MVN - Most Valuable Network

Knicks Trading Randolph to Memphis?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3571031

I stumbled on this figured I pass it along see what you guys think.

Off-Season Updates

The United States not only won the gold medal at the Olympics but they did it with Mike D’Antoni’s system. Are you paying attention 2010 free agents?

The Grizzlies want Zach Randolph! Reportedly, the Knicks are talking to Memphis about a trade that would land Z-Bo in Elvis land and Darko Milicic being sent to New York in whatever package the teams could agree on. Nothing is imminent. If I’m Donnie Walsh I jump on the chance to dump Z-Bo’s contract and get a player like Milicic who would quickly pick up the European system.

This guy is a big goof but he certainly has potential. He could be the reason the Knicks are able to make this trade with Memphis.

The Knicks added two great basketball minds to the front office.

Mike D’Antoni recognizes he has his work cut out for him with the Knicks.

Legacy. The Knicks pulled the greatest trade of Donnie Walsh’s career off by trading Frederic Weis. What a joke! Who knew we even still had him on the books? Weis was one of the worst picks by the Knicks organization damn near a decade ago. Weis is one of those players who stayed in Europe so the Knicks kept his rights. He’s been there like 9 years and obviously will never be coming to the NBA to play so Donnie Walsh basically found a loop-hole to trade NOTHING for a young, hustling forward who also happens to be a Knick legacy. Ewing didn’t ever do anything great but he’s solid/average at everything. Who knows what he’ll be as an NBA player but he was a very solid defender in college. Ewing could be a developing bench player or not make the final cut but I cant see Walsh trading for Patrick Ewing’s son just for the sake of doing it. Ewing is Renaldo Balkman with a lot more upside so he could be a good pickup that pays off a year or two down the road. If, and that’s an if, if Ewing can give he Knicks at a minimum what Balkman brought to the table you have to think Walsh basically traded Weis for a 2nd round pick and two players later to be cut (see Knicks/Nuggets trade).

Regardless of what happens, you’d have to grade this as an A+ trade for the Knicks because trading nothing for something is a GM’s (Presidents) wet dream. They say you have to learn from the past so you don’t repeat mistakes in the future. The Knicks organization has NEVER BEEN THE SAME since Ewing was traded. Perhaps junior’s arrival will signal a change in fortune for New York Basketball.

Make sure you check out what Alex has to say on the subject.

Knicks Acquire Patrick Ewing Jr. for Fredrick Weis

It is draft night in 1999 and the Knicks are ready to select with the 15th pick.  St. John’s star and Queensbridge native Ron Artest is available and he is fresh off leading the Red Storm to the Elite 8.  So there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that Ron-Ron will be selected by his hometown team next. I’m thinking to myself, “This is perfect, my favorite player on my favorite college basketball team is about to get drafted by my Knicks!!!” This situation could not have been more perfect.

So David Stern fixes his glasses and takes a walk to the podium and begins to say, “with the 15th pick in the 1999 NBA draft the New York Knicks select….” I started mouthing to myself Ron Artest BUT the unthinkable comes out of Stern’s mouth “Frederick Weis center from France.” Instantly I began yelling out 4 letter words on the top of my lungs.  These 4 letter words began getting louder when I listen to the draft coverage and they are saying that Weis is still under contract in France!!!!! I could not believe what had just happened this was definitely a sick joke by Stern.  This is not real life there is no way in hell.  I mean come on the Knicks were fresh off their improbable Finals run and the gritty defensive minded New Yorker would have been perfect for that squad.

There is just no way they selected a guy who probably will never play for the franchise with the 15th pick overall, right?!?!?! Can you imagine if the Knicks would have drafted Artest? They would have had a team with Ewing, Sprewell, Larry (THE REAL L.J.) Johnson, Houston, and Marcus Camby.  Also I believe Artest would have stayed out of trouble and that his career would have been amazingly different and more positive if he had stayed home.

 Are you still wondering why I am so negative towards my favorite team? There’s a long list of things that have happened over the past ten years since that improbable Finals run that has made the Knicks the joke of professional sports. I know what your thinking the Knicks still won 50 games the next season and 48 the year after that but so what? That mistake was the beginning of the end for the dominant Knick teams.

Donnie Walsh and the Knicks tried to get rid of my nightmares today by trading away the draft rights to Frederick Weis and in return receiving Patrick Ewing Jr. The Rockets must be crazy I mean have they seen this?

After watching that can you blame Frederick Weis for not wanting to come to America to play ball? I mean Vince jumped over his head!!!! Look what the Knicks have now….

Patrick Ewing Jr. definitely has the talent and the gene pool to succeed. He knows how to handle New York City he had a front row seat to his Father’s entire Hall of Fame career. Now I understand he is not Patrick Ewing Sr. and it’s possible he might not turn out to be any good but think about it Frederick Weis hasn’t even been on this side of the world. Thank you Mr. Walsh those nightmares about that night in 1999 might be put to rest if Ewing Jr. turns into a shade of what his father was.

I Wish I Were…

I know I’ve been on a hiatus as of late and it’s because of a few reasons.  First there’s my job (FK doesn’t pay the bills), no news, slow computer, summer ball is boring and I am now single so why be home when you live on the south shore of Nassau County on Long Island when it’s 95 degrees outside?  So to help all you basketball fans starving for something to read I dug into my archives over at http://knickscentral.blogspot.com and I am posting it on here.  So enjoy….

Oh yeah and trading Balkman away for a bag of jelly beans was pretty damn stupid.  However, I can not kill this regime this is the only move I have disagreed with so far.  D’Antoni and Mr. Walsh have done an excellent job overall….

