Knicks retooling, rebuilding, will make playoffs posted by john howard

The New York Knicks got duped by LeBron.  That may be for the best since the Cavs owner is sending the city of Cleveland's curse with him wherever he goes.  The Knicks were very smart in signing Armare Stoudamire and not waiting on LeBron.  They could have been left out in the cold like New Jersey.

The Knicks new that it would be very hard to keep David Lee, so they found a team that would do a sign and trade and pay very well for him.  The Golden State Warriors gave Lee a 6 year $80 million deal.  In return the Knicks get Anthony Randolph, Kaleena Azubuike, and Ronny Turiaf.

This is will be little talked about next year, but could be a really good move for New York.  Here is how the starting lineup currently looks:

PG  Tony Douglass--in his 2nd year and really needs to be coming off the bench and developing.

SG  Kaleena Azubuike--he averaged 14 points and 5 rebounds in 9 games last year before getting hurt.  He had multiple 20 point games the year before.  He could become the teams second leading scorer and still a chance to develope into an all-star.  He may start the year on the bench until he has proven he has recovered.

SF  Danillo Gallinari--averaged 15 points a game and still improving.

PF Armare Stoudamire--Averaged 20points and 11 rebs last year and reunited with D'Antoni whith whom he had his best year's with.

C  Anthony Randolph--as of right now, this spot is vacant.  With what NY currently has, Stoudamire would technically be the center, but the up tempo game suits small players.  But, Randolph will be a good 7th player.

Stoudamire is the new Big Apple posted by john howard

Amare Stoudamire becoming a Knick just makes sense (and dollars).  He is being reunited with coach Mike D'Antoni and his high octane offense.  That means even more stats for Stoudamire.  There are currently hopes of landing Lebron and or Wade with this signing.  But, should they not get either, New York has gotten better with Amare.

There is a chance of having two double-double players with Stoudamire and David Lee.  Those two would form a nice inside duo.  Eddie Curry is in a player option year that he will likely keep.  If Curry can stay healthy the Knicks would have a solid inside game with some depth.  But that is a big if.  Curry only played 7 games last year.

As of this moment, here is how the Knicks roster looks:

PG  Toney Douglas--a second year player that has no where to go but up.  But is no where near ready to lead a team.

SG  Wilson Chandler--more of a sf but he did score 15ppg last year.  Would be a nice 6th man.

SF  Danilo Gallinari--another 15ppg scorer that D'Antoni likes.  He is still developing.

PF  David Lee---20ppg and 11 rpg.  He is a warrior that the Knicks should keep.

C  Amare Stoudamire--instantly upgrades this team to playoff competitive.

SG Bill Walker a second year player.  Rookies Andrew Rautins and Larry Fields, both will be fighting just to make the team.

 Everyone else from the Knicks' roster last year is an unrestricted free agent that can sign anywhere.  So, New York is going to be very busy this month putting a team together.  This front line is very very good.  The point guard spot is a huge weakness and so is the bench.  They only have 6 players under contract so this is going to be a totally different, but better, team than last year. 

NBA draft, Who Drafts the Best? posted by john howard

There are three ways an NBA team can improve:  1) Draft  2) Trades  3)  Free Agency.

 I've taken a look at how well teams have drafted since 2003.  I used the number of rebounds, points, assist, steals, and blocks to help me rank the teams on their ability to draft.  If a player was acquired via a trade, he counts towards the team that received him in the trade.  Also, the statistics that count are only the ones that the player acquired while with the team that drafted him.  So, if a player was traded and then became a good player, that team lost out.  Let's see the results.

The first list is the most simple.  It is how teams rank by just counting all the points, rebounds, steals, blocks and assists:

1)  Chicago

2)  Portland

3)  Oklahoma City

4)  Atlanta

5)  New Orleans

6)  Toronto

7)  Boston

8)  Orlando

9)  New York

10) Miami

11)  Cleveland

12) Sacramento

13) Charlotte

14) Philadelphia

15)  Denver

16)  Memphis

17) LA Clippers

18) Utah

19)  Washington

20) Indiana

21)  Golden State

22) Minnesota

23)  La Lakers

24) Milwaukee

25)  New Jersey

26) Detroit

27) Phoenix

28) Houston

29) Dallas

30) San Antonio

This is a pretty good look at how well teams have been drafting.  Portland is really high on the list, but has 15 picks since 2003.  Oklahoma City had 12, while NY and Memphis each had 10.  On the flip side, other teams had less than one per year.  So, stockpiling picks has a positive effect. 

