D'Antoni to Prospects: I Need an Engine
Jerryd Bayless, who doesn't figure to be still on the board by the time the Knicks draft at No. 6, said he was at dinner with Mike D'Antoni on Monday night in New York when D'Antoni spoke excitedly of his new team and the future of the Knicks.
"I have all the tools," D'Antoni said to Bayless. "I just need an engine to run it."
Bayless, realizing the incongruent metaphor, then added, "Or something like that" but reference was obvious: D'Antoni is looking for a point guard.
I don't know if he gets one in the draft. The word around the Knicks is that they are very much trying to shop the pick.
Bayless, who came in Tuesday for a workout, is an intriguing player, but no one thinks he'll get past No. 4, where Seattle/OK City is looking for a backcourt mate for Kevin Durant.
Eric Gordon was also in on Tuesday and was caught by surprise when he found out he was working out on his own. “I thought it would be better to work out with people," Gordon said. "I don’t have a problem working out against anybody."
Last month in Orlando at the Pre-draft camp, Donnie Walsh spoke highly of Gordon, who is from Indianapolis (thus the connection) and even went as far as saying he thought he could become a Chauncey Billups-type. Gordon, who has great range and also explodes to the rim, compares his game to Gilbert Arenas and Baron Davis.
Gordon also said the D'Antoni system that everyone seems to love is suited for any type of guard.
“He has a really good system for any guard, I would say," Gordon said. "You could play that type of system with four guards, so I would say being a guard, it wouldn’t really matter what position.”
Gordon says he will also work out for Seattle and the Los Angeles Clippers, who pick right after the Knicks at No. 7. Bayless would not reveal his workout schedule.
* *
* - Fellow Fixer Andrew Marchand reported on ESPN Radio that Kevin Love will be in on Friday. The Knicks would not confirm, but Love said in Orlando that he had already scheduled a workout with the Knicks. Love believes his outlet passing would be a great asset in the D'Antoni system and believes his shooting range will surprise people.
* - On Wednesday the Knicks will bring in Memphis forward Robert Dozier. This isn't a misprint, though you could understand if they meant to say Joey Dorsey. Nope, Dozier. He isn't on anyone's mock draft that I've seen and he's projected to be a second-rounder at best but likely undrafted. The fact that the Knicks, who don't own a second-round pick, would work out this kid tells you they either plan on getting a second-round pick or are considering signing him as an undrafted rookie free agent.
* - Al Iannazzone of the Bergen Record (a closet Fixer, but a Fixer for sure) is reporting that the Nets will have Italian swingman Danilo Gallinari in for a workout on Thursday. The Knicks will not say if Gallinari is on their workout schedule, but you can assume he will be in sometime soon.
* - Interesting note for you Hoosier fans: Gordon says he played the final seven-to-eight games of the season with a broken left wrist. That might explain his sudden dip in shooting percentage. Some knock his ballhandling ability, but Gordon says he wasn't able to show enough of it in college because he played the Two so often.
* - Interesting note for you Knicks fans who fear any Isiah Thomas connections: Gordon played with Isiah's son, Joshua, on an AAU team.
* - Phil Weber ran the workouts for the Knicks. Weber, who grew up in Northport (Strong Island!) and spent the past five seasons as an assistant in Phoenix, has yet to officially sign on as the third member of D'Antoni's staff.
And for your viewing enjoyment, we bring you the Balkman Cruiser: 8-cylander churnin, big block gas guzzlin, dreds whippin, quadrophonic blaupunkt-pumpin, aw-man-crazy ride to nowhere....in style.
Meter's runnin, baby.
E-mail
Facebook
Digg
Delicious
Comments (31)
lol. you can't fault the man for the color scheme. i bet d lee has the same theme for his rides considering the uf and nyk connection.
...if d'antoni did say that, that's a big slip on his part. you lower your trade value if everyone knows what you're looking to get. the equivalent of "broadcasting" a skip pass, don't let everyone know what you want to do.
and since when is this knicks team nearing completion? last time I checked, we had no interior defense, but i guess he is thinking curry, lee and chandler down there is enough to win ball games? they don't combine to average much more than a block per game or a steal per game but i digress.
...i myself am a Knick fan that fears any isiah thomas connections from this moment on.
