I know in retrospect it may be the dumbest thing since Sam Bowie, but I would give a hard long look at this Darko guy if I had a chance between he and LeBron. I lineup of Darko, Dice, Spree, Houson and Milos would be better than Thomas, Dice, Spree, Houston, Milos and LeBron somewhere in there.

Big men who like to bang and have some offensive clue are harder to find in the NBA these days.

Its hard to say without having seen Darko play but now that Ive
finally seen James play Id rather take him.He has pretty much the
complete package,he needs to work on his outside shot but I remember
MJ having that problem when he first came in to the league although
its early to put too much stock in that type of comparison.If he
wasnt such a great passer to boot I wouldnt want to draft him as much.
As for tanking the season Id go for it.I wanted the Knicks to tank
the season when Ewing was coming to the first lottery,Imagine if we
didnt get him,the Knicks could have been cellar dwellars for most of
the 80s and 90s.Doesnt make you any less of a fan,it shows that you
are thinking beyond this season,that you want more out of the team
than just a probable early exit in the playoffs and no replacements
for your aging overpaid players.

I'm thinking that we should try to go NOVA in three years (Meaning, that we should do whatever it takes to get H20, Dice and Spree another shot at a ring - ludicrous as that seems - while we have them in their primes.) We bought them- we have to use them up.

That's gotta be what Dolan's thinking, and since that's the reality, let's work within that reality. After a star goes NOVA, The explosion is complete. There's nothing left. Salaries are off the books, etc - Then you can start over. Draft OR Free agent pickup.

I don't think we'll get the #1 pick, nor will we be able to pry it out of Lucas's hands - or Riley's or whoever's...I really think LeBron is headed to Denver or somewhere...

So realistically, I'm asking myself:

'Does Milos/Houston/Spree/Dice really suck as a starting four?'

Providing that Milos is as good as advertised, then the answer is no. What DOES suck is that there is still no trio of 7-foot thugs to protect them and strike fear into the hearts of penetrators. Jordan at least had that. I say we find that big trio of 18 fouls and 5 blocked shots - (Could Stan Roberts really be rehabbed?) and go NOVA with this squad. I'm optimistic that there will be a LeBron in the 2006 class, I'm sure...Or a Duncan, or an Iverson, or a Webber...

We can drop everything after we've used up Spree and Houston - Cause, I don't think anyone's gonna take either one off our hands. I think this marriage has to wait seven years before the itch.

I'm for tanking the season. If Dice doesn't come back healthy the KNicks are in the same place year after year stuck in mediocrity. The is a golden opportunity for the Knicks to land a high pick and get a player like Milicic or a LeBron a player that you can bring you 10-15 years of winning at a high level. If the Knicks are really serious organization and really want to win a championship then they would do the right thing and that is tank for themselves and for the fans. Eighth seed doesn't mean as much as it did with the 8th seed that went to the finals because that team was stacked and werent playing at a high level. It wasn't until the playoffs that they started to perform at the level they should have been playing at in the first place. This team isn't as stacked and they aren't as good as that team so they would essentially be eliminated in the first round. The Knicks need to be smart and let this season go its the right thing to do. If they don't get the playoffs then the would get a middle of the pack pick which would ride the bench like Frank Williams.

Posted by Vmart:

I'm for tanking the season. If Dice doesn't come back healthy the KNicks are in the same place year after year stuck in mediocrity. The is a golden opportunity for the Knicks to land a high pick and get a player like Milicic or a LeBron a player that you can bring you 10-15 years of winning at a high level. If the Knicks are really serious organization and really want to win a championship then they would do the right thing and that is tank for themselves and for the fans. Eighth seed doesn't mean as much as it did with the 8th seed that went to the finals because that team was stacked and werent playing at a high level. It wasn't until the playoffs that they started to perform at the level they should have been playing at in the first place. This team isn't as stacked and they aren't as good as that team so they would essentially be eliminated in the first round. The Knicks need to be smart and let this season go its the right thing to do. If they don't get the playoffs then the would get a middle of the pack pick which would ride the bench like Frank Williams.

I agree with you. Tank the season and start next year fresh with hopefully Dice staying healthy and a high lottery-pick.

As a fan I hate the idea of tanking the season. I know the people who advocate this are fans too. They just have a different idea of what that means.

When I watch the Knicks I want to see them play hard and try to win. If they lose and get a draft pick, then fine.

If it looks like they're tanking games, there's no reason for me to watch.

