Posted by fishmike:
thats a great article from Kerr, and I echo his last sentiments
Hopefully, Curry and the Knicks know what they're doing, and the big man will have a great career – and more importantly – live a long, productive life. But it seems awfully dangerous to gamble on that without taking every precautionary measure.
overall I have no idea at all what to think of this trade.
I loved Sweets and thought he was poised for a breakout year under Larry B. That being said this deal could be a coup. If Curry is healthy this deal is a steal. Sweetney is a nice player but Curry is a 22 year old beast in the making. Easily one of the leagues promising young bigmen. If we made this trade at last year's all star break it would have cost us Sweetney, Ariza and at least 2-3 #1's with no protection (and Briggs still would have laughed... "yea, we are getting Curry")
I just dont know how to calculate or deal with the risk. The fact is the Bulls were so convinced that this test was important they were willing to give him $20mm or 400k/year for 50 years if he FAILED. Doesnt this strike anyone as scary?
Look, I should be thrilled at the prospect of Eddie Curry the player. Rebounding can be taught. JVG turned Camby into one of the league's better bigs on the boards. Go look at the #'s, they dont lie. I have no doubt that these years under LB could and would produce the star that was Curry's promise when he was taken #4 overall. Star centers dont grow on trees. This guy's value goes beyond dollars. When you pair this kind of talent with LB your mixing a potent potion for years to come. Someone that can anchor your franchise for a decade.
So I should be excited, but I'm not. This heart thing bothers me. I just feel like there is a dark cloud hanging over this deal and this team now. I wont even go into the "what if" this guy dies scenarios, but he walked away from an easy lifestyle. $400k for 50 years just to take a test that will prove he's OK or he's at risk ti himself. Does that freak anyone else out? Even if he knew the results were OK and he was just doing this for the money from the Knicks it still doesnt make sense because Chi was going to offer him close to max cash.
I wonder what kind of condition he's in and how he deals with LB's "boot camp"
[Edited by - fishmike on 10-04-2005 10:52 AM]
Fish, I agree with you that it's a tremendous risk, but I mean, you were high on sweetney to the tune of 18ppg and 12rpg. IF you look at Curry through the same rose colored lense, how high can you imagine? Can Curry score 23ppg? 25ppg? can he learn how to use his size to block shots and play defnese? He could easily be a 20ppg 10rpg player in the right system for years. Of course there is a huge risk and I hope the Knicks doctors actually do due dilligence today, but the potential for this trade to give us the big man we've lacked for years is huge. He and Frye have a chance to develop to the point where talking about winning a title isn't laughable. It's a risk, and hopefully both Curry and the Knicks will know to shut it down rather than have a tragedy. But to me, the payoff is high enough to warrant having to shut it down.
To me, Thomas was dead weight and Sweetney was nothing more than a nice bench player. I'd make this trade 9 times out of 10.
10/4/2005 12:07 PM
