HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Eddie Johnson

Fire might burn past 2010

November 23, 2009 @ 8:39 am by Eddie Johnson · Filed under Allen Iverson, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Donnie Walsh, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, New York Knicks, Steve Nash

The New York Knickerbockers are playing with fire and it might continue to burn past 2010 if plans to renovate fail next summer. I give them credit for not signing Allen Iverson, but I sense they in turn will face the same fate when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire stay at home or land somewhere else next season.

They backed off Iverson for one simple reason: Mike D’Antoni did his homework by calling around to former coaches and that sealed the deal for a player that has failed to realize what is happening to him is not personal. It’s a message that his time at the top of the food chain is over. He is not first in line anymore. Although being the fourth, fifth of sixth option can still pay the bills, he would rather be sitting at home than play backup to a young player. Why did he think Jerry Stackhouse fought him tooth and nail his rookie year when Iverson took over 1,500 shots? This NBA is a young man’s game and when the Association feels like it’s time to move you to the backseat, you have two choices – put your seat belt on and let someone else learn to drive or get out.

I give the Knicks credit for understanding Iverson would not be the answer, but the same stubbornness Iverson exerts can best describe the organization and head coach Mike D’Antoni.

The Knicks are riding into the summer of 2010 with the belief that James, Wade, Bosh or Stoudemire will join the Knicks.

Why? Let’s see.

New York is the Mecca of basketball, New York is a endorsement extravaganza, New York’s nightlife is second to none, New Yorkers understand the game better than most, if you win in New York you are held in high regard throughout the basketball universe, etcetera, etcetera.

Those assumptions are correct if you win a title, but what New Yorkers must come to realize is that the draw of yesteryear is not here anymore. The Knicks got extremely close during the years of Patrick Ewing and since he left it has been a downward spiral. The idea of signing on as the savior and quite possibility facing the negative aspect of playing for the Knicks will scare any superstar – including LeBron.

These superstars also realize they will not win alone and that sucking up most of the salary cap will lock up the ability to put the right pieces around them. The Knicks, in their exuberance to cut costs, will probably lose the major talent they have in David Lee, thus leaving a star with a roster of question marks.

Why would LeBron or Wade want to leave an environment where the fans understand their minor shortcomings and where they have teammates who know how to give them the space they need to perform?
The only reason would be personal, but the scary scenario for the Knicks is that these two targets are as unselfish as they come and already have endorsements that will last a lifetime.

Bosh and Stoudemire are big-time possibilities, but they already play in an up-tempo system. Bosh is having a career season with arguably one of the top 5 point guards in Jose Calderon. Amare is playing with Steve Nash, who is the reason we talk about 7 Seconds or Less.

The Knicks have dug a serious hole in terms of perception. The only way out would be to change the type of basketball they play and prove to James and Wade that they have solid players to surround them in a system conducive to their abilities.

Maybe there would be a chance, but that depends on the Knicks other stubborn problem.

Mike D’Antoni is a very good coach, but his stubbornness in sticking with a system that is weak without Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Deron Williams or (oops!) Brandon Jennings will lead to failure. He needs to change and he has yet to give in to the thought. He has to recognize that LeBron and Wade like to lope and then explode. They don’t play fast constantly and they would struggle playing with guys who jack up three-point shots with 20 seconds on the shot clock. They like to facilitate and control the action and not being allowed to do so would cause major problems.

D’Antoni has a piece in Eddy Curry that could allow him to prove he can integrate a controlled offense.

Even the Phoenix Suns, who are back to the run-and-gun style, are only winning because they are not trying to run for the full 48 minutes. They are incorporating a good half-court offense, rebounding and focusing more on defense.

The Knicks will probably win less than 20 games this season and that is why D’Antoni should start showing that he can indeed become a more versatile coach. He has to realize that LeBron and Wade understand you will not win a championship if defense is not a focal point. He has to give them a glimpse of who they might be possibly playing with. Again, the thought of frustrated New York fans will strike fear in any great player.

I believe James and Wade will stay where they are and Bosh will become the Knicks’ main target. I love the growth and abilities of Bosh, but who wants to sign with a team knowing Knick fans will be irate and despondent over not adding James and Wade?

Donnie Walsh is one the most respected general managers ever, but I would really hate to be in his shoes next summer.

Share:

Permalink

243 Comments

1. Chris W Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 9:27 am

   D’Antoni is a false hope, he will never win a championship in his style of play, the pnly way that could happen is starting five was PG- Steve Nash, SG- Kobe, SF- Lebron, PF- Amare, C- Pau (or someone who plays like Pau) so pretty much am all star team to win. Not bringing in A.I just really shows you that the D’Antoni makes everything about him and not the team!

2. G-reg Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 11:28 am

   Iverson should go play abroad. He could make good money and reinvent himself.

3. paul Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 11:43 am

   So your saying that 25-30 million in cap space is a bad thing? Think about it. The future is only bright. My hope is that Walsh is smart and pays big for a big fish, but doesn’t pay big for a small fish if the big fish are gone. Bottom line is cap space allows teams to improve, fill needs, and build. If 2010 is a tough year b/c Hill plays center and goes through some growing pains, or Douglas has some growing pains as a 35 min a night starting point, so be it. They should still be able to add a shooting guard, and some depth(on 1 year deals), and then get Curry’s and Jefferies money in 2011. They are rebuilding, which is never a bad thing.

   Also keep in mind that there is a good chance that LBJ, Wade, and Bosh may just take their option for one more year and become free agents in 2011. Why, b/c with the low cap, they may make more money on their old contract in 2010, then on a new contract. LBJ is more likely to sign now, b/c he has two max contracts left in his career. Wade might not, so he gives Miami another year to compete for a championship, and then can be a free agent in 2011.

4. P. Lew James Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 11:46 am

   I have said all along that the advantages of playing in New York works only if you win. Why would Lebron, Wade, Bosh or any other free agent play in New York if the team is unable to attract, and afford other players who may help them win. As for New York being the so-called “mecca” of basketball is New York hype at its finest. New york fans don,t necessarily know any more about basketball than anywhere else! We are led to believe that players in and around New York are somehow better than those from the rest of the country. To this I say bulls–t! Eddie stop spouting fables and tell the truth. New York sports in general, and basketball in particular is a product of a plentiful New York media! I expected more from you.

5. eddie Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 11:50 am

   Paul

   you make great points and you are right they will have a tremendous amount to build with, but who are we kidding New York fans want a big fish and if they don’t get one. it is not going to be too enthusiastic in the big apple.

   These guys will not keep playing on 1 year contracts, would you if you had 120 million staring at you?

6. Bill R Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 11:56 am

   I have been a Knicks fan for over 40 years and a lot of what Eddie says is true. I do think that the Knicks can keep Lee mainly because NY is where he wants to play and he is willing to negotiate to stay there.

   New York can be tough on players and yet those who make it to the pedestal enjoy an experience few can imagine. I don’t imagine Lebron, Wade, Bosh or Stoudamire is afraid of the NY fans and press.

   I do think the commentary on D’Antoni is spot on. He needs to adapt to the players he has and a style that wins more games at both ends of the court. In fact he may be trying to do that very thing now as the Knicks have played much better defense their last 3 games than their first 10. D’Antoni’s philosophy of basketball depends on a good/great PG and lots of good/great jump shooters. New York has neither the PG or the shooters.

   The Knicks did well by not signing Iverson. In the past it would have been a no-brainer that the organization opens up the checkbook for a star player even if that star is fading and isn’t a fit for the team. By passing on AI we see there is indeed a new sheriff in town.

   Now the Knicks need to develop the young players they have on the team like Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Toney Douglas, Jordan Hill, Eddy Curry and Darko Milicic while finding a way to keep Lee and stay competitive as a team. It’s not easy and as EJ points out D’Antoni’s stubbornness could be another roadblock.

   Well done article.

7. Arka Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 12:05 pm

   Wonder if Joe Johnson had any hard feelings with Dantoni when he left PHX. I believe his problems were with management. I figure JJ loves being the man in Atlanta and he wouldn’t like the prospect of playing next to Lebron or Wade in NYC. But that’s the best combo that could come out of next summer - JJ playing alongside either of the two supers.

   I agree that NY has left itself open for disappointment next summer. If they can move Curry though, they will have money to add 2 from Bosh, Amare, JJ, Lebron or DWade. Truth is Nowitzi and Ray Allen are also possible even though I don’t expect them to budge.

   Yep, Knicks will have to pull off some magic to make a free agent splash.

8. Rack Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 12:25 pm

   EJ, are you serious, Jose Calderon as one of the Top 5 PGs in the NBA?? I think JC is extremely overrated because he is an awful defesneive player. The Raps are currenlty struggling record b/c The Raptors backcourt is lame.

9. BUCK Said,

   November 23, 2009 @ 12:30 pm

   As long the same people own the Knicks and D’Antoni is coaching and the fans keep coming, the Knicks will never win a championship. LeBron and Wade aren’t stupid, and Bosh and Stoudemire will make you better, but no championship. D’Antoni is trying to prove a point with his system and it is not going to work, just look at the Suns ! How long was the last coach there with all the mess that was going on ?? As long as the fans keep comeing, why change ! Sort of like the Mavs, as long as they have “that” owner, they will never win it all. The players love him, but the coaches wish he’ld go up to the owners box ! Sort of like the Cavs, as long as brown is there, they will always “almost’ win it all, but never win it all. LeBron needs a coach, not someone who is afraid fo him. MJ needed a coach, why not LaBron.

10. Tom K from PHX Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

    Eddie,

    Thank you so much for bringing up what I’ve been saying all along. These highly sought-after free agents are sought-after for one simple fact: They’re winners.

    What can New York give them that they don’t already have?

    Money? These guys have already made more money through their contracts and endorsements than most superstars of the 80s and 90s made their entire careers.

    I can’t think of of any team that has ever gone from the basement, with no talent, to luring top level talent through a summer of free agency, and turning things around.

    People might bring up the Celtics, but they already had Pierce, TRADED for Ray Ray and KG, and developed their young players in Rondo and Perkins.

    If anything, I see the Nets as more viable option for these players. Not only will New Jersey have cap space, they have talent. Young talent, sure, but talent none-the-less. With Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Brook Lopez, and CDR, this is a team built for the future. Imagine plugging in LBJ or Bosh into that lineup, you’d be looking at a contender for the next 10 years.

    What it all comes down to for these guys is winning. This league has a storied history of greats that never won a ring. Malone, Stockton, Barkley, Ewing…..I don’t think any team with cap room gives these guys a better shot at winning a ring right now than their current teams do, and thats the bottom line.

    I think the summer of 2010 has been blown way our of proportion. After the dust settles, the top teams will still be elite, and the bottom feeders will still be dreamers.

11. Bronx Kid Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 12:41 pm

    Coach D’Antoni is going to be the downfall of Donnie Walsh. This style is starting to wear thin on the players. The entire make up of the squad is poor. The draft selection is ridiculous. At the very least Isiah Thomas knew how to DRAFT. His free agent and trades weren’t the best. But if it wasn’t for CAP KILLING players, the guys he did trade for aren’t scrubs: ie, Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry aren’t SCRUBS in the sense of no talent.

    Now, Jared Jeffries, he’s a SCRUB!

    Playing David Lee at center is crazy. He’s too small and too slow and too light in the cakes to make a difference down low. Wilson Chandler playing power forward is another head scratcher.

    I wonder what’s going to happen if NONE of those big name guys don’t sign next year.

12. David Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 1:10 pm

    I went to a game in MSG in January 2006 when my Spurs were there. The crowd was lackluster and relentless toward the Knicks players (they did end up losing). There was no energy anywhere. The MSG/Knicks myth is hyped in the movies (like Eddie — no pun, or Forget Paris).
    The top players will get endorsements wherever they play. As Eddie says, who in their right mind would turn down $120M staring them in the face?

13. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 1:13 pm

    Rack Said,
    November 23, 2009 @ 12:25 pm

    EJ, are you serious, Jose Calderon as one of the Top 5 PGs in the NBA?? I think JC is extremely overrated because he is an awful defesneive player. The Raps are currenlty struggling record b/c The Raptors backcourt is lame.

    i said arguably and name me a better point guard after Paul, Nash, Williams, without naming rookies because they need a year to prove themselves. i don’t love Calderon, but he is a very good point guard and much better than what the Knicks have.

14. Randy B. Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

    Noone knows what any of these superstars are going to do, so we should all sit tight. Who knows what their motivations are. Joe Johnson took the max money and went to Atlanta when they were one of the worst teams in the league. It took a few years of terrible finishes and high draft picks for them to be competitive. He obviously didn’t care about winning when he took the deal.

    Lebron knows that any team he plays on will be instant playoff contenders. You take Lebron off of the Cavs and they are garbage. Without Lebron, the Knicks would easily beat the Cavs.

    Someone is going to want to play in NY and take their money. You are foolish to think that one of the most glamorous and storied franchises in history would have the most cap room in the league and fail to sign one of the top free agents in the league. Even with the talent they have right now, remember that Curry and Jeffries will be gone in 2011, and they will be able to get one or 2 additional superstars.

    As a Knick fan for 30+ years and season ticketholder, I am willing to be patient.

15. Yanni c Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 1:42 pm

    Championship teams are built through good draft picks and smart trades. The Knicks front office has not drafted very well ( despite their lottery positions in the last several years) and they haven’t made a productive trade since the Ewing era ended. I agree that players such as James and Wade will not want to sign with the Knicks. ( to join a rebuilding team.) My guess is that they end up overpaying for a less than marquee player such as Michael Read…. and that Walsh and D’Antoni are shown the door in another year or two.

16. C.C. Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 1:45 pm

    Ill admit that Dantoni is stubborn with his rotations, and keeping the younger players on a shorter leash, which seems to be unfair since the younger players have been more impressive

    but as for the article, it would have alot more credibility if Mike Dantoni and the knicks were actually playing SSOL…..the knicks havent played SSOL since the departure of Jamal Crawford & Z-Bo….the Knicks refusal to push the ball up off forced turnovers, rebounds, etc. and rather wanting to have duhon dribble up the court just keep passing the ball on the perimeter, and take a contested three pointer isnt Mike D style of basketball, just stupid basketball, if you guys bothered to watch a knicks game you will see hes yelling all the time PUSH PUSH, mix that in with players with some of the lowest B-Ball IQ’s you are going to have one of the worst basketball teams in the league…. ppl think just cause these players like to shoot they are a “good fit” in mikes system which is not the case @ all……you need players with a high B-Ball IQ, knicks currently have one in gallinari…A majority of these players are not good fits, thats why Mike D put the biggest emphasis on defense during the summer camp cause he damn well knows that his team isnt the Suns and they wont be outperforming teams on the offensive end, and play decent D to pull out 60+ wins a season

17. Larry Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 1:50 pm

    D’Antoni’s system can win championships but it takes the perfect mix of players which is unlikely to ever come along again as it was in PHX 04-05. That team was put together by B. Colangelo and Rex Chapman and D’Antoni was the right coach for that team with coach Nash on the floor.

    Had Joe Johnson not broken his cheekbone in the confrence semis in 05 , or Amare not tore up he knee the next sumer missing the 2005-06 season or had Amare and Diaw not been suspended for critical game 5 in 2007 against SA, the Suns may have won a championship. Their defense per 100 possessions wasn’t terrible from 13 to 17 out of 30 teams during that time, with Raja Bell and Shawn Marion.

    That kind of squad is unlikely to ever be assembled again for D’Antoni to coach. What star player would want to go to NY with out a promising PG to run the show? Maybe Walsh would step down and B. Colangelo would come in and be able to build a team to fit D’Antoni’s system again. That’s the only hope that I see. A little help from Olympic Director J. Colangelo towards a free agent or two might help persuade them towards NY. But Bryan Colangelo is still in Toronto.

18. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 1:52 pm

    Joe Johnson was traded and did not sign as a free agent for one. if the Suns did not get a first round pick and Boris Diaw. Joe would still be in a Suns Uniform.

    Lebron would be Kobe of a few years ago after Shaquille,fighting for the 8th seed if he went to New York.

    The Cavaliers would be much better than the Knicks without Lebron because they know how to win. So i disagree.

    yes someone will want to play in New York,but it will not be Lebron. he is use to winning and he knows going to New York will set him back 4 years. He wants to win championships and Cleveland is his best choice unless he would be willing to take less money and sign with a good team which will not happen.

    Miami has a better chance of getting Lebron than New York.

19. Tood Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 2:11 pm

    1. I couldn’t believe the Knicks didn’t take Jennings on draft day, Jordan Hill is garbage.

    2. Am I the only one who realizes David Lee isn’t that good. Doesn’t play a lick of defense.

20. carmikal Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 2:14 pm

    Word on the streets is that LBJ and Dwade will be a package deal. Miami begged Dwade to sign an extension and he refused. There wasn’t enough press on the reason and situation behind MJ being in Miami for the Heat versus Cavs game. FYI Pippen was there as well.

    Believe me, MJ has already talked to Dwade LBJ behind the scenes and a gameplan for them has been set! Think about it, all of sudden LBJ makes the “retire #23 jersey remarks” and Dwade gets blessed with being on the only player to wear Jordans shoes.

21. Tom K from PHX Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 2:20 pm

    Randy B said “You are foolish to think that one of the most glamorous and storied franchises in history would have the most cap room in the league and fail to sign one of the top free agents in the league.”

    Come on…storied franchise? Once upon a time. That isn’t enough to lure a winner to a losing team. Philadelphia and Milwaukee are just as storied, and players don’t go there either, and at least those 2 franchises have managed to rebuild (or begin to) with smart trades and drafts.

    Also, agree with EJ, Cleveland would beat the brains out of the Knicks without Lebron.

    Bottom line - Lebron stays in Cleveland. New York will continue to spiral out of control.

22. Dennis Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 2:22 pm

    PG’s better than Calderon:

    Paul, Nash, Williams, Kidd, Rondo, Rose, Harris, Arenas, Billups, Parker. There’s 10, at the very least 8 that are better.

    Eddie out of that list who would you choose Calderon over?

23. Ricky Pierce Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 2:29 pm

    You know that you are my man Eddie, but when people compare us it just doesn’t look good for you.

    Sure, we were both primarily scorers but I played D. You were a shooter and I was a guy who scored from all over. Remember when we played on the same team? those were the days bro! But I was better than you, I know you’re not gonna argue that!

    4 inches shorter and I went to the hole with malice. That’s why my career was slightly shorter. Sure, you scored more than I did and your career average was a little higher, but you were doing some chucking, let’s be honest my man!

    You were a better rebounder - but come on, you’re like 4-5 inches taller than me! And I was at the line all the time.

    My highs were higher what with my all-star selection and 2 sixth man awards to your one.

    No offense, we’ll still hang. But in the meanwhile, your readers can compare us from a numbers perspective.

    Ricky Pierce: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/piercri01.html

    Eddie Johnson: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsed03.html

    Your Buddy,

    Ricky Pierce

24. shane Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 3:19 pm

    Let’s get real here… The only reason that the Knicks passed up on Allen Iverson is because he would help them win games!!!! The Knicks, much like the bottom 5 teams are playing for the lottery and thats it.

25. D from QUeens Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 3:24 pm

    To all you New York City haters, stop hating! Yea our basketball team is horrible right now but what seperates us from those other backward cities is that we understand it. We do not fall in love with players until they show us they can handle the atmosphere of being here (ie A-ROD).

    I agree with Randy B some super star player is going to come to the Knicks and wait until whenever we get out act together. We did something like this before when we traded for LJ and signed Houston and Childs. We ended up going to a Finals with those guys. So we will just rebuild and see what happens, but stop hating and yes our city is better then yours.

    And David name a hype stadium or arena when a team is losing for the past 8 years? I cannot name one. Once again stop hating.

26. Knicks gameplan about to crumble? Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 4:16 pm

    [...] most respected general managers ever, but I would really hate to be in his shoes next summer. HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Eddie Johnson Fire might burn past 2010 Some excellent points. Good article all in all. Click the link above to read it in its entirety. [...]

27. napolean Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 4:48 pm

    chris w your a dumbass dantoni is one of the best coaches in all of basketball.. when he was with phx he almost got it if tim duncan didint hit that 3 pointer dantoni wins a championshp….. new yorkneeds mor talent if they had more talent the knicks would steamroll the east

28. Earl Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 4:48 pm

    I have to disagree with you Eddie by saying he has a better chance with Cleveland. They have already peak with their current players and James knows it. It is better to destroy and rebuild then to keep trying to patch up a broke situation. New Jersey may be a better option than New York because they have money for two stars and have two stars in the making already there. Also they have some young players that will be able to hold their own playing next to stars like Terrence Williams, Courtney Lee, and CDR. One of those guys may get traded but still NJ is looking real good as a future destination. New York is not looking too bad because they are known to spend money and if they can get a star and a guy with star potential I am sure that organization will make the moves to build a contender unlike Cleveland who have had so much time and have not produced any success for James. Donnie Walsh is pretty good a getting players and making smart moves. Also Mike Brown has had the same system in place over the years and it has not made Cleveland better. They are still Lebron and a bunch of other players. It to them forever to get a decent point guard.

29. Jack B Kwick Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 4:51 pm

    I think commenter “Paul” is the best in his reasoning here. If LBJ is going to come it will be in 2011 - there’s the ca$h, and he’ll give he Cavs every chance to build him a winner.

    Hopefully, Walsh is pulling a rope-a-dope, letting all those with cap space shoot their wad this winter. The real prime FA, who IMHO, is headed to the garden is…’Melo FA class of 2011 (unless the Nugs keep shocking the world).

