It said on the countdawn page that it starts today but haven't really heard anything about training camp starting today. What the dilly yo?? lol

it's media day... the guys are flying down today and practice starts tormorrow (so does the trial, right).

Here ya go:

“With so many players coming back, a lot of people will assume it’s going to be the same Knicks team this year,” center Jerome James muses while taking in the pleasantly chaotic Media Day scene at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. “But nothing could be further from the truth.”
So what IS the truth? “For no significant amount of time last year did any unit play together healthy every night,” says James. “Or PRACTICE together healthy, for that matter. So, till this day, we still don’t know who our best five players are. We know on paper -- but the games are not played on paper. We still don’t know which unit will be the most cohesive that can go out there and get the job done offensively and defensively. So it’s a huge task (Coach) Isiah (Thomas) has on his hands, figuring out the right combinations and the right schemes.”

Truly amazing, with so many of the same players indeed back. On the other hand, that’s just another way of saying that this team hasn’t even begun to approach its potential.

“It hasn’t,” guard Jamal Crawford shakes his head. “If we can develop the right chemistry, the sky is the limit for this team.”

Second year forward David Lee agrees. “The best possible thing that could happen to this team is to win a couple of games early on by playing together and doing unselfish team things,” he says. “Because the truth is, chemistry is a very fine, very elusive, thing in basketball. The line between good and bad team chemistry is very fine. And a few games like that that could push us toward the right side of things.”

“Take the Marbury-Steve Francis back court thing, for example,” says forward Malik Rose. “It’s easy to say, both guys are the same player, both want the ball, blah, blah, blah. But the fact is, I know both these guys. They’re both great talents, that’s a given. And Francis, on that Houston team that played much like we did in San Antonio, was a major winner. He had no choice, that’s the way that team played. And Stephon, when he played against us (the Spurs) in the playoffs with Phoenix, was brilliant, unstoppable, totally team-first. So, with the right motivation, there’s no doubt that they can do it, form a winning combination together.”

There should be no shortage of motivation. “We all remember what happened last season,” says Crawford. ”No one wants to go through any more of that. We have a good atmosphere around here, a chance for a fresh start.” As if to illustrate, Francis walks by shouting, “Jamal who, what, where is he? What are you doing here, Jamal? I thought you were in jail!” “Under the jail, dude!” Crawford kids back. “There was no more room in jail!”

“But seriously, the chemistry s going to be a lot better,” says Crawford. “You can just feel it all around you. Last year was a learning experience for all of us. We learned we can’t do it as individuals. We need to do it collectively as a team.”

“When things go real bad, as they did last year, it builds character,” adds Crawford. “It shows who the troopers are and which guys are not, who will step up and who will lay down. We learned we have guys with strong characters -- and this season we are bound to benefit from that.”

“The key will be everybody playing together,” agrees Francis. “And us, the players, believing in each other. We must look to play together as a TEAM. And Stephon and myself, the guards, it all starts with us. We have to be leaders in that respect.”

“We have talent top to bottom on this team, at an even higher level than last year,” says Malik Rose. “So our chemistry, how we get along, will be all-important.”

“It’s all about TRUST,” avers new addition Jared Jeffries who came to New York with the reputation of being a “chemistry major”. “It’s very hard to play if you don’t have that. With trust, you don’t panic, you don’t start to point fingers. You wouldn’t believe the difference it makes when you feel your teammates got your back on and off the floor.”

The Knicks trust that a vastly improved Eddy Curry will make a huge difference. ‘I feel very good about that,” the 23year-old center says. “I am going to try to go out there from day one to prove people who believe that correct.”

“Isiah told me over the summer that he’s going to make everything on the offense go through me,” added Curry. “Put the ball in my hands a lot. And that’s all I want: the opportunity to make some things happen and win some games.”

“My last off-season was all controversy, with the heart and everything,” reasons Curry. “This summer I was really able to get in there and work on my game, fine-tune some things and really prepare for the season without any distractions. Kind of like I used to have it in Chicago, just work on things I need to work on. My conditioning, as compared to last year, is night and day. I’ve played ball all summer. Now I’m focusing on rebounding and defense. I know I can do it athletically, physically, and talent-wise. With me those things are ninety per cent mental.”

