http://njmg.typepad.com/knickknacks/2008/10/houston-done.html

Surprise, surprise, Allan Houston won't play for the Knicks this season.

Although the he (and the Knicks) didn't use the word "retirement" in a statement Thursday that said the team would begin discussing a "new role" (e.g. front office or coaching) with him, that's basically what it is _ his third and last one.

Clearly, his 37-year-old body couldn't handle playing again and all the preseason and preliminary work he did says that won't change if he wanted t play again.

Anyhow, the Knicks also waived Dan Grunfeld on Thursday, leaving them with 16 players (and 15 guaranteed contracts, the opening-night max).

In it's simplest form, the final spot probably comes down to Patrick Ewing Jr. (who isn't guaranteed) and Anthony Roberson (who's guaranteed just under $800,000).

We suspect Donnie Walsh, though, is doing whatever he can to unload whomever he can for a second-round draft pick and would love to convince owner Jim Dolan to eat the two years and $12.6 million still due Jerome James.

But nwe also suspect that, considering all the people he's still paying (Isiah, Larry Brown, et al), Dolan doesn't have quite that financial appetite any more, which means if he eats any contract, it's Roberson's.

No reason to keep Roberson. Get some Karma back and end the curse that has been on this team since that stupid Ewing trade. Could be a bench guy one day.

Posted by nixluva:

My reason for keeping EW Jr. is that I see him having much more upside than a Roberson. What will Roberson really do for this team at this point? Jr. could at least sub in during an injury or foul trouble. He can't shoot yet, but he does other things and basically is a younger version of Balkman at this point.

Sorry to see H2O not make it, but it was a real long shot anyway. Grunfeld was never a serious option, so no loss there. What we do about James is another story. I'd love to clear his roster spot and view his salary as the price of stupidity. We need to get rid of guys like him and bring in young players who may be able to give us more of what we need. There must be some kid out there with the speed, size and shotblocking we need. Even if they're mostly a project at this point, it would be better than having Jerome sitting there all season.

I haven't payed a lot of attention to the preseason games, but PEJ has shown me nothing.

Posted by nixluva:

My reason for keeping EW Jr. is that I see him having much more upside than a Roberson. What will Roberson really do for this team at this point? Jr. could at least sub in during an injury or foul trouble. He can't shoot yet, but he does other things and basically is a younger version of Balkman at this point.

Sorry to see H2O not make it, but it was a real long shot anyway. Grunfeld was never a serious option, so no loss there. What we do about James is another story. I'd love to clear his roster spot and view his salary as the price of stupidity. We need to get rid of guys like him and bring in young players who may be able to give us more of what we need. There must be some kid out there with the speed, size and shotblocking we need. Even if they're mostly a project at this point, it would be better than having Jerome sitting there all season.

Nix I honestly don't know what kind of upside you could have seen from Ewing Jr. He's hardly played in these games and he's really done nothing except 1 putback dunk. Believe me, I'm rooting for this kid, but for anyone to say that Ewing Jr. has shown some upside or something is baffling. He's literally done nothing.

Regarding P Jr., I never said that he had "shown" upside in preseason. I also said plainly that he can't shoot yet. I'm not basing it solely on what he's done in the limited time on the floor in Preseason. This system would make Balkman look bad in his rookie year too! He wasn't going to be able to handle thinking this fast when he 1st got here. Jr. is raw, but from what i've seen of him in the past and what i've read from scouts who've watched him, the guy is a decent project to have at the end of your bench and develop, which is all i'm really saying.

To say he has upside isn't like saying he's got skills already!!! His shooting form looks better to me than Balkman's did when he 1st got here, despite his misses. His physical talent's are what i'm banking on at this point with the hope that he can learn and develop the rest of his game.