    His wife desperately wants to be there, he wants to be there (remeber that Big East Tourney?), and he would be the best enticement as a running-mate for LBJ. Plus, the Knicks would finally have a high draft pick to get a PG, or trade for one with one of their young parts.

    I’m just sayin’ that’s how I would handle it. It hurts to say this, but honestly, there’s really no pressure in NYC to win now (the Garden still sells out). Let all those other teams blow their space next year. with Curry and Jeffries gone in 11, they’ll also have the money to sign 2 top tiers.

    Remember, you heard it HERE first.
    Knick fan since day 1.

30. Jack B Kwick Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 5:01 pm

    forgot my cherry: that 2011 PG traded for a Knick lottery pick has a name: Ricky Rubio. Makes sense in every way possible.

31. Oliver Miller Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 5:05 pm

    Iverson is a ball hogg

32. David Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 5:17 pm

    To Napolean…that shot was in the first game of the first round….you think the Suns would have gone on to beat the Lakers??
    That’s like saying if Derek Fisher didn’t hit that .04 shot, the Spurs would have had another ring (they would have still had to win in LA), or the “phantom” foul on Manu against Dirk in overtime, or…..or……

    Part of the game, dude

    D’Antoni is an OK coach, nothing more…no magic

33. Matt Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 5:33 pm

    I still think the Knicks should have signed Allen Iverson. Everyone wants to crucify him because he wants to start and hasn’t won a championship. But not every good/great player is going to win a championship, there are 30 NBA teams, and only 1 championship. (Barkley, Maravich, Gervin, Dominique, Drexler, Malone, Stockton, Ewing, Nash, etc)
    Anyways, the Knicks had nothing to lose by adding Iverson, nothing! He plays hard and he can score. Sign him to a one year contract, and do your fans a favor by not having them watch the current roster every night. Think about it, the best player on the Knicks right now is Al Harrington, or if you like double-double machines with little offence and no defence then maybe it’s David Lee. How do you not give Allen Iverson a shot with a team like that, that’s crazy to me. At least the Grizzlies had a legit reason, they had a young core they were hoping to develop, and AI would have taken minutes from them. But everybody knows Wilson Chandler and Galinari are the only players the team hopes to keep, and neither of those is really a guard. Sign AI! D’Antoni is about scoring, so is AI. And to those who somehow think he fell off there is no evidence of that. He is a physical specimen, and if given the green light he could still put up some big numbers.
    I’m not suggesting they should build a championship team around him, that boat has sailed. But how a team like New York doesn’t sign him, when they clearly suck, and when he solves most of their short term problems, I still don’t get it. It’s really hard to stomach the fact that somewhere out there people believe that Mike Conley and Chris Duhon should be playing over Allen Iverson. Mike Conley & Chris Duhon!!! How isn’t the whole world shocked by this??

34. frank b Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 5:56 pm

    Eddie,

    While I agree with your analysis of the fact that the Knicks are going nowhere fast, I think you are way too hard on Mike D’Antoni.

    John Wooden had a famous quote when he was asked what coaches he feared the most when he peered down the sideline. His response? The ones with the best players.

    D’Antoni isn’t feared much around the league by other coaches. With better players, D’Antoni got better results. The Knicks suck and have sucked forever.

    I moved from the New York/New Jersey area 20+ years ago and just recently went back and couldn’t wait to get out of there. New York is a love ‘em or hate ‘em type of place. I and tens of millions of other people are on the hate ‘em side of the argument.

    I just don’t think the allure(?) of New York alone is going to bring anybody in that is going to save their franchise. Of course, if I was relegated to Cleveland, maybe New York would look more attractive

    In today’s world the marketing pie is big enough and we are all interconnected enough that it doesn’t really matter what city you play in, you can still make the big $$$$$.

35. The Knicks Blog » Eddie Johnson: Knicks Need To Change Style Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 6:24 pm

    [...] HoopsHype.com: “The Knicks have dug a serious hole in terms of perception. The only way out would be to [...]

36. LBJ6 Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 6:32 pm

    Eddie,

    You of all people should know that if you have a sentence with “top 5 point guards” and “Jose Calderon” in it, your whole article is going to lose a lot of credibility. Even the word “arguably” that you tossed in there can not make up for such a blunder.

    Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups is what I consider a reasonable top 5. While Gilbert Arenas, Devin Harris, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, Mo Williams, Jameer Nelson and heck even AI, should be ranked ahead of Calderon at the point.

    I like Calderon as a player; low turnovers, good playmaker and ridiculous percentages, but despite that he’s not much of a scorer. And since he’s a sub par defender, it’s inexcusable to rank him that high.

    I realize that’s not the main point of your article but it had to be said.

    Now if New York uses its cap space to land LeBron and Bosh (which is better than Wade-James in my opinion) they have no money left for a supporting cast. Which means no title. If LeBron joins the Knicks and they use the rest of the cap to get a decent supporting cast, they are still not good enough which again means no title. So if Lebron cares about winning he’s better off staying in Cleveland, joining Miami or New Jersey.

    Making sense of the AI non-signing: The Knicks are trying to get rid of Curry. That’s the only explanation. He’s not a D’Antoni type of player; If Shaq wasn’t, why would Curry be any different. They’ve had him lose weight and now they are trying to work him back on the team as a focal part of their offense. If this works it may convince a team to take him on in exchange for some expiring contracts. At his best, Curry is the best offensive player on the Knicks, and if AI joined the team that would no longer be the case and it could disrupt Curry’s fragile psyche and ability to produce. If they manage to ship Curry out for expiring contracts that’s 11 extra millions in cap space for 2010. If they don’t trade him, but he turns out to be good again that’s an extra incentive for LBJ and co to sign there.

37. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 6:32 pm

    PG’s better than Calderon:

    Paul, Nash, Williams, Kidd, Rondo, Rose, Harris, Arenas, Billups, Parker. There’s 10, at the very least 8 that are better.

    Eddie out of that list who would you choose Calderon over

    you in an uptempo system right? because thats what i said? ok

    Kidd has maybe 2 years, Rondo cant play in the system because he cant shoot yet, Rose would be a great fit, Harris can’t shoot yet, Arenas is a two guard, but i would think he could do whatever he wanted. Billups can’t push it for 48 minutes, Parker would be good.

    So Calderon would be 5th through 6th on the list. If we are talking about 7 seconds or less, which is why i made the statement.

38. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 6:38 pm

    Ricky Pierce

    great note! Cant argue with your belief because you were one tough #$@%. Here is the edge for me. I made the big buckets when the game was on the line and that shoots me a little bit a head of you RICKY. LOL

39. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 6:45 pm

    frank b Said,
    November 23, 2009 @ 5:56 pm

    Eddie,

    While I agree with your analysis of the fact that the Knicks are going nowhere fast, I think you are way too hard on Mike D’Antoni.

    Frank

    I think Mike is a very good coach, but even Pat Riley knew when to give up showtime. Players make a system not coaches. You can not try and turn Chris Duhon into Steve Nash. Bottom Line

40. neil Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 7:14 pm

    Ricky P,

    I had you and Reggie and McKey in my cab (in Seattle going back to hotel from a nightclub) and scared the S*@t out of you about 15 yrs ago. I was bustin on Reggie for the cereal box he did.

    Neil

41. frank b Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 7:24 pm

    What kind of coaching style would keep the Knicks close in games with Chris Duhon as your point guard? Someone has to shot every 24 seconds and when Chris Duhon is passing in to Eddy Curry I don’t think John Wooden, Red Auerbach, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson, or Gandhi are going to make any difference.

    You have a better insight than the casual fan as to how D’Antoni is perceived by the players. Maybe he isn’t a great guy to play for and you would know as well as anyone whether this is true or not. It looks like the Knicks brought him in to make it more attractive for free agents because to outsiders the Phoenix D’Antoni years sure looked like a lot of fun to be a part of.

    The problem for the Knicks is that they are not just one superstar signing from being a good team, they are really in need of a complete overhaul and rebuild and why would any top free agent jump into that situation? I just don’t think that these factors are D’Antoni’s fault. No matter how he adapted his coaching style, this configuration of Knickerbockers isn’t going to beat anything but YMCA teams (or the Nets, Clippers, Warriors, Bobcats every once in a while).

42. Brett Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 7:46 pm

    Dear Knicks,

    Thanks for the lottery pick!

    Sincerely,
    The Utah Jazz

43. Fuhry Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 8:08 pm

    Have you been watching the last few games? I’m not seeing any 7SOL. Since Curry got back, they are throwing it to the post, they are bringing it up slow, not trying to jack up 3’s early in the shot clock or anything like that. In fact, they haven’t been shooting that many 3’s in the last few games.

    I’ll tell you what would be attractive to James - a young, promising big, and a young promising guard. Young guys with good attitudes that can play both sides of the floor. LeBron knows that a guy like Toney Douglas, who can score and play great D, would be a great teammate. Also, a guy like Gallo, who can stroke it from deep. LeBron knows - he talked to those two guys after the Knicks played them.

    And LeBron likes D’antoni because he’s played for him. So it doesn’t really matter to him, I don’t think, what D’antoni does with Al Harrington this season. What matters is how Toney, Gallo, and Hill develop. That’s what I think.

44. Daniel Wiberg Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 8:40 pm

    Sorry Eddie. Iverson’s age has nothing to do with why nobody wants to sign him. He is a cancer and it’s shocking that he hasn’t realized yet how his personality can effect a locker room.

45. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 8:41 pm

    LBJ6

    will you read the article. i said arguably, which means left open for interpretation. I also said for the 7 seconds or less system. please dont read anything further

46. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 9:00 pm

    frank b Said,
    November 23, 2009 @ 7:24 pm

    What kind of coaching style would keep the Knicks close in games with Chris Duhon as your point guard? Someone has to shot every 24 seconds and when Chris Duhon is passing in to Eddy Curry I don’t think John Wooden, Red Auerbach, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson, or Gandhi are going to make any difference.

    You have a better insight than the casual fan as to how D’Antoni is perceived by the players. Maybe he isn’t a great guy to play for and you would know as well as anyone whether this is true or not. It looks like the Knicks brought him in to make it more attractive for free agents because to outsiders the Phoenix D’Antoni years sure looked like a lot of fun to be a part of.

    The problem for the Knicks is that they are not just one superstar signing from being a good team, they are really in need of a complete overhaul and rebuild and why would any top free agent jump into that situation? I just don’t think that these factors are D’Antoni’s fault. No matter how he adapted his coaching style, this configuration of Knickerbockers isn’t going to beat anything but YMCA teams (or the Nets, Clippers, Warriors, Bobcats every once in a while).

    How do you know? thats my point. If i told you the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns would have two of the best records in the league after 13 and 11 games you would have said i was a homer for the Suns.

    You coach to your talent. That Talent can not play uptempo and win. Lebron James is a half court hold the ball dominating player. If you want Lebron James you better show him now. Frank stop moving to all corners with what i write stay on board. read it first all of it.

47. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 9:02 pm

    Fuhry Said,
    November 23, 2009 @ 8:08 pm

    Have you been watching the last few games? I’m not seeing any 7SOL. Since Curry got back, they are throwing it to the post, they are bringing it up slow, not trying to jack up 3’s early in the shot clock or anything like that. In fact, they haven’t been shooting that many 3’s in the last few games.

    I’ll tell you what would be attractive to James - a young, promising big, and a young promising guard. Young guys with good attitudes that can play both sides of the floor. LeBron knows that a guy like Toney Douglas, who can score and play great D, would be a great teammate. Also, a guy like Gallo, who can stroke it from deep. LeBron knows - he talked to those two guys after the Knicks played them.

    And LeBron likes D’antoni because he’s played for him. So it doesn’t really matter to him, I don’t think, what D’antoni does with Al Harrington this season. What matters is how Toney, Gallo, and Hill develop. That’s what I think.

    Lebron likes himself and make sure you understand that clearly! lol
    he wants championships and if it happens it will be in Cleveland.

48. Randy B Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 9:04 pm

    Eddie,

    You need to get your facts straight. Joe Johnson was all set to sign with Atlanta as a FA but Phoenix was able to swing a deal in order to get something of value before he bolted. The point of the matter is, he was willing to sign with a poor team for the money, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it again.

    As fas as you and Tom from Phoenix believing that Cleveland could beat the Knicks w/o Lebron, I’m not sure what you’re watching. The only reason they win is because everyone is focused on Lebron and he gets them all easy shots. Who would do that if he wasn’t there? I was at the game earlier this month at MSG and watched as his team just stood around and waited for him to set them up.

    Tom sounds like the typical Phoenix hater that is still upset that their coach left. The suns will be garbage too should Amare pack up and leave.

49. Daniel Ingram Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 9:09 pm

    Hey just remember that Utah is taking the Knicks #1 pick this year, what will that be, a top 4 pick the way things are going????

    If any of these free agents that were thinking about coming thought they might land with a marquee rookie to start the 2010 season (think Jennings, Griffin this year) to help the load, then think again!!!! What a bust does J.Hill look this year???? pretty much a poor mans R.Balkman

    It just reinforces that when you overpay mediocre players - A.Houston, C.Childs, J.James, C.Jeffries etc etc etc, there is no quick fix to make your team great again.

    It’s a long road back New Yorkers and I really feel sad about it having grown up watching the Knicks be a force, while my Nuggets were the laughing stock. It all goes in cycles and NY is at the bottom of the cycle.

50. tony Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 9:45 pm

    i really dont care if we get lebron or any other big name, although i know the knicks will atleast get one guy from the list. it is more important that the young guys develop to make a team that is campatible and cohesive. u have to pay attention to the players. gallo,hill,chandler,douglas, curry,darko, nate, lee who is playing out of position. all versitile with better than average skill and still getting better. to a man those players r better than lebrons current teamates; verajo,moon,anthony parker, boobie gibson, mo williams,delonte,ilguaskus. all these players r second rounders or late first rounders at best, and its because of lebron they win. one star instantaneously catipultes this current squad into a force in the league. i wont be suprised if one or two players on the knicks develops into a star,but u have to let them take over the wheel. look at how many match up problems boston had against them with three hall of famers, and rondo is the real reason they are a great team. he came out of nowhere just like tony parker. u have to let them develop. everyones talking about jennings, but he was given the keys to the car.darren collison since cp3 has been out hurt, ty lawson …ect, they are turning heads and winning because the league is young across the board. look at ariza, who is thriving and scoring better than people thought,or channing frye now that he is allowed to play consistant minutes. i think the knicks are a flawed team because none of their draft picks weren’t given the oppurtunity to develop in NY; they thought people wouldnt pay to see young players. its been managements’ fault

51. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 9:49 pm

    Quote from Eddie: “I’ll tell you what would be attractive to James - a young, promising big, and a young promising guard.”

    I tell you what Eddie, you are right about that. That is why Donnie Walsh completely dropped the ball in the last 2 drafts.

    Maybe nobody knew Brandon Jennings would play like the offspring of Isiah Thomas and Kenny Anderson, but Walsh did know that he needed point guard in the worst way, and there was only one prospect on the board. If he had drafted Jennings, which was the obvious choice, he would look like a genius GM, and D’Antoni would be heralded as the genius coach!

    Walsh whiffed pretty bad the previous year with the Galinari pick. He knew that they needed a center, or they could have picked Eric Gordon or even Bayless who was my choice. Instead the pick D’Antoni’s best friend’s son.

    Imagine a backcourt of Jennings/Gordon, Jennings/Bayless! Sure they are short but who can guard them? Or imagine Jennings/Lopez.

    Lebron’s bags would be half-packed already!

    The Knicks are terrible drafters. Galinari may be alrgight, but who can say when he is playing this style? And Jordan Hill…just isn’t that god. he may be alright, but he will always be Sam Bowie to Jennings’ Jordan.

    Why Knicks? Why!??!

52. Andrea Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 10:00 pm

    Okay people, calm down.

    I can clear up all of the mistakes and misunderstandings.

    What Eddie meant when he said Jose was top five point guard was that he is the top five point guard in the country. That country :
    CANADA! I’m positive the 3 point chucking Eddie Johnson was around the NBA long enough to agree with other readers that in America Jose is not top 5.

    NY just needs to get lucky in the draft and first sign two other top free agents before they are going to be considered by Wade or James as a destination. Then they would have four new quality players with David Lee. That makes 5 players. OKAY!?!?!?!?!!?

53. jthrii Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 10:04 pm

    the knicks coach is a fool….iverson wouldn’t hurt that team…and he should hands down play in front of duhon…he would bring excitement to the garden and help them win some games and not to mention fill some seats……i’m a new yorker born and raised and i still say the knicks suck!…..how could he disrupt a team that’s already in a pit……..he would be great for this team right now……. they are both hungry…i think iverson would probably be on his best behavior…as for past his prime?……..there are several teams he still should start on……. and the bunk ass knicks is one of them…….and don’t forget he’s willing to play for the bargin basement price……he’s not going to kiss any body’s ass but we knew that since the day he got here….and in some situtations he’s still the answer………jthrii

54. tony Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 10:52 pm

    why take eric gordon or bayless when nate is still there and so young. eric or bayless were not point guards. they weren’t going to supplant crawford at the two, and u cant say they would have been better than nate if they were going to move on without crawford. they needed a point ,but the star point wasnt in that draft at number six. any point after that is a gamble at six. they knew marbury wasnt in their plans thats why they brought duhan in for a couple of years who had experience. with curry and ,or zach u needed a guy with size who can handle,shoot and pass at the 3 spot in a d’antoni system. thats why u take gallo. further more, the reason u take hill instead of jennings is because jennings had many question marks and again u have a high pick and u dont want a point with question marks so high with that pick.its the most difficult position on the court. once bonified leaders were gone like evans, curry,rubio,and flynn, u take the best available player on the board. thats why u take hill. look at all the teams who took point gaurds after curry. teague; bibby was there- maynor;deron williams is there-ty lawson; billups was there-collison; cp3 is there-holiday;miller and williams was there.u dont play around with point guards. u better be sure.now,the knicks still needed a point so u take a guy like douglas at 29. it makes since. its no risk and can only be reward if he plays well. u cant lose! milwakee couldnt pass on jennings because he is the best available player at a bargain at the ten spot and he was better than the other point guards as far as risk and reward. so far they got the reward, so lucky them. its the same thought process in which paul peirce got drafted.

55. eddie Said,

    November 23, 2009 @ 11:02 pm

    Eddie,

    You need to get your facts straight. Joe Johnson was all set to sign with Atlanta as a FA but Phoenix was able to swing a deal in order to get something of value before he bolted. The point of the matter is, he was willing to sign with a poor team for the money, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it again.

    As fas as you and Tom from Phoenix believing that Cleveland could beat the Knicks w/o Lebron, I’m not sure what you’re watching. The only reason they win is because everyone is focused on Lebron and he gets them all easy shots. Who would do that if he wasn’t there? I was at the game earlier this month at MSG and watched as his team just stood around and waited for him to set them up.

    Tom sounds like the typical Phoenix hater that is still upset that their coach left. The suns will be garbage too should Amare pack up and leave.

    No you need to get your facts straight sir. He was a restricted free agent and phoenix was not going to let him go for nothing. If Atlanta did not offer the first round pick and Diaw. The Suns would have matched the offer. the other stuff you are talking is only your belief against mine. next time you want to prove me wrong get YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!

56. Randy B Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:40 am

    http://www.nba.com/suns/news/johnson_traded_050819.html

    Eddie,

    You can read the article yourself. Phoenix had no intention of matching that max offer for Johnson. They couldn’t afford to pay him that kind of money with all the other players that they had. They wound up giving away those 2 first round picks anyway, so it is obvious, they didn’t mean a thing.

    My point, which you have not refuted, is that Joe Johnson signed that offer from a terrible Atlanta team because he wanted to get PAID. And if Atlanta could get someone to take their money, surely some superstar will take the Knicks money to live in NY and endure while they rebuild. We’re not talking Philly or Milwaukee here, we’re talking NYC. You can take that to the bank.

57. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 1:35 am

    Phoenix received TWO 1st rd picks for Joe Johnson.

    There are a lot of interesting perspectives and opinions about Mike D’Antoni and SSOL.

    First off I don’t know how anybody can make the claim that SSOL could win a title. Until a team employing an authentic SSOL system wins a title, it can’t be done.

    Secondly lets get some of these labels correct, run-n-gun is used synonymously with SSOL. Many teams are running an old fashioned uptempo style. If you have a need to label the specific systems used by the different teams, please don’t refer to them as run-n-gun.

    Eddie, Alvin Gentry is NOT having the Suns run-n-gun. They are not even close to SSOL this season. Just like someone mentioning that the Knicks aren’t running SSOL this season. They are using several elements of SSOL but are not even close to the break-neck pace of the D’Antoni era. They are extremely more efficient offensively and do not jack up wild shots simply for the sake of shooting in seven seconds or less.

    Nobody has the personnel to run an authentic by the book SSOL.

    This is why I personally do not agree with your characterization of D’Antoni being a great coach. He simply isn’t. Great coaches adapt their personal style preferences to their personnel. D’Antoni either is too stubborn to do so or IMO simply is not able to do so.

    Last season the great Phil Jackson eased up on the restrictive Triangle offense to allow his Lakers to run more.

    Rick Adelman is a great coach because of his willingness to adapt his Princeton offense. He tried to install his Kings version but the Rockets struggled with it. He has then adapted it again with the loss of Yao and McGrady. He has evolved the Princeton to a read-n-react version.