“Eddy is never comfortable or content,” says Lee. “He’s a guy that always listens to the coaches and strives to get better. That’s why I think he’ll be as good as he wants to be one day. He’s got every tool to be dominant, in my opinion.”

A lot of good vibes are coming from Thomas who “has dealt with us real positively, real professionally, and has created a fresh atmosphere around the team already,” says Lee. “He is a real straight shooter. He looks you straight in the eye and tells you exactly what he expects from you. And you can’t expect more from a coach.”

“I’m looking forward to having some type of security with Isiah,” adds Francis. “I mean that regarding a steady rotation.”

“I KNOW we’re going to play better defense,” James nods his head for emphasis. “Isiah, as a player, was a defensive guy. He played great defense in the league the whole time he was there.”

“I know how fiery and passionate Isiah is from seeing him in Indiana,” said Jeffries. “There isn’t a player in the world who doesn’t respect that.” “He’s got a certain swagger and confidence about him that’s contagious,” says Lee. “And that’s a really good thing for a team.”

“Having done it himself, Isiah will know how to help me stay sharp and put me in the position where I can best help this team get to the point it needs to get to,” said Marbury. “I don’t think you can go wrong with one of the 50 greatest players of all time,” added Rose. “I don’t think we’ll be caught off-guard with anything basketball-wise.”

Part of what Thomas brings may be playing a different style of ball. “From what I’ve seen of Isiah coaching, I’m guessing that he’ll want to push the ball, run more, and get the ball up and down the court,” adds Jeffries. “Quick-hitting play, pressure defense. There are a lot of very athletic guys on this team, so that’ll be a great style for us. It’ll get this team a lot of easy baskets.”

“We have all these athletes,” agrees Rose. “You might as well let them go.”

“My job is to prepare this unit to think and act as one,” said Thomas. “We have to be tough-minded and resilient. I have to put enough confidence, enough ‘tough’ into them where they can persevere and overcome the difficult moments -- and there are going to be many of those -- and the tough times.”

“We have some talented players who’ve had success in this league,” added Thomas. “I want to put them in a position where they’ll have success. I’m very excited to be back on the bench. I’m looking forward to the challenge. I want us to max out and be the best team we can possibly be. But, while we’re doing that, I want to create an atmosphere where the players love playing ball, have fun, and are looking forward to playing ball much like when they were kids in the park. I want to make them comfortable in accomplishing all that.”

What a bunch of crybaby primadonnas! I want to delete half their asses!

***

Sorry, I just felt like throwing some bait out there.

Has anyone noticed that James is a well-spoken fellow? Do you think he will become the Knicks new Sprewell in terms of conversing with the media and being a good quote?

And what is up with SPrewell anyway? Think he will ever play again?

oohah

Talk talk talk. Lets see what happens on the court.

you want the sobering opposite stance, here's ESPN, as always:

INSIDER: Knicks Media Day
GREENBURGH, New York -- Isiah Thomas walked to the podium with such a weary hop to his step, he looked like Eddy Curry going for a rebound.

Or like Jerome James walking to the vegetable stand. Or Nate Robinson stepping into a Big and Tall Store. Or Quentin Richardson dropping by a Brandy concert. Or Jalen Rose checking into an Overearners Anonymous meeting.

No, Isiah didn't look all that comfortable or confident standing all alone at the podium Monday, top Madison Square Garden honchos nowhere in sight but P.R. functionaries and other upholders of Cablevision media policy showing up in abundance, monitoring player interviews and keeping their eagle eyes affixed on Thomas as he rehashed the lines he used over the summer, including the one about how growing up as a youngster in Chicago was a life and death struggle every day, which makes the pressure he's under now pale by comparison.

I, for one, don't buy it. This is it for Isiah, his one last chance, and he knows it.


I don't blame him if he's scared. He has good reason to be.

If Thomas loses this job, he'll never get another one like it. His résumé was already poor, and his deals over the past three years have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in expenses to Cablevision's bottom line, and the hiring Larry Brown will likely go down eventually as his $50 million-dollar mistake, not Dolan's.

"This is his team. He made this bed," Dolan said in July.

It's now three months later, and if anyone needed any indication that ownership will not be perpetuating the mistakes of recent years by dealing expiring contracts for longer ones, Dolan sent such a message unmistakably Friday by jettisoning Maurice Taylor and his $9.9 million contract through a buyout.

