I felt it was time for me to come back, tho it's sooner than I expected given how I felt when I stepped away. The short rest has been good for me. It helped me gain some clarity. I'm back to bring balance to the Force!!!

Now to my points on building this Knicks team. With the hiring of Walsh and D'Antoni, the overarching plan was to rebuild the team around 2-3 All Star level players. Everything was sacrificed for this goal. 2 full seasons of basketball, draft picks, youth... All of these assets were on the table. In the end Walsh wasn't allowed to finish his grand scheme, but he did enough to get the team to the door of putting together a core of All Star talent. Now we have to recognize the separation between the Walsh plan which ended with Dolan taking over the Melo negotiations and the GRUNWALD PLAN, which started this summer!

1. The core talent of STAT, Melo and Tyson made all kinds of sense. Judging the viability of that group after 16 games is shortsighted. They were put together to be the core for 4 years including this one. In truth you can't call it a failure after a quarter season, without a PG!!! The big hole is the Backcourt, but Grunwald has a plan there as well. They knew it was risky giving up CB, but it had to be done for the FUTURE of the franchise. Remember it's not all about this year, but the next 4 years!!! There are going to be more PG's available than starting Defensive Centers on Tyson's level, so you have to make the trade of CB or Tyson.

2. TD was a gamble to try and stall until Baron could get back. OK it didn't work! Signing Baron Davis was a part of the Grunwald plan after the Tyson trade and anyone that doesn't think so is nuts. The Knicks were going to add a Vet PG anyway, but once it was set that the new CBA would have this amnesty then the Knicks were going to go thru the list of possible players and target any PG's that could shake loose. Davis was at the top of the list, despite his back injury. Having a bonafide passer to dominate the ball limits the amount of bad passes and non passes that lead to bad possessions and reliance on ISO with Melo. In other words it means EVERYTHING to how this team performs on offense. STAT, Melo and Tyson work better with a PG to balance distribution. TD, Fields, Shump, Walker etc. shoot better when setup in rhythm.

Just look at how this team flopped once CB went down. How the team struggled when Duhon, Felton and CB struggled to learn the system. Part of the problem is that all 3 aren't great passers and that's a primary skill when you have a team full of finishers that need to be setup. MDA's system is about tempo, spacing and flow. When it's done right it's a beauty to behold. If Davis can be as good or better than Felton was in this system then this team can be a contender. Davis was still athletic enough to dunk just months ago, so perhaps he's slowed down to Felton's level at this point. He's a superior passer and ball handler to Felton.

3. It's part of the Grunwald plan to add an additional vet with the Trade deadline and Chinese League NBA players coming back, there will be options. Grunwald and the staff knew this and hoped to hold on until they could make some follow up moves. This is why we still have a "Room Exception" slot left. JR Smith or Kenyon Martin will be in play.

4. There's still a chance that a small trade can be made at the trade deadline. This team will be easier to evaluate by then. Needs can be assessed after more time has passed and if they need to fill a void they'll have a shot to do that.

5. 2012 Free Agency will be another chance to improve the team this summer. We'll have the full MLE to use on a key vet and that will be huge for this team going forward.

Those are the basic aspects of the Grunwald plan so far. Some Knicks fans have jumped ship on this core so early without taking a long view of how this can all workout.

The most important issue is the PG spot. Every coach needs someone on the floor that can execute his vision for the team. Minus that you have CHAOS, cuz you have players handling the ball and making decisions that aren't equipped to do that. The only hope is for Davis to build his stamina, develop chemistry with his team and stay healthy. Next year we can try to add another Vet PG like Nash. Continue to develop our youth. Look for FA's to add more shooting depth. Develop more team chemistry and be ready by the playoffs. This is still year one of this core! Even STAT and Melo haven't been together for a full 82 games yet!

colombian0725 wrote:With all that said... Can we keep MDA too? if only we would be so lucky

2011-12 with TD, Shump, Bibby    - #17 in scoring, #24 in Offensive Efficiency
2010-11 with Felton, TD, CB      - #2  in scoring, #5  in Off. Eff.
2009-10 with Duhon, TD, Hughes   - #10 in scoring, #17 in Off. Eff.
2008-09 with Duhon, Nate, Hughes - #4  in scoring, #17 in Off. Eff.
2007-08 with Nash                - #3  in scoring, #2  in Off. Eff.
2006-07 with Nash                - #1  in scoring, #1  in Off. Eff.
2005-06 with Nash                - #1  in scoring, #2  in Off. Eff.
2004-05 with Nash                - #1  in scoring, #1  in Off. Eff.

Trend shows PG is very key in success of the offense, tho not the only issue, but you can see the Pattern.

RonRon wrote:

nixluva wrote:I'M BACK BITCHES!!!