    Then their are coaches who have teams that refuse to be coached. Flip Saunders has run into a brick wall named Gilbert Arenas in Washington. Someone please remove him from your list of great PGs. I do not consider PGs with a me-first scoring mentality to be great PGs. Doesn’t anybody understand why Iverson is currently unemployed?

    Kurt Rambis thinks he is prepared to be a head coach now because of his time as Jackson’s assistant. What a joke that has turned out to be. Jackson and Winters used the Triangle to provide Jordan with the best opportunity to win. The singular and most obvious distinction with the Triangle is that you it does NOT require a natural PG. But who did the Wolves draft? Ricky Rubio and Jony Fylnn. Flynn is one of two, maybe three natural pass-first PGs taken in this draft. Rambis has just inhibited his development by forcing the Wolves to learn the Triangle without having a Super-Star player who would benefit the most from it.

    I like what Jim O’Brien is doing in Indiana. He is running an uptempo style with the traditional personnel. A PG, three shooters and a traditional center. All of the teams that passed on Big Roy Hibbert are looking a bit foolish right now. He is getting up and down the court just fine and is being a force on both ends of the floor. The only current center in the league who not only has the hook-shot mastered but mastered with both hands.

    As far as getting back to D’Antoni and SSOL. Here is some food for thought. There is one NBA team that resembles D’Antoni’s Suns, Doug Moe’s Denver Nuggets. Extremely high scoring and just as poor defensively. They made it to the playoffs 9 straight seasons but got nowhere. I don’t blame Moe though for being the first team to try and out-run and out-score their way to a title. He had the personnel.

    Both Paul Westhead, who started the Laker’s Showtime era off with a title and later D’Antoni both failed miserably in Denver for failing to adapt their favorite systems.

58. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 1:57 am

    Tony, you’re just rationalizing bad picks. When you see all those other guys I mentioned become very good players or stars, and Galinari and Hill become role players, your rationale will not be that comforting.

59. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 2:06 am

    From Randy:

    “You can read the article yourself. Phoenix had no intention of matching that max offer for Johnson. They couldn’t afford to pay him that kind of money with all the other players that they had. They wound up giving away those 2 first round picks anyway, so it is obvious, they didn’t mean a thing.”

    Where does it say that Robert Sarver had no intention of matching? Sarver and Johnson and a face-to-face meeting where Sarver offered to match but Johnson didn’t want him to.

    Of course Colangelo could have used that has leverage to obtain the two 1st rd draft picks and Boris Diaw but there is only ONE person who know whether or not he would have actually matched the Hawks off and that is Robert Sarver who went on record saying that he would. He was willing to spend the money because the Suns had done so well and he could afford to.

    Secondly the Suns did NOT give away those two picks. In the 2008 draft the Suns selected Robin Lopez with Atlanta’s #15 pick. Lopez is still with the team.

    In 2006, because of salary concerns, D’Antoni was given the choice to select a rookie the other pick they got from Atlanta or use the money to sign an experienced veteran. D’Antoni didn’t believe Rajon Rondo could help immediately so in a TRADE with Boston, they received Boston’s 1st rd pick the following year,the #24 pick. Boston wanted Rondo so they also agreed to take on Brian Grant’s contract as part of the trade.

60. eddie Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 2:22 am

    http://www.nba.com/suns/news/johnson_traded_050819.html

    Eddie,

    You can read the article yourself. Phoenix had no intention of matching that max offer for Johnson. They couldn’t afford to pay him that kind of money with all the other players that they had. They wound up giving away those 2 first round picks anyway, so it is obvious, they didn’t mean a thing.

    My point, which you have not refuted, is that Joe Johnson signed that offer from a terrible Atlanta team because he wanted to get PAID. And if Atlanta could get someone to take their money, surely some superstar will take the Knicks money to live in NY and endure while they rebuild. We’re not talking Philly or Milwaukee here, we’re talking NYC. You can take that to the bank.

    Wrong, the only reason they let Joe go is because he wanted to go. Yes it would have strapped them, but if he wanted to stay they would have kept him. your statement was he rolled the dice and went to Atlanta—No, Atlanta offered him a great contract and it put him near his family. Lebron and Wade can make more by staying home and thats what my article was about. Of Course New York will get a player or two, but not those players.

    quote from your article you just sent me!

    “Joe Johnson made us aware of his personal desires which just didn’t fit our model of building a team. We’re sorry to see Joe leave and we wish him nothing but the best in Atlanta,”

    Joe wanted to create his own and he has in a big way, but he would have been a SUN if Atlanta did not ante up.

61. Colopure Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 4:07 am

    I liked this article. I am glad to read this post.

62. Derick Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 4:18 am

    Lebron is going to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers!

63. tony Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 7:48 am

    why knicks why? i think u r just playing monday quarterback because u r trying to rationalize loosing. i guess the clippers should have taken jennings or atleast the warriors should have taken him because he is clearly better than curry and all the players taken before him. how about minnisota, yes! if the knicks would have got eric gordon and bayless and jennings and brook lopez..yadda..yadda;all the players that were available when they had a pick, dont mean anything because they wouldnt have gotten any minutes either. tony douglas was one of the best scoring guards in the nation. is he all of sudden garbage because he barley plays? no! or gallo, have u seen him at 16 until he got drafted. excellent young player, aka the best pure shooter in the league; two games into the season and that had been established.u cant say well he was overseas and the competition was weak. ok,then why wasnt jennings averaging more minutes and scoring more. he was below average there. see there are fans and then there r guys who r president of basketball operations for the ny knicks and builds a team based on more than what the fans think.i understand that. if u were donnie walsh u would have done the same thing. ariza is a good player. frye is a starter on a team that is tops in the west. gallo is the best pure shooter in the league and will be for the next twelve years. wilson will develop into a better than descent role player in this league. imagine if gallo and lee was on cleveland, lee rebounds and then he outlets to a streaking lebron just so when the D callapses on him he finds gallo for wide open shots.can u visualize that! it makes u wet dont it.lol! we havnt had a super star since ewing in his prime. u wont get one unless u develop one, the way miami did wade and LA did kobe …. bosh, and amare

64. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 9:12 am

    No offense Eddie, but I feel like you have not watched a Knicks game in a long time. D’Antoni has mostly scrapped his “system.” These days the Knicks are playing a much slower tempo, halfcourt style. They have also as of late actually started to play much better on the defensive end. D’Antoni actually started making a lot of adjustments and scrapping a lot of what he did in Phoenix, late last year. You should have done a little more research before posting your blog.

65. Oheneba Afriyie Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 9:50 am

    Well done article EJ

    What I would add to it is that the knicks are going to make two key free agent pickups, one of the pickups should be a big man. We need to get someone who is a presence and will stay down low and block shots.

    Amare would be nice.
    GO Knicks

66. Daniel Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 10:14 am

    I have read every post now and I’m trying to make sense of this.
    It seems that none of you think that Lebron will join the Knicks. I agree. What does NY has to offer him? A legendary arena aka the mecca of basketball? A big market? Come on! That is only Hype! LeBron thrives in Cleveland and I think it is only a matter of time before they win a championship. If LeBron want’s to be mentioned as one of the top 3 players of all time, he has to stay with the same team. Michael did it, Bird, Magic, Duncan, Russel, Kobe etc.
    Okay Shaq and Wilt played for other teams, but apart from that all of the greats have played for the same team. I onlyt think that Cavs need a better coach. Not only a good coach, but a Hall of famer type of coach. Mike Brown did not deserve COY last season. LeBron and those guys won 66 games. What is it that Mike Brown did that was so good? He is a medium good coach at best.

    And off the record, I hate so say this, and don’t get me wrong, but apart from Doc Rivers, when was the last time an african american coach won a title? Lebron needs a white coach to win it all.
    Sorry everyone, I just had to say it

67. Sonnie Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 10:31 am

    they’re giving the clippers a run for their money as the worse franchise in the NBA…From Bad mgmt, coaching picks (D’aphony), to bad draft moves (Jordan Hill) , I bet they sign an over the hill FA this summer because NONE of the top tier are coming to MSG…they dont get it obviously.

    Tony said : “gallo is the best pure shooter in the league and will be for the next twelve year” - sure hope you’re off your high - this dude will be out of the league in 3-5 years. Chandler has potential but, the NBA is full of run and jump athletes so if cant put it together in the next 4 months, he’s gone too.

    I wonder if they now regret not drafting Brandon Jennings, or not hiring the home town Mark Jackson as coach. D’antoni is NOT A NBA Coach…. Euroleague but NOT THE LEAGUE!

68. Sonnie Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 10:41 am

    @ Daniel —- “And off the record, I hate so say this, and don’t get me wrong, but apart from Doc Rivers, when was the last time an african american coach won a title? Lebron needs a white coach to win it all.
    Sorry everyone, I just had to say it”" U A LOSER -GET A LIFE - what does a coaches race have to do with anything? go jump in front of a bus, we wont miss you!

    AND FOR THE RECORD HIS NAME IS Mike Tomlin ( NFL)- he just coached the steelers to a world championship - u moron!

69. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:10 am

    Why Knicks Why, I agree completely with your analysis of New York’s drafting. The one player that D’Antoni MUST have to make SSOL run is a point guard who can push the tempo and pass. To rely on the possibility of signing a 36 year-old Steve Nash was just not a very smart thing to do.

    Now that he has signed on for two more years with Phoenix that possibility is closed. Brandon Jennings had the reputation for being a phenomenal athlete but that was at the High School level and he did have some serious question marks that his year in Europe did not answer.

    But when you are as desperate for a point guard as New York is, taking Jennings is not a gamble @ #8. Jonny Flynn IMO is the only better prospect at PG that was taken ahead of Jennings. IMO Ricky Rubio would have been a bust and the Wolves wasted a pick taking both Rubio and Flynn. Stephen Curry will turn out to be a good player but he is not a natural point, more of a shooter like his dad Dell.

    Same thing in last years draft. They had an opportunity to select D.J. Augustin @ 6. He went three picks later to the Bobcats. If you thought #6 was a bit high then you go with Eric Gordon who went after the Knicks blew their pick on Gallinari.

    This guy Tony is absolutely clueless with his rationale. Nate Robinson is a player but not someone you can start or build a team around. He is a very undersized SG with a very questionable basketball IQ and poor decision making.

    Where did he come up with; “with Curry and ,or Zach u needed a guy with size who can handle,shoot and pass at the 3 spot in a D’Antoni system”

    Apparently Tony is also clueless about D’Antoni and his vaunted SSOL system. Newsflash Tony, D’Antoni NEVER had a traditional big, back to the basket center in his systems in Italy or in Phoenix prior to the failed Shaq experiment.

    Both Curry and Z-Bo are back to the basket lane-eaters. Why do you think Nash insisted on Phoenix dumping Shaq before signing an extension? Because they wanted the lane open for his two-man game with Amare.

    Z-Bo’s contract wasn’t the only reason he was traded. He was playing great for New York. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if Donnie Walsh could move Eddie Curry he would be sent packing.

    In the 1st year of SSOL in Phoenix, 6′-6″ Quentin Richardson was D’Antoni’s SF. Pretty much a one-dimensional spot-up shooter while there.

    Hey Tony have you ever watched the original Phoenix SSOL squad? One point guard who dominates the ball in Nash, three shooters in Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, and Quentin Richardson. One facing the basket post player in Amare. They did not employ a version of a traditional uptempo system like the Princeton where the ball is moved around. Nash would dribble around in circles and probe the lane until doubled and then he would find the open man.

    Randy that is also why Joe Johnson left. At the time he felt he was more valuable with the ball in his hands. He wanted to be a full-time PG. He also felt like the 4th wheel behind All-Stars Nash, Marion and Amare. He wanted more recognition. He also felt slighted with what he and his agent felt was a low-ball original contract offer. But to say he was going to Atlanta only to get paid is false.

70. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:12 am

    Daniel wrote,

    “I have read every post now and I’m trying to make sense of this.
    It seems that none of you think that Lebron will join the Knicks. I agree. What does NY has to offer him? A legendary arena aka the mecca of basketball? A big market? Come on! That is only Hype! LeBron thrives in Cleveland and I think it is only a matter of time before they win a championship. If LeBron want’s to be mentioned as one of the top 3 players of all time, he has to stay with the same team. Michael did it, Bird, Magic, Duncan, Russel, Kobe etc.
    Okay Shaq and Wilt played for other teams, but apart from that all of the greats have played for the same team. I onlyt think that Cavs need a better coach. Not only a good coach, but a Hall of famer type of coach. Mike Brown did not deserve COY last season. LeBron and those guys won 66 games. What is it that Mike Brown did that was so good? He is a medium good coach at best.

    And off the record, I hate so say this, and don’t get me wrong, but apart from Doc Rivers, when was the last time an african american coach won a title? Lebron needs a white coach to win it all.
    Sorry everyone, I just had to say it”

    Daniel do you really believe that about Black coaches? Are you saying somehow Black people are racially unable or unqualified to be coaches. That is utter nonsense. Shame on you. The reason that there haven’t been that many Black championship coaches is because there simply haven’t been that many Black coaches historically. Heck up until recently you’d struggle to find an era where there were more than one or two.

    Also coaching in the NBA is extremely overrated. That is how a Mike Brown who I do agree with you is an average coach at best, that is how a Mike Brown wins a COY award and wins 66 games. It’s 90% players, 10% coaching. The championship formula in the NBA is an elite player or two, a solid enough cast of role players and supporting players and a Coach who doesn’t screw it up.

71. eddie Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:22 am

    Daniel Said,

    I hate so say this, and don’t get me wrong, but apart from Doc Rivers, when was the last time an african american coach won a title? Lebron needs a white coach to win it all.
    Sorry everyone, I just had to say it

    here is the question? what would we get wrong about you? i think we would be dead on. Daniel 6 championships have been won by African Americans i believe off the top of my head. thats a great percentage my man based on availabilty of jobs up until the last 10 years. By the way you made that statement on the record

72. Drake Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:22 am

    Daniel…seriously? For one, I think coaching is a thing of opportunity. If you don’t get the chance, you cannot accomplish anything. In the NBA like a lot of other sports, you see the same guys get recycled. I’m trying to figure out how a guy like Mike Dunleavy has two jobs in the NBA let alone one. There are only a handful of guys of any color in the NBA that are coaching that have had titles as it is now. The last time a black coach won a title was Mike Tomlin. If I am correct it was in his first year, but someone like you will probably try to make up a million reasons why the team won that had nothing to do with him. Then again it was only a couple of years ago that Doc won his.

    Now I don’t think Mike Brown is the best coach in the world, but he has done a pretty nice job with that team. I mean he was in the conference finals last year and he took that team to the finals. He has instilled a tough defensive minded philosophy and it has worked pretty well. I don’t care much for his offensive strategy, but anyone care to examine the guys surrounding Lebron? When Mo Williams is the best player you have played with, it doesn’t say too much about the talent and you cannot count Shaq because of how much his skills have deteriorated.

73. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:24 am

    Daniel says:

    “And off the record, I hate so say this, and don’t get me wrong, but apart from Doc Rivers, when was the last time an african american coach won a title? Lebron needs a white coach to win it all.
    Sorry everyone, I just had to say it”

    Sorry but you are on the record for being an ignorant, clueless racist!

    Phil Jackson had Jordan & Pippen and then Kobe and Shaq, & then Kobe & Gasol.

    Popovich had Robinson & Duncan and then Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.

    Riley had Wade & Shaq.

    Larry Brown had Wallace x2, Billups, Hamilton, & Prince.

    Rudy Tomjanovich had Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, Robert Horry, Clyde Drexler, Sam Cassell.

    An intelligent question would be when is the last time a black coach was given a team with enough talent to win a title? Was it Boston and K.C. Jones with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson & Danny Ainge, Bill Walton, Scott Wedman, Jerry Sichting, & Rick Carlisle?

    You do realize that K.C. coached a Celtic team with EIGHT white players to a title in what used to be a very racist Boston don’t you?

74. Daniel Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:43 am

    I know about KC Jones. He was a terrific coach. But in the last 20+ years, there have only been Doc Rivers. I am sorry if I offended anyone but I think I’ve got a point. I am not a racist as a matter of fact a lot of my friends are black. This was just something I discovered and thought it would make an interesting point. I didn’t mean to step on anyones foot.

75. Federico Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:52 am

    LeBron’s not going to NY, this is what you think…for me it’s too early to say. A rebuilding situation for me is not as bad as you say…sure, Cleveland is closer than Knicks to a title, but is also sure that this Cavs team is not going to improve anymore: with this team you win now, or never (Shaq gets older, and so does Ilgauskas, and so does A. Parker). I think that, if this year is not a winning one, LeBron could be tempted to dump this team. It doesn’t mean that Knicks would be the first choice, but who knows? I think that taking LeBron could be a first step to sign other good players, also in 2011. So, I just say wait and see: for sure he’ll not leave from a winning Cavs team, but who knows if they lose…and, about Calderon: maybe he’s not a top 5 PG as a player (not much of a scorer, a poor defender), but if you talk about PLAY MAKING , I don’t think that a lot of guys are better than him: do you think that Arenas, Rondo, Harris, Rose, Parker are better PLAY MAKERS? Better scorers, better defenders. Better PLAY MAKERS? I don’t think so…

76. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:58 am

    Tony’s Quote: “why take eric gordon or bayless when nate is still there and so young. eric or bayless were not point guards. they weren’t going to supplant crawford at the two, and u cant say they would have been better than nate if they were going to move on without crawford. they needed a point ,but the star point wasnt in that draft at number six.”

    What are you talking about Tony? You think that Walsh did not know that he was going to trade Crawford? In the Galinari draft, Walsh still though he had Marbury to play point but D’Antoni pulled a fast one. In the Galinari draft Walsh was supposed to pick a CENTER or a shooting guard. EG: Lopez, ayless, Gordon.

    Gordon and Lopez are better than Galinari in the real world, maybe not in the “Tony-Zone”!

77. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 11:59 am

    Sorry I hit send early. Yes, Gordon is better than Robinson. Are you even watching the NBA Tony?

78. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:02 pm

    Tony’s Quote: “how about minnisota, yes! if the knicks would have got eric gordon and bayless and jennings and brook lopez..yadda..yadda;all the players that were available when they had a pick, dont mean anything because they wouldnt have gotten any minutes either.”

    Why do I care about Minnesota? SO I want to get this straight: You don’t think Brook Lopez would get any minutes when he would be the only real center on the Knicks? Maybe you’re right since D’Antoni is allergic to real centers, but Lopez was the right pick.

    You think that Gordon and Lopez, and Jennings would not have gotten minutes on the Knicks? Are you even aware of how bad the Knicks are? Are you laughing while you are typing, because I have to beleive you are joking!

79. Tom K from PHX Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:05 pm

    Randy B,

    First off, why would I be mad that D’Antoni left? He really hasn’t accomplished anything since he joined New York. I may be living in Phoenix, but I’m a transplant from Massachusetts.

    I also don’t understand where you could even attempt to make an arguement that the Knicks could beat up on Cleveland without James. Cleveland would still have Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, JJ Hickson, Illgaskus, Shaq, Moon, West………..

    The Knicks can’t win. They’ve only won 2 games this season.

    Gallanari and Hill? Sweet picks dude. Nate Robinson shooting at the wrong hoop? Awesome man. Worst starting point guard in the league? Check. Not telling Marbury his father had a heart attack during a game? Priceless. Eddy Curry? Never has even averaged 1 assist per game, and he makes over $10 mil a season.

    The Knicks are a joke. The organization is joke. The roster is a joke (except for David Lee). The best joke of all is the fact Lebron will never sign with a bunch of scrubs and play for an organization that has made every mistake imaginable since their Finals appearance.

80. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:11 pm

    Tony’s Quote: “tony douglas was one of the best scoring guards in the nation. is he all of sudden garbage because he barley plays? no! or gallo, have u seen him at 16 until he got drafted. excellent young player, aka the best pure shooter in the league; two games into the season and that had been established.”

    First of all Galinari is not the best shooter in the league but he is a good shooter. Second his game pretty much ends with the outside shooting. If the Knicks wanted a spot up shooter they did not have to waste a #6 pick on him.

    Toney Douglas does not factor into the equation. He was not a lottery pick that the Knicks blew. Douglas is a nice pick. He would have looked very nice backing up Jennings.

81. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:16 pm

    Cleveland is an average team at best without Lebron and I might be pushing it. You have to realize the reason a lot of those guys played at such a high level last year was because of Lebron. Take Lebron off that team and over time all those dudes production would significantly drop off. Shaq can still bring it at a high level about ever tenth game or so but he just doesn’t have that extra hop in his step anymore to do it consistently.

    As for the Knicks recent draft picks. Can’t knock Gallo. He’s quickly establishing himself as one of the best pure shooters in the league, and considering he barely played last year due to injury he is still a rookie. Hill hasn’t played much but he will later in the year once Knicks get rid of a few people. When Hill has played he has looked good. Douglas was a very solid late pick.

82. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:16 pm

    Tony’s Quote: “u cant say well he was overseas and the competition was weak. ok,then why wasnt jennings averaging more minutes and scoring more. he was below average there. see there are fans and then there r guys who r president of basketball operations for the ny knicks and builds a team based on more than what the fans think.i understand that. if u were donnie walsh u would have done the same thing.”

    Tony, please don’t try to create inane arguments for me. Thanks.

    Jennings was purposefully held back by his European squad. One of his coaches admitted it. European teams have a very strict pecking order that has to do with paying dues moreso than talent.

    If I were Donnie Walsh I would not build a team on what fans think, but I would take care of the 2 toughest and most important positions: Center and PG.

