The Knicks Fix

You mean, Nate chucking up lefty one-handed shots from the corner EVERY half time doesn't count as preparing yourself for the second half?

You don't let a 6-11 forward go for nothing. He never got a chance to show what he could do.

I know it's about money commitments, but it makes me sick to let Randolph Morris go without a decent opportunity and see Jerome James still on the roster!

This is one of those "lost in the shuffle" deals with the changing of the guard. I hate to see intelligent players go without having had a real chance to develop.

Oh well....

Another questionable move by Walsh to let Morris walk without knowing what this guy really brings. Things change fast in the NBA -- deals that are dead now can come alive in a few months. Twelve months ago, Billups had just signed a long-term deal with the Pistons, now he seems "on the Block" because of the Play of Stuckey, Kevin Garnett wanted no part of Boston and Kobe Bryant was stopping guys in the street and complaining about Lakers management and Andrew Bynum.....

Houston could sour on Tracy McGrady. Denver could lose patience with Carmelo Anthony. Both of those teams have been frustrated with their superstars in the past. The Nuggets extended an olive branch to Anthony this summer, but you never know with Anthony. He might take that olive branch and try to smoke it. Then Denver would be open to trading him. Or somebody else might come available, too. Again, You just never know.
Walsh might "Stumble" into a deal by sheer accident, or just keep on plain out Stumbleing.

Walsh is definitely "Stumbleing," according to you.

But I say he is just erasing all of thomas' mistakes.

For an azzwipe like you to complain about some offseason moves before a single game is played, just shows what kind of fan you really are.

An unconditional isiah thomas azz hole licker.

You're only fooling yourself everybody knows you're no knicks fan.

Quit fooling yourself people here realize your words are attempted poison directed at the new regime.

Under da Bridge is REALLY getting overcrowded...

Yeah, Balkman and Morris were the biggest mistakes in Knick History, that needed to be erased ASAP! What an intelligent Troll.
I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.

Talk about cleaning house: I saw this on the Daily News site:

Steve Mills' record as president of Madison Square Garden president included zero playoff wins for the Knicks. And although the Rangers demonstrated a modest resurgence under his watch, it was an embarrassing sexual harassment trial that ruined Mills' dream job.

The Garden announced Tuesday that Scott O'Neil was hired as president of Madison Square Garden Sports, a title Mills has held since replacing Dave Checketts seven years ago.

Mills was reassigned to president of business operations for MSG Sports teams and, according to a Garden press release, will be "reporting to Mr. O'Neil."

Keepin' it Old School...

Yeah for real !!!
All these people complaining about Walsh need to shut their freakin mouth.

Let all of Isiah's players walk.
If we could let everybody go and just start over from scratch, I would be behind that 100 percent.

Isiah set us back years and all you Isiah lovers need to get off your knees and realize what Donnie is doing.

Balkman, Jones and Morris are gone so far.
Now we have to get rid of Marbury, Zach and the rest of the misfits.

Off topic, but it involves a player who has generated a lot of comments here: Artest has been traded to the Rockets for Green, Bobby Jackson and an unnamed player. Nice pick-up for Houston for a bunch of reasons.

WOW!

i can't believe how much sacramento got for artest (2 firsts, a pile of cash and a great expiring contract), a high risk personality with only one year left on his contract. talk about going for the gold. a bold move, but their timing might be perfect. the west is there to be had, the age of the super-power is past in that conference. i have to say, petrie played hard ball and got max value for ronnie, props to him.

i would have to think that this improves the trade market/value for zach. and i would also think that the lakers will have to respond to this move, because they will get physically crushed by the rockets at this point. why they resisted trading odom (a guy who will never play big in big games) for ron-ron is beyond me: i think the trade might have delivered a title to them. now they are faced with the worst of all possible outcomes, artest ending their season prematurely.

