If we still needed to dump Tyson he had value

The mandate was to make the Playoffs

Although Lowry was due a deal we had a S&T chip going into the summer

We would have owned his Bird's Rights

Can anyone think of a better pg free agent than Lowry this coming summer

Could Lowry have assisted in helping attract Free Agents

Could we have expanded the trade more and dumped J.R.

We saw first hand what having leadership can do

To a team still flawed in many ways 2yrs ago

Read up on this

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/lowrys-off-court-leadership-is-raptors-biggest-assist/

Kyle Lowry dishes his biggest assists off the court.

For the Toronto Raptors point guard, his role goes far beyond running the floor and facilitating the offense. Now in his ninth NBA season, Lowry’s job is just as much about setting his teammates up for success as it is setting them up for shots.

“He’s the overall leader, not just from a basketball standpoint,” DeMar DeRozan said. “It’s everything.”

To understand Lowry’s desire to help, you have to go back to 2006. Lowry had just entered the league after two years at Villanova University. He grew up in Philadelphia, went to college nearby and found himself in a new city as a rookie on the Memphis Grizzlies.

Lowry’s veteran teammates made him feel at home in an unfamiliar setting. Damon Stoudamire gave him clothes and suits. Mike Miller even shared the passcode to his house. Whatever he needed, they were willing to lend a hand.

As Lowry made his way through the NBA, he developed relationships with players on other teams. Fellow Villanova alum Alvin Williams invited him over for dinner while Chauncey Billups and Tyronn Lue, whom he worked out with in the offseason, also made an impact with their warm outreach.

“I had guys accept me for me and they embraced me. I felt I had to pass it along,” Lowry, 28, told Basketball Insiders. “The things that I’ve done, those guys did for me… I appreciate those guys because this fraternity is a very small brotherhood.”

For all the support Lowry received, he wanted to pay it forward as he grew in the league. It started with becoming a leader on the court.

The Grizzlies traded Lowry to the Houston Rockets during his third season in 2009. That was where Chuck Hayes met the budding point guard, who was a backup at the time. When Aaron Brooks got injured early into the 2010-11 season, Lowry earned the starting role. Hayes noticed a change taking place.

“He started to be a voice, he started to have a confidence and believe in himself,” said Hayes, who currently plays on the Raptors. “He had a stretch of games where he was outplaying some of the top point guards in the league. At the time, the coach in Houston (Rick Adelman) gave him the green light – ‘Don’t look over your shoulder, just go.’ Once that happened, everything else started to fall into place.”

Patrick Patterson was a rookie on the Rockets that season. When he entered the league, Lowry was quick to offer him the same hospitality he had received on the Grizzlies. The approach that Lowry took with his teammates was simple – what was his was theirs.

“He’s very reliable,” said Patterson, who is also now a member of the Raptors. “When I first met him my rookie year in Houston, anything I needed as far as a place to stay, to borrow a car, ideas on where to go to eat, what to do in the city itself, if I’m bored at my crib and want to go somewhere, he always had his door open. He’s a big brother type. He’s just a guy who will look out for you and pretty much put you before him.”

Lowry was traded from the Rockets to the Raptors in the summer of 2012. He came to his new team with six years of NBA experience under his belt, ready to jump in to help. Since then Lowry has been extending himself, his home and his family to the Raptors.

“He invites you into his personal life,” DeRozan said. “I think that plays a lot when it comes to being trustworthy and when it comes to basketball.”

“[His leadership] is on another level,” Patterson added. “He puts his team on his back. He’s the captain, he’s the leader. He’s that guy who will sacrifice himself for the better good of the team. … He brings his family around us so his family is like our family. His son is pretty much around us 24-7, same as his wife. He’s a big family-oriented guy and he’s not afraid to let people in.”

Lowry embraced the position as the Raptors’ social planner to help build chemistry. He organizes team events such as trips to the bowling alley and the movies. When the Raptors play against the 76ers in his hometown of Philadelphia, he invites the entire squad to his house the evening before the game. Forget about hotel room service, the Lowry family delivers five-star treatment.

