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!!!!
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