The Association

Grading Trades and Acquisitions... So Far

By Craig Kwasniewski

 
Why bother wasting time talking about the impacts of all the summer trades and free agent signings? After all LeBron, Wade and especially Bosh are all mortal locks for the next 6 NBA championships, a World Cup title in 2014, finding the cure for AIDS and solving the "Is the Hills real or not?" crises. There's no competition these three guys will win EVERYTHING. Pack it up fellas, you're either with the Heat or against mankind.

Okay let's keep the defense honest and pretend that there's actually a season to be played and actual competition out there. One week into the free agent signing period, here are my thoughts so far:

Drew Gooden and John Salmons signing 5-year contracts with Milwaukee: One guy's been on nine teams in nine years, the other is a ballhog. N-I-N-E! Maybe Drew's a great guy and maybe he finally gets it, but something tells me that if he's anything decent one of the other eight (E-I-G-H-T) teams would have kept him. John Salmons is your prototypical ball stopper. Yes he had a good run in the 2009 playoff with Chicago, but he wasn't good enough to stick around. People suddenly made Milwaukee an instant contender. Why? And why five years for these guys? F-I-V-E! Who's else wants them for even two? Grade: D

Steve Blake signs with the Lakers: Three words: I LOVE IT! The money's good at $16 mil over four years, he's a good defender, a good spot-up shooter (perfect for the Triangle) and a willing learner (he said he's coming off the bench behind Fisher). The Lakers were chasing several mid-level point guards and landed their number one option. His age is the only downfall but Jerry Buss is going all in on the Kobe Bryant era so why not. Grade: A

Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes & Brian Cook sign with the Clippers: First off, I like Gomes.  He has a decent baseline jumper and plays hard every night.  Foye?  Ehhhh... DC took a chance on him after being a bust in Miny and he really hasn't panned out.  His claim to fame is NOT being Brandon Roy.  But as a backup not much will be expected and maybe he'll fit.  BUT... Brian Cook for two years?  T-W-O???  What the hell?  This guy shouldn't be in the league and really he wouldn't be if the Clippers didn't sign him.  But why the two years? Who else is offering more than a 10-day contract?  Grade: F (sorry but the stink of Brian Cook knocks a B- down to a solid F... HE SUCKS!)

Golden State trades for David Lee:  Turiaf, Randolph and Azubuike for Lee? The blogosphere LOVES Randolph! I keep hearing (for what feels like decades) that he's a sick talent waiting to break out. To me, the Dubs (BTW - are they still that? can you really have a cool nickname if your team is annually back in lottery-land?) gave up very little to get what is a slightly upgraded version of Andris Biedrins, an active offense-first C/F. He'll fit Nellie's No Defense, No Problem system perfectly and put up some sick offensive numbers. It's just that Golden State won't stop anyone on D.... EVER. Grade: B

Jermaine O'Neal signs with the Celtics:  Make no mistake, this is a great deal for the Celtics! (And yes, I was just looking to utter my second most favorite ex-athlete-on-TV cliches.)  People are knocking O'Neal's playoff numbers against the C's this year, but they're not acquiring him to put up #2 or #3 option numbers.  His job is to fill in for Perkins until he returns and then play 10 to 15 minutes as the first C/F off the bench.  Plus, the hope is that one last shot at a title and KG's leadership will be enough to motivate the guy.  Mix this deal with Ray Allen returning and IN MY OPINION the Celtics are still the top team in the east.  I know that's just crazy to think the defending Eastern Conference Champions actually have a shot despite having veteran leadership, a great defense, team chemistry and quality size up front.  I feel guilty for actually thinking they're better than the Heat, should I go into hiding like Salmon Rushdie?  Grade: A-

Phoenix trades for Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick: Lose Amar'e to free agency and get back LENGTH.  Not a bad deal for a team that lost their marquee players for absolutely nothing. Wait, who knocked out the Suns in the playoffs?  The taller and longer Lakers.  So the Suns counter with length and handles.  Hedu has something to prove after the Toronto disaster and with Nash and co. he'll get a lot of healthy looks.  Childress was a little overrated this summer, the Suns basically got Joe Smith 2.0.  Still that's not a bad thing with this system.  The best part about Hakim Warrick will be listening to Lakers PA guy Lawrence Tanter botch his name.  Warrick is his albatross... It's unfair to compare these guys directly to Stat's impact in 2009-10, given the situation I think the Suns did a hell of a job here. Grade: B+

