Just cut by Golden State (no room on that roster with Biedrins, Turiaf, Wright, Randolph and Harrington already in place - Justin probably asked out so he could give himself a chance to catch on somewhere else). Athletic 6'10", 260 lbs. (up 30-35 pounds from when he joined the league a few years ago at 225 lbs. - gotta be all strength and muscle) rebounder/shot-blocker.

Had a really productive senior year at Wyoming: 11 ppg, 11 rpg, 5.4 bpg and excelled when he got a run in the D-league recently: over 12 ppg/12 rpg with 3.08 blocks playing for the Dakota Wizards. Also played fairly well when he got a cup of coffee with Sacramento a couple of years ago after they cut Mo Taylor.

He's affordable, young, hungry, immediately addresses the shot-blocking problem, adds depth, toughness, another plus rebounder and Walsh can go get him right now for league-minimum money. How do you not go get this kid then orchestrate a simple buy-out of Malik Rose or Jerome James??

I know we were severely limited on what we could've added this off-season because of the cap but, if I were Walsh, Justin Williams, Gerald Green, Jaycee Carroll and Louis Amundson all would be Knicks right now. Green still has a chance to be special and is a much better option than 100-year-old Allan Houston moving forward - in fact, a lot of people wanted him over Frye in the '05 draft. Jaycee Carroll's a better player than Anthony Roberson - Roberson's nothing more than a practice player, the Knicks should've added Carroll as soon as the Nets cut him loose this summer - kid's a tremendous little shooter. And I've just always respected Amundson's relentless hustle since his days at UNLV - plus he can block a shot or two himself. All of these guys could've been added for peanuts and weren't.

Oh well. At least Justin Williams is available again and I think Walsh should grab him. Any thoughts???

You were just waiting for him to be cut weren't you?

I agree Fine, he'd be a solid pickup and a low-risk, high-reward type player.

Not for nothing though, there has to be a reason he's not getting burn time after time, but even still, he's worth the chance.

Posted by nyk4ever:

You were just waiting for him to be cut weren't you?

I agree Fine, he'd be a solid pickup and a low-risk, high-reward type player.

Not for nothing though, there has to be a reason he's not getting burn time after time, but even still, he's worth the chance.

Thank you. nyk4ever... my man!! You're right bro, I was keeping an eye on it, just like Walsh should be doing...

Surprisingly even D'Antoni said he'd like to add a shot-blocker when he first got here. Well, here's your chance Mike. When you factor in the kid's young age, our shot-blocking deficency, the added strength/weight he's apparently put on (only being 220, 225 lbs. was a concern at one point) and the fact that you can get him for negligible money, he's an absolute no-brainer. We're not talking an all-star here by any means, but we're also not talking over-the-hill or overrated options like Theo Ratliff or Stromile Swift either. And we're not getting Josh Boone or Sean Williams from the Nets for Mardy Collins, at least I don't think so. Plus, I kinda like Mardy Collins, always have. I'm tell you, this kid would be perfect.


[Edited by - finestrg on 10-12-2008 4:43 PM]

Posted by Cookdcokehop:

If he was good why would every team waive him? Bc he has no B-Ball IQ. You can have talent ant athleticism out the ass but with no I.Q. it is irrelavant. He is going to Europe.

Like I said, Golden State is loaded up front, so there was no real chance to stick there. But hey, you can't fault the kid for signing a deal to go there for training camp. When you're in the situation like he's facing, trying to earn a spot in this league, and you get an invite, you go and you keep trying to open some eyes, even if you know you have no chance to make the team. Plus, a kid like this is worried about paying the bills and surviving right now so every penny counts. He's gotta keep taking little jobs like this until he catches a break.

As far as saying the guy has no basketball IQ - I mean what are you basing that on? I wouldn't say that definitively. Guys that are in his situation get cut all the time for a variety of reasons - lack of roster space, money, lack of talent, etc.... It's understood by both teams and players but because of expanded pre-season rosters, there will always be opportunities. Bottom line, from what I see, what the kid does, he does extremely well for a role player - and that's rebound and block shots. He's done it in college and in the D-league a couple of seasons ago at a high level. The only real concern was the lack of strength and weight at one point, though he's appeared to have rectified that problem (now listed as 260 lbs. on mutiple B-Ball websites). Basketball IQ isn't even much of a factor here - not for a player like this. We're not talking point guard responsibilities like handling the ball, setting up others, taking care of the ball, etc.. What we are talking is garbageman basketball - athleticism, cleaning the glass, battling underneath, put-back offense and interior defense and he more than excels in these areas. That's all heart, hustle and determination. Instinctual. Not much thinking required.