...i don't know how jamal gets a pass every year despite not improving upon his weaknesses. now that the system has changed everyone thinks jamal will thrive. i still believe any team with jamal as the first option is headed for the lottery. he is best utilized off the bench along with nate.
just bloggin'
oh yeah, almost forgot:
first!
I'm a bit confused Alan, about these rumors that the Knicks want to trade their draft pick. The sixth pick in any draft is a strong asset, and to simply try and dump it to move a contract just makes no sense. Let's say they are successful and package the sixth pick with Randolph. Won't next year be even worse than last? And let's say they end up with the fifth pick in that draft.
Will Lebron James want to join a team of Crawford/Lee/Robinson/Curry and a draft pick?
If the Knicks truly want to attract a top free agent in 2010, they have to goals: get under the cap AND make the team attractive to a good player.
Remember, Kobe had no interest in the Knicks (he did want to go to the Bulls) because of the weakness of their roster.
I'm a bit confused Alan, about these rumors that the Knicks want to trade their draft pick. The sixth pick in any draft is a strong asset, and to simply try and dump it to move a contract just makes no sense. Let's say they are successful and package the sixth pick with Randolph. Won't next year be even worse than last? And let's say they end up with the fifth pick in that draft.
Will Lebron James want to join a team of Crawford/Lee/Robinson/Curry and a draft pick?
If the Knicks truly want to attract a top free agent in 2010, they have to goals: get under the cap AND make the team attractive to a good player.
Remember, Kobe had no interest in the Knicks (he did want to go to the Bulls) because of the weakness of their roster.
@ David,
If we can get two lower picks as long as there's no Mayo,
We should Jump on a Dorsey and Mario Chalmers.
That 2010 hype is the biggest Crock ever told by
the NY MSM! What should the Knicks do until the next Decade?
Play with their thumbs up their Azz...waiting for someone else's
Star to shine in OUR Garden? Bull! We should build our own, find our own Chris Paul/Chis Bosh!
To the Thomas Haters...suck on this...He's your GM!
Yeah you don't want to hear it...but the truth hurts!
It's not that I'm Pro Thomas....I'm just not stupid enough
to believe the knicks are without a GM! Walsh has enough work
making sure his "Depends are not soaked."
Alan,
Can you post some thoughts on the Donaghy accusation that the league fixed the 2002 West finals? Very interesting, I'd love to hear your thoughts, and the thoughts of Fixer Nation.
David
Interesting points you make on what the Knicks need to do to land that coveted but currently elusive goal of nabbing the creme de la creme of 2010.
Me and Lives, had that conversation a week or so back on KnickDefense and KnicksFanatics, to of the solo projects that sprung from the Fixer Nation.
I do think that Peaceman has a point about not just waiting and gearing everything the Knicks do for a top notch free agent to bite on a Knick offer sheet. As you me, Lives and many others recognize money alone won't lure these guys to the NYC, a competitive team will do or add to the allure of signing on.
But 2010 shouldn't be the end in itself. The Knicks fans throughout Fixer Nation, and its environs on Knicksfanatics, and KnicksDefense, were all giddy with the "hope" I repeat "hope" that the ping pong balls would bounce just right so that the team could be in position to nab the "point gaurd of the future" in Rose.
It wasn't to be. Now the Knicks brain trust is forced to scramble and earn their money by assessing all possible scenarios- trade possibilities, draft movement, possible picks etc- in order to address long term and short term team objectives. The long term being getting under the cap to bid for an LBJ or CP3 etc, the short of being exciting and competitive.
Point is that just like there was no gaurantee that our 5th slot would transform into a top 2 pick, there is no gaurantee LBJ will come to NYC. Sure in the scenario proposed by Walsh, the cards are in the organizations hands and they do have some control of how they set themselves up to obtain the goal. But no one can compel someone to come here when they don't want to come here. We don't know whether the 2010 free agent class will want to go to the NYC.
That said, I agree with you about not merely just using th 6th pick as trade fodder to get rid of a big contract, especially if we get hosed with a lower pick- IMHO.
"suck on this"
"Why would I ask for anyones speculation?
Not worth my time..anyones guess is still speculation."
No go write about how ron artest is coming home again.
Isiah Thomas has lost both his titles with the knicks because not even a loyal, self-proclaimed basketball idiot owner like Dolan could rationalize giving him yet another year to fail in new york, and fail utterly, completely and without any more excuses.
