CrushAlot wrote:I like that they are doing something with the open spot. It is a no risk move and Ledo was the 6th ranked prospect in his class in 2012 so the talent is there. I know there are character concerns and this quote from a mavs blog is concerning:

The character concerns are loud, and hard to ignore, especially when a former coach is calling you "the worst human being I've been associated with on a basketball court".

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2013/6/28/4476192/ricky-ledo-draft-dallas-mavericks

I think comments like that by coaches really cross the line, and I usually think that perhaps that coach's attitude towards him had a little something to do with the way Ledo treated him.

Mavs are very good at developing players and installing a professional attitude- look at Rondo getting suspended. As far as I am aware, the Mavs haven't had to discipline Ledo in 2 seasons. He was only cut due to a numbers crunch. Furthermore, likely the Knicks will have checked up on him with Calderon and Larkin.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban commended the Knicks for taking a chance on shooting guard Ricky Ledo in an ironic turn of events, stating he could be “a steal.’’

Cuban waived Ledo following the All-Star break last month to make room for veteran Amar’e Stoudemire, whom the Knicks bought out to save $6.5 million. The Knicks carried that open roster spot until Thursday, when injuries to Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cleanthony Early forced team president Phil Jackson into action.

The Knicks, who hosted the Timberwolves on Thursday night, signed the enigmatic but very intriguing Ledo to a 10-day contract. Once projected as a late first-round draft pick in 2013, Ledo fell to 43rd because he was deemed a risky project after being ruled academically ineligible his freshman year at Providence and not getting in a single game.
The 22-year-old Ledo spent two seasons with the Mavericks, but appeared in just 16 games.

“Ricky deserves to be in the NBA,’’ Cuban stated in an email to The Post. “He is incredibly talented. Because we are trying to compete for a championship, we really weren’t in a position to give him minutes to help his development. I think with playing time he will get better and better and could be a steal for the Knicks.’’
The 6-foot-7, 195-pound shooting guard was playing in the D-League with the Texas Legends, averaging 15.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He had shuttled back and forth all season before Dallas cut ties with him.

Ledo concurred with Cuban.
“I loved Dallas, the team and coaching staff,’’ Ledo said. “I understood it’s a business. They wanted to win now for guys like Dirk [Nowitzki], who are on their last legs. This is the year to do it for them and they didn’t have time to develop me. I only played 44 minutes in two years. [There] was not much of a chance.’’
There had been reports around draft time Ledo had attitude issues. But Jackson has an affinity for big guards in his triangle offense, and the recent deadline trade for Alexey Shved has worked out well.

“We’ll find out,’’ Knicks coach Derek Fisher said when asked why Ledo hasn’t yet made it. “I can’t speak to his experiences on other teams, why it hasn’t or has worked out. He’s here with us now. I’ll only be able to base my opinion on what he can do here. He just hasn’t gotten the chance. He’ll get the chance here.’’
Ledo participated in the morning shootaround Thursday, got force-fed the triangle system and claimed to have a handle on it. Fisher threatened to use him.
“It’s not that hard,’’ Ledo said. “Pretty easy to pick up. It’s all about instinct and your basketball IQ. Triangle is made for taller guards who can shoot. It’s about instinct. Where you are the court and reading off other payers. I’m getting pretty acclimated.’’

Ledo said he had a long conversation with Fisher on Thursday and the club has “welcomed me with open arms.’’
Fisher said Ledo has a chance to make a big statement to stick around for the future, just as Shved has.
“[Ledo is] a talented young player, very skilled, handles the ball really well,’’ Fisher said. “He makes shots off the dribble and catch-and-shooting.’’

