Knicks season could mimic Liberty's

The Knicks aren't the only professional basketball team playing at the worlds most famous arena. The NY Liberty is a storied franchise thats been around for 13 years now. Its sad that not many NY basketball fans really follow the team. Don't get me wrong because the Liberty have a strong fan base that pack the Garden during the summer. I'm just saying you'll have a hard time hearing any drunk guys debating about them at the local pub. Regardless of that fact this team is currently 17-11. They have the 3rd best record in the WNBA and are in second place in the Eastern Conference. That's a little misleading because they Lady Libs are currently riding a 6 game winning streak, 8-2 in the last 10. About 15 games ago they were a losing team, as in below .500. These Libs have come along way. There's no fluke here because they have alot of talent. Most of the talent on the roster was aquired this off-season. This is where the Knicks similarities begin.

Just like the Knicks, the Liberty were only returning 5 players from a team last year that missed the playoffs. Janelle McCarville was the lone star. With a game similiar to David Lee, she was the fan favorite. Essense Carson and Leilani Mitchell also returned this year after coming off up and down years. Kia Vaughn and Sidney Spence also made the 2010 from last year. Neither player saw much minutes and didn't seem to be in the plans going forward. Liberty fans were praying for a miricle. With Carol Blazejowski as the Liberty GM the fans weren't expecting much of anything, especially since the GM traded away their 2010 pick for Sidney Spencer the season before. Yikes.



Well the Liberty fans prayers were answered and the chips began to fall. With the contraction of the Sacramento Monarchs franchise, the Liberty were able to pick up Nicole Powell in the dispersal draft. Nicole Powell was the Monarchs Leading scorer and one of the better players in the league. They were also able to sign super veteran Taj Mc Williams-Franklyn to anchor the center spot while drafting Kalana Greene who was an outstanding player for the national champions at UConn. What really suprised fans was the trade that brought in Cappie Pondexter to NY. The team traded away 2 fan favorites to get her, but the Liberty have the WNBA version of Dywayne Wade in return. All this talent and 15 games ago they were fighting not to fall too far below the timeline that they would not have a shot at making the playoffs.




Relating to the Knicks, they too are bringing in alot of talent that has never played together before. Alot of these players haven't even played key roles for their teams yet. There are tons of unknowns. With the unknown, many fans are extreamly optimistic about the upcoming season. Only time will tell and what's telling is there will be a learning curve. For example, Nicole Powell was amongst the lead leaders last season with 16pts per game. This year for the Liberty she's only averaged 8pts per. During their 6 game winning streak she drop a few 20 pt games so it took her roughly half a WNBA season to get her act together. I'm expecting the 2010/11 Knicks to struggle the first 20 something games trying to get used to their new teamates. I'd say around Christmas time, these Knicks should have shaken the cob webs and gotten the ball rolling. It's going to take patience. That's the difference between the Liberty Fans and Knicks fans. If the Knicks start the season 8-12 the newspapers are gonna cry bloody murder and the fans will be ready to jump ship.



You gotta walk before you can run...Knicks are gonna need us to do more than boo like spoiled brats...but eventually they will do just fine.

Dolan gets Stern Warning...Knick fans rejoice...for now

I was in a middle of a heated debate about Isiah Thomas, Dolan and the Knicks when I decided to refresh a website on my phone. Skimming for Knicks related news like anyone else I come across the tag: "Isiah Withdraws Acceptance Of Knicks Position". In the middle of a friend monologuing about how dumb Jim Dolan is, I break the news. All at the same time I hear exclamations of "YES! THANK YOU!!!", "FINALLY!!! SOMEBODY HEARD US!!!" and in true New York fashion, "GTFO!". Yes...I believe someone did hear us. The Knicks official fan page on Facebook has been bombarded with obscenity laces comments on everything posted there. Even a contest posting for free tickets to the home opener were filled with lines that I'd love to post here but I want to keep it PG-13 round these parts. I even posted a blog last night asking what we did as fans to deserve the drama in what was a very exciting time until the Isiah hiring.