ALAN: now that your paper has unlimited funds, can you ask you i.t. department to fix the security code issue with your site? i mean, this is ridiculous, it is a nightmare to post here. have those guys ever tried to post anything? it's pretty basic, sort of like test driving a car before letting it out of the shop. OY!

You do realize Balkman was a #20 first-round pick, right?

We're talking about a 23-win team here. They gave away their much-needed lottery picks for two straight years for Curry. Then they took Balkman at #20 as their major pick in the first round. They took Mardy Collins at #29 in the first round.

I mean, for someone that to no end criticizes taking Gallinari at #6, you are aware of the fact that Millsap, Gibson, Farmar, Lowry, Boone, Marcus Williams, and Rajon Rondo were all still there at #20, right?

@ Jackie J. Good point. Trading picks away for underachieving veterans, and getting nothing special for the most part when they did draft is a big art of the reason why the team is where it is.

@ sec 11 - I like the trade from Houston's perspective - Artest gives them another scoring threat (especially valuable during the annual T-Mac and Yao miss a ton of games event) and with Battier makes them really tough defensively on the wings. Plus Artest supposedly has a good relationship with Adelman. Clearly they are going for it now, which should quell the T-Mac trade rumors. Sacramento did well too - the picks being key to their rebuilding process. That is what sucks about the number of piks the Knicks gave away - it's the best way to put together a core of young, cap friendly players.

I WANT WALSH TO CLEAN HOUSE!

but if i see Jerome "big snacks" James
on the roster next year i am going to be pissed.

to me the Balkman trade was just a snack
and i am ready for a full meal

clearing a Mil off of the cap is peanuts

i still think he should have traded Zach to the Clips
i think that Zach's numbers will go down this year
thus lowering his trade value in the future

you talking about clearing 48 Mil off the cap
without bringing back any bad contracts
if walsh had done that deal the knicks
would have been under the cap at the end this season

Zach numbers will go up. People!!!!! he is one of the top power forwards in the game. When you think of Zach, you have to admit that he's a great offensive player. Under the right situation he's and allstar. Look at Rasheed.

The only problem with Zach is he needs a leader on the team. He can't be asked to lead the team. Same with Sheed (that's billups team). If the knicks get good guard play this year, watch out!!!!

@ sec 11
That deal won't be valid until August 14TH because of Green's
rookie status.

@ Old School Oak,
In a follow up to Mills losing his dream Job because of the
ABS trial, You may find this Interesting

@ NYC 2 Infinity

Do you believe that D'Antoni would have took this job if he didn't
believe in at least half of our current players?

@ Knicksmyteam
I co-sign your last post!

@ Peace - I was never a fan of Mills, and I nonestly can't say what he actually did. However, there's always more to a story, and there will always be an agenda in most news stories.

And that's no matter what the subject is...

As a random side note: I couldn't care less about BRETT FAVRE!! ENOUGH!! The guy can't make a decision and stick to it...and then, do I really need to know what eveyone and their mother thinks about it?? NOOOOOOO!

Rant over...

Anyone else think Bobby Jackson would fit in with this team nicely?? Guess it is too late now that we signed Duhon..

Zach and DLee for wally world..

Keepin cap space alive
With alittle Bulljive

it occurs to me that because of the devaluation of the u.s. dollar, the market for premium basketball players will be vastly different two years from now than it is today. we are already beginning to see this with some of the signings this year.

so 2010 might get a lot uglier than our worst nightmare (lebron signs with the nets). the fact is, america is on sale for bargain basement prices (see budweisser. 58 billion u.s. just ain't what it used to be (obviously)). that is why we see europeans filling our streets and stores, and why american corporations that have large overseas market share (john deere for example) are reaping record profits at the moment.

today josh childress, tomorrow kobe bryant? you may laugh, but this is no joke. who would have predicted two years ago that a gallon of gas and a canadian dollar would have doubled in value by now?

so not only will the knicks be battling the cap, but also stiff european competition. the price of good players is about to escalate dramatically, and i suspect that the league and the players will have to adjust the cba to include a higher cap, in order to stay competitive for top talent. perhaps the timing will work in the knicks favor, should the cap magically expand. obviously this is hard to predict.

one thing all of us need to keep in mind is that there is money available to stars who shine in new york that doesn't count toward the cap, and that is endorsement money. it has long been rumored that lebron's nike deal would escalate by as much as 100 million were he to play in ny, and there would be many other endorsement opportunities for him her as well.

so the trick is for us to get our house in order, build a respectable young team, restore dignity and accountability from the top on down (that has already begun), and free up enough cap space to at least be able to make a competitive offer to a lebron type.