When you take into account that we've needed a guy like this for sometime now (refreshing to hear D'Antoni himself even say so) and our bleak salary situation - these are the guys you focus on and target. This guy makes perfect sense to me.


[Edited by - finestrg on 10-12-2008 5:51 PM]

there's no place for young athletic shotblockers on this team... overweight unmotivated fat lards, yes... young athletic shotblockers, no.

It's not a secret that dolan killed it. And I'm glad he did. Because no' I don't want someone to get their entire cake and just walk. That's insane and it was insane before, when they let Brown, Houston, Larry and the rest walk away with money, although Brown didn't get his entire 50 mil. At some point this brass has got to stick to the contracts and dolan has already started doing that.

The overall biggest problem with this franchise has been 'bad timing'. The whole time it's been misused. They gave isiah all the buyouts he wanted, but it was the wrong guy to do it with and then he went and signed Mr. Zach.

The real guys who could use the buyouts now are Walsh and D'Antoni. But they are left to wait it out and that's something the fans in general have learned to want to commit to. Even on this board it has been expressed. We are willing to wait for the money to be free to a point at least.

And I don't want to blame Zach or Marbury anymore. I am totally hyped that we have a new system, the D'Antoni system and I have a lot of renewed faith that it will work this bunch and I'm looking forward to it. whether it succeeds or fails, I think we should follow through, because if it doesn't, then it won't be the end, because we all know after all that these contracts will end eventually. And once they do, Walsh can restore timing and balance again and have the resources to wheel and deal for some real talent again. Something we haven't been able to do for years now.

A new generation was born into the Ewing era, where it looked like the Knicks could have, should have won at least once. And since then this generation has been experiencing nothing but one dumb deal right after another and so it is understandable that so many of you's (yeah' your generation) don't understand what Knick faith really means and how to put together a winner or what it really looks like. I understand and I for one, am here to tell you what is to come, if we all play our cards right.

I believe it was Bill Clinton who once said 'It's the economy stupid'!

Well I'd like to reflect that quote to 'It's the timing stupid!'

Posted by Finestrg:


Thank you. nyk4ever... my man!! You're right bro, I was keeping an eye on it, just like Walsh should be doing...

Surprisingly even D'Antoni said he'd like to add a shot-blocker when he first got here. Well, here's your chance Mike. When you factor in the kid's young age, our shot-blocking deficency, the added strength/weight he's apparently put on (only being 220, 225 lbs. was a concern at one point) and the fact that you can get him for negligible money, he's an absolute no-brainer. We're not talking an all-star here by any means, but we're also not talking over-the-hill or overrated options like Theo Ratliff or Stromile Swift either. And we're not getting Josh Boone or Sean Williams from the Nets for Mardy Collins, at least I don't think so. Plus, I kinda like Mardy Collins, always have. I'm tell you, this kid would be perfect.


[Edited by - finestrg on 10-12-2008 4:43 PM]

We'll see what happens with the roster I suppose? It's so tough trying to find spots for everyone already. I would love to add this guy though, just see what happens. Who knows, maybe he is another Theo Ratliff.

Posted by nyk4ever:

Posted by Finestrg:


Thank you. nyk4ever... my man!! You're right bro, I was keeping an eye on it, just like Walsh should be doing...

Surprisingly even D'Antoni said he'd like to add a shot-blocker when he first got here. Well, here's your chance Mike. When you factor in the kid's young age, our shot-blocking deficency, the added strength/weight he's apparently put on (only being 220, 225 lbs. was a concern at one point) and the fact that you can get him for negligible money, he's an absolute no-brainer. We're not talking an all-star here by any means, but we're also not talking over-the-hill or overrated options like Theo Ratliff or Stromile Swift either. And we're not getting Josh Boone or Sean Williams from the Nets for Mardy Collins, at least I don't think so. Plus, I kinda like Mardy Collins, always have. I'm tell you, this kid would be perfect.