“We have a nice big home-cooked dinner,” Terrence Ross said. “His wife and his mom cook for us. It’s good, too. He brings his barber in … He’s got pool tables, video games, we watch the games there. We’ll get to Philly around 6:00, get to his house around 9:00, won’t leave until 11:00. It’s fun being at his house.”

For as many group events as Lowry plans, he also develops one-on-one relationships with his teammates. Just as he formed bonds with veterans when he was a young player, he does the same with those starting their careers.

During Ross’ rookie season, which was also Lowry’s first in Toronto, the veteran point guard noticed him watching the TV show “The Boondocks” on the team plane. He would stop by Ross to crack a few jokes and they soon realized they shared similar interests beyond favorite television programs.

“The first person I opened up to and joked around with was Kyle,” Ross said. “Personally, Kyle is like my big brother. Since I got to Toronto, he’s taken me under his wing. I’ve always been close to Kyle, talking to Kyle, joking with Kyle. He’s an all-around cool guy. He’s really involved with everyone on the team to make sure we have our chemistry there, so Kyle is like the big brother of the team.”

Last season, Lowry helped propel the Raptors to their first postseason appearance since 2008. Over the summer, he inked a four-year contract worth $48 million to stay in Toronto.

This season, the team is proving their playoff berth was no fluke; they hold the best record in the Eastern Conference at 6-1. Lowry is at the helm, averaging 17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Lowry, who arrives two hours early to practice, posted a triple-double (13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) last week against the Washington Wizards.

“He’s very professional and mellow,” Greivis Vasquez said of Lowry. “I really look up to him. His preparation and his professionalism is off the hook. I think this guy deserves everything he has right now because he worked for it.”

Lowry, for the most part, has flown under the radar. There are plenty of other players with catchy commercials and flashy highlight reels who are given recognition ahead of him. To the Raptors, though, they couldn’t ask for more from their leader.

“He’s been the engine of this team,” Hayes said. “We ride his coattail. He’s the voice, he gets us going, we feed off of him. He’s the heart of this team.”

Lowry gives everything he has as a teammate without asking for anything in return. To him, it is simply part of being a leader, a value instilled upon him years ago as a young guard in Memphis.

“It’s just me being me,” Lowry said. “It’s not like I’m trying to do it to be fake. I’m just doing it because I really like my teammates and I really want them to be happy in life. I want to show them things that can make them happy and I want them to be part of my life because I’m with them every day.

Leadership vacuum wails its lonely cry .....

with melo tho, i fear that he's not a leader BUT he won't give up any type of leadership role to any other alpha dog either so there's a good chance lowry wouldn't have blossomed in ny like he did with us. derozan said he needed lowry and vice versa so the relationship was great right off the bat with neither player stepping on each other's toes.

i'll say it again, he's this generation's billups. bonafide leader and beast on the court. last night jonas had the worst game of his career. there were 2 possessions in a row where he fumbled the ball or took a bad shot - he was visibly upset and talking to himself on the court. the next 3 times down the court, despite struggling all game, lowry fed him in the post and tried to get him going again. i haven't seen that in a while and that was a big time leader moment. he also is recognizing when the team is down in a funk and then he takes over. it's pretty amazing to watch really. if the record keeps up, he will be an all star this year after being passed over last year.

mreinman wrote:makes me very very sad. love this guy

Not that I have a pulse putting teams together via free agency

But in 2010 I wanted Lowry-Scola-Gay

Now I know Gay was a longshot as Grizzlies vowed to match

He had some red flags too but hey who didn't outside of Lebron

All that means we had more flexibility going forward

Keep in mind Lowry was much cheaper back in 2010

Gay's playing a little better it seems these days

And we see how Lowry panned out

Basically Lowry-Scola would have equaled Billups for a yr

Then keep Lee over Amar'e

2011-2012 start the season

Lowry
Shump
Gallo
Lee/Scola
Tyson/Jordan(?)

Would Tyson have come here, maybe not but who knows

smackeddog wrote:There's a very good chance that even if we had traded for him he would have left in the offseason- he was very tempted by the Heat. If we had missed the playoffs with him, he might have just walked away.

