Posted by babyKnicks:

How about addition by adding some legitimate balance to this team? Getting rid of our dead weight is a start, but who do we replace them with?

how to fix the Knicks:

step #1: buy out Stephon Marbury
step #2: draft well
step #3: develop the youth & be patient

Posted by TMS:

#1: why? Q's our best perimeter defender & 1 of the best rebounding guards in the game... we already have a big rebounding PF named David Lee... i don't see how that trade helps this team improve

#2: Craw for Etan has possibilities... i like Etan's shotblocking, but don't know if that's fair value... i would want WAS's pick to be added on top

#3: no way in hell will you ever be able to trade Marbury, much less get back Allstar calibre talent like Ray Allen & Rashard Lewis... those future picks aren't going to entice SEA to make that trade imo... that '07 unconditional isn't ours to trade first of all... it's actually Chicago's pick at this point, so what you would be trading is Chicago's late round pick, not a high lottery selection... & it's highly unlikely any 2009 pick will be any good if you add Allen & Rashard to the roster.

Marbury's contract is shorter than Rashard Lewis's. Seattle is in salary dump mode, but bringing back a player with a name might keep *some* of the fans. I added that I wasn't sure that these trades are possible. Maybe Q would fit better into the Seattle trade idea, but that trade as proposed also gives them a decent salary reduction.

I like Q a lot, but if we got Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis (in the hypothetical), he would be unnecessary. And we do need a PF who brings a different dimension.

I should've made the disclaimer a little more obvious that this is more the *types* of moves to evolve into a balanced, talented team, and really take some of our assets and move towards improving our starting lineup (in the bottom third of the NBA in starting lineup talent). Having one of the top benches in the league (if you could Lee on the bench) doesn't mean much when our starting lineup is poor.

Talking more abstractly, I think what we need is this sort of template:

C-Eddy Curry
PF-Big man who can bang, rebound and play solid defense
SF-Tall SF who adds a scoring touch and versatility (or maybe Q could fill this role if we can't acquire this piece)
SG-Sharpshooter
PG-Steve Francis

Bench:
C-Shot blocker
PF-David Lee
SF-Renaldo Balkman/Jared Jeffries/Defensive SF
SG-Nate Robinson
PG-Mardy Collins

Revised version:

1 - Craw for Etan Thomas
2 - Frye, Jeffries, Malik Rose, and two picks (2007 and 2009) for Ray Allen. We could put the 2007 as a "future consideration" and trade it to the Sonics on draft night to complete the trade.

C-Eddy Curry
PF-David Lee
SF-Quentin Richardson
SG-Ray Allen
PG-Steve Francis

Bench:
C-Etan Thomas
C-Kelvin Cato
C-Jerome James
PF-??? (we'll need to fill this with next year's MLE... Etan can probably shift over and play some PF for this year)
SF-Renaldo Balkman
SG-Nate Robinson
PG-Mardy Collins

Marbury & Rashard's contracts both expire after the '08/'09 season... i think you meant to say Ray Allen, who's contract goes 1 year longer than both of them.

i'll give u an idea which seems more feasible for SEA in my view than anything involving Marbury:

Q Rich
Channing Frye
Malik Rose
Nate Robinson

for

Ray Allen
Damien Wilkens
Mouhamed Sene


then if you can swing that Crawford for Etan & pick trade, you have this:


C - Curry / Cato / Sene
PF - Lee / Etan
SF - Jefferies / Balkman
SG - Allen / Wilkens
PG - Marbury / Francis / Collins
IA - Big Turd

again, this probably doesn't happen since Dolan's made up his mind not to add on anymore longterm deals of aging vets, but it's pretty much the only scenario i can envision w/SEA... forget about getting Rashard for anything we have to offer other than Curry... it's not happening.


[Edited by - TMS on 12-15-2006 5:58 PM]

I have better idea:
1. Sell the Knicks
2. Rename them to Florida Ballers
3. By Orlando
4. Rename it to Knicks