No Max Guys?: Plan B

Yeah so Dwyane Wade decides to open his mouth and announce a "hoops summit" this summer with his fellow free agents to discuss where they are going to sign this year. Well isn't that special? I can see it now:



Never in all my years of following basketball have I ever heard of players getting together to figure out where they are all going to play next season. I mean its great but it makes the league seem soft. I mean Magic and Bird are friends off the court, but they tried to kill each other on it. They wouldn't try to team-up. Their pride was too strong. They respected the competition. They didn't want to hold hands on their way to a championship....they wanted the other players hearts on a silver platter. Isiah talked about beating all the best on the way to his championships. That is probably more important than getting the ring itself. To say yeah we beat Larry, Ewing, Dr J, etc on the way up...thats the real prize. That's what can not be taken away from a player.



The Knicks whole gameplan banks on the opportunity to get 2 max players. They have 34 million dollars to sign them flat out without a sign and trade. They also have the outside chance to make an additional sign and trade to get a 3rd max player. No matter which Mickey Mouse club members sign, it all falls under Plan A. Now what happens if they tip toe through the tulips for another city? What's the Knicks plan B?

Knicks have 5 guys under contract: Gallo, Wilson, Curry, Toney Douglas and Bill Walker(team option). What does this team need aside the star power? Who's available?



At Shooting guard, Jesus Shuttlesworth is still creating miricles with the Boston Celtics this post season after helping them reach a second nba finals in 3 seasons. Danny Ainge is on record this season saying they will look to get younger at the shooting guard position. Ray understands but it doesn't mean he is gonna lay down. The dude is still lights out from the outside and he is cold as ice out there with his poise and decision making. He's exactly what D'antoni could use in the backcourt. He wouldn't cost more than 8-10 million per season. Mike Miller is another free agent with similiar skill to Ray Allen. He'd be even cheaper since he's come off of a few mediocre scoring seasons. John Salmons has an early termination clause that he said he will exersise. He came up big with the Bucks in the playoffs. He's a gamer and a cheaper alternative that brings a legit starter to the shooting guard spot.

Rudy Gay leads the pack at small forward. He's a career 17pt per game player that contributes well to ever other stat. He flys up and down the court and is a great slasher and finisher. Knicks already have Gallo and Wilson, but they need to fill out their rotation with only 5 guys under contract. Other options include Josh Howard who after being traded to Washington, tore his ACL. He's a former all-star and since he did get hurt, he's probably lost some leverage in contract negotiations. There a huge group of secondary players the Knicks could scoop up for close to the veterans minimum like Kyle Korver, Damien Wilkins, Rasual Butler, etc.

The Big men crop is also filled with cheap alternatives to fill out the roster. Udonis Haslem stands out to me because he's a career 10pt/8reb player that was the starting power forward on a championship team in Miami. Instead of overpaying a player 10 million plus to get those same numbers, Haslem can come here for half that price. James Singleton also stands out to me. He's a tad undersized at 6'8" but is a nice athlete that throws a live body and competes on both ends.

Point guard is a position that is pretty weak in free agency next year. One of the major names out there is Raymond Felton. He led North Carolina to a national championship leading an offense that called for alot of running. In the NBA he's had to put on his breaks playing for coaches that want him to walk the ball up and give the ball up early. He's shooting has always been in question, but he improved in a big way shooting 45% from the field with 38% from 3. He's good at breaking down the defense and shows signs that he would florish in D'antoni's style, essentially doing what Chris Duhon tried to do for 2 seasons. Luke Ridinour also had a similiar stat improvement last year. You would never know with Brandon Jennings getting the press. Ridinour looks to have finally found his veteran grit. Some other notible names are Marcus Williams and Mike James. Marcus still has incredible court vision. He's had to deal with the bugs of his past his whole career. One thing he can do is find the open man. He's be extreamly cheap. Mike James is my favorite because of his New York roots. He's a tough veteran and I believe he can contribute on the court and in that locker room.



The Knicks don't have much to work with but they shouldn't feel hurt if the brat pack don't chose New York to have their girl scout meetings. There are several other options via trade that the Knicks can explore. Gilbert Arenas, Tony Parker, Baron Davis, and Chris Paul all are coming off funny seasons. Their teams could use a trade to fill out their rosters. Richard Jefferson had a horrible statistical season last year in San Antonio. Nocioni is buried behind rookies in Sactown. There are several options out there if the Knicks are creative. One thing about Donnie Walsh, he is not as mentally retarded as people make him out to be. He's incredibly inteligent. He's not afraid to address media jargin. He knows what fans are saying out there. He doesn't pretend to be ignorant to the fans opinion.



34 million dollars...that alone is a plan b in itself. Fans need to hold tight. The big stars are planning a sleep over. They are more concerned with brushing each others hair and painting each others toe nails than a specific fan base. Sorry I shouldn't say that. It wouldn't be too far from the truth to think they all get giggly when they think about all the men out there that talk about them on a daily basis. Especially in blogs like this. I'll leave you all with this thought...for every Boston Celtics and Lakers team, there is a San Antonio and Detroit Pistons. There's more than one way to win a championship. Aside from star power, it also takes chemistry and alot of luck.



