I'll be getting my massage stat. Maybe they should, it tells a lot more about the player than assists per game.

Just my opinion. I could be wrong.

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You must vote now. Pick your favorite candidate for the last opening left for next season's Knicks City Dancers.

Will it be CeCe, Elizabeth or Jen?

This is critical, Fixers. Speak now or forever hold your peace.

(That didn't quite come out the way I intended).

We also provide you with video. Thank me later.

Also . . . our girl Courtney -- Long Island! -- remains among the finalists in "So You Think You Can Dance?" and tonight is the results for this week.

Hey, every now and then we need a break from the "Is David Lee worth $10 million" conversations, yaknowhutimsayin?

The NBA Team Formerly Known As the Sonics just announced the purchase of the Tulsa 66ers, which was previously an affiliate -- though mostly unused -- of the Knicks. The Ok. City Whatevers became the third team to purchase a D-League team, joining the Lakers and Spurs.

The Knicks will continue to share a team -- they're linked with Reno, along with the Sacramento Kings -- but there has been talk in the past about the Knicks buying a franchise to put in the New York area. Harlem and Brooklyn are the two potential sites under consideration.

The D-League is the right idea on many levels -- the Lakers D-League team shares the practice facility and plays at Staples Center before Laker games, like a JV team -- but there are too many restrictions that keep it from being a true minor league system for the NBA. If an NBA team wants to send a player to the D-League, it costs them a roster spot. For instance, if Isiah Thomas wanted to do right by Randolph Morris last season and send him to Tulsa to get some burn, the Knicks would not be able to then fill Morris' spot on the roster with another player. The Knicks would have still technically had 15 players on the roster, with Morris assigned to the D-League (not that it mattered because Morris never played anyway).

The rules are made like this so rich teams like the Knicks can't just acquire a bunch of young players and bury them in the D-League while loading up on vets. It protects young players from being buried in the D-League. This happens a lot in hockey and, for the most part, it's always better for the younger player to develop in the minors instead of sitting on the bench in the majors.

The D-League's ultimate goal is to have 30 exclusive affiliates for each team and hope the rules can be adjusted enough to make it a little more of a legit minor league system instead of a minor league circuit that happens to have the backing of the NBA.

For instance, it would have been better for the Knicks if they were able to assign Demetris Nichols, Randolph Morris and Jared Jordan to the D-League. The rules should allow the players to opt-out of the assignment if they can find another NBA job (but then they can't be sent to the D-League by that NBA team for, say, 60 days) or if they get a better opportunity in Europe (as Jordan eventually did). The rules should also say that the NBA team can keep a rookie in the D-League for up to one full season, but must call him up for at least 10 days during that season. After one season, if he doesn't make the team in training camp, he must be set free. Perhaps the player can have another opt-out in July. Something like that.

Just bloggin.

Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that former Knick Randolph Morris was signed by the Hawks to a one-year contract for the NBA minimum. Morris is tight with Josh Smith (those two and Dwight Howard were the kings of the Atlanta high school basketball scene back in the day) so not only is he happy he found another NBA job, he landed with one of his buddies in his home town.

I'm told Smith isn't going anywhere, by the way. He'll eventually sign there, it's a matter of how long of a committment will Atlanta agree to make with him. Dude is an amazing athletic talent with a ton of potential, but I don't believe he's someone you build around. You build with him, yes. But he's not a centerpiece at this point of his career.

As for Morris, let's see if he finally gets some burn and what he does with it when he gets it. I think he can be a servicable NBA player. He has good footwork and strength. His timing always was off as a Knick but that's mostly because he rarely played. Tough to judge him on what he showed as a Knick.

We talked a lot about this last season and Morris and Renaldo Balkman are two prime examples of it: the Knicks under Isiah Thomas was not a healthy environment for developing young players. David Lee emerged mainly on his own discipline and drive. Nate Robinson, to me, should be a better player with better coaching, but he's another one who has started to grasp the difference between throwing up shots and calling it a warmup to making actual basketball moves that he would in a game and studying other players. He still has a long ways to go.

Andris Biedrins and David Lee are fairly comprarable players, though the 7-foot Biedrins is much taller and, therefore, a better shot-blocker. Still, their respective games are predicated on energy, athleticism and terrific instincts that make them very good rebounders. Neither are offensive threats in a one-on-one situation, though I might give Lee the advantage here if he continues to develop that inside-pivot move off the post.

The 22-year-old Biedrins signed on Monday a six-year, $62 million contract with the Golden State Warriors, which puts him over $10 million per.

