I think the Knicks have a serious hole at the 2G.

First of all we are totally undersized at the position, creating a defensive liability and a matchup nightmare in general.

Second, we have nobody who can consistently hit shots from 15ft or the 3pt arch.

These are pretty important things to have from the 2G position. What we have are undersized totally inconsistent players.

Top 10 SG's: http://realgm.com/src_feature/659/20060817/the_top_shooting_guards_of_the_nba/

Francis is #10. Considering that's after a season of sh!t, i'd say it's not bad. Chemistry wise he may be a problem.. but let's not exaggerate our needs. We've got all the players, we need to make it work. And if we really are trying to fit another person on this roster, i'd say it needs to be a big man bruiser who just gets boards and plays tough D. No one on our team does that or has extreme offensive talent to offset that (i'm still waiting for curry).

After the worst season of his career in almost every statistical category, it may be hard to believe that Francis still deserves a spot on this list. However, Francis is one of the most skilled basketball players to ever grace the NBA courts. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Francis has the body of a running back and with the speed and vertical leap to boast, he can get to the hoop at will, while not being a liability on the defensive end.

Few remember Francis gracing the highlight reel on a daily basis, nicknamed Stevie Franchise. Most will now say, “Steve Francis? A franchise player? Don’t make me laugh.” But it was no laughing matter; Francis was the heir to Hakeem Olajuwon’s crown in Houston before a giant emerged from behind the Great Wall of China to take over the reigns.

Nearing 30 years of age, fans of Francis will hope to see him either moved out of New York, where he has never looked very comfortable or perhaps – just maybe – see Francis return to his glory days in a Knicks uniform and drop 20 points-per-game, five rebounds-per-game and five assists-per-game at the shooting guard spot under the tutelage of Isiah Thomas. But the fact remains that a player of Francis’ calibre needs to be on this list.

[Edited by - metra on 08-20-2006 1:32 PM]

I don't know if I agree with the notion that the Knicks have a serious need for a 2 guard!

The fact's are very simple, Yes.. Steve Francis would be undersized (In theory- although he and Dwayne Wade are roughly the same size)... or Jamal Crawford might be too weak... But the truth of the matter is this they both can score with the best of them.. and Jamal Crawford's perimeter game is really underestimated (IMO).

Bringing in Luke Jackson, is not gonna be a move that upgrades this position. It"d be another lateral move that would not bring about significant changes in team dynamics.

Hey, i'm not opposed to getting a 2 guard that is tall, and can shoot lights out. Plays D.. As a fan, who would'nt want that caliber player on their team??? The reality is this though, unless we are talking about getting T-Mac or Ray Allen, any other move would not impact that position and frankly should not be considered as a first option for change.

What I believe we need, is an intimidator.. and a bruiser down low! We have too many finesse players.. we need the guys that are gonna do the grunt work. Grab Boards, Block shots.. and give NYK it's defensive aggresiveness back.. I'm tryna find somebody that is gonna let opposing teams know, it ain't gon be a lay up drill ya dig!

[Edited by - JayNYC on 08-20-2006 1:41 PM]

Marv if the current Knicks roster sucks big time... what are the players, in order of priority, who you want to move elsewhere?

1.

2.

3.

etc....

isiah's backed himself into a corner - i don't want to move guys for worse contracts. i want to let contracts expire.

the guys i'd like to keep are frye, nate, lee, balkman. i wanted to keep butler. i want to keep the big game for sentimental reasons. everyone else can go to be replaced by the high draft picks we could have/should have had.

C'mon - many though Isiah was backed in a corner with Clarence Weatherspoon, Milos Vujanic and Howard Eisley.

There are more deals to come.

Which player do you want gone first?

Well to me this is the BEST roster we've had in a long time. Where some see holes, I see dangerous offensive threats. Do you realize just how good we are at the guard position? VERY few teams have as many good guards as we do.
Just going off of what they've been able to do in the last 3 years you'd be looking at players that on any night will give you about:

Steph - 20/8/3
Francis - 19/6/6
Jamal - 16/4/3

This is a non issue to me. This team is so versatile that we can affford to bring a defensive role player off the bench and we'd still have loads of scoring. Some of us are still living in the past when it comes to this team. Just remember that we have some VERY talented and skilled young players who are going to come in more experienced and with a bigger role than they had last year. Guys like Curry should be better prepared than last year due to all the special attention he's gotten this offseason from the Knicks staff. Plus we added defensive role players. What else do you want? No the team isn't perfect but dang, its a LOT BETTER THAN SOME THINK. We just don't need a Luke Jackson or anyone like that.

I'd also remind you that last year Jamal REALLY improved his D as the year went on. Plus we still have QRIch, who surprised us with his improvement on D. I don't say too much negative about the team cuz I TRULY LIKE THIS TEAM.
I see a talented and versatile team. Most of them get along just fine and winning will only make that better. I LOVE the idea of Isiah as coach and I LOVE his philosophy for this team. His system makes perfect sense to me for this roster.

these stats are meaningless.

as my man fish says - watch the games.

did you like what you saw out of them last year? do you really want to go to war with those 3?

it's no problem if you say yes. everybody's opinion is good and that's what we're all here for.

but i say a resounding no.

asolutely, last year was a fluke.

Posted by Marv:

these stats are meaningless.

as my man fish says - watch the games.

did you like what you saw out of them last year? do you really want to go to war with those 3?

it's no problem if you say yes. everybody's opinion is good and that's what we're all here for.

but i say a resounding no.