Go Knicks!!!!

Lebron more "Magic" than "Air"

The whole Lebron sweepstakes has become an obsession bordering something that you would see on Dateline. Not much basketball being discussed. When people talk about it, it's more like "If the Knicks get Lebron, who he gonna play with?...he should go to Chicago because they got a team already." That's not basketball...and Lebron is not your typical basketball player. I mean if Carmelo was a free agent, Chicago would be the absolute best place for him to play. Carmelo is a scorer...a finisher. He's be a receiver if he was in the NFL, meaning the dude relies heavily on the offense and the point guard. It's also more essential to have the right players around him in order for the team to succeed. That's Carmelo though...and we not talking bout him.



Lebron is your team. He's the sun and his teammates are his planets. He's the Queen Bee, the Mother Ant. He's bigger than most power forwards and he's faster/quicker and just as skilled as any guard in the nba today. Everyone wants to mention Michael Jordan. Jordan was the greatest player that ever played but he needed a system, coach and the right players around him to win championships. He was a guy you knew no one can stop when it came to key points in the game. He was also a master killer in the 4th quarter. Nobody have come close to that...except Kobe Bryant...but again we're not talking about him today.



Lebron is not a receiver...he doesn't need a point guard to get him the ball. He doesn't necessarily need a certain coach to "coach him". Lebron can carry a teams offense, but he's not a Jordan/Kobe master killer of the fourth quarter. You can collapse on him and over work him because his current/former organization along with the nba fraternity want him to be "The King". They expect him to rise above all obstacles like the man is superhuman. What Lebron needs is a real chance to be the director of the ship. He always has the ball in his hand...the Cavaliers pretend to have Mo Williams running the show, but whenever they get in trouble they scrap that idea and we end up watching Lebron pounding the ball into the court trying to create miracles. He doesn't need a miracle....he needs Magic.



Magic Johnson was a 6'9" do it all player...he was just as fast and skilled as any point guard in the league and about as big and strong as any big man in the league. Sound familiar? He won his first NBA Championship sitting in at center for the injured Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He played his greatest ever in those playoffs. It wasn't quiet Magic's team yet until they cut the nonsense and put the ball in his hands. He became the greatest point guard the nba had ever seen. He lead a fast breaking offense they called "Showtime". It was incredible to see such a huge man flying up and down the court delivering passes Bob Cousy had to tip his hat to. They dominated by giving Magic receivers AC Green, Kurt Rambis, Micheal Cooper, Byron Scott, and probably the best finisher ever in James Worthy. He also had Kareem who was able to prolong his career focusing on defense and his sky hook, while being the trailer on some of those fast break opportunities.

Lebron needs targets, he needs receivers. He needs guys that want to get out a run and are just as physically gifted as he is. He needs that James Worthy, Byron Scott, Kareem type of player. He needs those Kurt Rambis, AC Green, Michael Cooper type role player. He needs players that compete and have their own energy and abilities. Lebron James doesn't need to be "King James". He needs to be "Magic 2.0"

Cut and paste this youtube link into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPr3NNGL_fg&feature=related

Lebron IS a point guard. He needs to be officially given that opportunity. His career 7.0 assist average including 8.6 during the 2009/10 season is evidence enough.



The Knicks have the ability to start him on this path...the right path...and buy/trade for all the pieces he needs to be successful. Mike D'antoni is also the perfect motivator and offensive mind to get the guys around Lebron to function in an uptempo offense. Ask Steve Nash.

Lebron to New York: Rare Opportunity

The first thing that comes out of any one's mouth when talking about the Knicks and Lebron is "Why would he sign with the Knicks? They suck!!!" Indeed they "have sucked" in the past. July 1st, The Knicks roster will look like this: Danilo Gallinari, Tony Douglas, Wilson Chandler, Billy Walker, and Eddy Curry. That's it! Why would a situation like this be intriguing to a Lebron James? I'll answer that with a question of my own. How often can a superstar player go to a team that only has 5 players under contract and 36 million dollars in cap space to spend to basically build a team from scratch??? That's essentially what Lebron James would be walking into if he chose to sign with the New York Knicks.

If Donnie Walsh and his team had any sense, when Lebron came to MSG to be "wined and dined", he should be handed a Venti Iced Coffee from the Starbucks on 32nd and 7th and asked "So how do you wanna build this thing?" Lebron should have just as much say in who is brought in as Donnie and his staff. Lebron has spent 7 years in Cleavland under the retardation that is Danny Ferry. He knows who/what/where and how he needs to be successful on the basketball court. With 36 million dollars, Lebron can sign for the max and bring along Bosh or Wade or any combination of weapons with the remaining 20 million in cap space. If I was Lebron, I would be giddy at the opportunity to have a say in building my own team. Mike D'antoni coaching the team is another plus. D'antoni with more options at his disposal would open the floor for Lebron to do what he wants to do. He'd have way more easier opportunities to make plays, keeping him fresh for the end of games. Mike Brown had Lebron dribbling and forcing the issue too often. Last year in the playoffs Lebron nearly collapsed at the end of a game due to being over worked nearly every possession. This year in the series against Boston, though Lebron is nursing a elbow injury, he seemed reluctant to put it on the line this time forcing his team ates to step up and they failed. This might be a the tell all sign that this man will be seriously thinking about switching area codes.

