Posted by Bippity10:

I think that is one thing that Marbs was learning last year, but it is possibly the single hardest thing to learn in basketball. Marbs thinks that by cutting his shot attempts down he is being an orchestrator. But it's so much more than that. It's getting the ball to the right people at the right time when they are in a position to succeed. Knowing when a guy is fading out of the game and bringing him back to life. Knowing when a guy is getting frustrated and getting him the ball in position to do something positive so that you can erase that frustration. There is so much more to the position than just coming down and passing it to someone.

I think Marbs did an admirable job last year. He actually learned some skills at the PG position for the first time in his career over the past two seasons. He's getting better, but we have to look to the future. We cannot build Steph's team. It must be Eddie or Zach's team(unfortunately so far they have shown no capacity to lead or want to lead a team). A young PG , some shooters and some frontcourt defensive beasts must be on the agenda.

Unfortunately I think that this means David Lee's days are numbered(at least if I was GM). I love the guy, but we need some bruisers and shot blockers up front. We have to build a frontline that can cover for each other. In that case it seems obvious to me that Lee or Eddie or even Zach have to be moved for a different player. If the goal is a title you need more than what we have. You cannot ignore defense.

Posted by misterearl:

djsu - if the Lakers can run a triangle, can the Knicks run a square?

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by technomaster:

It's been over a decade since I was last concerned about the cap. Other than paying a lot for cable TV, I don't really get a feel for what the cap means to me.

Somehow, we've had very creative GMs who've been able to create something out of nothing. The Knicks have made some incredible trades if you just consider the players that are being shuffled around.

An injured McDyess and a few bags of peanuts for a 20-10 PG in Marbury?
A 2nd round pick (Ariza) and a practically retired player for top-10 PG like Francis?
A washed up former superstar (Francis!) and a player who had a terrible soph year (Frye) for a player who just had a 24/10 season?

Yes, there are a salary cap ramifications, but realistically, how many key free agents have gotten shuffled around in the last 5 years for more than the MLE? And how many of the players who've moved have ended up going w/o a sign-and-trade?

Players are out to get their money - and with the current rules, all loopholes have been closed. A player's current team can ALWAYS offer more to a FA than another team.

With that in mind, I think the Knicks have done a wonderful job of drafting/showcasing young talent, then packaging 'em for young, but seasoned players. I don't think we've been clearly burned in any of our deals. Ariza was awesome this season (who knows what he'll do when Grant Hill is gone, though!), but Francis helped us get an all-star level player in Randolph.

The Knicks have done an amazing job of amassing talent compared to the late 90s, where our average age was probably pushing 30+.

And yet it's the most unsuccesfful era since Patrick was born. Talent is meaningless if it doesn't fit. Again, I was killed for saying it last year, but I think the "lovers" are finally starting to get it.

So far, but this is the year that our talent should prove its worth. We are 2 years removed from the LB experiment. Guys like Lee and Nate have a couple of years under their belt. The rest of the team is young but does have 5+ years of experience in many cases. Balkman and Collins have a year under their belt and should be prepared to contribute more next year. I am not going to get caught up on the past failures because I realize the team needed to transition to younger players. This year however there should be no excuses. The fans should not start out booing the team. We have have depth at every position so injuries should not hold us back. The team has already had a year with the offensive and defensive systems. Simply put, the team needs to show marked improvement and make the playoffs. If that happens, then the past was just the growing pains we had to endure to get to this point. Otherwise, I agree with the haters and everything needs to be torn down and IT fired.