The New York Knicks are going through the most disappointing season in franchise history. At the beginning of the season, hopes and expectations were high with future hall of fame coach Larry Brown taking the helm and 2 legit 7 footers manning the middle to compensate for a team that played without size for so long. They also had 3 touted rookies in Channing Frye, David Lee, and Nate Robinson to add some youth and excitement to the team.

Then they played the games, and nothing has gone well since. If the Knicks didn't lose their 1st round draft choice in the Eddy Curry trade, you'd think that Larry Brown put in the call to tank the season. The team has played radically below what it looks capable of on paper, and everyone in the organization is sharing the blame. The team is going to need to have a drastic turnover over the summer as it appears the players have completely quit on Larry Brown. The problem is that under Brown almost every player is averaging statistical lows and probably has an all time low in career trade value.

So before seeing what the Knicks can do to right the ship, let's take a look at what pieces they currently have in place, and how they can fit together.

Back court:
Stephon Marbury - The self proclaimed best point guard in the NBA has had the biggest feud with Brown all year. He's looks visibly confused by his role going from not moving the ball to over-passing. He has at times appeared to try to accept what Brown is telling him, but it appears he's given up after Brown has refused to be happy with whatever he's done. Marbury is more of scorer than he is a distributor, and he gets a lot of his assists off pick and roll situations where he's not really breaking down the defense and causing havoc like Steve Nash or Jason Kidd might. Marbury is also a weak defender and hasn't committed to improving in that area this season which is a must under Larry Brown. His value is probably negative at this point as he's on one of the worst contracts in the NBA. There aren't many teams like NY who can afford to pay him as much as he makes for what he brings to the floor.

Steve Francis - You could refer to him as Stephon Marbury lite. He has the same basic game as Marbury, but he's just not as good at it. He has the same basic weaknesses as Marbury as well (lack of defense, breaks down the defense only for his own shot, and bad attitude). He's also almost identical in age. His stock has to have absolutely gone into the gutter after joining the Knicks as his individual stats have plummeted and he's on the bench plenty now. Yes, his stock has gotten significantly worse than when he was acquired for an expiring contract. He now joins Marbury as a guy who would be very challenging to get rid of.

Jamal Crawford - Much of what you can say about Marbury and Francis you can also say about Crawford. Crawford's a better shooter than the above duo, and he seems to have improved his shot selection this season. Unfortunately, Crawford is often hesitant to drive or else he could be the best guard on the Knicks roster. He's also been known as a soft defensive player, but he has committed harder this year for somewhat better results. He's not as physically talented as Marbury or Francis, but he seems more willing to do what the coach wants. He's clearly overpaid because he's earning starters money for 3rd guard production, but he's likely not entirely untradeable.

Nate Robinson - If you could put Nate's will in one of the above guard's you'd have a heck of a player. He brings excitement, energy, and desire to a Knicks team that badly lacks all 3. Unfortunately, he doesn't bring legit NBA size or consistency to the table. He's a disruptive defensive player due to his quickness, but he doesn't have point guard skills to really play consistently at his size. He'll be an interesting project, and if he can learn to play the game like a PG he could have a nice career in NY. Due to a cheap rookie contract and the energy he brings he probably has some positive trade value, but that value is limited due to his size and lack of PG skills.

Wing Players
Quentin Richardson - He struggled with injuries early, and he's clearly a shadow of the player he looked like on the Suns or Clippers. He's been inconsistent when he's played and his confidence appears shaken as his shooting percentages have fallen quite a bit. He's probably one of the better perimeter defenders on the team, and that's not saying a whole lot, because no one will confuse Richardson with Ron Artest any time soon. He's also on a long deal which is at least partially uninsured, and it's likely that he has negative trade value.

Jalen Rose - Rose has been much maligned since leaving Indiana for the Bulls and Raptors. For about 2 or 3 games he looked like a great distributor for the Knicks before returning to his ball-hogging ways. If Jalen could ever bottle the way he plays for 2-3 games after being traded and play that way all the time he'd be quite a desirable player. As it stands, he can bring scoring and passing to the table, but like most Knick players he's a lazy defender who often gives up more production than he provides. He'll be sought after by other teams this off season who want to unload long term contracts on the Knicks due to his expiring deal.

Qyntel Woods - Woods is on a prove up contract and will be a free agent at the end of the season. If NY wants to bring him back then they'll have to use at least part of the MLE which is a distinct possibility because he's probably been their best SF. He brings athleticism and more energy than Rose or Q do, and he's been a pretty good soldier so far. Since he's one of the only guys on the team not sitting on a megadeal you can see why his motivation may be a bit higher. He's an intriguing prospect that the Knicks may be able to keep or use in a S&T to bring in someone else.

