February 2012
3 posts
JR Smith On The Verge of Signing With The Knicks
With the news that the Knicks are deep into discussions with one of the scariest men in recent NBA history, I figured it was a good time to dust off this piece, which I wrote in November 2010. At the time, Smith was rumored to be included in the Carmelo deal. I didn’t much want to see him with the Knicks at the time but I’m intrigued by the possibility now. The Knicks badly need a...
Lin Live
Thanks to the generosity of a good friend, I had the pleasure of watching Jeremy Lin lead the Knicks to a 100-85 victory over the Kings live from the 100 level of Madison Square Garden last night. I don’t know whether it’s because I was out of the country for much of what’s gone on the past week, that what I have watched has been on pirated internet feeds or that being in the...
Lint
Sorry. Everyone else had their fun putting Jeremy Lin’s last name on the front of stuff I had to have a little of my own. If you know me or you read this blog or are here for the first time and have a keen sense of negative energy, you certainly expect me to insult Jeremy Lin here and then to insult all the people who are excited about him. You already think that the title of this post means...
January 2012
13 posts
Basketball Prospectus Knicks Roundtable →
This is excellent. Only thing I would add is that the biggest reason I’d like to see Phil Jackson coach the Knicks is the respect he commands. There may not be another coach/exec in the league who can get stars to buy into a team (Rivers? Riley?) the way he can. The Knicks need to get Melo and Amar’e to do that, even if STAT can’t pass out of the post in the triangle.
Read it.
What Can the Sixers Offer the Knicks for Amar'e...
With the news that the Sixers reached out to the Knicks about Amar’e this week, you’ve got to wonder: what can the Sixers offer the Knicks for Amar’e (who makes $18.3 million a year for the next four years)? And should the Knicks make a deal? Here are two trades that might make sense at some point down the road. I’ve run both deals through the ESPN Trade Machine, so...
The Knicks Fell To The Heat Last Night But May... →
I’m over at KnicksVision again with a game recap and an analysis of why Carmelo and Amar’e need to emulate LBJ and Flash (seriously, why doesn’t anyone use that nickname any more?)
Peter Vecsey: Tinsley's Right For The Knicks →
Tinsley’s on the Jazz now, but The Viper points out that they may let him go before his contract becomes fully guaranteed on February 10th.
I’m in complete agreement with Vecsey. Even when Baron gets healthy, the Knicks are going to need a good backup. His back could flare up any time and if and when that happens they can’t be left with the point guard mess they’re...
As If On Cue: Knicks Plan To Target Raymond Felton... →
From yesterday’s Post, buried in an article on Steve Nash:
“That’s why The Post has reported the Knicks plan to target Nash (along with Jameer Nelson and Raymond Felton) with this summer’s $5 million mid-level exception.” You can read the rest here.
Unsurprisingly, I much prefer Felton to Nelson. I’m not yet sure what I think about Nash on the Knicks.
One think I do...
A Moment of Ventilation
From the moment the Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks rumors started to swirl I was of one mind: you give up whatever you must to get a player of his magnitude. Argue it any which way you want: that stars win in the NBA, that if you get the best player in a deal you’re getting the better end of it or that the Knicks needed to find a way to hang with James, Wade and Bosh. I argued it all of those...
Knicks 85 - Sixers 79
You can look at last night’s game in two ways. The first way says that the Knicks held one of the league’s most efficient offenses to 79 points, beating the team atop the Atlantic Division in a big game. It says that they deserve all the credit in the world for defeating a squad that was coming off a blowout of the Kings that brought their record to 7-2. This way of looking at it reads...
Knicks 91 - Bobcats 87
I don’t have a lot of time this morning so let me give you a couple of sentences on the Knicks’ last three games: After they lost to both Toronto and Charlotte last week, I said that as long as they beat Washington, Detroit and Charlotte in a rematch, things would be alright. They did that, even if the Wizards and Bobcats games were entirely too close. Now they’re 5-4 with two...
Knicks 103 - Pistons 80 →
I wrote a recap of last night’s game for Knicksvision.com, a great Knicks website. Click on over and check it out.
Shumpert May Start Friday Against Washington
If it isn’t now, it’ll be soon. Shump’s played two games and he’s already knocking on the door. From Newsday:
Coach Mike D’Antoni said Thursday that he was considering starting the rookie against the winless Wizards Friday night in Washington. The Knicks (2-4) need a spark, and Shumpert has provided one in both of the games he’s played — even though he...
