I agree. I was just going to make a post like this. For all the questionable moves, Isiah is rebuilding here and I'm willing to give him time. The roster went from having Eisley, Charlie Ward, Othella Harrington, Clarence Weatherspoon, etc, with Frank Williams as the only bright spot on the entire team to having Ariza, Sweetney, Crawford, Marbury and now two more solid draft picks (hopefully). This is how you build a competitive team. It takes time, but at the same time, Isiah has only been here for 18 or 19 months.

The Key is for Isiah to make room for guys to play and slide in vets at the right positions to make it work.

I've got big dreams for Ariza. I hope he is working hard on his game this summer. If he can get better handling the ball and scoring he would be awesome. I hope he can come in and start for the Knicks full time.

It would be nice to draft a center. Jackie Butler still has to prove himself in the summer leagues. I like Frye's athletic ability. He makes the effort to get up and down the court. He could fit right in with Craw, Ariza and Marbs. If only the Knicks could get a equally athletic power fwd.

Hopefully Isiah can get another pick in the mid-first for KT......It would be nice to get Villenueva and Frye.



[Edited by - enyspree on 06/14/2005 17:03:35]

Sorry guys but I don't buy the youth movement just yet. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I don't trust Herb/Isiah to do the right thing and give these guys the playing time they'll need to develop. That would actually be my biggest concern with drafting a guy like Bynum. JB couldn't get near the court with the season basically over and the playoffs out of reach. Why would they play Bynum then, in games that actually matter? This team with this management/coaching staff, there's no way they're gonna sacrifice wins at the expense of giving the youth a chance to play and develop, especially with a playoff berth on the line. If playing KT 40+ minutes at C is their best chance to win, then that's what they're going with. (and really, if playing KT 40+ is your best chance to win, then it's a pretty bad chance anyway)

Look at the roster. If JB comes back, that leaves 3 open spots. Yes, it's easy to say plug in 8, 30, and 54. However, do you think Isiah will hold off on using the MLE? And what of TT and Penny's expiring deals? He may sit on them till the deadline if he's smart. But if a deal comes along this summer, and he moves one of those massive contracts in a trade, chances are he'll have to take back more than 1 player to make the numbers work. Unless he's planning on waiving/ buying out a lot of people, he'll need the roster spots.

I think the best bet is to draft a ready to play guy with pick 8, and either consolidate the other 2 picks by trading up, or draft a Euro player (or 2) with the late pick(s) and leave them over there for a year or 2.

Now, this is a worst case scenario and I seriously hope it won't happen. I'd love for them to draft Bynum and give him the time to develop. But just looking at the history of this organization, I just don't see it.

So we can still call Butler a rookie. That's cool.

I guess I'm saying that the presence of youth gives me a reason to be excited for this year. I'm not going to be unrealistic. I know they might not get much burn, but at some point, somewhere down the line - we will have a team composed of mostly players in their mid-20's. If some of these guys pan out, then there might be a season that's really worth watching in a year or two.

"The two times I cried as a professional basketball player were when we lost the NBA Championship to Houston and when I got traded from the Knicks..." - John Starks

I like your sig!

Its a possitive to look up for, thats for sure. I want to see what Butler can bring to us. I hope he is such a good pickup. Ariza is an exciting player, and Im looking forward for next season. Now, Sweetney, I expected a little more from him, especially his shape.

That's why last year was nothing like a Layden year even though the record was almost as bad as Layden had been doing. And with the exception of Butler's few weeks on the team, the young players got about as much playing time as any team concerned about the future would give them. Like everyone else, I'd like Butler to have played more. But the idea that they're not gonna have find time for the #8 pick (be it Bynum or anyone else) just because some CBA player signed mid season for the league min got no playing time makes no sense, especially when you consider that the #43 pick got 18 mpg.

OK. I wouldn't be surprised if the second rounder either didn't make it, or continued playing overseas. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the scouting team finds a diamond in the rough that earns a roster spot. But by conventional standards it is a reach. Let's say 2 out of 3 of our picks earn spots. That still doesn't change things all that much for me.