MVN - Most Valuable Network

A Diary Entry…

Dear Father Knickerbocker,

It’s hard work being a Knicks fan. You have so much and so little to deal with at the same time its ridiculous. I often feel like I’m playing catch up. Okay, so far this off-season the Knicks have moved in the right direction. They removed Isiah Thomas from view. They replaced him with the new Knick brain trust of president Donnie Walsh of the Pacers and coach Mike D’Antoni of the Suns. So far so good. Walsh is highly respected in basketball circles and D’Antoni has a European-style up-tempo offense that makes the most inept offensive players thrive. At least now if we’re going to lose it wont be because we can’t score.

The first matter of business was the draft. Unfortunately we only got the #6 pick so my wish list of one of OJ Mayo or Jerryd Bayless Russell Westbrook virtually turned into a hope and a prayer. They both went before the 6th pick so instead the Knicks picked the much-rumored Danilo Gallinari from Italy. I was kind of bummed over the pick but at the same time I felt he’d probably be a good player in the long run if Walsh/D’Antoni thought he’d be a solid guy to select as the first pick under their control. I figured, like most European basketball players, he’d be skinny, soft and defensively prone. I was happy to see a young kid who jumped out on film. He was clearly at a higher level than the European league. He’s tall, energetic and surprised me with his handle and explosiveness towards the rim. Usually, those European players fade away and make circus lay-ups but D-Lo, as I’ve named him, dunks on people every chance he gets! I was totally surprised. He seemed to be developing his body still, which is great because he will only get bigger and stronger. Only time will tell if D-Lo will work out but any guy being compared to Detlef Schrempf just makes me gitty because I remember growing up loving Detlef’s game. If he can live up to that label I’ll be thrilled!

Okay, so we got another forward but whose going to run the offense? I didn’t think Stephon Marbury was a PG in a half court system let alone in D’Antoni’s system. Walsh/D’Antoni used their mid-level exception to make an offer to the Bulls’ Chris Duhon. Duhon was nice in college. He ended up just being a backup in the pros with Chicago but he’s got some real skill. He ended up accepting the offer, despite rumors of Orlando’s interest, and now we’ll have a true point guard with a pass-first mentality, who can shoot the three and play defense. God forbid! The only thing I don’t like is at first he was offered a half-exception but Walsh upped it to a full exception. I would have personally waited till he got another offer to up mine but I understand what Walsh was thinking. I don’t mind, even though it doubled his last salary, both Walsh and D’Antoni thought the other options were not in Duhon’s class. Duhon was not only a non-max or high wage player, he’s known as a great team mate, he’s young, he’s great in the community and he’s an upgrade at the PG position in both passing and defense. I think he’s a perfect signing. His offense can only get better in this system.

Now, with no more contract exceptions, the roster needs to be changed via releases, trades and cheap signings to get the kind of talent needed for D’Antoni’s system. The Knicks have been connected to several players still available. I still think the Knicks will sign another PG such as Carlos Arroyo, Tyronn Lue or Sebastian Telfair when Stephon Marbury in inevitably traded, released or bought out. There’s a chance to save somewhere between $11 to $13 million if Marbury is bought out. That alone justified spending more to bring in Duhon. We’ll see. I’d love to have Telfair especially out of that group to add to our bench. Even though he’s known as more of a one-on-one type guard he still almost averaged 6 assists per game for Minnesota. I even found this video of Telfair crossing Duhon over and thinking about both of them in blue and orange makes me smile at the possibilities. One can only hope.

Elton Brand just signed with the 76ers, which is a good thing and a bad thing. Its bad because he’s a beast and makes the East instantly stronger but it helps because Walsh might be able to dump Zach Randolph’s contract on the Clippers now. The Pistons could be another potential trade partner. Skill-wise Zach’s probably the best forward available right now but his attitude worries teams, as it should. I think he’ll be traded eventually and I can’t see any reason why the Clippers don’t match up with the Knicks on a possible trade. Even my version isn’t that well thought out and its one of many those two franchises can make for that trade to work. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Either way the Knicks have to move at least one of Randolph’s, Jared Jeffries’ or Jamal Crawford’s contracts in order to get the cap under control. It sounds like Malik Rose and David Lee could leave via trades as well.

