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 . . .