Dallas extends Brendan Haywood and trades for Tyson Chandler:  I see what Dallas is doing here and it may work, but in reality they're probably going to end up like the 2000 Portland Trailblazers.  They went for height to counter the Lakers but in the end they may have too many players to choose from.  Kidd, Terry, Haywood, Chandler, Marion, Butler and Nowitzki... that's a talented top 7 but can Carlisle find the right rotation?  He didn't last spring and they fell to the Spurs in the first round.  Still, I like the effort by the Mavs and can't fault them for what I think might happen.  Grade: B

Al Jefferson to the Jazz:  Here's another blogoshpere favorite.  The Jazz did what they needed to do, find a replacement for Boozer and continue on with the 50+ wins and second round elimination gameplan (which actually isn't bad for a small market team).  Jefferson is a slight upgrade but not as dramatic an improvement as others claim.  His overall winning percentage is LOW, he's injury prone and his defense is suspect.  The low winning percentage is one that I can't let go.  If he's as good as people claim, shouldn't he have some kind of impact on the overall team record?  Is he possibly one of those good-guy-on-a-bad-team type of players?  Anyway, Utah did EXACTLY what they needed to do and for that... Grade: A-

Bulls sign Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver: As of now, rumors are the Magic will match the offer sheet to JJ Redick, so we're only talking about the ex-Jazz guys. The Bulls were shooting for LeBron or Wade and ended up with Boozer.  Funny how the joke was that the Knicks would probably end up with Rudy Gay and Boozer after missing out on LeBron. Now that the Bulls got Boozer, people forgot the joke and instantly made them a top 3 contender in the east. You gotta love July hype!  I do think Boozer is a good signing and as long as he's not facing the Lakers he'll be fine.  His health has been a concern the past few years, but maybe playing in the #3 market with a strong up-and-coming team will keep him on the floor.  Redick would have been a better signing than Korver, who's clearly lost a step last year, but it never hurts to get a few quality outside shooters.  Plus the REAL key acquisition for the Bulls was Tom Thibodeau.  Grade: B-

Jordan Farmar to the Nets:  Farmar asked for a starting role with an offence that caters to his talents. Instead he gets to back up Devin Harris for the Clippers East who just hired NBA retread Billy King as their GM.  Have fun big guy! Two years ago the Lakers basically structured their roster for Farmar to take over and start after the 2010 season.  Fisher's contract was expiring, Farmar needed an extension... the keys to a fine tuned Lamborghini were his. Instead he regressed and both parties went their own ways. Sad... Grade: D

Amar'e Stoudemire to the Knicks:  Quite simply the NBA is a better league with the Knicks as playoff contenders.  It's basketball mecca... nuff said.  Mix in all the other pieces from the David Lee trade and the Raymond Felton signing and you might have enough for a playoff run.  If anything Amar'e has created a buzz not felt since the Ewing era (they sold out season tickets for the 2010-11 season).  God I hope the Isiah Thomas rumors are just BS, because there's actually hope for the Knicks, not band aid work with a bunch of overrated veterans but actual hope with potential down the rode hope.  Grade A-

Did I miss anything?

LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Miller and Ilgauskus to the Heat:  Message to the blogosphere:  can't you just let things organically happen?  Seriously... as soon as this deal went down all you talked about were multiple titles and legacy.  Sprinkle in the anti-hate "unique" point of view (which wasn't unique at all)... you know, the whole, hey LeBron is NOT a bad guy here and I'm tired of the hate (BTW - all two hours of hate, because HOW DARE WE actually criticize THE KING!!!!) angle and I'm already tired of reading about this deal.  Can't we just enjoy the experience before calling them the greatest ever?  As Phil Jackson has always said, it's all about the journey not the destination.  Before handing over the next 25 NBA titles, let's enjoy watching this team grow together,  work together through tough situations and experience two superstars combining for one cause.

That said, Bosh is an All-Star not a superstar, Miller is on the downside of his career and Ilgauskus averaged less that 2 points and 2 rebounds in the 2010 playoffs.  (That was the most disturbing thing of them all, Z was brought back to the Cavs after the Jamison trade as a final piece to an eventual NBA title.  He was lost and didn't contribute a damn thing.  So how is it now literally months later, he's back to becoming an All-Star?) There's still work to do roster-wise and even though everyone not named LeBron or Wade will get clean looks, they still have to ALL play defense. And they still have to get by the Celtics and Lakers.  People completely forgot the concept of veteran experience, defensive continuity, team chemistry and in the case of both the Lakers and Celtics, quality size.  You gotta stop KG, Perkins, Bynum, Gasol and Odom... and that won't happen in 2010.  Grade A+ but they're not winning a title next year!

