Major gamble at the trade deadline scramble

Tracy- my personal hero at the Lazy Eye of Sports

First off, I want to start of by stating the obvious: i’m not a genius by any stretch of the imagination.  I’m not a GM or training to be one either.  I don’t understand the salary cap and the ramifications of deals as it relates to the luxury tax all that well either.

But people tell me that I’m reasonable.  People tell me that I have my moments where I possess something very rare nowadays in the world and that’s common sense.

So I’m going to use that power, for good of course, and reason that the Knicks trade offer to obtain Tracy McGrady is either a really smart move by Donnie Walsh or a really dumb move.  See, I don’t want to dismiss this immediately because you never know.  Here’s the trade:

The Knicks GET Tracy McGrady (expiring contract valued at 22.5 million), Brian Cook (expiring contract valued at 3.5 million), Joey Dorsey and a 2011 Houston Rockets 1st round pick *

The Rockets GET Jared Jeffries (contract valued at 6.83 million for next year), Jordan Hill (rookie, 2008 first round selection), Larry Hughes/Al Harrington# (10.02 million expiring/13.65 million expiring contract), 2011 Knicks 1st round*, 2012 1st round draft pick and MAYBE a 2012 2nd round pick.

#= The Knicks would admittedly like to send Larry Hughes so they can flip Al Harrington’s 13 mil over to the Bulls for Tyrus Thomas-  this all coming from a number of rumor mill posts.

*= NBA’s rules forbid teams from giving up consecutive first round draft picks, therefore, they have to swap these two first rounders to be playing within the rules.  Don’t you think if Isiah could, he would’ve traded away every draft pick from 2010 to 2015???? C’mon!

The Knicks during the Isiah years were known for future killing deals similiar in structure to this one.  Yet, since the stench of Isiah has wore off with time, Donnie Walsh’s reign has been about one thing: ridding himself of contracts for the summer of 2010.

During that summer, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh will all be available for the low cost of max contracts.

The summer’s grocery list of super stars make for a nice discussion and a nice dream for Knick fans all the way up until July 1st.  When the clock strikes midnight and Mike D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh aren’t able to get LeBron James and one of his super friends to join him in blue and orange, then this will have been a colossal waste.  All this moving parts and pieces will have been for nothing.

In the end, this trade is for one thing: LeBron and co.  Nothing else and Donnie Walsh isn’t hiding his infatuation with being under the cap, that teams recognize this desperation and smart GM’s are willing to squeeze everything they can.  Thus, the hold up.  Thus the 50/50 chance that this deal gets done.  Because here’s the significant difference between Donnie and Isiah, Donnie will stop and think before he presses the big red button, Isiah would’ve pressed it a long time ago.  Donnie understands the ramifications of doing this and chances are, he knows something beyond what he’s revealing.

My hunch here is that Donnie heard through coach D’Antoni that LeBron and a mystery friend gave verbal agreements to come to the Knicks this coming summer.  Now, that’s all conjecture at this point and reserved for the rumor mill but let’s entertain the possibility that Donnie has this little nugget of information in his back pocket.  Doesn’t he move with confidence?  Doesn’t he move a bit more swift here?  Why give up all the draft picks for the uncertainty of 2010?

Since he took over for Isiah and mercifully put an end to that era for Knick fans, his job title might have been waste management.  As in, getting rid of all the garbage contracts that Isiah had accumulated.  While he can’t ever get this year’s draft pick back, or trade Eddy Curry’s fat corpse for a reasonable headache (yes, i’m assuming those kind of headaches exist), the fact is, he will have done everything he can to accomplish this goal.  No one ever thought he could trade Jamal Crawford or Zach Randolph’s massive contracts but somehow did it.   While most think that Donnie gets too much credit and mostly look to his final few years at his tenure in Indiana as reasons to deflate Knick fans’ optimism I’m willing to take my chances since Isiah sucked so bad.

But the risk he takes here in being so far out of the salary cap is the 900 pound elephant in the room: What is LeBron and co. don’t come?  What if he’s serious about wanting to go to a contender or a team ready to contend?  The Knicks don’t look like that team at all.  The magic that people are trying to perpetuate about New York is that if LeBron comes here, he could achieve fame and fortune like no where.

Its partially true, but its also a very nice story that New Yorkers like myself love to build up in our heads.  His fame and fortune are destined to him.  There’s nothing stopping LeBron.  He’s going to win championships.  Yes, plural.  He will be on Madison Ave, even if that’s not his mailing address.  What Donnie Walsh hasn’t done is convince LeBron that the future is promising.

But like I said thats my only worry.  For me, I do this trade.  As painful as it might be to consider a world in which LeBron James doesn’t come to New York in 2010, you have to do everything in your power to get as below the cap as you can.  Donnie may have insider information in his back pocket to consider doing this deal.  Who cares about a 2012 first rounder if we’re picking in the late 20’s?  Walsh’s entire plan rests on the completion of this trade and what happens after July 1st.  Do we HAVE to do this deal?  If you want LeBron? Sure.  Who knows, what if he wants to build a winner to his liking in New York?  What if LeBron is as infatuated with New York as Knick fans are thinking about him in blue and orange unis?  Several different scenarios will play out.

But everything will point to THIS move as either the beginning of something great, or the beginning of the end.