Assuming we can eventually jettison Eddy Curry and we land LeBron James, two big ifs I know, but just for arguments sake, what do you do next? Who do we draft next summer? Any trades along the way to add pieces before 2010 and if so who do you go get? Who makes sense? Who fits? Do you bring back Lee or Robinson, or both? What's the blueprint moving forward?

Walsh has got his work cut out for him. They're gonna need it all -

(1) A point guard for the future
(2) A well-rounded two with some size for the future
(3) A legit PF with some skill on both sides of the ball
(4) A legit center that can at least rebound and play defense
(5) Quality bench depth

Pieces that will definitely be here as of right now -

Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler

----------------

STEP 1 - Decide what to do with Eddy Curry. No secret how I feel about the guy. I'd look to move this 315 lb. waste of space ASAP. A lot of talk here on the board recently about getting him back to his 20/7 form of a few yrs. ago. I just don't see how that's possible given the new fast-paced system our coach wants to play and the fact that Eddy just doesn't care. Even when he was scoring points, let's be honest, he was never that good and had more holes in his game than a hunk of Swiss cheese. Never gonna give you the type of all-around commitment we need out of him. And now, surprise-suprise, it appears the Knicks are disappointed in his desire to get himself back on the court. I mean, is that such a shock to them?? Hasn't developed even one part of his game at all as a player since he's entered the league. I can never see him playing well here with what D'Antoni wants to do. IMO he's embarrassed the Knicks organization even more than Marbury has the past few years. Do what you gotta do for the time being though - somehow get him back on the court to the point where he has some type of impact, however small, and the first chance you get to dump his contract you hit the button.

STEP 2 - Re-sign Nate Robinson and flip David Lee for a quality piece. I think they should bring Nate back. He's young and exciting, has a ton of heart and to me he's more valuable than David Lee. I have a funny feeling Lee's just gonna be asking for too much money, the type of money that just won't make sense for us based on what he provides now and how much better he'll wind up getting. He'll either sign an offer sheet that Donnie won't match or Donnie will move him before it gets that far. Determining Nate's market value is tough because he's a pretty unique player so I looked around the league at quality bench/3rd option-type starting guards to help determine it. I came up a contract in the 5 yr./35 mil. dollar range. That should do it. That's more than what guys like Louis Williams, Raja Bell, John Salmons, Jason Kapono, Kyle Korver, Chris Duhon and Francisco Garcia signed for, even a little better than the deal Leandro Barbosa cut with Phoenix last year. We'll have to see what he's gonna be looking for, but to me, that's more than fair.

As far as Lee goes, I honestly don't see him getting that much better as a player. I see him maintaining his role as a quality though limited PF off the bench for some team for the duration of his career and he should be paid accordingly - no more. No way you give this guy $90 million. But I think he's gonna ask for $50 million and I think he'll get it or close to it. Determining Lee's worth is even tougher than Nate's. Eduardo Najera's a good player to compare Lee to but Najera signed his last deal at less than 3 million per. Lee's gonna want much more than that. Perfect scenario - you'd like to resign him for no more than Drew Gooden/Udonis Haslem/Nazr Mohammed/Etan Thomas/Nick Collison type money (around $6-7 million per), but he'll want more. Probably deserves a little more to be honest - he's better than those guys. But with marginal talent guys like Erick Dampier and Nene in the $10 million dollar range, that kind of throws it out of whack a little because Lee's probably better than those guys also but he's clearly not on the same tier with Emeka Okafor/Andrew Bogut/Ty Chandler/David West/even a healthy Troy Murphy who all make around the same ($9-10+ million per). I think I might look to resign Lee to a contract in the 5 yr.-$8/9 million per range and then flip him to a team for some help in other areas. A re-signed Lee to Sacramento for Francisco Garcia and Shelden Williams makes some sense for both teams. Garcia, a young 26 yr. old and I guy I've loved since watching him for Louisville in the tournament a few years ago, is a guy I've brought up on this board before. He would be perfect for us moving forward. Here's a guy that Sac. just resigned for very reasonable money (4 yrs. plus a team option for less than $6 mil. per). Very skilled/smooth high IQ type that has superior height at 6'7", can play 3 positions and play them all well (1,2,3), can handle the ball, is a great passer, can shoot it well and has long arms that he uses to his advantage on the defensive end collecting many deflections and quite a few blocks. IMO he's nowhere near his ceiling as a player yet. Think a combination of Mardy Collins (smooth & cool on the court) and Ronaldo Balkman (can get up and challenge jumpshooters, getting some blocks with his long arms) only with a very effective and advanced offensive game. Hasn't played yet this season - he's been out of the lineup with a calf injury that's been slow to heal but reports say he's about 2 weeks away. If we got LeBron, Cisco could be his poor-man's Scottie Pippen - that's how good I think he could be with 35 mins/night. Sac. just resigned him and no doubt he's in their plans, but if Donnie ever came calling with David Lee, I think they'd listen. They have good depth at the positions he plays with Martin, Salmons, Donte Green & Quincy Douby. Up front they have two good pieces in Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes who are both playing well for them but after that there's no longterm frontcourt depth on the Kings' roster to speak of. Shelden Williams hasn't done a thing in the league yet but he could come in and supply some of the traditional big-man muscle and toughness down low that we've been missing (things even Lee doesn't give us). The Landlord will be due for a contract soon himself, but he won't command anywhere near the type of money Lee will get. I'd estimate he'd be quite easy to resign at reasonable money when the time comes. Just one option. Lee to Houston (I like Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks a lot) or Lee to Jersey for one of there big guys and possibly Douglas-Roberts could be other possibliites that might make sense...