Knicks final home game posted by Paul Stengel

“When I say D, you say FENCE!” Last night was the final Knicks home game of the year. Sergio Rodriguez surprisingly stole the show with 12 late points. Danilo Gallinari scored all 24 of his points in the second half as the Knicks rallied to outscore Washington 40-21 in the fourth quarter of fan appreciation night. The Knicks handed out free T-shirts before the game with the word “declare” on the front. They fired T-shirts into the stands and gave out prizes all night.

For one night at least, Knicks fans were treated to winning basketball and allowed to forget about the summer; when LeBron James and others become free agents, and the Knicks, with their $30+ million in cap room look to make a move for them. On this night, a lineup of Gallinari, Bill Walker, Sergio Rodriguez, David Lee and Earl Barron was enough to pull the game out. Going into the fourth period, the knicks trailed 82-74, and as Clyde Frazier would say “they looked tired and uninspired”. Suddenly, Gallinari awoke. He started converting three pointers and getting to the line. The Knicks survived a big game from Mike Miller for the Wizards. He scored 23 points and hit five three pointers. The Knicks had 11 threes, with Gallinari making four.

Knicks comeback against Pacers falls short posted by Paul Stengel

The Knicks failed in their attempt to win three straight games for the first time since early in the year.  In this game the Knicks had to come back from numerous deficits, including a 20 point hole early in the contest.  They came back with three point shooting from Toney Douglas and Bill Walker.  Danilo Gallinari had another big third quarter following his 19 point third quarter outburst against Boston two nights ago. 

It seems like the Knicks are going to fall short of their record from the previous year of 32-50.  They need to win their last four games to duplicate that record.  Right now I'm somewhat upset with coach D'antoni for replacing Toney Douglas in the starting lineup.  It seemed obvious that Douglas was making an impact as a starter with his defense and scoring.  Douglas finished the Indiana game with 20 points off the bench. 

The new look Knicks pull out another one posted by Paul Stengel

 As Danilo Gallinari and Carmello Anthony continued their heated discussion during the third quarter last night, the Knicks found a way to take control of the game.  They have been playing winning basketball lately, since moving Toney Douglas to the starting lineup.  Douglas brings toughness and a lively scoring touch, not to mention a propensity for clutch play.  He seems to come alive during the second halves of games.  He went scoreless in the first half but finished with 16 points. 

 Something seems to have clicked with Gallinari lately as well.  He's become much more aggressive on offense and has been getting to the line with impressive frequency.  Gallinari's development is big for the Knicks, he's one of the few players who will still be here next season, and his sophmore campaign, which started off impressively looks like it's ending with a bang as well. 

Welcome to the starting lineup Mr. Douglas! posted by Paul Stengel

Welcome to the starting lineup Toney Douglas! The Knicks are 2-0 in games Douglas has started, and he has clearly given the team a spark it was missing when it started Duhon and Sergio Rodriguez. Douglas has averaged 20 points over his last three games, and has brought great energy to the defensive end. His three steals against Philadelphia and clutch three point shooting helped keep the 76ers from coming back.

 Another big contributor to the Knicks lately has been Bill “Sky” Walker. Walker’s high flying dunks and surprising outside touch have been on display of late. He’s shooting near 60% as a Knick and has been a pleasant surprise in general when considering he was originally a throw-in in the Nate Robinson trade. Tracy McGrady’s frequent injuries have opened up minutes for Walker and he’s taking advantage.

The Knicks have overall become much more watchable with Douglas leading the team. Hopefully Gallinari will continue his aggressive play, and the Knicks can continue their winning streak against Boston.

The Need for Relevance posted by Micky Deming

As a Pacer fan, the obvious highlight of my season was the ESPN 30 for 30 story on Reggie Miller vs the New York Knicks. I loved every second of the documentary. I thought it was put together very well, and the best part was all of the memories it brought back.

On the other hand it was bitter-sweet in some ways. The Pacers have been awful for the last few years, but I have still enjoyed the NBA and told myself, "It's OK that the Pacers aren't competitive because it is still great to watch all of these high profile teams go at it in the Playoffs." 

 But that was wrong. There is something incredible about living and dying with every point in an NBA Playoff series. And Pacer fans got to experience that excitement consistently from the mid 90's to the early 00's. Honestly, I took it for granted. And seeing those old games again, I remembered how much I hated the Knicks and how much I cared about how those games turned out. It reminded me that the Pacers used to matter. And I want that again so badly. I want our games to be meaningful; relevant. I want to sit at work all day and be thinking about what is going to happen in the game tonight.

