earthmansurfer wrote:I was thinking the same thing about Douglas. I thought the same thing when he was playing bad as well, as I just thought he was injured.
Starting 4 of 5 would be Billups, Melo, Stat and Fields. We need a center in this draft. If a great PG should fall then I say we take the PG and try out Jerome Jordon if management agrees it's worth it. I think Faried might be our pick (while D'Antoni kicks and screams).

I think this is a good plan.

Jamal Crawford or Ben Gordon may not satisfy your high expectations for a basketball player but the practice of attaching an arbitrary label to their intelligence is sickening.

Stop it.

Tyson Chandler
Deandre Jordan

Kendrick Perkins
Bynum

*developing centers*
McGee
Hibbert
Deandre Jordan

it would help TD's defense, more importantly help our overall team's defense as well.
We can go after 2nd or 3rd tier bodies as well. It would help our overall team's defense dramatically, however, I dont think it would be enough to make us true contenders.

Samuel Dalembert
Kris Humphries
Prizbilla

The Knicks might go after players such as

Yao Ming
Big Baby
Nene

these guys have good overall games, however, aren't in the same class as defenders as above.

A player such as Anderson Verajo would help our team a lot, however, i see him more as a tweener, similar to Samuel Dalembert.
In my opinion, he is a great hustle player, but again, not enough to make us contenders.

Kenneth Faried looks like a player like Ben Wallace, someone not very talented but hustles and will work hard to get the job done.
However, what separates, a player like Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman, to Renaldo Balkman?
I think it is their ability to work hard and improve whether in practice, off season, and training through out the years.
Physically, I just don't see him having the potential to be the center that we need, however, if he works hard like Ben Wallace did, he could be the underdog that we all love to
see making it in the pros. With this pick and the draft selection, coming from our past 10 years, I just don't see the Knicks making this choice.
We have needed centers for over 10 years and the Knicks had the ability to draft players such as Bynum, McGee, Hibbert, Blatch etc.
These players all had the size and potential that we needed but were never addressed even though they were one of our needs.

Centers in general, takes a couple years to develop, especially in these past 10 years. They are measured with their ceilings and possibilities to reach their potentials. Height, size, length, athleticism, and speed are some physical attributes that can't be taught, or really trained. The mental attributes include, their personal characteristics of being a hard worker, on and off the court, bball iq, and willingness/dedication to improving. With this said, many players do not reach their potential and stop trying after their lifestyles change after they see their $, aka eddy curry, jerome james, stromile swift, eric dampier, keon clark syndromes.

Amare and Melo, were put together to win now. I just can't see the Knicks selecting a player that couldn't crack the rotation within 1 year.
I think the Knicks are better off signing/trading for a veteran center rather than developing another one. We already have one work in progress with Jerome Jordon.
This being said, I just think the Knicks need to address this center issue this summer. The New York media would bash and kill all team chemistry till we show that we true contenders.
We would not be true contenders until we can add good center. Amare and Melo would be pointed at and their under average defense would be magnified till we get this center.

I am totally against waiting for 2012 to adding a PG. Elite or not elite, the PG would not hide/help our team's poor defense. I think TD will turn in to a solid player. We aren't sure if he will ever be able to be a great decision maker, distributor, passer, or leader, however, we know he has not reached his ceiling yet. Whether he is a starting PG or great 6th man type scoring/defender type PG, it would be more cost efficient to sign a PG that wouldn't take much of our cap. Whether it would be a player like Ridnour, Sessions, Udrich, or Steve Nash/Jason Kidd, it would just make more sense. It's not about how much money we save, its about how we use the rest of our cap room. We have to be very wise on how we use the rest of this cap room, because we already are paying 2 max contracts and we lack the ability to have much room to improve with this Melo trade.

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe our team's values still include

this years draft pick
2 2nd rounders from GS
one more future 1st round pick that we weren't able to trade because of the rules

Fields
TD

I think these are 2 guys that would be wise to keep, especially with TD, he is very cost efficient and has a lot more years left on his rookie contract.
I think Fields is a player everyone wants to keep, if we intend to keep him we wouldn't be able to sign a max player in the summer of 2012.
He is having a great rookie year, however, he can still improve. I am not sure if he would be better suited as a 6th man role for the 2/3 in our future
or
be our starting shooting guard for our future. He is an asset, I would like to keep regardless and would be able to keep if we didn't sign a max free agent in 2012.