STEP 3 - Get two good players in the draft this summer. Say we win 35 games (down from 40 after these 2 trades). That should put us right around 10-15 in the 1st round more or less and right around 40 with the 2nd rounder we got from Denver in the Balkman trade. If Thabeet's off the board and there's no chance to move up, I say go get some point guard help with Patrick Mills. 5'11"-6' Aussie PG from St. Mary's torched the US Olympic team for 20 points, more than holding his own against Jason Kidd, Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Averaging over 20 a game so far this season - he's really a complete package for a PG. A little small but not too small, lightning quick, can penetrate for the dish or score the ball himself, is a solid passer and floor leader and can bury the 3 ball. If the big center isn't there, I'd love to pick up this kid and groom him as the PG for the future. Similar to DJ Augustin and TJ Ford - might even be better. Many mocks currently have him in the 20s or lower right now - I just hope he's there when we pick around 10-15 next summer. In the second round I might go with more size with either a Jeff Adrien (slightly undersized PF's a defensive-minded hustle-type resembling Jason Maxiell or Paul Millsap), Taylor Griffin (surprisingly possesses a lot of the same skills his brother Blake has) or more PG depth with a Ty Lawson or Jack McClinton. Botton line is I'll be disappointed if we don't come away from this draft with 1 good impact player and a second solid rotation player. If Mills was gone by the time we pick, I might look to bring back Duhon (I might look to bring back Duhon anyway - he's been good for us for the most part) and draft Wayne Ellington who's got the makings of a big-time outside shooting threat in the NBA.

--------------------

How'd this look:

1 - Patrick Mills
2 - Francisco Garcia
3 - LeBron James
4 - Chandler or Gallinari??? Or possibly Carlos Boozer - orchestrate a sign and trade with Utah for a re-signed Lee and an expiring contract next year. Might not be that bad for Utah - getting Lee and an expiring contract would be better than losing him in free agency for nothing... Leon Powe's a FA after the season & Ryan Gomes is a FA in the summer of 2010. Not the sexy pickups Boozer or Amare would make, but these kids can play and could do the job for far less, possibly for mid-level exception money. Donnie might be able to convince his buddy Al Harrington to come back for a Knick-friendly contract.
5 - ??? Still up in the air. Doesn't have to be a star - just supply rebounding and defense with legit size for the position. Maybe look to pick up a Zaza Pachulia, a Justin Williams, a Kwame Brown or a Jackie Butler on the cheap next summer, maybe take a chance on Patrick O'Bryant, Randolph Morris or Darko Milicic in the summer of 2010. DeAndre Jordan could be an option if the Clippers don't choose to retain his services.

Bench
Duhon
Robinson
Gallinari
Shelden Williams
Jeff Adrien/Taylor Griffin OR Ty Lawson/Jack McClinton

Not a complete team but one that would be on it's way. Getting LeBron in place in the key. Once we did that, I'm confident Donnie could fill in the blanks.


[Edited by - finestrg on 11-26-2008 02:08 AM]

I like Patrick Mills for the D'Antoni Knicks.

Posted by PhilinLA:

I like Patrick Mills for the D'Antoni Knicks.

