http://www.nysun.com/sports/duhon-deal-shows-walsh-is-walking-the-walk/81318/

Duhon Deal Shows Walsh Is Walking the Walk

Guard Chris Duhon is a better player than a quick glance at his numbers suggests, but it is the "how" more than the "who" that makes him an important addition to the Knicks.

We're in an odd time in the NBA offseason — word about all signings is unofficial until the July 9 announcement of the salary cap and luxury tax ceilings — but Duhon's agent Kevin Bradford has told many press outlets that his client has agreed to a two-year deal for the full mid-level exception (about $5.8 million a season; the exact number will be part of the salary cap announcement on Wednesday). The Knicks outbid the Orlando Magic, who were offering a three-year package thought to be worth $12 million.

There may seem to have been an awful lot of fuss over Duhon, a player who last season was a reserve for a losing team, the 33-49 Chicago Bulls, and, even worse, fell out of the rotation after the acquisition of Larry Hughes, an overpaid, mediocre guard. But Duhon brings a lot of value that the Knicks sorely need in their backcourt.

Despite standing only 6 feet, 1 inch, Duhon is a good defender. In Chicago, the Bulls often used a three-guard alignment with Duhon, Ben Gordon, and Kirk Hinrich, and Duhon frequently guarded the tallest wing player and did well despite height disadvantages. Duhon understands that defense starts with the positioning of the feet, not the hands, a concept whose realization has been sorely lacking on the Knicks in recent years.

Duhon is also a pass-first point guard in the very best sense of the word. He looks to set his teammates up well before he looks for his own shot. A good example of this is to look at Duhon's production on a per-36-minute basis. This enables us to see what his numbers would be like as a starter. During his four seasons in Chicago, Duhon averaged 6.3 assists and only 1.9 turnovers per 36 minutes; the starter, Hinrich, another pass-first point guard, notched an almost identical 6.5 assists and 1.9 turnovers.

At Madison Square Garden last season, meanwhile, Jamal Crawford ran the point most of the season and averaged 4.5 assists and 2.2 turnovers. Duhon represents a clear upgrade at point guard over the incumbent; his arrival will enable Crawford to move back to his natural position, shooting guard.

Another asset that Duhon brings to the team is his experience with up-tempo ball. During the last four seasons, Duhon has played on teams that ran the 11th-, fifth-, sixth-, and 11th-fastest tempos in the NBA. The Knicks have not run at better than the 15th-fastest tempo in the last four years. New coach Mike D'Antoni's system is likely to be an up-tempo game, as his Phoenix teams were in the top four in possessions per contest in each of the last four seasons. So the new point guard is a good fit for the coach's desired style of play.

Despite the on-court assets that Duhon brings to the Knicks, the biggest and most important aspect, once again, is the "how," or, put simply, the length of his contract. By filling a void without extending the Knicks' stay in salary cap purgatory, the new team president, Donnie Walsh, is walking the walk. He has spoken repeatedly of achieving cap flexibility by 2010, the summer that superstars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh can become unrestricted free agents. (While the focus has been on James, I suspect Bosh is the most likely of the three to wind up at the Garden. James has close ties to Nets part-owner Jay-Z, and that team hopes to start playing in Brooklyn in 2010. Wade may find himself on a good team in Miami, which would diminish his desire to leave. Bosh is probably the best NBA player who is not well-known in the mainstream.)

The Duhon signing also most likely spells the end of Stephon Marbury's tenure as a Knick. The embattled point guard has said all the right things since D'Antoni's hiring two months ago, but Marbury is the very definition of a shoot-first point guard, which is not what the new coach wants quarterbacking his team. When D'Antoni took over in Phoenix a quarter of the way though the 2003-04 season, he inherited a team directed by Marbury. The guard was sent packing a mere 13 games later for draft picks and role players with expiring contracts. I think the Knicks have held on to Marbury so far this offseason to see if any deals could be swung, as Marbury's $22 million contract expires after this season. But the locals need cap relief more than any other team, so buying him out and reducing the payroll for next season seems the most prudent approach.

That Marbury is on the way out has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the New York sports world this summer, but Duhon's arrival hastens the departure. It's not the promise to Duhon of a chance to start — anyone arriving onto a bunch of misfits like the Knicks should receive a shot at cracking the starting five — but the length of the new guard's contract that guarantees Marbury's departure. By using the entire mid-level exception to sign a player for two years, Walsh has shown that he's made a plan and is sticking to it.

seems like a pretty balanced article.

Posted by islesfan:

First of all Duhon just isn't that good. Why people want to make him out to be a lot more than what he is, a backup, is stupifying to me.

