OFFICIAL NEW YORK KNICKS OFFSEASON THREAD: TRAINING CAMP

[al3xis]

Speaking of Wilson..

Wilson Chandler did receive clearance to resume basketball activity last week. He sprained his left knee and missed the final game of the season. Chandler doeshave some unspecified restrictions to follow, but is reportedly back home in Michigan working out. It would do him a world of good to spend August andSeptember in New York under the watchful eye of Mike D'Antoni and company.

 

[the gr8]

Originally Posted by Al3xis

I'm sayin for a PG he does not have NBA range, at all.

He shot 33% from the college 3...with a talented cast and Love kicking out.....that's awful.

I'll be pleased with Mayo...but won't be heartbroken if he isn't there.

Now, I can live with Westbrook...I don't understand taking him with DJ on the board...but the kid will bring D...I don't know what else....but at least he'll do that.

Joe Alexander...ABSOLUTELY NOT.

He and Chandler are the same age, and Chandler is the better player.

Somebody tell me if you've ever see Alexander do anything but drive right, pull up jumper...or get a dunk.

Bob Huggins is the only reason he started utilizing his athletic ability...he had to be on his case all season to keep him aggressive...he is SOFT...has no left hand, not a very good defender, and CAN'T pass. He'll just be another ball stopper on this team. And a guy who needs the ball to be worth anything.

Why doesn't he get that stigma though of just an athlete and someone who needs the ball to be effective? Probably his skin color, to be honest.

Chandler is already at that position and is a better player. People say Chandler doesn't have a jumper or NBA range...HELLO, Joe Alexander didn't have COLLEGE 3 point range. He WON'T shoot NBA 3's, because he CAN'T.

His all midrange, jumping over people jumpers or just a dunk. Nothing else. Nothing else at all. When he goes against someone who can jump with him, and contests those pull ups..they don't fall.

If we're going the scoring route, take Gordon...cause he's a better player.

Agreed with that you make good points about Alexander. And like i said if we dont trade and Mayo is off i want DJ or Westbrook. Both are nice players. Bothi feel are nice offensively and defensively and are very athletic while Westbrooks main attribute is his defense and DJ is better at offense and running thefloor. both are still lightning quick and athletc (especially westbrook for overall athletisism) and bot also are well rounded and not a bad offensive playernor defensive. also i dont really know about Wetbrook but a big plus for me about DJ is that hes a great leader and a very mature person.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

I think the only way we could woe Dumars to trade Sheed for Z-bo would be if we swapped picks. I wouldn't mind it if Mayo is off the board, but the Pistonspick is too late for my liking.
I'm starting to like Westbrook as the Knicks pick considering its been liek 10 years since we had a point guard who wasn't selfish and could playdefense.

 

[al3xis]

DJ' size and athleticism worries me....granted, not everyone is Derrick Rose...who just abused him...but that match up left me having 2nd thoughts on him.

 

[krisp kicks]

I'm gonna agree with pretty much everything allen's been saying. I don't wanna get too into Joe Alexander because if we draft him I will not attenda single Knick game this season. It would just be a bad all around pick: a) he is not that good, and is very similar to Chandler, b) 6 would be such a reachfor him.

As for the DJ vs. Westbrook argument, I think if we don't draft at 6 and trade for a later pick, DJ would be the pick. But at #6, teams are very wary ofpassing on players that have a higher ceiling in terms of potential. I don't think there is any question that Westbrook has a higher ceiling than DJ, so hewill most likely go off the board first.

There are a lot of big, strong, fast PG's in the NBA and I just don't like DJ going up against them for 35-40 minutes 82 nights a year. I'd besatisfied with both, but if we pick at #6, I'm leaning towards Westbrook considering Mayo and Bayless will not be available.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Just to play devil's advocate, TJ Ford has been quite successful in the NBA. Albeit because he is lightning quick, but he isn't strong( couldn'teven bench 185 lbs) and a bit undersized.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

I want Augustin.

 

[krisp kicks]

JohnnyRedStorm Ford has missed like 50% of the games in his career, and is quicker/more athletic than DJ anyway. Plus he's not even the best PG on histeam. With the #6 pick, I would like someone better than that.

