Posted on July 25, 2013 by Peter A
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By Chris Connolly

Over the last few years players have been given opportunities to play for the Knicks, and those overachievers played their way into nice size contracts. The bright lights and exposure of New York City have given these players the opportunity to show off on the biggest stage. While you need to respect the players for handling the scrutiny and the watchful eyes of the New York media, this is beginning to become a trend for the Knicks in a negative way. It is becoming a common idea that if you sign a contract with the Knicks and succeed in your given role, you will be rewarded generously. In most cases, you will not be rewarded by the Knicks, but by another franchise that has the cap space to make an offer the Knicks can’t match. A lot of these guys are hard to let go, but for whatever reason, they are not usually as successful with their next club.

Shawne Williams:

Going back a few years, the Knicks signed stretch forward Shawne Williams. Williams was considered an end of the bench imageplayer for the Knicks when he originally signed on. He had played 3 seasons in the league with the Pacers and Mavs, and had been anything but impressive during that time. Out of nowhere, thrown into the Mike D’Antoni system, Williams emerged as one of the top 3-point shooters in the entire league. He had a career high in scoring, 3-point shooting %, and minutes, in his one season with the Knicks. You could argue that this all could have been a product of the D’Antoni system, but regardless, shooting 40% from behind the arc is impressive for a stretch forward.

After the season, Williams became a free agent. When the market set for Shawne, he essentially was given the option to remain with the Knicks, or ink a deal with the Nets for more money. After weighing the prospects of each deal, Williams decided to sign with the Nets for 2-yrs at just over $6 mill total. The Nets thought they pulled a fast one on the Knicks, signing a guy who was a valuable piece to their rotation the prior year. Instead, what the Nets got was a player whose season was cut short by a foot injury that kept him out for most of the season. Williams played 25 games with the Nets, scoring only 4.5 points a game and shooting just over 24% from 3-point range. He was considered a major disappointment for the Nets and was later packaged with Mehmet Okur and a first-round pick for Gerald Wallace. Williams never suited up for the Blazers and was waived after his on-going foot injuries kept him off the court. Up until about a month ago, Williams was not heard from at all until the Knicks brought him in for a workout.

Landry Fields:

How could anybody forget Landry Fields? A second round pick of the Knicks in 2010, Fields exploded onto the scene. Helandry_fields-300x450 emerged as a starter for the team and a real fan favorite. He was one of the few guys the Knicks refused to give up in a deal for Carmelo Anthony. Then along came that guy named Melo and forever changed Landry’s tenure with the Knicks. It became very clear that Fields and Melo just did not mesh well on the court. You would think a player like Fields would be able to feed off the attention Melo received, but in theory, the exact opposite happened. Fields became a much less aggressive player and ultimately relegated himself to standing around the perimeter. Still, Fields received a 3-year $18.75 mil offer sheet from the Raptors. The Knicks did not match the deal, and off to Canada went Landry. As of now it seems as though the Knicks made the right decision. In 51 games, Fields averaged 4.7 points a game in 20 minutes of action. He was paid $6.25 million last season for that production? If you remember correctly, Landry shot a popular video in a NYC Modell’s, in which he sold his own jersey. If his production does not pick up, he may actually look to submit an application to that very store. Joking aside, the Knicks made the right decision.

Jeremy Lin:

I think the best example of this epidemic would have to be the Jeremy Lin saga. You know that Harvard kid who came injeremy.lin when the Knicks were in dire straits and electrified Broadway and the entire NBA alike. I think you might have heard of that phrase “Linsanity” that took the world by storm, literally the WORLD. You all know the Jeremy Lin story, so let’s cut to the chase. After his break out season with the Knicks, Lin hit the free-agent market. Just about every Knicks fan felt as if Lin would sign a contract and return to the Knicks. It seemed as though a deal was about to go down, when abruptly Glen Grunwald swung a deal to acquire Raymond Felton. People began to speculate where this left Jeremy Lin in the plans of the future. Turns out, Jeremy Lin’s future would be with the Houston Rockets. The catch was the “poison pill” deal the Rockets tossed the Knicks way, inevitably forcing them to part-ways with Lin. The deal was structured for Lin to receive a reasonable $5.0 mill the first year, and $5.2 mill the second. The third year of the contract is where the Rockets got fancy, setting themselves up to play Lin close to $15 million. While you could say Lin had a productive season last year, averaging 13.4 pts and 6 assists, the Rockets have been looking to deal Lin and cannot find a trade partner to take on the burden of his contract. The emergence of Patrick Beverley has made him expendable, and he may see his role decrease next season even further.