Get some help you psycho scrub Isiah loyalist pseudo knicks fan.
Complaining about the NY MSM on a NY MSM blog. Alan has the keys to just a few more sources of NBA knowledge than your own so if there is any "speculation" that I value this is certainly a place I'd come to read it.
Walsh is the man in charge now, and as a knicks fan i give him the same exact chance i gave isiah or layden or anyone else. obviously you do not give walsh any chance, not even his first month on the job, but that does not matter at all because walsh is in charge now. walsh said he's waiting for 2010, DEAL WITH IT, you sick puppy.
A top tier coach such as Mike D'Antoni NEVER would have come to NYC had Isiah Thomas still been in charge. That's why next town brown tanked, he wanted the quick cash and he wanted out of the Eddy Curry trade, just one of the hallmark disasters of the isiah thomas Knick era. giving away two unprotected lottery picks = the kiss of death.
a gm works the phones all day. walsh isn't stupid enough to hire a guy to work the phones who is known to be hated by at least 6 or 7 team representatives in the NBA. think MJ is going to work a sign and trade with a speed dial call to isiah? not happening.
The incumbent GM needs ALL of the league's resources to flip this team from the lottery to a winner. Isiah doesn't even have the support of politically correct David Stern, who publicly said of Isiah's Knicks, "they're a poorly managed team."
yo, you're a lost cause. you actually cheered your ass off during that meaningless three game win streak that brought us up from 20 wins to 23 wins and consequently from the #4 pick to the #6 pick this month. sickening.
they cut to a shot of walsh in the crowd during those three wins and he looked pissed. so was I. so were most knicks fans, but no, not you.
#4 could easily be Mayo this year while #6 could be anyone from the kid from italy to Westbrook. Bottom line is I'd rather pick at four but I guess you'd rather have the pride of that three game win streak, Wilson Chandler's knee injury and the #6 pick.
@peaceman
dude you need medication for that "man crush"
you have for isiah thomas
how could he be GM if he was in europe scouting?
who many GMs scout players themself in europe?
if that was the case they would not hire scouts...
he takes the orders now...so accept it.
dolan is punking isiah by making him do menial and trivial tasks hoping he quits but isiah would sweep the knick's court to make 5 million dollars...
@David
i agree the 2010 strategy is flawed.
to get Lebron to leave his hometown team we have be competitive.
he is not going to come here if the knicks are pathetic still.
@alan
when you get a chance ask walsh about that.
KD & NYC2 Infinity,
Where's the GM for the knicks?
The Fact that we don't have a visable one,
is a fact that Thomas has Dolan's ear!
You guys believe in the tooth fairy...
I'm not bying that Bull!
KD ..I picture you looking like Walsh....maybe a little older!
Please note.....There is no vaccine against stupidity,
or I'd give you one FREE!
@ Knicksdefense,Starburymoron..whatever your name is...
The Fact that we don't have a GM, points that for 6 mill a year..
he is our GM! Sorry I don't believe in the tooth fairy! Because YOU deny the Fact that Thomas has Dolan's ear...you opinion
is about as worthless as Don Imus running for the NAACP!
Keep in mind ..There is no vaccine against stupidity, if there were
I'd give you a double shot in the azz for free! You've got an IQ of 2. Pitty it takes 3 to grunt. I bet you look a lot like Walsh..but I believe he may be younger and more attractive to females!
NYC 2 Infinity....no beef with you...but to deny that Thomas
is this silent voice for all that money is just being plain out
Moronic! EUROPE......Thomas is in WESTCHESTER!
You believe everything you read?????
yo, you're a lost cause. you actually cheered your ass off during that meaningless three game win streak that brought us up from 20 wins to 23 wins and consequently from the #4 pick to the #6 pick this month. sickening.
Posted by knicksdefense | June 11, 2008 00:05
This is a guy who stated ...I go down on the ship with my team
on Isola's Blog! Yeah...you go down...but not on the Knicks Ship!
How can any true fan not cheer his team on?
Your the kind of a man that you could use as a blueprint to build an idiot. If someone stands close enough to you, I'll bet that person can hear the ocean. I'd like to leave you with one thought, but I'm not sure you have anywhere to put it!
You Know that last post was by me!
