i really don't expect JYD to have much more of a role than 8-10 mpg...he's strictly a nice high energy player that you bring into a game to get your team going in spurts...he's not the type of player that warrants extended minutes imho.

as far as what i think the Knicks will do...i think they'll do their best to work out a sign & trade for Dampier using KT & Nazr as trade bait, but i don't know if Mullin will agree to it since he already turned down the deal for Nazr & an expiring deal...but IF the deal for Dampier does go down (probably including Eschmeyer coming our way for KT & Nazr), then i'd think about adding some depth at the backup PG position by offering Bobby Sura the LLE or a portion of the MLE, & then using the remaining money to sign someone like Keon Clark, who combined w/JYD would provide another nice high energy sparkplug type player to add even more depth to our roster...if you played Vin Baker some minutes at PF to back up Sweetney, i think JYD & Keon could get their share of minutes & be effective.

rotations could go like this:

C - Dampier / Baker / Clark
PF - Sweetney / Baker / JYD
SF - TT / Penny / Shandon or Ariza
SG - Houston / Crawford / Sura
PG - Marbury / Crawford / Sura
(IR - Ariza or Shandon / Moochie / Eshmeyer)

[Edited by - TMS on 08/04/2004 13:05:03]

Posted by TMS:

i really don't expect JYD to have much more of a role than 8-10 mpg...he's strictly a nice high energy player that you bring into a game to get your team going in spurts...he's not the type of player that warrants extended minutes imho.

as far as what i think the Knicks will do...i think they'll do their best to work out a sign & trade for Dampier using KT & Nazr as trade bait, but i don't know if Mullin will agree to it since he already turned down the deal for Nazr & an expiring deal...but IF the deal for Dampier does go down (probably including Eschmeyer coming our way for KT & Nazr), then i'd think about adding some depth at the backup PG position by offering Bobby Sura the LLE or a portion of the MLE, & then using the remaining money to sign someone like Keon Clark, who combined w/JYD would provide another nice high energy sparkplug type player to add even more depth to our roster...if you played Vin Baker some minutes at PF to back up Sweetney, i think JYD & Keon could get their share of minutes & be effective.

rotations could go like this:

C - Dampier / Baker / Clark
PF - Sweetney / Baker / JYD
SF - TT / Penny / Shandon or Ariza
SG - Houston / Crawford / Sura
PG - Marbury / Crawford / Sura
(IR - Moochie / Eshmeyer)

JYD has been playing about 23-25 mpg for the last 4 years or so - i think he can still play at least 15. i completely forgot about baker too. one thing i like about this team is that there is a lot of versatility. even if we didnt sign a backup PG, there are 3 players (not counting Moochie) that can play the 1 (penny marbury and crawford), at least 3 that can play the 2 (houston craw and penny), 3 that can play the 3 (tt penny and jyd), 5 that can play the 4, and maybe 4 that can play the 5. reading over some of these reports, it looks like dampier mgiht settle for the MLE. i think isiah has to take that deal if it comes, but that would mean baker wouldnt sign for 3 million, and since baker is a goodwin client, how is that going to affect the crawford deal?

I disagree. I think Jerome is definitely worthy of those 20 minutes. He is a spark plug, but he also brings defense and rebounding, and defense is definitely something this team does. Good defenders don't get only 8-10 minutes a game. I'd take him over BAKER anytime. 8-10 minutes is garbage minutes, and giving him that would be an insult to a solid NBA player.

After the Craw deal gets done, the next step should be Dampier now that it looks like he could be acquired either by sign-n-trade or by the MLE. If its through a sign-n-trade his deal better be a good one.
But I would love if Isiah could sign him with the MLE for two years but if it is only for one its ok. Its the MLE!

I think that if the Knicks can get him that way, Baker's agent should understand that an opportunity like that is something that has to be done. The LLE would be for Baker if he really wants to come to NY.

Imagine if NY got Dampier and Baker without any trade! We would then have a chance at trading KT for hopefully a young player. We would be ok at most of the positions so we could make a deal for the future there.

I totally agree on the JYD. I would love to see him split time at the PF w/ Sweetney. Move KT to a team w/ cap space for all I care. We have good scorers w/ Crawford, TT, Marbs, Houston (healthy?). What you need is high energy guys to go and get the ball. Thats JYD in a nutshell. He creates more shots and easy buckets when he's on the floor, and I think he's an impact player. He can play (defend) both forward spots and he energizes his team. The fact that the Bulls didnt use him better tells you how f'd up that team was.

Assuming the trade reported is as is, moving KT and Nazr for Damp is a freakin coup, and I doubt it happens. Whats interesting is that all of Isiah's public effort to get Dampier might actually impact his decision making to come here for the MLE if all other options dry up. The KT/Nazr deal is too good to be true IMHO. Not that Dampier's so great... he isnt. To me hes got MUCH bigger question marks that Crawford. Crawford is a star talent that needs to learn how to play wining ball. Dampier is a star talent thats 6 years older and has had his effort and desire repeatedly questioned. To me Damp is a MUCH higher risk.

Posted by Bonn1997:

I don't think there's any chance of a sign and trade to get Dampier. I don't think we have any players they want since they're deep at PG and PF/C, and Escmeier's (sp?) contract is too small for them to be excited about getting rid of it. I hope I'm wrong, though.

I do think there is a chance that he'll take a 2 yr MLE deal. (He's even been quoted as contemplating it.)

I think it will be a "wink" deal of some sort. I wonder when he's speaking.

Supposedly, if he signs a two-year MLE, we get the right to max him out after two years. I don't know why that is, perhaps because he's a veteran or something, but that's the deal with him and it was same deal with Sheed. It's been widely reported on ESPN and other 'reputable' places. So, if Damps signs a two-year MLE, Zeke can give him the wink wink and max him for an additional four years.

oh, okay. I knew there was some sort of large raise available after two years.

I think it's in our best interest to sign Dampier to an MLE type deal, and if it could be for 2 years, as it was mentioned above, then that would be great. For the type of career he has had, he is totally not worth 60 or 70 mm. That's got Shanvis EisleyHouspoon written all over it. We are over the cap, but that screws us even more, b/c it goes past when Houston, Penny, Shandon and TT and Moochie are done with their contracts. Even past Marburys, probably. I think he can be a nice addition for 2 or even 3 years, but 6 years is just insane. That's bad basketball business, and if Isiah does that sign and trade (Where we get him for 60 - 70 mm) then he clearly didn't learn from Layden.