Posted by bigbeast:
First of all, forget about this notion of blowing the team up, shedding salary, gettin under the cap, etc. I'm sure most if not all of us agree that that is the logical way to build a contender. But thats not the way business is being conducted at the garden these days.
Agreed. It's sad but true. James Dolan is too short-sited and frankly -- dumb, to allow the Knicks to rebuild. Anyone remember that quote where he answered the question of whether NY was a retirement home for old and overpayed talent, and Dolan remarked "Yea, I'd have to agree with that."
THIS is our owner???
So lets follow the blueprint that Isiah and Dolan have laid before us. Trying to build on the fly. How can we turn this current team (which according to most will probably tap-out at around 40-41 wins which probably leaves us on the outside of the playoffs looking in) into a a team that can seriously compete with the Celts, Pistons and Bulls in the playoffs?
I have trouble picturing any sucessful playoff team with Marbury as your PG.
But we're stuck with him for the next few years, and I guess he's doing his best impression of a role model and quality point.
For the record though, without a franchise player we'd be doomed to playoff mediocrity, like 2nd round and out...
When you look at the way Isiah has acquired most of the players on the roster, players who have talent but have had issues that have made them underachievers, ARTEST seems like a logical aquisition for Isiah. Talented and troubled. I see most dont want to include Balk in any trade for Artest. I dont either. But whats the real reason? Is it because Balk is fan favorite and we just dont want to give him up because we like him? So, we keep Balk and dont do the trade for Artest. Whats our record gonna be next year? 40-41 wins?
First off, Isiah the coach hasn't had many seasons better than 40-41. The guy, FLAT OUT, isn't a very good coach. He's good for the young guys sure, and players like him.
Ironically, I think he'd make a good player agent.
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BACK TO YOUR MAIN POINT:
For Artest, the Kings want 2 things:
A.) Small Contracts (b/c no ones offering them equal talent)
B.) Cheap talent/draft pick(s)An
ideal offer, and this is just me, would be:
Fred Jones
Nate Robinson
Renaldo Balkmanstraight up for Artest.
I'd even be so inclined to throw in a 2nd rounder and cash.
Now,You plug
him at SF, Marbury at PG, and one of either
Zach or Curry in at the 4/5 spotThen you start seeing the light. You have a big threesome of Marbury, Artest, and Zach/Curry.
That's essentially a poor man's, bratty San Antonio Spur's (Parker/Ginobili/Duncan). Or even a noticeably poorer version of Boston's trio (KG, Allen, Pierce).
So what you have is basically a solid trio, along the likes of Washington. And since we have one of the best young benches in the league (Lee = 6th Man material), we would make up ground against the likes of Boston, Washington, etc.
The only problem, and this is a whopper, is finding a way to trade either Zach or Curry for defense/rebounding, because they have value obviously, but those salaries are massive.
Personally, I'd trade Curry (far less proven than Zach). Here's a group of players in his price range:
Chris Kaman
Nene
Dalembert
Ben Wallace
Rasheed Wallace
Tyson Chandler
Big z
Erick Dampier
Darko Milicic
etc, etc.[Edited by - bobs3304 on 08-05-2007 8:33 PM][Edited by - bobs3304 on 08-05-2007 9:08 PM]DLee is the best thing to happen to NY in Isiah's 4 year tenure.
And that alone, though a positive on the radar, is sad as hell.