KD...Some day you will find yourself - and wish you hadn't.
like i said tough guy you're a lost cause.
what i said three years ago has since been followed by three consecutive pitiful seasons with the knicks at the bottom of the atlantic season. excuses can only get you so far in the real world. the knicks fans are tired of a substandard basketball team with an arrogant president and coach.
you're a lunatic, straight up yo. it is a pure waste of energy addressing someone of your childish nature.
@Peaceman
walsh is the acting GM until he hires someone.
(he was the GM and president for indiana before they hired bird)
the reason he has not hired a GM yet is because i believe he wants to do the first draft and trade scenarios himself.
you know set the stage and then maybe kick the keys to someone else.
do you really think walsh would jepordize his 20 year career by listening to isiah when isiah is the one responsible for assembling this tragedy of a roster?
if you think that you must be on some narcotic.
I don't come on this blog to hear your retarded theories that have no evidence.
if you are gonna post something could you make it relevent!
the isiah stuff is REAL DEAD...and you are the only one still talking about isiah.
if you love isiah so much why don't you just send him a love letter
With the sixth pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, the NY Knicks select Anthony Randolph from LSU. Just check out this guys highlights in ANTHONYRANDOLPH.NET (bottom page). I see a Lamar Odom / Chris Bosh in this kid. Yes i know he's only 197 pds but he's only 18! Bulking up won't be a problem once you get in the NBA. Just the skillset that he has can even gooo sky high in the next level. GO KNICKS!
while I'm not peaceman, I did cheer my ass off during that 3-game win streak. our team still has the dignity of having never lost 60 games, which we've come awfully close to losing. If we were meant to land that #1 or #2, we could have been slated at 14th worst and still gotten it. Tanking is never ever acceptable, not in any circumstances, ever. both Larry Brown and Isaiah Thomas did this, and that's why they were ran out. For a fan to root against his own team makes him delusional, and hardly a fan.
don't come on this blog to hear your retarded theories that have no evidence.
if you are gonna post something could you make it relevent!
Posted by NYC 2 Infinity | June 11, 2008 01:33
Hey NYC 2 Infinity,
How much more evidence do you need than 18mill/3years
and NO GM? Why is Thomas still here?
Are you saying Dumars wouldn't hire him if he were available?
If that's being retatrded....you should sue your Brain for non-support!
@ Starburymoron,Knicksdeficent,
Your not Isola..no matter how much you try to be him!
Try something origional! You do a much better Mitch Lawrence
and most likely look just like him!
The heat is getting to some people on this blog. Things were cool here for a few days but I see tempers are rising again....
@Keith - It's easy to gain weight in the NBA? An 82 game season takes a toll on the body and if you ask any skinny guy he'll tell you it's very difficult to gain and maintain. The heavy guys have the opposite problem (carb intake and late-night room service, for sure). Anthony Randolph is a project, plain and simple. He has intriguing tools, no doubt. It's up to Walsh and D'Antoni to decide whether they are interested in taking on a project while also taking on revamping this roster.
@fly - KBerg has a much better handle on the Donaghy stuff because he's been covering it from Day 1. I can only offer observations and little things I've heard, but if you want someone with a credible opinion and insight, I'd check out Ken's NBA blog. The link is on this page under the Newsday blogroll.
Some comment on draft order from Thorn - grist for the mill:
http://blog.nj.com/netsblast/2008/06/benvenuto_italia.html
Excerpt:
"But if you ask the Boss how it's going to shake out, he'll comply - to a point.
"The top six or seven is still being sorted out - I know I'm not entirely sure," Rod Thorn said. "Obviously, Rose, Beasley, Mayo and Love will be among the top picks. Then Eric Gordon and probably Brook Lopez, though that's not a sure thing. After that, it can fall in a number of ways."
So he's saying Gallinari, Bayless and Westbrook are the wild cards here - the guys who can land anywhere between six and nine."
So Bayless might be there according Thorn. As far as D'Antoni saying the knicks need a point guard, he's not giving away much - people have been saying that ever since Clyde went to Cleveland.
So Alan, how did the kids look? I'm thinking the Knicks brass kept you guys from observing the workout.
And by the way, when an undrafted 6' 3" guard says his game is like Gilbert Arenas' - be afraid, be very afraid.
James,
That 3 game win streak is the difference between a SuperStar like Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh and a bust like Mike Sweetney and Channing Frye. And the only delusional fan is the fan that actually roots for these losers.