Is David Lee worth $10 million per?

He'll be a restricted free agent next summer and you know he'll use Biedrins as one of his market comps.

Think about it this way, with the Knicks payroll as bloated as it is, if Lee got $10 mil a year starting in 2009-10, he would be the third-highest paid player on the team behind Zach Randolph ($16 mil) and Eddy Curry ($10.5 mil).

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Waive good bye to Taurean Green and Bobby Jones, Fixers. They were put on waivers today by the Knicks. This had to be done now because both contracts would have become guaranteed in August.

The popular opinion around the NBA is that Donnie Walsh overpaid Chris Duhon with the full mid-level exception salary, even if it was a two-year deal. But the Cavaliers now have to deal with Delonte West's agent, Aaron Goodwin, who smartly has brought the Duhon contract into negotiations for his client.

"Chris Duhon got $5 million-plus, and he might not even start (for the New York Knicks). All the comparables that we showed them doesn't matter to Cleveland," Goodwin told the News-Herald (Northeast Ohio). "They keep saying how much players want to play with LeBron (James). That doesn't work with Delonte."

As Bob Finnan reports citing sources, Cleveland offered West slightly more than the $3.7 million per they're giving Daniel Boobie Gibson. West turned it down.

Danny Ferry is quite aware that the Duhon contract is not a reasonable market comparable, s the Cavs are playing hardball with West. They're at the take-it-or-leave-it stage with, as Finnan says, an interest in talking to Philly's free agent, Louis Williams.

Cablevision today announced the completion of a 97-percent purchase of Newsday. This is significant enough for me to link the story for you Firefox users.

The merger with Cablevision shouldn't have much of an impact on most of the sports department (actually this is great for sports because of how Cablevision plans to grow the paper and it has a strong interest in sports), but obviously it means something a little more for myself and my good friend Steve Zipay (he covers the Rangers for us and writes a very good and popular Rangers blog). Zip and I now officially cover teams that are owned by the same parent company that owns the newspaper.

Precarious, you say? Agreed.

But to be honest, and I can't speak for Zip, but I'm not that concerned about the potential for internal pressure from on-high about "favorable" coverage. I think Cablevision bought this newspaper to run it like a newspaper and, subsequently, employ me to cover the team with the proper amount of effort, analysis and criticism to maintain the credibility of the coverage. (Keep in mind we're not owned by the Knicks or Madison Square Garden. We are a subsidiary of Cablevision, just like they are.)

Therefore I don't expect to have to change much of what I've done over my first two seasons as the Knicks beat writer. I also don't expect to be given extra privileges, such as access or information sharing, that isn't available to my fellow beat writers. (OK, maybe not Starberman....just kidding...maybe not).

I have to be honest with you here and say I'm pretty excited to find myself -- a very proud Long Islander -- to be working for two of the Island's largest and most successful companies. I feel very confident about the future of Newsday at a time in our business where confidence is fading like the newsprint.

I figured to write this once the news broke about the acquisition to head off the concerns of some of you in Fixer Nation and elsewhere, regarding how Newsday's coverage of the Knicks may or may not change now that Cablevision owns the newspaper.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

The opportunity was there, though it was through a small window. The Clippers needed to quickly recover from the loss of Elton Brand and Mike Dunleavy had a little chat with his old friend Donnie Walsh.

The details get a little blurry from here. Originally the whispers were that Walsh wanted a second-round pick for Randolph; essentially a salary dump, which the Clippers, with plenty of cap space, could do. But the Clips wanted a little more in the deal, perhaps a first-round pick and the Knicks had to take Brevin Knight's guaranteed contract.

This is usually a starting point in negotiations. But Walsh and the Clippers never got to Stage 2. The Denver Nuggets dangled Marcus Camby, a defensive player and cheaper contract, and gladly gave up the second-rounder.

It was back to the phones for Donnie, who is finding fewer and fewer teams with reasonable interest in Randolph, which is to say, willing to take him without sending an albatross of a contract, or two, back to New York.

Those days are over, Fixers. There was a time Isiah Thomas felt this was a necessary practice to get the type of players you wanted. The Garden money tree could handle bad contracts. Teams still believe if Walsh was desperate enough, he would eventually crack and do the same: My unwanted player for your unwanted contract.

Don't bet on it.

Randolph's value right now is very low for several reasons, mainly because he has three years and $48 million left on a max contract he should have never gotten from Paul Allen. The guy does put up consistent numbers that would make any fantasy basketball geek drool. But in the real world, Zach Randolph is not considered a building block. He's a risk. Milwaukee considered it and so did Denver, but neither pulled the trigger. The Clippers situation will hang over Donnie until Randolph is finally moved. With Utah getting the 2010 pick, you can't give up the 2009 choice or the 2011 choice. So where does that leave you? The 2012 pick?

