Marbury just needs teammates who can hit the open shot and finish. He does have the special spatial understanding to make the right passes and award teammates. He just has to trust them.

here's the rest...

Ariza:
An outstanding find in the second round of the draft, Ariza's athleticism made him difficult to contain in the open court and helped him earn above-average rebounding numbers despite a lack of muscle. Ariza also defended well and figures to only get better with time. He's long, can leap and has good quickness, so he could become a top-flight stopper down the road.

For now, he won't advance beyond his bench role until his jump shot improves. Ariza has a shaky outside shot and a limited game off the dribble, which kept both his scoring rate and his TS% below league norms. With his leaping ability, he should develop some post moves, although he'd have to build up his strength to go along with it. Nonetheless, he was only 19 years old last year and has already proven he belongs in the NBA. Isiah can be criticized for a great many things, but not this move.

Most similar at age: Ricky Davis


Jackie B:
Butler is an intriguing player whom the Knicks signed from the CBA near the end of the season. He turned pro straight out of high school but went undrafted, becoming a basketball nomad in the minors. However, his CBA stats suggest he was one of the best players in the league, if not the best, and he's still very young. If New York is smart it would bring him back for another look this season.


Crawford:
Crawford has shot below 40 percent from the floor for two straight seasons, and it's not hard to see why. He takes at least two horrible shots every game -- I'm talking about awful, off-the-dribble, contested 20-foot heaves with 17 showing on the shot clock. I had always assumed this habit would go away as he got older, but it's proving quite stubborn.

Perhaps that explains why Crawford's game has shown zero development the past two seasons. His PER is stuck around 15, which makes him a questionable value at $8 million a year***, and his defense is quite poor. Crawford has good quickness but lacks strength and doesn't show a great interest in staying close to his man, which is the main reason Chicago didn't mind letting him go. Between the shot selection and the defense, it will be very interesting to see how he coexists with Brown. Right now, Crawford could best be described as "playing the wrong way."

Additionally, Crawford appears to be falling in love with his jump shot. He took nearly half his shot attempts beyond the 3-point line, which is far too many for a player with his quickness and finishing skills. But Crawford prefers to cross opponents over on the perimeter and go up for his jumper. It looks awesome when it goes in, but over time it's a lower-percentage play than getting to the basket.

That's not to say he lacks positives. Few guards create shots as easily as he does, and he's among the best ballhandling off guards in the game. He's also capable of playing the point, although his shoot-first mentality can get in the way. If he can just harness those skills and get a little less trigger-happy, the Knicks' investment in Crawford could reap more commensurate rewards.

Most similar at age: Brent Barry
*** Jamal will make > $8mm a year in the 08/09 season


Eddie:
Curry is a devastating low-post scorer whose per-game numbers don't do justice to his scoring skill. Curry averaged 22.3 points per 40 minutes, and posted one of the best True Shooting Percentages at his position. He has a soft touch around the basket and is so big that it's easy for him to establish position and receive the ball. Curry also is a decent shooter from 12-to-15 feet, although he could use a little more arc on his shot.

Conditioning has been a major problem for Curry, but he improved in that area this past season. He's no Jack LaLanne but he was able to get some baskets in transition and got a lot of quick post-ups on the secondary break. If he keeps getting in better shape, he may be able to stay on the floor longer.

The other limitation on Curry's playing time was his defense and effort level, both of which may be related to his conditioning. Curry improved at the defensive end this past season but still has nights where his lethargy is palpable from the upper deck. He's also a mysteriously bad rebounder and actually got worse this past season. Curry's 10.4 Rebound Rate was in the bottom five among centers, which is shameful for a player with his size and skill.

Curry is a restricted free agent, but a heart problem diagnosed late in the season may limit the market for his services. If the doctors give him a clean bill of health he should provide a steady source of post offense, either in Chicago or somewhere else. There are obvious concerns, however, about how hard he'll work on conditioning once he has a big contract in hand.

Update: Traded to New York Knicks

Most similar at age: Rasheed Wallace


Frye:
I want the Knicks to hire Ben Stein as the PA announcer this year, so he can intone, "Frye . . . Frye" every time this guy checks into the game. Frye's college rebound rate is a red flag -- one every four minutes -- but the other markers all point toward a strong pro career. Frye averaged two blocks and nearly a steal per game, hits his foul shots, and can finish strong around the basket. He also has great range on his jumper for a center, making him a natural pick-and-roll partner for Stephon Marbury.


Penny:
Hardaway has one year left on his contract and could become trade bait in the offseason. It would work for the Knicks as long as the contract they received in return expired in 2007, such as Thomas favorite Jalen Rose. If it's a longer-term deal then it's a tough sell for the Knicks.

In terms of his game, Penny ain't worth a dime. Hardaway no longer can create shots and the ones he's taking are much less accurate. He's also become turnover-prone in his old age and no longer contributes on the glass. While his smarts and long arms have made his slide less noticeable at the defensive end, it's hard to imagine a team desperate enough for backcourt help to push Hardaway into a regular role.

