knicks1248 wrote:GustavBahler wrote:NardDogNation wrote:GustavBahler wrote:NardDogNation wrote:GustavBahler wrote:NardDogNation wrote:GustavBahler wrote:CrushAlot wrote:I don't think he walks. My concern is that he comes back and is a starter. JR is not reliable enough to be your second option. Sixth man suits him and you play him with the knowledge that he might not heat up some nights. Bargs needs to be the second option and Smith needs to be the sixth man. He has too much talent and the Knicks can't use his salary on anyone else so I think they have to find away to get him back. He is too much of a wild card to be the starting two guard though.
I hope JR doesn't include starting as part of the deal for his coming back. Smith might argue that he's taking less money so the Knicks should do something in return. Hope it doesn't happen for the reasons you listed. The more balanced a scoring attack we have the less we will be putting the team's fortunes on whether or not JR can keep it together.
I'd bite the bullet and let him start if that is what it takes to keep him. He's too good a value player to let him walk over trivial stuff like that. Especially with him under contract, we can bench him later in the season for "team chemistry". If he becomes a problem, trade him for some assets. Problem solved
Nothing trivial about who is in the starting lineup. There is a reason why JR has never been a starter in his career. The same reason he melted down in the playoffs. With JR on the bench Melo gets a chance to get going, then JR is brought in and takes over the offense when Melo sits, worked out great during the regular season. Don't want to mess up a good thing just to keep JR happy, not after the way the season ended.
John Starks was just as streaky (minus the highs) and he mostly started for us. I get what you're saying though and respectfully disagree with it. Our only focus should be to get him under contract by any means necessary. Once that is accomplished, we can deal with that matter later.
We witnessed in 94' what happens when you put too much faith in a streaky shooter.
Smith excelled because Woodson gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted on the floor when Melo sat. Will Woodson give him that same latitude as a starter? Feels like an "if ain't broke, don't fix it" situation.
Lets say we give him lip service about starting and Smith gets sent to the bench because he's in a slump. I honestly don't know how Smith would handle it. Its not like he's been a paragon of maturity over the years.
I'm not as enthused about bringing Smith back as you are so I'm not as willing to make concessions. If he does come back I'd like for him to be where he thrived last season. To be fair, I would let him start a few games in the preseason and see how things go but no guarantees of starting. We have a bunch of new players coming in, lets see how the pieces fit first before guaranteeing him the starter's job.
Starks choked in the '94 Finals but we would've never made the Finals without him. Same deal with Smith. There is a reason why he is getting so much attention as a FA and it is because he is a positive sum player. If all it takes to retain him is $5.3million/yr he could very well be the best value player in the league and at the very least, a trade chip to improve the team.
JR being so unpredictable is why I don't want him to have an outsized role next season like he did last season. It was a necessity last season with all the injuries, but next season I'm hoping that we won't have to rely on him so much.
You have a better chance seeing ALLAN HERNADEZ playing for New England this season, then watching a injury free knick roster for more then a week..
I'm confident that it won't be as bad as last season. Shump will get more minutes now that he is 100 percent, Bargs will help keep Stat's minutes down, Tyson will have more help in the paint, be it Brand, Kmart(played only 18 games in the regular season), or someone else. We also might be getting more help at PG with Brooks or another player.
7/3/2013 4:37 PM