Core players:
Gallo - Euro Forward
Chandler - Two Way Wing
Hill - Raw Paint Presence

Assets:
Expirings - Harrington, Hughes, Duhon, Darko
Restricted Players - Nate, Lee
Misc: Mobley's insured contract
Value Players: Douglas

Negatives:
Curry - under contract through 2010 and has a trade kicker
Jeffries - under contract through 2010 and has a trade kicker
No 2010 1st round pick
There's been a lot of talk on other threads about where the Knicks can expect to finish, where they rank, etc, etc.

Let's get to the heart of the matter here. We've got Walsh coming into year two of this fantastic journey. I want to know for good or for bad where people see the Knicks at the present day. What teams do we compare with? Who are we eye to eye with? Who should we be chasing? Who are we a notch above?

Please post your comparative team's assets to compare to the list above with your comments.



[Edited by - johnwallace44 on 07-28-2009 1:18 PM]

why bother comparing teams now? everyone knows this isn't a finished product nor is it even the core of the team that Walsh is building around... he's just amassing pieces & clearing cap space to give himself flexibility to make deals with... we can start comparing where we're at after the season's over & the free agency period is over with.

Most rosters are set, while two of our best players from last year arent even signed yet. Too much speculation about the core of our roster to start legitimate season predictions

For instance, here's the Bucks;

Core Players:
Redd - Knock Down Two
Jennings - Flashy Distributor
Bogut - Average Pivot
Joe Alexander - Potential Bust

Assets
Expiring Deals - Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen, Luke Ridnour, Amir Johnson
Value Players: Jodie Meeks,

Nagatives:
Redd? - If injuries continue to dog him, he's signed through 2010 season

I'll play since I know this is spawned from discussions on another thread. For time and content's sake I'm limiting this to the east as its those teams we are competing with for a playoff spot

Cle, Bos and Orl are loaded and elite teams. Atl is very balanced and bringing Bibby back ensures they hold the 4th seed below the above teams. After that? Knicks are right in the mix with every other team in every way.

Phili was a .500 team and they lost Miller. If people dont think they are taking a massive step back losing a veteran giving them 16/6 everynight while shooting 47% they are kidding themselves.

They are *hoping* Brand returns healthy and can mix with Dalembert (they didnt before). They are *hoping* that Louis Williams learns how to play PG

Char stinks. They are an expansion franchise totally misrun. They have a few good players but is Larry going to get them to play Larry-ball?

They are *hoping* Larry can turn them into the Pistons but I dont see it. Their roster is loaded with guys that havent filled thier great potential

Bulls another .500 team who lost their best player. Ben Gordon closed every game for them. I will say their prospects are good because I think Rose is a stud but who else are they built around? I think Rose brings a lot to the table but they didnt fill Gordon's hole (Dumars did... ewwwwww)

Pistons Tell me who their bigs are. How are they winning with Wilcox, CV, Prince, Maxiel, etc patrolling the paint? Rip, Prince, Gordon, CV are interesting players. Who plays center? PG? More questions than answers there

Pacers Have a decent squad and I think will be above .500
They have a stud in Granger (who I think Chandler can be like in a couple of years). They have a lot of size up front. They were however poorly coached and had their share of injuries. They are also pretty slow.

Miami Well lets hope Wade isnt distracted by his contract status, the $100mm plus in lawsuits against him, his pending divorce and the fact that he cant stay on the court for 80 games. If those things work out fine, Jermain Oneil drinks from the fountain of youth, Mario Chalmers and Beasley quit smoking blunts and Gloria Estafan sings the star spangled banner Miami can play with anyone.

Bucks Joe Alexander has been a dud. Their best guard last year was Sessions and who knows about his status. This team has talent, very expensive talent but its all broken. Bogut has been a disappointment overall and was hurt all last year. Redd can score it bigtime but was out all year also. **IF** everyone is healthy they can be OK. Otherwise its going to be fun watching Jennings shoot 35% while dishing to Dan Ganzurich for the open... CLANG. Again.. most questions than anwsers. They are hoping for a lot to go right.

NJ I think Brook Lopez is vastly overrated by people here. Good stats on a losing team, and the only reason the won any games was Vince really had a good year. Devin Harris as a LONG way to go before he is carrying a team. Harris, Lopez, Yi, Williams.. all look interesting on paper but it didnt translate to wins last year. At all.

I am getting tired....

Wash no defense, praying for Hibatchi to come back and drop 35 a night. Blatch and McGee are getting better and I like them both. Butler is good also and Jamison loves Marbury. I hope they sign him. Maybe the get their crap together and have a good season. Maybe they they dont. Does a healthy Arenas add 30 wins?

Toronto Bosh is great, Bosh is best, Bosh, Bargs and DJ = a sausage fest. I guess we just give them a do-over on last year? Arent Bosh, Bargs and Turko all the same guy?

Knicks showed improvement last year under new regime despite a total roster dump 6 weeks into the season. I think Chandler will be a stud in this league. He had several 20 point games last year and blocked a lot of shots as well. They are well coached. Nate, Harrington and Lee are all vocal about wanting to be Knicks for the long haul but all are in walk years (assuming Nate + Lee sign one year deals). Will that motivate to win or to pad stats? Knicks are hoping to get something Curry and hoping to get something from Gallo. If some things go right they can make the playoffs. If some things go wrong Utah gets a lottery pick next year. They have enough depth to win 35 games at the worst.