Front Court
Channing Frye - Frye is easily the diamond of the team. He has greatly exceeded expectations from the draft to become a very good looking young prospect in the league. He's got a smooth jumper and an OK post game. He's a very poor defender at this stage of his career, but he seems willing to listen and learn and poor defense is not uncommon for a rookie. He'll sit out the remainder of the season, and he'll be the player the Knicks either keep around or the player that they can trade who can bring back the most value.

Eddy Curry - Curry's coming off a tumultuous off season where there was controversy about a potential heart condition. Despite a lack of development, the fact that Curry's heart does not seem to be an issue and that his contract isn't that bad for a big man he may have the second most trade value on the Knicks. Curry is a good inside scorer who can use his athleticism to overpower most opposing centers. He has a low basketball IQ though and has a lot of trouble passing out of double teams and avoiding turnovers. On defense, he's often a turnstile, and he has very poor rebounding instincts. He's a player who people have been waiting to blow up for a long time, but it hasn't happened. After his 5th year in the league, the potential tag may be starting to wear off, however he's still just 23.

David Lee - He's the Nate Robinson of the front court. Good things tend to happen when Lee is on the floor, but he doesn't have ideal size or strength to play huge minutes. His energy, hustle, and rebounding skills are sorely lacked by other players, and you wish you could stick his attitude in Eddy Curry's body. He's definitely got positive trade value, but that value is probably somewhat limited because he doesn't look like a player who projects out to be a starter later.

Mo Taylor - Taylor, like Rose, is most valuable because his deal will expire at the end of next year. He's the most likely Knick to be traded at this point. He can provide some post scoring as well, but like the rest of this crew his defensive abilities are non-existent.

Malik Rose - He cares, but he's simply not that good, and with 2 more years left on his deal and his poor size he has negative trade value.

Jerome James - He's got 4 years left, and rumors are that Dolan has considered buying him out because he's been that bad.

Jackie Butler - Butler is an intriguing prospect big man. He's got a nice inside game on offense, but he hasn't shown any defensive ability yet. He's been a good find though and the Knicks will have to decide whether to use part of their MLE on him or whether to let him go. He's someone who could also bring back some value in a sign and trade.

During the off season the Knicks have 2 first round draft picks to improve and the MLE in which to sign someone. The team is talented at all positions on offense, but they have a lot of me first players who won't commit to sharing the ball or playing defense. The team really needs to trade talent and ego for hustle and glue and take the best players available in the draft or move the picks all together. It's hard to speculate what Isiah Thomas may due in the off season. He's not been shy about pulling the trigger on potential trades, and he's been a good talent evaluator in the draft. To fix the mess of a roster he has, he's going to have to give up some of the Knicks positive assets (Frye, Curry, Lee, Nate, Woods, Butler, or picks) to go with the negative assets that he needs to move. Of the positive assets few of them really hold a lot of bargaining power, and Isiah is unlikely to give them up. I think a deal with the picks is most likely because Isiah seems to overvalue the players he drafted last year if you believe the rumors at the past trade deadline.

One thing you can count on this off season is for the Knicks to be busy. Losing isn't acceptable and without their own pick in the draft this year, or next year (the Bulls can swap with them if their pick is more desirable than the Bulls) there is no incentive to lose while developing youth that other bad teams might consider with the power packed 2007 draft class coming up next year.

you know... and people say I'm a downer. How many times does the phrase "negative trade value" appear in that article? Whats worse? Its 100% fair and accurate. The players Isiah drafted or in Woods/Butler's case got off the scrapeheap are pretty good. Every other guy he's traded for or signed simply isnt. I guess the "Isiah will make it happen" zelots are gone and dead and even Bonnie (Isiah has a plan) 1997 has come to realize he wasted 7000 posts defending that notion.

So we are at square one in my opinion... back where we were when Layden left and Houston, Eisley, Spoon and Shandon ensured another 3-4 years of cap hell. So those 3 years are up and we made another 3 for ourselves. At what point do we put some kind of 2-3 year plan in place? Starting with firing Isiah?

the guy should be a scout not the highest paid general manager in the NBA, terible business man and has been a disaster, he should have just let his expiring contracts expire instead of taking on two more deals, no sense at all.....no hope whatsoever

Steph can certainly play, but not w/in the type of team oriented style ball that LB wants, or the predominant percentage of Knicks fans want to see for that matter... so you have to make a choice... do you stick w/Steph's individual style game & cheer him as he puts up 20 & 8 while leading this team to a mediocre record year in & year out, or do you cut bait w/him & bring in a player who will buy into LB's philosophy of sharing the ball, playing hard nosed defense, & being a leader in the lockerroom? for me, i think more positive results will be achieved alot sooner if we went the latter route... Marbury's been here going on 4 years now, & this team has done nothing but progressively go downhill ever since... what more do you need to see in order for you to realize this guy simply isn't going to help this team get to where they want to go?