Bobcats 118 - Knicks 110
Even today’s user-friendly version of New York City can get pretty nasty sometimes. The back-page buzzards start to circle, the WFAN callers increase their vitriol and the Garden fans start to chant their displeasure. A loser will be ignored but a disappointment? There’s nothing this city hates more. Ask the Jets.
Right now the Knicks, ignored losers for a decade, look like a...
Knicks Disappoint Against Toronto, Fall to 2-3
I missed this one because I foolishly planned my evening around the idea that the cable company I pay more than $100 a month to and the organization to which I have pledged my undying devotion could figure out a way to get the game to me. But alas, I am a naive fool.
Sounds like I missed a stinker. I’m not panicking, but I’m not feeling so positive either. Wednesday’s home game...
December 2011
25 posts
Out of Office: Reply
I’m out of town without much internet access this week, so I won’t be able to post until I get back Monday when I will try and do a recap of what thus far has been a disastrous road trip.
Want a preview? To paraphrase Bill Clinton’s camp: it’s the backcourt, stupid. Not just offensively either, 28 for Kobe is yet another torching. I think Shumpert will help when he...
Knicks 106 - Celtics 104
Any time you get to watch Kevin Garnett miss a game winner and then neck-push someone in frustration, you’re going to be happy. And if it’s your team that’s doing the winning and the frustrating of Garnett, well, it must be Christmas. I don’t know. I’m a Jew. The Knicks weren’t perfect yesterday but they battled and got a hard fought win. Watching them play a...
Knicks Predictions
I’d like to predict how many timeouts Mike D’Antoni will call. I’d like to predict how many times Mike Woodson shaves his eyebrows. I’d like to predict how many threes Mike Bibby will thunk a three off the back rim. I’d like to predict how many times Amar’e will yell “Aaaaand ONE!” But I can’t predict everything. Or can I?
Individual...
The Old Knicks, the New Knicks and why Jared... →
If you read this blog regularly you know I’m a JJ supporter. This piece by comedian Chris Gethard does a great job of explaining why. And why all of us Knicks fans love the Knicks. I feel like this thing crawled out of my own brain. It is truly excellent (if I do say so myself?)
Knicks 88 - Nets 82
Some quick thoughts from last night’s final preseason game:
The product is going to be ugly league-wide during the first few weeks of the season. Both teams were visibly winded from the third quarter on. The season starts in three days and the Knicks play three games in the first six nights, two on the west coast. It seems like shooting is going to be the biggest issue, as the Knicks went...
Knicks 92 - Nets 83 (And a Note on the Knicks' New...
Before I get started, word is the Knicks have reached an agreement with Baron Davis on a one-year $2.5 million deal. Based on the play of Toney Douglas yesterday, it’s clear that the Knicks need another point guard. A good game from Douglas would have only delayed that inevitable realization. A motivated, inexpensive Baron Davis is the best point guard available at this point. I’m very...
On Shawne Williams to the Nets
The Knicks have had a great offseason and interim GM Glen Grunwald deserves a lot of props. I do think that he deserves a bit of criticism, however, for the way the Shawne Williams situation played itself out.
It’s hard to knock a GM when a player decides to take more money from another team, which is exactly what Williams did, opting to take $6.1 over two years from the Nets instead of...
Alan Hahn Leaving Knicks Beat, Will Be On MSG's... →
Hahn is the best Knicks correspondent around. Congratulations to him.
Baron Von Knickerbocker? Hope So.
From Berman:
“If the Knicks can’t get Jamal Crawford to accept their $2.5 million exception and have his agent, Andy Miller, help swing a three-team trade, interim general manager Glen Grunwald has a fallback plan — sore-backed point guard Baron Davis.”
You can read the rest here.
What would you prefer - Baron Davis, Toney Douglas and Shawne Williams or Jamal Crawford? For a team...
Mike Bibby to the Knicks?
The Post is reporting that although the Knicks think Toney Douglas is capable of being the starting point guard, they’re meeting with Mike Bibby and are in discussions with his agent.
I have never liked Bibby. He was awful in the Finals last year and he definitely has the stench of LeBron’s Heat on him. His defensive ability makes Steve Nash look like Gary Payton (that’s an...
A Great Obit For Brandon Roy's Career →
From the Seattle Times, this is excellent.
Knicks Get Chandler, Offer Stoudemire For Paul And...
From good old Frank Isola:
“The disturbing news is that the team’s once treasured asset was nearly relieved of the New York City limelight he loves basking in. A Hornets’ source disclosed they swiftly rejected a Stoudemire-for-Chris Paul offer.” You can read the rest here.