Secondly, Walsh has done absolutely nothing so far but take the conservative and easy way in every decision made so far. Reassigning Isiah instead of getting his ass out completely. Hiring the big name head coach as soon as his team was eliminated without a very thorough coaching search (His reasoning was that he wanted to wait to see what happened in the 1st round, but if you're willing to wait, why not see what happens with teams that actually got out of the first round and beyond?). Letting Isiah and his scouts lead them in the draft. Being very quiet on draft night when picks and players were being traded every 5 seconds. Drafting D'Antonio's friend's son, who is a major project. Signing a backup PG who brings nothing to the table.

Who cares that it's a 2 year deal? That just proves that he's not as monumentally stupid as his predecessor. He can give out as many 2 year deal's as he wants but until he starts getting rid of some of these players, it will mean absolutely nothing. Duhon does nothing to facilitate that. He's not a pass first floor leader who can help inflate other players numbers in hopes of improving their trade value. He's not a draw for other players. He's not a player whose value will increase to the point where he's a trade asset. He's a stopgap for 2 years, that's all.

Looking at Walsh's career, what exactly has he done to be granted Savior status? Other than the fact that he's not Isiah? For 9 years he did absolutely nothing but get lucky with Reggie Miller and that might not have mattered if he hadn't been fortunate to get Larry Brown to coach his team. Brown deserves all the credit for getting Walsh to give him the players that he wanted. Brown led the way and Bird took over his nucleus and when they grew older the franchise went downhill. Walsh as he is now, is just a figurehead agreeing to whatever his coach wants.

I was happy initially that Walsh was here but now I'm starting to think that I was just caught up in the "He's not Isiah" euphoria. Judging him by his moves, and lack thereof, so far has left me more than just unimpressed. I'm beginning to think he's highly overrated and too old school conservative to make the changes necessary. The game has passed him by and is being run by younger GM's with a better feel for today's players and a more aggressive pro-active approach to building their teams. I'm not interested in flashy moves just for the sake of making them, the way Isiah did. I want moves to help the process along, even if it means we don't get the best talent in the deal.

The only moves acceptable over the next 2 years are ones that remove players who take up cap space past 2010, add players who can help increase the trade value of players who take up cap space past 2010 (facilitating PG's or shotblocking big men come to mind) or are building blocks moving forward. Everything else is a waste of time. Like Duhon.

Every balanced review of Duhon speaks of him as facilitating PG who makes a commitment to defense.

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

First of all Duhon just isn't that good. Why people want to make him out to be a lot more than what he is, a backup, is stupifying to me.

Secondly, Walsh has done absolutely nothing so far but take the conservative and easy way in every decision made so far. Reassigning Isiah instead of getting his ass out completely. Hiring the big name head coach as soon as his team was eliminated without a very thorough coaching search (His reasoning was that he wanted to wait to see what happened in the 1st round, but if you're willing to wait, why not see what happens with teams that actually got out of the first round and beyond?). Letting Isiah and his scouts lead them in the draft. Being very quiet on draft night when picks and players were being traded every 5 seconds. Drafting D'Antonio's friend's son, who is a major project. Signing a backup PG who brings nothing to the table.

Who cares that it's a 2 year deal? That just proves that he's not as monumentally stupid as his predecessor. He can give out as many 2 year deal's as he wants but until he starts getting rid of some of these players, it will mean absolutely nothing. Duhon does nothing to facilitate that. He's not a pass first floor leader who can help inflate other players numbers in hopes of improving their trade value. He's not a draw for other players. He's not a player whose value will increase to the point where he's a trade asset. He's a stopgap for 2 years, that's all.

Looking at Walsh's career, what exactly has he done to be granted Savior status? Other than the fact that he's not Isiah? For 9 years he did absolutely nothing but get lucky with Reggie Miller and that might not have mattered if he hadn't been fortunate to get Larry Brown to coach his team. Brown deserves all the credit for getting Walsh to give him the players that he wanted. Brown led the way and Bird took over his nucleus and when they grew older the franchise went downhill. Walsh as he is now, is just a figurehead agreeing to whatever his coach wants.

I was happy initially that Walsh was here but now I'm starting to think that I was just caught up in the "He's not Isiah" euphoria. Judging him by his moves, and lack thereof, so far has left me more than just unimpressed. I'm beginning to think he's highly overrated and too old school conservative to make the changes necessary. The game has passed him by and is being run by younger GM's with a better feel for today's players and a more aggressive pro-active approach to building their teams. I'm not interested in flashy moves just for the sake of making them, the way Isiah did. I want moves to help the process along, even if it means we don't get the best talent in the deal.

The only moves acceptable over the next 2 years are ones that remove players who take up cap space past 2010, add players who can help increase the trade value of players who take up cap space past 2010 (facilitating PG's or shotblocking big men come to mind) or are building blocks moving forward. Everything else is a waste of time. Like Duhon.

