Okay, hypothetical here:

We get the 2nd spot in the lottery. Rose goes first to the Warriors (hey--it's my hypothetical, and I don't care if they only have a 1.7 percent chance of winning the lottery), and we're sitting at #2.

Do we take Beasley? Do we trade down? What do you all think?

Me: I say we trade down to the top 8 or so, pick up some assets (like getting our 2010 first rounder back, as well as the 2 2nd rounders we don't have), and take the best player available. Maybe we even get Seattle to bite and pick up a guy this year (Darrell Arthur?) that allows us to buy out one of our hulking behemoths.

Basically, I just want to start the conversation: what can we get in a trade down, and is it worth more to us than the second coming of Derrick Coleman?

 

I really enjoyed the Pringles picture to announce the hiring of Mike D'Antoni. In fact I'm incredibly jealous that I didn't come up with it. Meanwhile, I heard a lot of the concerns about whether he can function in New York and get a  whacky roster to play well. But isn't the fact that the Knicks have talent lost in the discussion? At the very least D'Antoni is a good basketball mind that is respected around the league. That's half the battle. And I really think most guys in the NBA, perhaps Zach Randolph excluded, want to be coached. It has to be a step up from Isiah. Several steps up. Keep up the good work. As a side note, is there any chance that Stephon Marbury will be back in the mix? I could use a little more Yes Sir! in my life.

Changes.

Poll

Who do you NOT want on the team next year?

• Stephon Marbury
• Eddy Curry
• Zach Randolph
• Quentin Richardson
• Other (please explain)

  19 votes | Results

Continue reading this post »

 

 

via www.nypost.com

Yes, in this time of great change for the Knickerbockers, what with the spankin' new coach, the biggest news in my world is David Lee's flashy new mohawk. Apparently, it's some deal with his Vitamin Water sponsorship and the site they sponsored where you cut his hair and shit. I was kinda hoping for dreads myself. Full story/coverage on the link below

 

Full story/coverage of the event here

According to ESPNews, D'Antoni has accepted Walsh's offer, and will become the new head coach of the New York Knicks.

Wow...

OK, my official prediction: This deal is going to fall flat in the face of Walsh, D'Antoni and the Knicks. There's NO way D'Antoni is going to last in the Eastern Conference. I'd LOVE to be proven wrong, but the fact of the matter is, he's an offensive coach, and he's going to try and coach an offensive team in a defensive minded conference? It's not going to work, at all. I dare anyone to try and tell that ragtag bunch of guys that they need to shoot MORE! Ugh.

(Editor's Note: Now that Avery's actually free, Starkstastic's diary from a couple days ago deserves another look. AJ as the Knick coach...what do you think?)

There has been no mention of this as far as I've seen. I think it's at least worth discussing, as Johnson's exit in Dallas seems likely. Mark Cuban and Co. were head over heels for this guy back in 2006 when the Mavs made it all the way to the NBA Finals, even taking a 2-0 series lead before the refs, ahem, Dwayne Wade and the Heat took over and won 4-2. We all remember Dallas's exciting, if not epic collapse to Golden State in last year's playoffs. Now it looks as if the same disappointing fate awaits Avery Johnson's club. Chris Paul has been unstoppable. J. Kidd has looked like absolute shit, something that makes me very happy. New Orleans looks younger, faster, hungrier, and even more talented. If Dallas can't get their act together the team may have to be blown up -- including getting rid of the coach. I anticipate a lot of you dismissing AJ as a solid candidate for his excitability and need for control issues, but the above picture of Johnson fisting Eddy Curry and the rest of New York's lackluster roster into giving a shit gives me hope for the future. All of the big personalities are not in the Knicks' long-term plans anyway, so who cares if player and coach end up clashing? Expectations are low, right? Primary objectives are to get under the cap while getting more competitive now, right? Why not Johnson? Don't get me wrong, I think several of the candidates already mentioned elsewhere could be nice fits. Mark Jackson is intriguing, and he has no shortage of praise from others who know him from around the league. Rick Carlisle is battle-tested and proven. I just don't feel an A-List coach is necessarily the answer. Herb Williams has great rapport with the players and within the organization; as a fan I would like to see someone from the outside coach so as to signify a complete regime change from Isiah. Even Paul Silas is an interesting wildcard because of his ties to LeBron. Obviously, Dallas is not done yet and there's no guarantee Cuban would fire his coach anyway. Even if this happens, New York could very well have found a coach already. All I'm saying is if Johnson becomes available and the Knicks are still looking, he should get a look. What do you guys think?

