I'm really excited about next year. I'm not sure how many games we will win but I think this team is definitely on the right track and Isiah looks to really have a plan now. The Mo Taylor trade just irks me because he doesn't fit at all but other than that I have to give Isiah a bunch of credit.

It is so clear to me that he is putting together a team of the best possible athletes he can find. Our last 4 draft picks (Lee, Nate Rob, Frye, Ariza) are all unbelivable athletes who played at big time college programs.

More important than anything else, he is stockpiling assets. The KT for Q and Nate Robinson trade was an absolute steal in my opinion. Regardless of whether Q can transform his game to be a post-up/mid-range guy doesn't matter -- I mean if he does, we get an all-star and the trade looks even better than the Stack for Rip one. If he doesn't, we have an incredible athlete that has talent and is young -- he doesn't have an absurd contract and he will be easy to trade if need be in the next few years (excluding injuries of course).

I love the fact that IT made it clear he wants another 7 footer. The guy I really want is Hunter. If we sign him to the full MLE and get a somewhat defensive minded but run-and-gun coach we could start...

Marbury, Q, Ariza, Frye, Hunter

We get longer and more athletic at every position. Frye and Hunter create a dynamic frontcourt -- Hunter is the post defender and hard-working rebounder (I bet he'll be even a little bit better than Jeff Foster if given those minutes) and Frye can guard the weaker of the two frontcourt players but help with weakside shotblocking. Ariza gives us somewhat of perimeter defense but that team would be up and down the court, would be fun to watch, and would be VERY young!

Now as for the bench, I can't see a better backcourt combination than Crawford and Nate. Nate is perfect! He can guard the point guards and really give us a pressure defender next to Craw. On offense, however, it allows Craw to run the team because Nate's not really a pure pg, but it allows Nate to get in the open court and get to the rim which he is great at. I would even be tempted to bring Ariza and Frye off the bench with these two guys to have a second unit that just runs teams out of buildings. Start Sweetney and maybe Malick Rose at the 3 but then play the second unit more minutes -- Marbury/Nate, Q/Craw, Ariza, Frye, Hunter.


At the deadline, we can move TT and/or Penny for a really solid 3 or 4. We can package Sweets to make the deal a little more appealing to possibly grab an allstar (Elton Brand if the clipps are struggling?).

This team is taking the Dallas approach -- stockpile as many assets as possible and then make moves to form a really solid team. I like it because regardless of how many wins we get next year, we are on the right track and we have a bright future. I really think we'll definitely get to the second round of the playoffs with that team, however, because we've added shotblocking and I see Ariza really breaking out like Prince this year if given starters minutes.

One thing is for sure -- Tim Thomas and Mo Taylor shouldn't see the floor.

Q was a great post-up physical guard with the Clippers, who became a run and gunner for Phoenix. He still averaged over 6 boards a game for the Suns! That's nice production.

How does TT fit this style? We will give up over 100 points every single game if we have Marbury, Q, Crawford, and TT at the 3. That's why I like Nate Robinson and Ariza so much because they give us some much needed defense but also get in the open court on offense and can get to the rim. Rose and JYD do fit this team in my opinion. Although they're not as athletic, they give the team toughness and defense. I would have no problem starting Malick Rose at the 3 next to Sweetney, Frye or Sweetney, Hunter. Then have the second unit all athletes bringing in Nate, Craw, Ariza, Frye, Hunter.

The other thing Nate will do for Craw is it will allow him to be a pressure defender. I hope we press with those two guys, especially if we have Fyre and Hunter (2 athletic bigs who can anchor the press). The second unit could be effective and come up with a ton of steals.

Posted by BigSm00th:

I'm with you, Ray. This has the makings of a really nice team Isiah is putting together.

I love Nate Robinson, was hoping they'd get him at 30, and when they took him at 21, I was ecstatic (BTW, when will that be official? Isiah seems to take forever to close out deals; for instance, last year he pulled out of a deal at the deadline, and last offseason it took like 3 weeks for the Crawford trade to finally go through).

All these guys do different things. If the Knicks can get Q back to posting up 50% of the time and launching the 3 50% of the time, I think he could be a 20 ppg guy. Crawford needs to drive and dish more, and Ariza is really going to blossom I feel.

I like Hunter a lot, and I like Chris Anderson also.

One thing I would do is load up this summer league team with even more assets. Get Eddie Basden, the best perimeter defender in the draft, take a chance on a guy like Sean Banks, Randolph Morris, or Dwyane Jones (the shotblocker from St. Joe's).

Here is the summer league schedule:
Vegas Summer League (July 6-15) at Cox Pavillion
Blazers vs. Knicks Wednesday, July 6 3:00 PM
Magic vs. Knicks Thursday, July 7 1:00 PM
Knicks vs. Wizards Saturday, July 9 6:00 PM
Knicks vs. Nets Monday, July 11 7:00 PM
Knicks vs. Bulls Wednesday, July 13 1:00 PM

Minnesota Summer League (July 15-19) at the Target Center
Toronto vs. New York Friday, July 15 5:00 PM
Minnesota vs. New York Saturday, July 16 6:00 PM
Indiana vs. New York Sunday, July 17 11:00 AM
Houston vs. New York Monday, July 18 5:00 PM
New York vs. Milwaukee Tuesday, July 19 1:00 PM

Fill that team with players, with the new CBA and the ability to designate players to the D-League, it doesn't hurt to have a guy with potential like Morris or Banks on your squad.

This team should be one of the most athletic teams in the League next year.

Thanks for posting the Summer League schedule. It seems that soon we will be talking about the performances of our rooks along with other young prospects.

The fact that we have an NBDL now makes it even more important to look for real talent on the rookies that weren't picked in the draft. There are always some guys that stand out and make it to the NBA. This time they'll get a better chance. Isiah should keep looking for that steal in the post-draft.

Eddie Badsen is exactly the guy this team needs at the end of the bench. Who knows? He may even crack the rotation by the all-star break because aside from Ariza and Nate, we have nobody who can guard the perimeter. His style of play is suited for the NBA right now because he's a lockdown defender. He won't be able to give anything on offense but with our backcourt, thats the guy we need.

Hopefully IT brings in Badsen and a big guy like Morris or the guy from St Joes.

I really want to see Sweetney in the summer league too. He needs to stay active and lose some weight, learn to stay out of foul trouble, and get more comfortable in the post.

Nate, Badsen, Ariza, Sweets, Frye
with Lee, Butler, Morris, among others off the bench would be very exciting.