It would seem the days of Thomas using an expiring contract as a bargaining chip are over -- bad news for those hoping to see Jalen Rose wearing another uniform after the trade deadline. Rose said there had been no buyout talks between his reps and the Knicks, but he's so much a part of the problem rather than the solution that it's hard to see him lasting 82 games with his mouth shut. When Thomas looks for someone to lash out at, don't be surprised if it's Jalen.

But do be surprised if it hasn't happened by mid-November when the Knicks get back from a road trip to Denver, Houston and San Antonio following their first four games at Memphis, at Atlanta, then home for Indiana and San Antonio. Can you say 1-6?

"The first part of our schedule is extremely hard, so we've got to be tough-minded enough that if we do find ourselves in the hole because of the schedule, that we're strong enough to fight out of it," Thomas said.

We'd accuse him of lowering expectations, but we did that a year ago, too, when Brown was saying similar things. This time, we'll just chalk it up to what seems to be the Knicks' theme for the new season: They won't be as bad as last year, and they might even be good enough to keep Isiah around another year. Doesn't exactly sell season tickets, does it?

"We were the laughingstock of the league last year, you know?" Jamal Crawford said. "I think that alone motivated guys to come back better."

Thomas knows his reputation around the league and his legacy outside of it are at stake, and he's smart enough to recognize that ownership's support for him is only slightly ahead of the dwindling regard they held for previous big cheeses in the dying days of the regimes and mini-regimes of Dave Checketts, Jeff Van Gundy, Scott Layden, Don Chaney, Lenny Wilkens and then Brown.

The cycle of despair at Madison Square Garden has now lasted a half-decade, the Knicks' place in the local sports consciousness having dwindled so deep it's below the disinterested stage. Even the crosstown rival Nets are taking advantage of the dynamic, draping their advertising on billboards in Times Square.

"When you're down, people kick you in this league. Nobody gives you a hand," said Thomas, who at times looked so apprehensive Monday it was almost like having Layden or Wilkens back in town. "My job, and this is the way I approach it, is to win every single game, and I want us at the end of the year to max out in becoming the best team we can possibly be."

Thomas' problem is that he's coaching a team of guys playing for paychecks, most long since sapped of the desire and enthusiasm that earned them the big bucks back when they were young and hungry. Malik Rose noted to reporters that he still has three years left on his deal, and immediately the jokes started about whether they'll be serving hemlock in the press room by 2008-09.

Media day drew a fairly small crowd, and at one point Steve Francis sat ignored by all but a single reporter from a small local cable channel. Nearby, Stephon Marbury held court and showed off the $14.98 sneakers he unveiled recently (Marbury joked that other NBA players have come up to him and said: "Thanks, m-----------, you just shut the sneaker thing down.") and plans to wear in games this season.

"We never got an opportunity, me and Steph. We played like 15 minutes together, total," Francis said. "But this year we're looking to lead our team, and I don't think you could ask for a better situation."

We could go wise guy on Steve here and point out that Orlando might be a better situation, but there will probably be plenty of time later this season to pile on. That was merely the optimist in Francis talking, drowning out the internal pessimist who no doubt understands that in the competition for minutes between himself, Richardson and Jamal Crawford, one of them will be out of the mix -- and it might just be him, another guy whose mistaken acquisition can be written off as one of Brown's ideas.

Another optimist in the room was Jerome James, who said he might weigh in below 280 pounds after a summer of cardio work supervised by strength and conditioning coach Greg Brittenham. After reporting to camp a year ago at 317, that's almost 40 pounds less of the good-natured James we'll have to poke fun at.

But aside from Jerome's brief interlude of hopefulness, there was little that left Insider all that inspired or bemused after the NBA's highest-paid team (payroll: $121 million) mostly steered clear of all matters concerning Brown. In fact, Larry would have been proud of them: They ignored him the right way.

One other positive piece of news came when Thomas learned he would not be required to remain back in New York for Day 2 of the Brown contract arbitration hearing, sparing the Knicks the embarrassing ordeal of having last season's dead duck keep this season's lame duck from conducting the first day of practice.

But it was a discomforting day, too, a day when you looked around the room and realized you were likely seeing a 25-to-29 win team in its infancy, no one trying too hard to fool themselves into believing they'll be any better than so-so.

