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Caseloads
Posts: 27725
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Joined: 7/29/2001
Member: #41
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The Knicks sign Doleac, big deal
August 7, 2002
The names are exciting.
Andre Miller. Baron Davis. Darius Miles. Keith Van Horn. Dikembe Mutombo. Even Todd MacCulloch.
And the Knicks announce the signing of Michael Doleac.
The word is that Derrick Coleman is on the block in Philadelphia. At least bring him in, if not for his on-court prowess, then to be the one to say it.
Whoop-de-damn-do.
Maybe that's all a little harsh considering the Knicks already acquired Antonio McDyess on draft day. And McDyess will help without a doubt, providing a post-up threat that hasn't been seen since the day Patrick Ewing crashed to the floor and shattered his wrist.
But there are still holes in the Knicks' lineup, ones they have readily admitted to. Don Chaney has not been hesitant to state -- as if his job depended on it, which it probably does -- that the Knicks need both an interior presence and an upgrade at point guard.
What they announced Wednesday was the signing of a backup center, a 6-foot-11 outside shooter. Not only a 6-foot-11 outside shooter, but one who shot 41.7 percent last year and has made one 3-point shot in his four-year career. And if you think the 41.7 percent shooting is an aberration caused by the broken ankle that sidelined him for 30 games last year, consider that he shot exactly 41.7 in the prior year, too.
So the Knicks stand now with a 6-foot-9 starting center in Kurt Thomas and a backup whose definable skill is outside shooting. It almost makes you miss Marcus Camby.
What it really makes you do is wonder just how all these names pass over the wires, how Glenn Robinson winds up in Atlanta, how Miller is a Clipper, how Mutombo is a Net and Van Horn is a Sixer. It makes you wonder the sort of things you wondered when Stephon Marbury went from Minnesota to New Jersey, then on to Phoenix, and how players like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd and Terrell Brandon get shuttled around continually, but never wind up wearing the orange and blue.
And you wonder how the Knicks wind up with Clarence Weatherspoon, Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson and now Doleac. Doleac has value, just not the value the Knicks need. The Knicks don't need another backup center, unless they have suddenly found a taker for Travis Knight and Othella Harrington. Doleac is all right if he's a predecessor to something bigger and better.
"We're always looking to improve our team," GM Scott Layden said. "One thing we can't lose sight of is that we feel good about the team, the depth of different positions. The draft-day trade strengthened the team. If we can improve, we'll certainly look to do that. We're always trying to improve the team, wherever that may be. We're still going to explore the free-agent players that are still available and will see if there's anyone there that can help our team."
Maybe bigger and better is not what we really need to discuss here; the word is bolder. We used it to describe what Rod Thorn pulled off for the Nets on Tuesday when he dismantled the Eastern Conference champion squad he had assembled because he had a nagging feeling that it wasn't good enough.
Does anyone at Madison Square Garden believe this team is good enough to contend? If not -- and is there really any other answer? -- the Knicks need to do something. All the talk about their players not being desirable is true, but let's not believe that Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell have no value in the league. Did the Bucks really believe Toni Kukoc is more valuable than Sprewell?
Is Nick Van Exel the answer? He hasn't been anywhere else, but he's certainly a better point guard than what the Knicks have. But he just keeps the team on the merry-go-round of mediocre talent. You either get the frontline player or you go the other way.
If you can't get dollar for dollar talent, then maybe it is time to dismantle. Maybe you do take Coleman, whose massive contract expires after the season. Do you think the Knicks got McDyess at even value? What they got was a player coming off of a major injury from a team that is intent on clearing cap room. Maybe the Knicks need to be in that scrum with the Nuggets and Cavs, clearing cap room for next year's free-agent crop and positioning themselves as lottery hopefuls in the LeBron James sweepstakes.
Certainly, the moves made throughout the NBA this summer have left the Knicks no closer to the top than they were when they finished out of the playoffs last year. In a conference call Wednesday, Layden was asked about the Nets deal, almost a cruel question these days.
"I think that was an outstanding trade," Layden said. "You look at the Nets, and adding Mutombo to that great team has certainly done a lot to help themselves. Dikembe is a premier player in the middle and can dominate play on the defensive end. Give them credit. Looking at the trade, it certainly shows you how strong the Nets are and how deep they are to go out and get a player like that. The great draft pick of Richard Jefferson made that possible, having a player ready to step up."
Layden then was asked about his own pursuit of Mutombo and he brushed off the question. "As you know, we don't discuss our discussions with other teams," Layden said glumly. "Right now, that's the Nets team and you wish them well."
They don't need the well wishes, though. The Nets have Mutombo and Chris Childs. The Sixers have Van Horn and MacCulloch. The Knicks, they've got Doleac and patience.
Layden is trying. Ask any GM around the league and they say no one has been busier or more persistent in his efforts to revamp his team. But the Knicks still have Charlie Ward and Eisley at the point and a 6-foot-9 center, not to mention a surgically-repaired power forward and a pair of stars no one else considers to be very bright anymore. On second thought, maybe the Knicks are already in the LeBron James sweepstakes.
[Edited by - caseloads on 08/08/2002 10:44:26]
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