Isiah Thomas was the last man to leave the building last night after the first round of drills were completed here at the NBA pre-draft camp. Always one to shake every hand, Thomas also made it a point to give Lenny Wilkens a hug.
Wilkens is now running the Sonics and is rumored to be planning to hire himself as the next coach. When I spoke with him during the season, he certainly showed residual disgust with the Knicks for firing him midseason in 2004-05.
Yes, Rashard Lewis has opted out of his contract and will be a free agent come July 1. The only way the Knicks could get him is in a sign-and-trade with Seattle. Some feel Wilkens' role as leader of the Seattle franchise would be a roadblock, but the embrace, along with the fact that the Sonics have yet to hire a GM (San Antonio's assistant GM R.C. Buford is the leading candidate), proves there's no reason to jump the gun on anything.
And as I said in the previous blog, the Knicks don't have to even be in any talks with Seattle for Lewis. He's an excellent player, but he's a three. He doesn't quite fill a desperate need as much as he would give the Knicks another scorer and someone teams would have to defend. It could take some pressure off Curry.
But, again, the Knicks real need is at the four spot. A rebounder and defender. I'm not saying getting Rashard Lewis is a bad thing, but I'm saying it doesn't need to be a priority. Especially if it adds yet another major contract to the pile.
Scrimmages start in about a half hour. I'll check in later if anything interesting happens.
Comments (9)
Well, there they go again, Alan. The Seattle Post is reporting today that the Knicks have made Rashad Lewis a priority this off season. They are willing to offer Crawford and likely Frye for the small forward's services. There are several things wrong with this picture:
1. Lewis will demand, and with the Knicks entering the picture will receive, at least a five year, likely max deal.
2. The Knicks would be giving up way too much for the guy, as I'm not sure he's even worth Frye, let alone a package including Crawford. And knowing Isiah, if he wants a guy bad enough, he'll also toss in the Knicks first round pick this year.
3. Lewis has never won anywhere.
4. The deal would hurt the Knicks ability to get under the cap in two years.
5. He is not a super star, and thus would just perpetuate the Knicks long run into mediocrity.
Why, do they continue to make the same mistakes over and over again? Why can't they do as you say and build like the PIstons, or even the Nets?
Purely Hypothetical question (as I don't think the Knicks should give up the farm plus give him a 5 year max type deal) but how would he fit? I honestly don't know anything about Rashard other then his scoring numbers. Is he a shooter or a slasher? One thing the Knicks are lacking is an outside shooter to take the pressure off Curry.
It's arguable whether he fits or not, but it wouldn't impact the their ability to get under the cap in the future as much as you would think. Crawford's contract has 4 years left on it anyways, and depending on whether its, Frye or Robinson, you would have to resign them in the future anyways. So it would be an extra year or two on the end, but in 2 years the salary difference is marginal. Rashard Lewis is a good player, and hes still very young. He is not a pressing need, however with the knicks already being a poor defensive team, this doesn't make them worse or better. And he's a nice upgrade offensively. We shall see.
I don't see a need to panic just because a Seattle paper writes a rumor. You should know by now that those things RARELY happen. It's usually the deal you don't hear about that get's done.
Rashard is a nice player, but we need a PF who can block shots and rebound. I'd much rather get that player before another outside scorer.
ZEKE PLEASE HIRE EWING HE COULD TEACH CURRY HOW TO BE A COMLETE CENTER, WE KNOW HE COULD SCORE But rebouding and blocking shots is the recipe for success, Draft a shooter and a point
I AM HAPPY HOW YOU BUILT THE KNICKS THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS OF THE EAST IF NOT FOR THE INJURIES,
FORGET MR LEWIS BUILD THROUGH THE Draft and get under the cap
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