Most similar at age: Craig Ehlo


Big Game:
It's amazing that a player can be pushing 30 and still have GMs gushing over his potential. James played well for one week against a team with two 6-7 power forwards and a center who came back too soon from a broken leg. For those five games against Sacramento, and about three others during the course of the year, James played hard and looked like a legitimate starting NBA center. His reward was a five-year, $30 million contract. What a country.

In the other games, James was a total stiff. James is enormous and can score in the post with a right-handed hook shot from the left block, but only against single coverage. Once a double-team appears he's immediately rendered clueless and rarely finds the open man. Additionally, James has visions of being a point guard and dribbles far too often for a player of his size. That's why his Turnover Ratio remains stubbornly high. James was a good rebounder three years ago, but he's not doing much of that lately either. His Rebound Rate was well below average for his position and dropped sharply for the second year in a row.

When James is motivated he can be a real factor on defense, because he can root players out of the post and he blocked a shot every 12 minutes last season. But like Fortson, it's difficult to keep him on the court for long because he fouls at such a high rate. That's another in a long litany of reasons the Knicks wasted $30 million on James. They want him to be the starting center, but he has no chance of being able to average more than 25 minutes a game because of the fouls. Of course, that's irrelevant since he shouldn't be starting anyway. He's a useful backup center if his play doesn't slip too much further, because he can score in the post and is an OK defender. But considering the money New York paid, this was the worst free-agent signing of the summer.

Most similar at age: Melvin Turpin


Lee:
The final pick of the first round, Lee was miscast as a center at Florida, but should be able to showcase his versatility more as a pro. He's also a good rebounder and runs the floor well. Lee can score off the dribble but isn't much of a shooter, and his defense needs work. Overall, he seems like he'll be a solid reserve but his upside isn't great. In a rarity for a Knicks power forward, however, he at least isn't undersized.


Q:
I included some stats on charges in the Denver section, which indicated that Nenê led the team with 22. I don't have full-season stats for the Suns, but according to the team Richardson drew eight in the month of March alone. That's an amazing transformation for a player who seemed allergic to defense for most of his tenure as a Clipper. It was one reason he was able to hold a starting job despite a season-long shooting slump.

Richardson needs to put that much effort into help defense because he has slow feet and is easily beaten off the dribble. However, the move to small forward helped limit his exposure to quicker players. Because he's very strong and can rebound, he was able to hold his own physically too.

Offensively, Richardson was almost exclusively a 3-point shooter. He took eight attempts a game and made 35.8 percent, but he should vary his game more. Richardson took over 60 percent of his tries from beyond the arc but he doesn't need to. He has a great post game that the Suns didn't take advantage of, and that was one reason his numbers declined from what he achieved with the Clippers.

Richardson was traded to the Knicks after the season and will have to beat out Tim Thomas for the starting small forward spot. If he can't succeed, he'll still get major minutes off the bench alternating between the two wing spots, and his propensity for taking charges could soon make him a favorite of Larry Brown.

Most similar at age: Todd Day


Nate:
It's a shame for Robinson that he was traded to New York, because he would have been a perfect fit in Phoenix. Robinson is an Earl Boykins clone -- an undersized guard who plays at warp speed and looks to score more than to pass. He's also a great athlete with a 43-inch vertical. However, he's not a great shooter and his size obviously will be an issue defensively. Nonetheless, as a 10-minute burst of energy off the bench, he should do wonders.



Malik:
The Knicks current roster has Maurice Taylor, Mike Sweetney, Malik Rose, and David Lee. That's four power forwards if you're scoring at home, and all of them have guaranteed deals through at least 2007. It would have been six if not for the Kurt Thomas trade and Jerome Williams' release. Obviously the Knicks need to unload more of this surplus, but the goal of getting under the salary cap sometime before the end of the millennium makes it more difficult. Rose and Taylor sport contracts that no other team will touch unless they can unload something even worse in return.

Rose's production slipped last season, which is understandable for a player dependent on his leaping ability as he enters his 30s. In his younger days he had used his hops and strength to become a competent frontcourt reserve despite standing just 6-7, but it's getting increasingly difficult for him to keep up with the bigger players now that his athleticism is waning.

Rose could have some use for the Knicks, however, because he is strong enough to fill in at center and is a better defender than Michael Sweetney. Also, based on the projections he should bounce back a bit from his disappointing 2004-05 campaign. Considering Brown's preference for veteran players, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rose become a major part of the rotation.

Most similar at age: Duane Ferrell


Mo T:
Houston donated Taylor to the Knicks in a midseason salary dump after the Rockets had become frustrated with Taylor's increasing offensive ineptitude. Taylor is a decent defender and can hit mid-range jump shots, which makes him look competent at first. But he provides nothing on the boards, settles for too many long jumpers, and rarely gets to the basket. As a result, his TS% is quite poor and he provides nothing to make up for it. Of the Knicks' four power forwards, Taylor ranks a clear fourth, so unless he makes some drastic improvements, he won't be leaving his seat much. He can defend, however, and that may endear him to Brown.


Most similar at age: Marty Conlon

I posted them already in another thread!
http://www.ultimateknicks.com/forum/topic.asp?t=11864

Guess thats rendered useless.

[Edited by - nyk4ever on 10-13-2005 9:01 PM]

Good post Fish. I didn't think Hollinger had it in him to even give us one prop...