The Knicks Fix

where did greg anthony's name come from? that's the second time I've heard it with respect to any GM replacements. first kerr goes to the suns, now all of a sudden greg anthony may pull all the strings for new york?

what ever happened to the allan houston gm rumors?

also, if the knicks have the money--and like you wrote, they do--can they lure employed GM's away from their current jobs?

i'd rather have someone with some real GM (no pun intended) experience than greg anthony or allan houston.

i'm beginning to think the best possible thing for this knicks team would have been to keep the status quo before layden came aboard:

JVG as the coach
ernie grunfeld as the GM

we definitely need a new GM to make moves b/c the rest of the league doesn't respect zeke or steve mills enough to want to help them out...don't know if i want greg anthony though. i need a GM who's been thru the wars not just one who talks about deals on TV.

interesting moves u mention. i like lowry too. he is a real tough guard but am still against making a move. i say stand pat until draft night then go to work and acquire multiple picks for zach, eddy, steff, and1 crawford, Q or lee. it helps unload salaries and we start w/ a fresh young team that can only get better. that's why i say give wilson chandler major mins now to get him that experience for next yr. i would say play randolph morris too but i don't think he has it in him right now to play decent NBA ball. his butt should've been in the D-league since september.

draft Miss St.'s jarvis vanardo to play C and cuse F donte greene to be SF ...and if we still need a PG. chalmers from kansas would be a steal in the 2nd rd. or BC pg tyrese rice.

Is there a potential for a Curry plus something for Artest and a bad contract? You'd replace Q with Artest and open up a starting spot for Lee who can do 'role-player' type things with Zach and Artest handling the scoring down low. Maybe in the off-season, you get a decent PG in the draft and free agency who can make it work (I`m a fan of bringing in Brevin Knight to train a Derrick Rose/DJ Augustin). Not saying the Knicks would be awesome, but there would at least be balance on the team.

C- Zach
PF- Lee
SF- Artest
SG- Jamal
PG- Knight

Bench- Balkman, Nate, rookie PG, M. Rose and Jeffries?

If Isiah dosen't pull off a trade than I know he is just wasting his and the organizations time on the bench and front office. I would even think that he would welcome a termination for a settlement on his remaining 20 million before the season ending. I can't say who will be in those shoes nest but they can't say they have big shoes to fill. The expectations are so low that Greg Anthony or whoever could bring a spark back into one of the best franchises in the NBA. I like the Toronto Raptors GM Colangelo. He has got the knack for bringing the Knicks back to the elite teams in the NBA.

Alan - what's your scouting report on Mickael Pietrus? I rarely see him but, he always looks big, active, rugged on the D and seems to have offense. He wants out of GS. Fixers? anybody watch this guy?

I think we should stand pat and let the new guys pick and choose what they want. Let Wade and Marion end the Heat's domination of the bottom of the barrel so we can get our fair share of the Big Suck and more ping pong balls.

Alan, I thought you were alluding to a trade for Kenyon Martin with that headline. Please don't scare us like that again.

Tony A,

How bout Isiah slips a rufee in Geoff Petries drink and comes up with Artest and the other KEVIN Martin?????

won't artest be looking for big money in another year or so?? i believe his current contract is almost up. i could be wrong tho.
i am a st. john's guy myself so i would luv 2 have him back in town but i really wanna give chandler a chance. that dude was a stud in the big east last yr. he just needs minutes... i don't see artest, chandler & balkman all playing on the same team.

lose a little defense by bringing in Miller ? Could we afford to lose any more defense ?????

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=3~25~61~849~615~2986~2997~165~990~1718~509~3179~2782&teams=18~18~18~18~18~11~11~11~23~11~23~23~23&te=&cash=

Alan, please, no – no trades. Because I’m sure you’re right. A trade would mean there’s more of a chance Isiah could last into next season. And that’s unacceptable. We have to think about the future of this franchise. What this franchise needs to improve is not getting swept in the first round. And even more than a high draft pick, the most important thing this franchise needs to improve is a smart GM. Then we assume he’s got a plan . . . and combine that with a high draft pick . . . and maybe we’ll start seeing light at the end of the long, dark tunnel we’ve been in.

The next week or so will be very revealing. Isiah isn’t stupid enough to think he has a team that doesn’t need anything. The only reason he’d be saying that is to save face because he’s ashamed to admit he’s been forbidden to make any more deals. So if, indeed, there aren’t any, we can probably conclude Dolan has finally come around to realize Isiah’s gotta go. If he makes a deal or two . . . as much as the team needs . . . let’s just pray that doesn’t happen . . . and leave building a franchise to the next GM.

