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PresIke
Posts: 27671
Alba Posts: 0
Joined: 7/26/2001
Member: #33
USA
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I understand that some of us are concerned that Isiah has not improved the team as much as some expected, and that this is a point of contention, but do any of us really know what this team will look like after the 08/09 season? That seems like somewhat of a reach for us to be predicting with any kind of reasonable level of certainty what the Knicks will be like or Curry valued 2 years from now.
I have to be honest. It is hard to not feel that that some of us who have demonstrated a history of distrust in Isiah are sometimes motivated more by finding new ways to point to evidence of potential flaws in Isiah than seeing that some of the answers to these questions are just not clear at this point, and that may be contributing to alarmist reactions based on that long standing fear/anger. I know this team is frustrating for many, and we are a proud group of fans, but I think it's a bit soon to go making predictions about the condition of the team, and whether we should be signing Curry to a max/close to max deal after the 08/09 season...two seasons after this current one.
I will concede that it is possible that the Knicks may be faced with a tough choice, which takes into considertion the chance that Curry COULD still be a flawed defensive player for someone his size, but what if we become better overall on defense? What if he is basically the most dominante big man on offense averaging 25-28ppg, and 8-9 rpg and the team is winning? Maybe Curry isn't even on the team anymore, or even Isiah gone as Coach and/or GM.
Also given the fact that center's with his kind of offensive talent are not exactly common, paying a max/near max deal for someone like Curry -- if he continues to improve over the next 2 seasons and a half -- and given the costs of most average centers on the market isn't exactly a waste of cash. I suspect that there are plenty of teams that would be more than happy to pay Curry what we are with the player option, which is not exactly a thing of lunacy given the fact that NBA players get these kinds of incentives all of the time.
What we are so focused on, and what seems to be the constant area of question, which does have some validity, is that we are way over the cap, and have flaws, particularly in areas where players that may traditionally help there, toughness, defense & shotblocking at PF/C are lacking so far, and the one that has some ability there has far lower offensive ability (Jeffries) and is felt to be overpaid/overvalued by Isiah. The only thing is that if the team plays better over the next few seasons that some of these players may be able to be moved, and other players will filter in that hopefully can address these needs to comliment whoever remains.
I believe that Isiah's approach, while questionable, was to accumulate more youth and flawed, talented players, with the hope that they would grow and be valuable as players or commodities in the league, which under Layden the Knicks had VERY few of, and try to win games. I think his biggest mistake was to try to build a winner this way initially, even though it briefly invigorated the fanbase (the Marbury trade, Tim Thomas trade, Francis, Q, Mo Taylor, Jalen Rose, etc. almost all of which I supported, sans Taylor, btw), as well as the coach hiring carosel and the fact that this resulted in unbalanced roster issues, and some players turning out to keep LOW value. The ideas seemed valid, but they also appeared to backfire and cause harm with the team's development and the fan response to this seemingly all over the place (to some critics) approach.
However, we've netted some decent players as well since Isiah has been here who have some real potential, and mostly no MAJOR attitude issues lately like some of the other malcontents we've gathered before, especially through the draft. Curry may not be the toughest guy, or the most confident historically, but he's not arrogant, and is actually coachable. Mostly the same goes for Frye. Lee has already seen a huge leap in value this season, and Balkman has shown to be better than some may have expected. Isiah may have passed on Williams for questionable reasons, although the jury is still out, and instead of accumulating the most "talented" player outside of position, Isiah went for need an athletic, defensive minded player with shot blocking ability who has a hustle minded attitude at a position, SF, where we had a shortfall (with the assumedly planned waiving of Jalen). Nate has been the most questionable pick due to those self-control issues, although if we remember a lot of experts were high on him out of college for his athleticism, experience, and supposed defensive ability.
Where will these players be as players on the Knicks or in attaining other players, and what kind of team will this be in two and half seasons? Seems a bit too soon to say, which leads to my wondering about any kind of strong concern about Curry's player option after 08/09...or can only an "irrational," "moron" to come to such a conclusion?
[Edited by - PresIke on 01-16-2007 2:25 PM]
[Edited by - PresIke on 01-16-2007 2:27 PM]
[Edited by - PresIke on 01-16-2007 2:29 PM]
Forum Po Po and #33 for a reason...
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