[Edited by - fishmike on 28-07-2009 2:12 PM]

Fill in these five categories:

1) The Future Is Now - teams that certainly have an eye on the summer of 2010 but are more concerned with the present. Because of the average age of the team and the amount of money being spent on their players, they don't have a choice but to try to win it all now

2) The Fine Wines - teams that need only to gain experience and a player here or there before they are competing for an NBA title

3) The Wishful Thinkers - teams that will either have plenty of cap space in 2010, or are jockeying themselves to have maximum cap space to make a run at the bigger names

4) The Realists - teams that know they are probably not going to be in play for big-name free agents, so they're going to use trades as their means of getting better

5) The Decapitated Chickens - teams that have no idea what they are doing and seem to be making decisions like chickens with their heads cut off

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/40006-five-catergories-of-nba-teams-which-one-is-your-team-in

Posted by Rookie:

Fill in these five categories:

1) The Future Is Now - teams that certainly have an eye on the summer of 2010 but are more concerned with the present. Because of the average age of the team and the amount of money being spent on their players, they don't have a choice but to try to win it all now

2) The Fine Wines - teams that need only to gain experience and a player here or there before they are competing for an NBA title

3) The Wishful Thinkers - teams that will either have plenty of cap space in 2010, or are jockeying themselves to have maximum cap space to make a run at the bigger names

4) The Realists - teams that know they are probably not going to be in play for big-name free agents, so they're going to use trades as their means of getting better

5) The Decapitated Chickens - teams that have no idea what they are doing and seem to be making decisions like chickens with their heads cut off

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/40006-five-catergories-of-nba-teams-which-one-is-your-team-in

Knicks are in both #3 & #4 categories according to your definitions... really all this season is about is attaining more flexibility to make deals, whether it's trades or free agency.

I don't really care about the "current" knicks.

Half these guys are just laundry models who won't be around next year.

If you're a season-ticket holder you can be pissed off about things not improving much if that makes you feel better. I don't feel sorry for people who have the income to go to 41 home games a year. You don't hear them complain when the franchise makes the playoffs 12 straight years. But asking them to endure the cyclical NBA rebuild you'd think they were being asked for a kidney.

Suck it up and endure another year of "player development"

we're just biding time.

Posted by Rookie:

I think that we were in the 'Decapitated Chickens' until DW took over. Last season under DW we moved into 'The Realists' group and made some trades to get better. This year we are firmly in 'The Wishful Thinkers' group and 2010 is no longer a longshot now that we've moved the contracts of Crawford and Randolph.

Next season, the season of 2010/11, we should be in 'The Fine Wines' group and looking for a key player to move into 'The Future Is Now' group.

We're headed in the right direction, just relax and trust in the Don

How do you go from Wishful Thinkers to Fine Wines without having a pick?

Posted by kam77:

Yes i cheer. I watch almost every minute of almost every game. I'm clearly not indifferent. I don't worry about bad calls because refs are human. I don't assume the games are rigged (shouldn't we be 82-0?). I know Nate is not a keeper but i wanted him on the team next year because i like his style. I like Jamal Crawford too. Didn't think he was a winner but i liked him as a person and i liked his offensive trickery. These guys entertain me. David Lee... his hard work is gratifying to see. I like the rookies. I liked Balkman when he was here. I'm definitely pumped when i see a three to win the game... be it Allan Houston against Philly, Steve Francis against Washington... Channing Frye against Detroit... who doesn't get pumped over a last second shot?

Its all entertainment. Wins and Losses will matter when we have a real team. Til then we're gonna be in flux.

coolio. i ask b/c i didn't feel the same things. i mostly felt the opposite, i wanted them to lose which is when i knew my time was up with the team was up.

Posted by djsunyc:

Posted by kam77:

Yes i cheer. I watch almost every minute of almost every game. I'm clearly not indifferent. I don't worry about bad calls because refs are human. I don't assume the games are rigged (shouldn't we be 82-0?). I know Nate is not a keeper but i wanted him on the team next year because i like his style. I like Jamal Crawford too. Didn't think he was a winner but i liked him as a person and i liked his offensive trickery. These guys entertain me. David Lee... his hard work is gratifying to see. I like the rookies. I liked Balkman when he was here. I'm definitely pumped when i see a three to win the game... be it Allan Houston against Philly, Steve Francis against Washington... Channing Frye against Detroit... who doesn't get pumped over a last second shot?

Its all entertainment. Wins and Losses will matter when we have a real team. Til then we're gonna be in flux.

coolio. i ask b/c i didn't feel the same things. i mostly felt the opposite, i wanted them to lose which is when i knew my time was up with the team was up.

Deep down, I kind of hoped they would lose too, for reasons bigger than wins or losses. I flat out thought it was a joke how things were being run with Isiah, and I wanted it to stop. Getting that accomplished, IMO was more important than making the playoffs and being knocked out the first round. Thank God things turned out that way, in the end.

Credibility > Wins. The Knicks had none.