if he gets amnestied, we can pick him up for the minimum. who'd be in?

smackeddog wrote:Agreed, people here tend to forget the amnesty process and how it works
Doubt he'd clear the amnesty waiver- a lotto team would be crazy not to put in a small bid for him, as disappointing as he is.

only teams UNDER the salary cap can do closed bids for an amnestied player
Chances are he will at least get the minimum if not, slightly higher

We cannot sign him unless he clears waivers and probably only the vet min, making it closer to 0% than him being a Knick till his contract expires

Marcus Cousin - 7' 255. Immediately adds quality/skill at the 4/5 spots. Rebounds, runs the floor, athletic and strong enough, very effective post up game and possesses a deadly mid-range jumper. LOVE EVERYTHING about his game--every aspect screams quality to me. I understand he's never proven anything yet at the NBA level and that scares people but everyone needs to start somewhere...Everything you could possibly want in a backup center. For my money, he's 5X the player Tyson Chandler is right now but that's OK -- start small and let him prove it. I'm content if the Knicks could just bring him in for SL then go from there. He'd open eyes everyday and prove to the Knicks what I've seen going back 3-4 years: a QUALITY overall big man skillset. This guy ABSOLUTELY helps us compete much better against bigger teams like Indiana. No question about it -- tremendous combination of power and finesse. I could watch him fight for offensive rebounds and shoot jumpers all day. Woody would love this guy -- his game really does harken Al Horford in a lot of ways, a guy Woody had in ATL.

Craig Brackins - 6'10" 230. Immediately addresses frontcourt scoring. Would give us another potent frontcourt scorer to help take the load off Melo. Respectful to some opinions on the board, I just don't see this guy as some aloof player that just hangs out on the perimeter -- not at all. That's Steve Novak's game. This guy's nothing like Novak at all.. His sophomore year at Iowa St., he went 243-512 from the floor (47.5%), yet only attempted 74 3s...Same year he averaged 9.5 rebounds a game AND he also went to the line 200 times --- this all proves he's much more than some 3-pt gunslinger. That year he went for 42 pts against a quality Kansas Jayhawk squad that featured both Morris brothers and Cole Aldrich in the middle...He's a scorer deluxe and I firmly believe this ability to score the ball will definitely translate to the NBA as soon as he gets his shot. He's got enough offensive skill to score the ball on anyone from anywhere in the halfcourt set--effective post up game, puts it on the floor well for a guy 6'10" and has a nice jumper all the way out to the 3 pt line. Melo's 100% right -- we need more scoring. This guy addresses that need in a big way and for the small $$ amount it would take to sign him, it's an absolute no-brainer. Forget trading anything for Andrea Bargnani -- I'd prefer this guy to fill our frontcourt scoring need instead. The thing with Bargnani, he's got the game of a small forward but at his size (7' 250+), there's no choice but to shoehorn him in at the 4 or 5 and hope for the best. At least break even -- hope he can put up some points while also realizing he can't guard opposing bigs at the other end along with poor/insufficient rebounding at that size and position. It'd be a constant give & take...Brackins, meanwhile, slides in comfortably at either forward spot and can guard either spot -- compared to Bargnani at least, he's got much better footspeed & agility to guard 3s and enough size/length/agilty to guard some 4s as well...Brackins is a legit/classic hybrid 3/4; Bargnani is a 3 trapped in a 5's body. I also feel Brackins is the much more effective rebounder between the two...Chandler/Bargnani/Melo just feels so flawed to me. I think Chandler/Brackins/Melo would be much more effective for the most part. With Brackins over Bargnani, I feel we'd have a better chance to take advantage of any mismatch in our favor while keeping any mismatch at the other end in favor of the opposition to more of a minimum... I know some will laugh at the comparison but at that height with that type of ability to score the ball, Brackins really reminds me a lot of Kevin Durant. I also see a young Antoine Walker, only taller/longer/thinner, but with that type of offensive skillset...For the small amount of money it'd take to bring him in here, let's find out how high the potential really is. At the very least, he's a rotation player--something much better than Chris Copeland on both ends of the floor (and don't get me wrong, I like Cope. This dude's the better player by a mile though, all I'm saying).

Jordan Williams - 6'10", 260. Addresses the need for more reserve size and rebounding up front. Almost 12 rebounds a game his sophomore season at Maryland. He's just got that knack. Great nose for the ball. And surprisingly, he's got some decent offensive potential on the interior -- he can post up, shoot it well from mid-range and he's got real soft touch in close around the basket. I can't find any information about him playing anywhere last year though and that's a little worrisome. Conditioning has always been a concern and off the idle year, I just hope he's kept himself in shape. Another guy that would help us compete much better against a team like Indiana with their frontline.