Knicks in need of facelift

BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

In their exit interviews with Isiah Thomas last season, a majority of the Knicks blamed Larry Brown for the team's 59 losses, which isn't surprising since players rarely if ever hold themselves accountable for a miserable record.

Thomas and Garden chairman James Dolan reacted to the players' complaints and eventually fired Brown after just one year on the job. A new round of exit interviews will take place in two days and you can rest assured that when the Knicks meet with Thomas, the team president, they are not going to say anything bad about Thomas the head coach.

There will be changes, however, only this time the focus will be on the NBA's most expensive roster. Although the Knicks have talked about being a more unified group this season, they still don't have a playoff appearance to show for it. And even if injuries contributed to the Knicks falling apart at the end, just about any team can use the same excuse.

Thomas followed Dolan's edict to accentuate the positive this season, but it is difficult to spin all the losses. Thomas, who received a contract extension in March, knows that he needs to upgrade the talent and trim the fat from the roster. His first job is to identify which players are worth keeping and who must leave.

Stephon Marbury

After a dreadful November, Marbury finally conformed to Thomas' demands and had a strong season. His value may never be higher. He continues to break down, but quality point guards are hard to find. Count him among the keepers.

Eddy Curry

Thomas has staked his career on Curry, who emerged as an offensive force but still doesn't defend or rebound. He's a no-brainer to stay, although many league executives doubt whether Curry and Jermaine O'Neal, Thomas' No. 1 offseason target, could thrive as teammates. They both need the ball.

Jamal Crawford

Was having his best season until ankle surgery ruined everything. Thomas loves Crawford, but if the right deal came along he probably would pull the trigger.

Quentin Richardson

Great teammate with a bad back and bad contract. He's not going anywhere.

Channing Frye

Had a rough sophomore year and seems unhappy. Thomas will try to package him in a trade.

David Lee

A favorite of Knick fans and head coaches around the league. The emergence of Renaldo Balkman could make Thomas think long and hard about including Lee in a deal for an impact player.

Steve Francis

Barring a trade (good luck), Francis will be released.

Nate Robinson

Here's all you need to know about the incredibly athletic and incredibly immature second-year guard. During Sunday's loss to Toronto, Thomas had to scream twice down the bench to get Robinson's attention. When Robinson finally got up and ran to the scorer's table, Thomas told him, "Stop (messing) around!"

Malik Rose

Savvy veteran is the voice of reason in the locker room. His recent comments about some teammates not caring enough and the team not playing good enough defense probably have him on the endangered list. Maybe that was his goal. Remember, rule No. 1 at the Garden is to comply with media training. It is unclear where winning falls on that list.

Jerome James

Thomas is stuck with him.

Jared Jeffries

See Jerome James.

Mardy Collins

You know he was coached by John Chaney at Temple. He's tough, confident and never acts like a jerk on or off the court. He's the next Derek Harper and that's a good thing. Thomas needs to find more like him.

Renaldo Balkman

A high-energy player who could use a jump shot. He and Collins are likely staying.

Kelvin Cato

Was a good mentor for Curry but is unlikely to return.

Randolph Morris

With the Bulls getting the Knicks' lottery pick, you can bet your last dollar that Morris stays.

a pretty fair assessment of the team in my opinion.

knicks have a nice young core of lee, balkman, and collins. exactly what i would continue to look for. rebounding, energy on the defensive end, good size for their position.

starbury is the leader.
curry is here b/c he can score w/ his back to the basket, we gave up 2 lotto picks for him, and he's outta shape w/ a huge contract.
i like malik's veteran presence. young teams need guys like him.
morris is a project, we shall see. he isn't going anywhere.
collins brings a nice spark off the bench, size in the backcourt, defense, and can only get better.
Q is a good shooter but unreliable. i'd like to see a shooter (morris almond please) taken with the first rounder so Q's minutes can go down to lessen the strain on his back. i'd like to see him start but play around 25 a game (he played 33 a game this yr; 12 per half shouldnt be too much to ask next yr).
crawford seems to be a love him/hate him type guy. i love the dude, ice in his veins, big balls, can go off for 40 any night (or 52, as we saw this year). if his decision making improved he'd be that much better.

jared jeffries is the worst player in the NBA and infuriating to watch. i hope he gets bought out with francis. jerome big snacks james sucks also but at least he provides comedic relief. i'd love to trade frye and nate for something, anything.

a lineup next year of marbury, crawford, Q (but in limited action), lee, and curry w/ balkman as 6th man (getting 30+ a night), a shooter from the draft pick (almond), and collins wouldn't be a bad 8 man lineup, especially in this conference. add to that malik, whatever can be yielded from nate/frye, and jerome big snacks james, and that ain't too bad.

would philly deal their last first rounder, first 2nd rounder (should be last pick of the first round) and kevin ollie (promptly waived) for frye and nate? thats seriouly the type of return i'm expecting from the strong as tissue channing and the midget sideshow. still, if the knicks could pull that and get a herbert hill or sean williams or dominic james (something along the lines of interior D and backcourt scoring) with those picks, i'd be extremely excited about the prospects of this team moving forward.

