I have heard a lot of people question this kids ability this year, and he is a player that is going to be there for the midlevel, and of course like our expiring contracts this year we are going to do nothing because Isiah has ****ed up every move he has ever made.

But this kid not only is a strong defensive presence, but he can knock down the outside shot doesn't try to do to much and is maturing as a player. We need to give up on crawford get whatever we can for the guy and slot him in as our starting two.....

We get this kid we actually have a good stoppper in addition to collins and balkman and can grow as a team on defense, and he can stroke the outside jumper for curry. We need to surround E CITY with players that can make shots and pick him up on defense.

The kid hasn't scratched the surface yet......

no room for any more 3's on this roster sans trade.

he should go to toronto. they needs a SF that can play defense and shoot the 3.

Posted by franco12:

he shot 38% from the three this year- how exactly is that an improvement over Chuckford?

Chuckford is defensive zero.
But if course he is our cross-ower trick clown... We need him to bring more kids to the garden.
Soccer is takin over the mind of NYC little once. We need all tricks from our Knicks to bring them back.

Posted by MS:

What did crawford shoot? And what does crawford bring that collins really can't, other than a big shot every now and again or some streak shooting....

Crawford 6'5 190 32% 34% for his career

Pietrus 6'6 215 38% 35% for his career

How about versatile players that can play both ends, the guy is a finisher with off the charts athleticism.

Pietrus is a very nice talent. He is an amazing athlete. I don't know if Isiah has him on his radar or not. Perhaps the playoffs will bring him back to the front of Isiah's mind. If he looked to get him then he could go after a Sean Williams in the draft. That could cover our 2 biggest needs this summer.

He's a player that will want slightly more than the MLE. He's probably worth more than Jeffries but shouldn't be paid more. Typical move by us would be to overspend to get him. Probably should stay away from him to be honest, it's a mistake waiting to happen with ISAYUGH here.

Posted by BRIGGS:

Waste of time. He's going to make 3.5mm next year--signing him to an MLE doesnt change the Warriors salary structure. If I was GS I would match any MLE for Pietrus--re-sign Matt barnes and try to get rid of Al harrington. Theyll need the $$ for Ellis and Biendrins the following year.

I agree Briggs GSW will match any offer up to $40mil. He's not worth that at least not on our squad, he's probably worth that to them though. Plus he hasn't proven to be the most healthiest of players. I'm going to have to bump a thread will quick so that we're reminded.

Posted by TheGame:

No thanks on Pietrus. He plays defense, but so do Mardy and Balkman. He is not that good of a shooter and I think he would be redundant to some of the players we already have. I would rather take my chances on Balkman and Collins developing a jumpshot and Q coming back relatively healthy. For what we would have to pay the guy, it is not worth it. I would rather get a guy like Barnes or Carrol and pay them a portion of the MLE for a 2-3 year contract.

We had Barnes last yr but waived him after his 5th game as a Knick. Sorry he won't be coming here and does anyone honestly think he'd want to come back to this dungeon?

Posted by djsunyc:

no room for any more 3's on this roster sans trade.he should go to toronto. they needs a SF that can play defense and shoot the 3.

No room for a SF? R U kidding? Q is damaged goods, JJ2 is a situational player who shouldn't play no more than 10 mins if that, and Balk is underdeveloped.

We have quantity at SF but no quality.

[Edited by - bigbeast on 04-30-2007 11:28 AM]

Posted by bigbeast:

Posted by djsunyc:

no room for any more 3's on this roster sans trade.he should go to toronto. they needs a SF that can play defense and shoot the 3.

No room for a SF? R U kidding? Q is damaged goods, JJ2 is a situational player who shouldn't play no more than 10 mins if that, and Balk is underdeveloped.

We have quantity at SF but no quality.

[Edited by - bigbeast on 04-30-2007 11:28 AM]

But what does Pietrus give us that Balkman won't give us in 1-2 years?

It would be a redundant signing, just like Jeffries was.

We need outside shooting- a Matt Carroll type helps more than a Pietrus.

I meant Pietrus is basically an Ariza type anyway.

Posted by MS:

You can't have enough defenders that are tough on a team they get you into the playoffs. I would much rather look at a unit

Marbury/Collins
Pietrus/Nate
Q/Balkman
Lee/Jefferies
Curry/Rose

No: Crawford, Frye, Francis that team makes it to the playoffs with ease, if you put a short leash on nate, we would have a great defensive team one of the better teams in the nba and an improved cast.

I wouldn't fixate on a player that is doubtful to acquire. His salary is already 3.5mm --an MLE would be expanding that by only 1.5 mm. Why would GS not match--that is IF the Knicks were even willing to spend? I would like to see what we walk out of the draft first before I even consider vets.

Posted by MS:

Not everyone has deep pockets, they have JRich and Baron locked in and have to pay monte

I think Dolan has put a halt on the big spending- Isiah came out and said the MLE was basically off the table as an option.

That statement, and the buy outs of Mo & Jalen, coupled together mark a new austerity plan for the knicks moving forward.

Even if Pietrus could be signed for the MLE, I don't see Dolan ok'ing it. I think the only MLE Dolan would ok is if it were a really unique situation like a KG opting out of his deal and wanting to come to NYC.

Whether GSW matches or not- Dolan has taken the check book away. And I think that's a good thing, because about every deal Isiah's made that has involved cash and not picks (signings, S&Ts), he's basically made bad deals.