New York's current roster posted by john howard

Here is a look at the current roster. 

 PG-Chris Duhon    Nate Robinson---Robinson is a restricted free agent.

SG-Larry Hughes

SF-Wilson Chandler  Danilo Gallinari  Joe Crawford

PF-Al Harrington  Jordan Hill  Jarred Jeffries  Chris Wilcox--Wilcox is an unrestricted free agent

C-David Lee  Eddy Curry Darko Milicic--Curry has an early termination in his contract.  Lee is a restricted free agent.

There is bound to be a trade before the season starts.  There is too many players down low and not enough in the back court. Lee is more of a PF, but had to play the post with Curry hurt so often.  They shored up that problem buy acquiring Darko.  But, Lee is a restricted free agent and will get offers.  They could let him go.  The smart thing would be to resign him.  I think they have tried to trade Curry, but there aren't many takers due to his health.   The Knicks would love to have Rubio in their back court.  I don't know if they can get him, but a trade will be made.

New York and Rubio posted by john howard

New York, I don't care what you need to do, get Ricky Rubio.   He has a chance to be special.  There is no player on your team now that can be special.  He wants to play where his name will be known and New York is it.  He would be great in that style of play. Also, being on the east coast would make him seen more.   I think they could work something out.  Especially if there is a chance that he could play in Europe and not for Minnesota.Continue reading "New York and Rubio"

Getting better bounce by bounce... posted by Ondre Baronette

I am appreciating my job at CitiField more and more. I have a degree in English from Hofstra University, and i am a Hospitality Attendant at CitiField. It's not a bad job, but I don't get to see the game live because i work inside the Majestic store. i get to see a classmate of mine wear his suit and tie to the games. It is truly a humbling experience. But that is not the reason for my post.  I saw The Knicks draft picks Jordan Hill and Toney Douglass in the Media Relations office. I thought that was pretty cool. I saw Melkey Cabrera, Robinson Cano ,Sweeny Murdi, Joe Girardi, Susan Waldman, and Mike Crespino too. Back to the focus of me post. I like The Knicks picks. I'm happy that both were available, but I am happier that we don't have to deal with Stephen Curry not being able to live up to the hype and becoming a better player than Jamal Crawford. Curry wants to manage his team and be a leader on the court, making all the right passes for the team. Crawford hasn't been able be that type of player and I am not prepared for him to learn those skills in NY. He might get them(which i doubt), Lebron believes that he is the goods, but watching him play a few games, I expect him to become a player like Barbosa. I expect for him to play the game like a lesser Ben Gordon. A little bit better than T.J. Ford, and i mean a little, a lot less than Derrick Rose. Jordan Hill may not bring toughness, but can we say a little bit of Marcus Camby. Can we say Renaldo Balkman with more height, and more ability. (Sorry Staten Island Staten Island: "That's Ok, we didn't even know he from here" Only joking man) 

Re-Run posted by Ondre Baronette

I sit and I watch the encore presentation of the Yankees game, thinking about The Knicks starting five last year, and try to project this years 5. Duhon will be in the last year of the contract, and the second year of D'Antoni's system. I think he's the starting 1. He's a Duke graduate, so i hope that he comes into the year ready to play major minutes, work on getting that gig to become a Derek Fisher type in the league. A solid point on a great team. Maybe even resign with the team, because, well do i really have to say it. Summer of 2010.

    At 2, you put Larry Hughes. I hope that he can be a consistent player, challenging for recognition for resurgent play. Wilson Chandler at the 3. I think he can just continue to get better. He doubled his points per game, 7 to 14, and i think he'll try for 18-21 this year.  I see him progress like Trevor Ariza would, with less defense, more explosivness, and w/out Kobe. Since Trevor went home, practice against Kobe, his skills have really shot up. (pun intended). He was the real Scottie Pippen out there, even though Derek Fisher hit the biggest shot.  Al Harrington and Jared Jefferies cross matching to full fill the four and 5. Eddy Curry is there, but I cant trust that he will be in starting lineup shape, much less opening day starting 5 shape. I think they need Chris Wilcox's, and maybe Darko Milic is partly the answer to the lack of size. I think Chris Wilcox brings some of that football toughness a playoff team need. I want the Knicks to challenge Chicago for the 8th spot at least, it's not Confrence Finals, but a rivalry is a rivalry right? 