Maybe we're all wrong here and Thomas has got a motivational miracle up his sleeve. But that seems like a long shot, this figures to be Isiah's last gasp in New York -- and maybe his last as a big shot in the NBA -- and the morose look on his face and his timid steps to the podium left me with one overriding impression. That is a man who realizes his end is near. We'd call him Dead Man Walking, except Brown already used that line about himself a couple months ago. Seems unfair to reassign it so soon.

Insider's prediction: Isiah is out sometime late in the regular season (we'll set the over/under as March 30), and we'll let the readers ponder the odds of who will be presiding from the podium at Media Day a year from now: Patrick Ewing, Herb Williams, Jerry West, or all of the above.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get the Knicks.

The Sheridan take on the Knicks just seems like a biased outsiders view of things. Sure this isn't a great team right now, but 25-29 wins is just not right. I mean come on now. This team is in NO WAY that bad. Even last year this team might have won more games than that if they were healthy and LB actually tried to win games from day one.

I think the article was trying too hard to make things look bleak. He says "Maybe we're all wrong here and Thomas has got a motivational miracle up his sleeve." as if that's going to be what it takes for this team to win games. No this team will win games if Isiah coaches them well and they buy in to what he's asking them to do.

Just think about this, last year we had:
Quentin Richardson start 43 games
Antonio Davis start 31 games
Malik Rose start 35 games
Jalen Rose start 23 games
Matt Barnes start 5 games
Trevor Ariza start 10 games
Maurice Taylor start 13 games
Qyntel Woods start 16 games

This year we'll see more starts going to our best players and more minutes given to our better players. That seems to get lost in the media's desire to paint a horrible picture. Some of their points are valid, but they always go too far.

It would seem that Isiah is going to put more emphasis on the players who can get things done and that's a good thing.

Posted by nixluva:

Here ya go:

“With so many players coming back, a lot of people will assume it’s going to be the same Knicks team this year,” center Jerome James muses while taking in the pleasantly chaotic Media Day scene at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. “But nothing could be further from the truth.”
So what IS the truth? “For no significant amount of time last year did any unit play together healthy every night,” says James. “Or PRACTICE together healthy, for that matter. So, till this day, we still don’t know who our best five players are. We know on paper -- but the games are not played on paper. We still don’t know which unit will be the most cohesive that can go out there and get the job done offensively and defensively. So it’s a huge task (Coach) Isiah (Thomas) has on his hands, figuring out the right combinations and the right schemes.”

Truly amazing, with so many of the same players indeed back. On the other hand, that’s just another way of saying that this team hasn’t even begun to approach its potential.

“It hasn’t,” guard Jamal Crawford shakes his head. “If we can develop the right chemistry, the sky is the limit for this team.”

Second year forward David Lee agrees. “The best possible thing that could happen to this team is to win a couple of games early on by playing together and doing unselfish team things,” he says. “Because the truth is, chemistry is a very fine, very elusive, thing in basketball. The line between good and bad team chemistry is very fine. And a few games like that that could push us toward the right side of things.”

“Take the Marbury-Steve Francis back court thing, for example,” says forward Malik Rose. “It’s easy to say, both guys are the same player, both want the ball, blah, blah, blah. But the fact is, I know both these guys. They’re both great talents, that’s a given. And Francis, on that Houston team that played much like we did in San Antonio, was a major winner. He had no choice, that’s the way that team played. And Stephon, when he played against us (the Spurs) in the playoffs with Phoenix, was brilliant, unstoppable, totally team-first. So, with the right motivation, there’s no doubt that they can do it, form a winning combination together.”

There should be no shortage of motivation. “We all remember what happened last season,” says Crawford. ”No one wants to go through any more of that. We have a good atmosphere around here, a chance for a fresh start.” As if to illustrate, Francis walks by shouting, “Jamal who, what, where is he? What are you doing here, Jamal? I thought you were in jail!” “Under the jail, dude!” Crawford kids back. “There was no more room in jail!”

“But seriously, the chemistry s going to be a lot better,” says Crawford. “You can just feel it all around you. Last year was a learning experience for all of us. We learned we can’t do it as individuals. We need to do it collectively as a team.”

