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LivingLegend
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Knicks' PG pursuit will start with Duhon
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Posted: June 30, 2008
Sean Deveney
Sporting News
The Knicks are heading into a pivotal 2008-09 season with a new general manager and coach, and what they need more than anything is a reliable, efficient point guard. That's evident in their free-agent plans.
Word is that, when the NBA free-agent season opens tomorrow morning, the Knicks will reveal their top target: Bulls point guard Chris Duhon, an unrestricted free agent. New York GM Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D'Antoni are expected to meet with Duhon early on Tuesday, when NBA teams are free to contact and woo available players.
Duhon's agent, Kevin Bradbury, could not concretely confirm the Knicks' interest. He did say, "Chris' all-around game could blossom under an offensive coach like Mike D'Antoni. No one knows what will happen at this point, and who knows where things will end up, but the Knicks are a team we would hope would be genuinely interested. Chris is only 25, so he has room to grow."
Ultimately, what D'Antoni will need in his uptempo system is a point guard who can advance the ball and get it to scorers. The Knicks, stuck with the likes of score-first guards Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson and Jamal Crawford, are desperate for a point guard who will look to pass first. That, along with defense, has been Duhon's calling card in four NBA seasons. Despite averaging just 25.8 minutes in his career with the Bulls, Duhon has put up 4.5 assists against 1.4 turnovers, and nearly a steal per game.
If the Knicks sign Duhon, it will be another signal of what has become obvious in New York: The Knicks will seek a buyout or outright release for Marbury, who doesn't seem to have a place in D'Antoni's offense. Duhon has never been a 35-minute-per-night player, and it's unknown whether he can handle the workload. But the Knicks seem willing to explore that question.
"He has shown the ability to distribute the ball, but he can also shoot from the perimeter," Bradbury said. "He hasn't always been allowed to do that. His defense, of course, everybody knows about. That's unquestioned."
Not unquestioned is the list of other targets who might interest New York. The Knicks, eager to protect their 2010 cap space in an effort to land would-be free agent LeBron James, might hesitate to offer a contract that lasts longer than two years, and other teams might be willing to give Duhon more security. A sign-and-trade with Chicago is a possibility -- general manager John Paxson has sought out Knicks forward David Lee in the past -- but the Bulls would have to be willing to take on some salary add-ins to make a scenario like that work. With restricted free agents Luol Deng and Ben Gordon still on the docket, the Bulls might be unwilling to take the Knicks' salary-cap junk. The Knicks are expected to explore other free-agent point guard options, such as New York native Sebastian Telfair and Sacramento guard Beno Udrih. They also could explore trade options such as Portland's Steve Blake and Memphis' Kyle Lowry. But their pursuit of a point guard will begin with Duhon.
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6/30/2008 11:38 AM
