Posted by Finestrg:

Posted by BRIGGS:

Posted by Finestrg:



[Edited by - finestrg on 11-26-2008 02:08 AM]

Fine I give you a lot of credit for the effort you put into your posts although you are making me blind The team you outlined there is so soft and the only good player you named is Lebron James. You win in this league with smart talented players who can play both sides of the ball. Just think about the frontline you just outlined--a no named C Zaza Pachulia and Gallinari maybe a Kwame Brown--and think about what the Lakers have right now---Pau Gasol Bynum and Odom. You take out Lebron and the Laker bench is much better than your starting 5.

I cant sit here and say what we are going to do because it is so speculative but IF I was with the Knicks I would remind someone that you are NOT winning basketball games until you fill the void in the middle. This is going to be a wait and see.

I'm just trying to point out that Walsh has a huge endeavor ahead of him now that he's cleared some cap space. Even with LeBron, he needs to put together what amounts to an entire team - and w/o a draft pick in 2010. I gave multiple players who will be available that could make nice additions not just three. Suppose we can't get a Boozer, Bosh or Amare. And suppose we can't get Thabeet or Mullens in the draft. Then what? The show has to go on somehow right? I just wanted to point out some alternatives that we could add to this work in progress... Soft? I tell ya who's soft - Eddy Curry. Guy barely gave us 6 rebs. a game and never blocked a shot in all that PT he had under Isiah. He's the one who's soft and you wanna keep the guy. I have a problem seeing how any of these guys are soft btw:

Wilson Chandler - still has some room for improvement, but he's hardly soft. D'Antoni's been playing him at the 4 and likens him to Shawn Marion. Plays tough and a lot bigger than his size.

Zaza Pachulia - 6'11" 260 lbs. Plays hard. Hardly soft. Guy had 18 rebs. the other night in a win against Washington.

Justin Williams - 11/11 with 5.5 blocks in college. Similar numbers in the D-league a couple of seasons ago. Effective doing a lot of dirty work. Actually relishes the role. He just needs a team to give him a shot.

Leon Powe/Ryan Gomes - smaller grind it out types that have a lot more ability than people think. Powe just destroys David Lee every time he plays him. Powe and Gomes have a lot more game than people think. Both would make nice mid-level exception additions.

Paddy Mills - a little small but rose to the occasion in the Olympics against a stacked USA backcourt. Will wind up being one of the best, most coveted PG talents in the draft next summer. We're gonna need to come up with a better option at PG than Duhon eventually.

Francisco Garcia - Very skilled. Resigned at decent money. Would make a nice 2nd piece next to LeBron IMO. We're gonna need a legit starting SG unless you think Nate's the answer at 5'6". I've seen this guy contest shots resulting in blocks on the perimeter and dive on the floor for lose balls. Never got the impression that he was afraid to mix it up.

Patrick O'Bryant - Has great size and a lot of untapped ability. Surprised at the lack of patience with him so far by a few clubs. Could he be a better player than Bill Cartwright, Bill Wennington and Luc Longley eventually. Absolutely.

Darko Milicic - underwhelming overall in the NBA so far but he's a big boy who can block shots and is a surprisingly good defender on the ball and coming weakside. Will come a lot cheaper than his last contract when he looks to re-up in 2010. Probably flattered Donnie Walsh showed big interest in him in trade talks before Memphis got too stupid and greedy.

DeAndre Jordan - Big physical presence though very raw. Doubtful the Clippers ever let him get away but if they ever did, I'm interested.

Randolph Morris - Young, big boy who played hard and was effective at both ends for a good Kentucky program a few yrs. ago. Showed some nice flashes with us at both ends and on the glass in summer ball.

Kwame Brown - bust in the NBA so far but has the physical attributes we've been looking for.

Shelden Williams - Hasn't found his niche in the NBA yet but he played big for Duke. Not super-skilled but he's a big body that can rebound and block some shots. You don't get the nickname 'The Landlord' if you're soft.

Jeff Adrien/Taylor Griffin - Pointed out that I think we could add one of these guys for added toughness inside with our second rounder. Taylor Griffin, in particular, intrigues me. Can you imagine if we stole a similar player to his brother Blake out of nowhere in the 2nd round? Could be another under-the-radar talent much like Robin Lopez was playing in Brook's shadow.


Briggs, if you disagree that's cool. That's what the forum's for. That's why I put up the post - I gave my idea of how I might look to piece this together around Lebron, now I wanna see other people's thoughts. Give us your plan moving forward to fill out this roster around LeBron through trades, free agency and the draft.


[Edited by - finestrg on 11-26-2008 05:02 AM]

Yeah but we don't have Lebron! My hope is we get pick 1 so we can take Blake Griffin. Until I know we wont have pick 1 I cant speculate much further.

I don't know if I can answer any questions about this thread. It's just way too much to expect and too far thinking into the future right now. My approach is one step at a time for now. James is not the biggest dream for me, but the biggest reality. We stick to that first.

Posted by Knicksfan:

I hope we keep playing hard and trying to win, but in the end I hope we get a great chance at a top pick in the draft. We need it. That guy will be a star point guard and has D'Antoni's system written all over his game. If he declares to the draft he may not be considered top 5 so more chances for us.

If there is a guy that can not only be like Nash but much better its Rubio.

If you get one of the tops take a C, but if we have to picks and can get the C with the second one, we better pick a guy like Rubio with the first pick. That guy

wow you are overrating him severely. No GM will bypass Rubio for Griffin at a minimum. Also I think I would take Jennings Curry Calathes or Mills before Rubio--JMHO:)

Posted by 4949:

I don't know if I can answer any questions about this thread. It's just way too much to expect and too far thinking into the future right now. My approach is one step at a time for now. James is not the biggest dream for me, but the biggest reality. We stick to that first.

Too far in the future??? LeBron's coming in a year and a half dude. Only 18, 19 months away. That's it. And I do believe he's coming btw - I mean you have to believe it if you're a Knick fan. I haven't been this excited about the Knicks in a long, long time. We'll have as much money to offer as anyone else courting him except Cleveland. Between that, the opportunity to play on the big stage in a city he obviously loves, and with strong rumors of a lucrative Nike deal looming in the background (which will off-set any money and then some he loses by leaving Cleveland), I truely believe he's coming. In the meantime, we're gonna have to put a whole team together before that or at least 75% of a team in place minimum.

We're gonna need everything. As of right now, we have no center, no backup PG, no SG, no real PF other than the undersized/underskilled David Lee and poor bench depth. Gotta start thinking about it right now.