I am wrought with emotion. I am elated that Tyson Chandler is coming to the Knicks. Melo-Amar’e-Chandler...
Hill on the Verge, Ajinca on the Radar?
Berman is at it again saying Grant Hill to the Knicks is “on the verge.” Don’t burn us again Grant. No word on the terms. I can’t imagine this would be for longer than a year but the Knicks front office has certainly surprised me before.
At the end of the column is this interesting nugget:
Jared Jeffries agreed to terms Tuesday and could share the starting role with...
Knicks Make Free Agency's First Big Splash →
That’s right folks, Jared Jeffries is returning to New York on a one year deal for the veteran’s minimum of $1.4 million!
My cause celebre lives. I know, I know, “he blew game two.” But really whose fault was that? His? Or circumstances? No way he should have been out there at that juncture. Don’t ask this man to score. Ask him to defend everyone from Mike Bibby to...
Chris Paul Will Not Be A Knick
Realistically I just don’t see how it happens. Eighteen days from the start of the season and offers are pouring in for Paul. And they’re good; the Knicks can’t come close to keeping up.
All this is according to Ken Berger and Adrian Wojnarowski, so check CBSsports.com and yahoo to get all the gory details.
The rumors:
1) Celtics - Rondo, Green and 2 number 1s (no...
Grant Hill Warming to Knicks?
Grant Hill has been wooed by the Knicks twice in his career and decided to go to lizard-person hangouts both times. I don’t know what that’s about. But now it looks like the third time may be the charm. Maybe he’s concerned about melanoma.
From Berman:
Hill’s leadership, defense and shooting have Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni pushing for him again. Hill would become the starting...
Knicks Links
Here’s a list of players I’ve seen the Knicks linked with so far:
Centers
Aaron Gray - we have to be able to find someone better than this stiff (see below)
Kwame Brown - you know I want him. He’s a good fit and he should be cheap
Power Forwards
Jeff Foster - good idea, but for the minimum not the midlevel. Glad to see Donnie Walsh still has some influence.
Bostjan Nachbar...
Re-Edition: Free Agent Point Guard Options For The...
I wrote this piece on inexpensive PG options for the Knicks before the lockout and there isn’t anything about it I’d change. I know Chris Paul is in play now and may have requested a trade to the Knicks but I just don’t see how it happens. The Knicks don’t have much to offer and Paul is rumored to have softened his stance, now saying he’d also accept a trade to the...
Re-Edition: A Look at the Knicks Options at Small...
Before the lockout I took a look at free agent small forward and shooting guard options for the Knicks. I haven’t changed it since I posted it in June. I’d only like to add that the Knicks have already reached out to Grant Hill, something I endorsed doing in this post. I’m also curious to see how Wilson Chandler’s situation in China affects his availability. Chandler is...
Re-Edition: A Look at the Knicks Big Man Free...
I wrote this back in June but now that free agency is about to kick off, I figured it would be worth taking another look at. I haven’t edited much below. A few things I’d like to add: I’ve heard the Knicks have contacted Jeff Foster so I guess you can add him to the list. I wouldn’t be opposed, rebounding is a big need. I’ve also been convinced that Josh...
November 2011
6 posts
Jeff Van Gundy Talks Knicks →
From ESPN.com’s Ian O’Connor:
“I think they can move up into the top four or five in the East,” Van Gundy, now an ESPN analyst, said, “and then become a championship-level team, depending on the moves they make going forward. [Then-team president] Donnie Walsh did an unbelievable job in his time of giving the Knicks an opportunity to get back in the championship...
The NBA Is Back.
I am too.
Ian Thomsen Nails How Wrong It Is That The NBA... →
I am so disappointed in everybody. This captures how I feel exactly.
The 1993-94 Knicks and the "Reno Trip" →
I’d never heard of this trip to Reno, where Pat Riley changed the Knick charter’s flightplan while in midair, had them land in Reno, handed out hundred dollar bills and told the players he didn’t want to see them until the next day. Until now.
October 2011
8 posts
LeBatard on the Lockout: One of the best pieces... →
A short excerpt from an excellent column:
“No matter how bully NBA commissioner David Stern tries to manipulate the media spin, no matter how eager fans are to make sports one of the few American workplaces where the customers are pro-management instead of pro-employee, no matter how terrible a martyr a $100 million basketball player makes, this lockout is not a fight between greedy...
Oakley On His Myths →
I’m not going to give anything away, but Oak was on Dan LeBatard’s show on Friday and they went through a lot of the awesome Oakley stories - including all of the slaps. I love Charles Oakley.
Interview starts at about 10:00.