|
scylla
Posts: 20051
Alba Posts: 0
Joined: 8/17/2001
Member: #97
|
As satisfying as it may be to curse Layden--and it is--I think we have to ask ourselves what Jerry West, or John Gabriel, or Donnie Walsh--whoever--could have done at the deadline given what he had to work with. NOBODY WANTS OUR PLAYERS. They may be overpaid, but many of those contracts were on Checketts' watch (Layden sure has f---ed up some drafts, I'll say). Layden's first job, immediately after he was hired, was to try and get fair value for an injured, over-the-hill, disgruntled Ewing. Since everyone around the league knew that Ewing HAD to go, Layden wasn't exactly dealing from strength. In fact, ever since he's been here, he has been at a distinct disadvantage in almost every deal, usually moving players, like Rice, who everyone in the league knows HAS to go. And when your players are sleepwalking through fourth quarters, playing without any pride and letting every cellar-dwelling team come into their buidling and hand them their ass, well, it's hard to pique other teams' interest in them. I'm sure Layden could have done SOMEthing yesterday, but it wouldn't have been anything we can live with. It's one thing to plug equal salaries into the RealGM tradechecker, but when the whole NBA knows you're desperate, restraint may be the best, and hardest, route to take. It's going to be a couple years before the Knicks really reflect Layden's vision. Might as well hope for the best, because he's not getting fired anytime soon.
|
