Woj/Spears: Knicks Nearing McGrady Deal

but I thought the ‘throwing away our future for untested talent’ era was fucking DONE. I mean, I’m not Hill’s biggest fans but 3 picks for the next three years just to get rid of Jefferies contract so we can lure who, exactly?

Amare – Going to get traded and possibly sign an extension.
LBJ – Probably going to sign an extension, especially if Jamison or Amare join him.
Wade – Either stays in Miami or goes back home to Chi-town.
Bosh – Not a franchise player, hell, not even that much of an upgrade over Lee imo.

What’s the point of just throwing away our future like this on a hunch? Unless Donnie knows something we don’t, this looks like a stupid desperation move.

WHY ARE WE STILL PAYING ISIAH THOMAS??????

I dont like this trade at all. just a horrible deal, no benefits at all except for getting rid of jefferies. I dont know if its worth the gamble with Mcgrady. Id rather keep Hill for at least one more season , as they say big men take longer time to develop. dont like giving up the picks as well.

joey dorsey can crack the rotation if he is given the opportunity.

This is pure insanity. You want to give Hill up in order to get the Rockets to agree to take Jeffries contract, OK, but forget the draft picks. McGrady is washed up or he would be playing full time for the Rockets.

As many of you witnessed on the T-mac blog last week, I was willing to give up Hill to rid ourselves of Jeffries. However, I hope Walsh really pushes hard to only exchange one draft pick on top of that. Theres really no other takers out there for McGrady, and bluntly, hes not even playing for them right now. They already are getting serviceable players in Harrington/Hughes, Jeffries, and Hill. On top of that I’ll be flexible to exhange one years pick, but not give up an additional pick. I know according to Donnies plan he believes these picks he gives up will be in the 20’s. But some of you are right, you dont know that for SURE. Maybe the whole plan blows up in our face.

On the flipside, this really improves our chances at LeBron. As I said last week, Jordan Hill being on the roster isnt gonna do anything to make LeBron come here, and thats what this is all about. That extra 7mil+ of cap space will. Potentially we may have enough for 2 max contracts, which is huge. And if T-mac plays well its icing on the cake. Coming off these past 2 years, Tmac would most definatly take a few years at around mid-level money if it means playing along side a superstar cast. Expirings + Hill + swapping 1st rounders… after long thought… Id say I’d do it, but that’d be the MOST I’d give up.

P.S. I dont have too much knowledge on the David Lee “Bird Rights” situation. Somebody mentioned earlier that these are waived with this trade… could you explain further?

Giving up future draft picks is how the Knicks got into their present predicament so why continue this practice. Please additionally remember that there is a possibility that the team will not sign any free agents during the upcoming offseason. if this is the case, having no draft picks will make things only worse.

if it doesn’t include david lee, forget it. dorsey is also going to blossom. he is a ferocious rebounder and low post defender.

I am a diehard Knick fan, but I do not see Lebron coming to NY especially if the Cavs win the NBA title. Wade might benefit more since he would get more endorsements but don’t count on it. In fact, the team’s current roster is not attractive for potential free agents who want to join a winning program. That is why giving the Rockets draft picks is an extremely BAD idea. In addition, if McGrady is so good, why isn’t he playing with the Rockets

get better deals with other teams. Hopefully, both teams wait till 1pm Thursday to entertain offers from other teams….lol

Love this trade….but I gotta give a little credit to Donnie…..THE KNICKS are way under the cap…..and when your under the cap u can do anything…..we can get free agents, we can make more trades, and we can even get back some drafts picks…..I hate losing Jordan Hill but I have to believe that Donnie and Mike know what they’re are doing…..the turning point to the Knicks future is right now……and I have to believe it’s gonna way better then what we have all been through

I think Amare going to Cleveland can actually help us get LBJ.

Amare loves playing for dantoni and played his best basketball with him. If Amare and Lebron have something good going then dantoni can convince to have Amare and Lebron to NY.

Then clearing as much space as we can is the best thing

I like the idea of getting McGrady, but to give up Hill and the 2012 first rounder is a nasty gamble that would lower Walsh in my eyes, worthy of Isiah ykw. If the deal includes their first rounder this year, then the deal would be better. I hope Walsh is as smart as we think he is.

Lee would only want to go to a contendor, and NO ONE wants to go to the Hornets. West is gonna be gone in 2011, and Paul in 2012.

