Posted by Knixkik:
Aug. 16 - The Knicks and Mavs have been talking, on and off, about a Nick Van Exel-for-Kurt Thomas-and-Charlie Ward swap since before the draft. What's the holdup?The New York Times has an interesting story today claiming that the Mavs would be willing to take Thomas and Ward for Van Exel, but Knicks president Scott Layden is reluctant to pull the trigger until he finds a starting-caliber center to replace Thomas. Cuban has worried that his starting point guard, Steve Nash, may not hold up for the entire season. Now that Nash has opted out of the World Championships and plans to rest this summer, Cuban may have the comfort level it takes to move Van Exel. The Knicks could work out an agreement with the Mavs that would include guarantees that Dallas wouldn't match a mid-level offer for restricted free agent ZhiZhi Wang, but again, it isn't clear that he's the answer in the middle either.
So my question is are we better off with an all-star calibre point guard, but weak up front than we are now? I think we could get away with Doleac and another alright center in the east. Ewing, Willis, or Wang could probably do for this season. Also, thinking of teams that have good back-up centers, we could try getting Mohammed, Foyle, Booth, etc... but i don't know what they would take from us in trade. So are we better off with what we have now or this potential plan?
We would be better off taking NVE with out a doubt. This is why, he creates opportunities for others and can score. Spread the floor with his shooting which would allow more room for Houston to get wide open looks, Spree to slash to the basket and dice more room to operate in the post.
I think Doleac can hold down the center spot, just rebound and play good defense. That is all he would have to concentrate on a role very similar to Oakley had when he was in NY. He also would benefit from having NVE on the court being the last scoring option he would open up for easy opportunities, because teams would automatically leave him open so they can help out on the shooters. It would be a wise move for the Knicks to get Van Excel.