Chris Copeland:ChrisCopeland_InsideOnly1

Chris Copeland is the latest installment of this trend. Copeland averaged just below 9 points a game in just over 15 minutes of playing time, in 56 total games for the Knicks. Copeland proved that he could knock down some shots when given the opportunity, as he played a nice role for the Knicks. This production led him to be showered in gifts and courted by the Pacers. While I found it laughable the Pacers put together such an enticing recruiting package to land Cope, it worked, and he is now with the Indiana Pacers. It is true that every player is different, but I’d say there is a good chance Cope becomes just another guy on this list. He would be just another guy who overachieved in a short time with the Knicks and was compensated nicely for his play. This makes me wonder who is next in line for the Knicks to overachieve, then leave?
http://knickswag.com/knicks-talk-who-will-be-the-next-to-overachieve-then-leave/

Posted in News, Offseason, Rumors

My money's on Bobby Brown if the Knicks sign him and he has a few breakout games.

this is why I disagree (some thread posters like to say "LOL") when the suggestion of contraction because talent is diluted. There are so many good players who are on the fringe and can play but need an opportunity. Its why we keep finding players because after the "Trade" and with the new CBA limiting salary (execpt nets). Lin was talked about since he left Harvard and its obvious he had the talent but needed the slot to get playing time. How Many careers are impacted by this nobody really knows but its why teams like SAS can continue to compete and knick are finding players.

I can assume we magnify our own more because we follow knicks but It seems to be a trend. Parsons in Houstan was a major find/pick is one example.

Undrafted players:

Ben Wallace
The Birdman
Earl Boykins
Raja Bell
Udonis Haslem
David Wesley
Avery Johnson
Jose Calderon
Bruce Bowen
Brad Miller (think prime)
John Starks

Im sure there are a lot of players that were drafted but needed time. Anthony Mason come to mind?

Maybe the good thing about the CBA while it hurts some fringe players getting good money it does create opportunity for others to play and create value. Cope and Lin of course come to mind!

It does seem like other teams seem to target our players, but seem to leave the likes of the Spurs players alone.

Actually, if I remember correctly, we messed Shawne Williams about, refusing to offer the $2mil exemption until we had exhausted all possibilities. Can't remember who we were hoping would sign. Don't blame him for getting sick of it and signing elsewhere. Actually it turned out to be a great thing- firstly he sucked for the next two years and had a broken foot, and secondly we used that money to sign JR in the middle of the season, once he returned from China.

Can we now all agree that Lin is a mediocre over paid player? (And I used to be a fan!)

ChuckBuck wrote:

smackeddog wrote:last season hopefully it happens- we have a huge chunk of cap space in offseason 2015, and after we fill that we should have the full MLE for a couple of years, and the LLE.

It does seem like other teams seem to target our players, but seem to leave the likes of the Spurs players alone.

Actually, if I remember correctly, we messed Shawne Williams about, refusing to offer the $2mil exemption until we had exhausted all possibilities. Can't remember who we were hoping would sign. Don't blame him for getting sick of it and signing elsewhere. Actually it turned out to be a great thing- firstly he sucked for the next two years and had a broken foot, and secondly we used that money to sign JR in the middle of the season, once he returned from China.

It's not always a bad thing to lose a break out player- they can just as easily turn out to be overpaid mediocre players.

Can we now all agree that Lin is a mediocre over paid player? (And I used to be a fan!)

We are lucky in that respect. All of those players that signed elsewhere, turned out to be busts.

Houston is shopping Lin around actively as we speak.

It gives me sense of satisfaction, seeing their poaching blow up in their faces!

technomaster wrote:Ah, I'd love to see Lin back with the Knicks - and I'd imagine he'd really love to be here. Harden's arrival (with a pretty similar skill set) has meant that Lin has had to pull back. I think he's still got it, but he won't be able to reach his full potential there. A player like Beverly is probably a better fit for what they're doing now, though. (heck, we're looking for a player like Beverly to fill out out bench!)

Don't think he'd want to be here- Dolan made him give his jersey back and all of his Knicks uni's before he left (cold!), Dolan hates him and he knows it- would you want to come back?! Also he whined about all the media attention in New York. He can be mediocre elsewhere, without all the pressure and criticism he'd get in NY. Likely the Rockets package him with Asik (who unlike Lin, has a great contract for a starting caliber center) for something. I agree though about him being shackled a bit in Houston. He's an awkward player to have- not effective alongside other allstars, but not good enough to be the central player.

Rockets did not into full blown win now mode and when they signed him and Asik they were the first bricks in a foundation. Harden came after.

Now team has to look not at Lin's developement but can he be the PG of run deep into the playoffs? Asik is also expendible.

Im sure lin fans can see him being "shopped" as part of the big picture while Lin haters revel that he is not makin knicks regret his departure.

Homers feel better when the departed fail. I get it.

LInsanity happened because the team had few offensive options. Lin is the 4th or 5th option on this team.

Will he even play for them? I guess it depends on the deal.