holfresh wrote:

nixluva wrote:I wonder sometimes about the thinking of many Knick fans. We get a coach that has a great resume with wins, success getting players to excel above expectations ie Nash, Diaw & Bell, he did nothing bit win with a team that was never the best talent in the West and in a dispute with a player about playing winning ball many fans side with Nate? What the hell has he ever done to deserve the benefit of the doubt? This is Coach number THREE that has had the same issues with him! Guys keep bringing up MDA's coaching style and other nonsense as if that has anything to do with Nate acting like a professional.

It's been 8 GAMES! That's not a long time. Now a coach can't discipline a player using PT as the rod? When was there a specific limit on the number of games a player can be in the doghouse? This MDA bashing is BS! I'm tired of whinnig Knick fans they don't deserve DW or MDA! Give them some other clowns that know nothing about winning! The kid was benched cuz he doesn't understand what kind of mentality it takes to be a winner! Case closed! MDA tried, Zeke tried and LB tried. ENOUGH!!!

It's not the point...No one argues against Nate being banished...We question how it's done...Could it not have been done in a manner where some value could be extracted from a trade...Does MDA's amd Walshs' examplary resume is such that no questions can be asked of their actions...

Then the complaint becomes that his antics hamper the development of the younger players.

I have no problem benching a player with a pisspoor attitude

Bottom line for me...Nate's talent level is off the chain...regardless of the Knicks record last season, the dude was a 17pt per game player in this league. He averaged 30pts a game for like 7 games straight last season...If Nate was 6'0" or better he would be an all-star talent and his attitude would be more tolerated.

Anyway...at the same time the Knicks need to improve the team....Toney Douglas is damn good. He needs the minutes and be rewarded for his hard work. Sad to say but Nate had to be made example of...nobody is above the team and winning.

Personally I'll miss Nate and it would suck so bad to see him succeed elsewhere cuz he no doubt will...but The Knicks have a mission and that is to build a winning team...They would be irresponsible if they simply waived Nate...They need to try to get value. I believe Donnie will keep him just like he did Marbs without the Banishing...try to trade him and waive him after the deadline if nothing happens before that.

Go Knicks!!!

Nate is a talent, but scoring all those points and playing no defense is not helping the team. What comes to mind is that big 4th quarter he had and we couldn't really cut into the lead but he was celebrating none the less. Someone with his talent should play at both ends of the court. Just think if he gave the effort on D that Douglas does.

It's really strange to request a trade after 8 games. If he wasn't a head case and played some D he would be playing. He really has no one to blame but himself. But, that said, MDA should have played him a little, I mean the guy can score and we needed scoring. Just tell him to play D, and if he doesn't then bench him and say he needs to play D.

MDA might have hurt himself here, now what is the value of Nate? Perhaps we can play him some to get his value back up. On a team like the lakers the kid will be dangerous, Phil will get him to play some D. He really should be getting 3 steals a game easy.

Outside of Nate, I just have to add I don't agree with the rotation. I think the problem is that who is going to want to come here and play if they are not the top 7 or 8 guys. If an injury happens we may be a bit screwed... Perhaps we can relate this to Nate not getting playing time, or Tony and Hill for that matter.

Ira wrote:The mistake was signing him to a very kind one year deal. As far as trading him, you need someone else to trade with. He got NO offers in the off-season when he was a restricted free agent. If no one wanted him when they didn't have to trade for him, why would they want him when they have to give up an asset to get him. As far as cutting him, you need extra players in case of injury. Cutting him would be a mistake.

Ira, he got no offers but neither did Ben Gordon when he was a Restricted Free Agent. I understand what you mean, but if teams think we will match (and we probably would, to seek a S&T) you don't try. It's not such a clear indication of his (or Lee's) true value.

The problem is that Nate's salary is low and in a trade I think we'd need to get back like 2.5 million and not 4 million, so perhaps you are correct and he will be part of a bigger trade (e.g. - Jeffries perhaps). Agree with cutting, that would be a mistake. Really, if no offers at all come for Nate, how stupid does his agent look when we say "Not one team has made an offer." and this is coming off of no offers as a RFA as well.

EnySpree wrote:I'm super late on this thread....

Bottom line for me...Nate's talent level is off the chain...regardless of the Knicks record last season, the dude was a 17pt per game player in this league. He averaged 30pts a game for like 7 games straight last season...If Nate was 6'0" or better he would be an all-star talent and his attitude would be more tolerated.

Anyway...at the same time the Knicks need to improve the team....Toney Douglas is damn good. He needs the minutes and be rewarded for his hard work. Sad to say but Nate had to be made example of...nobody is above the team and winning.