There are very few reasonable destinations for Randolph at this point -- Memphis has cap space and a need for a low-post scorer, Detroit is looking to make changes and a ZBo-for-Sheed deal would work for both sides and who's to say the Clippers won't reconsider the younger, less injury-prone and better offensive choice in Randolph for Camby, once the trade moratorium lifts?

Admittedly, these are merely suggestions. Reality is that Walsh may have to pass on taking on contracts just to move Randolph and instead take him into the season, get him playing well and hope by the trade deadline there is interest once again in him.

I blogged this back in the spring that I heard the Knicks were close to moving Randolph to the Denver Nuggets right before the deadline. It wasn't a done deal, but it was very, very close. But a source with knowledge of the talks said while Glen Grunwald had handled most of the work, Isiah Thomas jumped in at the 11th hour and started tinkering with the deal. The Nuggets were already on the verge of civil war about the trade so Isiah's last-minute meddling caused the whole thing to shut down. The way it was told to me, Grunwald was frustrated.

But let's not even dare to assume the Knicks would have won that deal. In fact, I was told Isiah was tinkering because he was concerned with the public perception of the trade being a major loss for the Knicks, who almost certainly would have had to take Nene's contract as part of the deal. Linus Kleiza was the player the Knicks wanted, but I'm told he was off the table.

So you could see Zach and Eddy Curry once again as the frontcourt tandem at least in the first half of the season. As bad as that may sound, what you have to hope this season is that the head coach will put some time and effort into figuring out how to make it work with those two together. Isiah made that trade for Zach but then seemingly put no effort into strategy to get the most out of Zach and Eddy together. Randolph has a better-than-average mid-range game and he can rebound. He doesn't need to battle with Eddy for low-post time. He can be an effective pick-and-pop guy and high-post guy.

This isn't to say there's no way Randolph gets traded before or during training camp, but I think Fixer Nation needs to be prepared for the potential that Z-Bo goes through another season as a Knick. If he can put up his numbers and look good, his value will go up as his contract (at least the length of it) goes down.

The Clipper talks were a missed opportunity. But you don't want to make a bad decision just to cover up for it.

Stay tuned . . .

Going on with Brandon Tierney on ESPN Radio in about 10 minutes. Catch the spot, BT always gives Fixer Nation love. I updated the Balkman blog to let you know the second-round pick in 2010 is actually a choice between Denver's pick or, coincidentally, the Clippers pick. Denver got the right to swap second-round picks with the Clippers in 2010 as part of the Marcus Camby trade.

Oh and here's a little something extra. A Newsday.com video of the Knicks City Dancers tryouts from Sunday.

Enjoy.

Stay tuned . . .

Just got a tip from an NBA contact that the Renaldo Balkman trade to the Denver Nuggets was just completed.

The Knicks sent Balkman to the Nuggets in exchange for Taurean Green and Bobby Jones. K-Berg reported this in today's Newsday. A person with knowledge of the situation told me on Sunday night that Green and Jones are expected to be waived by the Knicks. Neither has a guaranteed contract.

UPDATED 3:39 p.m.

The Knicks confirmed the deal, which includes a second-round pick in 2010. In fact, to show you the lack of significance in the players acquired for Balkman, the second round pick was listed ahead of both Green and Jones in the press release. The Knicks can choose between the Nuggets' pick or the Clippers' pick (which the Nuggets also own) in 2010, whichever is the better position.

"The New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that a 2010 second-round draft choice, guard Taurean Green and guard/forward Bobby Jones have been acquired from Denver for forward Renaldo Balkman and cash considerations."

This is a straight money deal. Clears a guaranteed contract off the ledger and gets a pick as part of the deal. Green and Jones were thrown in to make the money work. Denver looking for some defense, which is one area Balkman has shown he can play. But his offense is limited to effort baskets and put-backs with very little potential to be more than that and what's more concerning is his apparent lack of overall discipline and focus as a player.

He probably should have never been taken in the first round, but that said Isiah Thomas did very little to develop this kid. Perhaps George Karl can figure something out.

Balkman's future was in doubt once Danilo Gallinari was drafted. With Wilson Chandler and Gallinari, along with Jared Jeffries, Quentin Richardson, David Lee, etc., there wasn't going to be much room for Balkman to play. Isiah Thomas took him with a first-round pick in 2006 and the best the Knicks could get for him was a second-rounder, which tells you something. Balkman was never considered a first-round pick in that draft.

