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Finestrg
Posts: 27296 Alba Posts: 1 Joined: 1/1/2006 Member: #1069 |
7/1/2010 10:17 AM LAST EDITED: 7/1/2010 10:53 AM
I tell ya, this obviously won't be the most popular plan but if I were at the controls and the plan A proved to be fruitless and was in the toilet, the plan B I would go hard after would involve Rudy Gay/David Lee. Gay's only 23 years old, the youngest out of any of these bigger FAs. Plus the man's talent & athleticism speaks for itself. The Knicks can't possibly consider Joe Johnson over Rudy Gay -- come on man, Gay's by far the better guy to lock up long-term. Infinitely better option. Not even close...And David Lee's been here and succeeded in NY which is a huge plus (who even knows if any of these other guys like Bosh, JJ or Amar'e can come here and handle NY but we know DAVID LEE CAN, and he excelled at a very high level--2 yrs. in a row now. Lee has an incredible work ethic -- coming into the league as a marginal prospect with nothing more than some nice hops to hang his hat on, this guy has improved leaps & bounds in so many key areas it's scary: rebounding, passing, ball-handling, FT shooting, mid range jump-shooting...and he's probably not even finished improving (reports are that he's worked extremely hard on expanding his range out to the 3 pt. line). That last bit doesn't really do it for me (don't know if I really want Lee out on the perimeter jacking up 25 footers) but what it does show is the man's unbelieveable committment to improving and making himself the best NBA player he can possibly be...By the time David Lee looks back on his NBA career, he'll do it with no regrets whatsoever..I really can't recall a player exactly like him -- a guy that came into the league with fringe ability that went ahead an expanded his game to where it is now...Never a great defender and probably never will be but I'd be willing to bet that he improves some if we return him to his natural position at the 4..I think he has a chance to be an adequate defender at the 4 spot, whereas he was admittedly a step or two below that masquerading as a 5 the past few years..I like Lee better than any FA PF other than Chris Bosh...To me, Lee and Amar'e are a little redundant together. Could it work? Sure, but I wouldn't spend big on both of them. You give me JJ or Amar'e if it help lure LeBron---otherwise, I'm not really interested in either guy...I'd rather move forward with Gay/Lee over JJ/Amar'e if it came down to it...Younger, healthier combo package that probably won't cost as much..
Step 1 for my plan B if no LeBron: lock up Gay & Lee. It's not championship caliber off the bat obviously, but it's a nice start and as good a foundation as we can lay right now for the money. No guarantees Melo ever leaves Denver... Step 2: Hang onto Eddy Curry for the time being. W/O LeBron no real need to do anything rash with Curry right now. They might want to think about keeping him, even letting his expiring contract carry over into the following season..Point being, no real need to do something until it makes perfect sense...With Gay/Lee, suddenly I don't see the need to go after a Tony Parker anymore or make that crazy move for Okafor/Darren Collison. I was only really prepared to do either move to lure LeBron or LeBron/Bosh here..Doesn't make as much sense to me if those guys aren't part of the equation...Instead, I might switch gears & decide to be patient with Toney Douglas and watch the summer league talent VERY VERY carefully..Guys like Sherron Collins, Mikhail Torrence, Ben Uzoh...maybe even Vandy's Jermaine Beal who I think could be a real sleeper here--these are some of the undrafted PGs I'd focus on -- if any of these guys start to show something and show they belong, I come hard with a contract offer (I'd rather have anyone of these PGs over Luke Ridnour to be honest)..This goes for all the top undrafted talent out there in summer ball, not just the top undrafted PGs -- Briggs' guy Marqus Blakely went undrafted--I think he's playing for the Clippers SL team in Vegas (very intriguing athletic wing defender we could add here on the cheap). There's actually a ton of undrafted talent out there: guys like AJ Ogilvy, Brian Zoubek, Wayne Chism (this guy plans on playing in both the Vegas & Orlando leagues---if he plays well in Vegas, I'd immediately throw him a contract offer before he even got a chance to play with the Nets in Orlando--dude can play, if they liked Craig Brackins they should know about this kid too--they're similar players), Art Parakouski, Paul Harris, Deon Thompson, Aubrey Coleman (I don't love this guy but he can sure score the ball -- not the greatest outside shooter but he knows how to get to the line--if we ever added this guy and Charles Garcia, that's two guys that got to the FT line over 300 times last year in college For reference here's a link to the updated Vegas & Orlando SL rosters: http://www.nbadraft.net/2010-nba-las-vegas-summer-league-game-schedule-rosters Step 3: I look into the availability of Hassan Whiteside...We didn't show any interest on draft night, but it's not too late to call and inquire right now. Sac. got extremely lucky when this kid slipped to them at 33 and they probably felt compelled to take him but with the Sammy Dalembert trade, the Cousins pick in the lottery, and 6'10" Jason Thompson already on the roster, I don't see him as the best fit there to be honest...I'd be on the phone with Sac. right now trying to pry this guy loose..I'd also call Milwaukee and see if they'd be willing to part with Darington Hobson. We're already on the verge of getting Jerome Jordan from them in a trade -- I'd see if I could expand the deal to get Hobson as well (I'd agree to give them even more cash, Landy Fields, possibly Rautins, a future 2, etc., to try and get that done). Never too late to be aggressive...Just seeing now that the Bucks added Drew Gooden at 5 yrs, $32M. Wow. Is this guy worth that type of committent, esp. to a team like the Bucks?? Maybe they could use some extra money to help pay Gooden now, at least for the first year --- I'd be willing to overpay to get Hobson along with Jerome Jordan whenever that trade is allowed to be consummated. Again, not the sexiest plan B, but I'd start there. |
something to think about--2 aggressive young scorers we could add on the cheap), d-league shot-blocker Greg Stiemsma, Slyven Landesberg, Tyrese Rice, Joey Dorsey, Ryan Wittman, Gavin Edwards, etc.. Glad to see they're looking at some of the European league FAs as well -- Jaycee Carroll's on the Knicks SL roster and he can definitely shoot the ball. He doesn't appear on the list, but Virg. Tech's AD Vassallo is another guy I'd like to see us add -- I believe he only signed a one year deal to play in France last season where he played very well)...Point is there's a ton of solid undrafted talent out there -- the Knicks really need to keep their eyes peeled and grab a few of these guys and then see who can play in the NBA and who can't..Luke Ridnour and Mike Miller are decent players (Miller moreso than Ridnour) but why commit anything substantial to these guys before we take a look at some of the cheaper alternatives? To me, a guy like AD Vassallo has very similar ability to Mike Miller for example. So does Ryan Wittman. And as far as adding another PG goes, you give me Sherron Collins over Luke Ridnour any day of the week..