We could've made the trade contingent on an extension.

knicks1248 wrote:how did phil block this trade when he barely new dolan at the time

lol where have you been, he knew him long enough

“Jim came to me with this opportunity of: Pick the position you’d like to take,” Jackson said. “I said: ‘If I want to make this change, and I think I can make the change, I have to jump in with both feet. Move to New York and do this job the right way.' ”

Jackson said he sought assurances from Dolan that he would have autonomy to run the team, free from interference.

“We had this discussion in January,” Jackson said, “because Jim knew I wasn’t going to come” without the freedom to make his own decisions.

Dolan said he was “willingly and gratefully” ceding those responsibilities.

“First off, these two gentlemen to my left are the experts in basketball,” said Dolan, who was referring to Jackson and Steve Mills, the former president, who will retain his role as general manager. “I am by no means an expert in basketball.”

Dolan added: “I think I’m a little out of my element when it comes to the team. I found myself in a position where I needed to be more a part of the decision-making for a while. It wasn’t something that I wanted to do. But as chairman of the company, it was something I felt obligated to do.”

Jackson said he had been watching the Knicks (27-40) on television throughout the season and was hopeful that they could make the playoffs. But he also indicated that the rebuilding process could take some time. He said he would meet with Coach Mike Woodson at the conclusion of the season to discuss his future with the team.

Why was Jackson watching them on television 67gms into

The season hoping they make the playoffs

I know I know I know past ties to the organization is what

You'll say, while that may be true I'm sure he had heightened

Vested interests knowing he was going to be taking over at the helm

There was a party thrown in December

When the idea was first introduced

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/sports/basketball/how-dolan-wooed-jackson-to-lead-the-knicks.html

The courtship began three months ago, according to Mr. Dolan’s and Mr. Azoff’s accounting. After years of watching his wife organize a party for friends that she called “Just Us Girls,” Mr. Azoff wanted to throw one of his own. So he invited about 150 of his male friends to his home in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, including actors (Larry David), television executives (Les Moonves) and musicians (at least three members of the Eagles). Also on the guest list: Mr. Jackson and Mr. Dolan

Discussions continued got serious in January

All of this amidst Kyle Lowry rumors

You can be naive and think Phil wasn't consulting in the

Background but all the intel is here to suggest otherwise

nychamp wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:how did phil block this trade when he barely new dolan at the time

Yeah this. Source please proving that Phil blocked the trade. Thank you.

Also, looking back is boring and pointless, except for losers who need to say "I told you so." Can't change the past. This type of post is why such a % of this board is crap. Also your stupid formatting tic, OP.

How about what to do looking forward? Always makes for a more engaging debate.

At some point most of the locals have met in person for pints, Knick games, pickup games and even a drunken sprint or two down 33rd street. Ive been lucky enough to form some quality friendships. (Unlucky in the case of DJ)

What you have now are a very loud sub group, mostly jettisoned from other forums who bludgeon you daily with their agendas and very anti-Knick points of view. Their primary MO is being right... about anything. What better way to troll than to come on a fan site, and trash the team daily and its players and constantly post this kind of crap to rile up the locals.

Good post!

H1AND1 wrote:

F500ONE wrote:

H1AND1 wrote:

smackeddog wrote:There's a very good chance that even if we had traded for him he would have left in the offseason- he was very tempted by the Heat. If we had missed the playoffs with him, he might have just walked away.

We could've made the trade contingent on an extension.

He was having a good yr, he wouldn't agree to those figures

He was making like $7mil tops

Wait. What figures? The Knicks could've made the trade and extended him at the max, hypothetically.

Okay but now you're talking about bidding against yourself

I thought you were angling at locking him up on a cheaper scale

If you force extension he and the agent will ask for Max extension

Would that have been the wisest thing to do on our part

His asking price on extension more than likely exceeds what he received this summer

That's why owning Bird's Rights is a valuable amenity to have

No different than making Shumpert prove his worth or Larkin

We can't use the logic that Melo won't walk away from a 5th yr

But if we trade for a player due a contact because we gave up

Assets to acquire them, we fear walking away from the 5th yr