I think it would be better for the Knicks future, if we do not pick up Billups contract for next year.
If we do pick up his 14m contract, our best chance of improving the center position is by D league players.
I am not sure if we should let buyout him for 4m and offer him a 3 year 24m deal + his 4m for buy out, which would be nearly a 3 year 30m deal.
If we go this route, we can at least go for a body that would help us, hopefully enough to sign players like

Dalembert
Humphries
Prizbilla

Nazr
Dampier for the veteran min wouldn't be a bad move, with another athletic D league center, to go with Jerome Jordan as our 3rd big.

Center *jerome jordan*
Amare
Melo
SG *Fields*
TD

that leaves us missing

a starting caliber center/ backup center/ Jerome Jordan*time to develop on the bench and be our 3rd string for 2-3 years
a starting shooting guard or back up SG/SF *a cheap cost efficient player would be Matt Barnes. Pietrus, Battier, Dunleavy(injury?) would be good roleplayers but probably cost more
a PG *I don't see Billups being a starting caliber player for us, he probably will be able to play another 2-3 more years, at about 22min in the 2013 season.
1) I agree with Briggs, TD is either a 6th pg or can become a future PG if he reaches his full potential from now
2) I min deal for Delonte West*2 way player*, bringing back AC, or Anthony Parker/Shannon Brown
3) Other reason, I would like to not pick up billups contract this summer, because in 2012 Nash and Kidd are FA, Mo Williams is also has a opt out and most likely would at 8.5m, KG and Ray Allen are both free agents as well, I don't know if the MLE be enough to attract them, however, these guys made a lot of money during their primes, maybe 2 1st round exits would be bitter enough for them to reconsider joining another team. Imagine if they would join us for the veterans minimum? dreaming is nice...

I know there are a lot of players, some "ALL Stars" in 2012

Dwight Howard
Tim Duncan

Deandre Jordan
Matt Gasol
Chris Kaman

KG
Ray Allen

Deron
Cp3

Besides for Dwight Howard, I am not even sure about Duncan at his age in a year and half, I don't feel these guys are worth the wait.
We all know the New York Media and ESPN, love taking cheap shots at us and pointing fingers and scrutinizing the Knicks. I think if we do not add that center, we desperately need, we will continue to have these up and down games all year and we will be exposed in the playoffs. We can not depend on TD to hit 9 threes a game, JJ2 level talent to be our starting center, and shoot near 50% or higher with about 20 threes a game to win a game. We need a player that would solidify our defense and support Amare and Melo in their primes, not when they start to go downhill. Another 82 games with the workload dependent on Amare and Melo to carry us with their offense just wouldn't work and abuse their bodies as well. We need to add that center this year, whether its Tyson Chandler at the expense of CB's leadership, or 2 bodies such as Dalembert and Kris Humphries/Prizbilla. We need to make noise next year as true contenders, and by that summer, we can fill in our needs of DEPTH... We don't have the luxury of waiting another year to add Cp3, then wait again to add a center somehow and to add depth then.....

We have to decide our style of play this summer, decide who will be our coach of next year. With the 2012 season learn, practice, develop our new style of play, adding defense to our schemes in winning ball games. We need to learn to control the tempo and pace, with defense so we can win games when TD doesn't hit 9 threes.
WE CANNOT DEPEND ON OUTSCORING AND TRADING BASKETS with our opponents, praying for a miss and praying for a rebound.
WE NEED A CENTER that can grab the RB forcing the fast break at times, not relying on all of our 5 guys crashing the boards, going back against a set defense when we play offense.
By 2012, FILL IN OUR HOLES AND ADD TO DEPTH......

simrud wrote:I think TD is a good benh player. When he is on his game, he is great, when he is not, just play somebody else - exactly what a bench player should be, otherwise, he would be a starter. I don't see how is any worse than Ben Gordon or Craw, just less flashy but a better defender. Unfortunatley they are all equally dumb.

The one excuse TD has is it's only like his 2nd year right?

Ira wrote:While he'll never be as good as Billups used to be, Toney Douglas is a better player than Billups is right now. We have to face the fact that Billups isn't just bad defensively, he's a defensive abyss.

His late-game decision making has been woeful too, that's the real shocker.