Fellow Fixer Jon Rothstein earlier today emailed this list of players who were picked after Balkman in that draft: Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, Jordan Farmar, Kyle Lowry, Rajon Rondo, Leon Powe, Steve Novak and Daniel Gibson.

I know this is nickel-and-dime, but keep in mind this is just one deal out of several things I'm told Donnie is trying to work on this summer. Some things work out quickly, like this deal, and the bigger contracts (i.e.: Zach Randolph) take time to make happen.

UPDATED 7:55 p.m.

I forgot to mention this, but the second round pick the Knicks picked up is the option to take either Denver's second round pick or the Clippers' pick, whichever is better. Coincidentally, in the Marcus Camby trade, the Nuggets got the right to swap picks with the Clippers in the second round of 2010 if the Clippers pick is higher.

So, yes, the Nuggets pretty much traded Marcus Camby for Renaldo Balkman.

Check out my man K-Berg's blog for more details and of course check the print edition in the morning. Nothing imminent, but Berger heard on Sunday about talks between the Knicks and Denver Nuggets that involve Renaldo Balkman going to the Rocky Mountains in exchange for guard Taurean Green and forward Bobby Jones.

Though Green is a young PG with potential as a floor general, it's been suggested to me by someone in the know that both Green and Jones would likely be waived. If the trade went through as is, the Knicks would wind up with 17 contracts, two over the limit. But both Green and Jones are on one-year, non-guaranteed contracts that are easily waived with no salary cap hit.

Balkman has just one year left on his rookie deal ($1,320,960) with a team option of $2,036,920 for 2009-10.

We discussed it during the summer league here and I guess it rings true: Balkman seems like the odd man out here in the new regime, especially with the emergence of Wilson Chandler and the arrival of Danilo Gallinari. Balkman is a tremendous athlete who can play a decent energy/defense role off the bench. But I don't believe he has the basketball IQ to be successful in D'Antoni's offense. It may seem like a lot of running and shooting, but there is a great deal of thinking, anticipation and reaction that has to be done in order for it to work properly. You could see just in some practices and summer league games that Balkman was having trouble grasping it.

From the July 17th Blog: "Farewell to Vegas..."

His energy and athleticism are valuable assets, but Balkman might actually struggle in the D'Antoni philosophy because of one skill he hasn't yet developed: thinking the game. Renaldo is one of my favorite characters on this team -- you all know his Aw man, crazy is an all-time best quote -- but I've documented here before my concerns about his focus and mental approach to being an NBA player. Rey is a terrific athlete and clearly keeps himself in outstanding shape, which is a credit to his work ethic. But after spending the past few days watching Phil Weber install a few offensive sets that will be the foundation of what the Knicks do this season, it's quite apparent that if you can't think quickly, adjust on the fly and read what's happening on the floor, you're going to struggle here.

Again, the deal isn't done and it sounds like Donnie is involved in a lot of different discussions. This is one of a few, but one that makes sense.

It's essentially a way to dump Balkman's salary and cut the roster back down to the maximum 15 contracts after the signing of Anthony Roberson. Obviously there are bigger fish to fry when it comes to getting closer to cap compliance. As I said to a person I chatted with tonight who has some intimate knowledge of this potential trade, this kind of deal is very much nickel-and-dime compared to what really needs to get done.

He replied, "Maybe, but on the upside, it's something."

Yes. The hundred million dollar journey begins with one step.

Remember...check out K-Berg's NBA Blog for more info. And as always, stay tuned...

Talks about playing for three coaches in four years, D'Antoni and the summer league jersey retirement thing....and Jay and Dana go after Joakim Noah, who blames the media for his off-the-court issues in Chicago. What a shock. Thanks to nets1fan102290 for the original post.

Can I get an encore/do you want more?
Cookin raw with the Brooklyn boy
So for one last time I need y'all to roar

I feel you Jay...but let me change up the beat.

Tap-tap-ta-dap-dap-tap/tap-tap-ta-dap-dap-tap...

Who can you say has got more skills?
Who's more jinxed than the Buffalo Bills?
Starburys game once loaded like a clip
Quick on the draw and murder with the rip
But KG jealousy, Minnesota misery
Got himself the max, but minimum's the history
Prodigal son was a hometown hero
Playoff record is a zip-fo-career-o
Points lotta fingers but don't check the mirro
Sad to be leavin but won't shed no tear-o...