Curry is so much better. He is better at every single skill. The best PG coming out next year will be Curry. Curry is going to be a Steve Nash type PG in the NBA.

Posted by GKFv2:

I agree with nearly everything you said. This is way I would go about things for the next 2 years. Except for center. I would draft/sign a quality center because we get killed down low.

Can you name the C you want to draft or sign? We had a great chance to pick up Mcgee who wouldve been perfect short and long term option at C for this system/team but opted for another perimeter-based player. There is going to be void at the 5 with all of the prospects that came out last year and best of luck signing a good NBA C to a 1 year contract

I'd try to get a 1 and a 2 through the draft if we end with with two picks. I might wait till week of 7/1 2010 to get the C we're gonna win it all with. I do think we need the big time, speedy pg and a shooting guard who's lights out to really make D'Antoni's O go.

Briggs, I'd be psyched if we could get Curry, but I don't think the team will be as bad as it looked tonight with two new pieces and Nate getting hurt. I think D'Antoni is a great coach and will get them doing better.

Posted by Finestrg:

Assuming we can eventually jettison Eddy Curry and we land LeBron James, two big ifs I know, but just for arguments sake, what do you do next? Who do we draft next summer? Any trades along the way to add pieces before 2010 and if so who do you go get? Who makes sense? Who fits? Do you bring back Lee or Robinson, or both? What's the blueprint moving forward?

Walsh has got his work cut out for him. They're gonna need it all -

(1) A point guard for the future
(2) A well-rounded two with some size for the future
(3) A legit PF with some skill on both sides of the ball
(4) A legit center that can at least rebound and play defense
(5) Quality bench depth

Pieces that will definitely be here as of right now -

Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler

----------------

STEP 1 - Decide what to do with Eddy Curry. No secret how I feel about the guy. I'd look to move this 315 lb. waste of space ASAP. A lot of talk here on the board recently about getting him back to his 20/7 form of a few yrs. ago. I just don't see how that's possible given the new fast-paced system our coach wants to play and the fact that Eddy just doesn't care. Even when he was scoring points, let's be honest, he was never that good and had more holes in his game than a hunk of Swiss cheese. Never gonna give you the type of all-around commitment we need out of him. And now, surprise-suprise, it appears the Knicks are disappointed in his desire to get himself back on the court. I mean, is that such a shock to them?? Hasn't developed even one part of his game at all as a player since he's entered the league. I can never see him playing well here with what D'Antoni wants to do. IMO he's embarrassed the Knicks organization even more than Marbury has the past few years. Do what you gotta do for the time being though - somehow get him back on the court to the point where he has some type of impact, however small, and the first chance you get to dump his contract you hit the button.

STEP 2 - Re-sign Nate Robinson and flip David Lee for a quality piece. I think they should bring Nate back. He's young and exciting, has a ton of heart and to me he's more valuable than David Lee. I have a funny feeling Lee's just gonna be asking for too much money, the type of money that just won't make sense for us based on what he provides now and how much better he'll wind up getting. He'll either sign an offer sheet that Donnie won't match or Donnie will move him before it gets that far. Determining Nate's market value is tough because he's a pretty unique player so I looked around the league at quality bench/3rd option-type starting guards to help determine it. I came up a contract in the 5 yr./35 mil. dollar range. That should do it. That's more than what guys like Louis Williams, Raja Bell, John Salmons, Jason Kapono, Kyle Korver, Chris Duhon and Francisco Garcia signed for, even a little better than the deal Leandro Barbosa cut with Phoenix last year. We'll have to see what he's gonna be looking for, but to me, that's more than fair.

