Posted by NYKBocker:
Posted by BRIGGS:
It would be very very hard to find players better than Lee and Nate. Unless I received a no-brainer type deal--I would rather enhance and add. I'm not adverse to a trade but what team is going to give us fair value for either player. Is fair value getting rid of Nate just to get rid of Jefferies? Is Nate replaceable at 24 years old after finding his perfect niche? The guy is like a Dwayne Wade type player out of the sixth man position. I'm a great fan of Jon Starks but Starks is no where the pure talent that Nate is and look what Starks helped do for the Knicks. We can say defense and this and that about David Lee but the bottom line is the guy is one helluva basketball player.
I wonder if there is some creative moves we can make with Jefferies and Curry in terms of their contracts. Other than trading them--some type of creative accounting plan --perhaps have Jefferies opt out and promising him a 2 year MLE with a team option for 3 with a mm $ buyout in that third year etc.. We can use our own MLE on Jefferies after we sign a player.
I am with you here BRIGGS. I only trade DLee and/or Nate for no brainers. If not then sign them and complement them with better players. DLee is 1 defensive center from solidifying that front court. Nate is a super sub.
I think its more complicated than that with Lee. I don't think we can run our offense if we have Lee and a center who can't shoot out there on the floor. Whenever we start games with Lee and Jeffries its hard enough, and it would be even more difficult to score if we had a defensive center out there.
I don't know, maybe we could try to sign Villanueva. That would compliment Lee better than most. Sheed would be ideal if you could get him for the MLE. If you could do that I'd try to keep Lee. If not, I'd try to move him in a sign and trade for picks.
Nate is our most talented player by a wide margin, but he's so hard to control on a team that defers to him instead of maintaining a normal offense when he's in the game. I think he should be moved for picks too. Chandler and Gallo would develop a lot better without Nate on the team.
I think this draft will end up being packed with talented players because of the economy. Nobody's going to wait to enter the 2010 draft.
I'd rather see MikeD and Donnie build a team from scratch in their image than try to make Isiah's miracle picks work somehow. Its amazing what Isiah got with those late picks in Nate/Lee/Chandler, but we need to install players better suited to the system instead of trying to patch it together.
Alan Hahn:
Nate Robinson has been on a ridonkulous scoring tear lately (remember when he couldn't hit Jerome James with a Big Mac in early January?)