And yes – of course we’d be better off today with JVG and Ernie.

One more thing. Some bloggers conclude that if you’re not in favor of going all out to make the playoffs, you advocate tanking. That’s a false assumption. The playoffs are fool’s gold for a team that needs as much as the Knicks. Any lottery player who could develop into a legit member of a starting unit (when we need pretty much all 5 positions) . . . is much more important, in the long run, then whatever “learning experience” young players could get being swept by the Celtics. This ain't '99. No way. No how. I believe in having a dream. But that's not a dream, it's a delusion . . . and denial.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=509~615&teams=11~18&te=&cash=

Some bloggers conclude that if you’re not in favor of going all out to make the playoffs, you advocate tanking. That’s a false assumption. The playoffs are fool’s gold for a team that needs as much as the Knicks. Any lottery player who could develop into a legit member of a starting unit (when we need pretty much all 5 positions) . . .

Trane, your assumption is equally false. Look, I get tired of the let's hate Isiah, no matter what the price.

I don't care who coaches, GMs, or cleans the restrooms at MSG as long as the team is progressively getting better and winning.

There is no guaranteed method for building a winner. I think we are a player or two away from competing in the East. I would love to have a showdown with Boston.

We don't need five positions, we need a stable starting unit. Trading assets - looking for good fits - is as likely to land a good player than joining the lottery teams or believing in the magic fairy dust of cap space..

If Grunwald can transform Curry and change into Artest, we become a much better team. Jeffries can move to the center position situationally. A frontcourt of Artest, Jeffries, and Artest is better balanced than anything we've had in ten years.

And if we can acquire Andre Miller, Earl Watson, Kidd, or a decent veteran point guard we'd be in business.

Kidd's best bet is to get traded to the Knicks, sign a front-loaded contract, and have some fun in the big apple.

Fool's Gold? Maybe, but I'd rather go into the summer with Artest than still chasing him.

A frontcourt of Artest, Jeffries, and Artest is better balanced than anything we've had in ten years.

This should read, A frontcourt of Artest, Jeffries, and Randolph is better balanced than anything we've had in ten years.

first off ppl, isiah is goin nowhere til the season is over so no other GM is coming in to save the day. 2. only one of our starters plays DEFENSE !!! q-rich. why do ppl keep thinking we are really gonna make a run at boston with the 8th seed, let alone MAKE the playoffs with these cats?? ok and what miracle is gonna get us past say a detroit in tha next round...this team can barely play 2 decent games in row. we gonna keep winning 3 7-game series in tha east and oh yea, how many more miracles would tha team have to beat a western conf. team. let's stop dreaming people & put tha crack pipes down...do you ppl really watch this team?? geez.

in tha words of jim mora..."playoffs?? u kiddin' me playoffs ??"

prowler,

As currently constituted this team is DOA - you are correct.

But some of us happen to believe by adding quality and eliminating quantity you achieve a better mix and thus a better chance at competing.

If we start the second half with a fresh start, add to what does work and eliminate some redundancy, we have a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding. Alan's clever analogy to the Dumb & Dumber movie applies.

But is is a chance and stranger things have happened. The games have to be played to know. Isiah's realization that he needs some edgy, self-motivated, and driven players is a good sign. For too long, he has tried to win with nice guys.

We need Artest and Artest needs NY.

As for Kidd, there is no one (who is a contender) willing to trade for an albatross contract like his. He should look at the history of older players and ask himself if he wants to earn chump change by having to accept minimum dollars or take a chance in NY where Isiah and Dolan can resign him for obscene but honest money.

Add two gamers and a some pine brothers and eliminate some superfluous player overstocks and this team can win.

No crack pipe required.

to thise of you in this blog who see the knicks as a player or two away from competing, you really ought to speak to your parents about what brain injuries you suffered in childhood. the reality is, this is one of the very worst teams every to play in any professional sports organization. they are atrocious, from the owner, to the president, to the coach, to most of the players. NONE of the starters would play significant minutes on ANY of the top twenty teams i repeat, NONE.

there is nothing on this roster worth salvaging, unless your idea of building a serious team starts with getting role players in place (lee, n8, balkman, crawford). if you think this is the way to build a team, then you ought to start following cycling.

this is my 5 year plan for building a championship team from these ruins:

1. Mills and isiah need to be fired the day after the season ends.

2. A great basketball mind needs to be brought in to be the general manager. my top two choices are ernie grunfeld and Maurizio Gherardini. i would also consider mike dantonio, were he interested in leaving the bench.

