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jimimou
Posts: 23517
Alba Posts: 36
Lame Alba Posts: 1
Joined: 6/6/2004
Member: #681 USA
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Didn't see this posted and believe it demands it's own thread:
By Stop Mike Lupica on January 10 at 3:03PM Well, that's what Dime Magazine wrote in this post here.
Honestly, it might actually make sense for everyone involved. The contracts last about the same length of time (Michael Redd technically could opt one year earlier than Randolph, but that ain't happening). Redd is the rare player whose contract is actually worse than Randolph's (more expensive, slightly).
I've written before about Redd's shortcomings. He's a bad passer, bad defender, and only has one real aspect to his game - he's a deadly shooter, especially from the perimeter. His pump fakes at the three point line annoy me, in that they mess up the timing on the offensive rebounds (note that Milwaukee, despite having the tallest lineup in the league, can't rebound very well).
But he fills the Knicks' biggest need right now. A SF who can hit a perimeter shoot, especially if he's open. He's a specialist in that field. And that would allow the Knicks to go inside-out for once.
Secondly, getting rid of Randolph would solve the spacing issues that the Curry-Randolph tandem are creating. They don't work well together, and it's because (Cosellout has documented their shortcomings better than I have) they can't figure out where to be on the court so that the defense can't crash down upon them, especially with the lack of outside shooting on the Knicks.
So the Knicks will go back to what worked for them last year, namely having Curry be the inside force, but with the addition of a deadly shooter. Hey, it worked for Orlando. No one really anticipated Rashard Lewis' presence having that much of an impact, right?
The Bucks, like the Knicks, are a team that, in my opinion, has been horribly underperforming the last couple of year's. Aside from having the tallest lineup in the league (Yi Jianlian is a 7' SF; Bogut and Villanueva are both average heights for their position, and Redd and Williams are slightly above average), the talent is there. But something has been messing them up for a couple of seasons now. I honestly suspected it was Redd, and the focus of the offense being on him.
The Bucks can trade Redd, and re-focus their offense. More pick and rolls with the deadly combo of Mo Williams and Bogut, only they can also run that play with Randolph and Williams (Randolph would be deadly in a pick and roll team... his only job would be to shoot the ball, or kick out... no thinking, no moves).
It would make me happy if this trade happened, and worked out for everyone. Like the author of the Dime post, I too am a Randolph fan. He works hard, and it sucks that his presence might have messed up the Knicks this season (to be determined); he's not Steve Francis, a poisonous player on the bench. He's a solid team guy, who hustles after rebounds and works on defense, even if he's not very good.
Redd would probably make Knicks owner James Dolan very happy. He's a sharp-shooting perimeter SG/SF, with strong Christian beliefs. Don't be too surprised if he doesn't end up with a 6 year, $100 million extension.
Jokes aside, no harm in the Knicks rolling the dice. Redd might have more trade value than Randolph (especially in a year or two), and he might be a better fit for the team right now than Randolph. Let's see if anything comes of this...
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