There is no way Jamal will not opt out with only 2 years 20mm on his contract. Even if someone offered him 8-9 mm per year for 6 years--it's better than having a net 20mm locked up. If I was his agent Id be looking at a 60mm per for 6 and the opt out is a lock baring an injury. So we are going to have to deal with

FA to Lee Crawford Nate Robinson--we are likely to keep our pick in 09--although it might not be in a great position--we could lose players --get worse and then hand a top 5 pick to Utah in 2010. Oh yeah our lottery pick we could not mess up on didnt make it to the door. So what am I optimistic about other than possibly wiping almost everyone out of here for 2010--only to be shunned by players not wanting to come to a team devoid of any players?

Who cares if we lose Crawford? As for the other two, one of them will be traded eventually and I'm guessing that will be David Lee.

This reminds me of your David Lee 90 million dollar thread in the preseason.

It is 7 games into the season BRIGGS.

oohah

i think worrying about what we're gonna give up in 2010 in terms of the draft pick we already lost is silly... we need to focus on our franchise & what direction would best improve us in the longterm... whether you wanna starphuch ur way to get there or aim to have options cap wise in 2010, that 2010 pick really has no bearing at all to any of it cuz it's not our pick to begin with.

Posted by Cookdcokehop:

I would sign and trade Crawford to a team that wants him for expirings and picks

i think that's a smart idea, & i like Jamal... same goes w/D Lee, Nate or any other player we currently have w/contract extensions coming up this season or that are already making big dollars... the only players we should really look to be holding onto right now are Chandler, Gallo & to a lesser extent Duhon, since he has no negative effect to our cap situation either way & is playing well for us right now, but if it takes 1 of those guys to dump a contract like Fishlips, Curry or Zach i think u gotta consider it.

extra picks in this draft will be HUGE... we can land players like Pat Patterson or Darren Collison later in the 1st round, guys that could really make an impact on this roster next season, plus still own our own pick w/which we can potentially land a lottery talent... guys like D Lee, Nate & anyone else on this roster are completely replaceable & should be looked at in that context.

Crawford will be outstanding playing the M.Finley role in S.A.

Honestly, not trading Crawford and letting him walk is most appealing to me. I don't want the Knicks to take back a bunch of overpaid crap. Getting a year of service where the team hopefully makes the playoffs and him expiring is not losing him for nothing. No. You get to keep him for a year. I could care less if he stays or if he goes. But right now, this year, the dynamic is that it is an inside/outside game between Randolph and Crawford. For better or worse.

If the Knicks were to trade Craw, I'd like something like Raymond Felton and Adam Morrison for Crawford. Something where the team gets a couple of players with upside (however limited). Wilson Chandler is the only building block to the future this team has, and what's his upside? At best, 70 percent of Rasheed Wallace's career?

Posted by crzymdups:

lol. i said craw would opt out over the summer and people laughed. things can changed over time.

if craw is ready to opt out, that's not a bad thing for us, really. it means he has value. maybe we can trade him at the deadline before he opts out if he has that much value. or do a sign and trade. or what have you. i like craw a lot and im happy to see him playing this well, but really like most of the other guys over 25 on this team, he's not really a building block anymore, he's a chip to be used to get better.

said the same thing, so I hear you. He does have value and always has had value. Some places he'd make for a 6th man candidate, others he'd make for a prime third option, or with an elite player a solid second option. The problem in NY is that Isiah got him to be second banana to Marbury, then later thought he should be the basis of the Knicks.

Posted by crzymdups:

Posted by SupremeCommander:

Posted by crzymdups:

lol. i said craw would opt out over the summer and people laughed. things can changed over time.

if craw is ready to opt out, that's not a bad thing for us, really. it means he has value. maybe we can trade him at the deadline before he opts out if he has that much value. or do a sign and trade. or what have you. i like craw a lot and im happy to see him playing this well, but really like most of the other guys over 25 on this team, he's not really a building block anymore, he's a chip to be used to get better.

said the same thing, so I hear you. He does have value and always has had value. Some places he'd make for a 6th man candidate, others he'd make for a prime third option, or with an elite player a solid second option. The problem in NY is that Isiah got him to be second banana to Marbury, then later thought he should be the basis of the Knicks.

i bet Cleveland wishes they had a little Craw instead of that little dude they got from Milwaukee.

think about it, how good would Cleveland look right now with ZBO and Craw? they could have offered us two expiring deals over the summer for ZBO and Craw.

I'll tell you what, if Craw and Randolph player 75 percent as well as they have so far this season in Cleveland, they'd be the early season favorites to win it all.

Posted by BRIGGS:

That is the whole gig--we can't let Crawford walk. You cant let a 20 point scorer go like that if you want to attract a big time fa. If they have a plan it should be Chris Bosh--that should be the target player for this team. We need to keep many of the players we have and add that 7 footer type who can give us the defense in the middle as well.

Crawford will be 30 entering that summer. i really dont think you can build around him at that point. nate and chandler will probably be consistent 20ppg scorers by then anyway.

besides, we wont have any cap room after the $60M you gave Lee and the trade you made for Vince Carter, so what's the point, man?

Posted by crzymdups:

Posted by BRIGGS:

That is the whole gig--we can't let Crawford walk. You cant let a 20 point scorer go like that if you want to attract a big time fa. If they have a plan it should be Chris Bosh--that should be the target player for this team. We need to keep many of the players we have and add that 7 footer type who can give us the defense in the middle as well.

Crawford will be 30 entering that summer. i really dont think you can build around him at that point. nate and chandler will probably be consistent 20ppg scorers by then anyway.

besides, we wont have any cap room after the $60M you gave Lee and the trade you made for Vince Carter, so what's the point, man?

Hard to replace. Guys in the NBA respect JC and he's in his prime. Maybe the Knicks can extend his deal 3 years and 10mm per to keep him. You simply cant let him go with no replacement--that is 10 steps back. At the worst we would somehow have to swap him for a combo deal where you get a potential player like Bellinelli and a reasonable pick + an ending contract.The Knicks wont get rid of Crawford--you really think that?