Posted by Cookdcokehop:

Do you think it would be smart for the Knicks to go after Trevor Ariza in the free agent market? I prefer him over resigning Woods.

I like Q2 a lot. I think he has a lot of ability. I think he makes a very good, tall athletic addition to the run and gun. I put him in my keeper list.

Ariza could have developed here if the coach had cared for developing him.

Posted by fishmike:

Q2 + JB = 16 players. Who's getting cut? Or not resigned?

i don't see Q2 being re-signed now that we have Balkman, unless Isiah pulls off a trade of Q Rich for a bigman somehow

Posted by crzymdups:

Posted by Nalod:

Posted by Bonn1997:

I didn't like Ariza's lack of improvement but he's young and he had a lot of upside. I would have kept him. I think some senile old man convinced Isiah that Trevor was "delusional" and would not improve. I think I've heard that word used by someone about Trevor before.

Seems Isiah was very impressionalbe by the old man and had the mojo on him!

Good thing they fired him, who knows what might have happened.

Larry was senile.

Dolan Is a moron.

What does that make "Zeke"?

The sizzle on the steak!

All I got to say to that is:

Posted by TMS:

Oh god, i hope he's more than that... a part time role player to average 4 & 4 after 2 seasons in the NBA out of the #20 pick is not a good outcome for me, i can tell u that much.

i hope he can be a solid 8 & 6 type player at the very least.

[Edited by - TMS on 06-29-2006 5:39 PM]

Ok, you hate Ariza and Sweetney. We get it. They're not nearly as bad as you make them out to be.

Anyway, as I asked, for the Ariza haters, if Ariza is so god awful, why are people making comparisons of Balkman to Ariza and instantly saying Balkman will be better? Is it because you have that low a standard for Balkman, or are you secretly implying that Ariza is better than you're letting on, but don't want to admit it? Somewhere in between?

For the most part, I sense a lot of the Ariza-bashing has to do with him not being a Knick. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Fish's arguments were fair. I think Ariza will be a solid player, good roleplayer, borderline starter, perhaps. I'd still take him on the team any day over most of the overpaid big egos we have. If Balkman fills that role, great... but it remains to be seen.

[Edited by - Solace on 06-30-2006 03:31 AM]

Ariza is so god awful, why are people making comparisons of Balkman to Ariza and instantly saying Balkman will be better?

Probably because Balkman helped his team so much in college and reportedly (I haven't seen him) has better skills (dribbling, passing, knowing where to be on defense)

Posted by Solace:

Ok, you hate Ariza and Sweetney. We get it. They're not nearly as bad as you make them out to be.

Anyway, as I asked, for the Ariza haters, if Ariza is so god awful, why are people making comparisons of Balkman to Ariza and instantly saying Balkman will be better? Is it because you have that low a standard for Balkman, or are you secretly implying that Ariza is better than you're letting on, but don't want to admit it? Somewhere in between?

For the most part, I sense a lot of the Ariza-bashing has to do with him not being a Knick. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Fish's arguments were fair. I think Ariza will be a solid player, good roleplayer, borderline starter, perhaps. I'd still take him on the team any day over most of the overpaid big egos we have. If Balkman fills that role, great... but it remains to be seen.

PMSing today Solace? when did i ever say i hated Sweetney or Ariza? i always said i loved Ariza's athleticism & aggression taking it to the hole, but that he needed alot of work on his game... i just wish i'd seen more improvement from him in his 2nd season... is that the same as saying i hate the guy? i said i hated the decision to take Sweetney cuz we failed to address our biggest need at the SF position when they took Sweetney... i said the day he was drafted i'd keep an open mind until i saw him play more, but that i wished they'd taken a wing player because we already had 4 other undersized PF's on the roster... you were on the MSG boards with me too, i'm surprised you don't remember... whatever, that was years ago & i'm not trying to rehash that old debate, but let's at least get the facts straight... no one likes to have their words twisted.

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Solace:

Ok, you hate Ariza and Sweetney. We get it. They're not nearly as bad as you make them out to be.

Anyway, as I asked, for the Ariza haters, if Ariza is so god awful, why are people making comparisons of Balkman to Ariza and instantly saying Balkman will be better? Is it because you have that low a standard for Balkman, or are you secretly implying that Ariza is better than you're letting on, but don't want to admit it? Somewhere in between?

For the most part, I sense a lot of the Ariza-bashing has to do with him not being a Knick. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Fish's arguments were fair. I think Ariza will be a solid player, good roleplayer, borderline starter, perhaps. I'd still take him on the team any day over most of the overpaid big egos we have. If Balkman fills that role, great... but it remains to be seen.

PMSing today Solace? when did i ever say i hated Sweetney or Ariza? i always said i loved Ariza's athleticism & aggression taking it to the hole, but that he needed alot of work on his game... i just wish i'd seen more improvement from him in his 2nd season... is that the same as saying i hate the guy? i said i hated the decision to take Sweetney cuz we failed to address our biggest need at the SF position when they took Sweetney... i said the day he was drafted i'd keep an open mind until i saw him play more, but that i wished they'd taken a wing player because we already had 4 other undersized PF's on the roster... you were on the MSG boards with me too, i'm surprised you don't remember... whatever, that was years ago & i'm not trying to rehash that old debate, but let's at least get the facts straight... no one likes to have their words twisted.

No PMS. It's just plain and simple, you have something against the two players, and I don't know why. You knock Ariza for putting up minimal stats and hope you see better stats from Balkman, yet it's quite obvious that Ariza has not gotten a full opportunity for big minutes yet. So, where's the logic? Unless you're expecting Balkman to be a starter or sixth man, I wouldn't expect big stats out of him. That's all I'm saying.

As for Sweetney, at the time we took him, we had MANY needs, and a major one was the fact that we had a bunch of power forwards who were ALL mediocre. We can agree to disagree on whether it was a good pick, or not, based on need, but many felt it was. Anyway, I agree, it's an old debate.

I like Solace a lot

You're just saying that because I said "I love Bonn" in another thread.

but I don't understand how you either agree with him on Balkman or you're a kool-aid sipper in my case and a hater (of Ariza and Sweetney) in your case. Balkman's really not such a big issue as to result in labelling an entire person.

I think you missed the point. The point was how Ariza went from being labeled, by our very own fans, as a future all-star, then the moment he gets traded he sucks. I was just trying to get some clarification as to which it was. I was then drawing a parallel to Balkman, who some are saying is better than Ariza now (even though many have not seem him play)... and curious if they'll still feel the same way in two years. My point is that I think there's either a big tendenacy to overrate Isiah's picks (in which case, drafting Ariza shouldn't count as an accomplishment) or Isiah is a great drafter and we gave up a really good player in Ariza, but luckily we got Balkman.

The biggest knock on Ariza besides his jumper is his inability to keep his eyes on the open floor and off the ball during fast breaks. He came into his second year with no improvement at all in either department and fans reacted negatively to that. He still has the capacity to improve greatly as a player. I don't think anyone not named Larry Brown has every questioned his workethic or desire. He was one of my favorite players when he was here.

I think alot of fans like Balkman because he brings alot of the intangibles that Ariza brought to the game, only he seems to have a way better handle on his dribble. And hence, the comparisons between them by many posters.