Anyway, I saw many of you guys bringing up this "character issue" with such certainty, I had to stop by and enlighten you. Just to let you know that nobody knows what coach criticized him that way. Bottom line: if it ever was true,it sure isn't true anymore. Don't let that BS influence your opinion of the guy. It isn't fair to Ledo, esp. when nobody even knows who said that, or if it was even said at all! For all anyone knows, he might have been a child at the time. His teammates at PC loved the guy!

smackeddog wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:I like that they are doing something with the open spot. It is a no risk move and Ledo was the 6th ranked prospect in his class in 2012 so the talent is there. I know there are character concerns and this quote from a mavs blog is concerning:

The character concerns are loud, and hard to ignore, especially when a former coach is calling you "the worst human being I've been associated with on a basketball court".

http://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2013/6/28/4476192/ricky-ledo-draft-dallas-mavericks

I think comments like that by coaches really cross the line, and I usually think that perhaps that coach's attitude towards him had a little something to do with the way Ledo treated him.

Mavs are very good at developing players and installing a professional attitude- look at Rondo getting suspended. As far as I am aware, the Mavs haven't had to discipline Ledo in 2 seasons. He was only cut due to a numbers crunch. Furthermore, likely the Knicks will have checked up on him with Calderon and Larkin.

Yep, you got it right. As described in my previous comments, people at Providence, and fans of Providence, have no idea where that quote originated. And yep, his coaches at Dallas always spoke highly of him, "easy to coach", etc. He was very likable among his teammates at PC. This seems to be a case of an unattributed quote following a guy around for no good reason at all. These "character issues" are non existent........

nixluva wrote:

Red wrote:Hey everyone. I signed up specifically to try and set the record straight regarding Ledo. First, you will not find anybody in the Dallas system who has anything but good things to say. Same with the folks at Providence. You notice that the coach in that "worse human being" comment isn't named. Well, that quote has followed Ledo for years and nobody at Providence knows who said it or when. Was it a coach when Ledo was a child? Could be, nobody knows. He was a great teammate at Providence, loved by coaches and teammates alike. Nobody wanted him to leave early. You will find any number of Providence fans who still "hate" the guy because he never played a game for PC. Some fans really resent him for that. But, what you won't find is anybody who would agree he was a "program killer" or had character issues. No character issues at Providence or Dallas. It's all bogus as far as anyone can tell. Maybe a coach hated him when he was 8 years old, I don't know, but ya'll can disregard this so-called character issue. It simply does not exist in reality. Ledo is a great guy and a skilled player. The Knicks might have signed a diamond in the rough. Hope he makes it and proves to be a good pickup!

Anyway, I saw many of you guys bringing up this "character issue" with such certainty, I had to stop by and enlighten you. Just to let you know that nobody knows what coach criticized him that way. Bottom line: if it ever was true,it sure isn't true anymore. Don't let that BS influence your opinion of the guy. It isn't fair to Ledo, esp. when nobody even knows who said that, or if it was even said at all! For all anyone knows, he might have been a child at the time. His teammates at PC loved the guy!

Welcome and I hope this isn't the only time you can come here and contribute. As for Ledo, he's going to get a completely fresh start here. We all want to see the kid succeed here and have a great career. God knows we could use another break like finding a diamond in the rough like this. Especially a Guard with his kind of skills. NY is salivating for a guard like him and his passing dropped and scoring ability.

Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm a Knicks fan from way back. Also a PC fan, my dad's alma mater, etc. I think the Knicks are going to be real happy with the kid. This is a McDonald's All American who just fell off the radar because he lost a year of playing time at Providence. If he hadn't left for the NBA early, he would have been a sold first round pick the following year. Without a doubt. Once Dallas picked up Rondo, it was clear his chance of playing time there dropped even more. This kid has a lot going for him, he can make it and succeed at this level. That he does so as a member of the Knicks is great news for both sides. Amazing the number of kids that can fall through the cracks because things don't break right. Phil saved my boy's butt by signing him. He won't regret it!

fishmike wrote:Red... thanks for the knowledge. Good to know. Nobody loves a case misunderstood or 2nd chance more than NYers. I will never forward Sprewell's first preseason game and how quickly NY embraced him, and he actually DID have character issues.

Knicks really need a little luck, its nice to see they are at least buying lottery tickets and giving these guys a look.