2. ALL high salaries with 2 or more years must be dumped asap, regardless of the return in talent. public enemy #1 on this list is curry the slob, with z-bo (and i actually like a lot about this guys game) next in line. if it requires throwing in valuable assets such as lee or balkman to get these deals done, so be it. lee and balkman and a token will get you on the subway, but they won't win you a championship in this league.

3. a superstar player, preferably lebron, must be signed to become the anchor and face of the franchise. with lebron in place, other good players will be eager to play in the mecca of basketball. you might even get lucky, like the lakers did with payton and malone (i know, they didn't win it all, but they won 56 game sand went to the finals, where they lost to a great pistons team).

4. we will have top 5 picks in the next 2 drafts with no pick 3 years from now (mebury trade). a point guard and a legit big must be the top priorities in these coming drafts. none of the available veteran points will be in their prime by the time this team really needs them, and no one trades talented bigs. since you will be spending all of your cap on lebron, you will have to find your big in the draft.

5. a veteran assassin small forward can be bought when the team is on the cusp of getting serious. there are always a few guys like michael finley or ray allen around who are looking to finish their careers with a championship run.

fwkOO - My assumption is false? That it will benefit the Knicks more in the long-term to add a solid starting player than to get swept in the play-offs? Well, these are just our opinions, of course. But you obviously feel the Knicks are a pretty talented bunch a guys. I don’t. You think we’re one or two players away. Wow. I think we need an entire unit. We need a starting point guard. A starting shooting guard. A starting small forward. And a starting center. That’s assuming we can live with Randolph at the 4 for a while. That’s not tinkering with a roster. That’s not one or two players away. That’s building a franchise. I guess that’s where we disagree.

I also think it matters desperately who’s GM and who’s coach. We’ve had two miserable GMs in a row. That should teach us how important it is to have a good one. I would think the last 8 years of miserable Knicks basketball should be proof enough of those statements. I’m not jumping on some ‘hate Isiah’ bandwagon. He’s the wrong man for the job. He’s done a terrible job. We need someone to clean up this mess.

By the way, I don’t agree that there’s nothing on this roster worth saving. What Isiah has built, in effect, is the biggest 2nd unit in the league. We have a terrific bench. Now we just need a starting unit and we can start to play some decent basketball. As talented as Jamal and Lee are, they're still just bench players for a legit contender. And they're the best we have. Sorry. One or two players away? I don't think so.

Who’s more tradable: Zach or Eddy? You gotta pick your poison on this one: financially it’s Eddy because he has a more attractive contract, as far as talent it’s Zach because even though they both stink at defense, Zach will grad 10 rebounds per night to go along with a good offensive game. But the key to this topic should be: ‘Who’s in charge if and when these guys get traded?’ No one can argue that Isiah is one of the worst GM’s in the history of basketball. Solution: fire Isiah now, well before the trading deadline, hire someone with smarts to make present and future decision. Forget the playoffs (getting swept by Boston/Detroit), play the young guys and rebuild from the draft. Find the next Ewing or Camby, WE NEED A REAL CENTER!!

With any major trade, Isiah suddenly has an excuse for a terrible record the rest of the way - "we haven't gelled yet, we need time to come together" - which means he is more likely to be kept around. To "make it work."

Obviously no trade changes the reality that he is a terrible coach and a poor GM, but anything that could extend extend his tenure here is best avoided.

Lee could potentially start on a good team. But he is the only one.

Centers:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=7376

No matter how bad it gets, it seems we won't have a top 3 pick. Unless Rose or Beasley drops, are there "superstars" there? Better to take a big man with integrity and a MOTOR. Dwight Howard type - Thabeet?

I'd love to see Knicks get Rose somehow but his stock has risen big time this year. They might be better off grabbing Hibbert and let him be a defensive force in the middle. Ewing came out as a defensive force and he turned out pretty good, huh? I'm not saying Hibbert would turn into Ewing offensively but he'll be better than Mutumbo. Maybe a Zo someday? That works. Then grab a PG in 2nd round and hopefully catch lightning in a bottle.

At least that's a start ... we're not getting anywhere in the future until Steph's contract is off the books and either Zach or Curry gets traded (can't have both of these guys on the team). Once that happens, we need to see where we are and re-evaluate. So expect to be bad this year and next (with hopefully another high draft pick next year) and then maybe we have some decent building blocks to go forward with for the '09-'10 season.

Sleeping on the job again, Alan?