[Edited by - finestrg on 10-12-2008 4:43 PM]

We'll see what happens with the roster I suppose? It's so tough trying to find spots for everyone already. I would love to add this guy though, just see what happens. Who knows, maybe he is another Theo Ratliff.

You're right, it will be tough. And we're hearing that D'Antoni likes to play with a tight rotation too. 8 guys, 9 max. I was surprised to see Malik Rose get the burn he did the first few pre-season games. Very surprised. Personally, I don't see Malik as a viable option for us anymore. Not entirely sure what D'Antoni's up to, maybe he's just bidding time for Curry to come back and that'll be his big of the bench, but if the plan is to play Malik Rose, I don't know man - I just think a much younger guy who's bigger and known for his rebounding/shot-blocking skillset would be a much better fit as a big option off the bench moving forward. I'm not a fan of aging vets on any of my teams anymore unless we're close to really doing something and sadly, the Knicks aren't. Malik Rose, Allan Houston... What's the point? A rebuilding squad like the Knicks only needs to focus on one thing for now and that's developing it's young talent. In 2-4 years, say we add a few more pieces, develop a few players along the way, find a lead guard to run this team etc... Now all of a sudden we're talking 40-something, 50 win plateau and the playoffs. That's when you tinker and add a veteran player if he makes sense (like we've done in the past with guys like Derek Harper, Xavier McDaniel, etc.) but come on man, there's no point at all even moving forward with them on a rebuilding team let alone playing them any kind of significant minutes at the expense of younger players. Malik Rose makes the team but young, athletic Pat Ewing Jr. doesn't? We have Malik so forget adding a potential monster interior defender like Justin Williams??? A potential building block in Gerald Green and a young dynamic shooter like Jaycee Carroll become available for chump change but we pass in order to hold onto Anthony Roberson, a selfish practice player we jumped the gun on that no one's ever heard of - a guy even D'Antoni himself says probably won't play much and Allan Houston who's older than the hills??? Come on man. I just can't get amped up over guys like Malik Rose and Allan Houston you know? Those are guys you need to trim not retain/add and then give valuable minutes to. Drives me crazy...


[Edited by - finestrg on 10-13-2008 6:29 PM]

Posted by EnySpree:


Knicks can't expect any team to save them, so getting a guy like Justin Williams makes tons of sense.

Imho, I think Justin Williams is trash. He used to be a bouncy 225lbs. Now those legs are carrying 260lbs? That's a lot of weight. Last summer he looked very unimpressive in summer league. He's just an opportunity player. Like if he has an obvious dunk or block, he's on it. He's not really a guy that mixes it up, especially now that he's been drinking milk, lol.

Not sure what you're saying here Eny - add him or he's garbage, don't add him. LOL! Whatever the case, I think there's a spot for a guy like this on the right team. If there are or were spots in this league for guys like Dale Davis, Ronny Turiaf, DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier, Theo Ratliff, Adonal Foyle, Dan Gadzuric, Mark Eaton, Nazr Mohammed, Bo Outlaw, Etan Thomas, Anderson Varejao, Shelden Williams, Hilton Armstrong, Sean Williams, Josh Boone, Jarron Collins, Jason Collins, Francisco Elson, Jackie Butler, John Salley, Keon Clark --- then there's a spot for this guy. He's might be better than quite a few of the guys in this group, basically on par with the rest.

I know he doesn't have much of a body of work to speak of yet, but you can't deny the fact that he was a double-double guy with over 5 bpg at the collegiate level and over 12/12 & 3 blocks in the D-league. That's very impressive. Never thought he had any trouble mixing it up either, I don't know where you get that from - you don't come up with hustle/effort statistics like those if you don't mix it up inside. No doubt someone probably told him to get stronger to be able to take the pounding a little better and it looks like he's done that. And I read nothing into the fact that Golden State cut him - that team was already set up front before he got there. They invited him as an extra training camp player and he accepted knowing he wasn't going to make that club. Simple as that. But when you're in his shoes and your agent comes calling with work, you take it and try and make the best of it. Now if you're the NY Knicks who have nowhere near the frontcourt depth the Warriors have and a decided lack of interior defense he makes sense for us and could possibly make our roster provided we ever showed some interest. I'd give him a 10-day contact to see what he's all about. I can't for the life of me figure out why you wouldn't take a chance on him if you were the Knicks...

[Edited by - finestrg on 10-13-2008 3:45 PM]