I like DJ, but at #6 the player with the higher ceiling makes more sense (yes sometimes it backfires, thats life).

 

[Mister Meaner]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

I think the only way we could woe Dumars to trade Sheed for Z-bo would be if we swapped picks. I wouldn't mind it if Mayo is off the board, but the Pistons
pick is too late for my liking.


I'm starting to like Westbrook as the Knicks pick considering its been liek 10 years since we had a point guard who wasn't selfish and could play
defense.

Now, I have no idea who this Westbrook guy is, nor most of these college players. I feel sort of

for not being up to par with my Knick news as oflate. I don't post much here, but I like to throw out my feelings/ideas every now and again. However, after reading this sentence, I was reminded of one ofmy feelings from this past season. I could be wrong, but most of these players we are looking at are offensive-oriented players, no? This is SOOOO not what weneed. I believe that a scoring SG in Crawford is what we need, surrounded by energy, quality players. If this guy Westbrook is a pass first, defense PG, then Iwould be sorely dissappointed if the Knicks didn't get him.

That right there is the first step to building a team (see N.O. and Portland). We have the offensive firepower already, certainly too much, and thatdoesn't work. Start with the PG, and work our way to the atrocity that is our Bigs.

Thats all from me for now.

 

[flatbushking]

Originally Posted by Super Producer J

Originally Posted by JohnnyRedStorm

I think the only way we could woe Dumars to trade Sheed for Z-bo would be if we swapped picks. I wouldn't mind it if Mayo is off the board, but the Pistons
pick is too late for my liking.


I'm starting to like Westbrook as the Knicks pick considering its been liek 10 years since we had a point guard who wasn't selfish and could play
defense.

Now, I have no idea who this Westbrook guy is, nor most of these college players. I feel sort of

for not being up to par with my Knick news as of late. I don't post much here, but I like to throw out my feelings/ideas every now and again. However, after reading this sentence, I was reminded of one of my feelings from this past season. I could be wrong, but most of these players we are looking at are offensive-oriented players, no? This is SOOOO not what we need. I believe that a scoring SG in Crawford is what we need, surrounded by energy, quality players. If this guy Westbrook is a pass first, defense PG, then I would be sorely dissappointed if the Knicks didn't get him.

That right there is the first step to building a team (see N.O. and Portland). We have the offensive firepower already, certainly too much, and that doesn't work. Start with the PG, and work our way to the atrocity that is our Bigs.

Thats all from me for now.

Here's a link to the NCAA tourney games if u want check out certain players....it's streamed

http://www.ncaasports.com/mmod/player/

 

[dirtyxcanto]

i hope the knicks get lebron in a couple of seasons

 

[the gr8]

Originally Posted by Krisp Kicks

JohnnyRedStorm Ford has missed like 50% of the games in his career, and is quicker/more athletic than DJ anyway. Plus he's not even the best PG on his team. With the #6 pick, I would like someone better than that.

I like DJ, but at #6 the player with the higher ceiling makes more sense (yes sometimes it backfires, thats life).

I agree with what you are saying. If Mayo is off the board and we still keep #6 Westbrook should be the guy because he has the higher ceilinng forpotential. However if we trade down DJ is our man because he is a very solid player who would fit in great with us but his ceiling is not as high as Westbrook.He would still be a great pick though. But a great pick anywhere from 8+. If we picked him over Westbrook we would regret it, drafting Westbrook would be anice step for this team to take. But on the other side Mike D'Antoni has flat out said that he doesnt want guys that cant score so im thinking that DJ isdefinitley more the D'Antoni kind of guy. He is a lightning quick guard who makes others better and he can hit shots as well. But as i have said nueroustimes before thank god this is donnie making the pick because

at the Knicks if we dont pick the best available player "because he doesnt fit into our gameplan." Its not like we are a contender and looking for anextra piece to help you get to the next level. No. In that scenario i would applaud taking a guy who fits your gamelan because you have a set group of playersthat play that kind of way and win. For instance if D'Antoni was still coaching the suns obviously they would still need guys that could play in theregameplan so if the best available player would be some fat and unathletic forward it would make sense to pass him up for a guy who fits their style of playbecause they already have a core that plays that way. on this team we hve that kind of coach but none of our players fit that style of play. Basically what iam saying is that coaches are expendable but we will never be able to make this pick over. we need to get the best available guy even if he is not rally thetrypical D'Antoni kind of guy. i dont see D'Antoni lasting more than 4 years max anyway... which is why we should have gotten a young up and comingcoach or an assistant rather than an established veteran coach with a big conttract.