I'm sure you've read all the lengthy quotes by David Stern and Isiah putting an end to this ordeal...For now. Best believe Isiah's name will resurface with regards to the Knicks management. Donnie Walsh hasn't named a GM as of yet. At one point it looked like Chris Mullin was gonna be brought in. There's still buzz that Mullin may be brought here in some capacity. Then there was the hiring of Allan Houston to be groomed by Donnie Walsh as a possible successor. It's funny how Donnie is now saying he's in no rush to hire anyone. Could Dolan have put a freeze on hiring to try and weasel Isiah Thomas back into the fold? Personally I'm shocked Isiah "turned down" the consultant job and not the college coaching job. He might feel he has an obligation to the players he recruited this summer to be there this fall. 2012 is coming approaching my friends and so is the end of Donnie Walsh's contract. D'antoni will be on notice as well. I hate to paint a dark picture but I'm sure we have not heard the last of this Dolan/Isiah man crush.

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Can't leave this blog without a cool glass of Kool-Aid can we?

Newest Knick Roger Mason Jr. must of had a whole pitcher of Kool-Aid since he officially signed with the Knicks the other day. The dude is talking playoffs. Why not? This year is very different. You only have to take a look at the roster to see that. So get you a tall glass with ice and a pitcher of "ORANGE" or "BLUE" Kool-Aid and relax. Put on some Mary J. Blige "No more Drama" music and just ride it out. There are better days to come my babies. "OH YEAH!!!"

Dolan Days of Summer

Leave it to James Dolan to wait till the period of the summer where nothing usually goes on to drop the bomb on the entire Knick community. Seriously, what is really going on with this Dolan and Isiah man crush??? All of these reporters have been quoting sources this entire off-season but nobody has heard a peep as to why Isiah of all people is back in the fold? Make no mistakes, Isiah back as a "consultant" means a whole lot. I mean every team has guys that are granted access to the team just to give their two cents because someone admires them. Isiah took the pretardation status of the Scott Layden era and developed it into something you see on the Maury Povich show. Total embarrassment and shame. That's what Isiah managed to bring to the franchise. Now his moves weren't all bad but every single move he made, outside of drafting David Lee, all became a worst case scenerio. That was the issue. So why even entertain this man again? Why did it have to be announced and made official? What was the motivation? What is the damn point?



The Knicks off-season up until this point has been probably one of the best this franchise has seen. Donnie Walsh has built a beautiful roster of young and exciting players. The recent buzz amongst the fans was whether or not there will be a trade after the signing of Roger Mason Jr. That's all out the window now. Now there is speculation and the "sources" are talking about drama behind the scenes. Is this professional sport or a daytime soap opera? To quote the rapper Too $hort, "It was all good just a week ago!" This is what I can't understand. Why drop this burden onto the fans. Alot of fans are talking about dumping the team if Isiah becomes GM somewhere down the line. I've spoken to some that flat out jumped ship already after this consulting announcement was made. My question is: What did the Knicks fans do to deserve this? Can't we have a period in the Dolan era where there isn't some wacky event or freak accident that totally destroys any hope that dwells amongst the Knicks Purists?

I urge you diehards out there to let this announcement fall by the waist side. Ignore the propaganda in the papers about Donnie resigning, or other rumblings. Alot of these papers have agendas because they think the readers want to read slander. Remember when we used to bleed orange and blue? The only drama we read about back in the glory days of the Ewing era was drama on the court. Nobody cared about the Dave Checketts/Riley beef. Nobody cared about the Don Nelson mutiny. What fans cared about was the drama that appeared on the court. The Knicks were bringing that drama to opposing teams. This current roster Donnie Walsh has assembled seems to have an identity that will bring that competition back to the Garden. I know its all on paper now, but Miami is already the paper champion for the 2010/11 season. Why can't our fans have a little fun. It was like Chrismas morning last week. Now the feeling is more like the tuesday morning after memorial/labor day weekend. Back to the same old garbage.

Eddy Curry for Fishlips? Add Ariza/Wilson and we got a deal!

Marc Spears of Yahoo sports reports the Knicks are interested in re-acquiring Jared "Fishlips" Jefferies. Sounds like bullshit to me because Curry makes double what Jared makes...Knicks would have to take player's back...

Peep this complainers....

Eddy Curry and Wilson Chandler for Ariza and Jared...trade works salary wise.

