TD is by far our next best 2 way player. He showed signs last year and so far it appears he's the most likely candidate to be our 6th man. He has such a huge impact when he enters a game. If this guy ever improved his court vision and passing he'd be a top quality starting PG.

I expect Gallo to improve slightly as well but he may still be a bit inconsistent. He will be better than he's shown so far tho so I wouldn't panic.

I think Chan has looked good and he should also put up improved numbers. Nothing crazy but a nice improvement.

What about another free agent that we can spend our money on?

Don't think its Gallo, he's not athletic enough. Don't think its AR, he's not smart enough.

I'm just hoping Mosgov becomes a great defensive center.

I think its Mosgov. If he can effectively hold down the Center position, this is a big win for Amare, and have an awesome talented tandem up front. Who is going to stop that pairing of skill and athleticism? That's the kind of thing that wins playoff games.

I think it's Gallinari for sure. He needs to play a lot closer to how he played in Europe for us to take that next step as a team. The NBA version of Gallo we've seen so far for us looks to be a shell of what he used to be and flat out isn't going to cut it...European-league Gallo was a completely different player..Not that I saw it first hand, obviously I didn't, but you can clearly see it just looking at old clips of him compared to how he plays now..Can he regain his old form? If he does or comes close we'll benefit either one of two ways -- either we finally get the player we thought we were getting when we drafted him that high AND WE KEEP HIM or we finally have the main component we'll need to trade for a player like Carmelo Anthony i.e. none of this waiting or trying to flip Gallo to another team in order to get the asset(s) Denver really wants. Look at these two clips -- you can see a complete difference in style of play from quite a few standpoints: overall aggression, athleticism, amount of quickness, ability to finish above the rim consistently on drives/putbacks, etc., ability to put it on the floor and actually get by a defender with long & much quicker strides, ability/willingness to take his man in the post and score the ball, willingness to go get a better shot and not settle -- basically a willingness & the ability to vary his offense at will with realitive ease:

European Version

NBA Version

I even picked a good game he had with the Knicks to use as a comparison, arguably his best game as a Knick so far. He shot it well that particular game against Philly but it's how he got that 30 pts. that concerns me -- he put up 21 shots in that game I believe, 15 of which were 3s...What's the reason for the drastic change in play? Is the back not 100% yet? If it is, does he not fully trust it yet? Is he bigger now than when he played a few years ago in Europe, both height and weight-wise? If that's the case, is he having trouble adjusting to his new body? Is it D'Antoni? Does D'Antoni really want him camped out on the perimeter exclusively? I honestly don't think it's MDA -- he's said numerous times that he wants to see Gallo do more...Is the competition that much better in the NBA as opposed to Europe from a defensive standpoint where he just can't do the things he used to do and doesn't even attempt those things anymore???? Right now I don't know what the answer is but the bottom line is we need to eventually see something a lot closer to clip 1. Can you imagine if he played like Clip 1 in a Knick uniform consistently? Forget about it..He'd be the toast of the town right now..He'd already be a star if he played like that...He hasn't though, not even close and it's a major concern. Will he ever regain that form again? He's such a tough guy to quantify right now because no one knows the answer to that question and what might be holding him back exactly, if anything.

ended up with voting for Gallo, but it's such a tough choice. Each player brings something to the table. But the guy I think I would miss the most is probably Gallo. Dunno if it's because of him being completely our own Knick project, same goes for TD. Moz is a question mark to me so far.

And fish, I'm disappointed with you not including Chandler in that list. He deserves some recognition as well, imo..

Finestrg wrote:

fishmike wrote:If I could choose which one it would be thats easy... 7'1 atlhetic centers are game changers.

Man, really Fish? I hear what you're saying about 7 footers that can actually play becoming gamechangers but I honestly feel this team takes it to another level as soon as Gallo does..If he ever does.. Whatever we get outta Moz, TD and Fields is gravy at this point. Not too much is expected outta these 3 -- Moz may start this season (maybe because he's really the only true center on the roster) but it's obvious he still has a ways to go (he needs to having a bigger impact in terms of rebounding, developing some go-to offense in close [a little soft hook-shot would be nice], learn how to stay out of foul trouble & even learn how to win a jumpball by eliminating that big stride he takes before he jumps--he hasn't won one jumpball so far), TD's the backup PG and Fields was a second round pick (albeit a damn good one from the looks of it) who may or may not be in Mike's rotation (he definitely should be as long as MDA wants to win and isn't concerned about hurting veteran Roger Mason's feelings).. Gallo is the guy they're looking at to be their #2 guy right next to Amar'e. I would've said AR right up there with Gallo at one point but I think expectations have been cut back drastically this preseason by almost everyone (the coaching staff, mgmt. and fans) based on his performance. D'Antoni himself has even referred to Randolph as a 21-year-old project recently...I'd say Gallo's the guy they're looking at to eventually become an all-star level player or close to it. I sure as hell don't see that right now. Can he get there?

right now Gallo has a star's attitude with a role players game. He's young and maybe the trade stuff is bugging him. If he plays well he becomes attractive to other teams. If he doesnt he's not happy either. I'm quite sure he loves NY, DMA and being a Knick.

That being said though... the Knicks would be in great shape if Gallo became Peja part II. A guy who's deadly shot stretched defenses. Average defender, rebounder and passer but that dude could shoot and score and was a 20ppg guy for a good long stretch.

If Mos takes off and becomes a nice well rounded 7'1 athletic scoring defending shot blocking rebounding center the Knicks really have something with him and Amare.

im with Finestrg, he makes some great points, who better to compliment amare's game than gallo, stretching the defense giving amare room to work inside, and who benefits from the space created by doubling amare inside than gallo with his lights out long rang shooting? if he develops his drive to the basket game, and motion without the ball where he has defenders guessing how to play this italian knicks can play great basketball. imagine the denver game put amare in the high post and imagine how the rest of the players on the court benefit.

does he have what it takes to get there? i dont know, we know he can shoot, and we know he's got a nice midrange game, and the occasional drive past his defender makes you wonder why doesnt attempt this more often. i hope he takes that next step.

Papabear Says

Fields look good. LOL but I'm not picking him. My pick is that 7ft 1 inch monster the bim M! If he stays healthy and he gets the respect of the refs he will be great. He can shoot the ball, defend, and pass. I think he will be great. We need to bring some one like Patrick Ewing or the Admrial to come in and help him. PE ain't comin because we just waived his son.