It's getting close.... posted by Ondre Baronette

The Wolves have the 5th & 6th pick. They shipped out Randy Foye and Mike Miller. The KNicks are affected by this. I think that Donnie Walsh is upset by this move. Stephen Curry will be off the board by then. Tyreke Evans will be gone by then. Ricky Rubio will be gone too. James Harden wont be there then. I think that they need to go for a PG. I also think that Nate Robinson needs to stay with The Knicks too, but i also cant have both he and a player like Flynn in the backcourt as well. I would love to bring in Hasshem Thabeet, but he'll be gone at 2 based on my research. I'd like to see Jordan Hill, but the Warriors will have selected him if he's there. I am left with players  Flynn and Holiday. Donnie Walsh can't get creative and drop down in the Draft and get two picks, a Ty Lawson and Gerald Henderson, can't he? The team has a glaring need for defense and leadership. You can't get leadership from the Draft unless you find DRose from Chicago, or Lebron. Deron Willams was a top pick and led Illinois. Jrue Holliday is that leader at 19yrs old the Knicks need, or Brandon Jennings, who couldn't get into Arizona, but got creative and started a new trend. But I'm not quite sure they are what the Knicks need. Curry has been a leader for Davidson, Terrence Williams could benefit from playing in NY, because he can take coaching having dealt with the fire of Rick Pitino. The Wolves have done a lot for themselves working the Wizards for their pick. I cant believe that Grunfield and Saunders are so confident in their roster, as to trade away a top 5 pick, an unproven cmmoditContinue reading "It's getting close...."

Washington Wizards Best Options for Thursday's NBA Draft posted by Chase Hughes

The last week has been quite interesting in that an influx of trade rumors and draft scenarios have flooded the Washington Wizards internet community.  Michael Lee of The Washington Post has reported rumors of trades involving the Wizards’ 5th pick going to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers (gag), and the New York Knicks.  While nothing really seems to be of substance, as www.bulletsforever.com has acknowledged, they are impossible to ignore.  Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Javale McGee are some of the notables that many teams, as many as 14, have expressed interest in.  As we approach the draft, the fans’ opinions seem to be forming an almost consensus for Davidson guard Stephen Curry.  The Washington Post conducted a poll that resulted in nearly half the votes garnered by Southern Conference product.  DraftExpress.com now has the Wizards slotted for Jordan Hill with the 5th selection while both SI.com and ESPN.com are predicting James Harden.  What do the Wizards need?  And should they draft for need or get the best player?  Both possibilities, in my opinion, may indeed overlap.  
I believe the most glaring need for the Washington Wizards is at the guard position.  The Wizards have addressed the frontcourt pretty aggressively in recent years with the draft of McGee, Pecherov, and grooming of Andray Blatche.  What appears to have happened is a negligence of the need for a guard, evident in the acceptance of Roger Mason, Jr.’s departure.  Right now as the roster stands the Wizards possess a superstar in Gilbert Arenas but no significant contributor behind him.  Stevenson could very well be done as the only thing he can do these days is talk trash.  Even at his best he would be most effective coming off the bench.  His occasional 3-point hot streak and solid defensive play would be a nice commodity in a reserved role.  Nick Young is on the verge of being a solid 2 guard but an upgrade is certainly possible given the team’s draft situation.  He might be at the point in his career when a little competition wouldn’t hurt.  Mike Jones might not be a Wizard for long but I believe he could give quality minutes in a reserved role.  He is not good enough to be the back-up point guard any more.  I could see his best-case-scenario being reduced to the role of an Anthony Johnson, not the primary back-up but a solid third option for sporadic minutes.  I like Jarvaris Crittenton a lot, he is around 6’5” with good speed and a nice work ethic.  With the overstock of combo guards in this draft the Wizards may be able to pick a player that would still allow Crit room to develop as a role player.  You have to like his prospects with his size and athleticism, he is just a classic case of a player who entered the pro’s too early, only he has a chance to actually make it in the Association.  

Continue reading "Washington Wizards Best Options for ..."

New York Knicks and the 8th pick posted by john howard

Who will New York take with the 8th pick?   I've seen many mock drafts and there is one consistency--point guard.   Brandon Jennings, John Flynn, Jrue Holliday are all point guards that keep popping up.  I've looked at the last 20 drafts and have broken down the 8th pick as follows:

Super stars--0

Quality starter--3

Starter --7

Bench --6

Bust-4

So, there is a 50% history that the Knicks will find a starter and a 20% chance that the pick will be a total bust.  Unfortunately there are no super stars with the 8th pick.  Right now, the Knicks need all the help they can get.

Draft Preview: What do the Knicks need at the No. 8 spot? posted by Anthony Arroyo

Knicks great, and current assistant to the President of Basketball Operations, Allan Houston represented the Knicks on draft day, and brought along a special lucky charm –– Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson.

Although grabbing the eighth spot wasn't as high as they would have hoped, the spot isn't bad at all, especially with the talent at the guard position in the pool.

And if history proves itself again, just like it has oh so many times, the eighth spot is golden. Since 1985, current NBA stars drafted eighth include Andre Miller, T.J. Ford, Rudy Gay, former Knicks Jamal Crawford, current Knicks Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox. Former player, Vin Baker, who was also taken at No. 8, was an All-Star with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1993.