at the Celtics it amazaes me how God lets those %**$%$@frontrunning fans in boston win another championship while we have the most loyal fans in the world and we cant win %+!+. how the hell does God give themanother championship?!! It just goes to show that god works in a mysterious way. but if we stay loyal god will make it even at the end of the day, we will getour time. Hopefully it will be soon. But when that time comes when the Knicks win another championship it will feel sooo sweet. I mean after watching theCeltics it has me thinking just imagining if that was happening in NY. It would be madness. All this suffering sucks right now but it will only make it sweeterat the end of the day.

 

[ichampion]

Originally Posted by THE GR8

Originally Posted by Krisp Kicks

JohnnyRedStorm Ford has missed like 50% of the games in his career, and is quicker/more athletic than DJ anyway. Plus he's not even the best PG on his team. With the #6 pick, I would like someone better than that.

I like DJ, but at #6 the player with the higher ceiling makes more sense (yes sometimes it backfires, thats life).

I agree with what you are saying. If Mayo is off the board and we still keep #6 Westbrook should be the guy because he has the higher ceilinng for potential. However if we trade down DJ is our man because he is a very solid player who would fit in great with us but his ceiling is not as high as Westbrook. He would still be a great pick though. But a great pick anywhere from 8+. If we picked him over Westbrook we would regret it, drafting Westbrook would be a nice step for this team to take. But on the other side Mike D'Antoni has flat out said that he doesnt want guys that cant score so im thinking that DJ is definitley more the D'Antoni kind of guy. He is a lightning quick guard who makes others better and he can hit shots as well. But as i have said nuerous times before thank god this is donnie making the pick because

at the Knicks if we dont pick the best available player "because he doesnt fit into our gameplan." Its not like we are a contender and looking for an extra piece to help you get to the next level. No. In that scenario i would applaud taking a guy who fits your gamelan because you have a set group of players that play that kind of way and win. For instance if D'Antoni was still coaching the suns obviously they would still need guys that could play in there gameplan so if the best available player would be some fat and unathletic forward it would make sense to pass him up for a guy who fits their style of play because they already have a core that plays that way. on this team we hve that kind of coach but none of our players fit that style of play. Basically what i am saying is that coaches are expendable but we will never be able to make this pick over. we need to get the best available guy even if he is not rally the trypical D'Antoni kind of guy. i dont see D'Antoni lasting more than 4 years max anyway... which is why we should have gotten a young up and coming coach or an assistant rather than an established veteran coach with a big conttract.

at the Celtics it amazaes me how God lets those %**$%$@ frontrunning fans in boston win another championship while we have the most loyal fans in the world and we cant win %+!+. how the hell does God give them another championship?!! It just goes to show that god works in a mysterious way. but if we stay loyal god will make it even at the end of the day, we will get our time. Hopefully it will be soon. But when that time comes when the Knicks win another championship it will feel sooo sweet. I mean after watching the Celtics it has me thinking just imagining if that was happening in NY. It would be madness. All this suffering sucks right now but it will only make it sweeter at the end of the day.

Blasphemy? I think so. I don't think it is fair to question God especially since this is only a sport. If you were to question him for detrimentalthings such as 9/11 then I could understand, but then again, you were probably just joking.

Anyhow, the Knicks made a huge mistake when they chose starmockery over a proven coach in Larry Brown.

 

[johnnyredstorm]

Originally Posted by iChampion

Originally Posted by THE GR8

Originally Posted by Krisp Kicks

JohnnyRedStorm Ford has missed like 50% of the games in his career, and is quicker/more athletic than DJ anyway. Plus he's not even the best PG on his team. With the #6 pick, I would like someone better than that.

