[h3]
Walsh: 'We can dowell in 2010'[/h3]
Donnie Walsh will sit down with the beat writers on Monday at the MSG Training Center, but on Friday he was a guest on Indianapolis' WNDE and discussedthe Knicks, the NBA Draft and even a little about the media.
Walsh didn't give away any secrets and I won't even attempt amateur tea-leaf reading. But one thing he did say with notable confidence was therewill be no wavering from the 2010 Plan. He said the goal for this season was to "make our team better and make us competitive for the playoffs" buthe said they would not do it while compromising the salary cap space for next summer.
Remember that old saying, "I'm just the man sittin' next to The Man"? Consider this the year sittin' next to The Year.
"I think we can do well in [201
," Walsh said, "and if we can do well in that, you can make a quick jump."
Walsh made it pretty clear he is following the game plan by New York's other sports franchises, who staycompetitive through free agency. He pointed to the Yankees and Giants as examples.
"If they're not doing well, they go out and they get somebody in the free agent market that is a blockbuster," he said. "And, we'regoing to try - I don't know if it's going to be a blockbuster - but we're going to try to use our money wisely and be ready for a free agencyperiod in another year."
As for the draft, Walsh seems pretty aware that he must come through with the right pick. He says he considers it "a deep draft. I'm not saying 50,but it certainly goes into the 20s. you get a good player well into the end of the first round and a player who can probably help most teams in the NBA. Frommy vantage point, I think it's a very good draft."
As for any hints to what direction he was looking to go with the No. 8 pick, Walsh gave none. He did, however, say something that supports the theory Ihave, which is that Stephen Curry is their target and Jrue Holiday is the fallback.
"No matter what you like, you may not be able to get him and you might have to have a backup to what you really like," he said. "So it'sthat process and you've got to be ready to make a choice between one player and another and whatever's best for your franchise."
* * *
* - The Grizzlies clearly will go into draft night with the entire top 10 in the palm of its hand. They could take
Hasheem Thabeetwith the No. 2 and make him a project behind
Marc Gasol, which would eventually lead to a decision to make between the two (andsecond-guessing for passing on other talents they could have had). They could thumb their nose at agent
Dan Fegan and draft
RickyRubio and dare him to stay in Spain. Or they could work out a trade with Minnesota for
Kevin Love, fill a need at power forward, andstill come away with a solid pick at No. 6 (
Tyreke Evans). That's clearly the best-case scenario, but is it the same for the Timberwolves?They would for sure take Rubio at No. 2 and then have to figure out what the future holds for
Randy Foye . . . Oklahoma City would love anyscenario that has Thabeet staying on the board when they pick at No. 3. That would give them the shot-blocking big they are lacking. But here's ahypothetical for you, Fixers: If you were the Thunder, would you consider
Kevin Durant and the No. 3 to the Clips for
EricGordon and the rights to the No. 1 pick? I say no, but if you think about it,
Blake Griffin would keep the ticket sales high in OKCand Gordon next to
Russell Westbrook would be a dynamic backcourt. I just don't think you trade an on-the-verge superstar like Durant, atleast not until his contract demands destroy your small-market cap flexibility . . . Enjoy the sun, Fixers, ain't gonna last too long. Make those sweatbeads drop and the chain nets jingle.
They're jinglin' baby..go 'head baby.