Personally I'll miss Nate and it would suck so bad to see him succeed elsewhere cuz he no doubt will...but The Knicks have a mission and that is to build a winning team...They would be irresponsible if they simply waived Nate...They need to try to get value. I believe Donnie will keep him just like he did Marbs without the Banishing...try to trade him and waive him after the deadline if nothing happens before that.

Go Knicks!!!

If N.Robinson was 6'8 he would be L.James. No one is yelling at him for dancing and throwing hand chalk up in the air before a game...then again...his team is winning.

Swishfm3 wrote:If N.Robinson was 6'8 he would be L.James. No one is yelling at him for dancing and throwing hand chalk up in the air before a game...then again...his team is winning.

Except J. Noah. This is a good point.

loweyecue wrote:

Swishfm3 wrote:

Marv wrote:

TMS wrote:

Marv wrote:but as far as nate goes, again i think he'd burn any nba coach out. one, two seasons of his crap would have been plenty. but to keep it up this long? i'd maintain there's no way any of us can fully fathom what it has to be like to be coaching an nba team and have one guy consistently act out during games like he does. all his good intentions and exuberance aside.

the problem i have isn't that MDA finally had enough of Nate, but how he handled the situation... he should have talked it over w/Donnie & figured out a plan of action to unload Nate somehow & get back some useful asset... to banish him to the bench & basically force Nate to demand a trade is pretty much biting off your nose to spite your face, isn't it? what good does it serve our chances of trading him by benching him like that is my question... i just don't see any positives there.

no one in the league wants him. that was proven out last offseason.

No..that was not proven.

Both he and D.Lee were UFA. Why would a team waste their time trying to negotiate with them if everyone knew that the Knicks were going to match?

Much like what is happening to Jason Bay. MLB teams all know that the METS are going to match any offer to J.Bay, which is why no one is going after him a contract.

What makes you think the Knicks would have matched any offer to Nate? More mind reading here? VALUE is determined by Supply and Demand and in case of Nate Robinson the Demand was 0, so he is value is exactly the same.

And what makes YOU think they wouldn't have? Supply and demand?

Nate Robinson
17.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 29.9 minutes

Every team BUT the Knicks can use a player like this.

Fact is..Since they were both RFA, Knicks brass had all the leverage when dealing with Lee and Nate. They decided to let the other NBA teams dictate their value. With the economy and teams not wanting to over pay, no one stepped forward. Simple as that

BasketballJones wrote:It's pretty clear that the Knicks would've preferred to trade Nate but had no opportunity to do so. Believing he had some value, they signed him and hoped to make it work. I'm sure D'Antoni and others have discussed with Nate what is expected of him. Nate can't or won't comply, so now he rides the pine.

D'Antoni sure has a lot more clout than any Knick coach we've seen in a long time.

Why shouldn't he have more clout than previous coaches? MDA averaged 50+ wins in Phoenix and he is backed by a GM who has a clue. Posters who complain about MDA are just not fans of his style of play. It shouldn't matter if he is able to produce wins. MDA proved, that with talent (something any NBA coach needs to succeed) he can get it done at a high level. I wasn't a fan of Van Gundy's slow-down, grind-it-out-thug ball, but he produced W's.

- Robinson is a knucklehead and the coach has the right to bench guys who aren't giving him what he wants. My issue is he lets Duhon stink it up and still gave him major minutes. Seems to me this coach has his pets and if you don't roll with the punches you are in his dog house.

- D'Antoni also has been putting Walsh is tough predicaments due to his attitude about certain players. Darko collecting DNP's is pretty shameful after seeing Bender get minutes after being out of the league for 4 years. Milicic isnt a great player but he isnt pure trash either. Seems that if you cant shoot 3's D'Antoni doesnt want you. I dont see us winning anything with a coach who values 3 point shooting from a center.

Ira wrote:I think the way it plays out is as follows.

1) The Knicks publicly announce they are going to respect Nate's wishes and try to trade him.
2) The Knicks get no offers that don't involve bad contracts.
3) Nate remains on the Knicks for the rest of the season.
4) He plays overseas next season.

Nate has value and will not be playing overseas next year. The guy is not a head case or cancer. He is a knucklehead like Rasheed Wallace who doesn't get into trouble off the court but cant control himself on the court at times.

The main issue is teams have no real incentive to give up anything other than an expiring and a 2nd round pick. Robinson as a spark off the bench for a team like Miami would be huge since they lack bench scoring and back court players. Indiana could also use him with the departure of Jarret Jack this past summer but as I said they arent going to be throwing in first round picks to get him after we let the situation deteriorate.