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

I Wish I Were……

Imagine one day you wake up and all of a sudden you are 7’1” and listed as 280. You are coming out of high school and have never played organized ball before. You simply just excite people with your size and gifted athletic ability on the playgrounds just messing around with your boys. Then a local school Florida A&M takes notice of you and decides they want you to suit up. Nice a scholarship and you never played high school ball, it’s good to be this big isn’t it?

Then since you are 7’1” and can dribble between your legs as well as block shots, you get drafted in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft. You are now playing for one of the best teams in the league (at the time) the Sacramento Kings sounds great right? However, reality sets in and you realize that they already have Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, Corliss Williamson, and Lawrence Funderburke (and Oliver Miller haha he was on the team but I’m just kidding) so you are not going to be doing much but sit on the bench. Since clapping your hands and being a cheerleader bores you, you decide you don’t care to work out or practice. Heck you are still getting paid right? Then to no ones surprise the Kings cut you, after only playing in a few games (rumor has it you were handed a black garbage bag to clean out your locker, OUCH).

So after collecting a couple of checks from the NBA (not millions but pretty good for the average American) you are in need of a job so you try out for the Harlem Globetrotters. You make it of course after all you have played in the NBA. Why the hell not play for the Globetrotters? You’re 7’1 what else can you do but play basketball. While “playing” for the Globetrotters you are recorded as dunking on an 11′4” basket. This helps you develop enough buzz to sign with a real team in Montenegro. Yeah it’s Montenegro but at least you are playing real organized ball again. You end up playing only 10 games and average 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. This is apparently good enough to land you a try out with the Seattle Supersonics.

So guess what you made the team, and are back playing for a REAL league (no disrespect to anybody who played or plays in Montenegro but Montenegro is Montenegro). Now, you’ve signed a contract and you are back in the NBA and you no longer have to “struggle” financially. So you celebrate a little and start eating a lot and just sit back and enjoy life once again. You are constantly on your brand new leather couch playing video games and watching movies instead of practicing. You end up getting the starting nod but you are quickly tagged as a lazy player who commits too many fouls, you are sent to the bench. Well what did you expect if you don’t work out? As Walt “Clyde” Frazier always says, “When players are tired, they play defense with their hands and not their feet” this obviously leads to frequent foul calls which ultimately reduces your minutes. What’s the big deal anyway if you are sitting on the bench at least you are in the United States and getting great checks, right?

Then after three years in Seattle you earn another rep (on top of lazy and out of shape) the dreaded rep of selfishness. You are constantly called out by then Sonic Coach Nate McMillan for only caring about yourself. Then after a game you are asked the question of what you think about McMillan’s criticism you respond with, “I don’t know what he’s talking about, I just worry about (your name here).” Hmmmmmm.

Now it’s your contract year and your agent advises you that, ‘If you work out, play well and act like you really care some sucker out there will give you a huuuuge deal, I’m talking millions upon millions!!! Come on you’re 7’1”!!! Joel Pryzbilla got $3.35 Million over 2 years and you are ten times more talented then Joel Pryzbilla!!’ (This is not an actual quote).

Then you hit the gym, motivated more then ever by dollar signs. How can anybody blame you considering what you have gone through over the past couple of years? Then you end up playing real well and turn your career around in that one season. To top it off you play amazing in the playoffs better then ever before and it is against your former team the Kings. In game two you go for 19 pts, 9 rbs and a block. In game 3 you go for 22, 9 and a block!!! Then comes game 4 and you rack up 17 pts, 8 rbs and 4 blocks!!! CHA-CHING!!! This helps the Sonics beat your former team the Sacramento Kings 4 games to 1. CHA-CHING!!! So after the clinching victory you grab a garbage bag, wrap it around your neck like a cape and run around mocking the Kings. Who cares if we lost in the second round to the Spurs, life is great and you’re about to get a real deal NBA contract. I’m talking millions upon millions of dollars.

Now who wants to be that “sucker” that buys into a 30 year old having a breakout season?!?!? Hopefully it happens I mean you played amazing in the spotlight why can’t you get a deal? You are definitely deserving of a huge guaranteed contract, right? Then your agent sends you a text message saying, “How does $5.8 million a year for 5 years playing in New York sound?” (This is not an actual quote) You then jump up in the air and yelp out a big “YABA DABA DOOOOO!!!” because you are now financially secure now for the rest of your life with this guaranteed money…..NOW you have truly made it. So you go and sign that contract immediately before Isiah realizes what he is doing. Now it’s time to really drown yourself in the kind of comfortable furniture millionaire’s use. Psh why would I waste my time getting in shape for the Knicks? This team is horrible. Have you caught on? I am talking about Jerome James.

Now I ask you this, do you wish you were Jerome James? I know I sure as hell would love to be him. So now that James is back from whatever “surgery” he had on his “foot” you should have no reason to boo him. After all he is just living a dream and he beat the system. Is it his fault the system is flawed? He treats the NBA like a job not a sport. Why can’t players treat it like that if David Stern, the owners and all of the front office executives treat it that way?

Guaranteed contracts are ruining the NBA and Major League Baseball. Guess what sport doesn’t have guaranteed contracts, the most popular and best run league in American sports……the NFL. So from now on please don’t blame Jerome for going about his business the way he did. You can’t hate on him because he signed a contract that gives him guaranteed millions. Hate on the sucker Isiah Thomas.

James is absolutely the worst free agent signing in NBA history don’t get me wrong there is no doubt about that. But at least he is going to be known for something right. Look at Bill Buckner he has accepted being known for having a ball go between his legs and he embraces interviews now instead of running from them. Jerome has a legacy whether you like it or not. I’m sure he doesn’t care what he is known for or what his critics say. If I were Jerome James my life motto would be (taken from the late rapper Stack Bundles) “Haters call me a lot of names but never call me broke.”