ZACH DENIES ROLE AT PORTLAND PARTY

BY MARC BERMAN

February 13, 2008 -- Zach Randolph reportedly was named in a Portland (Ore.) police report on Jan. 31 - the night before the Knicks played the Blazers - in relation to a disturbance at a party at the nightclub Greek Cusina.

A story in the Portland Tribune says Randolph, a former Blazer, hosted the party in which 100 people spilled out of the nightclub into the street after a fight broke out at 2:40 a.m.

Randolph denied through a Knick spokesman he hosted the party or ever spoke to police, claiming someone used his name. Randolph said he was at the party but was not involved in the incident.

Knicks deny it, but sources say Marbury on block

BY ALAN HAHN

10:34 PM EST, February 12, 2008

BOSTON

The Knicks would love to test a dubious trend that has infamously followed Stephon Marbury throughout his career, which shows that teams consistently display a dramatic improvement in the win-loss column after he has been traded.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Knicks have been trying to deal the injured 30-year-old point guard, who has one year and a hefty $22 million left on his contract. It's been a futile attempt with zero interest, but if Marbury's conspicuous distance from his team while recovering from bone spur surgery on his ankle isn't enough evidence that this is the end of his Knicks run, being on the trading block solidifies it.

"This is a business and being traded is part of it," Marbury said yesterday. "Some of the best players that have ever played the game have been traded."

NOTE: Yeah, and chumps get traded FOUR TIMES.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=990~703~1985~831&teams=25~25~18~18&te=&cash=

This young kid out of Texas A&M would be a great pick-up in the draft: DeAndre Jordan - Texas A&M, Freshman, 7'0, 240 lbs

The last player on the list has a chance to be in this year's first round based solely on potential. DeAndre Jordan, the 7'0, 240 lbs Aggie freshman, is the definition of raw talent. Scouts see a Dwight Howard or a LaMarcus Aldridge ready to be sculpted from Jordan's physical attributes.

There is little doubt Jordan's frame could hold a lot more weight. He is incredibly quick and moves well for a freshman is that tall and heavy. As in Speight's case, we see some sparks of Jordan's gifts, but to a lesser extent on the fundamental side and more so with his physicality.

Coaches will need to work on Jordan's positioning in the post and help instill a sense of what moves are effective from certain areas of the court. Many times he would post below the block. This limits the angles of attack which makes certain moves useless. Even when Jordan received the ball below the block he would turn baseline, putting him underneath the backboard and creating a difficult scoring opportunity. If he will post above the block, that move will be a lot easier to finish.

Jordan has a high shooting percentage from the putbacks and easy dunks he gets with his size. A skill set from 5-7 feet should be Jordan's focus going into the summer. He already has shown he can block shots, although he seems a bit hesitant at times to go after the shot. Teams will be just as hesitant to pass up a shot at this physical talent once he declares his eligibility for the draft.

Rick Carlisle coaching, with Kiki Vandeweghe as the GM would be the move I would make if I were Mr. Dolan.

I see no better team out there for the position.

Of course if Jerry Colangelo is available I would consider a play for him as well.

We can always hope.

the Nets have agreed to trade Jason Kidd and Malik Allen to the Mavericks for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, two first-round picks and cash

the only center we need to be looking at is JARVIS VANARDO from mississippi state !!!!! nation's leading shot blocker. nuff said.

you have to have patience and visions of the long term effect of actions. Something that NY fans, media and management has not shown since layden traded Ewing for Rose, Longley and anothe scrub. Throw in the starter's money Layden gave to bench player Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson and the big extension to Houston and the roots of this mess have been planted long ago, Isiah has just fertilized it and helped it grow with deals to JJ and... point is it took years to get here. It will stake guts and patience to get out.

Lets see how the media and fans treat the next GM/coach that lets Marbury stew for his last year to get the cap room.... I bet the fire coach signs come out again

Obviously we need an expert to fix this mess.....not us. I give up.

The only way Dolan could possibly keep Isiah is if:
Isiah recants he failed building philosophy,
dumps the losers
goes with proven professional free agents,
blue chip program college players,
along with some multi-skilled, aggressive europeans.

Isiah might not be smart enought too figure this out though?

How come no one is mentioning OJ Mayo...They got us picking him with the 5th pick in a mock draft. http://www.mynbadraft.com/2008-NBA-Mock-Draft They say he might be the next great...a scoring machine..great all around game..what do you guys think...go for him or Deandre Jordan?? cuz I don't know about Hibbert they say he's to weak and gets pushed around by guards and he's 7'2.