s3231 wrote:My stance has been simple throughout all of this.

Donnie is a GM that rarely takes big risks but when he does, he's done pretty damn well (e.g. drafting Reggie Miller over Alford, trading Davis for Jermaine O'Neal). It could be a conincidence or it may be that he knows more than he lets on in these situations (I happen to think it's the latter).

I just think for Donnie to have given up all that he did in that McGrady trade, his intel probably told him that he has a very good shot at superstars if that 2nd max slot is cleared up. To me, that is the most rational explanation when you look at Walsh's history as a GM. I can't blame Donnie for pulling the trigger on the McGrady trade if that is indeed the case. If he has inside info (or strongly believes going by the information given to him) that the odds are in his favor to land LeBron after clearing that max slot, then you have to believe he took the right risk.

If he is going into this blindly, like the rest of us, then I agree that he took a huge risk that is likely very foolish. I just don't think that is the case though. I think Donnie knows he has a good shot at LeBron and consequently, wasn't afraid to give up the extra assets. If the worst case scenario unfolds, Walsh probably knows that he can still use the cap space to at least make this team competitive, although the championship aspirations will probably have to wait.

With that said, we don't yet fully understand why Donnie did this (was it blindly? does he have inside info?) so I don't see the point in criticizing him or praising him. What we do know is that he accomplished is goal of getting significant cap space for the summer of 2010.

He siad he was going to do this from Day 1...now everyones baffled and scratching there heads

One thing is for certain, no matter how you look at it, he did a absolutely horrible job with the J hill pick. He pick J hill for all the wrong reasons ( cause he was a big man who had range and was athletic) when we needed a PG in a massive way, then traded him for an expiring contract.

Mcgrady couldn't play and had no reason playing this year in the 1st place and houston knew it, yet Tmac gets upset cause he wasn't getting the minutes he thought he deserved.

He promise to keep us competitive, that happen for roughly 2 months out of 2 seasons.

Knicks have plenty of options heading into an offseason where flexibility is paramount. A plethora of UFA talent, and owners hemorrhaging money

knicks1248 wrote:

s3231 wrote:My stance has been simple throughout all of this.

Donnie is a GM that rarely takes big risks but when he does, he's done pretty damn well (e.g. drafting Reggie Miller over Alford, trading Davis for Jermaine O'Neal). It could be a conincidence or it may be that he knows more than he lets on in these situations (I happen to think it's the latter).

I just think for Donnie to have given up all that he did in that McGrady trade, his intel probably told him that he has a very good shot at superstars if that 2nd max slot is cleared up. To me, that is the most rational explanation when you look at Walsh's history as a GM. I can't blame Donnie for pulling the trigger on the McGrady trade if that is indeed the case. If he has inside info (or strongly believes going by the information given to him) that the odds are in his favor to land LeBron after clearing that max slot, then you have to believe he took the right risk.

If he is going into this blindly, like the rest of us, then I agree that he took a huge risk that is likely very foolish. I just don't think that is the case though. I think Donnie knows he has a good shot at LeBron and consequently, wasn't afraid to give up the extra assets. If the worst case scenario unfolds, Walsh probably knows that he can still use the cap space to at least make this team competitive, although the championship aspirations will probably have to wait.

With that said, we don't yet fully understand why Donnie did this (was it blindly? does he have inside info?) so I don't see the point in criticizing him or praising him. What we do know is that he accomplished is goal of getting significant cap space for the summer of 2010.

He siad he was going to do this from Day 1...now everyones baffled and scratching there heads

One thing is for certain, no matter how you look at it, he did a absolutely horrible job with the J hill pick. He pick J hill for all the wrong reasons ( cause he was a big man who had range and was athletic) when we needed a PG in a massive way, then traded him for an expiring contract.

Mcgrady couldn't play and had no reason playing this year in the 1st place and houston knew it, yet Tmac gets upset cause he wasn't getting the minutes he thought he deserved.