@ sec11 - Amen! It is also a reason to believe that foreign players who are now in the NBA, and may be consiered "old" could be moving to Europe in the future for the fat cash.

Someone mentioned this before, but think about the deal Big Z will get abroad vs. in the NBA when his deal is up! What about the other guy (Pavlovich??) on the Cavs.

I could see him as well as other mid-level American players making the move for the $$ and the playing time.

Maybe the Knicks will get lucky and not lose as many guys to this trend because all the foreign players drafted didn't work out...marinade on that for a quick minute.

Interesting thoughts, but I'd think it would take the move of a big, big superstar to shift the pro basketball scene like that.

I just don't see it happening. The money's still big in the US (just ask Chris Duhon), and I'd bet that a lot of guys wouldn't want to give us the US NBA life.

*give up, not us.

sorry

@Peaceman

i think that d'antoni told walsh what players
he thought he could work with
and told walsh to try and trade the guys
he thought would not fit into the system

but it don't take a brain scientist to know
that Zach and Curry on the frontline
is a recipe for disaster

first of all dantoni came here cuz he got more money
second dantoni aint going no where with this team
third dantoni isn't winnin no ship in this league he is a rucker style coach
not saying he isn't a good nba coach

last but not least alot of yall are jackasses that post on this blog it's like how long have yall been watching basketball
alot of yall sound like lil wayne fans/jayz fans..lmao..
ya got no b-ball iqz

donnie is doing nothing but dumb moves
the duhon singing is just the beginning of donnie dumb moves he has alot of dumb moves left in his tank

i honestly thought when we signed donnie he was going to do something good so far has i'll give him a D+

lmao..cuz i'm talking bout the knicks..

an yess i was rite donnie is a white zeke..

stay tuned for more KnowLedge

BTW-

since i am on a business tangent today....

it has been reported, including in here, that when a player signs a contract overseas, the money is tax free. my understanding is this: while it may be that the country that player is playing in does not levy an income tax, this does not mean that the money is tax free. unless that player is intent on renouncing his american citizenship, he will have to pay american taxes on his overseas earnings.

i'm not an accountant, so if someone here knows something different on this subject, please fill me in.

@Knowledge

you are a funny guy.

knowledge has no idea what he is talking about.
Sounds like a racist pig from left field LMAO!!!

What's wrong with being a jay Z fan?
What are you a Run DMC fan?

Go ahead Donnie with your bad self.
Let them all go!!!!!!!!!!!!

I saw this on the ESPN Insider site, and thought I'd share it. If it holds true, it bodes well for Gallinari (despite what Mrs. Starbury, err, Berman says.)

There's a predictable relationship between a player's stats in the Euroleague -- the highest level of European basketball -- and what they'll be in the NBA. Crossing the Atlantic does the following to a player's results:

• Scoring rate decreases 25 percent
• Rebound rate increases by 18 percent (there are more missed shots in NBA play)
• Assist rate increases by 31 percent (Euro scorers are tightwads with assists)
• Shooting percentage drops by 12 percent
• Overall, PER drops by 30 percent.

In the case of Danilo Gallinari, he projects to a PER of 13.21 -- pretty darn good for a 20-year-old. The caveat is that he did this in just 11 games for a bad team, AJ Milano, that won only three games. As a result he shot more than he would normally at the pro level, and likely a worse percentage. His projected numbers from Europe are 14.5 points per 40 minutes and 37.0 percent shooting; I'd expect the points to be lower and the percentage to be higher unless he's picked by a truly awful team (in a related story, the Clippers pick seventh).