As far as Lee goes, I honestly don't see him getting that much better as a player. I see him maintaining his role as a quality though limited PF off the bench for some team for the duration of his career and he should be paid accordingly - no more. No way you give this guy $90 million. But I think he's gonna ask for $50 million and I think he'll get it or close to it. Determining Lee's worth is even tougher than Nate's. Eduardo Najera's a good player to compare Lee to but Najera signed his last deal at less than 3 million per. Lee's gonna want much more than that. Perfect scenario - you'd like to resign him for no more than Drew Gooden/Udonis Haslem/Nazr Mohammed/Etan Thomas/Nick Collison type money (around $6-7 million per), but he'll want more. Probably deserves a little more to be honest - he's better than those guys. But with marginal talent guys like Erick Dampier and Nene in the $10 million dollar range, that kind of throws it out of whack a little because Lee's probably better than those guys also but he's clearly not on the same tier with Emeka Okafor/Andrew Bogut/Ty Chandler/David West/even a healthy Troy Murphy who all make around the same ($9-10+ million per). I think I might look to resign Lee to a contract in the 5 yr.-$8/9 million per range and then flip him to a team for some help in other areas. A re-signed Lee to Sacramento for Francisco Garcia and Shelden Williams makes some sense for both teams. Garcia, a young 26 yr. old and I guy I've loved since watching him for Louisville in the tournament a few years ago, is a guy I've brought up on this board before. He would be perfect for us moving forward. Here's a guy that Sac. just resigned for very reasonable money (4 yrs. plus a team option for less than $6 mil. per). Very skilled/smooth high IQ type that has superior height at 6'7", can play 3 positions and play them all well (1,2,3), can handle the ball, is a great passer, can shoot it well and has long arms that he uses to his advantage on the defensive end collecting many deflections and quite a few blocks. IMO he's nowhere near his ceiling as a player yet. Think a combination of Mardy Collins (smooth & cool on the court) and Ronaldo Balkman (can get up and challenge jumpshooters, getting some blocks with his long arms) only with a very effective and advanced offensive game. Hasn't played yet this season - he's been out of the lineup with a calf injury that's been slow to heal but reports say he's about 2 weeks away. If we got LeBron, Cisco could be his poor-man's Scottie Pippen - that's how good I think he could be with 35 mins/night. Sac. just resigned him and no doubt he's in their plans, but if Donnie ever came calling with David Lee, I think they'd listen. They have good depth at the positions he plays with Martin, Salmons, Donte Green & Quincy Douby. Up front they have two good pieces in Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes who are both playing well for them but after that there's no longterm frontcourt depth on the Kings' roster to speak of. Shelden Williams hasn't done a thing in the league yet but he could come in and supply some of the traditional big-man muscle and toughness down low that we've been missing (things even Lee doesn't give us). The Landlord will be due for a contract soon himself, but he won't command anywhere near the type of money Lee will get. I'd estimate he'd be quite easy to resign at reasonable money when the time comes. Just one option. Lee to Houston (I like Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks a lot) or Lee to Jersey for one of there big guys and possibly Douglas-Roberts could be other possibliites that might make sense...

STEP 3 - Get two good players in the draft this summer. Say we win 35 games (down from 40 after these 2 trades). That should put us right around 10-15 in the 1st round more or less and right around 40 with the 2nd rounder we got from Denver in the Balkman trade. If Thabeet's off the board and there's no chance to move up, I say go get some point guard help with Patrick Mills. 5'11"-6' Aussie PG from St. Mary's torched the US Olympic team for 20 points, more than holding his own against Jason Kidd, Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Averaging over 20 a game so far this season - he's really a complete package for a PG. A little small but not too small, lightning quick, can penetrate for the dish or score the ball himself, is a solid passer and floor leader and can bury the 3 ball. If the big center isn't there, I'd love to pick up this kid and groom him as the PG for the future. Similar to DJ Augustin and TJ Ford - might even be better. Many mocks currently have him in the 20s or lower right now - I just hope he's there when we pick around 10-15 next summer. In the second round I might go with more size with either a Jeff Adrien (slightly undersized PF's a defensive-minded hustle-type resembling Jason Maxiell or Paul Millsap), Taylor Griffin (surprisingly possesses a lot of the same skills his brother Blake has) or more PG depth with a Ty Lawson or Jack McClinton. Botton line is I'll be disappointed if we don't come away from this draft with 1 good impact player and a second solid rotation player. If Mills was gone by the time we pick, I might look to bring back Duhon (I might look to bring back Duhon anyway - he's been good for us for the most part) and draft Wayne Ellington who's got the makings of a big-time outside shooting threat in the NBA.

--------------------

How'd this look:

1 - Patrick Mills
2 - Francisco Garcia
3 - LeBron James
4 - Chandler or Gallinari??? Or possibly Carlos Boozer - orchestrate a sign and trade with Utah for a re-signed Lee and an expiring contract next year. Might not be that bad for Utah - getting Lee and an expiring contract would be better than losing him in free agency for nothing... Leon Powe's a FA after the season & Ryan Gomes is a FA in the summer of 2010. Not the sexy pickups Boozer or Amare would make, but these kids can play and could do the job for far less, possibly for mid-level exception money. Donnie might be able to convince his buddy Al Harrington to come back for a Knick-friendly contract.
5 - ??? Still up in the air. Doesn't have to be a star - just supply rebounding and defense with legit size for the position. Maybe look to pick up a Zaza Pachulia, a Justin Williams, a Kwame Brown or a Jackie Butler on the cheap next summer, maybe take a chance on Patrick O'Bryant, Randolph Morris or Darko Milicic in the summer of 2010. DeAndre Jordan could be an option if the Clippers don't choose to retain his services.