While Knicks GM Donnie Walsh is confident that the Knicks will get a starting-caliber player, recent history has suggested against it. In the last five drafts, the No. 8 selection has been: Joe Alexander, Brandan Wright, Rudy Gay, Channing Frye (Knicks draft pick) and Rafael Araujo. There are no All-Stars among that group, while only Gay is a starter.

So we can only hope that the No. 8 slot will bring fortune to the Knicks. Upon looking at the roster, the team is in desperate need of a lot of things, but mainly at the guard and center positions.

New York has great potential building up at the forward positions. Power forward David Lee is coming off 16 points and 12 rebounds per game total this season, which, in his third year are all career high’s. A double-double machine, he finished the regular season with 65 of them, two more than Dwight Howard. I like Lee and his hard work, so I hope the Knicks do not trade him.

Catching up with the Phoenix Suns rumors this off season and who should be kept around for next year? posted by Ryan Greyslak

There have been many rumors surrounding the Phoenix Suns since they missed the playoffs this season. Some of these rumored trades would actually help the team, but some of the options are only opportunities to cut payroll for the oncoming season and further destroy the team. Some of the biggest names involved in these rumors for the team have been Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, and Jason Richardson.

 Shaq Rumors 

Shaquille O’Neal has not been shy about the fact that he would not mind playing for another team other then the Phoenix Suns and is interested in a contract to extend him for one to two more years. Some of the rumored teams to be interested in Shaq are Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Hornets.

Cleveland has reportedly offered Ben Wallace (who might request a buyout or retire) and Sasha Pavlovich who has a non guaranteed contract. The Suns could potentially get out of both players and save money off payroll this year. This is a bad deal for the Suns and I would not expect it to happen for these players. They would get nothing for Shaq.

Another of the rumored teams interested in Shaq are the Dallas Mavericks. One of the rumored packages would send Jerry Stackhouse expiring contract and Erick Dampier. Dampier is guaranteed for the next two years at over 23 million. This again would be a horrible trade for the team and they would essentially be giving Shaq up for a smaller expiring contract and a slower less effective center. If the Suns have any talks with Dallas they should absolutely involve Josh Howard but it is rumored Sarver does not want to do business with Cuban.

Cavalier Hope posted by Matt Clark

So now there's news that the Cavs are going after Shaq, Rasheed Wallace, and Antawn Jamison.  The Cavs are desperate to make LeBron happy by getting him some serious help.  I agree with this strategy.  You have to bring in a new center and power forward, LeBron would love this.  Z shouldn't be a starter anymore, and Varejao is too limited offensively.  No superstar can win a title by themselves, and James needs support. 

Personally, I don't think there's any chance LeBron leaves next summer.  I would be shocked, in utter disbelief.  Why would he?  It's his home, and the Cavs are trying their best to improve the squad.  The Knicks are awful, so it's not like he'd be improving his chances to win a title there.  Wade aint' comin.  He'll resign with Miami.  You can count on that.  Sure, the NY market would help LeBron, but seriously, he already has more $ than he knows what to do with.  Plus, it's always classly when a great star stays with 1 team his whole career, and I think deep down, LeBron knows that.  LeBron isn't leaving, he'll be a Cavalier for life.  

Knicks meet with Kidd, no offer made (AP)

The New York Knicks have met with Jason Kidd on the first day of NBA free agency. The Dallas point guard and his agent met Wednesday with Knicks president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D'Antoni at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are interested in Kidd, but plan to be cautious in free agency because they want to save salary cap space for the summer of 2010. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Eddy Curry's Chicago home in foreclosure (AP)

Court records show that former Chicago Bulls player Eddy Curry's suburban Chicago mansion is in foreclosure. It's the same home where Curry was bound and robbed in 2007. He now plays for the New York Knicks. Documents show that Curry was more than $217,000 behind on his $3.7 million mortgage as of Friday. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Few big spenders likely in free agency (AP)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Knicks hoping to keep Lee, Robinson (AP)

David Lee and Nate Robinson become free agents on Wednesday, and the New York Knicks say they would like to keep both. The players shouldn't expect too big an offer. Those are reserved for the guys who hit free agency next year. In the meantime, the Knicks face decisions on two of their own, a pair of popular and productive players they will try to retain -- but only if it doesn't cost them... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Knicks figure to have PG option at No. 8 (AP)

Mike D'Antoni's system is in place. The New York Knicks still need help running it. Donnie Walsh thinks his team can find it in this draft. There will be plenty of point guards available Thursday night, and the Knicks could take one of them when their turn comes up at No. 8. Ricky Rubio will likely be gone by then, but Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Jonny Flynn, Ty Lawson and Brandon Jennings... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports