04/16/24
November 21, 2008
The Knicks Shed Some Cap: It looks like the Knicks are trying to dig out of the Isaiah Thomas mess by shedding salary. This is not going to help the Knicks' performance this year. When I watched their game against Boston, Jamal Crawford appeared to be the only player interested in playing.
posted by Howard_T to basketball at 06:30 PM - 8 comments
Donnie Walsh had to make some sort of big move to reassure the fan base that he's actually got some sort of direction in mind for the team. Will Knicks fans be patient for two years? Hard to say. Donnie's in an Obama-type situation, though; NYK fans are so thoroughly sickened by the old regime that hope springs anew, and perhaps they'll put up with a couple of lost seasons, if there's a Lebron-sized payoff at the end of the travails.
With these deals, the Knicks have cleared enough cap room not just to sign Lebron in 2010, but to show Lebron, We've got enough to sign you and somebody like Chris Bosh or Dwayne Wade.
I think it was a good move by Walsh, hopefully the first of many. I'm not a Knicks fan by any stretch of the imagination, but a storied franchise like that needs to be put back together. If the Knicks lose for two years, but play hard, and genuinely appear to be trying, that will go a long way toward legitimizing D'Antoni as a coach who can handle the Big Apple and keeping the fans semi-satisfied during Lebron Watch 2008 - 2009.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 09:17 AM on November 22, 2008
With these deals, the Knicks have cleared enough cap room not just to sign Lebron in 2010, but to show Lebron, We've got enough to sign you and somebody like Chris Bosh or Dwayne Wade.
I think people are underestimating how much damage Isiah did to this team. They're going to have to convince Bosh (Wade's really not going to work as a running mate) to sign on to a team with ragtag starting players, no bench depth and very little in the way of youth in the hopes of playing with Lebron. That is, if the Raptors don't get to him first.
That's a hard argument to make, especially given the fact the Nets are just down the road and hungry for Lebron too. Bosh could sign with the Knicks and end up playing with Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington. Scary to someone who wants to win a championship.
They've effectively put all their eggs in one rebuilding basket because Isiah forced them to. There was no way they could rebuild, given the bloated contracts that this team has. Donnie Walsh can't bargain to acquire picks and young talent for his roster because their contracts are just so over the top. The problem will come when they're trying to fill out a roster to build around a superstar and realize that Wilson Chandler's their young star right now.
posted by dfleming at 10:12 AM on November 22, 2008
The mess Thomas created won't go away overnight. It has to start somewhere, and they WILL improve, just not this year. Isiah molded this team in his image: A total, complete trainwreck. Money, New York City, and the lure of bringing the Knicks back to the spotlight still can't be underestimated for potential signings in the near future, though.
posted by dyams at 10:58 AM on November 22, 2008
Well it's a good thing that they've got enough coin for two, because if Cleveland's taught us anything the last few years it's, "Lebron can't do it alone." Almost, but no... When all the talk about Kobe being traded was going on before last season, there were talks that the Lakers would get LeBron in 2010. I just don't see LeBron being so ready to jump into an organization that hasn't done ANYTHING since the early to mid 90's. But then again, who thought KG and Ray Allen would want to play for the Celtics? I guess enough money can change anyone's mind.
posted by docshredder at 01:40 PM on November 22, 2008
But then again, who thought KG and Ray Allen would want to play for the Celtics?
To be fair, the C's at least had Paul Pierce who could/can ball.
posted by jmd82 at 03:50 PM on November 22, 2008
I'm not so sure this makes the Knicks that much worse. The Knicks lose Crawford who scores but doesn't do much of anything else and they lose Randolph who boards and scores but refuses to play defense. Then again they didn't get much in return. There wasn't much of a reason to keep this team together.
When Ellis returns the Warriors staring lineup is gong to be 4 wings and Biedrins in the middle(The Latvian dragonfly?). I have no idea what is going to happen but it should be interesting.
posted by tron7 at 01:01 AM on November 23, 2008
Well, after that beating tonight, the Knicks sure didn't make themselves more attractive. Keep in mind too that Cleveland could also have enough cap space in 2010 to sign their own top free agent to run alongside LeBron.
posted by avogadro at 11:23 PM on November 25, 2008
They've also dealt Zack Randolph. It's going to be a long season in NY.