He promise to keep us competitive, that happen for roughly 2 months out of 2 seasons.

I don't know if I agree with the Hill part. The vibes that were sent out from the Knicks after the draft were that Hill was the #2 prospect on their list.

I think Donnie just went with the guy he felt was the best player available (or the guy the scouts thought was the best player available).

I think that's why Donnie held that meeting with the scouts during the season and essentially bitched them all out about it.

I do agree though that we got terrible value out of the pick.

EwingsGlass wrote:

SupremeCommander wrote:If the Knicks fail to sign a marquee player, this offseason will not necessarily be a failure. If the Knicks take back salary for young assets and picks and take on salary and defer signing a marquee player until 2011 then I would consider the offseason a success.

Knicks have plenty of options heading into an offseason where flexibility is paramount. A plethora of UFA talent, and owners hemorrhaging money

I think this possibility is the one that I have ignored the most. But I think you are right. The more I look at players like Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh and David Lee, I see players that put up good numbers but don't will their teams to win or make the players around them better. So, cap flexibility is the ultimate goal and signing Lebron is the most logical use of that cap space, but I think taking back a Peja for 1 year to get Darren Collison, knowing that you are in position to get Carmelo isn't a bad thing. That is probably smarter than signing low level all stars. Got to get the superstar first.

I might as well give my newest offseason wishlist here. So, if we sign Lebron, I would trade Gallo for Stephen Curry in a NY minute. Not that I don't love Gallo, but I don't want to shift Lebron just so Gallo can play the SF and I don't think Gallo has the body to play PF at this time (not that he never will, but I think he makes a very good SF and that makes him a 6th man with Lebron). I think if GS is willing to make that trade, you run with it. I'd also try and sign Amare to play next to Bron. I kind of like how Channing Frye looks playing next to Amare. Channing can opt out, but to get both, we need some sort of sign and trade. With a little creativity, we might walk away with both of them.

That gives us:

Curry
Chandler
James
Stoudemire
Frye

A superstar in James that can control the game. Two 3pt threats in Curry and Frye that spread the floor and deny the double teams. A slasher in Chandler that can finish strong. And a banger in Stoudemire. TD and Walker off the bench. Maybe we can take back a contract or two to fill out the roster for Eddy's expiring contract. That Okafor trade still makes sense to me.

amare+frye isnt much of a def upgrade in the front lines... frye looks soft (not much has changed).

GodSaveTheKnicks wrote:Hollingers take on Felton:

Raymond Felton, Charlotte
Felton is the league's most under-the-radar free agent this summer, a completely unrestricted player who comes off a decent season and has a rep as one of the league's top locker room guys. He might stay off the radar if the Bobcats bow out meekly in the first round, but if they can extend Orlando to a tough series and Felton plays a big role in it, his profile (and offseason payday) is likely to increase significantly.

This change anyone's mind? I think he'd be a MUCH better investment than Ray Allen on the wrong side of everything

He's looked like shyt so far against orlando. I have nothing against him, but its hard to get excited about this dude.

On a scale from 1 -100, hes like a 55.

sebstar wrote:

GodSaveTheKnicks wrote:Hollingers take on Felton:

Raymond Felton, Charlotte
Felton is the league's most under-the-radar free agent this summer, a completely unrestricted player who comes off a decent season and has a rep as one of the league's top locker room guys. He might stay off the radar if the Bobcats bow out meekly in the first round, but if they can extend Orlando to a tough series and Felton plays a big role in it, his profile (and offseason payday) is likely to increase significantly.

This change anyone's mind? I think he'd be a MUCH better investment than Ray Allen on the wrong side of everything

He's looked like shyt so far against orlando. I have nothing against him, but its hard to get excited about this dude.

On a scale from 1 -100, hes like a 55.

Like Nalod said..Orlando is just making that entire Charlotte team look bad. From the game I watched the only guy who showed up was Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson doesn't look anywhere near 100%.