“When things go real bad, as they did last year, it builds character,” adds Crawford. “It shows who the troopers are and which guys are not, who will step up and who will lay down. We learned we have guys with strong characters -- and this season we are bound to benefit from that.”

“The key will be everybody playing together,” agrees Francis. “And us, the players, believing in each other. We must look to play together as a TEAM. And Stephon and myself, the guards, it all starts with us. We have to be leaders in that respect.”

“We have talent top to bottom on this team, at an even higher level than last year,” says Malik Rose. “So our chemistry, how we get along, will be all-important.”

“It’s all about TRUST,” avers new addition Jared Jeffries who came to New York with the reputation of being a “chemistry major”. “It’s very hard to play if you don’t have that. With trust, you don’t panic, you don’t start to point fingers. You wouldn’t believe the difference it makes when you feel your teammates got your back on and off the floor.”

The Knicks trust that a vastly improved Eddy Curry will make a huge difference. ‘I feel very good about that,” the 23year-old center says. “I am going to try to go out there from day one to prove people who believe that correct.”

“Isiah told me over the summer that he’s going to make everything on the offense go through me,” added Curry. “Put the ball in my hands a lot. And that’s all I want: the opportunity to make some things happen and win some games.”

“My last off-season was all controversy, with the heart and everything,” reasons Curry. “This summer I was really able to get in there and work on my game, fine-tune some things and really prepare for the season without any distractions. Kind of like I used to have it in Chicago, just work on things I need to work on. My conditioning, as compared to last year, is night and day. I’ve played ball all summer. Now I’m focusing on rebounding and defense. I know I can do it athletically, physically, and talent-wise. With me those things are ninety per cent mental.”

“Eddy is never comfortable or content,” says Lee. “He’s a guy that always listens to the coaches and strives to get better. That’s why I think he’ll be as good as he wants to be one day. He’s got every tool to be dominant, in my opinion.”

A lot of good vibes are coming from Thomas who “has dealt with us real positively, real professionally, and has created a fresh atmosphere around the team already,” says Lee. “He is a real straight shooter. He looks you straight in the eye and tells you exactly what he expects from you. And you can’t expect more from a coach.”

“I’m looking forward to having some type of security with Isiah,” adds Francis. “I mean that regarding a steady rotation.”

“I KNOW we’re going to play better defense,” James nods his head for emphasis. “Isiah, as a player, was a defensive guy. He played great defense in the league the whole time he was there.”

“I know how fiery and passionate Isiah is from seeing him in Indiana,” said Jeffries. “There isn’t a player in the world who doesn’t respect that.” “He’s got a certain swagger and confidence about him that’s contagious,” says Lee. “And that’s a really good thing for a team.”

“Having done it himself, Isiah will know how to help me stay sharp and put me in the position where I can best help this team get to the point it needs to get to,” said Marbury. “I don’t think you can go wrong with one of the 50 greatest players of all time,” added Rose. “I don’t think we’ll be caught off-guard with anything basketball-wise.”

Part of what Thomas brings may be playing a different style of ball. “From what I’ve seen of Isiah coaching, I’m guessing that he’ll want to push the ball, run more, and get the ball up and down the court,” adds Jeffries. “Quick-hitting play, pressure defense. There are a lot of very athletic guys on this team, so that’ll be a great style for us. It’ll get this team a lot of easy baskets.”

“We have all these athletes,” agrees Rose. “You might as well let them go.”

“My job is to prepare this unit to think and act as one,” said Thomas. “We have to be tough-minded and resilient. I have to put enough confidence, enough ‘tough’ into them where they can persevere and overcome the difficult moments -- and there are going to be many of those -- and the tough times.”

“We have some talented players who’ve had success in this league,” added Thomas. “I want to put them in a position where they’ll have success. I’m very excited to be back on the bench. I’m looking forward to the challenge. I want us to max out and be the best team we can possibly be. But, while we’re doing that, I want to create an atmosphere where the players love playing ball, have fun, and are looking forward to playing ball much like when they were kids in the park. I want to make them comfortable in accomplishing all that.”

I love hearing the players re-iterate pretty much everything every pessimist on this board said all summer. They are even working on the things the pessimists said they need to work on. Keep talking pessimists. Keep getting on them when they do things wrong. Keep supporting them when they do well.