Things that kill the Knicks

A. History of losing culture under current Owner
B. GM is 68 and on way out--no stability there
C Coach does not emphasize the things proven to win championships
D. While all of the clubs have somewhat of a skeleton club---I think we are perceived as the worst by a good margin despite what some Knick fans think
E. The draft the other night perception is reality. We had an honest to goodness chance to be aggressive and go after an exciting young C prospect who lead the NCAA as as freshmen in blocked shots--while we did get what I perceive as a solid back up C prospect--we did not do so with our pick--opting for Andy Ruatins instead[both picks weresomewhat crucified in the press justified or not] I think with very little money--the Knicks could've changed some perception--doing what the Miami Heat did[although I personally don't like their players] and picked up both 7 footers. The perception could've been the Knicks were going to go to a trend of addressing D the reality is Andy Rautins front billed our draft.
F Loyalty---They have treated David Lee like poorly post season---Lee was our only consistent player and has only played in NY after being drafted. But no mention of we may or we want to get Lee back--nope his name isn't even mentioned.

Joe Johnson for the max? That will make Allan Houston's contract after his micro fracture surgery look good.

Dolan going makes sense- that way, if its obvious that Lebron has already made up his mind and has decided to move elsewhere, maybe Dolan can register some reality and understand why, and perhaps change his mindset in how he runs the franchise.

The only way this team is adding talent is through the draft. And when do we have a shot at owning our own lotto pick again?

BRIGGS wrote:I hate to say this but this is starting to wreak of desperation if the owner had to decided 3 days before FA that he would go himself

Things that kill the Knicks

A. History of losing culture under current Owner
B. GM is 68 and on way out--no stability there
C Coach does not emphasize the things proven to win championships
D. While all of the clubs have somewhat of a skeleton club---I think we are perceived as the worst by a good margin despite what some Knick fans think
E. The draft the other night perception is reality. We had an honest to goodness chance to be aggressive and go after an exciting young C prospect who lead the NCAA as as freshmen in blocked shots--while we did get what I perceive as a solid back up C prospect--we did not do so with our pick--opting for Andy Ruatins instead[both picks weresomewhat crucified in the press justified or not] I think with very little money--the Knicks could've changed some perception--doing what the Miami Heat did[although I personally don't like their players] and picked up both 7 footers. The perception could've been the Knicks were going to go to a trend of addressing D the reality is Andy Rautins front billed our draft.
F Loyalty---They have treated David Lee like poorly post season---Lee was our only consistent player and has only played in NY after being drafted. But no mention of we may or we want to get Lee back--nope his name isn't even mentioned.

I think we have a very good skeleton crew ....we have no veterans so we start from scratch and sign a few top ones July 1st.

etc., etc.,

Dolan going to Ohio - I think is good. Right now he is perceived as a real jerk due to his performance with the court case;Isiah, etc. Maybe in person he comes off better and takes away the negative perception. He can't do any worse than he is now.

Dolan is a fat disgrace. He spends money and let's idiots run his team. That's a big problem for a free agent. He is loyal to a fault to Layden and Isiah. That works against him.

I agree with the lack of defensive commitment. How can you buy into a coach that's trying to build a contender and passes on the best defensive player in college basketball that led a defense that took out five first round picks and held the number 2 pick the draft without a field goal when they played.

The only thing Dolan has working for him is that the other owners on the market are cheap, especially the bulls. So he better sell his network and the ability to double your money by buying stock and signing with the team for Lebron.

MS wrote:Allan Houston doesn't impress me in the least. We have the most money in the league. Go get me Sam Presti. Make a commitment to someone that knows how to build a team. That guy has added more quality talent in record time and preserved his cap space.

Dolan is a fat disgrace. He spends money and let's idiots run his team. That's a big problem for a free agent. He is loyal to a fault to Layden and Isiah. That works against him.

I agree with the lack of defensive commitment. How can you buy into a coach that's trying to build a contender and passes on the best defensive player in college basketball that led a defense that took out five first round picks and held the number 2 pick the draft without a field goal when they played.

The only thing Dolan has working for him is that the other owners on the market are cheap, especially the bulls. So he better sell his network and the ability to double your money by buying stock and signing with the team for Lebron.

Speding money is a good thing in the eyes of players especially Lebron. I agree he put his money in the wrong hands in the past, but Walsh has a respectable reputation and doubt he'll squander the money like Isiah/Layden did. Dolans deep pockets are a huge advantage over Riensdorf who was a horrible for mot wanting to spend too much dough......

Paladin55 wrote:...He also gets a free, specially tailored cable tv package.

I think Jimmy needs to bring in the Reggaeton dudes & the backup singers from the IO Digital Cable commercials.

Two minutes with them, and LeBron won't be able to get the Knicks' offer out of his head.

iSergio wrote:

KnicksSince88 wrote:Some of these overreactions are truly getting ridiculous. Obviously LeBron is by far and away the best FA in this class, and the best player in the league (I dont care how many rings Kobe has). But at last check, 64 teams have won titles in the history of the league, and a cursory glance shows that ALL OF THOSE TEAMS FOUND A WAY TO WIN WITHOUT LEBRON JAMES. HE WAS NOT ON ANY OF THEM. He's very likely going to win more than one title in his career, but lets stop the "we can never be good without LeBron" bs

Make believe LeBron was not in this FA class. We'll find a way to add a couple all star caliber players, while still having young players of our own to develop (Gallo, Chandler, Douglas) and cap flexability for next year with Curry's deal off the books, thats if we don't turn his expiring into a good player in a trade before that

The sky is not falling. We'll be good next year, with room for upward improvement in future seasons

You need a franchise level Star to win a Championship. If LeBron James disses us, where are we going to get that caliber of player? And please don't tell me Danilo Gallinari has the talent to develop into that caliber of player because he doesn't. This is not about being pretty good. The objective is not to be the Atlanta Hawks. This is about being a title contender. The objective is to win a Championship and you don't do that with a bunch of good players. You need a GREAT player. Don't fool yourself. LeBron will dominate and hog the rings for the next decade. Losing him IS a big deal and signing Joe Johnson and Gallo becoming Peja Stojakovic is not going to make it right.

I don't disagree you generally need a franchise player to win a title, but its not like the Knicks are locked into Joe Johnson and Amare as their 2 best players. They would still have some cap flexability in the coming seasons when Curry comes off. And its not completely impossible that Johnson and Amare will both still have value on the trade market in coming years. Both have plenty of teams who are willing to offer them significant money right now. Also while its very hard, its not IMPOSSIBLE to win a title w/o a true franchise guy and with a bunch of very very good players. The Celtics just came within about 5 minutes of winning an NBA Title and they don't have a top 10 player in the league on their team right now (Rondo is not top 10 overall, nor are any of the big 3 at this point in their career franchise guys). We saw Detroit do it in 2004 and almost do it again in 2005. We've also seen teams with franchise players struggle mightily without a supporting cast. See Kobe before Gasol got there, see Wade in Miami now. KG got out of the first round one time in the tough West. LBJ still doesn't have a ring.

I wanted LeBron, its easier with the franchise player in place, but we're not getting him. So what else do you want to do? Suck the next couple of years and have the Rockets benefit from it?