I'll end with a quote from KG's post game interview on the night they eliminated the Cavs on May 14, 2010: "Loyalty is something that hurts you at times because you can't get youth back. I can honestly say that if I can go back and do my situation over, knowing what I know now with this organization, I'd of done it a little sooner." In other words...he's telling Lebron to find a better situation where he feels he can be the most successful. Lebron left the same post game interview restating the fact that he wants to win....Well in NY he'd have the opportunity to build it himself from scratch.

"Shake and Bake Word AAP!!!" - The Great

Centers of attention

2010 is here...duh!!! It's been 4 months already!!! What that means for teams with cap space to spare??? There's only 2 months separating them from cashing out on a player or players that will shape their franchises and the NBA for the next 5 years or so. All the wing players are getting alot of attention but not much has been written about the dying breed in American basketball: The Center. It used to be one of the premier positions in the NBA where it seems like very team had a decent one that could at the very least rebound and block shots. That's basically what's traditionally asked of the center position. D'antoni is not one for tradition as far as his offensive philosophy. I'll get into that as we go along. First I'll start throwing some names out there.

Our first mention...Drum roll please....



Jerome James!!! Sorry Bloggers I couldn't resist...

In all seriousness, lets get started. Please note that there are several players with early termination clauses in their contracts. It's hard to believe a player like Tyson Chandler or his Bobcat teammate would give up any money just to be a free agent this off-season.



Drew Gooden...He's had somewhat of a soft label placed upon him since his days in Kansas. The numbers say he's a legit 11-14pts, 8-9 rebound a game player that's a decent low post defender. He has a respectable low post game as well and can hit the outside jumper. At 6'10" he'd be still be able to hold his own in the middle and he has, especially recently in his career. My brief scouting report on the dude says D'antoni all over it. He signed a one year deal to play in Dallas last season for less than the mid-level exemption, at 4.5 mill. That's still his price range. He's not Patrick Ewing but he's still a decent option in this dry crop of free agents.



Primoz Brezec...This may seem obscure to some, but this dude hasn't been givin much of a chance to play in the NBA. He was actually drafted by Donni Walsh in Indiana. Those teams were pretty good at the time so he was buried on their bench. After 3 seasons he had some what of a breakout when he was selected in the Bobcat expansion draft. He averaged 12pts and 6 rebounds in about 30 mins per game over the course of 2 seasons. They all of a sudden his 3rd year came around and he was an after thought...he began getting traded and left for dead on the end of teams benches. How does one go from producing at a respectable clip to being an after thought in a league thirsty for centers? I personally liked what I saw if Brezec while in Indiana and was glad to see him show his talent with the Bobcats. If he still wants to remain in the NBA, he's be a dirt cheap talent that possess all the skills D'antoni looks for at the center position.



Matt Bonner...He's been a role player for the San Antonio Spurs his entire career. They've always used him sparingly but he's seen his role increase this season especially in these playoffs. He's a typical Coach Pop player. Does what he's told, defends, and hits his open jumpers. He might desire a starting job, but why would he wanna leave the "Hot Tub Time Machine" that is the Spurs...let's speed this up.



DJ Mbenga...Tough player...Somewhat made a name for himself by showing some signs while Andrew Bynum was nursing injuries. He can block shots, rebound and run the floor. That's a given. What was surprising is the offensive game. He's no Wilt Chamberlain but he showed a turn around jumper, jump hook, and an outside touch. He also strikes me as confident guy so he may be looking for more minutes even if it means losing his season tickets at the end of Phil Jackson's bench. He'll be cheap.




Brendan Haywood a.k.a. Harlem's Finest! Born but not raised...Anyway, the dude has always been an under achiever but he brings grit, good shot blocking, toughness and a 7pt, 6 rebound average over 24 mins per game for his career. I've read from more than one outlet that he'd command up to 10 mill per year. Well God Bless him. I don't think he's worth that much. He is worth a signing for about 4-5 mill cuz of his shot blocking. With the uncertainty in Dallas maybe he looks to find a permanent home.

Did someone say Dallas???



Dirk mother freakin Nowitzki sounded like he lost his cell phone in his post game interview the other night. His team loses yet again in glorious fashion. The dude sounded downright through. "Options" is the word he used. D'antoni likes to have options as well and having a guy like Dirk play center is exactly what his offense calls for. He has an early termination clause in his contract and would be walking away from 21 million for next year. Let's face it. Aside from Rodrigue Beaubois, the team doesn't have much upside or room to really improve the team anymore that it already has. The Knicks have a rare opportunity to start from scratch and build a team around a core group of star players. Let's hope MSG is on his short list of options....I mean he's a fan of Gallo right??? Gotta amount to something...

Dream on DieHards.