The search begins...poorly.

by Seth on Jun 30, 2008 5:40 PM EDT in News Comment 10 comments

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NBA free agency begins at midnight, and there are already some names floating around for the Knicks' hole at point guard. Chief among them is none other than Chicago's Chris Duhon, seen above displaying his unselfishness and team-first mentality. According to The Sporting News, last year's league leader in seductive gazes per grind session (SG/GS) is expected to meet with Walsh and D'Antoni Tuesday morning. Of the candidates at point guard, Duhon would fall into "mediocre fringe starter who gets a 2-year deal" camp. I'm not particularly enamored with that solution, nor with a guy who, for all his defensive skills and pass-first tendencies, primarily just sucks. See the comments of this Blog-A-Bull post for a sampling of his fan club in Chicago. Then again, if we do opt to make a signing, I'd take Duhon over the likes of Sebastian Telfair any day. Speaking of which, the article cites the expectation that any addition of another point guard would be followed by the buyout or release of Mr. Stephon Marbury. So much for letting his deal expire.

Anyway, signing a free agent is an odd solution for the point guard conundrum. It's a short-term move in what is supposed to be a long-term agenda. Though the money spent wouldn't be frivolous, it'd still be added payroll. Finally, what about Nate Robinson? He seems like a pretty D'Antoni-friendly guy to me, but we haven't heard anything about him fitting into the offense. Why not let Nate spin in the new system? Best case, he shows the point guard skills, shooting, and defense (all of which we've seen in flashes) to lead the team. Worst case, he fails and the Knicks shuffle the lineup or make a signing mid-season. If we're truly urgent to have a leader, then the best bets were draft night or a trade. If not, why waste the cash and the playing time on a stopgap guard? I suppose this all depends on your impression of Duhon, et al., but I'm not terribly excited with the cheap free agents available. Perhaps we're better off keeping the point guard solution in house, just for the time being. I mean, there's always Mardy Collins...

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"Top 20 Protected" just became the rallying cry for 09, I'd say.

Since our pick is top 20 protected, let’s just improve enough to keep the pick, and hope that at this time next year someone worth having for more than 2 years shakes loose (perhaps from Memphis?).

by OTP on Jun 30, 2008 5:57 PM EDT reply actions

Lee for Conley or Lee and Randolph for Lowry and Expiring.

by danisrob on Jun 30, 2008 6:59 PM EDT reply actions

there is no way the Grizz will want Randolph

They have Conley, Mayo/Jaric, Gay, Warrick/Arthur, and Gasol 2 Electric Boogalo. They are built to run cheaply. Maybe we pry away the one pg they don’t want for Lee or maybe NateRobb, but there’s no way they’ll add salary.

by OTP on Jul 1, 2008 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

why the fuck would the Knicks

buy out Marbury instead of letting his deal expire?

that would be worse than Isiah buying out Jalen Rose a couple of years ago. let Marbury rot on the bench while the team misses the playoffs again and then roll around in the $20M pile he leaves behind.

Ewing with the step...YES! and the foul!

by Anthony Masons Haircut on Jul 1, 2008 9:40 AM EDT reply actions

Marbury is poison.

No one wants Marbury back if they don’t have to have him. Better to buy him out now and not have to deal with him next year than to have him screw with the rebuilding program. We still realize the $20 m. savings, but don’t have to have Marbury around. Besides, the owner wants him gone most of all, it seems. Hey, it’s Dolan’s money.

by OTP on Jul 1, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

actually, they don't get that $20M

if they buy out Marbury, they lose out on the $20M that can come off the cap AND they also get rid of perhaps the best trade bargaining chip in the NBA for next season. i don’t care what a problem Marbury is, with that hefty expiring contract the Knicks are sitting on a gold mine.

when Isiah inexplicably bought-out Jalen Rose, all they did was save themselves $3M off of Rose’s $17M expiring deal. if he had just held on to Rose for three more months, he could’ve either traded the expiring deal, or let it expire and taken $17M off the cap.

Ewing with the step...YES! and the foul!

by Anthony Masons Haircut on Jul 2, 2008 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Duhon.. Randoph

I think the Duhon signing is fine. Decent 3pt shooter.. good D. Great assist to turnover ratio. This guy is a back-up type, but with a 2 year deal, who cares? There is no possible way in hell they would be under the cap before 2010 anyway.. no risk situation.

What about sending Randoph to Sac town for Brad Miller? Miller sucks and is always injured.. and has two years left at like 12MilL. At least Randoph can put up 20 & 10. They could trade Balkman or Robinson and Zach for Miller and Sheldon Williams (shot blocker). Works in the trade machine on ESPN!

by andrewkole on Jul 1, 2008 4:47 PM EDT reply actions

Buying out Marbury...

...yeah, I don’t understand the confusion about buying out Marbury. It’s not a bad thing – it’s the same as letting his contract expire. Especially since it eliminates the temptation to trade his expiring contract at the deadline, when everyone and their mom will be offering a deal for it – you can’t trade someone who has been brought out already.

The only difference is that it will also open up a roster spot, so the Knicks won’t have to cut someone (bye-bye Mardy) when/if they sign Duhon. Danilo, fyi, is taking Fred Jones spot on the roster. The rest of the crew from last year is back.

And, as Andrew pointed out, Duhon is a decent backup. Buying Marbury out and signing Duhon would actually imply that Nate Robinson is the likely starting PG. Either him or Jamal Crawford. Duhon’s signing, if it is only for two years, wouldn’t effect the cap plan very much – the Knicks are way over the next two years no matter what, and trying to get under enough in 2010 to make a run at a decent free agent (forget LeBron, it ain’t happening… he’s a lock for Brooklyn… but Bosh, Amare, or Wade might be alright, no?).

Finally: that pick next year. I’m all in favor of really sucking this year, and trying to get the #1 pick and Ricky Rubio. Rubio + Crawford + Danilo is a bad ass lineup for D’Antonio to get nice with. It could totally change the world….

by stopmikelupica on Jul 1, 2008 10:41 PM EDT reply actions