We'd be OK with either Morris Almond or Joe Crawford although I think we can do better. I'd like to see us shoot for a little more quality & longterm depth at the SG position. Because of our cap situation and what we wish to accomplish in the near future in free agency, we're fairly restricted on what we can do right now but I think there still may be some decent options out there. Here's the criteria - either through sensible trade or free agency we should be looking for young, inexpensive SG talent that has a chance to grow with the team. And I'd like a little bit of size at that position as well. Here are some options that may be available:

Free Agents (undrafted rookies):

AD Vassallo - Signed on with the Bulls summer league team but as far as I could verify, it looked like he never even got into a game. I'm sure the Bulls had their reasons (it appeared they were much more interested in finding out if Josh Shipp could play or not) but I still say this kid's got good talent and has a lot to offer an NBA team. He's got good size at 6'6" and has a fantastic stroke from deep. Good ball-handler as well, adept passer, solid at the FT line and contributes on the glass as well. He's not some jump-out-of-the-gym or lightning quick type - he's much more of a cerebral player, a guy you feel good about having the ball in his hands throughout a game. Saw him play quite a few times this past season for VA Tech and I think he's the goods. Would make for a tremendous complementary shooter on a good team. Very confident player who's overall versatility reminds me of Francisco Garcia. His smooth offensive game and pure shooting stroke reminds me a lot of Allan Houston as well -- as far as H2O comparisons go, Vassallo's game compares much more favorably to Allan's than Morris Almond's does.

Josh Shipp - His above-average career at UCLA ended with probably his best statistical season as a senior: 14.5 ppg, .504 FG, .433 3-pt FG (on over 120 attempts), 80% FT (on over 100 attempts). Those are decent numbers. He doesn't have the most versatile package in the world but what he does he does extremely well and that's shoot the ball from deep. That's not to say that the other parts of his game are deficient, they're not - he can get to the rim and the foul line showing some decent athleticism in the process and he plays the game hard, smart & relatively mistake free. Will probably never be an all-star at the NBA level but like Vassallo, he could definitely catch on as a complemetary piece to the puzzle for some team that needs a shooter like us. Adequate size for an NBA 2 at 6'5", 200+ lbs. Like I mentioned above, Chicago gave this kid a little bit of a run in summer league but he failed to take advantage. Though it was a small sample (only 14.2 mpg) he averaged just over 4 ppg on under 20% from the field. Again, we're talking small sample though - I think he's better than that and could be a rotation player in the NBA. May stick in Chicago now that they lost Ben Gordon.

KC Rivers - 6'5" senior had another solid year to wrap up his career at Clemson - 14.2 ppg, almost 40% from 3 on a large number of attempts. In fact, he has been very consistent with his 3-pt. shooting over the past few seasons ('06-'07: 88-223 for 39.5%, '07-'08: 80-199 for 40.2%, '08-'09: 69-176 for 39.2%). This guy's a nice two-way player - lefthanded gunner that can also play solid defense. Plays the best defense out anyone I've mentioned so far and probably will mention later. He's also almost a year younger than the above two guys. Not the greatest ball-handler or penetrator (only got to the line 69 times and converted only 67%) though I think he can improve in these areas. Very good rebounder (over 6 rpg his last 2 years). His combination of high % 3-pt. shooting and in-you-face defense make him an intriguing option. Another guy that was invited to summer ball (Dallas) but failed to get into an actual game.

Wesley Matthews - At 6'5" 220 lbs. this Marquette 4-year player is very strong & can really penetrate and get to the rim with ease. Can really convert on his FTs as well - last year he went a whopping 213-257 from the FT line (83%). With his above-average strength & athleticism, he just showed incredible ability to drive and score the ball. While combo guard Jerel McNeal got most of the buzz last year at Marquette, this guy Matthews very quietly had an extremely productive year - 18.3 ppg, 47.5% FG. A contributor on the glass as well (5.7 rpg). This guy's entire game really looked like it's come full circle since his freshman year - he's now managed to make himself into a reliable perimeter threat as well, evident by his improved 3-pt. shooting numbers (up to almost 37%). Has a very similar game to Terrence Williams in that he's very strong for a 2, he can get to the rim but also can hit from the perimeter and defend. Was a part of Sacramento's summer league team and was fairly productive. Only thing is with guys like Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia and now Tyreke Evans already on the roster, I don't see how he makes that club. If and when he becomes available we should pounce on this guy.