LOL. Enough of that. A little freestyling on a Saturday morning. I know I'm garbage so if you can do better have at it, hoss. That's what the comments area is for.

The Marbury Debate seems to be growing here in Fixer Nation. On the live chat there were a few of you who argued in favor of keeping Stephon Marbury and I can accept those arguements.

I don't agree, but I accept.

In an idealistic world, Marbury arrives at training camp in the best shape of his life, Starbury tat and all. He and his Amazon.com specials squeak circles around a hic-burping Chis Duhon in the early morning practices and Mike D'Antoni sees his style, as Marbury put it "the system my game was built for."

It's the Summer Steph we all fall in love with, myself included. He's smiling, engaging and brimming with optimism. You fall for it every time because you want to. Sure maybe he's a little bit crazy but it's funnier at 0-0.

Ask his teammates -- some of whom had put him on iggy a long time ago but are still annoyed by his overbearing ubiquity -- and they'll tell you, with Marbury it never was about talent. It never was about the physical. It's the mental. His inability to be a leader -- which is OK, really, some people just aren't natural leaders. The problem is, those people usually recognize that. Marbury doesn't.

So maybe he will, finally. Maybe Donnie Walsh sits down with him, makes it Cristal clear: this ain't your team anymore, son. He can't be named among the captains, not that captain is anything more these days than someone who shakes hands with the referees before games. But the locker room needs to know, that crazy dude who wears No. 3 no longer has the key to the Garden. He can't speak with authority or any kind of command. If he remains -- and that's a big if -- he'll be one of 15. Only Starberman's persistence to get him to say something controversial and strong performances on the court will keep him relevant.

But why bother? You already know you don't have a first-round pick in 2010 (Utah will take it). The 2009 pick is protected as long as the Knicks don't finish in the top eight, so what really is the plan here? How many more wins could a healthy, mentally-balanced Marbury get you with this roster? Is it really worth it? Whether he stays or is bought out, the number stays on the roster for the season. What you're paying for is the hope he won't be a negative force -- publicly disagreeing with yet another coach, sulking on the bench, having his generally inane comments turned into headlines by his personal biographer -- as opposed to the guarantee he won't be.

I doubt the Knicks suddenly turn into a playoff team just because Marbury is gone and wholly agree that, talent-wise, they are better with him in the lineup than Chris Duhon. But there is more to building a team -- and rebuilding a franchise -- than just organizing talent. There is reforming the perception of your team and the standard by which you do business. It's similar to the San Francisco Giants and Barry Bonds. Are they better without him? Absolutely not. But they are better off moving forward without him.

(Not comparing Marbury to Bonds on any level -- from talent to criminality -- but comparing the situations of two teams that needed to get away from media lightning rods and allow their work environments to clear out and become stable again).

This debate may already be moot because the damage may have already been done. James Dolan has never hesitated to spend money to make headaches go away. Marbury doesn't get into Theo Fleury trouble and quite often you would think Dolan would always side with the guy who is simply a media lightning rod. But any of Dolan's famous loyalty had to be spent during and after the Anucha Browne Sanders trial. Marbury was an unwitting co-star in the testimony against the Garden and his careless behavior before, during and afterward was enough to have Dolan and Isiah Thomas contemplating a buyout last fall.

I asked someone with intimate knowledge of the new Knick heirarchy what they plan to do with the Marbury situation and was told, "We'll do the right thing."

There was no elaboration.

Alan Hahn talks Knicks today in a live chat at 11 a.m.

The Golden State Warriors tonight gave Monta Ellis one of the biggest raises in NBA history, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The dynamic scoring guard, who was a restricted free agent, went from $770K to an average of $11 million over six years. He even managed to get an early termination option in there that would make him an unrestricted free agent midway through the deal (at the age of 25).

Ellis benefitted from Baron Davis' surprising opt-out and subsequent sprint to Clipperland. But it was believed all along that Chris Mullin made Ellis a priority despite great sign-and-trade interest from the likes of Miami, Cleveland and, to a quieter extent, the Knicks. Mullin made it clear he had no interest in trading Ellis, who averaged 20.2 points per game for Golden State this past season. The Warriors have opened up the purse strings this summer by locking up Ellis long-term, matching a $9 million offer sheet to keep Kelenna Azubuike and also signing free agent Corey Maggette.

A great deal of Ellis' success has to be attributed to Don Nelson's up-tempo philosophy. System can be an often overlooked yet critical element for a player. Ellis clearly isn't a half-court point guard and he isn't a traditional shooting guard. He's the very definition of a combo guard and if you put him in a halfcourt system his flaws -- poor court vision, weak perimeter defender -- would show vividly. But in the run-and-gun, Ellis is a dynamo.

