I guess with the signing of Sundov, the Keon Clark quest is done for whatever reason.

The Knicks have 15 guys under contract, so here's what I expect:

PG: Marbury, Norris/Brewer
SG: Crawford, Houston
SF: TThomas, Penny, Ariza
PF: Sweetney, Baker, JYD
C: KThomas, Mohammed
IL: SAnderson, Norris/Brewer, Sundov

This should lead to at least some interesting preseason battles through training camp and the games. Norris and Brewer competeting for 12th man, Ariza making his case for PT, and pretty much all of the big men fighting for precious minutes on the front line.

(my proposed) TIME BREAKDOWN:
PG Marbury 34mpg/Crawford 10mpg/Penny 4mpg
SG Houston 24mpg/Crawford 24mpg
SF TThomas 30mpg/Penny 14mpg/Ariza 4mpg
PF Sweetney 26mpg/Baker 8mpg/JYD 10mpg/TT 4mpg (I remember Lenny saying he wanted to play TT at 4 often, esp. if the 3 guard rotation is working and he wanted Houston and Crawford on the floor at the same time, Sweetney will probably be limited with foul trouble or else I'd write him in for 30mpg)
C KT 28 mpg/Mohammed 20mpg

Time Breakdown (last year's minutes per game in parenthesis):
Marbury 34 mpg (40) -6
Crawford 34 mpg (35) -1
TThomas 34 mpg (32) +2
KT 28 mpg (32) -4
Sweetney 26 mpg (--)
Houston 24 mpg (36) -8
Penny 18 mpg (29) -11
Mohammeed 20 mpg (20) even
JYD 10 mpg (24 mpg) -14
Baker 8 mpg (18 mpg) -10
Ariza 4 mpg (--)

That gives the Knicks a nice 10-man rotation, with Ariza seeing minutes mostly in matchup situations and blowouts, so even though he might see a lot of DNP-CDs, he'll still be getting time here and there.

The Knicks ride their big offensive guns in Marbury, Crawford, and TThomas for the most minutes, even though Marbury and Crawford are seeing less time than last year. If Houston comes back healthy, he could see more minutes but as of now I see him being banged up and only putting him out there for limited minutes could mean we see a very effective and efficient Houston.

Penny and TT, the two small forwards, will cause some solid matchup problems. TT can be moved to the 4, and Penny to the 1. Crawford at point could also do damage. The Knicks could have a lineup of Penny (6'7"), Houston (6'6"), Crawford (6'5"), TThomas (6'10") and any of their big men and have a huge team out there, with a bunch of offensively sound players. Put a guy like JYD at Center with that bunch and you have him making hustle plays on the offensive glass giving a real potent offensive group extra chances to score.

If Vin Baker plays like he did for the Celtics at the beginning of last year, he should see more minutes and KT should be dealt. I feel strongly about this. There is so much talent in the frontcourt and KT's the most expendable with his age, contract, and talent. I've discussed this before but if they could get a deal at the deadline to get a draft pick and another (lesser) player, I'd do it if Vin Baker was playing well and he could pop into KT's minutes (the trade I suggested was KT, Norris, and $3 mil for Mo Taylor and a first rounder).

Should be an interesting year with a deep Knicks squad. Just looking at their versatility (Marbury can play either 1 or 2, Houston either 2 or 3, Crawford and Penny 1, 2, 3, and TT either 2, 3, 4, not to mention Mohammed, KT, and Baker are basically interchangeable at the 4 and 5) should give them a ton of depth when it comes to playoff time, back-to-back games, and minor injuries during the season. That's something that couldn't be said since basically before LJ retired.

Should be an exciting season.

[Edited by - bigsm00th on 09/02/2004 01:23:19]

Isiah has 15 players, but I seriously doubt that this roster will be who's gonna tip off on the season opener.