The Knicks are trying to get Jerome James to retire for injury reasons even though he doesn’t want to. They are practically begging him and I have to admit I’m joining them. He’s horrible. Hopefully Walsh can beg someone enough to have Eddy Curry taken off his hands. The Heat were connected to him at one time. Ron Artest is not happy in Sacramento and could be a possible trade target. I’ve heard the Lakers are offering Lamar Odom for Artest though and if I were the Kings I’d jump on that deal. We can’t offer them someone like him. Rudy Fernandez is one player I think we could trade for cheaply.

The next thing to look forward to is the summer league. The roster has been widely published. Because of the new system and our roster situation I’ll be watching very closely to this summers team. Usually one guys fights for a roster spot but I wont be surprised if more than one of these guys ends up making the team. I know that sounds crazy but after looking into some of the invitees I think the team did a great job of getting skilled guys this year to look at. There are the typical free agents, minor leaguers (lol, I love calling them that), and European players. Just based off D’Antoni’s system you’d have to figure these European players will get a real look. On the list there are players better than others but there are couple I’m looking at closer than normal. I seriously expect AT LEAST one of Dan Grunfeld, Delonte Holland, Zhang Songtao, Von Wafer or Antione Johnson to make the Knicks roster, maybe more. Grunfeld would definitely make the team but his knee injury really hurt his ability to move on offense and defense so I don’t expect him to make it. Wafer is an athletic guy who can really shoot but I don’t know if that will be enough to get him a contract. Songtao is 6-11 center that has more meat on his bones that Yao Ming and surprised me with his athleticism but I don’t expect much from him. It could be interesting though with our lack of centers and European style because if Songtao shows ANYTHING he could find himself on our bench. The two I’m most going to watch is Holland and Johnson. Johnson is a pure point guard who could easily play in D’Antoni’s system. I think he’s going to end up outshining Mardy Collins and might give him run for his roster spot. No one is safe. The guy I really love though is Holland. If I were Donnie Walsh I’d write him onto my regular roster already. Holland is another DePaul player like our own Wilson Chandler. Holland is offensively a beast. Who knows about his defense but from a SF position Holland can bring the ball up like Scottie Pippen use to and he attacks the basket like Vince Carter use to. I’m not even kidding. I can’t believe this guy hasn’t gotten a chance anywhere. I’m really, really hoping he makes our team. I found this video of Holland against D-Lo and they just go back and forth.

The people this summer league is really interesting for is our returning veterans. I’ve heard just about every Knicks player say he might show up. I’m waiting for Willis Reed to report to duty in Vegas. This team is most important for Renaldo Balkman, Wilson Chandler, Mardy Collins and Nate Robinson. This is their chance. They get to either make a case for them sticking around or single handedly eliminating their own jobs. Chandler should be our starting SF come regular season based on last season but he’ll have to prove himself to D’Antoni. Balkman should be safe but he can’t play poorly for his first impression. Robinson is going to attempt to show he can run D’Antoni’s offense. Collins will try to do the same. All four of these players have to bring their A-game to Vegas because they will all be auditioning for both D’Antoni but for other teams as well. Shoot, D-Lo’s the only one without pressure in Vegas. He just needs to show if he can or can’t hang with these guys. Either way his roster spot is secure.

Father Knickerbocker, you’re the only one who listens to me. Until next entry, I’m out!

–Matt Agne AKA gianthinker

This entry was posted on Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 3:44 am and is filed under Randolph Morris, Knicks, Renaldo Balkman, Madison Square Garden, Yao Ming, Chris Duhon, MSG, Ron Artest, Knicks Transactions, Knicks Coaches, Knicks Trades, Knicks Signings, ESPN, Lamar Odom, Mike D'Antoni, Knick Management, Donnie Walsh, Danilo Gallinari, O.J.Mayo, sign-and-trade, Danilo “D-Lo” Gallinari, Bulls, OJ Mayo, Wilson Chandler, Zach Randolph, NBA Draft Lottery, Summer League, Malik Rose, Knicks Management, Knicks Message Boards/Forums, Knicks Players, Knicks News, Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Mardy Collins, Nate Robinson, NBA, Knicks Sites, Knicks game Reviews, Free Agents, Sports Websites, Draft Resources, Trade Rumors, Jared Jeffries, Quentin Richardson, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Knicks Blogs, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Jerome James, David Lee, Eddy Curry, Knicks Game Previews, Boston Celtics, New York Knickerbockers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.