http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix214013777oct21,0,3351669.story?coll=ny-knicks-print

I was hoping for this in the off- season. I think it will improve our defense and most importantly our wild card, Sweetney, will start and have a chance to break out in only his second year. They are clearly are the best big men on the team. Nazr and Baker are too damn inconsistent and can't play defense, but they do give us interior depth which you can never have enoug of. Don't get me wrong of course I would rather have a front court consisting of Shaq and Sweetney, but Sweets and Kurt is the best we can do for now until Allan Houston gives back the money he stole. I hope Kurt's body is stronger than it was last season. I just hope he plays the way he did that year when he averaged 14pts and was our best low post defender. IMO Sweetney starting means that he will average at least 11 rebounds per game.

This is very good news! I am even more excited about the Knicks now! Our starting lineup will finally look better than our second string lineup. When I saw the Knicks scrimmage I couldn't believe how much better the second unit was with Sweetney, ariza and penny in there. Gotta do the best we can with what we got!

[Edited by - gunsnewing on 10/21/2004 10:55:42]

[Edited by - gunsnewing on 10/21/2004 12:13:32]

That's good news. That's the starting lineup I want to see.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/22/sports/basketball/22knicks.html?oref=login

In Dallas, Knicks See Big Man They Wanted
By HOWARD BECK

Published: October 22, 2004


ALLAS, Oct. 21 - Erick Dampier got everything he wanted this summer: money, security, a shot at a championship. The Knicks wanted Dampier this summer, but instead, they got a heavy dose of disappointment.

Dampier, now in his eighth season, joined the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal with Golden State that netted him $65 million over seven years. The Mavericks are thus set for the foreseeable future at center, once their weakest position.

The Knicks cannot claim to be set from day to day.

On Thursday, they sent Vin Baker, a converted power forward, out to bang with Dampier in a preseason game. Two nights earlier, Bruno Sundov - the very definition of project player - got the starting nod. Both received a look because Nazr Mohammed, the presumed starter since training camp began, failed to impress in the first two preseason games.

Coach Lenny Wilkens even considered a smallish, Kurt Thomas-Mike Sweetney tandem before deciding to start Baker against Dallas.

So the Knicks tinker as they go, hoping someone will make an impact before the opener Nov. 3 at Minnesota. But if it looked as if they were bathing in uncertainty, Wilkens did not want to hear it.

"Well, it may be uncertainty on your part,'' he said sternly, "it's just that I haven't made my mind up on it. That's all. And I want to see what affords us the best possibilities. So I'm going to look at it.''

The box scores tell a more vivid story. In four preseason games, the Knicks have used the same four starters at the guard and forward spots. Only the center has changed.

Through three games, Mohammed averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.7 minutes. Baker averaged 5.7 points and 2.3 rebounds. The team's best rebounder per 48 minutes is Sweetney, at 15.1. Mohammed's 48-minute average is 9.6, and Baker's 7.1.

It is conceivable the Knicks could head into their opener without a clear-cut starter.

"I hope not, but that could happen,'' Wilkens said, "so that we're all comfortable with one another.''

Baker, s starter for almost all of his 11-year career and a four-time All-Star, was nevertheless excited to get the starting nod Thursday and the chance to win the job outright.

"It's wide open,'' he said before tipoff. "My whole career I've started. Coach is experimenting, and I've just got to get it done.''

Baker has career averages of 15.6 points and 7.7 rebounds, numbers that would anchor the Knicks' frontcourt. But he is still regaining his stamina after a procedure in June to correct a long-undetected irregular heartbeat and is not yet in prime condition.

His résumé alone will not be enough to win the job.

"Every day in this league you have to prove something, and especially being in New York now and having so much competition in the frontcourt,'' Baker said. "This day has been an adventure for me."

A solid shooter and post player, Baker said his priorities were "rebounding, running the floor and defending; we'll start from there.''

The Mavericks were thrilled to get Dampier, who last season averaged career highs in points (12.3 a game) and rebounds (12 a game).

The Knicks worked feverishly to obtain him in a sign-and-trade deal, but when Golden State balked, the Nicks used their best assets - players with expiring contracts - to obtain Jamal Crawford from Chicago.

Dampier visited New York, and Isiah Thomas, the Knicks' president, offered him the full midlevel exception, about $5 million for the first year of a contract, but it was hard to compete with Dallas.

"We couldn't offer the dollars that Dallas could at that time,'' Wilkens said. "And we couldn't get Golden State to do a sign-and-trade with us. I thought that he had the experience and that he could be a real good addition to our team.''

REBOUNDS

It has been six years since Kurt Thomas left Dallas for New York, and Mavericks Coach Don Nelson still speaks with regret about losing him. "I love Kurt; we never should have lost him,'' Nelson said. Thomas remains the subject of frequent trade rumors, but a reunion is unlikely. "I'll take him back in a minute, but we don't need a power forward at this point; we've got an All-Star power forward,'' Nelson said, referring to Dirk Nowitzki.