I like DJ, but at #6 the player with the higher ceiling makes more sense (yes sometimes it backfires, thats life).

I agree with what you are saying. If Mayo is off the board and we still keep #6 Westbrook should be the guy because he has the higher ceilinng for potential. However if we trade down DJ is our man because he is a very solid player who would fit in great with us but his ceiling is not as high as Westbrook. He would still be a great pick though. But a great pick anywhere from 8+. If we picked him over Westbrook we would regret it, drafting Westbrook would be a nice step for this team to take. But on the other side Mike D'Antoni has flat out said that he doesnt want guys that cant score so im thinking that DJ is definitley more the D'Antoni kind of guy. He is a lightning quick guard who makes others better and he can hit shots as well. But as i have said nuerous times before thank god this is donnie making the pick because

at the Knicks if we dont pick the best available player "because he doesnt fit into our gameplan." Its not like we are a contender and looking for an extra piece to help you get to the next level. No. In that scenario i would applaud taking a guy who fits your gamelan because you have a set group of players that play that kind of way and win. For instance if D'Antoni was still coaching the suns obviously they would still need guys that could play in there gameplan so if the best available player would be some fat and unathletic forward it would make sense to pass him up for a guy who fits their style of play because they already have a core that plays that way. on this team we hve that kind of coach but none of our players fit that style of play. Basically what i am saying is that coaches are expendable but we will never be able to make this pick over. we need to get the best available guy even if he is not rally the trypical D'Antoni kind of guy. i dont see D'Antoni lasting more than 4 years max anyway... which is why we should have gotten a young up and coming coach or an assistant rather than an established veteran coach with a big conttract.

at the Celtics it amazaes me how God lets those %**$%$@ frontrunning fans in boston win another championship while we have the most loyal fans in the world and we cant win %+!+. how the hell does God give them another championship?!! It just goes to show that god works in a mysterious way. but if we stay loyal god will make it even at the end of the day, we will get our time. Hopefully it will be soon. But when that time comes when the Knicks win another championship it will feel sooo sweet. I mean after watching the Celtics it has me thinking just imagining if that was happening in NY. It would be madness. All this suffering sucks right now but it will only make it sweeter at the end of the day.

Blasphemy? I think so. I don't think it is fair to question God especially since this is only a sport. If you were to question him for detrimental things such as 9/11 then I could understand, but then again, you were probably just joking.

Anyhow, the Knicks made a huge mistake when they chose starmockery over a proven coach in Larry Brown.

Karma is paying us back for having the lottery rigged in 85, Knick Bavetta and the way the media kills everybody.

Back on topic, I think if it came down to Westbrook and DJ, I think we would be winding up wth Westbrook unless we trade the pick. And honestly, unless weare trading Z-Bo, idk if I want to trade the pick if we have Westbrook on the board.

 

[nyk orange and blue]

I think the knicks made a bigger mistake of hiring Mike D'Antoni instead of going for the defensive minded Tom Thibodeu (who has just won a championshipwith the celtics as an assistant coach. )

 

[Mister Meaner]

Thanks Flatbush, I'll check it out.

 

[woodside718]

Finally out of Arizona, more talk about the Knicks possibly lurking to move down and grab the Suns' 15th overall pick and maybe snapping up Leandro Barbosaor Boris Diaw (two Mike D'Antoni favorites) in the process. Bergen Record?

 

[typerpinoy]

as much as barbosa or diaw would be good fits....their contracts are horrible and tie up way too much cap space

 

[the gr8]

Originally Posted by Woodside718

Finally out of Arizona, more talk about the Knicks possibly lurking to move down and grab the Suns' 15th overall pick and maybe snapping up Leandro Barbosa or Boris Diaw (two Mike D'Antoni favorites) in the process. Bergen Record?

Ive been sayoing that since ive heard the rumors. I think Barbosa can be a stud in the NBA and he is great in D'Antonis style. I would love having himand than having the 15th pick to take a big man like Jason Thompson cause DJ would probably be off. But than again hells no if Mayo is available and 15 may bea little late so its kinda questionable. Cause with #6 we could take westbrook who plays great D which we need and Barbosa doesnt so thats another biggie. Ifwe were to trade the pick i would rather us just shed some salary like Z Bo or Curry and than move back enough so we can still get DJ. But Barbosa is my boi soi wouldnt mind.

