A Point Guards Song

Once upon a time, after alot of losing, there lived a center named Patrick Ewing and he didn't know what he was doing. He needed an Ace. Someone to erase his mistakes and get him easy baskets so his energy won't go to waste. (Clyde eat your heart out!!!)



Mark Jackson was drafted 2 years after Patrick Ewing and the two meshed well that first season. They became somewhat of a Stockton/Malone tandem that was rare to see in the Eastern conference of that day. "Jax" won rookie of the year averaging 13 points and 10 assists, a bonified double double. The Knicks thought so highly of him that they drafted Rod Strickland who went on to have a stellar career in the NBA in his own right. Right away there was rumblings in the locker room and in the media about whether Jax and Rod could co exist. Many thought Rod Strickland was the better, faster more gifted playmaker. It might have been true, in fact it was, but it didn't stop the Knicks from trading Rod away for the old champion in the twilight of his career Maurice Cheeks. Mark was still on the team through all this. Still trying to get more dynamic at the point guard spot, the Knicks draft Greg Anthony who was fresh off of leading the UNLV "Running Rebels" to a national championship. "Jax" could not get a break and finally was broken way from Knick organization as part of the infamous Charles Smith trade.



Where am I going with this? Simple...Mark Jackson is 3rd place on the all time assist list. He's behind John Stockton and Jason Kidd and in front of Magic Johnson and Oscar Robinson. He bounced around the league but at the end of the day he is in the books as one of the greatest passers of all time. Rod Strickland went on to make max level money with the Bullets/Wizards and is one of the best point guards of his era not to make the all-star team. Maurice Cheeks was a world champion with the 76'ers. Greg Anthony...well he was more known for his fight with Kevin Johnson and nearly punching Phil Jackson in the face after hitting a 3 in a playoff game, lol. Bottom line with the history lesson...Point guards are a dime a dozen. Being good at what they do means nothing as well. Throughout history, point guards have changed addresses just as much as head coaches have in the NBA.



Kelly Tripuka on MSG's "Knicks Night Live" (awesome show btw)said Chris Paul reminded him of Isiah Thomas. Now I see where he's coming from but Chris Paul is not Isiah Thomas. If Isiah stood on his heart he would drift off into outter space. That statement is true even after his playing career was over. Staying on the subject, Chris Paul is arguably the NBA's best point guard at this point. With that said, he only played 45 games last year and in his absence Darren Collison emerged as a more than capable starter. Darren Collison averaged 18 points and 9 assists as a starter and often ran the team better from a team standpoint than Chris Paul did. Does it tarnish Chris Paul's status in the NBA? Absolutely not. Paul is still the best, but the job can be done easily if someone with the right talent comes along.



Back to the Knicks, ironically Isiah Thomas saw himself in a young point guard once. As the Knicks President/General Manager, Isiah's biggest move was trade for, again, arguably one of the best point guards in the league in Stephon Marbury. Marbury was 20 points and 8 assists walking into any arena. At one point he was in the same sentence as Oscar Robertson as being the only other player to average that over the first few seasons they played in. If you said Marbury was the best, at the time you weren't too far from the truth. Long story short, Isiah's gamble cost the Knicks cap space, talented role players, upcoming rookies and future draft picks. That's exactly what its going to cost to get Chris Paul. Not saying that Chris Paul is going to end up on ustream eating vasaline and dancing on his nightstand like a chippendale dancer. What I am asking is...what if Chris Paul doesn't work out. What if he has an injury that sets him back and he is never the same? Easy...someone will come in and do the job like history suggests. At the present time, the Knicks already have a starting point guard in Raymond Felton. How catastrophic would it be if the Knicks traded for Paul and he gets hurt again. The Knicks would lose the farm and still have Felton doing what he was signed to do, but without anyone to pass it to.



Donnie has proven to be very patient. So patient he's the butt end of jokes amongst Knick fans. After the great work he's done so far this off season, he should "take his nap" and catch the highlights of the Chris Paul rumors on ESPN like the rest of us. Let Raymond Felton come in and do the job he signed up to do before Chris Paul opened up his big mouth. His word carrys no weight and he has 2 years left with no trade clauses in his contract. If he is as good as Isiah Thomas he'd grow a pair and take the team he's with to where it needs to go himself.