Some analysis of the team without Gallinari:

I know I'm gonna take some heat for this but I honestly don't believe Danilo Gallinari is some critical component for this team to be successful..I know it was only one game but it was against the top team in the league and I just loved how the team flowed and operated last night..Amar'e got his as usual but Chandler and Ray in particular just seemed more aggressive w/o Gallo (for one thing, I liked how Wil returned to his normal position finally where he will now be playing with no disadvantages for awhile), we had much better shot selection (much higher % shot attempts or so it seemed) and the rebounding & defense seemed better (we gave up a ton of points but there was defensive effort throughout)..When Felton's looking for & getting his own offense as much as he was last night, ****, dude's one of the best PGs in the league--top echelon (he's been playing great ball all year anyway but last night he was at optimum level). I like Ray and Chandler getting more shots...Just speculation but say we didn't have Gallo from day 1 and went with last night's lineup to open up the season (to the point where we leaned even more on Ray & Chandler for their offense) --- I think you can make the case that Ray and Chandler are both closer or a lock for averaging 20 pts/night and both are probably a lock for the all-star game (Chandler moreso, Ray should get voted in by the coaches as a reserve). I said it a couple of weeks ago and I'll say it again right here: if I'm Donnie, I'm shopping Gallo hard from here on in..Option 1--hopefully we can get DEN to take Gallo in a trade for Melo if Anthony ever begins to make it clear that it's NY or nothing..But if that never materializes, I'd continue to shop Gallo anyway..I think we could get something useful for him -- maybe even move up into the lottery in June for a better player. I wouldn't be all that concerned if we lost Gallo's 3-pt shooting ability in exchange for something else beneficial (say a PG, a rebounder/banger/defender or a combination of useful parts). Ray shoots the 3 pretty well, so does Fields, Chandler's much improved from behind the arc (we really need to start focusing on bringing Chandler back now--he's definitely turned the corner this season and bettered his game. Retaining WC has got to be one of the top priorities), Shawne Williams will be back in all likelihood and he shoots it well from downtown, TD can shoot 3s, Rautins may see more time next year and he's known for his shooting, etc..How many 3 pt shooters do we really need?? As is, it sure looks like we have enough perimeter offense to open things up for Amar'e, even w/o Gallo...

When looking to the draft for help as of right now, I've been watching a lot of taped Georgia games recently to get a better feel for Trey Thompkins -- this is my guy right now. 6'10" 250 lb. with a very good post up AND perimeter game. Advanced post game with moves/good footwork/touch and he's got one hell of a reliable J for a big with a real high release point..Decent, capable rebounder too with potential to get even better. Not great but a decent shotblocker--there's potential here as well (has some really long arms--was closing out beautifully on 3 pt shooters during Georgia's last game against Eastern Kentucky, contesting quite a few perimeter shot attempts)..With his latest performance against EKU 26/7/0 blocks (which is incorrect btw, he had at least 1 rejection with several alters), he has shot up nbadraft.net's board from 13 to 9..I don't quite see draft.net's Kevin Love comparison -- what he possesses is the similar inside/outside game of Craig Brackins only with better big man tendencies; something closer to David West. I think we could definitely use him w/o a doubt. Hopefully, if it looks like he's gonna go higher than originally anticipated, say end of the lottery/ahead of where we pick (hey hopefully he slips to us at 20 or in the early 20s), we can parlay pick 20 or so along with another asset or 2 to get him if that looks to make sense at that particular time (maybe this is where Gallo comes in esp. if Melo isn't an option anymore--Gallo and pick 20 for pick 8-10 say and a good player of equal salary value??). Thompkins would be great here..I actually like PF Kenneth Faried too but at 6'8" & somewhere in the neighborhood of 215-230 lbs. I'm a little worried about the lack of size & also, unlike Thompkins, I'm concerned about his offense at the NBA level. Faried's a tremdous rebounder though, I think the NCAA's best at the moment, but just a little smaller and a little more raw compared to Thompkins overall..Thompkins I see as a David West clone--NBA ready to go; Faried's resembles something closer to a less heavy but more athletic Reggie Evans/maybe a shorter Amir Johnson..If the additional big man/rebounding issue isn't rectified by the time the draft rolls around, we probably couldn't go wrong with either guy..And if the Knicks were really concerned about losing Gallo's perimeter stroke in a potential deal, go buy a late additional pick and grab Ohio State's Jon Diebler -- this dude's probably the best shooter in the entire country and at 6'6" he can probably play both 2 and 3 in the NBA as an interchangable 3 pt specialist..For me it's beginning to shape up like this as far as Gallinari's concerned: Gallo in a 'take it or leave it' deal for Melo = no brainer..Gallo + pick 20 or so for a 'lottery move up pick' for T Thompkins and another useful NBA level player = a nice fallback plan B..

