Isiah's doing a decent job. Much better than his predecessor. However, I'm getting weary of having a whole new team every few months. I hope that we can settle down soon and get to know a core group of players that we can support.

if zeke stayed with that lineup for 82 games, i would give you a little cheese with your whine, but his own selected lineup of........

star
craw
tt/ariza
sweets
nzar/kt

with jyd/rose/taylor/baker and moochie only to validate a 32-50 season?

I didn't think the team would make the playofss in either of the next two seasons; I was pleasantly surprised that they did in one of the two.

as a knick fan you should be ashamed to even mention that playoff....thanks for selling out pleasantly

I think the Pistons model has made some people delusional. Let's go back and review what the Pistons did, exactly.

The Pistons had outstanding management.

In 1999-2000, the Pistons had a team of:

C-Christian Laettner
PF-Terry Mills
SF-Grant Hill
SG-Jerry Stackhouse
PG-Lindsey Hunter

6th man:
Jerome Williams

The Pistons traded Hill for Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins. They packaged Jerome Williams, Montross, etc... for Corliss Williamson. Fine.

By the 2001-2002, they traded John Wallace for Cliff Robinson (who they later traded for Bob Sura).

Then it was Stackhouse for Rip Hamilton, and signed Chauncey Billups. They capped that with the drafting of Tayshaun Prince.

Finally, they traded a group of bench scrubs and a first rounder for Rasheed Wallace.

Result:
C-Ben Wallace
PF-Rasheed Wallace
SF-Tayshaun Prince
SG-Rip Hamilton
PG-Chauncey Billups

Now, what's the point? The point is the Pistons are an incredibly rare situation, firstoff. Second off, they were managed extremely well and they found complimentary pieces. Finally, they traded overrated guys for undervalued studs.

The Pistons are the only team since the inception of the salary cap that has managed to build this way. Let's get one thing straight, though... the Knicks haven't accomplished anything close to this. At first glance, it may appear that they have, but look at it closer.

Pistons acquire stud center (Ben Wallace) via trade, by giving up highly rated player (Grant Hill). The Knicks could roll with an option like this, but I'd be flamed for mentioning it.

Chauncy Billups was a PG signed with the MLE. The PG talent is very deep in the NBA, so it is 10x easier to get to-be great guard in the NBA via MLE than a equatable big man. Even Shareef, who is close 20-10 and no defense is asking for $10+ MM this offseason.

Hamiton was taken in a smart trade.

Tayshaun Prince was a brilliant draft pick.

Rasheed to the Pistons was one of those situations where they got lucky. The Celtics didn't want the Knicks to get Rasheed, so they took Atkins to make the Sheed-trade work just to screw the Knicks for no good reason. That's a rare situation and normally the Pistons would've been SoL trying to acquire Rasheed that offseason.

There's one more thing to note about the Pistons. Every single one of those guys has a reputation for solid or A+ defense. They were built in that mold, which is why they were able to win a championship without having your prototypical Shaq or Duncan manning the middle.

Now, consider that and move onto the Knicks...

Our backcourt is Q, Crawford, Marbury and Nate. Is that not the worst defensive backcourt in the entire league? This is far from the Pistons mold. That factor alone will have us giving up close to 100 pts per night.

Ball handling and sharing: The Pistons are a very unselfish team. The Knicks have a backcourt full of guys who command the ball. A ton of scorers doesn't win you a title: ask the Mavs of a few years ago.

Front court offense: Jerome James plays 16 mpg and puts up 5 and 3. Hardly stellar. Frye looks overpowered by opposing centers and now is being shifted to PF. At this rate, he'll be playing SF before the season's end. Frye will score a few points, at least, though. David Lee is a great athlete, but his basketball skills are subpar. Malik Rose and Jerome Williams are defensive players who will not offer much on the offensive end. It's sad when our best offensive options in the front court look to be Mike Sweetney and Mo Taylor. Something's gotta give, no?

Coaching situation: It's bad. Herb Williams is a pretty shoddy coach. The fact we didn't get a better coach this offseason worries me a little.

Then to rub salt in the wound, we're VERY FAR away from being far enough under the cap to sign a stud. Next year's draft is a dud, so don't expect much from that one. Pretty much, this team might be the one we're going with for the next two years. We might make the playoffs (I hope), but I'm not counting on it. I say 50/50 we make the playoffs, although my personal (somewhat pessimistic) prediction is 37 wins.

I think we've done the opposite of what a team like the Pistons did. We added a bunch of finishing pieces to a masterpiece, yet with Craw, Q and Marbury as our core, we're very far from a masterpiece.

One more thing that worries me... if this season is a dud, I could see Marbury asking to be traded.

Posted by Bobby:

if this was zeke's first season in new york your assessment would be complimentary. all the trading and drafting in nearly 3 seasons has not produced a winning season.

Let me guess, Math wasn't your strong point in school.
Isiah had the half season with Steph and last year. When this season starts he will be approaching the completion of 2 seasons by the trading deadline.

first thing first, when will knick fans be treated to a winning season?

This season, and that is a guarantee.

Posted by bobs3304:

In order to do that you need a franchise player. You need to have the amazingly good fortune of drafting a Duncan or Garnett or Shaq. When Boston drafted Bird in 79, they improved like 40 games the next season. One player can have that type of impact. Ewing was our franchise player for almost 15 years. Without him, without a franchise star, you depend on several factors to determine your fate. The Pistons are one of the rare teams that were able to do it without a consensus superstar. I find it hard to believe they'll be winning another one without Larry Brown in the mix...

couldn't have said it any better myself. hoping to win it all without a true franchise player and without Larry Brown is hoping for the impossible

Solace, nice post, but none of that means we can't build a contender without tanking and getting a #1 pick.

And getting under the cap isn't the only way to acquire a stud.

[Edited by - killa4luv on 07/18/2005 15:03:59]