This is a "Year 1" projection, as opposed to the "Year 3" projections I used for the college prospects, and once you factor in his age and growth potential you'd have to presume he'd be up around 15 or 16 by Year 3. If so, it would make Gallinari one of the top prospects in this year's draft, and his status as a likely selection between six and 10 seems reasonable.

What's wrong with being a Run DMC fan?

You be illin.

You Be illin. LMAO

Walsh fans,

The transactions may be considered minor, but we have little room for error. There can be no mistakes now. We need perfect deals.

It was a mistake to sign Duhon at $6 mil/season. Is he better than Taurean Green? If we are going to gamble on another PG, he must either be compared to Nash, or signed at a low level. $6 million for Duhon was overpayment. HE IS NOT BETTER THAN MARBURY. Anyone who thinks that does not know basketball. I don't care if Marbury had sex with the entire cheerleading squad, until you get a better player or until his contract runs out, HE STARTS.

We did nothing with Crawford. With Marbury out, he could not lead the team. His assist numbers are average. His FG% is horrible for a first-option player.

Nate? Please. Put it this way: Doc Rivers will not be designing plays to stop Nate. He stops himself. He is too small to play in the 4th quarter. We cannot build around him.

Duhon does not have the quickness to beat his defender. He certainly is not strong enough to finish in the paint. His jump shot is ordinary. Assists? We'll see. If you are not a real threat, how are you going to break down defenses and free up your teammate for the assist? Chicago is laughing at us again.

Cooley, Zach's nickname was applied for a reason. When that scowl appears and he demands the ball, his team might as well head for the rim, because it's going up. Unless he changes his game dramatically, D'Antoni will be sitting him down for Lee/Gallinari/Jeffries, because he is not going to tolerate Zach holding the ball for 10-15 seconds and putting up a wild shot.

I'd rather have available cap space next year than keeping Zach. Then we can have a true overhaul of the team.

Randi's not only a pansy, but he's an idiot and a fool. In short, the perfect player for Isiah.

Expect Atlanta 5-O to find his sorry ass DOA in an alley off North Street in the next 12-18 months.

You guys that say we overpaid for Duhon are out of your minds. You act like we signed him to a 4 or 5 year deal lol.
We signed him for 2 years and we stayed within our plan of 2010.
He will be our starting PG next year whether you like it or not.
Marbury will be gone, whether you like it or not.
All you guys that think our 2010 plan is no good, I think you should lay out your plan and let's see what you got.
2010 is obviously a free agent year we want to be involved with, HEAVILY!!!! I shouldn't even have to name the players but for the slow pokes it's James, Wade, Amare, Bosh, Kobe (opt out), why wouldn't we try to get under the cap by then? Do you really think none of those players would come to NY? How can you criticize someone with a plan? AND THE PLAN MAKES SENSE!!!!! I knew a man that used to always ask people if they were stupid or dumb. Well that's what I'm asking all you people that throw verbal darts at Walsh. What are you stupid or dumb? Your either stupid or dumb. LOL

@Dajoka

so you are into the 2010 plan huh?

then why didn't walsh trade
zach to the clips?

that would have cleared
48 Mil off of our cap
and we would not have had to take
back any bad contracts

if walsh had done that deal
we would have been under
the cap at the end of this summer

zach's numbers will go down
in d'antoni's system because
he is not a team player

he won't pass the ball
he is a "black hole"
thus his trade value will be lower
because he will not play major minutes

walsh thinks he can get a better trade for zach
but he is kidding himself
zach is a losing player
it is in his DNA

if walsh was really serious about
the 2010 plan
he should have jumped
at the chance to unload zach

trading balkman to save 1.9 Mil
on the cap is just peanuts
right now i am not impressed
by anything walsh has done so far

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.