Whether this is just knee-jerk reaction going on one nice win w/o Gallo against an elite team, I dunno..Maybe..But if after these 2-3 weeks w/o Gallo the team is still performing well, dare I say performing better than we have up to this point which could very well happen, I'd begin to think about moving Gallinari to better the club, whether it's for Melo or something else that makes sense..I'm not saying he's garbage, I like him (to be honest I think he was playing his best ball as a Knick before he got hurt) but I just think we might be able to function as well, if not better than we have been, w/o him..Hey maybe not -- we're gonna find out one way or another the next couple of weeks just how important he really is..In the meantime, I'm gonna start looking at some trade scenarios with teams in the middle/tail end of the lottery for some possibilities...

Finestrg wrote:Just caught the replay of last night's game. Tremendous win..

Some analysis of the team without Gallinari:

I know I'm gonna take some heat for this but I honestly don't believe Danilo Gallinari is some critical component for this team to be successful..I know it was only one game but it was against the top team in the league and I just loved how the team flowed and operated last night..Amar'e got his as usual but Chandler and Ray in particular just seemed more aggressive w/o Gallo (for one thing, I liked how Wil returned to his normal position finally where he will now be playing with no disadvantages for awhile), we had much better shot selection (much higher % shot attempts or so it seemed) and the rebounding & defense seemed better (we gave up a ton of points but there was defensive effort throughout)..When Felton's looking for & getting his own offense as much as he was last night, ****, dude's one of the best PGs in the league--top echelon (he's been playing great ball all year anyway but last night he was at optimum level). I like Ray and Chandler getting more shots...Just speculation but say we didn't have Gallo from day 1 and went with last night's lineup to open up the season (to the point where we leaned even more on Ray & Chandler for their offense) --- I think you can make the case that Ray and Chandler are both closer or a lock for averaging 20 pts/night and both are probably a lock for the all-star game (Chandler moreso, Ray should get voted in by the coaches as a reserve). I said it a couple of weeks ago and I'll say it again right here: if I'm Donnie, I'm shopping Gallo hard from here on in..Option 1--hopefully we can get DEN to take Gallo in a trade for Melo if Anthony ever begins to make it clear that it's NY or nothing..But if that never materializes, I'd continue to shop Gallo anyway..I think we could get something useful for him -- maybe even move up into the lottery in June for a better player. I wouldn't be all that concerned if we lost Gallo's 3-pt shooting ability in exchange for something else beneficial (say a PG or a rebounder/banger/defender or a combination of useful parts). Ray shoots the 3 pretty good, so does Fields, Chandler's much improved from behind the arc (we really need to start focusing on bringing Chandler back now--he's definitely turned the corner this season and bettered his game. Retaining WC has got to be one of the top priorities), Shawne Williams will be back in all likelihood and he shoots it well from downtown, TD can shoot 3s, Rautins may see more time next year and he's know for his shooting, etc..How many 3 pt shooters do we really need?? As is, it sure looks like we have enough perimeter offense to open things up for Amar'e, even w/o Gallo...

When looking to the draft for help as of right now, I've been watching a lot of taped Georgia games recently to get a better look at Trey Thompkins -- this is my guy right now. 6'10" 250 lb. with a very good post up AND perimeter game. Advanced post game with moves/good footwork/touch and he's got one hell of a reliable J for a big with a real high release point..Decent, capable rebounder too with potential to get even better. Not great but a decent shotblocker--there's potential here as well (has some really long arms--was closing out beautifully on 3 pt shooters during Georgia's last game against Eastern Kentucky, contesting quite a few perimeter shot attempts)..With his latest performance against EKU 26/7/0 blocks (which is incorrect btw, he had at least 1 rejection with several alters), he has shot up nbadraft.net's board from 13 to 9..I don't quite see draft.net's Kevin Love comparison -- what he possesses is the similar inside/outside game of Craig Brackins only with better big man tendencies; something closer to David West. I think we could definitely use him w/o a doubt. Hopefully, if it looks like he's gonna go higher than originally anticipated, say end of the lottery (ahead of where we pick -- hey hopefully he slips to us at 20 or in the early 20s), we can parlay pick 20 or so along with another asset or 2 to get him (maybe this is where Gallo comes in esp. if Melo isn't an option anymore--Gallo and pick 20 for pick 8-10 say and a good player of equal salary value??). Thompkins would be great here..I actually like PF Kenneth Faried too but at 6'8" & somewhere in the neighborhood of 215-230 lbs. I'm a little worried about the lack of size & also, unlike Thompkins, I'm concerned about his offense at the NBA level. Faried's a tremdous rebounder though, I think the NCAA's best at the moment, but just a little smaller and a little more raw compared to Thompkins..Thompkins I see as a David West clone--NBA ready to go; Faried's resembles something closer to a less heavy but more athletic Reggie Evans/maybe a shorter Amir Johnson..If the additional big man/rebounding issue isn't rectified by the time the draft rolls around, we probably couldn't go wrong with either guy..And if the Knicks were really concerned about losing Gallo's perimeter stroke, go buy a late additional pick and grab Ohio State's Jon Diebler -- this dude's probably the best shooter in the entire country and at 6'6" he can probably play both 2 and 3 in the NBA as an interchangable 3 pt specialist..For me it's beginning to shape up like this as far as Gallinari's concerned: Gallo in a 'take it or leave it' deal for Melo = no brainer..Gallo + pick 20 or so for a 'lottery move up pick' for T Thompkins and another useful NBA level player = a nice fallback plan B..