[Edited by - bigsm00th on 04-18-2007 01:53 AM]

Good article. Mostly things we already knew. I agree with the Derek Harper comparison for Mardy. I think his offensive game isn't as far away as some think. His calm demeanor is a huge plus. I love his size and defense. I also agree with his thoughts on who is most likely to be gone. Francis has to go. His game is too leaky and he doesn't fit with the team concept we're trying to develop. He's great on a bad team that needs him to do a lot of scoring, which is how we've been using him lately. Other than that, he can't play within a team concept and be productive.

I just don't know how Isiah is thinking and what he's most likely to do. I'm sure he's not blind and has seen how this team plays with Jared and Frye on the floor with Curry. I'm sure it's not what he invisioned. We have to do something to have a more productive starting 5. Assuming that Q can comeback healthy next year we'd still have some issues. Frye would seem most likely to be traded simply because of his value which is still there tho not as high as it once was. Also his low cost.

Lee has the highest value right now and even tho he's my favorite player, you can just see how he might be HUGE trade bait. Think about it, if you're Isiah and you want to make a trade for a big name, Lee is a guy that would make a GM think about it more seriously. It seems to me that Isiah doesn't feel that Lee is a starting PF. Especially since Curry isn't a help defender/shotblocker. Lee can get the rebounds, but He's not an offensive force or help defender and he's not a banger. Lee can get it done, but I think Isiah wants a guy that's tougher and more of a threat offensively.

The thing is, is it worth the price to give up these young guys for an older guy such as KG or JO? Do those teams even want to trade those guys for what we have to offer? If Isiah doesn't go in that direction then he has to hope he can continue to develop the young Forwards we have and maybe add a shooter/defender in the draft and another shooter FA. MAYBE he can work a small trade that lands us another late pick. He could use that to try and get a shotblocker.

PG - Steph - Mardy
SG - Jamal (?) - Nate (?)
SF - Q - Balkman
PF - Frye (?) - Lee (?) - Jared
C - Curry - Morris

Lee has the highest value right now and even tho he's my favorite player, you can just see how he might be HUGE trade bait. Think about it, if you're Isiah and you want to make a trade for a big name, Lee is a guy that would make a GM think about it more seriously. It seems to me that Isiah doesn't feel that Lee is a starting PF. Especially since Curry isn't a help defender/shotblocker. Lee can get the rebounds, but He's not an offensive force or help defender and he's not a banger. Lee can get it done, but I think Isiah wants a guy that's tougher and more of a threat offensively.

Great point. I feel the same way. I love Lee and don't ever want to see him traded. But maybe he's the chip that gets you that current or future star/good player that really fits up front. A shotblocker, intimidator etc. It's tough to know what Isiah is thinking(ever) but I have to disagree with you on one point. I don't think Isiah will be looking for an offensive threat at the four. I think he will be looking for more of an intimidator up front. With Curry in the post there won't be much room up front for a PF to get points.

There are options. That's what scares me with Isiah. I personally am struggling with the KG's and JO's of the world. I think if you can get KG you make the move just because you can't pass up on that type of talent. But the age thing is scary. As for JO, I think I would pass. Him and Curry don't compliment each other and would probably get in each other's way. Although I would not blame Isiah if he took the chance. Worst case scenario you still can trade.

I understand Steph is comming off a pretty good yr and Isola seems to be endorsing him to stay. And I also understand that his contract may hinder any delusions of trading him, but I certainly would try to pawn him off on Minny with the idea that they may bite as to please KG's need for a vet to play along side him. The main thing I would want back is there lotto pick (not sure they would part with it) and a couple of bench players.

The time is now (Have been saying this for yrs) to try and rebuild with some of the promising prospects we have on board now. Lee, Balk, Curry, & Collins give us some nice chips to build with and with this being a deep draft, this is the time to try and grab some extra picks. any combo of Frye, Nate and Craw could land us an extra pick or two in this draft even if the picks are towards the end of the draft.

A few target areas with the young core we have:

Big Guard who can defend, distribute and shoot a little. One player who might fit the bill and will be around when we pick is Marcus Williams. He's 6'7 210 lbs, can handle the rock, can pass and play anyone of at least 2 maybe 3 positions and would be a nice running mate for Collins and would also give us a big backcourt.

The additional pick or picks can be used for the shot-blocker and shooter we need. As I've stated this is a deep draft and can help plug up some holes we have.








[Edited by - bigbeast on 04-17-2007 1:18 PM]

[Edited by - bigbeast on 04-17-2007 1:19 PM]