The Knicks job is to put asses in the seats. You don't put asses in the seats by losing. The Knicks are going to the playoffs this year.

Tank season, no doubt about it.

One of my biggest concerns is McDyess's knee, i dont think he will ever be 100%.

What I don't understand is how everyone is just giving up on the LeBron race. When are you ever gonna find a guy with such high scouting records ever? The **** is wrong with you guys? So we make the 8th seed then what?

This season will be over soon, there is no way we can win the Finals no matter what European players we draft next year. Look at the Kings... they all looked scared against the Lakers last year. I mean in the last game everytime one of them got the ball they looked like they didn't want it, kinda like they were playing "hot potato". If thats what you wanna gamble your future NBA title on, a bunch of scared Europeans then go ahead. Ok I'm going overboard, but I mean cmon we have to start REALLY IMPROVING ourselves, not just making ourselves good enough to have a longshot at the FINALS... the 8th seeded Knicks that made the FINALS were a different breed of players, something you don't find often and something you can't expect every year.

Look at the other teams out there! They are STACKED!!! As of 3 weeks ago for the first time ever, i've realized not only am I a Knicks fan but also becoming a Houston fan. Look at our competition. Kings, Lakers, Mavs, Nets, Indiana, do I have to go on?

Take a good long subjective look at our team right now and tell me we need the 8th seed spot more then a high pick in the draft.

McDyess is not Ewing, and personally I think he is overrated. Spree will be getting older, Houston is Houston, we have no bench(if you think we have a bench then you are sadly mistaken). AND Chaney SUCKS.

But i'm not worried, we are not gonna make the 8th seed anyways, we are not good enough. Once teams starts fighting for playoff positions you will all see how bad we really are and that these games we have been winning don't mean niep. Watch as we get demolished towards the end of the season. YOU READ IT HERE FIRST.

Im not going to use the word tank but I think some fans who want to see us win 36 games and run for an eigth seed better remember that we are capped out until 2006 and those players wil be in their mid thrities. Its VERY hard to replace talent---when you cant bring in free agents -you dont have the product to trade and you cant get a high draft pick. We also have to remember that Mcdyess is an IFFY situation-that is a LOT of major surgery on one knee. He is young enough to comeback but will he stay healthy and be able to perform like he has in the past? he relies on athletic ability for a good portion of his game. Milos Vujonic sounds grat but until he is in NY and SHOWS that he is really a great guard against NBA players--it stil is a question mark--albeit it sounds good. If he does indeed come in and play lights out that wouldve been the first good move by Laydumb in 4 years. I guess if you keep shooting your bound to hit a target. BUt so far his other picks have bordered on brutal.


What we need in this draft is two post players who are 6-10+ athletic with skill--hopefully big enough to play center--to me that 6-10 245 and up and with the other pick Im hoping that we get a real serious athlete who can finish. If this PG is the real deal it would be nice to have some finishers--one guy I like is Dahntay Jones from Duke. he could easily turn into the Gerald Wilkins 2nd round pick from 85. I found a player who may fit the Knicks needs from LLA in Mike southall 6-11 250 very athletic and powerfuly buil-yet has a great deal of skill level. As a freshmen last year he outplayed Chris Marcus twice and averaged 14 points 9 rebounds and 3 blocks as a freshmen. In 3 games so far this year he is averaging 19 points 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in only 20 mts of play! I think you can find the 6-10 player plus--I mean there are dozens of examples dating back to Cliff Robinson in the second round on up. unless we win a lottery position I dont think we wil be drafting anything earlier than 7-8. Maybe if we find the right players we can trade down a bit to pick up a player and a pick. I stil have my eyes set on gerald Wallace for small forward.

Tank the season? No but I think it will happen naturally-weve been very lucky with late threes-spoon getting 11 rebounds in the 4th the other night--houston 25 in the second half--that just wont happen consistently

...Drafting isn't the only way to get players in, as we all know...If we have guys we can't get rid of until '06, then let's help them out until '06, (Starting with the draft this year - as Briggs pointed out, we'll lose enough naturally to qualify)...

In 2006, when the contracts are up, (NOVA, the star is completely destroyed), we can SIMULTANEOUSLY pick up an expensive free agent and have one bad season which gets us a high pick. (2 cornerstone players, small and big perhaps...) Until then, why not give our guys (who don't suck) a chance to win by getting them some centers?

...and the Kings are NOT scared of the Lakers!