There may not be any Knicks participating in the All-Star festivities this weekend, but that won’t keep the Knicks from being one of the biggest topics in New Orleans. When the league’s flagship franchise is in this much disarray, lacking an All-Star for the seventh consecutive year, it generates buzz.
With so many league and team executives convening in the Big Easy only a few days before the trading deadline – and with the Knicks willing to part with just about any player on their roster – expect plenty of storylines focused on your favorite MSG bottom-feeders to emerge.
The Knicks are looking for takers for Stephon Marbury and Zach Randolph above all others, with Eddy Curry also available. Isiah Thomas said this week that he would entertain trades that improve the team immediately in terms of the players brought back. Duh. But he also said he’d consider salary-clearing deals that will help down the road.
It’ll be interesting to see if reports that have the Knicks and Nuggets discussing a Randolph trade gather any momentum as the weekend unfolds in New Orleans. Denver is barely hanging in the race for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, and with owner Stan Kroenke’s commitment to pay luxury tax with last year’s acquisition of Allen Iverson, you would think the Nuggets need to make the playoffs.
Randolph certainly would help divert some of the offensive scoring load away from Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. But those points and rebounds would come at a price. As Z-Bo has shown in New York, his style on the low blocks often bogs down halfcourt sets and limits touches for the other scorers on the floor. The best reason for the Knicks to pursue such a deal – besides getting rid of Randolph’s contract – would be up-and-coming sharpshooter Linas Kleiza. He’s averaging 11.9 points in only 26 minutes per game and is a 34-percent three-point shooter – exactly what the Knicks need to loosen up defenses that consistently collapse on Curry because Jamal Crawford is the only dangerous shooter they have on the floor.
I don’t foresee any scenario in which the Knicks fail to make at least a moderately important trade by the deadline. It’s time to start tearing it down, and there will be no shortage of speculation coming out of New Orleans this weekend about which direction the wrecking ball swings first.