brian koppelman co-wrote "rounders" and is a big time knicks fan. (and look, it's an anti-lb post...who says i'm biased?)

Simmons: That sounds like a trade Isiah would make. Which reminds me, we've reached the part of the exchange where Koppelman gets 500 words to rant about the current Knicks debacle and take an unprovoked potshot at Pat Riley. Starting ... now!

Koppelman: Let me just say this: there is only one person in all of sports that I let my son boo. Just one. And his name starts with Pat Riley. If you need to know why, you're not a hoops fan.
Now to the Knicks: At various times of the year, I would have said 500 words doesn't get me close. During the six-game winning streak, I might've needed 5,000 (you saw some of the e-mails I sent you at that point). But here, where we now sit, I don't even think I have 500 words in me. I may not be the single biggest Knicks fan in the world, but I have to be close. My first memory, the very first memory I have in the world, is of the Knicks playing the Baltimore Bullets in the 1970 playoffs. My dad took me to the game and we watched Earl the Pearl take on Frazier. The day Pearl came over to join Clyde in the backcourt is still, in my mind, one of the great days in New York sports history. Now, as a 20-year season-ticket holder, I just don't even know where to start. Each night, as my son and I head toward the subway to go to the Garden, I almost turn back, offer to take him bowling, or to the movies, or anywhere but to see the game. Because I can't believe what I am doing to him. It's almost a form of child abuse ...

A few weeks back, in his Curious Guy segment, Malcolm Gladwell said he thought he'd do a better job with the team than Isiah has done. Let me say this to Mr. Gladwell: You, sir, are one of the brightest men on the planet. Your toenails could do a better job than Isiah. But in truth, Isiah is not the biggest problem. Coach Brown is. This team was never going to be great. But his cranky, cantankerous bedside manner, his indecisiveness; his inability to make even the slightest adjustment to his methods ... it's bled the life out of the team. I was there at the home opener, cheering for him. Then I watched him keep the future of the team on the bench, pick fights with each and every one of his point guards, and use the press like Tom Hagen after the McCluskey hit. Except when Hagen did it, it worked.

My plan to save the Knicks: The coach needs to retire. The team needs to hire a coach who will use next year to find out what, exactly, Channing, Nate and David Lee have (and the way to find out is to PLAY them, every day). We need a GM who has some sort of understanding of the salary cap and the value of a draft pick, someone who won't bankrupt the future for a bankrupt present. We need a point guard who knows how to make the other guys better. We need, we need, we need ...

And here, Levien and I were having so much fun answering your questions, but then you had to go and bring up the Knicks. Can we be done now? Seriously, thanks. It's been great trading e-mails with you.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 04-20-2006 3:12 PM]