Bench
Duhon
Robinson
Gallinari
Shelden Williams
Jeff Adrien/Taylor Griffin OR Ty Lawson/Jack McClinton

Not a complete team but one that would be on it's way. Getting LeBron in place in the key. Once we did that, I'm confident Donnie could fill in the blanks.


[Edited by - finestrg on 11-26-2008 02:08 AM]

Fine I give you a lot of credit for the effort you put into your posts although you are making me blind The team you outlined there is so soft and the only good player you named is Lebron James. You win in this league with smart talented players who can play both sides of the ball. Just think about the frontline you just outlined--a no named C Zaza Pachulia and Gallinari maybe a Kwame Brown--and think about what the Lakers have right now---Pau Gasol Bynum and Odom. You take out Lebron and the Laker bench is much better than your starting 5.

I cant sit here and say what we are going to do because it is so speculative but IF I was with the Knicks I would remind someone that you are NOT winning basketball games until you fill the void in the middle. This is going to be a wait and see.

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by PhilinLA:

I like Patrick Mills for the D'Antoni Knicks.

Curry is so much better. He is better at every single skill. The best PG coming out next year will be Curry. Curry is going to be a Steve Nash type PG in the NBA.

I just have trouble see the next Steve Nash in this kid Curry. He's a good player, a probable lottery pick. Not trying to take anything away from him. But to me he's a straight up gunner that will come down and look to dish off every now and again to keep his teammates happy and focused or if it absolute proves to be the better play (i.e. - they double him and take the ball out of his hands). But make no mistake about it, he's looking for his own first every time. Steve Nash doesn't operate like that at all. Where's the comparison? This kid comes out looking to put up 30+ shots a game. He very well might have enough skill to be an NBA PG although it still remains to be seen. John Starks and Jason Terry are guys that have been known to rack up some double-digit assist games in there careers from time to time (like Curry has done this year for Davidson a few games against inferior competition - against Oklahoma he had 3 assists), but they were/are shooters/scorers all the way. Right now if I had to bet my house that Curry turns into the next Steve Nash I wouldn't take the bet. If I had to take the same wager on Curry becoming an undersized SG in the NBA (albeit a pretty good one) I'd be more inclined to take that bet. My view on him becoming a pure top-flite PG like Steve Nash is guarded at the moment. He needs to show me more.

Patrick Mills, btw, is a terrific looking prospect.


[Edited by - finestrg on 11-26-2008 03:03 AM]

Everytime you write the name Curry, the face of "our" Curry comes to my mind and feel like Im having a nightmare in which we draft Eddy to play PG!

the 2010 draft pick is, I think, one of the most crippling things Walsh is going to have to contend with. Far better to try to tank this year- and the mid season trades of your two principals for other decent players is definitely one of the better ways to try to lose this year and not be totally screwed in 2010.

Hindsight is 20/20. A lot of people, including myself, were down on Lopez before the draft. Let's let Gallinari play a season/significant time first before we deem anyone a mistake of a pick. Would Lopez look good now? Sure. But we don't have him. Who do I want? Well if I was to choose the best big man in the draft if we had a top 5 pick I would take BJ Mullens. The kid is a beast.

I'll consider Thabeet but the guy is limited offensively and has tremendous bust potential. Guy who come into the league who are strictly defenders and taken in the top of the lottery and are successful are really rare. I can't remember the last guy who was drafted in the lottery with limited offense and only because he could possibly rebound and block shots(I say possibly because sometimes the college game doesn't always translate to the NBA for shot blocks like Thabeet - see Mohammed Sene, Mamadou N'Diaye, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, etc). I'd trade for an extra pick take Thabeet if he fell out of the lottery.

Ideally, I would draft Demar Derozen because the kid can flat out play. But he's not a center. That's where the extra pick comes along. Do we trade Lee at the draft for a pick? I think it would be the smartest thing to do provided he's not traded with Curry.