Rumor in today's papers is that Mutombo may already have a deal in the works w/ the Knicks.

Why NY is good for Mutombo:
He won't need to relocate. It's just about the best place in the world if you want to make a political statement. The Knicks need a BIG center... and besides, the team loves Georgetown centers.

Why NY is not the best place for Mutombo:
The Knicks may not have the necessary pieces to win a title (if that's Mt. Mutombo's goal), that is, unless Houston can recover from knee surgery (at 32) and at least match last year's stats.
If he wants a better shot at a title, he should probably go to the Lakers, Detroit, or Boston, or perhaps Orlando.
The Knicks have a lot of big man depth--- Mutombo may not be able to get the PT he needs/wants.

Why Mutombo is good for the Knicks:
Defensively, he may not be very mobile, but his sharp elbow should give us a nasty side--- from that standpoint, he'd be excellent alongside Kurt Thomas. He also provides us with our first shot blocking presence since the days of Marcus Camby (and McDyess in last year's pre-season). The shotblocking will "improve" the defense of our weaker defenders.

And while not an offensive threat, teams will have to contend with boxing out the big body and will likely be pressured into a few more tick-tacky fouls/game.

Also, signing Mutombo at a bargain rate might be a good excuse for the Knicks to waive some of excess baggage (Travis Knight)

Why Mutombo is not a good fit for the Knicks:
The only good reason for him not to come here is that he may interfere with the development of our rookies. However, as Larry Brown pointed out, the guys thrown into the fire from day 1 (LeBron, Carmelo) are going to be working with the skills they gained to this point... and won't be molded into "new players" (see article about Milicic).

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Adding Mutombo to our frontline would make things very interesting, esp. if McDyess returns to close to his old level. We'd have a nice 3 or 4 man rotation of McDyess/Thomas/Mutombo/KVH, and we haven't even included the rookies (or Spoon, Harrington, and Knight).

It looks like the Knicks are going to be playing with the big SF idea again (brings back shades of Mase and Charles Smith at SF!). I wonder if any of our bigmen can handle the rock a little bit... like LJ.

I think he's the best player and center available for us. We can get him for nothing as well. He's not very mobile but still a great defensive presence and one of the best defensive centers in the league. He can give us another two years and probably until Lampe can develop into a true center. As for right now, Mutombo can play a solid 24 minutes a game, rebound and block a lot of shots, as well as post up a little. The only roadblock is we have the max amount of guarenteed contracts so someone has to be bought out. Hopefully that isn't a problem. Mutombo can really help this year and i still think he's one of the top 15 centers in the league.

Mutumbo would be the best center NY could land right now. How many games did we see with opposing players not respecting our post defense? Mutumbo alone would make guys think about getting their shots rejected or making shots difficult for them even at 37-38 yrs of age. All things seems to be shaping up for the Knicks, mixture of vets and youth.

Posted by OasisBU:

I say do whatever it takes to get him. All questions aside - it is clear he is the best available big man on the market and we havent had someone who fit that description since Ewing went to Seattle. Even if its only for 2 years until we find something else, even if he isnt THAT mobile, he will still fill a hole on this team that hasnt been addressed in a long LONG time.

The idea is fun but remember what happened with Hakeem up in Toronto - we cant expect him to save us, but he can contribute.

I remember Hakeem in Toranto but he really was in a worse condition than Mutombo. Hakeem towards the end had all kinds of problems. Besides the Raptors were expecting scoring from Hakeem. The case with Mutombo everyone just expects defense and rebounding and occasional scoring. Mutombo is a solid pickup, What everyone saw last year was a player that was coming back from injury and was rusty. He can still give this team 10 point and 10 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. He gives the Knicks the presence in the middle that has been missing since Ewing. They do this deal and the Knicks become one of the better defensive teams again.

Posted by Vmart:

Posted by OasisBU:

I say do whatever it takes to get him. All questions aside - it is clear he is the best available big man on the market and we havent had someone who fit that description since Ewing went to Seattle. Even if its only for 2 years until we find something else, even if he isnt THAT mobile, he will still fill a hole on this team that hasnt been addressed in a long LONG time.

The idea is fun but remember what happened with Hakeem up in Toronto - we cant expect him to save us, but he can contribute.

I remember Hakeem in Toranto but he really was in a worse condition than Mutombo. Hakeem towards the end had all kinds of problems. Besides the Raptors were expecting scoring from Hakeem. The case with Mutombo everyone just expects defense and rebounding and occasional scoring. Mutombo is a solid pickup, What everyone saw last year was a player that was coming back from injury and was rusty. He can still give this team 10 point and 10 rebounds and 3 blocks a game. He gives the Knicks the presence in the middle that has been missing since Ewing. They do this deal and the Knicks become one of the better defensive teams again.

I say go for it, even if its just an experiment - this team has no legit big man and Deke would provide that immediately. If he doesnt work out he can teach the other guys a thing or two, and if he does work out then we are much better immediately.

Pretty much all sources say Mutombo will be a Knick by the end of the week. He will be excellent for the rookies because by the time he is done which will be 2 to 3 years, Lampe will be ready to step in at starting center and hopefully Vranes will be able to play a lot of minutes off the bench. Suddenly the center situation for New York in the near and distant future is looking very good.

The deal's as good as done. Hopefully we won't get tied down to another injury... Mutombo is the type of solid veteran rebounder/shot blocker the Knicks (not want, but) NEED. I expect KT to benefit from a natural starting center than he realizes.

Don't forget that Ratliff wants out of ATL and Davis spoke the same of Canada. Ratliff also has explicitly expressed interest in the Knicks a while back, though ATL's new management wants to keep him.

Great point Jazz, Intimidation is a word we haven't heard in awhile at MSG. I can see us (with healthy squad) being very potent in the EAST.

If this deal goes down look for help at the point coming next. Developing Williams is fine but lets get a REAL point guard to show him how to play. With Mutombo and Vranes NY will have what we havent had in a while, twin towers. Imagine how scared teams were when we used to throw two 7 footers at them at once, Ewing and Camby.

Finally, WE will be causing the matchup problems. Even Van Horn admitted his old teams only strategy to beat the knicks, pound everything down low. No more! All that stops if this deal goes down.