Happy Thanksgiving week! The NBA season is already almost a month old and this past weekend the Knicks made a splash by moving two huge contracts. Kudos to the Knicks for trading two guys that had almost no value at the beginning of the season.
If you watch Jamal Crawford play, you are amazed at some of the shots he makes and more amazed by how wild the rest of the misses are. He is an undisciplined scorer with no conscious that would be best coming off the bench for a good team for 25 minutes. He shoots a low percentage and doesn't pass the ball well either. Between Marbury and Crawford, it looks like Crawford was the better teammate but that isn't really a ringing endorsement. He will fit into Don Nelson's style of play well, just like he fit into Dantoni's style well because of the lack of emphasis on defense, or shot selection, or anything other jacking up crazy shots.
No one has ever doubted Al Harrington's talent. He can score, handle, rebound and shoot so he shouldn't have a problem on the Knicks. His biggest problem is that he thinks he is the best player on the team and he should be the focus of the offense. That is probably the biggest problem among talented NBA players, the lack of acceptance of their place in the pecking order. On a bad team, Harrington could average 20 points a game but his team would lose 50 games. On a good team Harrington is the third option, rebounds and defends the other teams best player. He's been in the league long enough to know where his place is and if he doesn't, then you don't want him on your team of he destroys the team's chemistry.
The Zach Randolph deal was just unloading a large contract for two guys that have no future with the Knicks. Tim Thomas is one of my least favorite players. He plays when he wants to but he usually doesn't, unless it is contract year and then he plays well. Classic guy who is running to the bank to cash his paycheck and never looks back. Catino Mobley is an undersized shooting guard that definitely can score but is overmatched by taller guards. Again, he is a good back up playing too many minutes as a starter. I'm not sure how Randolph fits with Kaman as they both really dominate the ball but the Clipper's season was over before it began. As long as they don't give away players to the Lakers, who cares what they do.
The Knicks are basically throwing away this year and next year so that they can have the CHANCE to get Lebron James. Two whole seasons thrown in the trash just for the opportunity to give a guy a max contract. Lebron James is Lebron James but does that make any sense? I guess you could say that this season was going to be a lottery year and that next year was hopeless as well but how can you do that to your fans? How can you expect fans to care about your team for the next two years if the management had said that they aren't going to care. If you have season tickets this year can you get a full refund? I would be really upset having to watch a starting lineup of Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler, Quentin Richardson, David lee and Catino Mobley. Is that exciting? One of the most expensive tickets in the league and this the team they are going to put out for the next two years. Even worse is that they gave their number one pick to Utah a while ago that is protected this next year, but is unprotected the following year. That means that if they stay bad for two years like they plan to, the Jazz are going to own their 2010 lottery pick. Hope it ends up being number one.
There are a lot of free agents going to be available in 2010 but there a couple of issues that I have an issue with this forward thinking. When was the last time that a free agent turned the fortunes of a team around? Trades can turn change things for a team but I can't remember the last time that a major free agent signing changed the future of a franchise. Most free agent signings are too long and too high priced and end up backfiring on the team. I'll have to look up recent free agent signings and how many of them justify their contract. Actually, the Jazz signed Carlos Boozer and Okur the same summer, then got Williams and two years later really reaped the benefits. Those were reasonable signings for guys that were competitively priced. That rarely happens in the free agent market.
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5 comments:
The other night when I was flipping around the channels and it seemed like all I could get on the ESPNS was the the hype on this Free Agent crop of 2010. You bring up a legitimate point about the Knicks essentially throwing away the next two seasons, but it seemed to me like that the 2010 LeBron hope is all the fans are hanging their hat on too--even prior to the salary dumps. Weren't they at .500 about a week ago? .500 in the East in April is good enough for at least a fifth seed, isn't it?
As for the biggest and most impactful free agent signings in recent history, how about: Agent 0 (Gilbert Arenas) with the Wizz, Chauncey Billups with the Pistons, Nash with the Suns, and Shaq with the Lakers??
I disagree. The Knicks had to clear cap space for 2010, regardless of how it effects their squad. The free agent class in is too good to not be a player in. If its not Lebron--I really think it will be--it'll be Wade, Amare, Bosh, etc. And the Knicks have simply too much to offer in money, location, and good coaching to not pick up one or two max players.
If the Knicks hadn't made these moves, what sort of long-term prospects do they have?
2 years is a long time to destroy your team. Granted the Knicks have been bad for many years now but to admit defeat is different than having hope that your team might make it to the playoffs. The free agent class of 2010 is amazing but what if the Knicks don't get Lebron? They would need to get two free agents to make a real difference as one star doesn't take a team to a championship.
Chamil,
Arenas has been plagued by injuries and in the end overpayed for a guy that strictly is a scorer. Nash I think is the one that really sticks out as a game changing free agent and I remember when they signed him that I thought that the Suns had overpayed by millions, but the Suns were right, but given that bet again, I would bet against the aging white point guard any day.
I agree that the administration deserves every bit of chastisement given the Knicks currently woeful state. This state, however, should be blamed on the gross mismanagement of Thomas and Dolan. With such a horrid roster and so many bad contracts, Walsh and D'Antoni have to make a decision between short-term mediocrity or long-term shot at a championship. I think they've chosen the latter. A 2-3 year rebuilding process is acceptable, I think, although certainly not fan friendly.
If the Knicks don't get Lebron, they'll be able to get their hands on Wade, Stoudemire, Bosh, Nowitzki, etc. I'm no accountant, but the analyst say the Knicks will have room for two big contracts, so its feasible they get more than just one of these players.
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