Whether this is just knee-jerk reaction going on one nice win w/o Gallo against an elite team, I dunno..Maybe..But if after these 2-3 weeks w/o Gallo the team is still performing well, dare I say performing better than we have up to this point which could very well happen, I'd begin to think about moving Gallinari to better the club, whether it's for Melo or something else that makes sense..I'm not saying he's garbage, i like him (to be honest I think he was playing his best ball as a Knick before he got hurt) but I just think we might be able to function as well, if not better than we have been, w/o him..Hey maybe not -- we're gonna find out one way or another the next couple of weeks just how important he really is..I'm gonna start looking at some trade scenarios with teams in the middle/tail end of the lottery for some possibilities...

there's some chatter going around about the Knicks inquiring about Omri Casspi... there could be some deals in the works involving Gallo if we're looking at a guy like Casspi, possibly to replace his role... we'll find out in a few weeks if Donnie's got something up his sleeves.

Finestrg wrote:I read about those rumors concerning Casspi too. He's a pretty good player -- I think overall Gallo's better & might be a little more highly thought of around the league though..What I think we really need to find out for certain right now, if we don't already know, is how DEN really feels about Gallinari..If they don't like him at all and will never repond favorably to taking him back in any Melo deal, even if Melo pushes this to the limit, then if and when we move him, I'd do it to move up in this summer's lottery along with our own #1 to get the player I really wanted..That's the type of Gallo deal I'm looking at right now..SAC most likely gets the top pick or at least top 5 -- their not moving that for anything less than Blake Griffin..

i agree Gallo's definitely better but it leaves me to wonder what DW has up his sleeve if he's inquiring about bringing in Casspi... if the Knicks feel that Melo is no longer an option & they are happy w/what Wilson is giving them, maybe they look to trade Gallo to bring in some frontcourt depth & look at Casspi as a fill in substitute for Gallo's role in this offense? or maybe they're closer to a Melo deal than we think? it's gonna be interesting to see what happens, but Casspi is an intriguing option off the bench if Gallo is dealt by the deadline.

sounds fair to me....

Dude, I don't read your stuff. Its too long.

I appreciate the effort.

Can't imagine you get all that from one game.

I did read the Casspi thing a few days ago. Dude is Israeli.

Amare wants the pregame meal kosher also.

Add him, with Gallo and, bring in Yi, and Patty Mills and we'll most of the bases covered.

Nalod wrote:fine,

Dude, I don't read your stuff. Its too long.

I appreciate the effort.

Can't imagine you get all that from one game.

I did read the Casspi thing a few days ago. Dude is Israeli.

Amare wants the pregame meal kosher also.

Add him, with Gallo and, bring in Yi, and Patty Mills and we'll most of the bases covered.

do we have Euro- and Asia- russia covered?

Gallinari
Our 1st rounder (you figure low 20s)
The rights to C Jerome Jordan
Cash

to the LA Clippers for

C DeAndre Jordan
Their lottery pick (say it goes anywhere from 5-10 next summer)

----------------------------------------

Would the Clippers go for that? They wouldn't have to worry about ever losing DeAndre Jordan for nothing with a deal like this..I think young Gallo would work out well for that team as a nice complement to Blake Griffin, they get a promising replacement center who's currently playing well in Serbia and should be ready for the NBA next year (they'll have Kaman healthy next year as well) and they still grab a nice player in the draft at 20 or so..For us it's simple -- we get a good up & coming big man, jump up 10 draft slots into the lottery and open up the SF position full-time for Wilson Chandler..Maybe we expand the deal to take back the contract of either Randy Foye or Ryan Gomes as a sweetener (save the Clippers some money)? All contingent on no Carmelo Anthony of course -- he's still my #1 guy here..

Marv wrote:

Finestrg wrote:How's this trade:

Gallinari
Our 1st rounder (you figure low 20s)
The rights to C Jerome Jordan
Cash

to the LA Clippers for

C DeAndre Jordan
Their lottery pick (say it goes anywhere from 5-10 next summer)

----------------------------------------

Would the Clippers go for that? I think Gallo would work out well for that team as a nice complement to Blake Griffin..Maybe we expand the deal to take back the contract of either Randy Foye or Ryan Gomes as a sweetener (save the Clippers some more money)?

i don't think we can trade our 1st-rounder because we don't have one the following year.

Crap, you're right bro..Forgot about that..Oh well..