IMO there will be another trade within a month... The deal will more than likely tighten up the front line.

nah, we don't need Jake...he doesn't bring us anything we don't have already except just some big stiff we can throw at Shaq every once in a while...we need to concentrate on getting more athletic

[Edited by - TMS on 09/02/2004 08:43:21]

Posted by nyballer:

I agree..there's no point in signing jake and getting another decent backup center. We are in a good situation because we have talented hard-working players that teams want at our disposal. With JYD, baker, sweetney,nazr, KT can go. I honestly think JYD and sweetney can do a better job than thomas wouldve. so if we are upgrading a position I can see us trying to do a KT and Nazr for a center deal. my dream would be if we could package them in a 3 way deal where LA got KT, NO got butler and mohammed and the knicks got magloire

I think NO would need to get more than Butler to do the trade. At the very least, I think they would need a C (they might want Nazy in the dea) and would want someone to take Jamal Mashburn's contract. You don't give up a 24 yr old double double, All-Star center for only Caron Butler.

It might be more realistic to try to get a player at Ratliff's level.

Jake can actually score.. he's got a nice hook, but he's so slow. A total plodder and Isiah has said he doesnt want that type of player.

Couple problems... Shandon wont go on IR. He will refuse if asked to, like he did last year. In fairness to him, he's entitled to. Its one thing if they dont play him, but he's got every right to gripe w/ sitting the year on IR. This is not defending him... he sucks and I hate him, but starting some pissing contest is bad for several reasons. Ariza will most likely start on IR until they can buy out Shandon.. plain and simple.

Bruno is no doubt cheap insurance in the even they make a 2 for one or 4 for 2 type trade in mid season. Nothing more.

Regardless of what happens there will be a major minutes crunch, especially if H2O is healthy. Crawford and Sweetney get any minutes that could swing either way because we are commited to them.

Isiah has yet to come out and said that this kid is a Knick. Just because a player reported that he is a Knick doesn't necessarily mean that it is true. Haven't you all learned anything yet????????

Posted by nyballer:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by nyballer:

I agree..there's no point in signing jake and getting another decent backup center. We are in a good situation because we have talented hard-working players that teams want at our disposal. With JYD, baker, sweetney,nazr, KT can go. I honestly think JYD and sweetney can do a better job than thomas wouldve. so if we are upgrading a position I can see us trying to do a KT and Nazr for a center deal. my dream would be if we could package them in a 3 way deal where LA got KT, NO got butler and mohammed and the knicks got magloire

I think NO would need to get more than Butler to do the trade. At the very least, I think they would need a C (they might want Nazy in the dea) and would want someone to take Jamal Mashburn's contract. You don't give up a 24 yr old double double, All-Star center for only Caron Butler.

It might be more realistic to try to get a player at Ratliff's level.

I had it so that NO got Nazr and butler, but i agree it probably wont be enough for magloire - isn't he in a walk year though? i remember reading that they were worried about re-signing him, and butler could take over when mash came off the books.

Call me crazy, but wouldn't the Lakers just want Magloire for themselves?

Posted by crzymdups:

Posted by nyballer:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by nyballer:

I agree..there's no point in signing jake and getting another decent backup center. We are in a good situation because we have talented hard-working players that teams want at our disposal. With JYD, baker, sweetney,nazr, KT can go. I honestly think JYD and sweetney can do a better job than thomas wouldve. so if we are upgrading a position I can see us trying to do a KT and Nazr for a center deal. my dream would be if we could package them in a 3 way deal where LA got KT, NO got butler and mohammed and the knicks got magloire

I think NO would need to get more than Butler to do the trade. At the very least, I think they would need a C (they might want Nazy in the dea) and would want someone to take Jamal Mashburn's contract. You don't give up a 24 yr old double double, All-Star center for only Caron Butler.

It might be more realistic to try to get a player at Ratliff's level.

I had it so that NO got Nazr and butler, but i agree it probably wont be enough for magloire - isn't he in a walk year though? i remember reading that they were worried about re-signing him, and butler could take over when mash came off the books.

Call me crazy, but wouldn't the Lakers just want Magloire for themselves?

crazy.
that is true, but the reasoning is the hornets would want more than just butler, which is why we throw in nazr. Then again when a knick fan makes up a trade there isnt much reasoning at all, really.

People need to calm down about Sundov's and Brewer's contracts. I suspect neither is guaranteed and that they will not necessarily make the training camp cut. I think there is still room to sign Keon or Rodney. Look at how many players most teams bring to camp. The nice thing about Isiah is that he's bringing in new faces.