Trevor Ariza was signed to a multi year deal last off season and played a lot of 2 guard....that was before they were able to get Kevin Martin. Keep in mind that kid from Arizona is also on their roster and can play backup shooting guard. They need a cheaper alternative for their rotation at small fwd and I believe Wilson Chandler fits that bill.

Ariza would then be the hands down alternative at shooting guard for the Knicks. His Starks like mentality on defense and his Sprewell attitude on the fast break would be welcome additions to the Knicks in 2010. His jumpshot has also improved from his Knicks days.

Put that in your blog and quote it.

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Knicks can turn it around like Kidd

Much like the Knicks the past 10 years, the New Jersey Nets have had more than their fair share of losing throughout their history. During the Knicks Ewing years, they had a little window where Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson and Drazen Petrovic had the Nets competing for the playoffs. Other than that, they were always a franchise in the cellar relying on players like Sherman Douglas, Armon Gilliam, and Chris Morris to get them through 82 game seasons. They actually built a team in the late 90's that consisted of Keith Van Horn, Jayson Williams, Kendall Gill, Kerry Kittles and Sam Cassell that had success.



After becoming everyone's favorite team to watch, they got bit horribly by the injury bug. They also made a few chippy moves that slowly eat away at the teams talent level. Just like a bad team, they chose to chase superstar players instead of trying to build on the young pieces within the team. They made that infamous 4 way trade that sent Sam Cassel to the Bucks, Terrell Brandon to Minnesota and Stephon Marbury to the New Jersey(forgot the other details but we're not talking about that are we?). Marbury inherited a talented group that simply could not stay healthy. He went on to play some of his best individual basketball of his career. They managed to get the #1 pick which turned out to be Kenyon Martin, but even he was taken down with a freak fracture of his leg while scrimaging in practice. Instead of trying to build around Marbury and getting him much needed reinforcements, they make another trade. They traded star point guard for star point guard again, but this time they got the lucky charm in Jason Kidd.



All of a sudden the Nets were all healed up after just about 3 seasons in the infirmary. They also made the draft day trade of Eddie Griffith for Richard Jefferson, Brandon Armstrong and Jason Collins. That draft trade was a miricle in itself for obvious reasons. Training camp opens and Jason Kidd makes a statement. I can't find reference to it since its been a while. Jason made a statement telling the press that "people are going to be surprised by the way we play". Well surprised we were because the Nets went from the laughing stock of the league for 3 seasons, to the top of the basketball world. They went from the nba lottery, to the nba finals in one season. Kenyon Martin, Keith Van Horn, Kerry Kittles and the rookie Richard Jefferson became the ultimate targets in a relentless fastbreaking offense lead by Jason Kidd. They devestated the Eastern Conference. The franchise also finally got it right and made subtle moves to improve the squad which made a second finals appearence the next year.



Relating to the current Knicks revamp, there are some paralells. The Knicks brought in a proven winner in Amar'e Stoudamire. He's had some injuries in the past but bounced back better than ever each time. He's also proven to be a spiritual man, having made a pilgrimage to Isreal to learn more about the culture his mother introduced to him as a child. His presence could possibly shed some light on the Garden that seemingly had a dark cloud hovering over it the last decade. The Knicks also made a trade of their own that didn't even need to happen. David Lee was already going to sign with Golden State, but for whatever reason, Golden State felt compelled to trade the Knicks Anthony Randolph, Turiaf and Azubuike. They all have had their share of injuries, but the potential of the trio could make them all fixtures in the Knicks rotation for years to come. Especially 3rd year player, Anthony Randolph. He's shown some scary flashes of brilliance and the Knicks are getting him at the right time. The Knicks point guard situation also has never been better with the acqusition of Raymond Felton. He's not Jason Kidd but he's on the 2nd tier level of point guards of this generation. He's in an offense that could highlight his strengths and light a fire under this new team.



What's the buzz going to be like at the practice facility? Will Alan Hahn, Howard Beck, and Frank Isola boast about the chemistry building on the court? Or will we hear stuff about Duhon talking smack to Nate Robinson while he shoots half court jumpers for no reason like last year? First of all, thank God the Knicks don't have Duhon and Nate on the roster. This year it all seems different because it is. 2/3rds of the team is literally different. 95% of the roster is built for speed (that other 5% is Eddy Curry). D'antoni has no excuse now but to run his offense. Donnie Walsh is not in salary cap mode. D'antoni even has a "bad back" that's preventing him from coaching at the World Championships this summer. Everyone is going to be around the team this summer to build that foundation. I'm not Jason Kidd, but I believe alot of people are going to be surprised by the way the 2010/11 Knicks play. It's now or never.