And this is why I think Jamal Crawford might have a big year this season with Mike D'Antoni at the helm.The up-tempo will only make Crawford a more dangerous player on the offensive end and also hide (or at least overshadow) his defensive issues. What we know is the guy can score in bunches and when he's on, he's impossible to defend.

Crawford is five years older than Ellis (who turns 23 in October), but you have to think he should be able to command a similar contract - similar, I said, not exact - if he puts up the kind of season this year that D'Antoni thinks he can in his system. D'Antoni has told me and others that he thinks Crawford can reach all-star status playing in his system.

And if Jamal can become an all-star and drop 20 per for a second straight year (of course winning would help, too, not to mention a playoff appearance for the first time in his career), it wouldn't be surprising to see him opt out of his current contract next summer. He would walk away from the final two years and over $19 million if he knew he could get $11 mil per in his next contract. Pushing 29, time isn't on his side.

So what do you do, Fixers? Let him walk or lock him up?

Difficult to answer until you see what he can do under D'Antoni.

P.S. - Remember the live chat, Friday morning at 11 a.m.

It's officially official. The Knicks today announced the signing of guard Anthony Roberson to a one-year contract for the NBA minimum ($711,517) plus a team option for the second year.

Roberson is a 6-2, 195-pound guard who has a terrific shooting touch but hasn't been able to stick in three previous NBA stops with Memphis, Golden State and Denver. He spent the past season playing in Turkey and Israel but immediately impressed the Knick heirarchy with his shooting touch during summer league practices.

He averaged 14.8 points per game in the five-game summer league but shot just 38.9 percent from the field and, more notably, averaged just 0.8 assists per game.

The 25-year-old adds another needed shooter to the depth chart, which Donnie Walsh was hoping to add. To say he'll be a rotation player is a stretch at this point but it does create a little more competition for minutes in the Knicks backcourt, which already has Jamal Crawford, Chris Duhon, Nate Robinson, Mardy Collins and, yes, Stephon Marbury.

The Knicks now officially have 16 contracts, one greater than the NBA max and their league-leading payroll has once again eclipsed $100 million ($100,161,287).

Marbury ($21.9 million) and Malik Rose ($7.6 million) are veterans in the final year of their contracts, which could be bought out. Cheaper options could be to waive or trade Renaldo Balkman ($1.32 million) or Collins ($997,800), who face team options for the 2009-10 seasons.

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Just a quick programming reminder about our live chat scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) here at 11 a.m.

Malik makes an appearance for the NBA at an NBA Madness rally in Makati City, Philippines.

You have to get through the Sacramento Kings dancers and some goofiness by the Charlotte Bobcats mascot first...(thanks to mikeabasolo, who posted the home made vid)

Closet Fixer Ho-Beck, who has a severe case of blog-envy with a hint of appreciation, chatted with David Stern about the potential for the refurbished Garden to host a future NBA all-star game.

Be nice if by then the Knicks actually have someone playing in the game.

By the way, speaking of fellow Fixers, check out the old-school lyrical stylings of this Georgia-based group of Knick fans, Short Bus Alumni, who are set to drop a new album "Mr. T's Revenge". Give em love. They're fellow Fixers.

My favorite lyric from "Go Team Go":
When punks jump up to get denied
F-- the Hall of Fame
Gimme cheerleaders
(All right)

As NBA teams attempt to show some economic restraint with their budgets -- are we finally starting to figure out the CBA, fellas? -- and make sensible contract decisions (aside from Chris Duhon) with an eye on having cap flexibility, leave it to those crafty agents to figure out a new way to negotiate: go East, young man.

I saw plenty of this in my years of covering the NHL, where there is a much greater percentage of international players among the population. I don't find it alarming that non-Americans such as Tiago Splitter, Carlos Delfino, Boki Nachbar and Jorge Garbajosa choose the riches of Europe over the demands of the NBA (and the U.S. government's hand in their wallet). In the NBA, most of these guys are role players. But in the Euroleague, they are heralded superstars.

Even what high schooler Brandon Jennings did when he signed with an Italian team because he could not make the academic eligibility standards for the NCAA shouldn't come as such a shock. What's shocking is no one did it sooner. I can guarantee you someone will do again it soon.

But Josh Childress, an established NBA player? That's got to grab your attention. It certainly grabbed the attention of agent Buddy Baker who introduced the Euro-leverage into his negotiations with the Houston Rockets for his diamond-in-the-rough client, Carl Landry.