Every balanced review of Duhon speaks of him as facilitating PG who makes a commitment to defense.

They say the same exact thing about Mardy Collins.

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

First of all Duhon just isn't that good. Why people want to make him out to be a lot more than what he is, a backup, is stupifying to me.

Secondly, Walsh has done absolutely nothing so far but take the conservative and easy way in every decision made so far. Reassigning Isiah instead of getting his ass out completely. Hiring the big name head coach as soon as his team was eliminated without a very thorough coaching search (His reasoning was that he wanted to wait to see what happened in the 1st round, but if you're willing to wait, why not see what happens with teams that actually got out of the first round and beyond?). Letting Isiah and his scouts lead them in the draft. Being very quiet on draft night when picks and players were being traded every 5 seconds. Drafting D'Antonio's friend's son, who is a major project. Signing a backup PG who brings nothing to the table.

Who cares that it's a 2 year deal? That just proves that he's not as monumentally stupid as his predecessor. He can give out as many 2 year deal's as he wants but until he starts getting rid of some of these players, it will mean absolutely nothing. Duhon does nothing to facilitate that. He's not a pass first floor leader who can help inflate other players numbers in hopes of improving their trade value. He's not a draw for other players. He's not a player whose value will increase to the point where he's a trade asset. He's a stopgap for 2 years, that's all.

Looking at Walsh's career, what exactly has he done to be granted Savior status? Other than the fact that he's not Isiah? For 9 years he did absolutely nothing but get lucky with Reggie Miller and that might not have mattered if he hadn't been fortunate to get Larry Brown to coach his team. Brown deserves all the credit for getting Walsh to give him the players that he wanted. Brown led the way and Bird took over his nucleus and when they grew older the franchise went downhill. Walsh as he is now, is just a figurehead agreeing to whatever his coach wants.

I was happy initially that Walsh was here but now I'm starting to think that I was just caught up in the "He's not Isiah" euphoria. Judging him by his moves, and lack thereof, so far has left me more than just unimpressed. I'm beginning to think he's highly overrated and too old school conservative to make the changes necessary. The game has passed him by and is being run by younger GM's with a better feel for today's players and a more aggressive pro-active approach to building their teams. I'm not interested in flashy moves just for the sake of making them, the way Isiah did. I want moves to help the process along, even if it means we don't get the best talent in the deal.

The only moves acceptable over the next 2 years are ones that remove players who take up cap space past 2010, add players who can help increase the trade value of players who take up cap space past 2010 (facilitating PG's or shotblocking big men come to mind) or are building blocks moving forward. Everything else is a waste of time. Like Duhon.

Every balanced review of Duhon speaks of him as facilitating PG who makes a commitment to defense.

They say the same exact thing about Mardy Collins.

excellent, show us.

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

First of all Duhon just isn't that good. Why people want to make him out to be a lot more than what he is, a backup, is stupifying to me.

Secondly, Walsh has done absolutely nothing so far but take the conservative and easy way in every decision made so far. Reassigning Isiah instead of getting his ass out completely. Hiring the big name head coach as soon as his team was eliminated without a very thorough coaching search (His reasoning was that he wanted to wait to see what happened in the 1st round, but if you're willing to wait, why not see what happens with teams that actually got out of the first round and beyond?). Letting Isiah and his scouts lead them in the draft. Being very quiet on draft night when picks and players were being traded every 5 seconds. Drafting D'Antonio's friend's son, who is a major project. Signing a backup PG who brings nothing to the table.

Who cares that it's a 2 year deal? That just proves that he's not as monumentally stupid as his predecessor. He can give out as many 2 year deal's as he wants but until he starts getting rid of some of these players, it will mean absolutely nothing. Duhon does nothing to facilitate that. He's not a pass first floor leader who can help inflate other players numbers in hopes of improving their trade value. He's not a draw for other players. He's not a player whose value will increase to the point where he's a trade asset. He's a stopgap for 2 years, that's all.

Looking at Walsh's career, what exactly has he done to be granted Savior status? Other than the fact that he's not Isiah? For 9 years he did absolutely nothing but get lucky with Reggie Miller and that might not have mattered if he hadn't been fortunate to get Larry Brown to coach his team. Brown deserves all the credit for getting Walsh to give him the players that he wanted. Brown led the way and Bird took over his nucleus and when they grew older the franchise went downhill. Walsh as he is now, is just a figurehead agreeing to whatever his coach wants.

I was happy initially that Walsh was here but now I'm starting to think that I was just caught up in the "He's not Isiah" euphoria. Judging him by his moves, and lack thereof, so far has left me more than just unimpressed. I'm beginning to think he's highly overrated and too old school conservative to make the changes necessary. The game has passed him by and is being run by younger GM's with a better feel for today's players and a more aggressive pro-active approach to building their teams. I'm not interested in flashy moves just for the sake of making them, the way Isiah did. I want moves to help the process along, even if it means we don't get the best talent in the deal.

