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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