Peaceman is just another racist. He can't stand the fact that there is a white man in charge now. He continues to filate Lord Thomas because he's young and black. Wake up adolescent ! Isaih ruined this team and regardless of color ANYONE could do a better job. Relax your jaw dude, it makes the truth easier to swallow.
Peaceman is just another racist. He can't stand the fact that there is a white man in charge now.
Posted by JohnQ | June 11, 2008 10:05
If not Buying the fairy tale that Thomas who makes
more money than Walsh ..is getting free money...and is not behind the scence, Makes me a racist...I guess I am!
BTW What color is Dolan? Wasn't he really running things?
So If I state my opinion and it does not align with yours ..I'm a Racist!
Very Intelligent dude!
My gut tells me the Knicks will get Bayless at #6. Unfortunately, I don't see him as a Crhis Paul, Deron Wiliams, J. Kidd franchise turning around type PG. I hope he proves me wrong. A. Randolph is intruiging but only if we trade down to get him. This team has so many needs its frustrating to think about where to start but I think it has to be PG.
The pieces are there but there is no leader (last year no coach or PG). If the ball is in a good PGs hands 75% of the time to start the offense and not Crawford's or Marburry's and we actually ran offensive sets with good screens we would be much more competitve. TJ Ford would be an upgrade, a slight upgrade, but I doubt we would pass on Bayless.
Peace,
don't play dude. When Walsh was announced you said why would the Knicks choose a wrinkled old white man to run things . I remember it well, don't make me find the proof. Its not my oppinion, its what came out of ur mouth !
Your love for Zeke is unrivaled. Nobody said he was getting free money. He is our top European scout ( a punishment at best, a way to embarass him at worst). I'm sure they wish he would just quit but he'd never forfeit what was promissed to him contractually. This will be his last NBA job ever
james:
quite frankly i don't give a rats azz what you consider to be acceptable in terms of being a knicks fan. i've been a knicks fan all of my life, watch the games on my own time with my own money so i could care less about how i'm viewed by you or any others on here or in the garden.
for me, each of the 59 losses that i sat through were the anithesis of an semblance of "dignity." to lose lottery positioning at the end for no good reason did in fact piss me off, and I'm not the only one.
when the celtics knocked out the pistons a few weeks ago, their team the previous year was compared on ESPN as "worse than the Knicks."
there's no diginity in that pal, and that stuff has been going on for years. dignity. i'm tired of the knicks being the joke of the nba.
alan,
if you have a problem with me writing on the blog i will respectfully bow out on this mute point because this is your blog and i respect your wishes.
The Knicks should give a bonus for every steal someone makes. If Curry gets a block or steal he should get double the bonus. He would rather take a twinkie - make thats two twinkies. Defense is the path to the first NBA title since 73.
Lets Go Knicks...
I can see that Peaceman is spreading his germs here as well.
wow!!! how can one tolerate that disease carrier??????
anyway celtics in 7
hometeam will win every home game
its that simple
Someone said it earlier ... let's develop talent instead of waiting for it to "hopefully" come to us ... if you look at the draft going back a few years you'll see some real steals in there at the 6 pick or later:
2001: Joe Johnson # 10, Tony Parker # 30, Gil Arenas # 31
2002: Amare Stoudamire # 9, Tayshaun Prince # 23
2004: Luol Deng # 7, Josh Smith # 17
2005: Andrew Bynum # 10, David Lee # 30
2006: Brandon Roy # 6
So, it's possible to get a solid player (possibly a real star) if you get a bit lucky and pull the trigger on the right guy. There are way more misses than hits in every year of the draft so it all comes down to luck and timing.
I wouldn't mind trading down a bit and getting 2 stabs in the first round (or even a first and early second) ... WE NEED BODIES WHO CAN PLAY!!!!
Just a thanks to those who talk basketball instead of trying to assert some idiotic form of alpha male bull on each other. This blog is usually a great read. Today, I must say it was a bit hit or miss.
as a non-Knicks fan, i'm tremendously curious as to how everything is going to play out in New York.. that being said, I've read a lottttt of negative reports about Bayless (think Nate Robinson with less hops and more handle) so I'm not sure that's the right play..
john k,
some people criticize, some people lead by example. your post, incidentally, had nil basketball substance for the record.