2010 Free Agents: (R) = restricted FA, (P) = player can opt out. Also it is the team option year for all first round draft picks from this year.

Al Harrington
Stephen Jackson
Cuttino Mobley
Marcus Camby
Rudy Gay (R)
Kyle Lowry (R)
Larry Hughes
Mike Bibby
Luke Ridnour
Earl Watson
Etan Thomas
Brendan Haywood
Dwayne Wade (P)
Mark Blount
Udonis Haslem
Jermaine Oneal
Chris Bosh (P)
Richard Hamilton
Tyson Chandler (P)
Manu Ginobili
Bruce Bowen
Mike Miller
Brian Cardinal
Randy Foye (R)
Brad Miller
Carlos Boozer (if he doesn't use his opt-out the previous year.)
TJ Ford
Michael Redd (P)
Tracy McGrady
Rafer Alston
Luis Scola
Brent Barry
Amare Stoudemire (P)
Raja Bell
Ray Allen
Brandon Roy (R)
Dirk Nowitzki (P)
LeBron James (P)

Yes, some of these players will be passed their prime by then. But if we have a solid young core, not necessarily superstars, and enough cap space to make moves, we could build a contender with two or three names on that list that don't include Wade, Bosh, or James. Remember that if someone without cap flexibilty wants a big name off that list, they would deal an asset to a third team that does have that flexibility (like us) to make it work. Cap flexibility can also open up moves like the Clippers acquisition of Camby, or the ability to absorb a bad contract dump to get a young player we really want.

That coupled with the fact that not every free agent signing has to be an all-star to make an impact. The addition of solid role players in my opinion is what makes elite teams into champions.

Ice posts boko n

Bokonon - nice post. Don't forget the blown by like a pylon on the defensive end stat.

@ bokonon

Nicely said ... solid role players, chemistry, and the signing of a couple key free agents and we could rise from the ashes.

Walsh must continue this plan, no matter how boring it may seem to Knick fans. When he does if not in two years, then for sure in three years when everyone's contracts comes off the books the Knicks will be a major player.

LeBron of course would greatly speed up the process, because I could see many All Stars and solid players in their prime or slightly passed it who never won a championship lining up to play along side of him.

No team, repeat no team wins it "ALL" without solid role players in "ANY" sport. The Knicks in my opinion "may" have four already in Gallo, Chandler, Duhon and Lee. Though Lee being the only real trade that could bring a good return at the moment might not be here pass this year.

Time to gut the house out, room by room ... and don't expect it to happen all at once. Patience is needed, because we will be there if we don't panic and make stupid moves that take on stupid contracts.

great post bokonon.

To everyone complaining about the plan to get under the cap by 2010 by making the argument that we're not getting LeBron, this is the point -- it's more about just having the chance to be flexible than anything else. Without doing that, they wouldn't have a chance on any of these players.

And just because Zach wasn't moved in that Clips deal, doesn't mean that he still can't be traded before 2010 for a better deal that will make the team even better....

They need to move him by 2010 --- 2 (two!) whole years from now. (which is depressing in and of itself...)

File under "you've got to be kidding me"

The Bulls also have discovered some interest in guard Larry Hughes, as long as they're willing to take a big contract in return. Since the Bulls need to thin out their backcourt, some possibilities could include Portland's Joe Przybilla, New York's Jared Jeffries, Dallas' Erick Dampier or Denver's Kenyon Martin.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=224618&src=150

Jared Jeffries? If that can even be written by a writer from another city, things can't be that bleak on the trade front for the knicks. How Jeffries at $6.4 mil in 2010 can be traded for Hughes at $13.6 mil, is another question, but.... Jared Jeffires?

Add Malik's expiring contract, 2 for 1 and its done!

what about zach straight up for hughes (who only has one year left on his contract)

then the bulls get the low-post scorer they've been looking for...

NYC2Inf asks

"then why didn't walsh trade
zach to the clips?"