Free Agents with NBA experience:

Rashad McCants - He's got a lot to prove but I've always liked him. This kid has always been a good scorer both out on the perimeter and by taking it to the bucket. Fiery competitor too which I love. I'd love to add him only if the price is right. He might want too much money though - he's probably looking for a MLE deal. But if by chance we're only talking a portion of the mid-level or LLE type money, he could make some sense for us. Rumor has it that Mark Cuban's interested so he might be on his way to Dallas. If he went to Dallas then we should have no problem inviting KC Rivers to training camp.

Rodney Carney - Excellent package in terms of size (pushing 6'7"), above-the-rim athleticism and perimeter shooting. Hasn't done much in the league yet but this guy's potential is off the charts in my book. Curious to see if Minnesota wants him back and what kind of money he'll be looking for. Limited numbers so far in his short NBA career (only 16.7 mpg) I'd really be interest to see what this guy could do with 30+ mins. a night.

Von Wafer - Not a marque name but this guy's pretty much proved he can play at the NBA level. Has played well in the summer league for various teams over the past few years and he played well for Houston when called upon last year. Probably wouldn't cost as much as McCants and Carney, I think we're talking a contract anywhere from the veteran minimum to the LLE. And he can play.

Gerald Green - For whatever reason, this guy just hasn't panned out. Still, when you look at what he can do, the skillset and the fact that he's still young --- I mean if you're a team that's thin at the 2, you gotta at least consider this guy. 6'8", can jump out of the building, hit 3s... Just like Wafer, he shouldn't cost more than some of these other more-established guys. As long as his head is screwed on straight, there's no character issues, and the money's right, I think I'd take a chance on him. I wanted him last year. A guy with that skillset playing a decent amount of minutes for a coach like D'Antoni could be scary. If we ever did pick him up on the cheap I'd want to play him big minutes. To me that would be the key - I'm not really interested in any of these guys if we're not going to play them. With any of these guys, the idea would be to use the upcoming season to develop a 2-guard here..

Trade possibilities:

NJ Nets - This team seems to be overloaded with SG talent right now. They've got 3 good young SGs in Terrence Williams, Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts, not to mention almost $6.4 million dollars tied up in two vets for next year, Jarvis Hayes & Trenton Hassell. Something's gotta give there eventually - there's not enough minutes to go around for all of these guys. One of those 3 young guys could be made available in the right deal.

Phoenix Suns - Same deal as the Nets - J-Rich, Barbosa, Pavlovic, Alando Tucker - you would think something's gotta give there as well. Just too much talent (veteran and youth) for one spot. I'd like to see if I could get my hands on Tucker. He's big and a good athlete. Not as far along as some of these other guys right now but he's strong, runs the court like a deer and can really finish strong at the rim.

Portland Trailblazers - Webster, Roy, Bayless, Fernandez, Batum... Another team with a surplus of SG talent. Considering they tried to sign Millsap and failed before they turned their attention to Andre Miller, you would think there might still be some interest in David Lee in a S&T scenario. I still think a S&T with Portland is our best option with David Lee. They've liked Lee for a while (he could really be that big missing piece for them) and I'd love to see either Bayless or Rudy Fernandez in a Knicks uniform.


Anyone think of anything else??

I really don't know the college guys but in Order for guys I like that you listed in one way or another...

Courtney Lee
Von Wafer
Rashad McCants

yeah, we're not getting any of these guys.

Posted by Panos:

Posted by EnySpree:

the OTHER agent zero

Dude check his facial expression, lmao

Posted by Panos:

Does his jersey say "Nueva York?" When/where is that?

Latino Night, lol...seriously...those jersey's are cool as hell

nice write up finest.

Posted by unstopaball12:

what happened to morris almond? id sign him to a 2 year contract so that if he plays well this season he wont affect our plans next season

I was interested in Almond, like many here, when Isaiah drafted Chandler instead. But his record in his two nba seasons and the fact that he didn't dominate in summer league after two seasons in the league (the way Nate did a couple of years ago) makes me feel skeptical that this guy will ever make an impact. I think he'll wind up in Europe or in the d league.

^ i don't disagree with your assessment of him but i think he's actually just the kind of player you do want to get a closeup look at in summer league.

Chandler will start at the 2 for us and hopefully have a really nice year.

If we bring back Nate - we are pretty much set at the 2.

Almond appears to be a likely invite but the only guy on your list that would seem an upgrade over Almond is potentially Wafer. He played very aggressively last year and is very athletic. That said - I bet Almond would give us some big games if given the minutes.