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While Gallinari's Presser is at the Sistine Chapel, Prokhorov's is at a Hotel Banquet Hall

By Craig Kwasniewski

Mikhail Prokhorov is a Russian kajillionaire yet his introduction to the New York media is the Sapphire Banquet Room? Seriously?!? At least hold it at some Russian Vodka Bar with some hot Eastern European models as security.

But this is the reality of the New Jersey Nets. The Ryan Air to Virgin Atlantic, the RC Cola to Coke, the Burger King to McDonald's... the New Jersey Nets to the New York Knicks.  He's supposed to change all these things but instead he's already losing the Draft lottery and showcasing himself in a random banquet hall that in two days will probably be hosting a Bar Mitzvah and later a 50th wedding anniversary.

Now look how things are done for Danilo Gallinari in Milan...

Woah!

It's supposed to be some NBA Europe or EA Sports thing... who cares.  That's just one hell of a setting for a press conference.

All I know is that if Prokhorov wants to make a huge splash in the US, he needs to hold press conferences like these. Seriously, I see both these photos and I CLEARLY understand the difference between the Knicks and Nets. Hey Mikhail, you want to change the culture of the Nets, start from day one. Blow us away and show us all just how eccentric European bajillionaires act.  Build a Sistine Chapel in Newark.

Indiana Pacers Greatest Games Collection, The Essential Companion to Winning Time

By Craig Kwasniewski

By now most of you have watched Dan Klores' super fantastic documentary Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks. I watched it, downloaded it and bought the DVD. To say I'm a huge fan of 90's NBA is a major understatement. Jordan in his prime, the Bulls running off six NBA titles, the Knicks revival, Pat Riley vs. Phil Jackson, Pat Riley vs. the Knicks, Miami Heat vs. the Knicks... and in the case of the documentary, the Pacers vs. the Knicks. It's a hell of a show. Well paced, a GREAT use of opera (who knew in a sport that exudes Jazz music in the purest form that opera music would ever fit, but Klores does a great job editing the piece), memorable highlights, cool interviews and the crazy fights. CRAH-AYE-ZEEEE fights! I forgot just how physical the NBA was back then.

Anyway, a few years ago the NBA released a few DVD box sets that include entire games from storied franchises like the Knicks, Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, 76ers and Pacers. (Insert scratching record sound here) Pacers? Huh?

So they're the only team from the group that hasn't won a NBA title... so what! The box set is called Indiana Pacers Greatest Games Collection, Vol. 1 obviously because Volume 2 was sidetracked with a certain brawl and subsequent strip club "incident." And Volume 1 is more a collection of Reggie Miller highlights, but I'm guessing the NBA Entertainment people felt Miller wasn't big enough to carry his own DVD highlights package. Just call it the Pacers Greatest Games and ignore the ABA era or some of the Chuck Person era (come on y'all want at least one game of him doing the "I'm on fire and will bang my head over and over" routine).

Anyway, this DVD contains two of the games that are the main focal point of "Winning Time." Here's a breakdown of all four games on the box set:

Disc One: Pacers @ Knicks, June 1st, 1994 - One of the two games featured prominently and the one that made Reggie Miller, the infamous Spike Lee Game. Reggie drops 25 in the fourth quarter while talking endlessly with Spike Lee leading the Pacers over the Knicks.

Disc Two: Pacers @ Knicks, May 7th, 1995 - The other game covered in the doc. This one propels Miller into a higher level, a legendary Knicks killer. Reggie scores 8 points in the final 16.4 seconds to rally the Pacers from down 6 and steal Game 1 in MSG. The Knicks, the MSG faithful, hell even the Pacers are all shocked in one of the truest, "I have never seen in my life" moments.

Look at the pain on the faces of Knicks Fans... NOOOOOOO!!!!

Disc Three: Bulls @ Pacers, May 25th, 1998 - Remember the image of Reggie canning a clutch three and doing the "I don't believe I just made this" jump and spin and jump and spin and wave his arms routine? That's this one. The two-time defending champs roll into Market Square Arena for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals hoping to take control of the series and take a commanding 3-1 lead. Except Reggie hits a huge jumper to take the W. Oh and Jordan almost wins it at the buzzer that rims out.

Disc Four: Pacers @ Knicks, June 2nd, 2000 - The is a Pacers greatest hits game because they finally get that elusive monkey off their back and earn a trip to the NBA Finals. Many years of hard work and frustration (four losses in the Eastern Conference Finals in the previous six years) finally pays off. But the MOST interesting part of this game is that it's the last one the Knicks were relevant. They traded Patrick Ewing a few months later and haven't advanced out of the first round since.  Even worse, they've only won TWO playoff games since. It marks the end of an era in New York Knicks basketball history. This was the ninth and final year in a row they advanced at least to the second round. Really this game is as much for Pacers fans as Knicks fans. A true memory of what was and may not be for a long time.

