Posted by martin:

Posted by Finestrg:

Scratching my head is right. I'm right there with ya Rook. Sooooooooooooooooooooo many better options out there that we could've invited to training camp. I mean where does it say that the last 3 spots have to be filled by absolute scrubs?? Why couldn't we fill those spots with promising players, the most promising they can find & get their hands on in fact -- if they don't play that much this year, that's alright, next year's a different ballgame as quite a few of our vets may be moving on. Looks like we might pass on Morris Almond too. I mean, WTF, if anything, I thought we needed a legit SG with some size, no? Ahhhh...they're just completely clueless when it comes to evaluating end-of-the-rotation talent like this. I mean Jesus, even Tskitishvili showed me more than this guy & we haven't heard anything about him either. I'm convinced we will never find the next Anthony Mason or John Starks. Savor the memories fellas 'cause that'll never happen again. Man, you think a team as bad as us would be doing everything possible to find that next great unknown/undrafted guy and turn him into an NBA player. They should be lining up right after the draft concludes EVERY SINGLE YEAR looking to scoup up the best talent that went undrafted & fell through the cracks. Instead they procrastinate or flat out show no interest in this phase of the rebuilding process altogether. I can give you a list of at least 10 guys I would've brought to camp over this guy and I'm not even trying to knock this poor kid Carter. Hey, good for him man, I'm happy for him. It's a good opportunity for him. It's not about Warren Carter... Whatever brah...

[Edited by - finestrg on 09-11-2009 1:50 PM]

could you list those 10 guys? I don't know any off the top of my head.

Posted by earthmansurfer:

Posted by LivingLegend:

Posted by TMS:

i liked what i saw from him... can hit the outside J, real active on the floor & mobile for a big... nice cheap signing for us.

Makes sense that Walsh would select a hard nosed scrappy player to fill a roster spot or two.

This is probably a strong indication that Pat Jr will not be back as this kid appears to play the same way but is longer.

He doesn't have much game but he is long, active and seems like someone who will play hard every time out.

OH, Forgot about Ewing JR. That really really sucks. What is it with this organization and decision making and connecting the two to the fans? If you want a 15th man crowd pleaser and practice energizer, look no further. Really hard to believe as the fans want Ewing Jr and after this non existent off season one would think they would try to appease the fans.

Papabear Says

It seems that the Knicks are still disrespecting Ewing Sr. by giving the screws to the son. Ewing Jr. was a crowed pleaser. Thats why the better players ain't coming hear. We sign 2 sorry players and wouldn't sign PE JR.

Posted by Finestrg:

Posted by martin:

Posted by Finestrg:

Scratching my head is right. I'm right there with ya Rook. Sooooooooooooooooooooo many better options out there that we could've invited to training camp. I mean where does it say that the last 3 spots have to be filled by absolute scrubs?? Why couldn't we fill those spots with promising players, the most promising they can find & get their hands on in fact -- if they don't play that much this year, that's alright, next year's a different ballgame as quite a few of our vets may be moving on. Looks like we might pass on Morris Almond too. I mean, WTF, if anything, I thought we needed a legit SG with some size, no? Ahhhh...they're just completely clueless when it comes to evaluating end-of-the-rotation talent like this. I mean Jesus, even Tskitishvili showed me more than this guy & we haven't heard anything about him either. I'm convinced we will never find the next Anthony Mason or John Starks. Savor the memories fellas 'cause that'll never happen again. Man, you think a team as bad as us would be doing everything possible to find that next great unknown/undrafted guy and turn him into an NBA player. They should be lining up right after the draft concludes EVERY SINGLE YEAR looking to scoup up the best talent that went undrafted & fell through the cracks. Instead they procrastinate or flat out show no interest in this phase of the rebuilding process altogether. I can give you a list of at least 10 guys I would've brought to camp over this guy and I'm not even trying to knock this poor kid Carter. Hey, good for him man, I'm happy for him. It's a good opportunity for him. It's not about Warren Carter... Whatever brah...

[Edited by - finestrg on 09-11-2009 1:50 PM]

could you list those 10 guys? I don't know any off the top of my head.

Wow. Really? Well let's start with Almond & Tskitishvili for starters. There's two right off the bat that played on the same NY SL squad (and played better) that I would've brought to camp ahead of Carter (which still could happen, we'll have to wait & see). I already said my peace on Mike Taylor and I still don't think he has signed yet (can't find any conformation that he signed that rumored offer by the Grizzles and now the Grizz just brought in AI. I think he's still available - here's a guy that raped us at the Garden for 35 last year). And I think there are even better guys out there. Off the top of my head there's the following guys I've talked about ad nauseam:

Wesley Matthews
AD Vassallo
Brandon Costner
Ben McCauley
KC Rivers
Josh Shipp
Gerald Green
Rodney Carney & Rashard McCants (here's 2 young vets that might cost too much so I guess I won't count them but they're still intriguing young athletic wings I would've inquired about, no doubt about it)

