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BigSm00th
Posts: 24504
Alba Posts: 0
Joined: 12/9/2001
Member: #178
USA
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I don't understand the hang-up on Vince Carter. Why does anybody want him? He's selfish, lazy, doesn't play hard all the time, and isn't half the player he used to be.
Before his injuries Carter was a great player. Now, look at him. He shoots WAY below his career average, can't even jump, and is shooting baseline-fadeaways half the time. Why anyone wants him AND Jalen Rose is beyond me. Crawford and Marbury are starting to get some good chemistry, you need Houston's outside shooting, WHY DO THE KNICKS NEED ANOTHER SWINGMAN?
Seriously, look at this roster. Excluding Marbury, Norris, Kurt Thomas, Nazr Mohammed, and Vin Baker, here are the players who can play either 2 or 3: Allan Houston, Jamal Crawford, Jerome Williams, Trevor Ariza, Tim Thomas, Penny Hardaway. That is 6 players. Now you want to add 2 more? This makes no sense.
In Bill Simmons' latest article (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/041216), he wrote about how Lamar Odom hates playing in LA.
"But the biggest potential problem is Lamar Odom, who looks like he absolutely HATES playing with Kobe.
Believe me, I've been watching them all season -- partly because I'm so fascinated by Kobe's surreal attempt to be gregarious and supportive, partly because it's so darned enjoyable to root against them -- and poor Lamar is slowly getting the Private Pyle Face. During the Clips game, with Kobe on pace for a shot a minute -- he finished with 32 shots in 37 minutes -- Odom snapped in the third quarter and started screaming at everyone: Kobe, Rudy T., Atkins, you name it. "GET ME THE (EXPLETIVE) BALL!" How could you blame him? He knew he could take Moore off the dribble. So they ran a few plays for him and Odom scored eight of the next ten points: Easy points, too. He could have scored 40 against this Clippers team; nobody could guard him.
Well, guess what? Kobe didn't like that. He launched the final three shots of the quarter.
Needless to say, I don't see this ending well. Odom proved in Miami that he's one of the top-25 players in the league. He isn't someone you want standing 25 feet from the basket watching Kobe going one-on-three. It's a waste of his considerable talents. That's why he's going to snap soon. I wish there was a way to wager on this, but I bet Odom will start bitching about Kobe behind closed doors. Then Kobe will react poorly, start pulling his puppet strings to get Mitch Kupchak to do something ... and suddenly you'll see old Lamar heading somewhere else for 75 cents on the dollar. If Odom is smart, he should speed the process up and hit on Kobe's wife after a game. Somebody needs to send him a cowboy hat and some boots."
Why not go after Odom? This is a player who can change things. He played very well in the Olympics, extremely well with Miami last year (17 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block). He's a gamble (with regards to his drugs, not injuries or bad attitudes), but he changes the game and can play in the front court.
Would you trade Kurt Thomas, Mike Sweetney, and Moochie Norris for him? KT would be good with Kobe off the pick and roll, Sweetney would provide a nice boost for them inside, and Norris is a solid backup PG.
The Knicks run Marbury, Crawford, and Houston in the backcourt, Penny, when healthy, can fill in on the perimeter at 2 or 3, JYD and Timmy can play either forward, and Odom plays any frontcourt position:
PG: Marbury
SG: Crawford, Houston
SF: TT, Penny
PF: Odom, JYD
C: Mohammed, Baker
I think this is a move that puts the Knicks over the top. It's realistic, it gives the Knicks a FRONTCOURT player and not another injured, over-the-hill wingman. Give it two months when the Lakers are struggling and the Knicks are on that cusp of being a legit team and I think it could get done.
#Knickstaps
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12/16/2004 6:55 PM
. And be sure to add Ariza as a backup 3 because if you have Artest on your team, you must have a good backup ready for big minutes anytime...