The only moves acceptable over the next 2 years are ones that remove players who take up cap space past 2010, add players who can help increase the trade value of players who take up cap space past 2010 (facilitating PG's or shotblocking big men come to mind) or are building blocks moving forward. Everything else is a waste of time. Like Duhon.

Every balanced review of Duhon speaks of him as facilitating PG who makes a commitment to defense.

They say the same exact thing about Mardy Collins.

excellent, show us.

Show me yours first.

there's no reason not to like the Duhon signing. zero. it's a perfect move for this team. and i have a sneaking suspicion that he'll be a solid starter - along the lines of Charlie Ward, if not better.

isles, you're bashing Walsh for being conservative, but that's exactly what this team needs. we have few assets, we need to conservatively acquire some. Duhon is a good piece and he also signed a contract that is highly tradeable.

Posted by franco12:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by martin:

Posted by islesfan:

First of all Duhon just isn't that good. Why people want to make him out to be a lot more than what he is, a backup, is stupifying to me.

Secondly, Walsh has done absolutely nothing so far but take the conservative and easy way in every decision made so far. Reassigning Isiah instead of getting his ass out completely. Hiring the big name head coach as soon as his team was eliminated without a very thorough coaching search (His reasoning was that he wanted to wait to see what happened in the 1st round, but if you're willing to wait, why not see what happens with teams that actually got out of the first round and beyond?). Letting Isiah and his scouts lead them in the draft. Being very quiet on draft night when picks and players were being traded every 5 seconds. Drafting D'Antonio's friend's son, who is a major project. Signing a backup PG who brings nothing to the table.

Who cares that it's a 2 year deal? That just proves that he's not as monumentally stupid as his predecessor. He can give out as many 2 year deal's as he wants but until he starts getting rid of some of these players, it will mean absolutely nothing. Duhon does nothing to facilitate that. He's not a pass first floor leader who can help inflate other players numbers in hopes of improving their trade value. He's not a draw for other players. He's not a player whose value will increase to the point where he's a trade asset. He's a stopgap for 2 years, that's all.

Looking at Walsh's career, what exactly has he done to be granted Savior status? Other than the fact that he's not Isiah? For 9 years he did absolutely nothing but get lucky with Reggie Miller and that might not have mattered if he hadn't been fortunate to get Larry Brown to coach his team. Brown deserves all the credit for getting Walsh to give him the players that he wanted. Brown led the way and Bird took over his nucleus and when they grew older the franchise went downhill. Walsh as he is now, is just a figurehead agreeing to whatever his coach wants.

I was happy initially that Walsh was here but now I'm starting to think that I was just caught up in the "He's not Isiah" euphoria. Judging him by his moves, and lack thereof, so far has left me more than just unimpressed. I'm beginning to think he's highly overrated and too old school conservative to make the changes necessary. The game has passed him by and is being run by younger GM's with a better feel for today's players and a more aggressive pro-active approach to building their teams. I'm not interested in flashy moves just for the sake of making them, the way Isiah did. I want moves to help the process along, even if it means we don't get the best talent in the deal.

The only moves acceptable over the next 2 years are ones that remove players who take up cap space past 2010, add players who can help increase the trade value of players who take up cap space past 2010 (facilitating PG's or shotblocking big men come to mind) or are building blocks moving forward. Everything else is a waste of time. Like Duhon.

Every balanced review of Duhon speaks of him as facilitating PG who makes a commitment to defense.

They say the same exact thing about Mardy Collins.

excellent, show us.

Show me yours first.

And while Duhon is a back up, he does play defense and I seem to recall you slamming D'Antoni for not getting guys that play defense.

Again, so does Mardy Collins. What was the point of the move when you already have him on your bench?

Nice little article. Duhon is what he is, he's an average PG who really does nothing well, but he really doesn't do anything poorly either. D'Antoni must feel he can work with Duhon to be a pretty good player, if not it's a 2 year contract.

Not surprising that this thread is headed the same place alot of the Gallo threads have headed, it's too bad.

Duhon started for a lot of his tenure in Chicago. He was the starter on the 47 win team that went to the playoffs. Last year the Bulls were horrible and Duhon sat for bigger names, Hinrich, Gordon, and Hughes. His team won when he played significant minutes, he is a pass first point, and he plays good defense.

To say that the man who fleeced the Nuggets for Jalen Rose, who fleeced the Trailblazers for Jermaine O'Neal, and who fleeced the Bulls for Ron Artest and Brad Miller, "got lucky with Reggie Miller" is just incredible.

You're exposing yourself my man.