TMS wrote:i hope he's considering it but i wouldn't bet the house on it, especially since buying a 1st round pick means another guaranteed contract that will leave us less cap room to use to sign 2 max FA's this summer... i think the only way we end up buying a pick to draft someone is if Donnie falls in love w/a prospect this summer or comes to the conclusion that Lebron won't be coming to NY, which are both feasible scenarios... but judging from how little Toney Douglas has played this year under MDA, i'm not so sure how much use a late 1st round pick would do for us next season.

True, funny thing is Walsh fell in love with Douglas.

About us making deals it's not impossible and we'll see how it all shakes out. I just think it's far too pessimistic to assume we won't have options to building this team besides strictly FA's. No matter what happens with Lebron we'll still be under the cap and in shape to improve the team over the next few years. I don't expect all our problems to be solved in one summer. I'd be ecstatic but I don't think it's likely.

Once the agents get to talking this summer you'll see how much more movement there'll be. Unhappy players will make noise and push their agents to try and find deals to get them out. NY being so wide open will seem like a great destination for players who hate their coach like Don Nelson ... Someone always feels they aren't getting the playing time they deserve or some team feels that if they could move player X it would solve lockerroom issues or create space for someone else they want. We will have options.

TMS wrote:

Uptown wrote:Fallback option meaning, if Lebron says no. So everyone here has come to the conclusion that Lebron probably aint coming to the big apple. What do you guys suggest we do when Lebron turns us down? Should the new slogan be Carmelo or bust 2011? And then he turns us down, Dwight or bust? and so on ans so forth....Instead of moaning and groaning why dont we offer some alternatives....

i haven't come to the conclusion that Lebron's not coming... no one knows that answer yet except for Lebron if he even knows himself... but i'll tell u what my alternatives are if Lebron doesn't come to NY this summer:

1 - throw a tantrum on ultimateknicks.com that would make islesfan blush
2 - fire Donnie Walsh
3 - fire MDA
4 - hire a GM who won't mortgage our entire future on any 1 player to come here to be our savior
5 - hire a coach who will preach defense & an uptempo style offense predicated on ball movement & player movement w/o the ball rather than catching & shooting at will, & who won't play petty favorites in the lockerroom
6 - sign or trade for a PG who can run said offense using our cap space this summer if one is available
7 - sign or trade for a shotblocking, defensive C who can run the floor & finish
8 - go hard after Chris Bosh & sell him on the plan that he'll be "the man" in NY
9 - if Bosh says no, throw another tantrum on ultimateknicks.com
10 - shift my entire focus to baseball

easy there TMS. Why don't you come in this window where it's safe? Don't jump!

I would prefer MDA coach defense a lot..it's a whole lot easier to run off of forced turnovers and rebounding bad shots.

TMS wrote:

nixluva wrote:YO Avery got fired just like a lot of other guys people have said they wanted instead of MDA. It's all too convenient to give Avery a pass. I actually like Avery but in the end MDA was just as competitive against him Pop and Phil. It took some strange circumstances for Those guys to beat MDA. It's not like he was just getting his hat handed to him. They had some real battles out west and MDA did it one year without Amare. He's not some scrub.

About us making deals it's not impossible and we'll see how it all shakes out. I just think it's far too pessimistic to assume we won't have options to building this team besides strictly FA's. No matter what happens with Lebron we'll still be under the cap and in shape to improve the team over the next few years. I don't expect all our problems to be solved in one summer. I'd be ecstatic but I don't think it's likely.

Once the agents get to talking this summer you'll see how much more movement there'll be. Unhappy players will make noise and push their agents to try and find deals to get them out. NY being so wide open will seem like a great destination for players who hate their coach like Don Nelson ... Someone always feels they aren't getting the playing time they deserve or some team feels that if they could move player X it would solve lockerroom issues or create space for someone else they want. We will have options.

i don't care if Avery got fired, i prefer a coach that preaches defense... Avery had all of his teams winning in DAL since he took the job as a player coach & became their head coach fulltime the year after... he got fired because of being eliminated in the 1st round in upsets 2 years in a row, but he also beat MDA's Suns in '06 to reach the NBA Finals... if you're going to defend MDA's past resume, there's no way u can knock Avery Johnson's.

i don't like this SSOL system where guys just get the ball & shoot it that MDA preaches & don't give a crap about playing any D... i don't like MDA's coaching philosophy, this is not Knicks basketball to me... i had an open mind when DW gave MDA this job but all he's done since he's been here is prove to me that this is not the type of system i want to watch or that i think can win championships, & judging from what Lebron himself said just a few days ago, neither does he... he said he has never played for a coach that doesn't preach defense, he said so himself, so why the hell did we hire MDA in the first place? because the Olympics players liked him as an assistant coach? gimme a break... i don't like the petty bullcrap going on with the alienating of players either... & yes players DO talk... what do u think Nate, Al & Larry are going to say to Lebron when he's deciding where to play this summer? do u think they'll endorse MDA & tell him he's a great guy to play for, or do u think they'll tell him to stay away to avoid the BS & just keep making his legacy in CLE?

the Knicks always have options, but that doesn't mean they're all acceptable ones after we gave up the farm to clear cap space on the 2010 plan... if we go all in on starphuch signings cuz we missed out on the top names this summer, then what have we learned from the Layden/Isiah years? you telling me you would be happy in that type of scenario? capped out for years with talent u know won't get u to the next level? sorry, that's not acceptable to me... not now, not ever... i want a team that can contend for championships... i didn't suffer through the past 2 years with the sole focus on 2010 to come out with guys like Joe Johnson & David Lee or Carlos Boozer.

Avery is a good coach. I just don't see him as being superior to MDA to such a degree that it's a no brainer. IF you give them equal talent they'd both do a great job. I remind you that MDA was winning the WESTERN CONF. against the toughest comp. He wasn't padding wins in the East like some Eastern teams have been able to do. If he won 60 games out there it meant a lot and if not for some odd circumstances he had a good chance to also reach the finals with his Suns.

It's not just about the style of play. It's more about the players themselves. Give MDA a very good team and he's gonna win a ton of games and give you a shot to play for a title. He's proven that in his career. His Suns teams were good, but never had the best player in league candidate type and if you're honest about it, you know that's true. Heck most of the guys here don't even want Amare despite us needing better players. Nash, Marion & Amare and a bunch of role players was never as good a roster as the Spurs or Lakers. Maybe it was real close to the Mavs, but MDA got a LOT out of those teams and the defense was never bad. It may not have been great, but it was never bad. Heck he still got a ton out of the team when he had no Amare and had to use KT, Diaw and Bell.

Can u explain how it is that great Avery is currently unemployed? If he's so special why isn't he winning games somewhere? MDA had a higher approval rating at the time among players and other coaches.
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What approval rating are you referencing? I have never seen this but it is sometimes referenced on this forum. I don't think it is always a positive if you have a high approval rating by your players. Remember according to Grant Hill the Suns did not put in alot of practice time.