    Instead Walsh picked D’Antoni’s best friends son, who has no position and plays like Steve Kerr, and has a chronic bad back, and then he picks Hill who is his 4th power forward and is not even ready to play on the league’s worst team!

83. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:17 pm

    It’s still too early to say Gallo will strictly be a spot shooter in the league. He has shown he can drive. I’ve watched every game this season. He has a good frame and should be able to get bigger and stronger. The kid barely played last year. Still need to see him more to say he is just a spot shooter, and even if he was a just a spot shooter, surrounded with the right players he could be deadly.

84. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:18 pm

    Tony’s Quote: “ariza is a good player. frye is a starter on a team that is tops in the west. gallo is the best pure shooter in the league and will be for the next twelve years.”

    What do Frye and Ariza have to do with Donnie Walsh’s drafting? Try to stay on topic please. Thanks.

    Galinaris is a very good shooter. He will probably not last 12 years because of his chronic bad back. If he does somehow play 12 years, there will be a lot of missed time. His back is already bugging him again, or did you miss that news?

85. frank b Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:20 pm

    Eddie,

    Don’t stress man…I basically agree with your analysis but I think D’Antoni is one of the few decent things the Knicks have to offer a free agent.

    You’re right, no one could have predicted that Milwaukee and Phoenix would have good records but the season is still young. I believe that D’Antoni could have coached either team to the same or better record but of course that is just my opinion.

    Daniel, you are a moron. Your post has nothing to do with the topic of this thread. Why don’t you search out the Rush Limbaugh sports blog?

86. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:21 pm

    Tony’s Quote: “wilson will develop into a better than descent role player in this league. imagine if gallo and lee was on cleveland, lee rebounds and then he outlets to a streaking lebron just so when the D callapses on him he finds gallo for wide open shots.can u visualize that! it makes u wet dont it.lol!”

    I don’t get wet Tony, because I am a dude.

    Wilson Chandler will probably be a decent payer, but probably on another team.

    I’m afraid I have to imagine that scenario you posited, because LeBron is not coming to the Knicks!

    Here is a scenario for you: Brandon Jennings Drive into the lane draws the entire defense and Kicks it out to Lebron who shoots the 3! And he misses! But Brook Lopez grab the board, who throws it back to Jennings who sees LeBron Cutting to the basket. Jennings lobs it up and Lebron Flushes it. The crowd goes wild!

87. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:26 pm

    Tony’s Quote: “we havnt had a super star since ewing in his prime. u wont get one unless u develop one, the way miami did wade and LA did kobe …. bosh, and amare”

    Jennings is the superstar! What is it you are missing about that? And I am not saying that Walsh or anyone else knew he was going to be a star.

    But Walsh knew he needed a point guard and Jennings was the only top-flight prospect on the board!

    Why can’t you admit that to yourself?!

88. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:27 pm

    No matter what anyone says, Knicks are in a good spot. In the NBA you don’t want to be in between. By in between I mean just an average team that doesn’t have too many financial options but is not a championship team. You either want to be championship good or really bad. Knicks are headed in the right direction. Lebron coming to NYC is about 50/50 at the moment. Really depends on if the Cavs do anything this season.

89. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:27 pm

    Tony, one last thing. I don’t mean to be personal, but paragraph breaks and punctuation are very important parts of people being able to interpret and read your writing and thoughts.

    If you insist on using text-messaging punctuation, at the very least break your discrete thoughts into paragraphs so we can read your thoughts.

    Thanks! I’ll see you on the flipside when you are done with you denial!

90. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:29 pm

    Gallo’s back got stiff in the Pacer game but he came back and had a decent game versus Celts. He had back surgery last season. I think it’s something he’s always going to have to deal with but as of now its manageable.

91. Lebron James Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

    All these posts are the exact reason I’ve decided to stop talking about 2010.

92. Why Knicks Why? Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 1:23 pm

    Great, that’s just what you want from your 21 year old #6 pick. A “manageable” back problem for the rest of his career!

93. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 1:32 pm

    “Manageable” as in he can still have a good career with it.

94. Federico Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 1:43 pm

    Sometimes I just don’t understand you Knicks fans…from what I read here, LeBron has every reason to go to the Nets: they have Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, and a lot of young guys…but, let me check…they are 0-13!!! Sure, B. Lopez scores, and takes rebounds, and…loses games, more than Knicks do. Brook scores, I agree. 17.3. On a 46,8%. Not a great one, if you think that Gallinari, who shoots threes, has a 45,9%. He rebounds. 8,8 per game. David Lee 9.9. How? Less rebounds than Lee??? Nothing against Lopez, but he’s NOT a first option in a 0-13 team. And not a better player than Gallinari. You can’t say that: better stats with a lot more minutes does not prove anything. And then there’s the draft question: why Knicks did not take Lopez? Why not Jennings? Why not Gordon? About Gordon and Lopez, I don’t know, but I guess that in Milwaukee (let’s see…the same guys who took Jennings?), they’re still asking why they took Joe Alexander instead of Lopez. You’re Newyorkers, THIS IS THE DRAFT!!! I, Italian, have to explain to you what the draft is? You don’t have the whole picture!!!! Let’s talk about Jennings: forget about what somebody said: in Rome he didn’t play because he wasn’t ready and he had weaknesses he STILL has. Honestly, you think that Claudio Gentile (his Italian Coach) likes to lose? Ricky Rubio is younger, but he plays since he’s 14. Jennings didn’t play because he was (he IS) turnover-prone, his attitude was really poor, and his playing style didn’t fit (believe me: you’ll not see easily in Europe a 18 years old who makes 19.7 shoots per game…only five guys shoot more than him in the NBA). That’s the truth. Plain and simple. Don’t forget he’s been the SIXTH guard taken. Hill the second PF. Should I really explain to you what a draft is? You look at a player, but also at a man, and you say: “Is he worthy my pick?” And you take him, not even knowing if he’s happy of that, or if he’ll ever play for you, or if he’s hungry enough to develop in a good player. All things that you CANNOT know. You blame Knicks for not taking Jennings or Gordon or Lopez. But they’re not THE ONLY ONE team who passed on them. So, THERE WAS a reason to not take them, at that time. Why don’t you blame them for not taking Arenas, Ginobili, Redd, Granger…Don’t forget: Harden, Ty. Evans, Rubio, Flynn, Curry: each of these guys taken before. Jennings wasn’t even sure to be drafted in the lottery (he didn’t go to the Green Room, even if invited…). So, don’t complain too much, and above all, be quiet: we’re not talking about the next Jordan, or Duncan, or Chris Paul (not yet, at least…). If Knicks suck, they would suck even with two of them: how can you be sure that they would fit nicely with this Knicks team?

95. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 2:02 pm

    A lot of people hating on here are not true Knick fans. Brook Lopez is a little overrated. He’s good don’t get me wrong but his ceiling is very low and he looks a lot better than he is because Center is probably the weakest position in the league at the moment. Also a lot of people hate on Gallo without even watching the games. They think he’s just another overhyped soft Euro.

96. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 2:04 pm

    Larry said:

    “No matter what anyone says, Knicks are in a good spot. In the NBA you don’t want to be in between. By in between I mean just an average team that doesn’t have too many financial options but is not a championship team. You either want to be championship good or really bad. Knicks are headed in the right direction.”

    That is the funniest thing that I’ve read in a long time! I’m still LMFAO!
    Just priceless!

    Yeah, that philosophy will really sell tickets! I’m sorry but you are the ultimate Knicks homer if you truly believe that.

    The Knicks 3-10 and heading right back to the lottery again. They have one good player in David Lee who can get you a double-double but can’t defend. They have an extremely over-rated coach in Mike D’Antoni who was lucky enough to catch lightening in a bottle once in Phoenix during the ‘04-’05 season and then in an attempt to address their biggest deficiencies, post defense and rebounding, tweaked the line-up completely out of title contention.

    You cannot put together a championship overnight. It takes a few years of drafting and adding great veterans until you build a contending team.

    There are two teams with great G.M.s that just happen to have been developed by the four-time World Champion brain trust of the Spurs, R.C. Buford and Popovich.

    Sam Presti of the Thunder and Kevin Pritchard of the Blazers. Those two teams are heading in the right direction and have been average, non-contending teams in the their respective process towards becoming contenders. Well of course the Thunder are still average but they used to be horrible but are now respectable and have a fantastic nucleus with a Superstar in the making in Kevin Durant.

    Otis Smith in Orlando has done a marvelous job of building a contending team around Dwight Howard while being competitive and entertaining for their fans.

    Atlanta is another team that was slowly built through the draft and around veteran Joe Johnson and then added veterans Mike Bibby and Jamaal Crawford.

    Yeah, the Knicks will have the money to sign two top-tier free-agents so they can go to New York and lose together.

    Have you seen the Lakers payroll? Jerry Buss has laid out some big cash to try and buy himself another title because they had been average so long after dumping Shaq. It took time to add veterans like Gasol and develop rookies like Bynum.

97. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 2:17 pm

    Larry said:

    “A lot of people hating on here are not true Knick fans. Brook Lopez is a little overrated. He’s good don’t get me wrong but his ceiling is very low and he looks a lot better than he is because Center is probably the weakest position in the league at the moment. Also a lot of people hate on Gallo without even watching the games. They think he’s just another overhyped soft Euro.”

    Hey the Knicks suck but I blame it on Isiah Thomas not Donnie Walsh. But to hire Mike D’Antoni to coach a bunch of scrubs for two years and then thinking Lebron and Wade are going to sign on and suddenly they are a great team again is, well, funny!

    Brooks Lopez over-rated because he is one of the best centers by default because there aren’t many good true centers in the league? How does that make him a bad center to have on your team? He is still one of the best centers. So you don’t draft him because you are worried that in the next year or so there will be an abundance of great centers that will expose Brooks as not being so good?

    Great logic!

    Newsflash, Galinari is just another over-hyped soft Euro player. Is he closer to Pau Gasol then Nikoloz Tskitishvili? You remember him don’t you, taken #5 ahead of Amare, Nene & Wilcox.

    Well he currently isn’t even close to Andrea Bargnani, another soft Euro player taken #1 overall ahead of Aldridge and Roy.

98. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 2:18 pm

    Mihajlo Moncilovich

    The way you win championships in the NBA is by building around one or two elite players. If you don’t have one your better off losing until you get one. I could care less about selling tickets, I am not James Dolan. I want to see this team win a championship in my lifetime.

99. Larry B. Said,

    November 24, 2009 @ 2:22 pm

    Also I bet you haven’t even seen Gallo play. Because if you did you would know it’s still way too early to label him one thing or the other. The kid barely played last year. Your just another Knick Hater. Typical. You bring up losing and building slowly through the draft. What do you think the Knicks have been doing. What are Chandler, Gallo, Hill, and Douglas. Plus you claim you can’t just bring players in and win, what did the Celts do? What a convenient memory.

100. Josh Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 2:25 pm

     Throw the great stache in the long line of who STEVE NASH has made great. Put nash on the knicks and david lee becomes an all star, they win and extra 20-30 games and dantoni somehow gets mentioned with some of the best coaches in the game once again.

     I always liked dantoni but I felt like he was more detrimental to the team than any player the suns had on his rosters. Underneath all the fluff is some serious flaws.. steve nash was just good enough to cover that.. as you said.. chris duhon isnt.

     What does mike think hes REALLY going to get out of curry? I dont understand why hes not getting hill the valuable playing time he needs right now.. youre talking about the future(for 3 years now).. saving $ for the future…but letting part your future rot on the bench (the future is now mike)… doesnt make a whole lot of sense.

     As for bosh/amare/wade/LBJ it looks to me like the new destination might be miami for a couple of em.

101. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 2:38 pm

     Galinari wouldn’t even make my European only All-NBA team:

     Center: Marcin Gortat & Marc Gasol
     PF:Dirk Nowitzki Paul Gasol
     SF: Mickael Pietrus & Nicolas Batum
     PG: Tony Parker & Jose Calderon & Rodrigue Beaubois
     SG: Rudy Fernandez & Marco Belinelli

102. Philbrick Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 2:46 pm

     All I can say is, looking at teams like Portland, OKC, and Memphis. These teams have re-built through the draft, and developed their young players. While Portland is clearly the best out of the group, OKC is getting there, and Memphis has some good pieces.

     The problem with New York is, they’ve come out and said they are just tanking for 3 seasons, praying that they can get a top tier franchise-type player. This is clearly a team not interested in winning, rather interested in landing a top talent that has grown and developed under another teams management and training staff. They want a big name to sell tickets, not win championships. Thats why they picked up Mike D’Antoni, a coach obsessed with playing style that will never win a ring and drafts players he has personal connections to. They know that D’Antoni can get a team to play “entertaining” basketball, to sell tickets, and maybe lure a plyer that clearly has no intention of winning, rather put up bloated, personal stats.

     No one cares about New York basketball outside of New York. They aren’t even in contention to make the playoffs, let alone looking for one or two pieces to compete for a ring.

     They’ll overpay for a 3rd tier star.

103. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 2:54 pm

     I’m sorry but I didn’t think I needed to clarify building through the draft by choosing WISELY. The Thunder and Blazers have made great picks and trades. The Knicks? Go back and read the posts and review their draft history.

     I also said you rebuild through the draft AND by adding veterans.

     Starting SF Paul Pierce is a Celtic draft pick. Starting PG was drafted by Phoenix for Boston because the swapped their 1st rd pick in the following year with Phoenix. Another great deal approved by D’Antoni while in Phoenix. Starting center Kendrick Perkins was obtained in a draft night swap of picks with Memphis. Glen “Big Baby” Davis was drafted by Boston.

     Boston had drafted Al Jefferson who was the key player in the swap for Kevin Garnett.

     Boston traded their draft rights to #5 pick in 2007 Jeff Green plus others for Ray Allen.

     The Celtics title team was built through the draft and by adding veterans EXACTLY in the manner that I posted.

     How does what Danny Ainge did in Boston even remotely compare with what MIGHT happen in New york next summer? Ainge TRADED for Garnett and Allen using players that he had drafted with Boston picks.

     He added them to starters Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins and had drafted Glen Davis.

     The Knicks are looking to add two free-agents because they do not have any players to trade for stars. They do not have the same nucleus of players in place that Boston did to add them to.

     You are very slow aren’t you?

104. Philbrick Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 2:58 pm

     Mihajlo,

     You are my hero.

105. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:11 pm

     “The way you win championships in the NBA is by building around one or two elite players. If you don’t have one your better off losing until you get one. I could care less about selling tickets, I am not James Dolan. I want to see this team win a championship in my lifetime.”

     Oh Really? Who were the two “elite” players on Detroit’s last title team?

     Ben Wallace? Rasheed Wallace? Chauncey Billups? Richard Hamilton? Tayshaun Prince?

     The Lakers didn’t build around Kobe and Gasol. They rebuilt around Kobe, adding veterans Lamar Odom & Derek Fisher. Then drafting and developing Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, & Sasha Vujacic.

     Then they were given the gift of Pau Gasol to put them over the top.

     Do you even follow the NBA outside of the Knicks?

106. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:38 pm

     Mihajlo, you put Pietrus in front of Nocioni on your all Euro squad? Nutty! I know Nocioni is rfom South America, but I consider him a Euro-league player.

     I am a Knicks fan and Knicks fan are very delusional, it is a coping mechanism to deal with the rampant bad decisions.

     Galinari is a nice offensive player who can’t play a lick of man-to-man D and he has a bad back. Furthermore, in a regular basketball sstem he would not look as good as he does in the D’Antoni chuck-from-anywhere offense.

     ***

     Another thing you are wrong about is Isiah taking the Knicks down. It started before him with the Ewing trade. Isiah did some god things and some bad things, but he faces the same pressure that Walsh does now: the owner Jim Dolan. That is why the Knicks have D’Antoni when Walsh wanted Mark Jackson.

     Jordan Hill is a burger.

107. Trucestiles Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:43 pm

     Mike D is a ring leader of a circus show that entertains during the regular season yet fails in a series. I don’t see him being Lebron’s head coach… I also see Lebron staying in Cleveland as it is healthy for the NBA. I don’t think the biggest and best player in the biggest market is ideal for a struggling league.

108. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:43 pm

     The Pistons were a once in a lifetime type thing. An extreme rarity. It never happens. Historically in the NBA championship teams always have a top player.

109. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:47 pm

     Why Knicks Why? Said,

     Your another one who hasn’t watched a Knick game in a long a** time. If your gonna talk shi* at least do the proper research. Gallo is not a horrible man-to man defender. Most games he ends in a plus rating. If he was so bad he would have a horrible rating. Plus I see the games, he’s not a great defender but saying he can’t play a lick is a total exagerration.

     Also the Knicks have not played the high tempo Phoenix system all season. They were shooting a lot of ill-advised shots like in the first 5-6 games but since then they have improved considerably. People keep saying D’Antoni can only coach his “system” but the guy has been making adjustments since he came to the Knicks.

110. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:48 pm

     Trucestiles Said,

     “I don’t think the biggest and best player in the biggest market is ideal for a struggling league.”
     ——————————————————–

     lol, so what do you call Kobe in Los Angeles.

111. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:50 pm

     #
     Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 3:11 pm

     “The way you win championships in the NBA is by building around one or two elite players. If you don’t have one your better off losing until you get one. I could care less about selling tickets, I am not James Dolan. I want to see this team win a championship in my lifetime.”

     Oh Really? Who were the two “elite” players on Detroit’s last title team?

     Ben Wallace? Rasheed Wallace? Chauncey Billups? Richard Hamilton? Tayshaun Prince?

     The Lakers didn’t build around Kobe and Gasol. They rebuilt around Kobe, adding veterans Lamar Odom & Derek Fisher. Then drafting and developing Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, & Sasha Vujacic.

     Then they were given the gift of Pau Gasol to put them over the top.

     Do you even follow the NBA outside of the Knicks?

     ————————

     lol, what do you call Kobe and Shaq and then Kobe

     Look at what I said. I said one or two elite players. Is Kobe not an elite player. Dude plz…

112. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:02 pm

     Larry B. I watch the Knicks. I just do it with my eyes unlike you.

     Galinari cannot guard anyone one-on-one. He gets burned at power forward and small forward.

     You can quote +- until you are blue in the face. Watch him tonight get run around by every player he attempts to guard.

     Galinari does try, and he is active so he gets a block or a steal here and there but that is not man-to-man defense, do you understand the difference? He has no lateral quickness to guard perimeter players, and he isn’t strong enough to guard inside players. Plus his back is already starting to go downhill…again.

     I’m sorry the truth hurts so much. But acceptance is one of the stages of the grieving process.

     Now don’t talk anymore smack smack to me about how I need to watch because I was watching the Knicks before you were in short-pants son. Any season and I will know more than you. Baleedat!

113. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:03 pm

     Larry B, tell me about all the adjustments D’Antoni has made. I’m all ears.

114. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:06 pm

     How many times do I have to keep saying it. Are people that retarded. They haven’t played the high tempo phonix style all year.

115. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:07 pm

     Please be specific about a game where Gallo was so bad on defense. And I don’t want to hear Pierce and Granger who score on everyone in this league.

116. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:11 pm

     So you’re saying they aren’t playing exactly like Pheonix and that is the adjustment? Are you serious?

     They are jacking up shots left and right. Did you see the game where Galinari shot 16 3 pointers? Have you noticed how much al Harring ton shoot? They run as much as they can even though they suck at it. The only slow down at all was when Curry came back. Maybe that is an adjustment, I’ll give you that.

     I’m sorry Larry, but you can’t just make things up. Have an argument please.

     Don’t tell em how good Galinari is most of his game consists of grabbing rebounds that are right there for the taking and shooting from range - when nobody is in his face.

     And please don’t start on the Hill pick.

     The team sucks. The GMing sucks. The coaching sucks. The rookies are okay but the drafting sucks. The record is the proof.

     Delude yourself all you want if it makes you feel better. One day you will be a more seasoned fan and you will realize that lying to yourself does not make you a better fan.

     Peace.

117. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:14 pm

     Larry it is very hard to be specific when Galinari generally sucks on defense every night.

     I have an idea: give me a specific example where Galinari has shown he can stay_with_the_man_he_is_guarding. Not grabbing an errant pass or blocking a shot when he happens to be nearby because he isn’t actually guarding anybody.

     That should be pretty easy?

118. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:16 pm

     Why Knicks Why? Said,

     Your clearly a Knick hater. Were they jacking up shots in there win against the Nets, or the game versus the celts. In the last 6-7 games they have not played that way. I don’t think you watch the games bro. Sorry.

     And how am I deluding myself. When did I say the Knicks were good or going to be good anytime soon. All I said is they are headed in the right direction and I got a bunch of sh** for it.

119. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:24 pm

     Actually Larry I’ve been knicks fan since the days of Micheal Ray and Bernard King, guys who I am sure you never heard of.

     “Knick hater” is the last refuge of a delusional fan. I was arguing with guys like you on other boards before the season who thought the Knicks would possibly make the playoffs because they had “David Lee and Nate Robinson back, and Galinari was going to anchor the offense.”

     Truth and Hate are not the same thing, but you are right about one thing: I hate where the KNicks are going and what they are doing. They are headed straight back to being mediocre so all the fans like your self can pee their pants that the Knicks got knocked out of the first round.

     The Knicks had every chance to have a very good center or shooting guard the draft before last, and they knew they needed point guard and instead they picked a guy who is not even ready to play in the NBA on arguably the worst team in basketball. Meanwhile that point guard is looking like a franchise player.