You can get this box set at Amazon.com.

The Knicks and T-Mac: The NBA's Version of a One Night Stand

By Craig Kwasniewski

"Last Call... Last Call Everybody!"

The bar's about to close, you're two drinks from passing out, you smell of cigarette ash and cheap cologne and most importantly you're all alone.  The last one in the bar yet again, an all too familiar feeling for as long as you as you can remember, you're all alone... except for her.

There she sits, across the bar, gently sipping on her last Cosmo of the night. She's easily three years past her prime but she's still slightly attractive, especially at this hour. Her body clearly isn't what it used to be, her legs are not as shapely and her face no longer contains the confidence of a beautiful woman, but you can tell that she used to have that something about her... but not anymore. She sits, not looking the least bit interested yet you both know she's waiting for you to talk to her.

She wants to be wanted just one more time, from you, from someone, from anyone... she just wants to feel what she felt years ago when she used to turn heads, when she used to command a room. It doesn't matter that it's you, but you mean more to her right now anyone else in the world... and she means everything to you after all those lonely nights.

You throw down the last bit of your drink, gather yourself as best as a person near passing out can and saunter over to her spot at the bar.

Before you can even utter a single word, she lifts her head up and introduces herself:

"Hi I'm Tracy McGrady." ...and you're a Knicks Fan.

Is there anything that closely resembles a one night stand more than the Tracy McGrady era with the NY Knicks? T-Mac is past his prime yet he's still trying to get one last big contract and Knicks fans, years from playoff contention (2004) are willing to cling to any kind of hope, even in the form of a broken veteran swingman. Clearly both sides are using each other, T-Mac for money, the Knicks for short-term gratification and long-term contract relief. And they both know they're using each other.... no harm no foul.

Like a late night at a hotel lounge with two business travelers looking for love, both sides know not to call each other the morning after.  Yet both sides can look fondly back at this "night" and know that for that one moment... it was magic.

T-Mac and the Knicks... let's just hope neither wake up saying, "Call me."

Thoughts On a Crazy Day/Night of Trading

By Craig Kwasniewski 

Can we replace the dunk contest with a live feed into the board rooms of the 30 GM's at trading deadline? Seriously, how much more entertaining would it be to see a desparate Donnie Walsh nervously work his poker face with Daryl Morey, who holds all the Mac's I mean cards.

Anyway, trading deadline is still hours away yet the last 24-hours have been very crazy as several title contenders and not-even-pretenders hoped to improve their chances at dethroning the Lakers. Here are my thoughts on the recent trades (including the crazy T-Mac to Sacramento??? trade that happened in the early hours, which by the way interrupted my Olympic Curling viewing in HD.): 

The Cleveland Cavaliers acquire Antawn Jamison. In a three team deal Jamison and Sebastian Telfair go to Cleveland; Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavs 2010 first-round draft pick, the rights to Emir Preldzic and Al Thornton go to Washington; and Drew Gooden goes to the Clippers. 

First thoughts? Whew! The Cavs could have had a younger more athletic Amar'e Stoudemire filling the lane and reigning terror a-la Shawn Kemp from 1992 to 1997. They could have gotten bigger, younger and more athletic and completely whiffed because they didn't want to part with JJ Hickson?!?  Whew!  LeBron would have been hoisting a trophy for the next FIVE years.... WHEW!

Lemme get this straight, the Cavs have been rolling over every opponent (including the defending champs) with size and defense so they trade size and defense away for smaller and offense (who's also a little long in the tooth at 33 years old). I attended the Lakers-Cavs game on Xmas Day and the Lakers had no answer when Mike Brown put both Shaq and Ilgauskas on the floor at the same time. Gasol and Bynum never had to face a frontline bigger and stronger than them and they backed off as Cleveland blew out the Lakers.  Weeks later the same thing happened in Cleveland as the Cavs size especially threw Gasol off his game. 

How is a smaller mid-range guy with no defensive skills going to help? He's only made it out of the first round once in the playoffs, he struggled when on a contending team (2003-04 Dallas Mavericks) and he can't play a lick of defense. I can't stress this enough, Mike Brown made his bones as a defensive coach, he's quite possibly the least creative offensive coach in the history of the NBA yet he's still LeBron's coach because he calls a hell of a defensie game. How is a guy who played his entire career on offense-first ZERO-defense teams going to blend with the Cavs? Yeah maybe he'll be a 20 and 8 guy every night, but everyone who plays with LeBron is capable of that. Why? Because freakin' LeBron James is there and he'll create more easy baskets than you can imagine. But really, offensive stats aside the Cavs got worse in this deal on the most important end of their floor: defense and size. 