Yeah and you know how NY loves guards with Ledo's kind of handles, scoring and passing. He like Shved and Galloway, probably only needs an honest chance to play and show what he can do.
IMO in terms of the players Phil has been bringing in I like the disposition of Phil's additions. Guys that are hungry and have something to prove. I can only imagine how Ledo is chomping at the bit to have a real chance. Hope he gets it and finds success here.

blkexec wrote:From the clips i saw during his draft day and even now as a refresher....he has skills. And we are in no position to get cute. If you can ball. ...the knicks door is open. Until we put a legit team together....this should always be the strategy....character or not.

nixluva wrote:

fishmike wrote:

blkexec wrote:From the clips i saw during his draft day and even now as a refresher....he has skills. And we are in no position to get cute. If you can ball. ...the knicks door is open. Until we put a legit team together....this should always be the strategy....character or not.

unless they are toxic yes... this... I agree 100%. One of the things that gives me hope about Phil is he seems really focused on growing some of his own roster. We used to throw $30mm contracts at role players like Spoon, Jeffries, etc.. I dont expect Langston or Shved to be all stars but they can play. Its nice to see all these differnt guys getting burn. Even sweet Lou.. I mean in the past all we heard we BS like "We like our team"

Some of us complained about Phil not bringing in some of the D League talent, but in his own time he's been bringing in players. I think he knows that there's not enough cap space to fill out this roster with costly players. He really needs as many low cost but really talent players as he can get. In essence he's bringing in guys that essentially are extra draft picks. Galloway has been a success so far. Hopefully Ledo can also prove to be a useful player going forward. Phil also has guys in the D League that might be options. We'll have to see how that all plays out, but he's trying to find low cost options.

nixluva wrote:. Ledo had one little session and said:

Ledo participated in the morning shootaround Thursday, got force-fed the triangle system and claimed to have a handle on it. Fisher threatened to use him.
“It’s not that hard,’’ Ledo said. “Pretty easy to pick up. It’s all about instinct and your basketball IQ. Triangle is made for taller guards who can shoot. It’s about instinct. Where you are on the court and reading off other players. I’m getting pretty acclimated.’’

I mean HOW MANY PHUCKING YEARS have all of us begged to take a look at some of these guys and the best we would get were retread guys like Shawn Williams, Quentel Woods, Jonathan Bender... I mean WTF. God this team has been a nightmare to follow.. Im really liking Phils approaching in turning over every stone. Will be interesting to see some Euro FAs come in. Prigs was picked up too late and the Mos needed some time but both show there are good Euro FAs to be found.

fishmike wrote:

nixluva wrote:. Ledo had one little session and said:

Ledo participated in the morning shootaround Thursday, got force-fed the triangle system and claimed to have a handle on it. Fisher threatened to use him.
“It’s not that hard,’’ Ledo said. “Pretty easy to pick up. It’s all about instinct and your basketball IQ. Triangle is made for taller guards who can shoot. It’s about instinct. Where you are on the court and reading off other players. I’m getting pretty acclimated.’’

OK.. now that literally is farting a Knick rainbow. I just put that in my coffee and drank it. Another like that I may take in via IV.

I mean HOW MANY PHUCKING YEARS have all of us begged to take a look at some of these guys and the best we would get were retread guys like Shawn Williams, Quentel Woods, Jonathan Bender... I mean WTF. God this team has been a nightmare to follow.. Im really liking Phils approaching in turning over every stone. Will be interesting to see some Euro FAs come in. Prigs was picked up too late and the Mos needed some time but both show there are good Euro FAs to be found.

Man i'm with you on that. Clearly Phil is not averse to looking EVERYWHERE for talent. The Labeyrie pick shows that. The fact that he used a Trade Exception to snag Shved. All of these things backed up with holding on to a roster spot and then snagging Ledo. If Knick fans are paying attention to what Phil is doing he's show little signs of how he sees things talent wise.

BTW I only eat the Rainbows in Lucky Charms