KnicksSince88 wrote:

iSergio wrote:

KnicksSince88 wrote:Some of these overreactions are truly getting ridiculous. Obviously LeBron is by far and away the best FA in this class, and the best player in the league (I dont care how many rings Kobe has). But at last check, 64 teams have won titles in the history of the league, and a cursory glance shows that ALL OF THOSE TEAMS FOUND A WAY TO WIN WITHOUT LEBRON JAMES. HE WAS NOT ON ANY OF THEM. He's very likely going to win more than one title in his career, but lets stop the "we can never be good without LeBron" bs

Make believe LeBron was not in this FA class. We'll find a way to add a couple all star caliber players, while still having young players of our own to develop (Gallo, Chandler, Douglas) and cap flexability for next year with Curry's deal off the books, thats if we don't turn his expiring into a good player in a trade before that

The sky is not falling. We'll be good next year, with room for upward improvement in future seasons

You need a franchise level Star to win a Championship. If LeBron James disses us, where are we going to get that caliber of player? And please don't tell me Danilo Gallinari has the talent to develop into that caliber of player because he doesn't. This is not about being pretty good. The objective is not to be the Atlanta Hawks. This is about being a title contender. The objective is to win a Championship and you don't do that with a bunch of good players. You need a GREAT player. Don't fool yourself. LeBron will dominate and hog the rings for the next decade. Losing him IS a big deal and signing Joe Johnson and Gallo becoming Peja Stojakovic is not going to make it right.

I don't disagree you need a franchise player to win a title, but its not like the Knicks are locked into Joe Johnson and Amare as their 2 best players. They would still have some cap flexability in the coming seasons when Curry comes off. And its not completely impossible that Johnson and Amare will both be completely untradeable in coming years. Also while its very hard, its not IMPOSSIBLE to win a title w/o a true franchise guy and with a bunch of very very good players. The Celtics just came within about 5 minutes of winning an NBA Title and they don't have a top 10 player in the league on their team right now (Rondo is not top 10 overall, nor are any of the big 3 at this point in their career franchise guys). We saw Detroit do it in 2004 and almost do it again in 2005. We've also seen teams with franchise players struggle mightily without a supporting cast. See Kobe before Gasol got there, see Wade in Miami now. KG got out of the first round one time in the tough West. LBJ still doesn't have a ring.

I wanted LeBron, its easier with the franchise player in place, but we're not getting him. So what else do you want to do? Suck the next couple of years and have the Rockets benefit from it?

But when Boston win the Championship in 2008, Paul Pierce played at a Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant level. Detroit in 2004 was a fluke. That will never happen again.

As for what would I do if LeBron James disses us, I honestly have no clue. And I'm glad I'm not the one who decides what to do because I'll be so damn depressed and down. To suffer the last decade and have 'hope' the last two years only to come up with Joe freaking Johnson and Amare Stoudemire is just too much. I'm honestly hoping it's the last straw and I'll be so angry that I can move on with my life and not suffer anymore with this franchise.

iSergio wrote:

KnicksSince88 wrote:

iSergio wrote:

KnicksSince88 wrote:Some of these overreactions are truly getting ridiculous. Obviously LeBron is by far and away the best FA in this class, and the best player in the league (I dont care how many rings Kobe has). But at last check, 64 teams have won titles in the history of the league, and a cursory glance shows that ALL OF THOSE TEAMS FOUND A WAY TO WIN WITHOUT LEBRON JAMES. HE WAS NOT ON ANY OF THEM. He's very likely going to win more than one title in his career, but lets stop the "we can never be good without LeBron" bs

Make believe LeBron was not in this FA class. We'll find a way to add a couple all star caliber players, while still having young players of our own to develop (Gallo, Chandler, Douglas) and cap flexability for next year with Curry's deal off the books, thats if we don't turn his expiring into a good player in a trade before that

The sky is not falling. We'll be good next year, with room for upward improvement in future seasons

You need a franchise level Star to win a Championship. If LeBron James disses us, where are we going to get that caliber of player? And please don't tell me Danilo Gallinari has the talent to develop into that caliber of player because he doesn't. This is not about being pretty good. The objective is not to be the Atlanta Hawks. This is about being a title contender. The objective is to win a Championship and you don't do that with a bunch of good players. You need a GREAT player. Don't fool yourself. LeBron will dominate and hog the rings for the next decade. Losing him IS a big deal and signing Joe Johnson and Gallo becoming Peja Stojakovic is not going to make it right.

I don't disagree you need a franchise player to win a title, but its not like the Knicks are locked into Joe Johnson and Amare as their 2 best players. They would still have some cap flexability in the coming seasons when Curry comes off. And its not completely impossible that Johnson and Amare will both be completely untradeable in coming years. Also while its very hard, its not IMPOSSIBLE to win a title w/o a true franchise guy and with a bunch of very very good players. The Celtics just came within about 5 minutes of winning an NBA Title and they don't have a top 10 player in the league on their team right now (Rondo is not top 10 overall, nor are any of the big 3 at this point in their career franchise guys). We saw Detroit do it in 2004 and almost do it again in 2005. We've also seen teams with franchise players struggle mightily without a supporting cast. See Kobe before Gasol got there, see Wade in Miami now. KG got out of the first round one time in the tough West. LBJ still doesn't have a ring.

I wanted LeBron, its easier with the franchise player in place, but we're not getting him. So what else do you want to do? Suck the next couple of years and have the Rockets benefit from it?

But when Boston win the Championship in 2008, Paul Pierce played at a Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant level. Detroit in 2004 was a fluke. That will never happen again.

As for what would I do if LeBron James disses us, I honestly have no clue. And I'm glad I'm not the one who decides what to do because I'll be so damn depressed and down. To suffer the last decade and have hope the last two years only to come up with Joe freaking Johnson and Amare Stoudemire is just too much. I honestly hoping it's the last straw and I'll be so angry that I can move on with my life and not suffer anymore with this franchise.

You watched a different playoffs than i did if you thought Pierce played on a MJ/Kobe level when they won it all in 2008. He won finals MVP because someone had to win it, you could have given it to Garnett or even Ray Allen for that series. In that playoffs Pierce averaged 19 ppg on 44% shooting. He had the big game 7 against the Cavs after having a pretty brutal series up to that point, and he had a solid finals. But id dispute he was even their best player in 2008, he wasn't. KG was their best player for all he brought defensively

This season, they certainly didn't have a franchise player, Rondo is not and nor are any of the big 3 at this point in their career (Really only KG ever was a true franchise caliber player). And this 2010 team came within a few minutes of a ring