This is driving me nuts. When will this end? I think Isiah is trying to get Walker, Jamal and Damps. He needs to focus on just getting two of those guys, I don't think he can get all three. He may lose out on everyone if he remains so damn stubborn!

Sigh. October 1 can't come soon enough...

I think not wasting assets is the most important. If it means having Deke, Othella and TSki hanging around until Feb then so be it.

All those players are nice but none are making or breaking this franchise for the next 5 years.

I want to see Frank and Sweetney come into camp and fight the starters for minutes. I want to see a rehabbed and healthy Houston, and I want to see Baker, Kurt and Nazr come in ready to bang.

Most of all I want to see Marbury take that talented group and lead them to a fast start and put us in position to win the division.

Let's be honest... NY would be the Mavericks of the east with that lineup... NO D. Dampier cannot make up for the lack of exterior Defense of both TT and AW in the starting lineup.

One can only hope that Houston is healthy and Sweetney gets more PT.

didnt the mavs win like 62 games and go the WCF 2 years ago? As I recall they may have been a Dirk sprained knee from a trip to the finals.

Lets become a contender first, and get the most talent we can. Then we can carve out some kind of identity. One thing that team isnt short on is rebounding, and you have some guys that can get steals. If your scoring off turnovers and killing teams on the boards you can live with giving up a higher FG%.

Its impossible to tell if nothing is happening because Isiah is piecing together a huge deal where we get them all, or if nothing is happening because nothing's happening.

Time will tell... I can be patient.

I think the main key to building an identity will involved firing Lenny and getting a defensive minded coach. Mark Aguirre wouldn't be a bad choice.

I agree with your concern for defense. But, winning is the result of the differential between a team's offense and defense. If you score on every possession down the floor, your defense need only make a couple of stops and you win the game. Personally, I think that mix of players has a good combination of great offense and decent defense, enough to plow far into the playoffs.

Posted by Mac:

Those are good points... However, If isiah truly wants to win a championship, he can't settle for a blue plan like the mavs who are now lucky to finish in the top 4 in the west. With NY's cap situation, IT gets no leniancy. If he makes a mistake, it'll be a glaring mistake that will be there for years to come. He should focus on getting athletic defensive players, not athletic offensive ones. Detroit set the precedent.

I feel IT can use these pieces that NY has to build a contender... That's very subjective of me, but what the hell. Therefore, He needs to make sure he's patient and gets the right pieces.

Ariza was a great pick... Crawford would be a good deal... I don't like the 'twan proposal.

You have to realize that in order to become a championship contender, we first have to become a very good team. We can't just do what Detroit did because we have a lot of bad contracts that prevent us from getting good defensive and athletic players. Isiah is trying to get as much talent as he can, and that is the right way to do it for us. There is nothing wrong with becoming the Dallas Mavericks of the East. When you have as much talent as a team like the Mavericks had last year, you can just trade for one of the best players in the NBA and take a shot at winning a championship (like the Mavs could've done if they were willing to give up Dirk in a deal for Shaq). We are not in a position to just build a championship contender from the ground up. Isiah inherited a bad situation and has bring as much talent as he can to this team. That's why he is not rushing into a deal for Crawford. He doesn't want to give up all of our assets in one deal, he's trying to see how many signficant deals he can pull off with those assets.

I agree that Nesterovich is a bad defender (is he good at anything?) and parker is average. But Ginobli is a good defender. He is fast, long, athletic, and strong enough to hold his ground. So he is def no liability. Also, Parker and Nesterobich at least try, which is prollly more important then natural ability on a team with a great defensive sheme and mistake erasers such as Duncan and Bowen. The thing Pop don't take no ****, he'll bench anybody if they don't play hard.

"Rasho Nesterovic is a project in constant improvement"

I believe those are the words of PJ Carlesemo, from a couple of years ago. If you ask me, I just see a white stiff lol

I agree with Fishmike though. What he said he wants to see is exactly what I want to see as well. However, if Jamal is as good as some people say he is, then we should continue to target him.

ABout the low post defense though. Maybe Mike Sweetney can be that really good piece, that can anchor the D', in a couple of years. You never know.