BTW - oh and what about Shaq? Is he capable of splitting Z's minutes with Varajao? Does he have the energy to play out the season with the extra minutes? He's no longer with the chemical brothers (Phoenix's training staff) to help squeeze every last bit of energy out of him. I'm real curious to see how the Cavs front line reacts on the floor now that Z is gone. 

The Clippers found a way to dump salary and are expected to buy out Gooden right away, leaving them a major player in the summer... well except that their owner hates black people, which may chase away like every single free agent.

The Wizards... I haven't seen a team blown up this fast since the Lakers in the summer of 2004 when they traded away Shaq, Rick Fox and Gary Payton and let Karl Malone, Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson go. I feel for ya D.C.!  I'm just curious how Ernie Grunfeld still has a job.  

The Rockets send Tracy McGrady to Sacramento for Kevin Martin.  The full deal has the Rockets sending McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to the Kings for Martin, Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstrong and Kenny Thomas. 

Okay this trade went down late last night and completely took me by surprise.  All week we were hearing T-Mac to the Knicks is imminent, it's happening, the Knicks will be serious players this summer now that they can shed T-Mac's huge expiring contract.... (insert crashing car noise here)... BAM!

Daryl Morey got tired of negotiating over draft protections with Donnie Walsh and found a better deal in Sacto.  When healthy Kevin Martin is a very good shooting guard that knows how to get to the freethrow line.  (He once scored 20 points while going 1 of 8 from the field!)  It doesn't hurt to have a guy who can get to the freethow line anytime, especially in the postseason.

But what DOES hurt is that he's injury-prone (he missed 84 games the past three seasons) and of any team in the NBA, the Rockets are the last franchise that needs yet another injury-prone player.  But given a choice between the stink that the Knicks were offering and this deal, it's safe to say Morey came out ahead... and Donnie Walsh is left staring at his phone hoping someone, anyone will take Jared Jeffries contract.  I'm starting to understand why the blogosphere loves Morey.  

The Kings get a hockey player trapped in the body of an NBA player, Carl Landry.  I love pairing him up with Nocioni, a pair of balls-out grinders who don't give a damn about stats.  Good guys to have on your team. Oh and they get massive cap relief in T-Mac's expiring contract.  The downside is that they lose Martin, but he wasn't working out well with Tyreke so something had to be done and this deal ain't all that bad for Sacto.

Will they give T-Mac some minutes to prove that he's worthy of a contract this summer... who knows?

The biggest question of all: did Ainge acquire the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the deal? 

Celtics trade Eddie House to the Knicks for Nate Robinson.  The Celtics need to throw in another player to complete the deal, possibly J.R. Giddens. As of last night this was a done deal.

Like Cleveland, the Celtics needed size and defense.  So they go out and grab 5'-9" Nate Robinson for instant offense off the bench.  Yeah I get it that the C's go though these excruciatingly long scoring droughts late in games and Robinson seems to be the right type of energy off the bench.  HOWEVER... does this deal make a difference against the Lakers, Magic or Cavs?  The C's need more big bodies to deal with those three teams.  But maybe the worry is more about getting a top three seed than actually competing for a title.

The Knicks... they're reeling bigtime after failing to get T-Mac.  D'Antoni supposedly wanted Eddie House, so there you go Mike.  Enjoy getting a decent three point shooter who talks serious smack while the Knicks lose 65 games and lose any chance of getting LeBron, Wade, Bosh or Joe Johnson because of the failed T-Mac deal. 

As a Lakers fan, the two deals by Cleveland and Boston don't worry me at all.  Both teams got smaller and worse on defense.  But most importantly of all, A'mare does not go to Cleveland where he would have been a monster for the next 5 to 6 years.  WHEW!

How is AI Still a Free Agent? The Knicks Should Sign Him!

By Craig Kwasniewski

How the hell is Allen Iverson still a free agent? Literally one year ago he was the second leading scorer on the offensive-minded Denver Nuggets. He was still on every opponent's "Big Ticket" package, the NBA's version of hockey... a player waaayyy more entertaining in person than on TV. Yet today he sits by the phone during the official dog days of the NBA calendar waiting... waiting... waiting for a chance to show the NBA world that last year was an aberration and not the decline of a superstar.

How is A.I. still a free agent? Maybe I'm a little biased because I ALWAYS looked forward to seeing him play in LA. The guy's a freak! The energy, the skill to go right at the hole with reckless abandon, the high runners, the smooth jumpers... the energy! A dude his size should never have dominated the NBA offensively like he had for the past 13 years.