     But to you that seems like the “right direction”? Laugh. Out. Loud.

     2010 is a carrot they are dangling in front of our noses. when we are sitting on Joe Johnson and Amare Stoudamire, we will forever be languishing in the land of “not good enough” while the Knicks flub draft after draft.

     Hey, if that is the right direction in your book, I can’t fault that. You’ve only known the terrible Knicks. I knew the Ewing Knicks, and while they weeren’t good enough, they were worth rooting for.

120. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:25 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     I’m looking through gallo’s games. I gotta tell you I’m struggling to find the matchups where he is getting torched. Oh and I’m the one who is delusional. Your a freaking hater, your not being objective.

     http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=3428

121. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:25 pm

     Actually Larry, you were trying to dish the sh!t out, calling people haters and whatnot for being realistic. Don’t get it twisted.

     Enjoy the right direction.

122. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:26 pm

     Why Knicks Why? Said,

     Just because your old doesn’t make you right…

123. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:27 pm

     Sorry Larry, I don’t see how that game log shows us Galinari getting run around like a lamp post.

     A “hater”. How childish. Why am I arguing with a 14 year old who has no perspective?

124. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:27 pm

     I am about as realistic a Knick fan as you will find. Look through my posts on this blog. When have I ever mentioned playoffs. I said Lebron coming here was a 50/50 shot at best, at the moment, and that it could change.

125. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:30 pm

     You’re right Larry, old doesn’t make me right. But it gives me perspective. I like your youthful optimism. I’m sorry to rain opn your parade. BUt I have to say it like it is.

     If you want to BELIEVE, please feel free! But don’t hurl pejoratives at others who want to live in reality.

     I like Galinari. He is a complementary player not a building block. He was the wrong pick and he probably won’t last because of his back.

     Meanwhile Eric Gordon and Lopez will have nice long careeers. Bayles will probably bust out soon too.

     Jennings will be a star for 10 years or more. Meanwhile Jordan Hill will not be as good as Wilcox.

126. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:32 pm

     Larry I will be watching and rooting for the Knicks tonight. Or at least for our youth to pay well. Take it easy.

127. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:32 pm

     Oh please now everyone knew Jennings was the next AI. The guy wasn’t even supposed to be taken in the lottery. He was the third PG off the board. The whole league was wrong on Jennings. Milwaukee has even admmitted they were lucky as hell to draft him. They didn’t even know.

128. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:34 pm

     I’ve never said Gallo is a building block. But I get a little defensive because a lot of people talk trash about him without seeing him play. The Knicks don’t have any building blocks which is why they suck.

129. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:36 pm

     Oh please now everyone knew Jennings was the next AI. The guy wasn’t even supposed to be taken in the lottery. He was the third PG off the board. The whole league was wrong on Jennings. Milwaukee has even admmitted they were lucky as hell to draft him. They didn’t even know.

     ———————

     Oops let me correct myself, he was actually the 5th Pg off the board.

130. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:40 pm

     “Meanwhile Jordan Hill will not be as good as Wilcox.”

     ———————-

     That is the type of comment that shows your lack of objectivity. HIll has barely played and when he has played he’s looked good.

131. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:44 pm

     I don’t understand why all these critics to Mr. Walsh: he did the best job possible in that situation. Winning is the only thing that matter. If you can’t win, then you have to rebuild. That’s what Knicks are trying to do. This gambling is worth the risk: without a LeBron, or a Wade, you doesn’t go anywhere, and nobody will trade you one of them…the draft picks are not so tragic. Gallinari, if healthy, is NOT a worse player than Lopez: different types of player. And for sure you CANNOT blame Walsh about that: he couldn’t know about his future problems (he was healthy in Italy). About Jennings, he’s been the SIXTH guard taken. Last year he didn’t impress anybody. He wasn’t even sure to be drafted in the lottery (he didn’t go to the Green Room, even if invited…). Everybody knew that these two years were rebuilding years: they traded every player with a value they had, just to free cap space…next year is the key. That will be the right time to judge Walsh, and also D’Antoni, I guess…

132. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 4:52 pm

     Don’t worry Federico, it’s just that if you say anything remotely positive about the Knicks or try to be objective, people call you delusional…

133. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:02 pm

     How can you guys be so dense? 2 drafts ago the Knicks had PG covered but they needed a center and shooting guard and they did not grab either. They drafted power forward while they had Randolph, Jeffries, and Lee. And to add to that they traded for Al Harrington!

     This past draft they knew they needed a point guard and the only one left was Brandon Jennings. So they did not have to know he was going to be a star if you actually read you will see that I wrote that above. All they had to do was draft their need. But what do they do? They draft yet another Power Forward! Except this one is not even ready to beat out Jeffries for chrissake!

     Yes, you guys are delusional. I guess you think that deluding yourself is what being a fan is about. More power to you.

134. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:11 pm

     To Why Knicks Why?

     I’m not a Knick fan, I just follow NBA. I saw them doing a lot of bad moves, every year worse. When Walsh took this team, it was at the bottom for an NBA team: bad record, no cap space, no future nor present. In a couple of years Walsh made everything he could to make the situation better. Everyone knows that without superstars you does not win anything. But: what can you do to have a superstar? Trading? Who gives you a superstar? Draft? THERE WASN’T ANY AVAILABLE: Lopez is NOT a superstar, nor Gordon, I’m not even sold on Jennings, not yet (55 over G.State proves NOTHING. There are a lot of players who could easily go over 40 against them…), even if he has flashes of greatness…The only way is freeing cap space. Exactly what they are doing. Next year, we can judge, and we’ll see if this gamble will be worth…

135. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:17 pm

     Frederico, Walsh has blown his opportunity to build an attractive base for the superstars to come here.

     Jennings has not just scored 55 against Golden state. Are you really of that opinion tha is the only thing he has done? The Bucks are a TERRIBLE team without him. Like New York Knicks bad. He has them winning with Michael Redd out!

     Jenning is scoring and last I looked leading all rookies in assists. Meanwhile Hill can’t even crack the rotation. That is a blown opportunity no matter how you try to rationalize it.

     If Walsh had simply drafted by need he would have drafted Gordon/Jennings or Lopez/Jennings or even Bayless/Jennings and then the team is loaded with young promising talent to complement and attract that superstar.

     As it stands we have guys trying to convince themselves that Galinari is something more than an outside shooter and he is going to make LeBron Etc. come here.

     The whole rest of the Knicks has their foot out of the door.

     So Frederico, you can start judging now. Because now is the setup. And the setup is very very bad.

136. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:21 pm

     To Why Knicks Why?
     C’mon man!!! You are a Knick fan, aren’t you? Don’t you remember last year draft? I do…they where searching for Rubio, the only one PG they thought was worthy. They also tried to catch Curry, and they couldn’t. Now you have to mouth full with this name, but I’m sure you didn’t even know about his existence, the draft night!!!! If you read my posts above, you’ll know what half of the NBA thought about Jennings: turnover prone, bad attitude, fast but not a great shooter. I said a couple of times that not even Jennings was sure of been taken, not in the lottery, but not even in the first round!!!!!! Nobody gave him a guarantee. You made me a picture. I gave you this one: Jennings starts, three consecutive turnovers (what he’s CAPABLE to do), and MSG booing, him benched and playing after three-for games…how about that??? You think that in NY he would shine? I’m not sure about that…

137. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:24 pm

     Don’t forget you had Marbury and you’ve gone nowhere with him…are you sure Jennings has that kind of talent???

138. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:26 pm

     Sorry because sometimes I’m wrong writing words. I’m not American, I try to do my best…:-)

139. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:31 pm

     I still don’t get why Gordon, Lopez, and Bayless are supposedly so much better than GAllinari. He’s 21 years old and barely played last year and he is averaging, about 15 pts and shooting about 46% from the field. This is without playing with a good PG or a Center. At the risk of sounding like too much of a fan, I’m excited about this kid. He is by far the best shooter I’ve ever seen play on this team and from what I’ve see he has the work ethics and the smarts to become a very good maybe even excellent all around player.

140. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:34 pm

     Actually Frederico, I am a Knicks fan and I never wanted Curry, Rubio, or Flynn.

     BUt what you cannot seem to grasp is that all of those guys were GONE at #8. Jennings was THERE FOR THE TAKING. And the Knicks still needed a point guard. And I knew exactly who Jennings was he would have gone straight to the pros if not for the age rule.

     Rubio on the other hand is a bust waiting to happen, Curry will not be as good as his father, and Flynn will be decent.

     Why are you comaprning Jennings to Marbury? Do you realize that Jennings has shown more leadership in his short career than Marbury ever did?

     And by the way, if Jenning is a Marbury or Iverson talent, I would take him in a second over a stiff like Jordan Hill.

     Now let me give you a picture. Curry is in New York and he sucks. Rubio is in New York and he can’t shoot or guard anybody and he is run out of town.

     Jennings is in New York and he is the same star player he is now, not the fantasy you came up with. And he is playing next to eric Gordon or Brook Lopez.

     Frederico, are you Italian or Spanish? Because I sense you have a little more to your argument than just being a fan.

141. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:35 pm

     Larry’s Quote: “I still don’t get why Gordon, Lopez, and Bayless are supposedly so much better than GAllinari.”

     Then you need to watch more basketball.

142. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:37 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     Could you explain why you are so certain Curry will not be as good as his father (a spot up shooter), Hill is a bust (he’s barely played), and that Rubio is a future bust.

143. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:40 pm

     Why Knicks Why

     “Then you need to watch more basketball.”
     —————————————-
     Great answer thank you so much. I guess maybe I could give you Gordon and Lopez, maybe but even then it would be close at best. But what has bayless done? He’s been a project so far.

144. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:42 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     About Jennings: are you sure that you need a Jennings-type player to play with LeBron??? I’m not sure that you understand who LeBron James is and what he does on a basketball ground…Jennings is a player who wants the ball in his hands to be productive. So LeBron is. Are you sure that Jennings fits better than Gallinari? I think quite the opposite: with LeBron you need shooters, a lot of good shooters who can score on LeBron assists (of course, you have to take him first…). To create plays, you have LeBron. Don’t need Jennings, or any other great PG…of course, you gotta take him…

145. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:42 pm

     Larry it is called Talent. Curry is a good shooter but he is weak, he is not a natural PG and he doesn’t have the athloeticism to overcome it.

     Ditto Rubio on the lack of athleticism + he can’t shoot (But that only seems to matter when it is rumored to be about Jennings and meanwhile he is one of the best 3-point shooters in the NBA) and he won’t be able to guard anybody. Fancy passes won’t make him able to penetrate.

     Hill is stiff. He can shot a little but he is built weak. You have seen him haven’t you? He has no moves.

     Hill probably has the brightest future out of Rubio Curry and Hill. Because hill is tall and he can run and Jump. Like Stromile Swift without the muscle.

146. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:43 pm

     Larry, Bayless is buried behind one of the best 2 guards in the game Brandon Roy.

147. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:44 pm

     Frederico, stars attract more stars. Crappy players are not an attraction.

     Lebron needs a real point guard so he doesn’t have to play 4 positions. He would love a real point guard. Mo Williams is not a real point guard. LeBron needs somebody who can take over so he doesn’t have to do everything. Are you aware that the Cavaliers are trying to find him that type of player so he won’t leave?

148. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:48 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     Talent is not enough. If that were the case many more would make it.

     Where do you get off saying Rubio is weak and not a good athlete. I’m detecting an anti-Euro bias and calling you out on it. He’s 19 and still growing into his body. He’s a big 6′2 with a ridiculous wing span and can handle the ball like a yo-yo.

     Hill needs to work on his interior defense and obviously needs to bulk up, but what rookie forward unless your a freak like Dwight Howard, what rookie forward doesn’t. He’ll get bigger and he has a much more refined offensive game including yes post moves than people are aware of.

149. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:48 pm

     Larry, if Curry was 2-3 inches taller he would be as good as his Daddy, maybe better.

150. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

     Curry’s actually playing well. He’s not having a Jennings year but he is playing well.

151. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:54 pm

     No Frederico I am not anti-Europe. I love Stojakovic and Nowitzki, also Calderon. I loved Marciolounus (Spelling?) Divac and Petrovic.

     I have seen Rubio. He is not athletic by NBA standards, especially for guards. Compared to you and me, sure he is very athletic. He has decent speed, but he is average to slightly better than average by NBA standards.

     He can handle the ball like a yo-yo? You mean like Brandon Jennings? But you don’t seem to be excited about Jennings. But realistically he doesn’t handle the ball as well as Jennings. Rubio is athletic? He is less athletic than Flynn, Jennings, maybe even Curry. Be for real Frederico. These kinds of things matter in the NBA.

152. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:55 pm

     Larry’s Quote: “Curry’s actually playing well. He’s not having a Jennings year but he is playing well.”

     Curry is playing better. But he was benched for a while. The Warriors are another team, like the Knicks, where you never know how good the players really are because of the run and gun system.

     Curry will be exposed over the next several years and he will settle into his role as a shooting specialist.

153. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 5:59 pm

     Athleticism is one thing you look at when evaluating a player but I think you put too heavy a weight on it. It is an important component. But there is a list about a mile long of freak athletes that couldn’t hack it in the NBA or never lived up their promise.

154. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:00 pm

     Maybe I didn’t explain well…when I talk about Rubio, or Curry, I don’t say who’s good or not. I say that these two guys were what Knicks wanted at that position. Plain and simple. Gone them, Knicks didn’t want to catch any other PG. I’m Italian, and that should help you. But not the way you think. I’m not a Gallinari fan. I just don’t think he’s a bad pick, or a worse player than Lopez or Gordon, but I don’t give a f… if he’s or not…I don’t even like him (he said he didn’t like NBA type of play, and after 6 months he went there…but he’s young, sometimes you just say stupid things…). But I knew a lot about Jennings. Opposite to you, we saw him playing a lot last year, and believe me, he didn’t seem so good…as I said, he wasn’t that great. I’m not saying he isn’t, I just say that he played little, and most of the time really bad. He had no attitude at all, and he lost a lot of balls, showing nothing of that great skills. For sure NBA scouts also saw that. That’s the reason they didn’t take him in the first 5-6 picks, maybe higher, plain and simple. He wasn’t happy to be in Europe, he clearly did it only for the money I think, but with a young player you never know…You cannot blame somebody because he didn’t see what nobody saw. Milwaukee took him, but themselves were the first ones to say that they didn’t expect so much from him…As I said before, not even him was sure to be taken, and not only from Milwaukee…he feared to slip to the 2nd round, and he stayed in the hotel…that should tell you enough about his situation…now, you also cannot judge about the Hill pick, that seems really bad right now, but you never know: you have to give to a rookie at least a couple of years…

155. Jason T. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:02 pm

     While I don’t believe D Antoni is a great coach, I think Wade, Lebron, and Bosh liked him after their team USA experience, and he is known as a players coach. However, while the Knicks have made their plan to clear salary space in order to sign a big name this summer, they could have done a better job with their roster. They have money now, but a roster filled with less than appealing talent that wouldnt attract any of those stars. The only good young players I see with future potential are Robinson, Lee,( who both might be gone,) leaving only Wilson Chandler. They could have done a better job in putting cheap yet talented young players to start building their roster, with the biggest mistake so far being as Eddie mentioned not drafting B. Jennings.
     If Lebron is deciding between CLeveland and New York, however, I dont think he would be taking 4 steps back signing with the Knicks. While the Cavs are obviously a better team now, and closer to winning, I dont believe they can win with this roster, as they are not that talented and they dont have young talent besides LeBron (if you consider JJ Hickson?) that will really grow and improve enough to make an impact. One place he probably wont look at, but actually makes alot of sense? The Clippers! Can you imagine Lebron teaming up with Griffin, Gordon, Davis, Camby, Kaman, etc. James Griffin and Gordon would be a young nucleus that could play together for years. But the Clippers are of course the Clippers, so I don’t know if they would get a serious look.

156. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:05 pm

     While we are on the subject. Jennings is rather smallish. He’s bony as hell and doesn’t have the body type where you would imagine him getting much bigger. I could very easily see him have an injury shortened career.

157. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:08 pm

     Larry, Jennings is a frail looking but he has proved that he has the goods to play with the big boys. Whether or not he is injury-prone is a question for the future and a little bit of a shot in the dark. I hope you’re not wishing that o the kid just because the Knicks blew it.

     I also do not put too much into athleticism. But even the unathletic guys in the NBA are special. So if you come into the game without the asame physical goods as the other guys you better have something special to back that up with.

158. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:09 pm

     No not wishing it, just small guards with his style of play usually have injury problems later…

159. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:11 pm

     Frederico, did you see the article recently where one of Jennings coaches said he did an outstanding job and that even LeBRon would have had trouble adjusting.

     You and I both know that Euro teams make everybody pay dues. Even if a young guy is better than all the older players they make him wait his turn. The NBA is like that too but most coaches won’t sacrifice winning if they have a young superstar. They’ll give him the keys.

     So to answer your point, for Jennings, the Euroleague was like a pretty girl wearing a dress that goes to her ankles. She looks real good but you would never know it. But that doesn’t make her ugly.

     That is why the scouts blew it on him. But none worse than the Knicks because Jennings was the only PG left. I can’t stress that enough.

160. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:13 pm

     Jason T.

     I don’t think Clips will have financial wherewithal to go after big FA’s. If they want to be in play 2010 would mean slashing some more cap.

     Couldn’t help but notice your slight on Gallo. But whatever I understand a lot of people didn’t like the pick for whatever reason.

161. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:44 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     “You and I both know that Euro teams make everybody pay dues. Even if a young guy is better than all the older players they make him wait his turn.”

     No, don’t say that…before I told you about Rubio, not because I think he’s better or worse (I think he has better play making skills, but he’s not, and he’ll never be, the scorer that Jennings already is). Rubio plays since he’s 14. Bargnani also played at 18. In Europe you can play also when you are really young, if you’re ready (no age rules). The problem is, Jennings doesn’t fit well with European style of play. Try to watch a European game: a lot of passes, with all the player involved. A talent that needs to have the ball in his hands a lot to create has a lot of problems: slower rythm, it’s not easy for a guy to get a lot of shoots (not many players make more than 20 PPG), and they don’t like who loses a lot of balls…not even Josh Childress has the possibility to take a lot of shoots (they have to share ball and shoots to balance the attack) in Olympiakos (Greece).

     I’ve been quite surprised to see Jennings shine. Also happy: I think that last year in Italy helped him, in some way. As Pete Mickeal (Barcelona player) said, he’s not a rookie anymore: he trained with professional guys, he learned how to eat, to train, to organize his own life…above all, I think he understood one thing: playing time is not a due, have to be conquered. I was reading some days ago that he trained really hard to be prepared to this season: in this, maybe last season gave him an extra motivation, to prove some guys wrong. I’m happier for him than for Gallinari (son of a former player, already rich): Jennings was a poor guy, who had to go overseas to earn some money. Maybe that experience made him stronger after all…

162. vick Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 6:54 pm

     Wow, Eddie Johnson you never seem to miss an opportunity to bash on AI. Get your facts straight, D’Antoni was ready to sign AI, Dolan squashed the deal. I don’t even read your articles anymore because they’re biased, the only reason I was about to read this one is because it’s about the Knicks but after the 1st 2 paragraphs I realized it was more biased nonsense so I stopped.

163. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 7:04 pm

     Frederico, even if Rubio, Bargnani played at a young age, they still paid their dues before they got the playing time. They got to start younger than Jenings because they could go pro at 14-15 years old.

     I have watched Euroleague…not a lot because it is not widely available, but my understanding is that nobody walks in and is given the keys right away. The coach who was quoted in the article about Jennings said as much just a couple of days ago.

164. Ben Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 7:07 pm

     Gallinari… two words: A STIFF

165. Federico Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 7:35 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     “I have watched Euroleague…not a lot because it is not widely available, but my understanding is that nobody walks in and is given the keys right away”.

     This is maybe what Americans doesn’t understand about European Basketball: nobody has the keys of nothing here !!! You have to play team ball, or you don’t play !!! Isolation games doesn’t exist, defensive 3-seconds doesn’t exist: you cannot attack the rim easily (there are always a couple of guys under the basket), and every defense plays a lot of zone defense.

     I told you: his style of play simply does not fit well. You cannot play fastball in Europe (a big misunderstanding about D’Antoni: he did NOT play up tempo style in Europe), few fastbreaks, even if you start with a pick and roll, you have to pass the ball because if you’re a good shooter, usually you have both defenders on you, and painted area is overloaded with defenders (in Europe three point shoot is used a lot, this is the reason why every Euro player is a good shooter: from PG to PF, everyone shoot from three, sometimes also C).

     It’s true that for an 18 years old player is not easy to take on his shoulders a team in Europe. But think about that: they knew that he was going to stay only a year in Rome. They took him, and took him for good. They spent a lot (for an European team) to have him, and I guess they did that to see him playing, not to stay in the bench…I think he just wasn’t ready to fit with that style of play, more similar to College basketball than to the NBA.

166. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:07 pm

     #
     Ben Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 7:07 pm

     Gallinari… two words: A STIFF

     ——————-

     Yeah thanks for adding to the convo…

167. Rashidi Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:17 pm

     Uh, ahat difference does it make if Gasol was the last piece they picked up?

     They would not have won a championship without him, hence when they picked him up they were still “building”. By your logic the Celtics weren’t “building” when they traded for KG and Allen.

