An exemption is called an exemption for a reason. Teams that are over the cap can't sign anyone to a contract...the mid-level/lower-level exemptions are the loop hole for teams to sign players.....thats how the Knicks were able to sign duhon while still being over the cap....

right now he's a better player than Wilson... i've noticed a slight dropoff from Wilson ever since Al came on board too... dunno if that's noticeable in tangible results but it seems like he's not playing w/the same energy he was earlier in the season when Zach & Jamal were playing w/him... i think Wilson's got a higher upside tho & he plays better defense than Al does... seems to me tho that D Lee & Al go better together as frontcourt mates & both of them work off Duhon tremendously well off the pick & roll... it's tough to decide who i'd rather keep after this season, Al or D Lee, but if we can get a 1st round pick for Lee in a trade then it's a no brainer for me.

Posted by Knicksfan:

Maybe its Al Harrington who gets us that 1st round pick, probably next year.

maybe, but we'll have to re-sign him first... i doubt it tho, if we sign him it'll be to keep him cuz Donnie loves him & he's a good fit for MDA's system.

[Edited by - TMS on 12-06-2008 6:42 PM]

Posted by EnySpree:

Posted by TMS:

Posted by Knicksfan:

Maybe its Al Harrington who gets us that 1st round pick, probably next year.

maybe, but we'll have to re-sign him first... i doubt it tho, if we sign him it'll be to keep him cuz Donnie loves him & he's a good fit for MDA's system.

[Edited by - TMS on 12-06-2008 6:42 PM]

well he's signed for only one season after this one so they don't have to re-sign him to trade him.....

Well this is gonna be our never endign debate.....Lee, Chandler, Harrington, Gallo, and now Tim Thomas...who stays? do the Knicks let Lee walk or trade him now....when Harrington and Timmy expire, do the knicks let them walk?

How can the Knicks get better? I like Al Harrington.....He's taking on a big load now and living his dream....but he plays Lebron James position...not saying its a lock the Knicks get him but if they did...what do the Knicks have to build around?

i can tell u right now Tim Thomas is definitely not someone we're gonna hold onto after his contract expires... dunno what the plans are for Harrington but just for argument's sake i don't think bringing Lebron here would be a problem for anyone playing his position cuz the guy can play so many different spots & make everyone around him better... i can easily see D Lee being a perfect complement to Lebron just as i can see Al or Wilson working well w/him... obviously that's getting ahead of ourselves here, but we will have some nice pieces to build around in 2010... plus u gotta hope whoever we nab in the draft will turn out to be a nice young piece to build around too, & hopefully by then Gallo will have shown something as well.

Posted by Cosmic:

Posted by EnySpree:

Anyway,.....I just wanna say Al Harrington is averaging 22pts per game....He doesn't get to the line often enough, and the dude shoots a **** load of threes. He gets a little over 7 rebs a game.

He's a good player....but to re-ask the question? is he a keeper? What are we really looking at with him? Is he better than Wilson? Can the Knicks win like this? What happens with Lee?

Nah I don't think he's a keeper. He's more in the mold of a Randolph/Crawful type than anything. He's just not a good team player overall and this system requires TEAM players. I don't care if he guns away the next two years but after that he should walk.

I have a feeling this is sort of an audition of sorts for him though and I do believe Walsh intends to keep him if the price is right. Yet look what might happen here in 2010: Lee,Nate resigned - Duhon resigned - Harrington resigned.

WHOA we just screwed ourselves into continued mediocrity if we do that LeBron or no LeBron!

Do we really want to use up all our cap space on Lee, Nate, Duhon, and Harrington? Eh....not really.

Of course not. Of all those players I could easily see us retaining Nate and Duhon. Lee will probably be traded and Harrington could have the same destiny at some point in 2009 season. I don't think he is here to stay unless he improves his team play on offense and gives the Knicks a discount. But I still think he is the more tradeable of the guys we got and the most likely to give us a draft pick in return.

The difference between Al Harrington and the Crawford/Randolphs of the world is that Al Harrington makes quick decisions on offense. I mean, sure, the decision usually is to try to score the ball himself, but he does something. Guys like Crawford like to dribble a little bit and try to create and a few seconds tick away.