Posted by BasketballJones:

Why all the hate for Jones?

Posted by clyde10:

For goodness sakes Sebastar Fred Jones' feet were in the air. He was lying on his backside as Kobe took an open jumper. Lying down!!! Is that the defensive stance that Isiah thinks will help out this Knick team. We should be trying to get rid of the scrubs on this team!!!

you're seriously going to base your view of the man's defensive abilities on this one play where he fell because Kobe stepped on his foot as he was leaning back. have you ever played basketball before? it happens...

Posted by Killa4luv:

Yeah lets judge peoples defense by the way they guard the player in the league who no one can guard. That makes perfect sense.

Posted by subzero0:

Fred Jones is not good enough defensively to eliminate the chance of a rookie who can potentially be a better player in this league. We have already seen several years of Fred Jones play and all he has proven, with his chance in the league, is that he is an AVERAGE player. No better no worse.

Why not give Nichols the same chance this guy has had. Is Nichols really not deserving of a place on our roster. What, are we so overwhelmed with great shooters that there is no need for him here? Think about it!! How is Fred Jones going to help us in that area?

Posted by Queeniepop:

I would like to see what the hype on Nichols is. The dude has NEVER played in a real NBA game yet. And NO, summer league doesn't count because 90% of the guys that play in summer league don't even make an NBA roster. You would think that Isiah got Michael Jordan in the second round, the way people talk about Nichols.

And since so many believe Isiah is a great talent evaluator, if Nichols is SO DAMN GOOD, then why won't Isiah play him in meaningless preseason games (that according to so many are actual predictors of the regular season) or actually SIGN him to a contract?

nichols led the Big East in scoring... that should count for something.

it's not so much that nichols is "SO DAMN GOOD," it's that, if he develops, he brings something we need on the roster - he's a shooter who can play defense. i think it's worth keeping him around to see.

Posted by nixluva:

People, it's not about major impact when you're talking about a guy like Jones. He's a tool off the bench and as such when he's used in tandem with other good defenders the cumulative effect is what we're looking for. As part of a more defensive UNIT he's a good piece. Don't try and make it seem like he has no value to this team. It's not about raw numbers with him.

Despite the opinions of his defensive capabilites, in practice he's showing Isiah something and that's what he's gonna base his decision on. In comparison to our other guards he's likely an improvement defensively and that's important. He's doesn't have to be Bowen in order to help this team on D. Let's remember that not every guard is as elusive as KOBE! There are a lot of lesser guards that he may be able to slow down. Especially since he's coming off the bench and likely will be defending 2ND TIER PLAYERS!!! Use your heads people, Geez!

at least isiah's not hyping him as a potential All-Defensive Team selection like last year's prize addition.

a few thoughts... last year our second unit was already good defensively, and i'd rather have mardy out there (potentially a good offensive player/distributor)... yes he's an improvement defensively on a lot of our guards, but he's a much worse offensive player so it's probably wash. the point is to improve. maybe demetris can be a good perimeter defender in addition to a scorer. we won't know if we cut him before the season even starts.