Which brings us to the lottery. The Pacers have never been a serious contender for the top pick in the lottery. In fact, the last two years they finished 9th in the East, just out of the playoffs, and a long way from the top talent in the draft. To me, it seems silly to act like a top pick in the draft is the only way the team can get good, but a glance at the top of the league shows that you have to score big with a superstar or you will never be good.

New York Knicks, what the salary cap future holds posted by Paul Stengel

CLAAAANG!!!  Another errant Knicks shot glances off the rim.  The New York Knickerbockers have mastered the art of losing for the past 10 years.  The only silver lining after this season is the possibility of signing two big name, “max contract” players.  The Knicks traded away their upcoming draft pick (along with Jared Jeffries and others) to Houston,  to free up more money for these players.  Nothing is guaranteed, the Knicks aren’t necessarily getting anyone for their trouble. 

The losing that the Knicks have been doing is a relatively new experience for their head coach, Mike D’Antoni.  D’Antoni came over from Phoenix, where he had an outstanding winning percentage, playoff appearances every year, and usually a late-season meeting with the San Antonio Spurs that ultimately would decide who would come out of the west.  Before he coached Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and Shawn Marion to 60 wins a year.  Now he leads Al Harrington and a band of inexperienced, below average knicks to likely two 30 win seasons. 

The Knicks have been on a downward spiral since they decided to trade away their franchise player of the 90’s Patrick Ewing.  They have been compiling bad contracts ever since, and it wasn’t until Donnie Walsh became the active general manager that their attitude toward free agents began to change.  Starting with the trades of Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph, Walsh has managed to free up more and more salary cap space, and with it, the possibility of greater things in the future. 

Cetlics Knicks make moves posted by john howard

The Boston Celtics made a move that they hope gets them to the title.  They traded for Nate Robinson, a point guard that can score.  Here is how it breaks down:

Celtcis get ;   Nate Robinson, Marcus Landry

Knicks get:  Eddie House, JR Giddens, Bill Walker

They Celtics give up a hot shooter in House.  I hate to see him go.  But, they gain much needed depth at the point guard spot.  They can even use both Robinson and Rondo in the back court and really go more up tempo if needed.  They may be the biggest advantage for acquiring Robinson. They become quicker and more athletic.  It's also good for Robinson because he goes to a title contender.  He also gets a 1 million dollar bonus if they make the playoffs.

 The Knicks get rid of more cap room to sign big names this year.  Also, House played for D'Antoni in Phoenix.  So, he will fit in the system and get to play a lot. Giddens and Walker are young players that still may develope but may not.  So, it wasn't a loss for Boston and a potential for New York.

I give both teams thumbs up on this one.

Knicks sign Ewing Jr. (AP)

Patrick Ewing Jr. is back with the team where his father became famous. The team says the former Georgetown star signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ewing was the 43rd pick of the 2008 draft by Sacramento, but wound up with the Knicks through a series of moves. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Knicks sign Patrick Ewing Jr. (AP)

Patrick Ewing Jr. is back with the team where his father became famous. The team says the former Georgetown star signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ewing was the 43rd pick of the 2008 draft by Sacramento, but wound up with the Knicks through a series of moves. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Stephenson knows Bird is upset by arrest (AP)

Though he has not spoken to anyone from the Indiana Pacers, Lance Stephenson is well aware of Larry Bird's disappointment with his arrest. Stephenson says he heard about Bird's strongly worded statement that was critical of his actions and plans to speak to the Pacers president. "I'm just going to try to stay focused," Stephenson said Tuesday at the New York Knicks'... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Thomas declines position with Knicks (AP)

Isiah Thomas will not be returning to the New York Knicks after all. Thomas said Wednesday in a statement he was declining a position as a consultant with the franchise he ran for 4 1/2 years because it may not be legal. "After speaking with commissioner Stern and Knicks executives, it has become apparent that my new agreement violates certain NBA bylaws," Thomas said. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Knicks' D'Antoni OK with Thomas' role (AP)

Mike D'Antoni sounds OK with it. Mike Krzyzewski wouldn't do it. Isiah Thomas' return to the New York Knicks as a consultant while still coaching a college team has raised plenty of questions -- starting with whether it's even legal. D'Antoni, who became the Knicks' coach after Thomas was fired two years ago, said Tuesday his predecessor could provide an advantage for the... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports