nyk4ever wrote:hmm, good call briggs. i'm not sure id say to release rautins (even though he hasn't looked good) but i would definitely love to sign scottie reynolds

It's not close. Reynolds was a better college player--he can truly play PG and he kind of went under the radar @ the draft. I don't know who made the decision that Rautins was a pro PG but I think whoever did just must admit it they were wrong. Lets get this kid--what is the difference--it will be like we drafted Reynolds instead of Rautins--no one would have flinched anyway. The better question is--why didnt we draft a PG with three picks anyway????? Couldve had Stephenson

Cosmic wrote:Repeating what mistake, Bluest?

It was one mistake. Come'on now. It also didn't cost us anything in the end anyway. I hated that mf'er though.

As to the idea of cutting Andy Rottens? I'm all for it. He's garbage. As is Jerome Jordan (JJ # 5?? - lol).

Jerome Jordan@ 44 has upside that can be developed in the D league. We spent 1mm to acquire him--what the H is another 1mm or so developing him? Upside on rautins--none he's been overwhelmed in SL and had his face imprinted by Derozan today--that was the sign to get off the court son.

Cosmic wrote:Repeating what mistake, Bluest?

It was one mistake. Come'on now. It also didn't cost us anything in the end anyway. I hated that mf'er though.

As to the idea of cutting Andy Rottens? I'm all for it. He's garbage. As is Jerome Jordan (JJ # 5?? - lol).

I'm tired of us signing/drafting guys because they hit 60-70% off the rack in the drive way or because they are friends of the fam or looking for an NBA comeback. There was no reason to snag Rautins at pick 38.

Cash wrote:If you were planning on getting lebron then you needed to surrond him with shooters like rautins and TD. Fields is a different and interesting character from what i read from bigblueinteractive.com and he is living up to the potential they told me about there. Stanford isn't a **** school and he made that team from what i hear. They are pac-10

Good point Cash -- I think that very well may have been the thinking. With an Amar'e/LeBron combo in place, I could see the rationale to want to surround them with cheap complementary pieces (shooters and bangers, even if one-dimensional). If we had gotten LeBron James suddenly there's no real need for a legit PG per say, although I've actually argued the opposite -- why knowingly look to tax the guy like that every night unnecessarily? 82 games is a long season - why overload 'Bron with all the playmaking abilities in addition to everything else?? I actually would've looked to have gotten James a legit PG to play with for once to alleviate some pressure..Moot point now though I suppose..That's Miami's problem now..

Rautins was a definite reach at 38. No question about it. I don't know about Scottie Reynolds, but we can definitely do better than Rautins with that roster spot. I think when they had Rautins in for a workout they came away with the idea that he could give them minutes at both backcourt spots..I don't see it. First off he's no playmaker in the NBA and second, as a 2 guard, I see him having a lot of trouble getting his offense consistently and also guarding bigger/quicker 2s at the other end as we saw with DeRozan & Weems yesterday.

They wiffed on the Rautins pick but I think they redeemed themselves nicely with the Landry Fields selection. I like him. You don't see this guy coming -- Doesn't appear overly skilled or athletic at first glance but you soon realize that he's very solid. Competes, plays smart/tough & doesn't look overmatched in the slightest considering he wasn't a guy on anyone's radar (funny how Clyde kinda trashed Stanford a little bit on the broadcast with his ignorance, insinuating that you don't think of Stanford as a school that churns out NBA talent [guess Clyde forgot all about the Lopez brothers]). Everything about Fields looks surprisingly polished and developed. Can really put the ball on the floor and has a strong take to the basket esp. going right where he finishes well at the rim. Looks solid defensively, can handle it a little bit w/o embarrassing himself, good nose for the ball, goes to the glass on both ends, moves well w/o the ball, can hit his FTs (looks like he's got a real knack for getting to the line frequently) and it looks like he can knock down a jumper with good form (yesterday he hit one elbow 3 and a couple of baseline pullups from about 10-12'. All his other jumpers looked good even on misses - not one brick in the bunch). Unlike Rautins, I definitely see a rotation player we can move forward with in Fields. I can definitely see a Jared Dudley/Matt Barnes type of future for this kid, maybe more..I rip the Knicks enough - I want to commend them on Fields. Gotta give credit where credit's due.

Jordan's a project that needs to develop his body and skills but I agree with Briggs -- we payed $1M to get him, now I wanna see us go the extra mile, retain him on the 15 man roster and start develop him, even if he requires time in the d-league which looks like it'll be the case.

Here's a few guys I'd be looking at right now to fill out the roster (in order):

1) Patty Mills - I've been a little hard on TD lately - Toney's done a fine job and looked good again yesterday, it's just to me he looks slightly awkward trying to run a team. It doesn't look like it comes natural to him. In fact everything about TD looks slightly awkward to be honest. He's coming along though - nice to see him being vocal with guys on the court yesterday..Still, I agree with the sentiment that if Ray Felton ever went down for a stretch, we'd suffer some using TD full-time which is why I'd look to bring in some more PG depth. RFA Patty Mills is at the top of my list. I'd like to see us make an offer. If Portland matches then you regroup but they may not. Dude has some real nice potential as a scoring point that can also run a club efficiently. Nothing left to prove at the D-league/summer league level where he's excelled going back to last year. This man's ready for the NBA and I don't see how he cracks that stacked Blazer rotation. Call me nuts if you want to but I see some Darren Collison/Mo Cheeks in this kid's game..I think this guy's obtainable. I'd be looking to steal him right now.

2) Sherron Collins - He's right at 6' in shoes so there's no real lack of height issue that's apparent with some other guys (Nate Rob, Jerome Randle, etc.), strong, quick, nothing but a winner in college, above average handle/passer/penetrator/shooter in the Jameer Nelson mold. Started out a little slow in SL then threw down the hammer his last game where he went for 32 pts., 12-21 from the field, 7-11 from 3 in 35 mins.

3) Sylven Landesberg - This is the guy I would've taken at 38. 6'6" with a real scorer's mentality. A lot of potential. Sac might be be more focused on giving Dionte Christmas a shot right now. To me Landesberg is the better prospect and another guy I'd look to swoop in and steal right now. These first 3 guys are all guys I'd rather have over Andy Rautins -- you go either way, either go after a legit PG in Mills or Collins or a legit 2 with good potential in Landesberg. Knicks thought they could get a guy to fill in at both spots with Rautins and they were wrong.

4) Wayne Chism - 6'9" 250 and skilled. Dude can shoot it with range, score in the post, rebound and play some defense. Very instrumental in helping Tenn. get as far as they did in the tournament. Forget fooling around with guys like Carlos Powell & Eric Boateng -- if the plan isn't to take a good long look at Leo Lyons & Charles Garcia, go get me Chism right now as that extra big off the bench and call it a day...Speaking of Garcia, I'm at a complete loss -- what's up with Dan D'antoni and this guy? Get him in a damn game already. One of two things: (1) either he's hurt which doesn't look to be the case (I saw him standing there in the hudle wearing his uniform) or (2) they're unwilling to showcase him for some reason, which doesn't make too much sense either. If we like him, we should sign him. Regardless, if we are looking for another big, I just assume go with Chism. At least I know he can play.

Thanks to his work ethic and complete commitment to succeeding, Toney Douglas turned out to be a successful draft pick. Expecting a player to "look good" when they are changing how they play, is a mistake that the Knicks didn't make. They invested in the player's character, as well as his short term performance. What's the rush? Maybe he will become comfortable in his new role?

rvwink wrote:Last year, one of our "smart guys" embarrassed himself a little bit. Despite a college career in which Toney Douglas shot well, he determined that Toney Douglas couldn't shoot. He trusted his eyes over the stats for Toney's college career. He couldn't understand the possibility that maybe Toney was concentrating so hard on working on his passing, that his shooting suffered during the transition. The biggest obstacle for a player drafted as a back up point guard, who played shooting guard during his career is that patience is required.

Thanks to his work ethic and complete commitment to succeeding, Toney Douglas turned out to be a successful draft pick. Expecting a player to "look good" when they are changing how they play, is a mistake that the Knicks didn't make. They invested in the player's character, as well as his short term performance. What's the rush? Maybe he will become comfortable in his new role?

The coaches are also seeing Rautins in practice- perhaps they are seeing a different player in the SL games- someone who is pressing too much to be effective.

Nevertheless- I have not been overwhelmed with how he has played, and he does not do many of the little things well enough to keep him on the team if his shooting is just average or below.