I mean something doable would be like Lee to OKC, but you could only get Eric Maynor back. And he’s too untested.

joe johnson and boozer are enough for the knicks to make the playoffs (and not barely) next season

Amare does not want to play in Cleveland… this is huge. If Cavs had gotten amare Id say the Knicks have 5% or less chance at LBJ

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/64724/20100215/amare_does_not_want_to_play_in_cleveland/

ps. Whats that tell you about Amare… what a loser

and play out the season with the Cavs and then go elsewhere next season if he really hates Cleveland

what if lebron doesnt opt out?
it is possible if not plausible.
then this trade is really a piece of shit

-Ultimately, this deal is a gamble. I understand the logic from both perspectives. Furthering ‘The Plan’ by getting rid of cap space, flyer on McGrady. We find out if it works on July 1st.

-The Rockets brass could have floated this rumor to increase McGrady’s value.

-Sounds like DW/D’Antoni have given up on Hill (never liked him?).

-As someone who makes himself watch every game, this season has gotten awfully frustrating (reaching a new low against Sac.). T-Mac would spice things up a little bit, at the least. He has alot to prove, and alot of money to be earned.

-I think that wherever LeBron signs, he is gonna have opt-out clauses built into to multiple years of his contract.

in the limited minutes j-hill has played he seemingly as garnered huge +/- stats and has put up significant #s. i think this is a combo of a rookie giving a damn and the knicks having absolutely no heart. one iota of effort will seem like a lock. apply this same mentality to david lee. the kid is nearly averaging 20/11! that’s nearly top50 of all-time type of numbers. i think this trade goes through if the 2012 pick is lottery protected.

here’s a different question. do you pull the trigger on a deal that gets rid of eddy curry if it means the Cock must go as well?

The problems I (and most of us) see with the Knicks are no PG and too many “scorers” (w/o the effort guys/role-players). As much as I started the year not liking JJ, he’s grown on me at least a little bit. He may not be worth the $7M we pay him, but he at least knows his role and gives the effort. Chemistry helps win games obviously and once Harrington and Hughes are gone… our chemistry sky-rockets.

Back about JJ – With Chandler, Gallo, Harrington, Lee, N8, Hughes… even TD…. we have guys that are “scorers”. JJ is really our only player who you can point to that his forte ISN’T scoring and is more about effort.

With his contract expiring next year, let’s let our youth develop, maybe get one medium/big piece this summer and find a pure point guard this offseason (trade) or next (FA/trade). Unfortunately, what we REALLY need isn’t available on the FA market this summer… a pure PG or a defensive/rebounding C (could Darko really not fill that role? Luv to see him at least be given the chance).

Also, if we had consistent, decent pure PG play… how much better would we even be just THIS year? Playoffs likely? Why not let our current youth develop and add a PG somehow?

Sorry for the ramble, just my 2c.

The staff have evaluated Hill for more than 6 months and therfore must have formed an opinion regarding his ability. They know he can jump and run, but my guess is that they feel that he can not shoot. In short, They are convinced that he will be a journeyman.

My thought regarding TMac is the same as many posts. If he has fully recovered from his injury, why has he not played for the Rockets? Answer- The staff has determined that he no longer the same player.

Why do the Knicks want him? Answer- because they want to get rid of Jeffries and his contract. They also want to unload Hughes, who is a pain in the ass and either
Harrington- no great loss- or Hill- a bad draft choice.

Walsh has stuck to his plan for 2 years now, and thus far has not sacrficed even a smidgen of our future in clearing the cap he has. He can’t go half way, it’s either you’re all in or you’re out. If all thats sacrificed in clearing 50mil in cap and ultimately completing all of the original goals is giving up Jordan Hill and a protected pick, than I say we made out great.

LeBron is the best player in the league. These opportunities come around once in a generation. Why dilly dally about the prospects of this happening. We’ve got to go for it 100%. If we get this guy, with a cast, we’re title contenders for the next decade. Let that sit for a little bit.

The risk involved in giving up the picks is that we could miss out on LeBron. But I’d bet my ass that the chances of those picks turning out to be an NBA star are more extreme than us landing LeBron. Even if the picks unprotected, based on last years lottery we had a 8.3% chance of landing the #1 pick. We certainly have a better than 8.3% chance of landing LeBron if this trade happens. And even if we got a good player in the draft theres no chance theyre as good as LeBron.

What it comes down to if we don’t pull this trade off than most likely LeBron stays, we sign a lesser (Bosh, Joe Johnson) to a max deal, build a decent team, and we are destined for a 3-4 seed for the next 5 years. I say we go for the chance at being destined to win titles for the next 10 years. The difference between being where we are now and being a 3-4 seed doesn’t do too much for me. The chance at winning titles is everything to me.