It also depends on what kind of player you're expecting him to be. I'm looking at him being what most scouts and Walsh himself believes he can be a big time defensive player! We're not keeping him for his shooting. He could get good enough offensively to warrant playing time for his defense. We're talking about developing a Bruce Bowen,

Posted by Pharzeone:

Nixluva, if you don't mind me asking. What do you base your theory of his upside on. I was basing it on the times I watched in college at Indiana and Georgetown. Also, you pointed out his shooting form. Are you talking about during pre-season?

His shooting form is the least important aspect of why I feel he's a worthwhile prospect to keep around! If you think my assessment or that of any scout or Walsh is based on his shooting then you miss the point. He has raw talent...physical talent and at his size he can cover some very good ground. The idea is that he is a similar prospect to what Balkman was, but a much better body. He has the frame to take on more muscle, but not loose quickness, agility or explosiveness. He can be a good NBA defender in this league if he continues to be developed.

He needs to work on his shooting, which again I said "he can't shoot yet", but he would need to keep working on it like David did, like Bowen did and maybe one day he can become a better shooter, but that's not why we would be keeping him around. We'd be keeping him around for his defensive capabilities.

I already answered this in the post just before you asked the question.

I just want the Knicks to keep the best guys. If one guys last name is Ewing, but the other player is a little better than him, keep the other player. Having a guy who happens to be Patrick Ewing's son on the Knicks means nothing to me. Giving all the players an honest chance to make the club means a lot.

Posted by Pharzeone:

Posted by Ira:

I just want the Knicks to keep the best guys. If one guys last name is Ewing, but the other player is a little better than him, keep the other player. Having a guy who happens to be Patrick Ewing's son on the Knicks means nothing to me. Giving all the players an honest chance to make the club means a lot.

That's my point. I don't care about the PR struggle this team faces. I rather have guys that are the better players.

What does his last name have to do with this? The thing is that there have been examples of guys who didn't come into the league with a dependable shot but had other skills that made them viable NBA players. ie Bruce Bowen and even David Lee who I mentioned before. The reason a team would want to keep him is to see if he can develop into a top tier defensive player and hopefully develop a shot so that he's not a liability on that end of the floor. It's low cost and high reward to take an athlete like him and try to develop him.

How many times do players have to prove wrong this theory that players can't develop a shot if they haven't shown one up thru college?

This scouting report pretty much says what i'm saying and there are many others that read the same way:

Strengths
Perimeter length and athleticism could make him a standout NBA defender almost right away. He can guard the 1-2-3 position but he is a perfectly suited Small Forward who can contest most all shots. He is an outstanding weak side defender and gets a ton of blocks reading plays going to the basket in help situations. Protects his teammates very well defensivey. Offensively, he is very raw but he has been taught that an east to west pass is far more important to offensive structure than a forced shot. So he’s not a liabilty, he has the ability to finish very well for a small forward in transition and he can create some off the dribble. Ewing seemed to work hard on getting a higher release point on his jump shot from Jr-to Sr. year as I noticed better form and rotation in his last year.
Weaknesses

Offensively he’s not a one-on-one threat at this point, but can create some off the dribble. He’s simply not a breakdown Isolation player. He does not handle well nor is he an inside out, spot shooter. He has a solid skill set, but his defense is ions better than his offense.As it stands his ceiling is defensive specialist type on the perimeter at best, if he can’t improve offensiively he’ll be limited to role player minutes.

OverallThe kid would be an NBA player if his name were “John Johnson” but having to deal with the expectations of being a hall-of-famers son has to be difficult. That said it’s hard to imagine anyone doing it better than this kid He’s got the potential to have a long career as a defender, but he has to show that he can stay on the floor offensively. If he can gain any kid of perimeter game or a pick and pop jumper or slash, he should have a nice NBA career. Should he not develop one, like all 2nd rounders, he could be out of the league in 2 years.

Roberson's a waste of space & so is Big Turd... PEJ is more valuable to the team just warming the bench as sort of a link to the past even if he never sets foot on the court this season than those 2... actually Balkman wouulda been a decent piece to have off the bench. *cough*