How is A.I. still a free agent? Sure, watching opponents play the Lakers, I always got an opponent's A game. They know they're playing in the number 2 television market with all the celebs sitting courtside against one of the league's marquee teams. So I never saw those moments where A.I. broke off offensive plays or when he"relaxed" on defense or any of the famous battles with his head coaches. For lack of a better word, I was just happy to be there.

So when I heard that the Clippers were interested in bringing Iverson in as a free agent, needless to say I was intrigued.  Why the hell not?  The Clippers have spent two years destroying what's left of the NBA's most loyal fans and at this point anything is a good thing.  (Seriously, why 10,000 people continue to buy season tickets to a franchise that's ALWAYS terrible with ZERO hope in the future is beyond me.  Their marketing is terrible yet they still have a very strong and very vocal group of loyal fans that the Mike Dunleavy era is slowly destroying.)  So why not bring in one of the most entertaining shows in the NBA?  I guarantee a back court of B.D. and A.I. would match the previously legendary (in Clippers lore anyway) 1994 team with Mark Jackson and Dominique Wilkins and the high flying 2002 squad.  Isn't professional sports part result and part entertainment?  But in a very Mike Dunleavy-type of move, the Clippers passed on A.I. and instead traded for Mark Madsen.  Have fun with that!

Here's my point... the Knicks should sign Iverson.  The Knicks have spent the past two years clearing roster and salary for the Big Free Agent Class of 2010.  But for the time being they're stuck with D-League talent playing Mike D'Antoni's Seven Seconds or Less style.  So they'll score a ton of points but lose 75% of the time.  Sure it might be entertaining in the sense that scoring is entertainment, but New York is also a star crossed city and I seriously doubt people in this economy want to continue to pay big bucks to see Mardy Collins drop a 20-spot on Charlotte.

The Knicks should offer A.I. a one-year contract at the mid level exemption.  They get a superstar in the twilight of his career without risking the big picture.  A.I. would/should jump at a second chance to prove his doubters wrong on a nightly basis (always a GREAT motivation) in front of the MSG faithful.  You're telling me Knicks fans wouldn't love seeing AI go at it?  He's PERFECT for New York, a guy who wears his heart in his sleeve, who gives his all on the floor, a comeback story who can drop 20-30 points in a style that hides his defense problems.  Maybe D'Antoni is worried that A.I. is more Starbury than Nash... which is a HUGE concern.  But maybe, juuuuust maybe A.I. also realizes that he's down to  his last chance to prove he's willing to compromise. 

With very little to risk (wins or losses in New York aren't a factor as Utah has their first round pick in 2010), the Knicks should sign Iverson and give their fans something to look forward to... at least until LeBron turns them down in 2010.

 

The Suns Remind Me of the 95-96 Knicks

By Craig Kwasniewski

Tell me if this sounds familiar:  a veteran-laden team that was a championship contender for 4 straight seasons, replace their iconic head coach with a completely different philosophy who loses the support of the veterans, gets fired and is replaced by the only assistant holdover from the previous regime.

Back in 1996, Don Nelson replaced Pat Riley, tried to change the slug-it-out-for-48-minutes style into Nellie-ball. Halfway through the season, the veterans realized they couldn't win with Nellie's uptempo style and revolted. Out goes Nelson and in comes Jeff Van Gundy, who brings back the old style with instant success as the Knicks over the eventual 72-win Bulls on national tv. Eventually the Knicks would bow out to the Bulls in the second round in a very competitive five game series. Three seasons later the Knicks are in the 1999 Finals and Van Gundy becomes a Knicks legend.

The same scenario exists in Phoenix. The roster, or more importantly the two best players in Nash and Stat thrive in the up tempo Seven Seconds or Less style. Under Terry Porter, like the Knicks with Nellie, they didn't have the roster to fit his style and became shockingly very average despite having 4 All-Stars, 2 MVP's and 2 first ballot Hall of Famers. Maybe Alvin Gentry can have a similar resurgence as Van Gundy or maybe not, but this change needed to happen. And like the Knicks-Bulls series in 1996 maybe the Suns have one more strong effort against the Spurs this postseason.  The Suns have far too much talent to be sitting outside of the playoff picture and Nash and Shaq don't deserve to end their careers outside looking in.  So props to the Suns front office for correcting their mistake on the fly.

Now it's up to Sarver to keep Stat for two more years.