I felt it was time for me to come back, tho it's sooner than I expected given how I felt when I stepped away. The short rest has been good for me. It helped me gain some clarity. I'm back to bring balance to the Force!!!

Now to my points on building this Knicks team. With the hiring of Walsh and D'Antoni, the overarching plan was to rebuild the team around 2-3 All Star level players. Everything was sacrificed for this goal. 2 full seasons of basketball, draft picks, youth... All of these assets were on the table. In the end Walsh wasn't allowed to finish his grand scheme, but he did enough to get the team to the door of putting together a core of All Star talent. Now we have to recognize the separation between the Walsh plan which ended with Dolan taking over the Melo negotiations and the GRUNWALD PLAN, which started this summer!

1. The core talent of STAT, Melo and Tyson made all kinds of sense. Judging the viability of that group after 16 games is shortsighted. They were put together to be the core for 4 years including this one. In truth you can't call it a failure after a quarter season, without a PG!!! The big hole is the Backcourt, but Grunwald has a plan there as well. They knew it was risky giving up CB, but it had to be done for the FUTURE of the franchise. Remember it's not all about this year, but the next 4 years!!! There are going to be more PG's available than starting Defensive Centers on Tyson's level, so you have to make the trade of CB or Tyson.

2. TD was a gamble to try and stall until Baron could get back. OK it didn't work! Signing Baron Davis was a part of the Grunwald plan after the Tyson trade and anyone that doesn't think so is nuts. The Knicks were going to add a Vet PG anyway, but once it was set that the new CBA would have this amnesty then the Knicks were going to go thru the list of possible players and target any PG's that could shake loose. Davis was at the top of the list, despite his back injury. Having a bonafide passer to dominate the ball limits the amount of bad passes and non passes that lead to bad possessions and reliance on ISO with Melo. In other words it means EVERYTHING to how this team performs on offense. STAT, Melo and Tyson work better with a PG to balance distribution. TD, Fields, Shump, Walker etc. shoot better when setup in rhythm.

Just look at how this team flopped once CB went down. How the team struggled when Duhon, Felton and CB struggled to learn the system. Part of the problem is that all 3 aren't great passers and that's a primary skill when you have a team full of finishers that need to be setup. MDA's system is about tempo, spacing and flow. When it's done right it's a beauty to behold. If Davis can be as good or better than Felton was in this system then this team can be a contender. Davis was still athletic enough to dunk just months ago, so perhaps he's slowed down to Felton's level at this point. He's a superior passer and ball handler to Felton.

3. It's part of the Grunwald plan to add an additional vet with the Trade deadline and Chinese League NBA players coming back, there will be options. Grunwald and the staff knew this and hoped to hold on until they could make some follow up moves. This is why we still have a "Room Exception" slot left. JR Smith or Kenyon Martin will be in play.

4. There's still a chance that a small trade can be made at the trade deadline. This team will be easier to evaluate by then. Needs can be assessed after more time has passed and if they need to fill a void they'll have a shot to do that.

5. 2012 Free Agency will be another chance to improve the team this summer. We'll have the full MLE to use on a key vet and that will be huge for this team going forward.

Those are the basic aspects of the Grunwald plan so far. Some Knicks fans have jumped ship on this core so early without taking a long view of how this can all workout.

The most important issue is the PG spot. Every coach needs someone on the floor that can execute his vision for the team. Minus that you have CHAOS, cuz you have players handling the ball and making decisions that aren't equipped to do that. The only hope is for Davis to build his stamina, develop chemistry with his team and stay healthy. Next year we can try to add another Vet PG like Nash. Continue to develop our youth. Look for FA's to add more shooting depth. Develop more team chemistry and be ready by the playoffs. This is still year one of this core! Even STAT and Melo haven't been together for a full 82 games yet!

nice to see veterans like you and Briggs back. Welcome back and appreciate that you are both back, we need more positive, realistic evaluations, and contributing points/posts.

nixluva wrote:

colombian0725 wrote:With all that said... Can we keep MDA too? if only we would be so lucky

Well, I see no reason to change the coach if you know that he's not the reason the team is floundering on offense. We don't yet have a permanent solution at the PG or SG, so that means you can still add players that fit what this coach is trying to do. Who knows maybe Baron is that guy for now. Very few people had any faith that Felton would be as good as he was under this coach and look what happened. Once Felton got the hang of it, he was pretty good. Not great, but pretty good. Give this coach a QB and he has proven that he can produce a top 5 offense.