Idle Worship

The Knicks have completely revamped their team from last year. They added 5 rotation players and 3 second round rookies to a depleted roster that only consisted of 5 players, including Eddy Curry. Is it enough to have promising youth? The fanbase has been crying about building with the draft for years. The Knicks don't have a player over the age of 28. They have Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, Gallo, Bill Walker and Anthony Randolph still on their rookie deals. Their potential all of a sudden isn't enough for the fanbase anymore...now they need a superstar.



Wait don't the Knicks already have a superstar on the roster? Amar'e Stoudamire is every bit a superstar. He's arguably the best power forward in the NBA. He puts the POWER in power forward. He had a freak accident with his detatched retna and seems to have overcome his microfracture surgeries. That's not enough to save him from the boo birds of gotham. All of a sudden Amar'e isn't SUPER enough. They need super DE Duper!!!



The Knicks fanbase are star struck by the Lebron fiasco. Their attention has been immediately spun towards Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. It doesn't even seem to matter than each player is currenty under contract. It also doesn't matter than the Knicks already have players at the small forward and point guard position that could do the job. The Knicks actually have 3 small forwards in Gallo, Wilson, and Anthony Randolph(kid needs a nickname) with the potential to be all-star calibur. Gallo alone showed that he is capable of taking on scoring responsibilities. For the final 8 games in April of last season, he averaged 22 points, 2.8 assists and 5.9 rebounds in 39 minutes per game. Believe it or not but those numbers rival Carmelo Anthony's. What if Gallo comes into camp in shape and actually makes those numbers a reality for the New york Knicks over the course of the season? What the heck would they need Carmelo Anthony for? Granted, Gallo's skillset is closer to a Peja Stojakovic when he was with Sacramento, but Peja was putting up 20/5/2 during that time period. Peja was no slouch while with the Kings. Peja also played next to Chris "Don't mention me and Darko in the same sentence" Webber who was quite similiar in stature to Amare while in his prime. This would be a wait and see approach but why shop around when you have good stuff at home?

Anthony Randolph is an intriging player because he is a 6'11" player that can block shots like Camby and handle the basketball like Lamar Odom. He can be a key reserve that will rack up minutes backing up all front court positions. He allows Turiaf to start and can slide Amar'e to center for stints or man the position himself according to matchups. You can't have that option if you trade this kid for Carmelo Anthony...or Chris Paul for that matter. Speaking of which, What is so wrong about giving Raymond Felton a chance to run the point for the Knicks? He's not Chris Paul...he's not Steve Nash either. Why does he have to be 2 of the best point guards the league has ever seen? Why can't the dude be a solid point guard just like so many other starters in this league? How good was Terry Porter in his Portland days? How good was Terrell Brandon in Clevland/Minnesota? Derek Harper in Dallas? Nick Van Exel with the Lakers? Mookie Blaylock with Atlanta? There are a list of point guards that were awesome. They weren't Stockton, Isiah or Magic but they were very good point guards on some great teams. Raymond Felton needs his chance to prove himself. He's never played with a finisher inside like Amar'e. He's never played with a shooter like Gallo. He's an uptempo point guard as well who's been asked to pound the ball for 90% of the shot clock. He'd be in an offense that allows him to do the things he's good at.

When did Knicks fans become star struck? Yeah the Knicks haven't had a huge name here in quite some time. Reality of it is these "stars" all laughed at us when the Knicks were down. They see their boys team up in Miami and now they wanna do the same. Chris Paul came out looking like a clown with his no leverage trade demand. The Knicks also look foolish mortgaging 2 seasons just for Lebron, Wade and Bosh to go to Miami like they probably always planned. When do you say to yourself "enough already!" The Knicks can't keep its own players on eggshells wondering if they will be on the next plane out when a "superstar" becomes available. What if they don't trade Carmelo or Chris Paul? Who's next? We need to gather some sort of pride as a franchise and fanbase. Are we chasing championships or are we star gazing? Are we Knicks fans or are we superstar groupies?

Stop....now think about it!

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.