Then there's these guys that are either available right now or guys we could've had provided we weren't sleeping & showed some interest:

Paul Harris (a lot of guys around here like him)
Dionte Christmas (ditto above)
Josh Heytvelt (ditto above 2 guys)
Jerel McNeal
Tyrese Rice
Courtney Fells (all 3 of these NC State guys I'm talking about can play)
Leo Lyons
Jeff Adrien
Eric Devendorf
Jeremy Pargo (strong, tough and underrated little PG)
Levance Fields (ditto Pargo - tough little PG - I think he signed a deal to go play in Russia)
AJ Abrams (MDA likes shooters & this little fella can certainly shoot the ball. Was a phenomenal college 3-pt. shooter on many attempts & makes every year with one of the quickest releases you'll ever see. Eddie House carved out quite a nice niche for himself as a small specialty shooter/scorer no? So have countless others i.e. Daniel Gibson, Nate Robinson, etc.. I think he's on his way to Greece.)
Nick Calathes (First he signed to go play in Greece, then gets drafted by the Wolves in the 2nd round and later had his rights traded to Dallas - you mean to tell me Walsh couldn't have made a small deal with his buddy Kahn to grab this guy for a little cash and maybe a future 2nd round pick? We're talking about a big 6'5" PG that can shoot, pass & handle it well...)
Saer Sene (I guess he's not as important anymore now that we traded for Darko and have a slimmed down/apparently healthy Curry that we need to showcase but I still like his youth, size & defensive tools. Someone tell me how the hell Chris Hunter was signed for this year ahead of this guy??)
Courtney Sims (not that impressed once I really took a look at some archived NBDL game footage, but he's definitely skilled offensively. Another guy I can't believe was passed over from last year in favor of Chris Hunter. Who the hell is Chris Hunter???????)
Rob Kurz (the Cavs just signed him but there was a time when he was available)
CJ Watson (re-signed with the Warriors for the QO, but here's another guy that was available at one point)
Paul Davis (big young 4/5 with offensive skills esp. with the mid-range jumper - could be a better version of Chris Mihm or Michael Doleac if ever given an opportunity - instead, we show interest in washed-up, never-was players like Mark Madsen...)

Now Carney, McCants, Kurz, Watson & Paul Davis all have some NBA experience so maybe they don't fall into Donnie's price range with what he's looking to do here (doesn't hurt to ask though) but the bottom line is anyone of these guys could have been a Knick if we wanted them - we just don't seem to care about adding promising young talent on the cheap and for me that's a little bit of a problem. I mean, Jesus, all I ask is that they do their homework on guys like these - I wanna see them go the extra mile and bring in some guys with some promise, not just scramble close to SL & training camp every year with the typical warm bodies, guys with a pulse and guys that can breathe on a mirror...

[Edited by - finestrg on 09-12-2009 09:35 AM]

Posted by BRIGGS:

I liked Leo Lyons. he was actually a very good player in college and in the SL--maybe one of the most under rated college players this year and absolutely should have been drafted. The Knicks might not like a guy like this--a guy size and skill wise who might just push Gallinari for minutes once they actually go up against each other in practice. Nothing can get in the way of the all mighty.
To pick Carter over Lyons is just picking a sparring partner for champion caliber boxer instead of matching up talent levels. How about we pick a guy who has the skills that can actually develop into something.
[Edited by - BRIGGS on 09-12-2009 9:29 PM]

Posted by Paladin55:

Posted by BRIGGS:

I liked Leo Lyons. he was actually a very good player in college and in the SL--maybe one of the most under rated college players this year and absolutely should have been drafted. The Knicks might not like a guy like this--a guy size and skill wise who might just push Gallinari for minutes once they actually go up against each other in practice. Nothing can get in the way of the all mighty.
To pick Carter over Lyons is just picking a sparring partner for champion caliber boxer instead of matching up talent levels. How about we pick a guy who has the skills that can actually develop into something.
[Edited by - BRIGGS on 09-12-2009 9:29 PM]

Beginning of a conspiracy theory??

Lyons has seemingly been passed over by every team, not just the Knicks, and I didn't see the Cavs, the team he played for in the summer, move mountains to get him into their camp. I would've been perfectly happy if the Knicks had signed him for a tryout in their training camp, but they obviously believe he is not a fit for them at this moment. Paul Harris is another guy I would have been happy to have in our camp. Walsh/MDA signed Carter and Pruitt over others mentioned in this thread for some reason. Their reasoning may be faulty, but I doubt that it has anything to do with protecting the "mighty" Gallinari.

Posted by BasketballJones:

Why didn't Walker Russel Jr. get an invite?

Posted by BasketballJones:

Why didn't Malik Rose get an invite?