We're not naive here. We know most NBA players who grew up in the U.S. want to play in the NBA. Childress' move is about money and about making a point and I applaud Rick Sund for not allowing the threat of losing Childress to cause him to make a stupid contract offer. Josh Childress is a nice player, but he's not going to make or break the Atlanta Hawks.

Same goes for another Hawk who remains unsigned: Josh Smith. A dynamic athlete, but is he really worth the max? Really? How many NBA players are currently legitimately worth a max contract if they were free agents right now? Let's see, off the top of my bloghead: Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Brandon Roy, Chris Bosh....you're starting to lose me at this point. Second-tiers would be Gilbert Arenas, Deron Williams, Kevin Martin, Rip Hamilton, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobilli, Elton Brand, Paul Pierce . . . maybe Carmelo.

You've got to make these choices not just based on fear but based on what you'll get out of the money you're paying. I put Carmelo in the second tier because I wonder about his long-term status, based on his attitude and committment level. The guys I mentioned in the top tier are flat out ballers: hardcore, dedicated-to-the-game ballers. The second tier either includes guys who are hardcore but with a lesser talent impact (meaning, they are the type you build with but not around) or guys with the talent but not the hardcore attitude (i.e.: Pierce, Melo).

History shows more often than not the max contract rarely results in results and most of the time winds up as being most valuable when it's at the end.

So, with that in mind...Ciao bella, Stephon!

Maybe she could be among the new class of KCDs...

The Knicks sent out a release today about the upcoming tryouts.

July 23, 2008

* * * MEDIA ALERT * * *

CAN YOU KEEP THE RHYTHM OF NEW YORK?!

Knicks City Dancers Open Auditions Set For
July 27 At Madison Square Garden!!!

WHO: The 2007-08 Knicks City Dancers team
500 Knicks City Dancers hopefuls from across the nation
Michelle Harris, Manager, Entertainment Marketing, New York Knicks

WHAT: Knicks City Dancers open auditions, with expected attendance of 500 dancers from around the nation, are set for Sunday. These aspiring dancers will learn Knicks City Dancers routines choreographed by industry professionals and taught by Knicks City Dancers coaches. These dancers will be competing for one of the 17 highly coveted spots on the 2008-09 squad.

The Knicks City Dancers represent the talent, sophistication and energy of New York City. The new members of the Knicks City Dancers will represent the New York Knicks throughout the 2008-09 season, beginning in October, at all home games and community events. The dancers will also serve as team representatives at numerous publicity appearances around the city throughout the year.

WHEN: Sunday, July 27 Registration: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Doors close promptly at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Enter on the Seventh Avenue entrance at 32nd Street

Danilo Gallinari's career has been treated as a urinal mint after one summer league performance, a sore back and the anonymous whispers of agenda-driven people with little say and even less credibility.

The fact that WFAN perpetuated the theory floated by Starberman that Gallinari is a fragile dud with no hope in having an impact this season is even more disturbing. Fixers, these people need our help. They have yet to discover the ways of the Fix.

We are a growing nation. But there are still those out there who aren't hearing the message of trust and accountability.

I blame myself, I guess, for not feeling it necessary to waste precious Newsday real estate by writing a mid-summer assessment of Gallinari, as we've seen elsewhere, off one summer league game and a couple of practices. I can understand Starberman regurgitating a terribly inaccurate smear campaign from someone who had his ear in Vegas and said Gallinari was always injured in Italy -- if you did the homework, you'd see that Gallo played in 29 of 34 regular season games this past season for AJ Milan and also played in all 11 games of the Euroleague playoffs and he led his team in minutes with 33.9 per game in the Italian League and 31.6 in the Euro...one scout informed me that Gallo missed the first five games of the season with a muscle pull but nothing else and the season before he played in all but two regular season games and played the entire playoffs.

I've noticed most of you in Fixer Nation have already been able to filter what you read from other sources outside of your Newsday fix. So this non-story becomes a story at someone else's whim and now I'm supposed to check it out for accuracy (I'm starting to keep record and the percentages are heavily in favor of most of these things being quite innacurate). So I did.

I 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."

The Knicks would love for him to rest a bit and then prepare for training camp, but even the braintrust guy says he expects Gallinari will play for Italy in that Olympic qualifying tournament next month because he wants to. And let me remind you all here that this tournament has nothing to do with the Beijing Games. Italy did not quality for the Games this summer so this tournament is a qualifyer for 2012. It is not a critical tournament and Italy should win easily, which is why Bargnani and Belinelli aren't expected to play and Gallinari doesn't have to play if he doesn't want to.