     You also cite the Pistons in 2004 like they didn’t have four all-star players, plus future all-star Mehmet Okur off the bench. They had quite a bit of depth.

168. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:25 pm

     Hey Frederico, it has been a pleasure discussing with you and I want you to understand that I hold European basketball in high esteem. And your English is fine. Better than my Itialian!

     For many years I have thought that an American phenom like Jennings was better served going to Europe to play ball rather than playing here for free and pretending to be a student as opposed to being paid to learn and train to be a professional basketball player.

     Bringing us back to Jennings, I was not surprised that he did not have big numbers or that he had some trouble adjusting, as you have pointed out, that is the nature of European basketball.

     It was the NBA scouts who did not understand that Jennings “Growing Pains” were not a sign of lack of talent or game, but a sign of “how it is” when you are a new guy, a kid on a European team.

     BY the way, in College a player like Jennings would have averaged 30 points per game. They would have tried to squeeze every last point from him, he would have taken 25 shots per game. SO I think that his ego check in European ball helped him quite a bit.

169. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:26 pm

     Rashidi don’t know who you are responding to, but the Pistons “model” or way of building a championship is not the more successful way. Time and time again the formula is a top player surrounded by good enough players and a coach who doesn’t screw it up.

170. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:30 pm

     Frederico, Rubio may be a great playmaker, but can he make those plays in the NBA? In order to make a play you have to get to a spot, or beat a man in some way to set it up. I don’t think Rubio, for all his tricky ability, will be able to create and exploit the same situations in the NBA he does in Europe.

     In addition, you have to be a scoring threat or it becomes hard to make plays.

     This is why physical ability is so important at the NBA level. It doesn’t matter where the player is from, there is a certain threshold a player has to meet in order to compete and play his game.

171. Rorshoq Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:33 pm

     Laker fan here…but let me say that the Knicks are doing everything right these days: Give yourself a chance to land a Superstar. That’s all that anyone should ask for, one superstar is the difference between playoff perennial to bottom feeder.
     If they can land, say Dwayne Wade and another really good player, like the Lakers did with Artest, then keep some of their players, they will be on their way.

172. BK Ron Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:42 pm

     Well NYC needs to break up the whole team THEY all suck….forget about D wade and LeBron are not going to play in NYC…They may have a chance to get a second rate player and maybe J Johnson but out side of that THEY need a point guard…they have alot of work ahead……im just a lost for words on how bad they now…BK Ron im out

173. Larry B. Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 9:03 pm

     #
     BK Ron Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 8:42 pm

     Well NYC needs to break up the whole team THEY all suck….forget about D wade and LeBron are not going to play in NYC…They may have a chance to get a second rate player and maybe J Johnson but out side of that THEY need a point guard…they have alot of work ahead……im just a lost for words on how bad they now…BK Ron im out
     ———————-

     That is exactly what they are doing. Most of these guys are on their last year of their contract.

174. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 9:34 pm

     Larrry’s Quote “Rashidi don’t know who you are responding to, but the Pistons “model” or way of building a championship is not the more successful way. Time and time again the formula is a top player surrounded by good enough players and a coach who doesn’t screw it up.”

     Larry and I finally agree on something!

     The Pistons model is the exception. The tried and true model is 1 superstar with at least 1 more star as his sidekick and then solid role players to rebound, nail jumpers etc.

175. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 9:39 pm

     Rorshoq: It is easy to say when your organization knows how to draft. If the Lakers don’t draft Kobe they don’t have any rings the past 10 years.

     The Knicks are not doing everything right. They blow draft after draft.

176. tom Said,

     November 24, 2009 @ 9:44 pm

     Gotcha “Why Knicks Why?!
     The Lakers never drafted Bryant! Charlotte did. They gave them a bearded European guy you love, but couldn’t remember being traded?

177. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 12:02 am

     Frederico, you should read this About Brandon Jennings time in Europe:

     http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/10976/sonny-vaccaro-brandon-jennings-broke-the-mold-part-three

     Here is the excerpt from Hoopshype, play particular attention to how Jennings was played behind lesser players in order to make him “Pay his dues” and what Mr. Vaccaro thinks of that:

     I noticed Brandon Jennings was on the cover of a Spanish basketball magazine recently. I know he was an Under Armour deal … but is he a marketable personality in Europe? Sonny Vaccaro: Yeah, it’s funny. I talked to a couple of people. He is, because they’re now taking credit for the development of Brandon Jennings, and they should! Isn’t that interesting, in a sense. And I’ll tell you something. When I went over there after the season, I talked to people all over Europe. In two particular situations, they’re now asking me. I think I was on trial. Now it’s like, is there anybody else? They all saw the faults of their own bias. They haven’t played young kids at a high level in Europe. They punish you. To sit there and play the guy from Penn [Ibrahim Jaaber], who I’m sure is a very nice kid and heck of a player, was insane. They make you pay your dues. And here he was coming into the NBA and doing this. So now they’re coming to me and saying “if you’re telling me they can play, I’ll tell you he can play for our team.”

178. Zack Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 12:53 am

     WTF? 11 - 0 for the 2009 - 10 NBA season? “The Sports Betting Champ” John Morrison: His story is almost unbelievable: He Wins 97% of his NBA & MLB sports bets, rakes in $70 K a week! You have to Check it out! http://www.LasVegasSportsBettingGuru.com

179. tom Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 7:18 am

     So, Why Knicks Why?
     Forgot to admit your wrong?

180. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 8:27 am

     Why Knicks Why?

     Mr Sonny Vaccaro?????????????????????????????
     Do you know who he is??????????????????
     He is the guy who brought him to Europe.
     Man, what do you expect him to say? “Jennings didn’t play because he didn’t fit? Because he wasn’t ready? Because of his bad attitude?”
     He cannot say that: he tries to bring young high school guys in Europe, and to convince European teams that this thing his worthy.
     I don’t give a F… to what he says: do you REALLY think that Lottomatica Roma took Brandon Jennings and gave him 300,000 tax free dollars just to watch games from the sideline???
     Let me tell you this: hiring an American player is a important thing for an European team, since usually they are the team best players. You don’t take a guy in Europe, pay him A LOT, and then let him stay in the bench!!!! Expecially if he’s going to stay just one year and you know that. They took him for good, but it didn’t work, and I’m not saying that Jennings isn’t a good player. Sometimes it just doesn’t work. Happens, in life as in basketball…

     Vaccaro said what he had to say. I don’t give credit to that. You shouldn’t too.

181. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 10:21 am

     Why Knicks Why Said:

     “Mihajlo, you put Pietrus in front of Nocioni on your all Euro squad? Nutty! I know Nocioni is rfom South America, but I consider him a Euro-league player.”

     He was my first choice obviously but I kept the players from Europe. There are some great players from Argentina and Brazil that I could have used like Nocioni, Nene, Scola and Barboso.

     I felt bad enough using the Spanish players.

     Even a worn-out Many Ginobili is worth mentioning in this discussion.

     But I’m a Phoenix fan and understand and know D’Antoni’s nuances very well. My point and your also is that Galinari was a horrible pick by New York as was this years pick of Hill.

     D’Antoni’s SSOL system DEMANDS a great PG and they could of had D.J. Augustin and Brandon Jennings. They aslo could be starting Eric Gordon and Jennings. but to take Hill and Galinari? LMAO!

     Keep up the good work putting these delusional Knick fans in their place.

     Phoenix is very happy New york was willing to pay D’Antoni because we now have the superior coach in this years COY; Alvin Gentry.

182. JAHHH1 Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 11:16 am

     Eddie Johnson,
     Sir, your overall assessment of the Knicks were fair (if not disappointing), but you didn’t go far enough. Tony and Mihajlo Moncilovich, I really enjoyed reading both you arguments (as well as everyone elses) but you two also failed to hit the common donominator for our bleek current state and future.
     This mess squarely falls on the shoulders of GERIATRIC WALSH!(I know many of you still want to blame Isaiah and his predecessor, but thats like Obama people still attaching bush’s name to every problem.) Another GM that has come here for a solid bailout if not a golden parachute to the rest home. He simply doesn’t know what he’s doing. From the start Dantoni was a bad choice over Avery Johnson and Mark Jackson. The following is a timeline since Geriatric Walsh took over. Please tell me if I’m wrong 4 my assessments.
     1. G-Walsh’s most sucessful teams in indiana were built by MILLER, hard nose defense and efficient offense. Does any of that resemble Dantoni?
     2. How did Geriatric one not know that Marbury wouldn’t leave Dantonis bench in the first game? Whether you agreed with Dantoni or not. How does the president of the organization not know?
     G-Walsh lacks a solid team of talent evaluators( Brooks Lopes, Brandon Jennings, Eric gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Anthony Randolph, Blair, Bayless and etc are not in knick uniforms)\
     3. Not a good trader. Yes I would have traded Zack and Crawford foir cap space, but why oh why did you trade 4 Huhes when the team had started to gell and might’ve reached playoffs? Then when he like the rest of the basketball world found out about the new salary forcast why wasn’t nate and lee moved last year? Sacremento tried to get nate and Jefferies last year and he didn’t pull the trigger. WHY?
     4. Free Agency- All i heard about this past summer was how he was protecting the salary cap, but then the GERIARIC one offerd 3 year deals to Jason Kidd and Grant hill. Both of whom (37)toiled with the knicks to get more money from there incumbent team. If they can do that, wht do you think James and Wade will do?
     5. Finally - When did we as knick fans shout mvp for the opposing players? Not even his airness ever received such fan admiration. This is b/c these men are outsiders. Not outsiders b/c of where they resided 4 the past decades, but b/c the pulse of the fans heart they have no clue about. They let Kobe break KINGS record as if it were nothing. Lebron then comes to town, Dantoni yacks it up with him during the game, and precedes to play him one on one and give him his stats, Boston then masecers them and David Lee poetically claims it was the best 0-3 week of his career. An just when knicks fans begin to heal from last winter/spring feeding to the lions. The garden replays all those games over and over again this summer as if to say F our legacy were trying to get players.
     Why oh why are we still knick fans?
     Eddie, I totally agree with you on one thing, next summer noone will blame isaiah or anyone else if and when you come up short walsh. I hope you invested well in your GERIATRIC after life…

183. BH Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 11:28 am

     If you are talking about pure play making ability, Calderon is a top 5 PG. And I think Calderon can score points when needed, but he looks to create more for others. But, anyone who’s watched the Raptors this year (and it’s hard since they are not on national TV) has probably noticed that Calderon is hurting the team defensively. He hasn’t been the same since his hamstring injury that kept him out or less than 100% a lot last year. At this point, I would say Jarrett Jack probably deserves the starting PG nod in Toronto.

     I can’t see James or Wade leaving their respective teams. Miami will always be a destination for superstars (weather, night life) so they could build a contender quickly with Wade as the star. James has too much of a good thing going on in Cleveland to leave it for a franchise like the Knicks where he may never see past the first round. Bosh and Stoudemire are both options. I think even Bosh though would see the Knicks as a step down from where he is (although I think he’ll end up in Miami). Stoudemire is the wild card. Phoenix doesn’t look interested in signing him (re: Owner’s pocketbook) and Stoudemire had his best years with D’Antoni and that system. I could see Stoudemire signing with the Knicks.

184. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 11:31 am

     Galinari wouldn’t even make my European only All-NBA team:

     Center: Marcin Gortat & Marc Gasol
     PF:Dirk Nowitzki Paul Gasol
     SF: Mickael Pietrus & Nicolas Batum
     PG: Tony Parker & Jose Calderon & Rodrigue Beaubois
     SG: Rudy Fernandez & Marco Belinelli

     This team, by the way, is completely insane.

     Not to mention that Gallinari is better to both of the players you chosed (Pietrus and Batum…c’mon man! Give me a break…), but I don’t want to talk about that, because I’m Italian, and even If I’m not a Gallinari fan, you could think I am.

     Anyway, tell me this: are M. Gasol and Gortat (!) better than Biedrins, or Noah (he’s French, you know…)? Are all those SF we talked about better than Turkoglu and Kirilenko??? And what about Diaw, Stojakovic (the healthy one), Okur?

     Are you European? I’m not sure you are, but I’m sure you don’t understand well what you are talking about…clearly I’m losing my time here…
     C’mon man! I think I’m just losing my time here with you

185. eddie Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 12:16 pm

     vick Said,
     November 24, 2009 @ 6:54 pm

     Wow, Eddie Johnson you never seem to miss an opportunity to bash on AI. Get your facts straight, D’Antoni was ready to sign AI, Dolan squashed the deal. I don’t even read your articles anymore because they’re biased, the only reason I was about to read this one is because it’s about the Knicks but after the 1st 2 paragraphs I realized it was more biased nonsense so I stopped.

     Why do you think i am bashing AI? Iverson will go down as one of my favorite players of all time. I love everything he has done on the court. What i am is honest and i know the Association. You can not and will not beat the establishment. Once you are tagged thats it, Iverson has to be careful because he has one more chance to lock onto a team and show that he can conform. The problem for Iverson is that he is a small man with longetivity that it is a scorer. you can’t control the team when it becomes apparent you are not the kind of player that makes teammates better. So stop saying i am AI bashing, i am trying to save his career so i can enjoy him some more.

186. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 12:28 pm

     Well Knicks are fairly uncertain at F/C position. Hence why you draft a Hill. Curry is out of here if Knicks can work a trade. Same with Jeffries. Lee only re-signed for a year, his status is in the air. Chandler could also be traded. When you think of it that way, drafting Hill makes a lot more sense. The thought was Duhon could hold the seat in the meantime at PG. Not saying I agree with it but that was the thinking behind it.

187. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 12:29 pm

     “I felt bad enough using the Spanish players.”

     Don’t get the thinking there, Spain is in Europe.

188. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 12:33 pm

     Jennings was also not really on the Knicks board, when they could not get Rubio, or Curry. Minnesota sent knicks in a tailspin when they drafted two PG’s. They drafted what they thought was best player available. Hill. It’s easy to kill teams draftwise in hindsight.

189. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 1:20 pm

     Larry B. Said

     “Jennings was also not really on the Knicks board, when they could not get Rubio, or Curry. Minnesota sent knicks in a tailspin when they drafted two PG’s. They drafted what they thought was best player available. Hill. It’s easy to kill teams draftwise in hindsight”.

     Exactly what I said…

     Now It’s easy to say: “Ah, Jennings, what a great player…”. Three months ago this wasn’t the same thing.

     And besides, THIS is the question that nobody makes to Mr. Sonny Vaccaro:

     “Is that true that Brandon Jennings, selected as 10th pick, will lose, because of your Euro-obsession, 3-4 milion dollars?” Yes because he was a top-3 prospect, before going to Rome…

190. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 1:54 pm

     Frederico, It isn’t just Sonny Vaccaro, look at the archives of Hoopshype and you will see that there is an article from one of his coaches praising Jennings and his work ethic.

     I can’t say why Jennings did not get big playing time in his one year but I believe you answered the question above yourself.

     It also seems that you have jumped to the conclusion that Jennings did not get big playing time because he was a lazy, bad-attitude jerk. I think you are speculating, and I think it is a shame that you are indulging in that stereotype when the people actually involved with the situation have said otherwise.

191. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 1:57 pm

     Larry, I don’t know where you get your information that Jennings was not on the Knicks draft board. Again that is speculation. However, if it is true, and the Knicks decided that they did not want a PG if they did not land Rubio or Jennings, it is simply another example of how bad the Knicks are at drafting.

     One more time for you guys who don’t get it: The KNicks needed a PG. A very highly regarded PG was there for the taking. Instead the drafted a guy who is not ready to play in the NBA. Spin that anyway you want, that is a disaster.

192. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 2:04 pm

     Tom do you have any intelligent comments to make? Charlotte drafted Kobe and traded him right away to the Lakers.

     But you want to get technical and act like you’re smart. Be smart. Don’t be stupid and try to think you’re smart.

193. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 2:36 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     “It also seems that you have jumped to the conclusion that Jennings did not get big playing time because he was a lazy, bad-attitude jerk. I think you are speculating, and I think it is a shame that you are indulging in that stereotype when the people actually involved with the situation have said otherwise.”

     Did I say that? WHERE did I do that? I also read that he’s a working hard guy, and I believe that: you cannot do what he’s doing without a hard work, and I assure you he’s improved from the last year. First of all, he wasn’t a great shooter, and instead this year he improved a lot (good rythm also helps…)

     Don’t put in my mouth words that I didn’t say. By having a bad attitude you can mean a LOT of things. I mean that maybe he wasn’t happy to be where it was. Is that a shame to think that a 18 years old guy could be not-so-happy to be in the other part of the world, where you’re nobody and you have to fight hard to play in a League that you don’t even care about????

     You’re COMPLETELY wrong. About Jennings Italian experience I know A LOT OF THINGS maybe you just simply ignore.

     For example: do you know that he gave 50,000 dollars for reconstruction to the victims of an earthquake in L’Aquila, here in Italy, not far from where he played???

     How can I think bad about a guy who gives that money of his first pro contract, in a place where he doesn’t live and where maybe he’ll not come back??? Can I think he’s a bad-ass guy who just think about himself???

     I didn’t say he’s a bad guy, or that he’s lazy. I just said that his experience didn’t work. His bad attitude was in not understanding the situation, not a terrible mistake for a 18 year old guy after all…everyone, included himself, expected him, a draft prospect, to make waves in our Italian League, but game after game, that just didn’t happened. So disappointment grow, even because he understood that not playing, and not playing well, means not to show what he was capable to do. And so his draft position felt. That means losing A LOT of money, and I understand that you can be nervous about losing potential money, because nothing is sure in life, and an injury can ruin everything (let’s think about J.Will from Duke…).

     I’m not a hater, man. And for sure I’m not stupid. I’m nobody to judge one man, if he’s lazy or selfish. I don’t do such things. But you didn’t follow at all his Italian career, that’s the reason you don’t understand why he was underrated, and also Knicks did that error to underrate him. I follow basketball from enough time to understand that simply sometimes things just doesn’t work. This is life. Vaccaro can say whatever he wants, but truth is that last year things did not work well, not for Rome (who had little more than nothing from Jennings), nor for Jennings (who losed at least 7-8 draft positions coming to Rome…you should know about how many money we’re talking about…). Plain and simple truth: no hate, no judging, just analizing reality…talking about how good Jennings is it’s not wrong. But you just can’t ignore last season. You say: Knicks needed a PG. And I say: probably they were higher on Jrue Holliday, or Collison !!!! Draft is not a perfect science, and it’s easy to talk AFTER things happen…

194. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 3:03 pm

     From Federico:

     “Not to mention that Gallinari is better to both of the players you chosed (Pietrus and Batum…c’mon man! Give me a break…), but I don’t want to talk about that, because I’m Italian, and even If I’m not a Gallinari fan, you could think I am.”

     “Anyway, tell me this: are M. Gasol and Gortat (!) better than Biedrins, or Noah (he’s French, you know…)? Are all those SF we talked about better than Turkoglu and Kirilenko??? And what about Diaw, Stojakovic (the healthy one), Okur?”

     Yes, I personally like Gortat’s and Gasol’s games better than either Noah or Bierdrins.

     As far as SFs go, Peja used to be great but age and injuries have taken their toll. If I’m going to choose one for a current team, I’m taking a healthy youngster with game over Peja.

     What does Nationality or ethnicity have to do with my selections? I’m Serbian just like Peja, Marcin is Polish, Gasols are Spanish, Beidrins is Latvian, Kirilenko is Russian.

     I don’t have a problem with choosing Kirilenko over Pietrus or Batum.

     Hedo Turkgolu is my favorite SF in the league. His omission was a geographic one. I don’t consider Turkey to be a part of Europe, it is part of the Middle East or Near East.

     My point was to try and limit the players I chose over Galanari to a smaller geographical area to have a greater impact on how bad a pick Galanari was and is.

     But thanks for helping me make my point by including all of the International players. There are so many that are so much better than Galanari.

     Lets see, rookie Nicolas Batum earned the starting SF spot on a playoff team the Blazers who won 54 games with him in the line-up.

     Mikael Pietrus was the first wing off the bench for the Magic who won 59 games and went to the finals.

     Danilo Galinari, played an astounding 28 games for the Knicks last season. This season he is doing better, having started for the third worst team in the NBA. Has he shed the image of being soft? I don’t think so, he is 6′10″ and is only grabbing 4 rebounds per game for a team that ranks #26 in the league and gets out-rebounded by 7 per game.

     Galinari does lead the league is putting up three-point shots though with 94 attempts while only playing 29 minutes per game. I’m certainly impressed.

     I’ll be more than happy to agree with everybody one Galinari does as well as the aforementioned Hedo Turkgole and plays a COMPLETE season, you know, more than 42 out of a possible 96 so far AND leads a team into the finals like Turgolu did with the Magic last season.

     I mean isn’t that the big argument about choosing Galinari over the other players, because he is 6′10″ with great overall skills?

     Until he ACTUALLY does something, he is another wasted high pick.

     That was also some very nice due diligence on the Knicks medical staff not to detect Galinari’s chronic back ailment prior to making him their pick. I wonder if D’Antoni had something to do with that?

195. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 3:08 pm

     Frederico, if I misunderstood what you were saying, I apologize, but here are some snippets from your posts above:

     *************************
     *************************

     Frederico: “If you read my posts above, you’ll know what half of the NBA thought about Jennings: turnover prone, bad attitude, fast but not a great shooter.”

     (Note the attitude comment)

     *************************
     *************************

     Frederico: “Don’t forget you had Marbury and you’ve gone nowhere with him…are you sure Jennings has that kind of talent???”