But doesn't anyone remember Matt Bullard (not positive about the name). He was a plucky little SG who shot well in Oct, we couldn't make roster space for him. This was because we had like 18 guys in camp and could only sign 15. Most teams do this.

I can pretty much guarantee you that Isiah will sign either Keon or Rodney or make a trade over the next or so.

Posted by BigSm00th:

I guess with the signing of Sundov, the Keon Clark quest is done for whatever reason.

The Knicks have 15 guys under contract, so here's what I expect:

PG: Marbury, Norris/Brewer
SG: Crawford, Houston
SF: TThomas, Penny, Ariza
PF: Sweetney, Baker, JYD
C: KThomas, Mohammed
IL: SAnderson, Norris/Brewer, Sundov

This should lead to at least some interesting preseason battles through training camp and the games. Norris and Brewer competeting for 12th man, Ariza making his case for PT, and pretty much all of the big men fighting for precious minutes on the front line.

(my proposed) TIME BREAKDOWN:
PG Marbury 34mpg/Crawford 10mpg/Penny 4mpg
SG Houston 24mpg/Crawford 24mpg
SF TThomas 30mpg/Penny 14mpg/Ariza 4mpg
PF Sweetney 26mpg/Baker 8mpg/JYD 10mpg/TT 4mpg (I remember Lenny saying he wanted to play TT at 4 often, esp. if the 3 guard rotation is working and he wanted Houston and Crawford on the floor at the same time, Sweetney will probably be limited with foul trouble or else I'd write him in for 30mpg)
C KT 28 mpg/Mohammed 20mpg

Time Breakdown (last year's minutes per game in parenthesis):
Marbury 34 mpg (40) -6
Crawford 34 mpg (35) -1
TThomas 34 mpg (32) +2
KT 28 mpg (32) -4
Sweetney 26 mpg (--)
Houston 24 mpg (36) -8
Penny 18 mpg (29) -11
Mohammeed 20 mpg (20) even
JYD 10 mpg (24 mpg) -14
Baker 8 mpg (18 mpg) -10
Ariza 4 mpg (--)

That gives the Knicks a nice 10-man rotation, with Ariza seeing minutes mostly in matchup situations and blowouts, so even though he might see a lot of DNP-CDs, he'll still be getting time here and there.

The Knicks ride their big offensive guns in Marbury, Crawford, and TThomas for the most minutes, even though Marbury and Crawford are seeing less time than last year. If Houston comes back healthy, he could see more minutes but as of now I see him being banged up and only putting him out there for limited minutes could mean we see a very effective and efficient Houston.

Penny and TT, the two small forwards, will cause some solid matchup problems. TT can be moved to the 4, and Penny to the 1. Crawford at point could also do damage. The Knicks could have a lineup of Penny (6'7"), Houston (6'6"), Crawford (6'5"), TThomas (6'10") and any of their big men and have a huge team out there, with a bunch of offensively sound players. Put a guy like JYD at Center with that bunch and you have him making hustle plays on the offensive glass giving a real potent offensive group extra chances to score.

If Vin Baker plays like he did for the Celtics at the beginning of last year, he should see more minutes and KT should be dealt. I feel strongly about this. There is so much talent in the frontcourt and KT's the most expendable with his age, contract, and talent. I've discussed this before but if they could get a deal at the deadline to get a draft pick and another (lesser) player, I'd do it if Vin Baker was playing well and he could pop into KT's minutes (the trade I suggested was KT, Norris, and $3 mil for Mo Taylor and a first rounder).

Should be an interesting year with a deep Knicks squad. Just looking at their versatility (Marbury can play either 1 or 2, Houston either 2 or 3, Crawford and Penny 1, 2, 3, and TT either 2, 3, 4, not to mention Mohammed, KT, and Baker are basically interchangeable at the 4 and 5) should give them a ton of depth when it comes to playoff time, back-to-back games, and minor injuries during the season. That's something that couldn't be said since basically before LJ retired.

Should be an exciting season.

[Edited by - bigsm00th on 09/02/2004 01:23:19]

Sundov hasn't signed with the Knicks, just because Real GM posts a newspaper Article from a European sports writer, doesn't mean it's true.

The signing hasn't even been anounced by the Knicks or the NBA, so it's not even close to being true.