61 Is Impressive but Remember the Double Nickel!

By Craig Kwasniewski 

Kobe Bryant's 61-point outburst at MSG surpasses Michael Jordan's infamous double nickel from 1995. Not to take anything away from Kobe's feat but Jordan's 55 will always have a place in my heart and was more impressive.   Don't get me wrong, the Lakers literally just found out that their best shot at beating the Celtics and Cavs for an NBA title is gone for the season (8-12 week recovery for a torn knee on a 7-foot frame is VERY optimistic... he's done for the year) so Kobe needed to make a statement: it's still my team and the Lakers are still the favorites in 08-09!  And no better place to make a statement but in basketball mecca, Madison Square Garden.  So a big tip of the hat for a very impressive and very needed 61 (in ONLY 37 minutes!!!) from the reigning MVP.

However, the '95 Knicks were waaaaaayyyy better defensively, the '95 Bulls weren't as good as the '09 Lakers and needed every point out of MJ that night, double-nickel is one of the greatest nicknames ever, the game-winning hoop was by Bill Wennington off a pass from MJ... oh and by the by it was Jordan's fifth game back from a 18-month retirement... simply ridiculous!!!  Anyway, here's a good review from Jordan's 55 back in March, 1995:

 

D'Antoni Deserves Some Run for Coach of the Year

by Craig Kwasniewski

They say it's hard to change a franchise mired for years from the culture of losing to winning but Mike D'Antoni has done just that in NYC in literally weeks. He's taken the same roster that Isiah Thomas failed miserably with and not only got them to play hard but they're very competitive. And simply for changing attitudes and returning hope to MSG D'Antoni deserves MAJOR run at coach of the year. (Also because the award is never given to consistent winners like Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich and especially Jerry Sloan because the media embraces the rags to riches or the we-never-expected-this stories... which completely diminishes the award, but I digress...) Give it to D'Antoni for simply re-injecting life into MSG and for banishing the malcontents from the Thomas era (more on that later).

Anyway here are a few other thoughts from the Lakers 116-114 win over New York from my seat high up in Section 316:

I love when the Knicks come to town! Spike Lee, Clyde Frazier, NY Media and especially the most boisterous fans win or lose (sorry Boston but you bailed on the C's from 1992 to 2008... Bandwagoners!!!), when the Knicks come to town there's a special buzz in the arena. No matter the record the game is always close and the NY fans are quick to run smack if they even sniff a lead. This always wakes up the somber Lakers fans who fire back a rousing "New York Sucks!" chant. This is my 14th Lakers-Knicks game in a row and not one has disappointed. From Kurt Thomas throwing down Dennis Rodman in 1999 to Chris Childs and Kobe brawling in 2000 to Allan Houston dropping 53 in 2003, the game never disappoints.

Andrew Bynum is tired??? Maybe he's experiencing an upper respiratory infection or he's still jet lagged from being raised on the east coast or he's hitting the LA clubs on an all-night drinking/hookering bender all I know is that Drew looked gassed in the first half. The absolute worst moment was when Nate Robinson got a backdoor alley oop in right behind Bynum. You mean to tell me that 5'9" Nate Robinson out jumped 7'0" Andrew Bynum for a tip in? Let's do some math here: 69 inches versus 84 inches! How the hell is a 21 year old getting gassed in the first half? Does his workout guru in Atlanta not believe in running a few wind sprints? Come on Drew you starting to come off as Benoit Benjamin.

Lakers fell for the SSOL trap. You can’t get sucked into matching the SSOL (7 Seconds or Less, I’m tired of writing it out) offense by jacking threes early in the shot clock.... which the Lakers did for the first 44 minutes of the game. This ain’t brain surgery! Just like the 2006 PHX-LAL series, all you need to do is slow the pace and pound it inside. Trevor Ariza was the biggest culprit shooting 1-6 from beyond the arc in only 25 minutes. This plays into SSOL's hands. Long shot = long miss = quick fast break = uptempo pace which is exactly what the Knicks want you to do.

Starbury in da hizzie! I didn't make this the main story here just because that's exactly what Marbury was trying to do by stalking the Knicks from courtside last night. Though I was hoping he'd break out one of those cheap knock off Marbury #3 jerseys or at least a Kobe jersey. And the Lakers totally blew it by not putting a split screen of him and D'Antoni on for the kiss me cam. But really the whole Marbury thing needs to go away... and all the Knicks have to do is make an official announcement that they aren't trading or playing him for the rest of the season. Just let him as his $21 million fade away.

Monday Morning Point Guard

by Craig Kwasniewski

Time to roll out an old favorite of mine: Monday Morning Point Guard, which is five thoughts from the past weekend.