The decision to draft Gallinari over Jerryd Bayless or DJ Augustin or Joe Alexander or whomever else is not even near the forefront of any debate with Donnie Walsh. If you ask around the league, his decision to throw the full MLE at Chris Duhon is one of the biggest head-scratchers of the summer.

Forget the Allen Iverson fantasy, but let's seriously consider a name that continues to be mentioned among trade rumors: Chauncey Billups.

The 32-year-old point guard may be headed into the twilight of his career as an elite-level player and does have three years and $36.3 million left on his contract (not counting a team option of $14.2 mil in 2011-12). But if you're trying to build something here and make this team attractive to LeBr- I mean, free agents, this is the type of player you go after.

Not Chris Duhon.

OK, Billups may be more of a half-court type of floor general and not physically the best fit for Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo philosophy. But this system can make any smart guard look good because it's not as much about speed as it is tempo and decision-making on the fly. Billups is not lightning fast, but he's smart.

The Pistons are clearly looking to till the soil there in Detroit after one championship and then a succession of playoff disappointments. Flip Saunders got whacked and now the roster is going to get an overhaul. And Rodney Stuckey's emergence during the playoffs perhaps has made Billups expendable. Reports have suggested the Pistons offered Billups to Denver in a package for Carmelo Anthony and also have talked to the Warriors about Andris Biedrins.

So....would the Pistons be interested in Zach Randolph?

Just bloggin.

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Curiously that YouTube video from yesterday was pulled after it appeared on this blog. What you missed was a video of two workers at UNLV's Cox Pavillion taking down N8 the Gr8's "retired" summer league jersey, which was stuck to the wall there with thumbtacks. I did get word from the Knicks that the NBA Summer League plans to frame the jersey and display it during the weeks that the summer league is in session.

I wish I had something funny to say here, but I don't.

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Back later with more...(this time I mean it. I have some info about the ridiculous Gallinari suggestions and some thoughts on the Nets situation looking toward 2010).

Apparently UNLV wasn't having this....

Will be back later with more 411...stay tuned.

With the NBA summer league now complete (the Knicks finished 2-3), we won't see too much of your team until training camp opens Sept. 30 in Saratoga, with media day on the 29th at the MSG Training Center.

So what can we expect between now and then? Here are some visions I've had while sweltering in this delirium of heat and humidity. I leave the floor to Fixer Nation to add to the list whilst I crack open another hair of the dog and apply the Crisco.

- Mike D'Antoni is convinced to start Wilson Chandler (16.2 points per game, 47.1 percent from the floor in the summer league) based on the theory that if you're going to lose, you might as well lose with young players in the rotation. Veterans are going to sandbag you no matter what happens. This advice comes in an interoffice memo from Isiah Thomas.

- Zach Randolph becomes the first Knick in franchise history to ever wish he were a Clipper.

- Once he realizes Chandler has taken his starting spot -- and minutes -- Quentin Richardson becomes the second Knick in franchise history to ever wish he were a Clipper.

- Renaldo Balkman arrives in Charleston wondering, 'Where is everybody?'

- In a conversation with D'Antoni about system, Jamal Crawford suggests the philosophy "Seven milliseconds or less".

- Stephon Marbury, previously bought out, defiantly arrives for media day with a tattoo on the other side of his skull of a Chinese symbol. Starberman gets an exclusive interview outside the MSG Training Center -- as far as he's allowed to go -- and empathetically reports the symbol to mean, "In search of spiritual comfort."

- When shown the symbol, training camp invitee Zhang Songtao says the actual translation is, "In need of padded asylum."

- Jerome James becomes the first Knick that everyone wishes were a Clipper.

- New Knick guard Chris Duhon says he's looking forward to "embracing the people of New York City," which prompts several of his favorite downtown clubs to promote "Hug Chris Duhon Night". It apparently was a big hit in Chicago.

- In an effort to curb his weight issues, Eddy Curry announces he is a vegetarian. Asked his favorite dish, Curry replies, "Anything fried."

- A frustrated David Lee cuts short his interview session after being continually referred to as "Danilo." Lee storms away saying, "We have more than one white guy this season!"

- Speaking of the rookie: Mummified in bubble wrap through August and September, Gallinari arrives in a back brace. When asked what happened, Gallo explains he was playing a harmless game of one-on-one with this guy named Fredric Weiss . . .

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Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. -- Russell Baker

Stay cool, Fixers.