I think the knicks made a bigger mistake of hiring Mike D'Antoni instead of going for the defensive minded Tom Thibodeu (who has just won a championship with the celtics as an assistant coach. )

Ive been saying that since D'Antoni rumors were evn being thrown out there. I cant watch a team that plays D like little %%@$%*% anymore iwanted a guy who would stress defense and that dude in Boston is a JVG guy and Mark Jackson would of had us playing D as well and he would have the playersrespect so i thought he would be perfect and the fact that he was a NYer only added to it. But yeah i hate to admit it because i hate them soo much but the Csplay the exact kind of baketball that i love that tough defense and ball movement i mean they play great basketball and if that team played anywhere out ofBoston, NJ, or chicago i would love them. But you didnt hear that from me

. And i mean you gotta recognize while that run and gunstyle mayhbe fun to watch and it puts points up and gets wins vs %$!**@ teams, did a team ever win like that? Sure you had teams like the suns or even GS lastyear make exciting runs but whenever they play a team that plays D it always stops. Their style cant play on that. The winner is always the teams that play D.It just goes to show DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS while scoring is the sexy waty to do things you always got trams like the Celtics, the Spurs, Pistons, etc.sitting on the top.

EDIT:

as much as barbosa or diaw would be good fits....their contracts are horrible and tie up way too much cap space
Pleaase Barbosas contract is DEFINITLEY worth his skill. The way players are just bveing thrown $ right now he is underpaid if everything. I meanif Darko could make like $10 mil or something last year and Curry makes $10 mil as well and James and Jeffries get paid the MLE (the latter shouldnt reallycount cause it was Isiah

) But anyway Barbosa gets paid like MLE type $. That is not a bad contractat ALL for his performance. He makes just as much as James or jeffries. If we can pull off a deal for us swapping picks with them and we would get Barbosa andwe traded them a bumb like james or Jeffires to even out cap room, would you really be opposed? I would not at all. The only reason i would maybe be opposed isnot because that is a bad trade but maybe because we can get more in return for that #6 pick, more like a pick where we can still take DJ and trade a largercontract like Curry or ZBO. But still we wouldnt get a player of Barbosas caliber in a deal like that. In the Barbosa deal we shed a bad contract, still get agood pick, and get an all-star typeplayer who is young and fits in our system. I think that would be a great deal for us. It all depends on how high we are onWestbrook/DJ if OJ is off the board and if Barbosa is willing passing up on one of them. Because if we were mad high on Westroo we would take him at #6, and ifwe were MAD high on DJ qe would trade for a pick earlier than 15 where he is still in reach and still shed cap but not get an all-star tyoe player like Barbosain return.

there is a number of situations we can go through with this pick.

 

[woodside718]

^very well said but ima look at it this way, we aint winning no chip in the next 2-3 years lol might as well be fun to watch and competitive.

 

[the gr8]

^^yeah that is only the reason i kind of dont mind the D'Antoni move for the short run just to be exciting until we have a team which has potential to win.Because i would much rather have a fun to watch team that dont play D rather than whatevr you want to call that !%+% we saw last year.

 

[fede dpt]

Originally Posted by HarlemToTheBronx

I want Augustin.

Of course you do, you're his twin.

 

[typerpinoy]

barbosa is owed 27 mil over the next 4 years. hes on contract til 2012 and hurts our cap space that Walsh has talked so much about for the summer of 2010. ifwe could get him AND shed salary then yes its a good move. but the suns aren't taking curry or randolph or anyone else.

 

[woodside718]

Originally Posted by THE GR8

^^yeah that is only the reason i kind of dont mind the D'Antoni move for the short run just to be exciting until we have a team which has potential to win. Because i would much rather have a fun to watch team that dont play D rather than whatevr you want to call that !%+% we saw last year.

!+!% was sad wat happened last year

, down double digits inthe first half for like every game

 

[harlemtothebronx]