     (Note the comparison to Marbury, famous for his bad atitude)

     *************************
     *************************

     Frederico: “He had no attitude at all, and he lost a lot of balls, showing nothing of that great skills. For sure NBA scouts also saw that.”

     (You said that you observed that he had no attitude at all, which I interpreted to mean a poor attitude.)

     *************************
     *************************

     Frederico: “he understood one thing: playing time is not a due, have to be conquered. ”

     (This would imply that he did not understand that already, and did not understand that he had to earn his time, and that would reflect a bad attitude.)

196. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 3:10 pm

     You see Frederico, because you are not a Knicks fan, you possibly don’t understand the Knicks history of blowing drafts.

     This is not a case of looking back and saying that they should have know. All the Knicks had to do was draft a point guard, which was their number one need. They did not need another power forward who cannot even play yet when they already have 3-4 power forwards.

     Do you understand that? Please answer that for me. I’ll continue wit the facts in another post.

197. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 3:16 pm

     Hey Frederico,

     Let me put that in a better perspective for you.

     The casual fan wants to believe that the Suns have gone back to run-n-gun, which fits the Knicks much better. The Suns are extremely more efficiently offensively. But for arguments sake, lets say they are playing the same style, since Alvin Gentry was D’Antoni’s lead assistant in Phoenix.

     Grant Hill is the Suns 37 year-old SF. He has definitely lost a step this season because he cannot stay in front of his man this season.

     Old man Grant Hill is playing is playing 30 minutes to Gallinari’s 29 but yet the old man is grabbing 7.6 rebounds to only 4 for the 21 year-old Gallinari. How do you spell SOFT in Italian?

198. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 3:20 pm

     Facts:

     1) Most important: The Knicks #1 need going into this season was point guard, and they knew it everybody knew it, it was no mystery. They needed a point guard who could handle the ball reliably and push the tempo in D’Antoni’s offense.

     2) Brandon Jennings was considered the top point guard in high school his senior year if not the best high-school player and would have been drafted right out of high school if not for the age-rule.

     3) The Knicks had scouted Jennings extensively and had raved about him. The Knicks brought Jennings in to work out TWICE and he was impressive.

     4) There was only 1 point guard prospect left on the board when the Knicks were picking at #8. Let me explain to you what this means: The Knicks did not have to know that the guys was going to be a star. They knew he was a good point guard prospect. Period.

     5) Jordan Hill is a player at a position they are loaded at and he is not ready to play in the NBA. And he is looking like he will be nothing special when he is ready to play.

     6) In order to attract big-name free agents you need a decent team.

     ****

     You do the math Frederico. I don’t care if 7 other teams screwed up. The Knicks are my team and the pick, position, and player they needed were all lined up. A monkey could have picked better than Donnie Walsh did.

     If you understood the history: Picking Frederick Weiss instead of Artest, picking Mike Sweetney who can’t even play in the NBA, the list goes on…the you would understand the frustration at the REALISTIC Knicks fan at not picking Jennings.

     So you are the one looking back not me. I was looking forward on draft night. Would I have picked Jennings? I don’t know. I mighty have signed another point guard and the need would not have been there.

     But I can tell you one thing for sure: I would not have picked JORDAN-fukcing-HILL!

199. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 3:37 pm

     Here you go Why Knicks Why? A little support for you to help you keep some of these Knick Homers in check!

     For the year that Brandon Jennings was in Europe, he had his own personal development coach, Nenad Trajkovic.

     For those of you not familiar, Trajkovic is a Serbian coaching legend whose been developing players all the way back to the days of Vlade Divac.

     Jennings would practice up to four hours a day, sometimes longer with Trajkovic. A few hours were spent each day learning the offensive and defensive schemes. The rest was focused on fundamental development — ballhandling, shooting, basketball philosophy.

     Trajkovic says “For sure, Brandon matured as a person and a player this year,” Trajkovic said. “From the beginning I was concerned when I saw tape of him in the U.S. and watched him in Italy. He was a special athlete. But he didn’t know how to play the game. He liked to play one-on-one or one-on-five, not five-on-five. He dribbled too much. He took bad shots. He made incorrect reads.

     “The coach didn’t trust him. This team was a veteran team. Winning was important and Brandon didn’t know how to help his team win. We worked every day on his decision-making. We worked on the pick-and-roll. We taught him defense. The plan was to bring him along slowly and then, by the middle [of the season] he could be more trusted.”

     Trajkovic said that Jennings was a hard worker. He said Jennings was a quick study and that the improvement he made in the first few months was dramatic, albeit mostly in practice. However, disaster struck for Jennings when his head coach was fired and replaced with a veteran coach who felt a lot of pressure to win immediately.

     “The coach didn’t want to take the risk with Brandon,” Trajkovic said. “He knew Brandon was improving but he felt more comfortable with veterans. You have to understand. Brandon was leaving, so why risk something for a player who will leave your team anyway?”

     Trajkovic said Jennings kept working hard. They often would simulate game conditions in practice and Jennings would dominate, especially later in the season. “He kept his focus. Playing was important. But so was development. Sometimes you can’t control how much you play. But you can keep working and stay positive. Brandon did this.”

     As the regular season ended, Jennings came down with a mild case of tendinitis in his knees. The doctors suggested he rest for a game or two. He quickly recovered, but by then, he was totally out of the rotation. His coach didn’t want to mess with the chemistry of the team and Jennings watched, helpless on the sidelines, as his team fell in the quarterfinals to Biella — a team that he had played his best game in the Italian league against just a few months earlier. Trajkovic, for one, didn’t blame Jennings for wanting to get out.

     “He’s a competitor. He was frustrated. He had worked every single day. There were no days off. He hadn’t been home. He would have to wait more than a week for the camp. I think he felt it was enough. I agree with this. Brandon is so much better than the talent here [Trajkovic pointing to the players in the Eurocamp]. He is far and away in front of them in skills and athletic ability. He needs to be competing against your best.”

     Trajkovic wasn’t always glowing in his praise. He said Jennings still had more to learn. He needed to totally buy into the team game. He needed to keep taking jump shots (he said Jennings put up more than 30,000 while he was in Europe) and he would need to get stronger in the NBA. But he cautioned not to read too much into Jennings’ struggles in Europe.

     “I promise you. If you brought LeBron James over from high school straight to Europe, we would have messed him up,” Trajkovic said. “We demand different things. It is not enough to do something. You must do it correctly. Everyone who comes, young or old, from America, has to adjust. He was able to do it better than most I have seen. One more year in Europe, and he would be a star. I don’t know if the NBA feels the same way.”

     Any more questions? I didn’t think so.

200. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 3:49 pm

     Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     You are contradicting yourself. You routinely criticize Gallo, call him soft etc. But then Hedo Turkaglu is your favorite SF in the league. The guy is the utter definition of a soft finesse player.

     Explain yourself.

201. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 4:00 pm

     Mihajlo Moncilovich and Why Knicks Why?

     I’m not American, and maybe I don’t know what the word “attitude” means exactly.

     About Marbury, I was judging his talent, not his work ethic. I didn’t trash every thing Marbury did. I think Knicks would have loved a Minnesota-like, or also a Phoenix-like Marbury. They didn’t have that kind of player: I cannot say why, but it didn’t work. And saying that, I also say that it’s not WRITTEN that giving a superstar to New York means that New York will win. Not even LeBron.

     About Jennings, there’s no single word of Mihajlo that oppose my thought: I’ve never said he isn’t talented. He just didn’t fit, with the situation, with the playing style, with the expectations. He worked hard but (as also Mihajlo admits), he was frustrated. “Winning was important and Brandon didn’t know how to help his team win”. What else should I say? He didn’t fit. Happens. This doesn’t mean he is a bad guy or he doesn’t work (things that I didn’t said).

     About Europe, well, you HAVE to count also Turkey my friend. I know that you Serbs doesn’t like that much Turks, but take it easy man, it’s not 1914 anymore…:-) Turkey, even if in a small part, it’s in Europe. Most important, Turkish basketball is European basketball, not Asian (you know that…), as it is Israeli basketball…

202. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 4:04 pm

     You can argue about it but drafting for need isn’t always the best strategy. Again its very easy to sit back and shi* about draft picks but hindsight is 20/20. This kid Hill has barely played and I really at this point don’t think it has absolutely anything to do with not being able to play in the NBA etc. The Knicks are trying to move at least one of their forwards in a trade and that is why those guys are getting more playing time. Hill in limited time has played well. Yes, well.

     Regardless it would be ridiculous to shi* on any player who hasn’t even played a season in the NBA.

203. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 4:28 pm

     Larry, drafting for need is not the best strategy when there is a clearly better player on the board. This is true especially with the first 3-5 picks.

     But Hill is not clearly better than Jennings. He is clearly not as good. Hill is not even clearly an NBA player.

     It’s too early to judge Hill? Okay, fine.

     But it is not too early to judge Hill Vs. Jennings. Jennings wins that battle all week long and twice on Sunday.

     As a Knicks fan, I would expect this poor decision to bug you. Because you want your team to be good not sh!tty. But for some reason it doesn’t bug you. Why is that?

204. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 4:31 pm

     Frederico’s quote: “I also say that it’s not WRITTEN that giving a superstar to New York means that New York will win. Not even LeBron.”

     Of course it is not “written”.

     But I’ll take the star talent and try to surround them with good players to try to win instead of filling the Knicks with the mediocre talent and then try to convince myself that they are good when they are horrible.

205. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 4:34 pm

     Why Knicks Why? Said,

     You talk about Jennings like he was a sure thing. Granted he played overseas for a year which was big step and he must have matured a ton over there, but drafting a 20 year old PG who didn’t play college ball has no precedent and has never been a sure thing…

206. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 4:40 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     Don’t get me wrong you make a lot of good points but you sound like a very typical bitter “Knicks fan.” And it doesn’t really have nothing to do with winning or being a poorly run org, etc. The Knicks have one of the most pessimistic negative fan bases in all of sports. These are the same fans who criticized Ewing all those years. In your view everyone the Knicks have drafted the last ten years is horrible. No offense but your not the most objective guy. Come on now…

207. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 4:55 pm

     Why Knicks Why?

     “But I’ll take the star talent and try to surround them with good players to try to win instead of filling the Knicks with the mediocre talent and then try to convince myself that they are good when they are horrible”.

     In fact this team REEEEEALY sucks, but that’s not the point, my friend….and you cannot complain Walsh about drafting Sweetney and Weis… I understand your anger, but the Jennings thing was a luck that happened to the Bucks: nobody really knew what exactly to expect from the kid, and besides, Bucks are the same ones who took Joe Alexander over Brook Lopez, Augustin, Jason Thompson, Hibbert, Batum, R. Anderson (not to mention the Nowitzki-Traylor trade…).

208. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:10 pm

     Larry, you’re criticizing my objectivity? You’ve been polishing the turd that is the Knicks franchise since yesterday!

     ***

     I have not been talking as if Jennings was a sure thing. I have said anything but that.

     What I have been saying, over and over, is that all the Knicks had to do was fill the most obvious need on the team and they would have had a superstar fall in their lap. Is that crazy?

     ***

     About nasty Knicks fans: I was and will always be Ewing’s biggest fan. I hated the way he was treated. But their are no Ewings on this team.

     I watched the Knicks trade away my favorite player, Mark Jackson, who had a psychic connection with Ewing, and then I had to watch Jackson kick the Knicks ass for ten year en route to becoming second all-time in assists. And I had to watch Ewing struggle with god-awful point guards who could not set him up.

     And that is only the tip of the iceberg.

     So no, I am not “pessimistic” nor “optimistic”. I am “realistic”! I was just like you once, when I was a younger fan, all silver linings. Not anymore jack. I have to call it like I see it.

     Walsh has made some big mistakes, huge, mistakes that are hurting “the plan”. Maybe even destroying it.

     Walsh made some good moves too, like the way he handled Lee and Robinson, not signing Iverson.

     Walsh ’s drafting has been abysmal.

     Realism is the way to go, and the state of the Knicks…let’s say the proof is in the pudding.

209. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:10 pm

     Frederico, I am not saying Walsh was responsible for Weiss etc. But he is continuing the pattern.

210. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:31 pm

     Walsh has had exactly two drafts. How could they be abysmal? lol, those type of statements are why I question your objectivity. How can you possibly judge two drafts in two years? That is just ridiculous…

211. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:38 pm

     Frederico, Off Topic: Is Giori a good brand of Lemoncillo?

212. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:40 pm

     Anyway, I wish you Knicks fan a good luck: I’m sure that next year this team will be better, with or without LeBron, even if LeBron would change a lot in this contest.

     So, maybe you’ll see a good Knicks team next year, even if this could mean losing the possibility of seeing you Knicks fan grieving…after all, I understand you: 1973 it’s a LOOOONG time: it’s New York, with MSG, Rucker Park, it’s the City of Basketball… but no banners (in the meantime Celtics 6 titles and Lakers 9…), not even in College Basketball…Who wouldn’t grieve??? :-)

     Just joking guys, keep the faith strong: it can’t rain forever…

213. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:40 pm

     This did not appear so I am wrting it again:

     Question A: Larry, How many drafts does Walsh have to blow before I can criticize him?

     Question B: How many years until I can say that I think a player is a poor draft pick.

     Question C: How many years before I can say that another pick was the oobvious better choice?

214. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:50 pm

     Lemoncillo??? Do you mean Limoncello, that alchoolic thing made from lemon, isn’t it? Giori? I’ve never heard about that brand…I searched in internet, and I saw it’s made in Trentino, not exactly the land of lemons (the best ones are made in Sicilia and Calabria, oranges, mandarines, lemons). In Italy, he most famous brand is Limoncé, even if the best one is the self-made one: you can find it in Southern Italy, expecially in Campania (where he’s from). In order to drink the best limoncello, you have to come to Southern Italy I guess, but if you find Limoncé, it’s a good substitution, I guess…

215. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

     Whatever Why Knicks Why,

     Keep on trucking. Meanwhile Gallinari is miraculously putting in 15, 5, about 2 assists a night on a team with a mediocre PG and no Center and teammates who barely look for him. Oh and that kid Douglas is looking pretty good also. Hill well, he has to play.

     I guess we can agree to disagree…

     Bye Bye now…

216. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 6:10 pm

     Larry, Gallinari’s numbers are no miracle. Everybody puts up big numbers in D’Antoni’s offense. Just look at the history. Gallinari is putting up 10 shots per game almost 7 of which are 3 pointers. I hope he is scoring double figures!

     I like Douglas a lot. Outstanding late first-round pick.

     Hill, he has to play, I agree. He has to be good enough to play…behind Jeffries, Lee, Gallinari, Harrington, Milicic, Chandler…the # 8 pick should be able to get some minutes even when it isn’t a blowout.

     Hey, is Joe Alexander a bad pick or is it too early to say?

217. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 6:10 pm

     I suggest you to search for “Limoncello di Sorrento”…you should find it in New York (there should be a lot of Italian-Americans in New York, expecially from Campania…): it’s the best version of limoncello…from what I read, lemoncillo is another thing…I’ve never tried it, it is not so famous here (I’ve never heard about it…), and I stay in Southern Italy (not in Campania, Calabria), where some families use self-made limoncello…

218. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 6:14 pm

     Frederico, I was asking because my Girlfriend is making a Lemon meringue pie for Thanksgiving (Big U.S. holiday if you don’t know.) and we had to buy Lemoncillo (Spelled differently here.) but there was only one brand. I was just wondering if it was any good…

     I have a lot of cooking to do, ciao my friend!

219. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 6:16 pm

     Larry, no center and a mediocre point guard you say? Hmmm…I wonder if the Knicks had a chance to draft players who could fill that need?

220. Federico Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 6:26 pm

     Thanksgiving???? Of course you have to say thanks in New York: Indians gave you the land for a bunch of glass !!!!(At least you gave ‘em something that time….) :-)

     C’mon man!!!! I don’t live under the stones!!!!! Of course I know what Thanksgiving is (it’s a pretty famous holiday here, even if we doesn’t celebrate it…) !!!! I’ve a degree in history, with a text written in U.S. history (about slavery and the Underground Railroad)…

     For a pie that limoncello should be good enough, good cooking man, and happy Thanksgiving!!!!

221. Larry B. Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 6:48 pm

     Why Knicks Why

     When you shoot 3’s at a 45% clip you get a pass for taking 7. A three is a high percentage shot for this kid. He actually doesn’t shoot enough in my opinion. The kid is a team oriented player and hasn’t been tarnished yet playing with a bunch of selfish players. This kid is a ridiculously good shooter but according to people like you he doesn’t have “talent” and he’s not good enough for your standards.

     I really have to go this time, so bye again, and happy thanksgiving…

222. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 7:35 pm

     Larry, I like Gallinari I just think there were better picks that I would have preffered.

     Happy Thanksgiving!

223. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 9:48 pm

     Larry said:

     “You are contradicting yourself. You routinely criticize Gallo, call him soft etc. But then Hedo Turkaglu is your favorite SF in the league. The guy is the utter definition of a soft finesse player.”

     “Explain yourself.”

     How am I contradicting myself? I never said Hedo wasn’t soft, only my favorite SF, he has length, ball-handling skills, can shoot, everything that Gallinari is supposed to be.

     Somewhere way back about 50 posts ago somebody declared that Gallinari wasn’t a typical soft-European player. So far in the limited time he has played, he been exactly that.

     Sure the guy looks talented and for the Knicks sake they better hope he has a career equal to or better than Hedo.

     It’s been fun but we have pretty much finished here I believe.

     The bottom line is that D’Antoni is EXTREMELY stubborn and doesn’t adapt very well. To run SSOL the way it is suppose to be run, he must have a top point guard before everything else.

     I hope he turns out to be another Dirk Nowitzki,or at least Andrea Bargnani. But he is a long way from either one so far.

224. tony Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 9:52 pm

     u guys r knocking my rationale because u r on here to vent and im not.yes, im upset, too that my team isnt winning. ok u happy now! when u understand the knicks way, thats what u deal with. the knicks do not like playing unproven young players. think about it. this year is the only time u will see extended minutes for young guys since forever.this free agent class has some real difference makers. not like al harrington or larry hughes. even nate, lee, frye, ariza ,didnt get extended minutes in their second let alone their rookie seasons. the knicks worry about selling tickets and thats the issue not that jennings was a better pick or lopez and gordon. other teams allow their young players to play mistakes and all. some end up shinning and some dont. remember courtney lee last year as a rookie; he started every game in the playoffs and looked very promising. he is barley playing now. lopez is soooo! great but his team hasnt won a game and lost to the knicks at home. i thought jennings would be good and he is. good for him.he has a zero nonscence coach in the larry brown mold. i also think jordan hill would be good,too. now whether it amounts to wins is another story. eric gordon started most of last year and his team was good enough to get the top pick in the draft. stef curry is the guy all u guys wanted, and he didnt even play at msg.thats how great he is! c’mon stop dumping on your players. if we would have gotten eric gordon and we didnt win and if gallo was in newjersey lighting things up u guys would be like we should have gotten gallo. fake knick fans! goodnite and happy thanksgiving!

225. Why Knicks Why? Said,

     November 25, 2009 @ 11:08 pm

     Tony, that is really interesting that you consider that rant to be a rationale.

     So you think that a real Knicks fan has to be delusional like you? You’ll be off the bandwagon rooting for the Lakers in a few months.

     Okay, where to start?

     If Gallinari was lighting it up for New Jersey? How would that happen when he missed his whole rookie season with a back injury? And he would be scoring less in New Jersey because they don’t run this nonsense offense.

     Go back and look instead of making things up. Frye was one of the best Rookies, and Lee and Robinson were okay. But I hope that you want Gallinari to be better than any of them. Or do you want Gallinari to be a simple role player like them? Well that is what he is anyway, it doesn’t matter what you want.

     Courtney Lee barely plays? What NBA are you watching? He plays plenty. he just came off a 2 week injury! Do you even watch basketball?

     You r if Gordon.. statement? If Gallinari was anywhere near as good as Gordon you’d be typing with pee in your pants.

     It’s too easy to break you down. You’re obviously a new jack. Be quiet and watch the game for a little while longer so you can post with some sense.

     ***

     By the way: They are called PARAGRAPHS. Try using them.

226. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 26, 2009 @ 2:16 am

     Tony said:

     “the knicks do not like playing unproven young players.”

     The Knicks don’t? Is this some sort of corporate rule? All of the different general managers have told all of the different coaches not to play any of their rookies?

     You do realize that is has been 22 years since the Knicks have drafted a player that has become an All-Star don’t you? Could that have something to do with it? Go take a look at the Knicks draft history, it isn’t very pretty.

     Channing Frye is starting for the 12-3 Suns but he is soft as marshmallows.

     David Lee is a solid player & great rebounder but a defensive liability.

     Nate Robinson is a phenomenal athlete but a role player.

     Trevor Ariza has found a home in Houston but that is because he is playing with a team without any stars and are led by Shane Battier.

     Between Mark Jackson 22 years ago up to the current picks, it hasn’t been pretty outside of the aforementioned players.

     D’Antoni is counting on Gallinari to become a star and if he ever gets enough talent to run SSOL, I’m sure Gallinari will produce some inflated stats like every other player who played for D’Antoni in Phoenix.

     Phoenix just beat Memphis and Amare got 28 but only grabbed 4 rebounds. His man, Z-Bo scored 24 and grabbed 13 rebounds with 10 on the offensive boards. The Grizzles out-rebounded Phoenix by 20 and the Suns gave up 22 offensive boards.