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/knicks/archives/2008/04/jax_walsh_meet.html

"Walsh is acting a lot like Scott Layden did in his covert operations. And we know how well that reign went."

Umm... yeah, keep up the good "journalism" skills, Marc.

You know, it's not just the fact that he freakin' compared Donnie Walsh to SCOTT LAYDEN, but it's also just that, wow, he gets paid to write this crap?! Him and Peter Vescey both are embarrassing, but at least Vescey is hilarious in his lunacy.

My apologies for the negativeness of the rant below.

But man, FUCK Erick Dampier. If anyone saw the game before, the Hornets were already losing the game by 10, and Paul went up to go for a lay-up, with barely any time to go, and Dampier feels the need to start shit and SHOVE Paul to the ground. Dude, your team is about to win the whole damn game, why the FUCK do you need to shove down a point guard who is a foot lower than you?! You're fucking seven feet tall, why do you want to start shit with a little point guard? Dude, you're not strong, you're not tough, you're not even a fucking good basketball player. You're seriously the fucking worst starting center in the LEAGUE right now. Jason Collins owned the crown of super suck before getting benched this year, and now it rightfully belongs to you, you foul prone, lazy, bad shooting, piece of shit. Learn how to play basketball, you asshole.

I mean dude, your team was fucking winning, why do you feel the need to start something with a guy ten years younger than you, and one foot shorter than you? Fuck you, man. Fuck off and leave. I'm sure Dallas will readily miss your five points, five rebounds, five fouls, and piss poor playing skills.

*Rant over*

Simple, just post your predictions on each first round series. I love these kinds of things.

Eastern Conference:

Celtics/Hawks: Celtics in 4. This is going to be a VERY easy series for the Celtics. The Hawks will not have any sort of way to stop the Celtics. I will be SHOCKED if they can even win one game.

Pistons/Sixers: Pistons in 5. The Sixers will probably snag game 3 at home, and then the Pistons will zombie their way through the Eastern Conference Finals.

Magic/Raptors: Magic in 5. Dwight Howard is going to wallop poor Rasho Nesterovic. The Raptors can only hope that Calderon plays like it's the first half of the season, and that Chris Bosh picks up his game. Other than that, they have no chance.

Cavaliers/Wizards: Wizards in 7. This is going to be a WAR. These two teams will push each other on the brink. If any team wins in less than 7 games, the games will be decided by 4 points or less. LeBron James is all the Cavaliers have. Can LeBron carry a team into picking up four wins against Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas? Not to mention, there's DeShawn Stevenson, and while he didn't show it in game 1, he can DEFINITELY bring big numbers to the table. Keep an eye out for Roger Mason, as well.

 

Western Conference:

Lakers/Nuggets: Lakers in 4. Merely a formality for the Lakers. I feel really bad, because I like the Nuggets and all, but unless they play ANY defense, they won't even get a pity victory against the Lakers.

Hornets/Mavericks: Hornets in 7. Another tough series, and it could really go either way. The inexperience of the Hornets might lead to the Hornets losing, but as Chris Paul showed in the 2nd half of game 1, he may very well be playoff ready.

Spurs/Suns: Suns in 7. Another tough series, and it also could really go either way. I just believe the Suns finally get their revenge on the Spurs.

Jazz/Rockets: Jazz in 5. No Rafer Alston, AND Yao Ming? Sorry Tracy, maybe next year.

 

So what do YOU think, what are your predictions on how the first round match-ups will go?

 

Doesn't really matter much, but the Knicks won a tiebreak with LAC, and will be fifth odds-wise in the draft lottery.

Tom Ziller explains:

It means little in a practical sense going into the lottery. For instance, Minnesota will have 138 combinations out of 1,000; Memphis will have 137. The difference is 0.1%. Where the real impact comes, though, is at the June draft. If the lottery holds everyone to form, Minnesota picks third, Memphis picks fourth, New York picks fifth, and L.A. picks sixth. The lowest Minnesota can pick is sixth; Memphis could drop to seventh. It's a bit of difference.

 

The lottery is May 20th. We wait with bated breath.