Z-Bo to the Clippers: Very rarely do I ever get a chance to write anything about the "other team" in LA so let's start it off with the Zac Randloph trade and how it affects the LA Clippers. First off, on paper the Clippers are loaded up front. Randolph, Kaman and Camby is a three-man rotation that could hang with the likes of the Lakers, Spurs (when healthy), Utah (also when healthy), Orlando, etc. And they got him on the very cheap as NY is selling off and clearing cap for LeBron (more on that later). The downside is by shipping off Cuttino Mobley they're every thin in the backcourt and are forced to give Ricky Davis a ton of minutes (who along with Andre Miller ranks as one of those great-on-bad-teams-but-awful-on-good-ones type of players).

And now the one BIG problem with the deal... Mike Dunleavy. Already clashing with Baron Davis over coaching styles how will Dunlevy's very hands-on approach on offense blend with Z-Bo and his reputation as a malcontent? With Rickey Davis, Baron Davis and Zac Randolph will there be an in-house revolt? Are there any deals in the near future for Chris Kaman (relegated to the bench because both he and Randolph are low-post ball-stoppers that won't mesh on the floor)? Will Camby and Boom Dizzle find the motivation to play the rest of the season now that the Clippers are playoff contenders (at least on paper)? If anything the Clippers are trying to bring in a winner "across the hall" in Staples Center... so big ups for the effort.

Crawford to the Warriors: Al Harrington for Jamal Crawford... The Warriors go from small to smaller. With Crawford the get a true three man (1 plus 2, meaning he'll call the play from the point and jack it up from everywhere) and the Warriors become the most exciting non-playoff team in the NBA. And that's just it... They're not big enough to hang with the Lakers, Utah, San Antonio, Phoenix, New Orleans and Portland and they're not deep enough to compete with Denver. So they're stuck competing for the eight seed with the Clippers and Dallas. But they'll have fun and the always boisterous Bay Area fans will enjoy this season... the regular season.

Knicks Dumping Salary: So Donnie Walsh did exactly what he came to NY to do, clear cap space and erase the Isiah Thomas regime. Done and done... and worthy of a standing ovation. A potential eight seed playoff appearance was scrapped (and rightly so) for a better shot and at THE free agent class of 2010. Here's the only problem, outside of Shaq in 1996 and T-Mac in 2001 no superstar has left his current franchise in his prime as a free agent. Read that again.

Outside of Shaq in 1996 and T-Mac in 2001 no superstar has left his current franchise in his prime as a free agent.

The Lakers tried to clear cap space in 2005 hoping to land Yao, Stat, Wade, LeBron or Melo and all of them re-signed for better $$ with their original teams. And the Lakers had a decent nucleus to build around with Kobe Bryant. Basically they all passed at a major market franchise and a title contention for extra $$ to line their pockets. What's to guarantee that LeBron, Wade or Bosh will pass up cash to play in MSG?

I would LOVE to see the Knicks back on the front pages of the tabloids for good reasons, but they better have a back-up plan in case those three take a pass. The worst case scenario is the 2001 Orlando Magic, where they dumped salary hoping to get Tim Duncan and T-Mac only to settle for Grant Hill, his injuries and an annual first round exit.

Eddie Jordan and PJ Carlesimo FIRED: One is a terrible defensive coach and the other had the worst talent in the NBA (along with the worst owner). With Jordan is was the case of it's about damn time. Wow he took a team with Gilbert Arenas, Carron Butler and Antawn Jamison to the postseason in the Eastern Conference... BIG... EFFIN'... DEAL!!!! Roll the ball out and get 45 wins from three NBA All Stars, anyone can do that! What he couldn't do was coach defense and the endless first round exits in the playoffs showed that.

Carlesimo got stuck in the middle of an owner dumping talent to move a once-proud franchise from the 13th largest TV market to the 36th market all to steal get a sweet stadium deal from a bunch of gullible rednecks politicians in OK City. The Sonics go from a division title and a second round playoff appearance in 2005 to dumping a very talented team for scraps just to lose fans in the Pacific Northwest. So how do they reward PJ for being a good soldier and coaching this crappy line-up the past two seasons... YOU'RE FIRED!!!!

Enjoy the NBA Oklahoma City!!!!

We're down 30 with 12 minutes to go. We're still in it... Sonics on three!!!!! I mean Thunder!!!

316 Report - Lakers vs. Sacramento: Not much to say from Section 316 at this game to merit an individual post so here are a few bullets:
-I'm digging the new goggles on Vlad Rad, the NBA needs more goggles!!!
-Spencer Hawes looks like The Machinist
-Lakers fans are more "talented" this year. Seriously, my head was on a swivel as hotties are once again showing up to Lakers games.
-Hoops-wise, the Lakers seem to be going to Kobe in the post more when the offense bogs down. Maybe we're seeing Kobe transition to a late-90's Jordan with more post moves and less hang time.