islesfan wrote:Listen, if signing Stoudemire is what it's going to take to get LeBron, then obviously it has to be done. I just hope when the dust settles, Stoudemire isn't going to be the main attraction on that dais holding up a new Knicks jersey.

I actually agree with the last two things you said. I'm not down on Amare, I think he is currently a better PF than Bosh, I just worry about his age and injury concerns. He really had a monster second half in a contract year. We know what he is physically capable of. My Lebron-o-meter is waning though, because I really felt like James and Bosh are a package deal. I though Amare and either Wade or, if necessary Johnson, was the backup plan.

fishmike wrote:

islesfan wrote:

martin wrote:

islesfan wrote:Stoudemire's injury history scares the crap out of me. And I don't think he's a center in the East.

LeBron or Wade better be teaming up with him.

Realistically though, who else are centers in the East? Howard, Bogut, Lopez...?

Any big body really. I'm not talking about the caliber of the big men necessarily. Just the pounding that he's going to have to go through every night. Playing in the East will take it's toll on him, regardless of being in D'Antoni's system.

I think Earl Barron showed he could be a guy who could give you 20 good minutes a night of banging and boarding.

Howard is a guy who wears everyone down. Bogut was all NBA before he got hurt. After that its weak. Lopez is big but slower than a turtle and doesnt push anyone around. Amare is bigger than Horford. Perkins has a big body.

The 'true' MDA line up would be like this:
pg Douglas
sg Chandler
sf Gallo
pf Lebron
c Amare
you have a PG and 4 guys who are 6'7 or bigger and each one can shoot, rebound, play some defense, handle the ball, pass and shoot some more.

If they sign LeBron, Amare's injury history is a side note. They would need to find a decent big man to pair with Amare to avoid wear and tear, be it Barron or somebody else.

I'd keep Chandler on the bench. It would be interesting to see if playing with LeBron would drastically improve the kid's focus on the court, which I think is his biggest problem. Douglas can stay on the bench too. They need a better PG, preferably one that can shoot if he's playing next to LeBron.

Call me crazy but if Curry is healthy, I would start him with Amare, LeBron, Gallinari and Douglas. Don't care much about a 'true' MDA lineup.

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

iSergio wrote:I'm all for Amare Stoudemire. Like Fish keeps reminding us, he was the BEST player in the entire league the second half of the season. He has injury history but he's been completely healthy the last few years. He's only 27 years old too. I just hope Mike D'Antoni doesn't view him as the Center. We will need to acquire a Robin Lopez-type Center and slide STAT to the 4. But if our Plan A comes true, the pick and roll with LeBron James and STAT with Danilo Gallinari on the wing is going to be unstoppable.

you can stick him next to Earl Barron for parts of the game but if you know MDA his offense here is your starting lineup:
PG Douglas
SG Chandler
SF GAllo
PF Lebron
C Amare
bench: Barron, Walker, Rautins, Fields

You have guys who are from 6'7 to 6'10 at every position aside from PG. Every guy can shoot, pass, rebound, spot up, get steals, push the ball

that is a great group- but I worry about rebounds- they do matter, especially in crunch time, and as talented as they are, I see them getting pushed around much like the Celts did at times to the Lakers.

And I just worry that with that kind of line up, MDA's defensive strategy will be to switch on everything, and our defense will be swiss cheese style. Yes, solid defenders, but when the mind set is switch, I think you lose some accountability.

If you have the right guys on the court, MDA will stick more to the man on man D. Except for Amare, the group above is a pretty good defensive group, IMO. I also don't think James would stand by while guys don't play D. You know he would get into the faces of some players- maybe/maybe not on the court, but definitely in the locker room. With James we finally get an established leader on the team.

it makes us more attractive to Bron... but i don't think it's a lock. and amar'e with no nash... scares me.

In their quest to land either of the top two free-agent power forwards – Chris Bosh or Amar’e Stoudemire – the Houston Rockets have been offering Trevor Ariza, Shane Battier and free agent Luis Scola in potential sign-and-trade packages, league sources said.

Scola obviously would have to agree to a sign-and-trade because he’s a free agent. If the Rockets can’t get either Bosh or Stoudemire, they will push forward in negotiations to re-sign Scola.

– Marc J. Spears, 12:27 a.m. ET, July 2

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AiwAjFfWAvQrWKsohFDCH028vLYF?slug=ys-freeagentbuzz070110

Right on time.

BigDaddyG wrote:

eViL wrote:

We have sources confirming that Amare has accepted a deal with the #NY #Knicks #NBA #FreeAgent

http://twitter.com/BenjaminHochma

Assuming this is true, do we re-sign Lee or do we use the rest of our cap space for a sign and trade for another big or point guard?

We're gonna wait 'til Monday to see what LBJ says, then we're gonna move.

Walsh knows Lebron does not consider NYC without the assurance of another A List free agent

1. Sign Amare

2. Take the pulse of SaAntonio for interest in David Lee sign and trade

3. Eva Longoria calls Lebron and whispers that her husband is visiting NY

4. Walsh flies to Cleveland for a signature

5. Tony Parker agrees to defer some cash to 2011 a d signs with Knicks in the AM

6. The same day Lebron flies to 2 Penn Plza for the largest press conference in the history if NYC

you heard it here first

yours truly

The Answer Man

misterearl wrote:Forget the idle speculation only designed to fill space and meet the 24 hour press cycle deadlines

Walsh knows Lebron does not consider NYC without the assurance of another A List free agent

1. Sign Amare

2. Take the pulse of SaAntonio for interest in David Lee sign and trade

3. Eva Longoria calls Lebron and whispers that her husband is visiting NY

4. Walsh flies to Cleveland for a signature

5. Tony Parker agrees to defer some cash to 2011 a d signs with Knicks in the AM

6. The same day Lebron flies to 2 Penn Plza for the largest press conference in the history if NYC

you heard it here first

yours truly

The Answer Man

Sounds like a solid Plan A. If SA isn't going to let Parker go (I think they will) then maybe we can substitute in a Lee and Chandler for CP3 S&T?