2011-12 with TD, Shump, Bibby    - #17 in scoring, #24 in Offensive Efficiency
2010-11 with Felton, TD, CB      - #2  in scoring, #5  in Off. Eff.
2009-10 with Duhon, TD, Hughes   - #10 in scoring, #17 in Off. Eff.
2008-09 with Duhon, Nate, Hughes - #4  in scoring, #17 in Off. Eff.
2007-08 with Nash                - #3  in scoring, #2  in Off. Eff.
2006-07 with Nash                - #1  in scoring, #1  in Off. Eff.
2005-06 with Nash                - #1  in scoring, #2  in Off. Eff.
2004-05 with Nash                - #1  in scoring, #1  in Off. Eff.

Trend shows PG is very key in success of the offense, tho not the only issue, but you can see the Pattern.

can we also add a backup QB or give Lin a chance. *Andre Miller, Nash, Sessions, Felton *doubt he will come back the way we screwed him, especially for MLE*

RB (starting SG)that can shoot consistently and play solid defense *Ray Allen, Anthony Parker*

2nd/3rd (WR) capable of playing SG/SF that hit the 3 if open, and a decent overall game *Pietrus, Barnes, Grant Hill or trade for Ariza/Dunleavy*

2 Tight End (PF) that can actually post up or/and shoot a 12 footer, and compliment Tyson Chandler's defense *Ryan Anderson, Bass, KG, Odom, Camby*

Linebacker (Center) so we don't see JJ playing this position, maybe its Jordan or Jorts but we need a player that can provide good help D when Chandler is resting or in foul trouble

Those are the type of players I would target if we can go under the cap with Amare or even Melo to replenish our depth next year.

For this year, we can target players like

JR Smith *even though he is a cancer, we are missing a shooter* worthy 2.5m exemp
AK47 worthy 2.5m exemp

Kmart 1year vet min
Prizbilla *if Jordan is not ready, we need a solid body after Chandler* 1year vet min

cut Bibby, Novak, or explore trades to free up roster spots, with 2 for 1's for Ariza or whoever, they might want to save money to sell the team...

nixluva wrote:I'M BACK BITCHES!!!

Knixkik wrote:I'm glad for some sensibility here. Whether Davis is the solution or not, fixing the PG problem will be key. After that, we need to add shooting. I would love to see Davis work well and add JR Smith when he is eligible. Then Nash next summer. PG would be split between Nash and Davis and Shumpert and Smith will support Melo on the wing. The good news is our defense has been pretty good. So if we can get the offense to where it is supposed to be, it should be a major win. And we know that if the PG is decent, the offense will be very good.

BD and JR Smith, not bad for reinforcements this season. If we could somehow convince Nash to sign for MLE this summer, that'd be even better news.

airchibundo507 wrote:We should go all in for Howard, though. I don't see Amare as a guy on a championship team. His lack of defense (especially pnr), rebounding and passing is just too much to overcome. Even if we gutted the team for Howard, we'd still pick up JR for cheap and then Nash over the summer. All you really need to win a championship is Melo, Howard and shooters. Howard and shooters alone are an elite defensive team capable of reaching the Finals. Now give him the best scorer in the league and you get a perennial contender.

Nash/JR/Melo/Turk/Howard
Shump/shooter/Walker/Jorts/Jeffries

I just don't see it happening. I'm not convinced that Orlando really wants to do that deal. Getting Howard is a fantasy IMO.

In the meantime, we can get this train back on the rails with B. Diddy slowly getting into the groove over the next 30 days. The team just needs to do enough to win some games during this adjustment period.

In regards to STAT, I refuse to believe that he's done already. Until I get to see him playing more of his usual role in his usual spots, I don't believe that he's lost so much of his quickness that he can't be effective anymore. He's still getting by his man, but the defense is waiting for him in much the same way it was to start last year before Felton got his act together. STAT can't hold the ball and try to drive from way out on the floor and be successful. He needs to get the ball within 2 steps of the basket. That's how he's been dominant all his career and we've gotten away from that, due to a lack of proper spacing and PG play. It's funny how a few easy buckets gets a player in rhythm and full confidence in his jumper.

Sooner or later guys will come out of their slumps and hit a period of better shooting. TD, Fields, Bibby and Walker can easily hit a hot streak. I've been pleased with Shump's growth so far. I think he's getting more and more comfortable with what he can do to help the team.

CrushAlot wrote:I do not agree with your statement that getting Davis was a part of Grunwald's plan when he amnestied Chauncey. Baron had not yet been amnestied, he could have been claimed on waivers, and other big market teams, the Heat, Lakers etc. were expressing interest. I think the Knicks got lucky with that one.

You have to remember that everyone knew the players that were most likely to be amnestied. It wasn't a surprise to anyone really. Also it's not so much about Baron specifically as it was that they were aware the several players would shake loose so they had that confidence that they could find a replacement for Billups. One way or the other they had it in the plans to find help at PG. There's no way they made that trade thinking they had enough at PG with just TD. Logic would suggest that none of the Knicks brass is that off base.