     But the Suns shot 62% and 53% from downtown. When they fall it is pretty to watch.

     But when they don’t and they give up 25 offensive boards to the Hornets for 28 second-chance points they lose.

     Phoenix will be in a treacherous stretch of games. Toronto (they barely beat them by one point), the Knicks, then Cleveland. Home for the Kings. Then back on the road for Lakers and Dallas. Home for Orlando. Back on the road for Denver then home with San Antonio. Then at Portland. They also will see the Lakers, Cleveland, & Boston before New Years.

     Watch closely because that is what D’Antoni is trying to mold your Knicks into.

     Alvin Gentry has them running and scoring because they are mostly D’Antoni’s players that he has on his roster. But he is emphasizing defense and rebounding. The Suns do have seven players shooting at least 40% from three-point line but the bulk of those shots come from 4-5 players.

     But they are still soft in the middle and Grant Hill has finally lost a step on defense. Nash could never keep his man in front of him and Amare just isn’t interested in much outside of getting his points.

     It will be interesting to see what their record is on New Years.

227. JAHHH1 Said,

     November 26, 2009 @ 10:17 am

     Why Knicks Why?, Mihajlo Moncilovich, tony, and the rest of you passionate knicks fans are the best!
     Again, why are we still knick fans? As I said before the GERIATRIC ONE (walsh) is clueless. Did anyone watch that pothetic display against the kings last night? The knicks are a joke! Hey donnie you want to reconsider about AI?

228. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 26, 2009 @ 10:17 am

     Just think if the Kings were healthy! Their franchise player Kevin Martin is injured and so is rotation player Francisco Garcia.

     Look at the players the Kings have drafted:

     Kevin Martin #26 in ‘04
     Francisco Garcia #23 in ‘05
     Spencer Hawes #10 in ‘07
     Jason Hawes #12 in ‘08
     Donte Green a #28 pick in ‘08 that was picked up as part of the Artest trade.
     Tyreke Evans #4 in ‘09
     Omri Casspi #23 in ‘09

     Acquired John Brockman the #38 in ‘09 and PG Sergio Rodriguez for their #31 pick Jeff Pendergraph.

     Note: Sergio Rodriguez was drafted by Suns who were desperate for a back-up to Nash but sold his rights to Portland. D’Antoni couldn’t be bothered with developing a rookie.

     Look at who runs the Kings Geoff Petrie and their coach Paul Westphal has coached at the college level so he can develop all of that young talent, especially the guards. Westphal has also coached a veteran team featuring Charles Barkley in the finals.

     So which team looks to have a brighter future today? Which team has more promising young talent that could be used to trade for a superstar or at least an All-Star veteran.

229. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 26, 2009 @ 12:29 pm

     “lol, what do you call Kobe and Shaq and then Kobe”

     “Look at what I said. I said one or two elite players. Is Kobe not an elite player. Dude plz…”

     Come on now Larry, what did I say? The Lakers REBUILT around Kobe.

     But if you want to go back to Shaq and Kobe, alright.

     The Lakers acquired Kobe when he was a ROOKIE, not when he was an ELITE player. They signed Shaq as a free-agent that year. Were they a bottom dweller before doing so?

     No. They already were a playoff team that had won 53 games the previous season. They added an elite player in Shaq to an “average” team that was getting bounced in the 1st rd.

     After the remaining players from Showtime, Magic and Worthy retired, the Lakers still made the playoffs 4 out of five season before obtaining Shaq and Kobe.

     The Lakers had continued to draft well. Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, Antnony Peeler, Eddie Jones, Nick Van Excel, and Geroge Lynch.

     This enabled them to have a player to trade for Kobe, Vlade Divac, a starting NBA center for the Lakers than went to the finals with him. But Jerry West knows talent and he got the better end of the deal again. Kobe sucked his first season but was an All-Star the following season.

     So you see this also supports my method of building a team over yours again. Through the draft while remaining competitive then adding veterans.

     There are only a handful of elite players, every team cannot possibly build around an elite player. So you do the best that you can. But to say that the Knicks are heading in the right direction by having a scrub team that they believe an elite player will want to come to is still laughable.

     The Lakers and Knicks have two HUGE advantages over all the other teams in the NBA. The fact that they are in Los Angeles and New York with unlimited spending. The salary cap and luxury tax is never a problem for these two teams.

     But yet the Lakers have 15 titles to the Knicks two. The Lakers have only missed the playoffs I think four times in the past 50 years.

     But you think the Knicks are heading in the right direction?

     Excuse me a moment, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

     OK, now what were you saying?

     Plz dude!

230. Gobble Said,

     November 26, 2009 @ 2:51 pm

     I haven’t heard any fans (knicks or otherwise) stick up for Duhon, and rightfully so. He’s certainly not a starting-quality pg. I will support D’antoni sticking with him as the starter, however. Look at your replacement options: Nate Robinson is in his right place on the bench. We all want Douglas to develop, but does it make sense to hurry it along on a team that’s not going to make the playoffs anyway?
     I say Let Douglas develop a little more gradually while D’antoni looks like a guy who sticks up for his players (in Duhon). If i’m a free agent, D’antoni still looks good because he’s working with less-than-stellar talent and sticks by his guys.

231. Wally West Said,

     November 26, 2009 @ 9:04 pm

     The knicks are screwed as long as James Dolan is the owner
     they will not win a championship for decades to come
     the quality of an organization is mostly determined by the quality of the top leader, hence the knicks have no real chance to win for decades

     Donnie is respected but fading quick, perhaps due to old age which is not a knock against him but a fact of life
     its sad to see but true

     he should not have been hired by the knicks, someone younger and better like bill simmons should have been hired

     and DAntoni should not have been hired either

     no one is sure where everyone is going next year
     there are so many good players who are free agents in 2010
     i think Lebron joins Wade in Miami and wins 7 to 10 championships

232. Lebronleaves Said,

     November 27, 2009 @ 2:07 am

     Eddie,

     I’ve been a long time raptors fan (since 2000) and even I don’t like jose calderon. the main reason the raptors defence is weak because opposing point drive by calderon all the time and require defensive help.

     a top 5 point guard in the league? he’s not even top 5 in the east. a list of point guards i perfer over calderon:
     nash, paul, d williams, rajon rondo, jameer nelson, gilbert arenas, devin harris, derrick rose, tony parker, billups, baron davis,
     I even like brandon jennings, rodney stuckey, and aaron brooks more because they’re athletic and have a scoring spark in them.

     calderon is an average point guard in my opinion. look at that list and tell me how you still think he’s top 5 in the league.

233. Lebronleaves Said,

     November 27, 2009 @ 2:19 am

     Okay, just read one of your responses to a similar comment.
     “i said arguably, which means left open for interpretation.”
     Apparently, as long as you use the word ‘arguably’, you lose no credibility for anything you say, and nothing is wrong if you make a statement with the word ‘arguably’.

     Arguably, michael jordan was the worst player to have played in the nba.
     Arguably, the nets can win a championship this year.
     Arguably, Eddie Jordan is the best writer I’ve ever seen and always gets his facts straight!

234. Lebronleaves Said,

     November 27, 2009 @ 2:24 am

     referenced above^

     LBJ6 Said,

     November 23, 2009 @ 6:32 pm

     Eddie,

     You of all people should know that if you have a sentence with “top 5 point guards” and “Jose Calderon” in it, your whole article is going to lose a lot of credibility. Even the word “arguably” that you tossed in there can not make up for such a blunder.

     Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups is what I consider a reasonable top 5. While Gilbert Arenas, Devin Harris, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, Mo Williams, Jameer Nelson and heck even AI, should be ranked ahead of Calderon at the point.

     I like Calderon as a player; low turnovers, good playmaker and ridiculous percentages, but despite that he’s not much of a scorer. And since he’s a sub par defender, it’s inexcusable to rank him that high.

     I realize that’s not the main point of your article but it had to be said.

     #
     eddie Said,

     November 23, 2009 @ 8:41 pm

     LBJ6

     will you read the article. i said arguably, which means left open for interpretation. I also said for the 7 seconds or less system. please dont read anything further

235. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 27, 2009 @ 1:52 pm

     Lebronleaves, you have lost more credibility than anyone here.

     To be a top 5 point guard you must FIRST posses the ability to be a playmaker. A true point runs the offense looking to get his teammates easy shots BEFORE looking to score.

     So you can drop all of the scoring points off your list like Tony Parker, Allen Iverson, Devin Harris, Mo Williams,& Gilbert Arenas.

     Brandon Jennings COULD turn out to be an elite PG but he is forced to be scoring point right now because he is with the Bucks.

     Jameer Nelson has a nice overall game but is an average point still, only 12 points and 4.5 dimes over his career.

     Very few PGs can defend the elite PGs in the league in a straight man-to-man match-up. So being an All-Defensive team type of defender at PG isn’t the most important factor either.

     So choosing from within a context of running a winning team first, these are currently the top ten PGs:

     35 year-old Nash is playing as good as he did during his MVP years. Leading the Suns to the leagues best record and the highest ORtg in the history of the league @ 116.1. That means that he is getting the Suns players wide-open looks at the basket. They lead the league in scoring and offensive efficiency. He also is just as deadly shooting the ball himself. Defense? You can’t argue with a 12-3 record.

     Jason Kidd like Nash is finding the Mavericks open looks at the basket. He doesn’t score a lot and defensively Carlisle has him covering SGs while rookie PG Rodrigue Beaubois starts alongside Kidd and covers the oppositions speedy PGs. Again Kidd’s 9 assists, veteran leadership and the Mavericks 11-4 record safely keeps Kidd in the top.

     Deron Williams, no explanation needed.

     Chris Paul, again, no explanation needed.

     Rajon Rondo I don’t think I need to explain him either.

     Baron Davis and Chauncey Billups are obviously excellent all-around PGs that you can rate ahead of Calderon because they all average around 6 dimes but are better defenders and scorers.

     Russell Westbrook also gets the nod because they have similar stats but Westbrook is a much better defender.

     So a more accurate placement of Calderon would be a current top ten PG.

     The tenth spot I’ll give to Derrick Rose over Aaron Brooks because of Rose’s size. Andre Miller is also worth mentioning because of his consistency, dependability and leadership.

     Rodney Stuckey? Please, even the Pistons have admitted to their failure of converting him to a point guard. He is a natural SG.

236. Rashidi Said,

     November 28, 2009 @ 8:33 am

     You think Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook are better playmakers than Tony Parker and you’re talking about credibility?

237. jay_boggie Said,

     November 29, 2009 @ 12:59 am

     wonderful article, i’ve been a knick fan for over 27 yrs! and this article basically points out my fear……nyk have become a laughing stock in the nba. d-antoni is stuck on this system of letting guys just jack up shots, without saying a word to stop them from doing it……I could see if they had players that have good 3pt shooting percentages…..there’s no allan houston or larry bird or mark price or even steve smith on this team….gallo looks LOST on the court, duhoun has shown he is nothing more than a BACKUP! harrington hasn’t met a shot he doesn’t like, chandler needs to leave the 3pt shots alone and concentrate on mid range jumpers and getting to the hole….

     walsh and d-antoni said they didn’t sign iverson becuase they wanted to develop the young guys…..what a crock of bull, douglas and hill need to play if that’s the case, why am i watching jeffries and duhoun!!!

238. Hoopshype: Fire might Burn Past 2010 - New York Knicks City Forums Said,

     November 29, 2009 @ 10:34 am

     [...] Fire might Burn Past 2010 Fire might burn past 2010 November 23, 2009 @ 8:39 am by Eddie Johnson · Filed under Allen Iverson, Amare Stoudemire, Chris [...]

239. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     November 29, 2009 @ 7:31 pm

     Rashidi if you want to play then you will at least need to know basic math .

     Russell Westbrook averages 6.9 assists per game to Parker’s 5.3. It is really easy math. You see 6.9 is greater than 5.3. The logical deduction is that Westbrook is a better playmaker.

     Now Derrick Rose averages 5.1 to Parker’s 5.3, statistically insignificant.

     But the edge goes to Rose and Westbrook because they are still developing 2nd year players while conversely Parker has been in the league 8 years already and five assists per game is as good as it gets.

     He falls in the category of a scoring Point. It was a very easy opinion to come up with, two simple facts is all that it took.

     My credibility is still intact, always has been and always will be, especially when someone like yourself makes such an unsubstantiated claim. In fact it only show show little basketball knowledge, analytical and reasoning skills that you posses.

     Don’t even bother to respond, someone of your limited abilities should be reading and learning, not offering unfounded criticism. In fact, you should really remove your keyboard. You aren’t prepared to do anything but read posts.

240. Federico Said,

     November 30, 2009 @ 7:52 pm

     Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     “Note: Sergio Rodriguez was drafted by Suns who were desperate for a back-up to Nash but sold his rights to Portland. D’Antoni couldn’t be bothered with developing a rookie.”

     If I’m not wrong, you said you’re a Suns fan…well, you should remember why Suns traded draft picks for consecutive years. It has nothing to do with D’Antoni developing youngsters: they did it because of a too-high salary cap (if you have to complain, you should about the year they traded the pick who became Rudy…). Don’t forget that Barbosa became a good player under D’Antoni, and so did Diaw…

     I just watched the Knicks@Kings match: if you have to judge D’Antoni’s work from what we’re watching now, for sure you’re right to think he’s the worse coach in the NBA: wild team, wild shots, no defense at all…mainly, they’re missing a lot of things: good post players (other than Lee), no playmaking at all…should I say more???

     But then there’s one thing who must be said: there’s who says that this situation must be judged right now. I don’t think so. Not only because of the “LeBron race”. LeBron (or DWade, or whoever you want) could come or not. Anyway this team, whatever will happen, will not be here next year. I would be surprised if, one year from now, more than three players will be here. And players know that. They’re playing all by themselves, only for themselves, to make their lonely star shine. This thing doesn’t help a lot, when you want to build a team. You can blame D’Antoni because this team doesn’t play defense, but hey! This is NBA. Coaches play mostly one-on-one defense. Also D’Antoni does. He can’t do anything if Nate Robinson (I’m talking about the last game I saw) loses Donte Green (taller than him, surely not faster) EVERY SINGLE TIME that Donte gets the ball. Phoenix allowed to score a lot of points under D’Antoni, but they were a far better defensive team…

     There’s somebody who says that Phoenix was a good team not because of D’Antoni but because of Nash. And I say: OF COURSE!!!! Without two single players (Michael and Kobe), there’s no Coach Phil NBA Champion. Not at all. Players make good teams. Players make great teams. Coaches try to translate talent in victories, but it’s the talent who wins the games, not the coaches…

     Anyway, I would wait until next year. I don’t know if Knicks will improve, but for sure these players will not be here next year. Let’s see what D’Antoni will do with a new team, then we’ll be ready to judge if he’s doing a good job or not. After all, sincerely, who was REALLY thinking that Knicks would have improved before the 2010/11 season???? If there’s someone, ok, welcome to the earth dreamers!!!!!

241. KEVIN Said,

     December 1, 2009 @ 2:20 pm

     D’Antoni is not a great coach, everyone talks about him but he has not won anything in NBA, Phoenix had success because of Steve Nash and the success they had was only during the regular season. I want LeBron or Wade to come to New York but I don”t see them leaving a playoff team to come to a team in last place. D’Antoni has to realize that he has to coach to his players strength and abandon his system. Defense wins games, he is not a defense minded coach, he left Phoenix because he did not want to deal with coaching Shaq, he is to arrogant for someone who has not achieved anything in the NBA. People talk about the lack of talent on the Knicks but you look at Houston who is winning without a superstar the leading score is Trevor Ariza (former Knick). The reason is coaching, the Knicks will sign a free agent this summer but it will not be James or Wade. D’Antoni did not want to play Larry Hughes who is the best on ball defend they have, he starts Gallo who only shoots 3s and is weak defensively, he doen’t shoot the 3 at a good percentage. The smart thing would be is to play Eddir Curry, he will allow the Knicks get better looks when shooting the 3. Wrong coach on the worng team will cost us in 2010

242. Mihajlo Moncilovich Said,

     December 1, 2009 @ 3:12 pm

     You are absolutely correct Frederico. I should elaborate on the Sergio comment. The whole ” I’m not here to develop players, I’m here to win a championship” comment has been taken out of context and misunderstood.

     The Suns were paying a luxury tax and Sarver wanted to keep it at a minimum. The comment came about with the decision to draft Rondo for Boston. The Suns needed a back-up for Nash and D’Antoni felt Rondo could not contribute immediately. Sarver didn’t want to pay a 1st Rd pick salary that would be double because of the luxury tax for a player at the end of the bench. The rationale was to use the salary and proceeds from selling the picks to pay a veteran who could be a rotation player.

     The pressure was on D’Antoni to win immediately and at the cost of several promising young rookies for the future. It still boils down to Sarver running the Suns as a profitable business more so than to win a title at any cost.

243. Federico Said,

     December 1, 2009 @ 10:36 pm

     …and in the meantime, Knicks crushed Suns, with 27 points by Gallinari (+ 10 rbs and 2 blocks)…I know, a game means nothing, but maybe not everything, everytime is trash in the Knicks world: even if they’re a losing team, that doesn’t mean they’re a total failure: with a good PG and a decent C they would be in the hunt for a playoff spot. And maybe, MAY-BE, Gallinari is not so bad, after all…I’m not saying - and I don’t believe - he’s the next Bird or Dirk, but there’s a LOT of difference between not being Larry Bird and being a bust, I guess…

RSS feed for comments on this post

• Pages

  • About Eddie Johnson

• Archives

  • January 2010
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007

• Categories

  • Aaron Brooks
  • Al Jefferson
  • Al Thornton
  • Allen Iverson
  • Alvin Gentry
  • Amare Stoudemire
  • Anderson Varejao
  • Andre Miller
  • Andrew Bogut
  • Andrew Bynum
  • Antonio McDyess
  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Baron Davis
  • Ben Gordon
  • Ben Wallace
  • Billy Donovan
  • Boris Diaw
  • Boston Celtics
  • Brandon Roy
  • Bruce Bowen
  • Byron Scott
  • Carmelo Anthony
  • Caron Butler
  • Charles Barkley
  • Charlotte Bobcats
  • Chauncey Billups
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Chris Bosh
  • Chris Paul
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Coaches
  • Coaching
  • Cotton Fitzsimmons
  • Courtney Lee
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Danny Granger
  • David West
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Derek Fisher
  • Deron Williams
  • Derrick Rose
  • Detroit Pistons
  • Devin Harris
  • Dirk Nowitzki
  • Doc Rivers
  • Dominique Wilkins
  • Donnie Walsh
  • Draft
  • Dwight Howard
  • Dwyane Wade
  • Eddie House
  • Elton Brand
  • Emanuel Ginobili
  • Finals
  • Flopping
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Grant Hill
  • Greg Oden
  • Gregg Popovich
  • Guns
  • Hakeem Olajuwon
  • Hedo Turkoglu
  • Houston Rockets
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Isiah Thomas
  • James Posey
  • Jason Kidd
  • Jason Richardson
  • Jim O'Brien
  • Joakim Noah
  • Joe Dumars
  • Joe Johnson
  • John Paxson
  • John Stockton
  • Josh Howard
  • Josh Smith
  • Karl Malone
  • Kevin Durant
  • Kevin Garnett
  • Kevin McHale
  • Knicks
  • Kobe Bryant
  • Kurt Thomas
  • Lamar Odom
  • LaMarcus Aldridge
  • Larry Bird
  • Larry Hughes
  • LeBron James
  • Leon Powe
  • Los Angeles Clippers
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Luis Scola
  • Luol Deng
  • Magic Johnson
  • Manu Ginobili
  • Marc Iavaroni
  • Maurice Williams
  • Mehmet Okur
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • Miami Heat
  • Michael Jordan
  • Mickael Pietrus
  • Mike Brown
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • Mo Williams
  • New Orleans Hornets
  • New York Knicks
  • Orlando Magic
  • Pat Riley
  • Patrick Ewing
  • Pau Gasol
  • Paul Pierce
  • Phil Jackson
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Plaxico Burress
  • Playoffs
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Postseason
  • Rafer Alston
  • Rashard Lewis
  • Rasheed Wallace
  • Ray Allen
  • Referees
  • Regular season
  • Richard Hamilton
  • Rick Adelman
  • Robert Horry
  • Ron Artest
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • San Antonios Spurs
  • Scott Burrell
  • Scott Skiles
  • Scottie Pippen
  • Seattle SuperSonics
  • Shaquille O'Neal
  • Shawn Marion
  • Stan Van Gundy
  • Stephon Marbury
  • Steve Nash
  • Tayshaun Prince
  • Team USA
  • Terry Porter
  • Tim Donaghy
  • Tim Duncan
  • Tim Grover
  • Tony Parker
  • Toronto Raptors
  • Tracy McGrady
  • Trades
  • Training camp
  • Trevor Ariza
  • Tyson Chandler
  • Uncategorized
  • Utah Jazz
  • Vince Carter
  • Yao Ming
  • Zach Randolph
  • Zydrunas Ilgauskas

• Search

• Meta

  • RSS 2.0
  • Atom
  • WordPress

2002-2009 BALLERS MEDIA SL
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
No part of this website may be copied, transferred, or re-created without the express consent of HoopsHype.com.
HoopsHype.com reserves the right to take legal actions against anyone who does not respect its intellectual property rights.
Got something to tell? E-mail us at hoopshype@hoopshype.com