Why don't you tell us the whole trade?
Clips wanted Zach, a first rounder and cash for a 2nd rounder and Brevin Knight.

Would you have made that deal?
If so, then you should leave this blog LOL.

Get a clue would ya.
Great post Bok!!!
Show these fools that Donnie knows what he's doing and these crabs are just complainers.

I see a few names on that list that I would love to have on the Knicks.

Best thing about it is.....with Dantoni coaching...they are all a possibility.

@DaJoka

yeah i would have made that trade
because brevin knights contract was expiring

zach has 48 Mil on his contract
and he is not a team player
so to get someone to take that albatross of a contract
walsh might have to trade a pick
or get creative like using D.lee in a trade

i am not the only one saying that
if you listen 1050 radio
alot of radio pundits
with more expertise than us also thought'
it was mistake(Brian Tierney for one)

the main thing was he not taking back any bad contracts

walsh is betting on the fact that zach
will change his game and become a team player
thus improving his trade value

i think that is a bet he will lose

i have a friend that writes for ESPN and
he told me that walsh has gotten more calls
for Jeffries than Zach

nobody wants Zach
because of his game

his numbers are great
but he does it on losing teams

if at the end of next season Zach's
numbers are down how will
walsh be able to get a better trade?

@nyc2: is your name isiah?

We don't have to trade Zach NYC2. Stop acting like we have to trade him. There are other ways to get under the cap by 2010. We can trade Curry, Crawford, Jeffries and others and we'll still be under the cap. Your problem is your trying to do things to quickly. The point is to take our time. However, I do agree with you on Brevin Knight because I actually like him. He gets his teammates involved in the game but you don't just give up a guy like Zach. Even though he is the black hole.....you have to try to get something back in return. I understand where your coming from but we can't just jump at any trade that is thrown our way. Unless you want to go through the Isiah era all over again. Can we do this right this time? I'm sure you miss the days when we were in the playoffs advancing past the 2nd round. Let's bringt those days back. I would not have made that trade either. As much as people like to predict they know what's going to happen with Zach next year....the truth is...YOU DON'T.
You don't know how Zach will play under Mike D. His #'s might drop....they might not. He will still average a double double. I don't care what anybody says. If you don't think Zach will average at least 18 and 10...your nuts. A better coach means better #'s.
Good stuff NYC2!!!!!!!!!!
I love these little debates...then we can all come together during the season and celebrate each one of our 30 victories.
Where is our homeboy Knowledge...or lack of? LMAO

@DaJoka

i like a good debate too
you have got some good points

we are all knick fans
and i hope that you right about zach
but he will have to change his game
because he is a defensive liability

maybe d'antoni wil play zach at the 5
and play chandler at the 4

i hope 08 will leave us with good vibes
and some hope for the future

Trading a first round pick and Zach to the Clips for a 2nd round pick would have been crazy, but only because the first round pick was inlcuded. I don't beleive the Clippers proposed that deal though and clearing Zach off the books would have been a good move if you believe in 2010 and don't tihink Zach and Eddie will work. The 06-07' Knicks were better than the 07-08' Knicks with essentially the same team and the same coach. Question is was it Zach's presence, Marburry's injury, or ITs inablity to get past the trial that ruined last season.

@ bokon, that list is extensive but most of those FA will resign or do contract extensions with their teams b4 2010 like Chris Paul and Deron Williams did. Why risk injury between now and walk away with nada. No way Portland or Phx let Amare or Roy walk. Bibby, Bosh, James and Wade will be interesting to watch. My feeling is that we have to remain competitive between now and 2010 and should feel the best team possible between now and then. We should also have at least one all-star on our roster that other players want to play with. Nobody wants to play with our potential all-stars Marburry or Zach, and to me Crawford and Lee are not all-stars all though very good players with serious limitations.

At least we have Duhon though.

"the Knicks under Isiah Thomas was not a healthy environment for developing young players."

As if the Hawks under Woodson is any better! Salim, Solo, Acie!