Tag Archives: NBA

December 29, 2011 · 3:58 pm

Daily Rounds 12/29

The Knicks were tied heading into the fourth quarter but lost 92-78 to the Warriors.  Mike Vacarro says that the Knicks are still working out the kinks and so it may look like this for a while.  Mark Jackson got the last laugh against the team that almost hired him says Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News.  Howard Beck of the New York Times says that IF the Knicks superstars could’ve saved them they would have.  Meanwhile the Knicks newest import found the court yesterday and Jeremy Lin’s journey has been tumultuous to say the best in the last 18 months but at least he didn’t have to travel far to reach his newest team, says Howard Beck of the New York Times.  

Howard Beck touches on exactly what was wrong with the Knicks.  If the stars aren’t hitting their shots, it will be almost impossible for the Knicks to win.  That’s the problem in a nutshell.  The Knicks don’t have a playmaker that can create offense for the team.  There isn’t a point guard on the team that will create shots for other players.  This team will look better when Iman Shumpert returns and Baron Davis too.  Those two guys slash into the basket and create offense for themselves or others.  They don’t have that kind of athleticism right now.  Amar’e is a pick and roll player.  Melo is a pick and pop player.  The Knicks don’t have the player that will generate offense right now.

Like I wrote in my post game report early this morning, Toney Douglas’ progress as a point guard has been non-existent.  He’s a few seconds late seeing almost everything which means he’s not a natural floor leader.  More and more I see him the more and more I have an appreciation for true point guards who have such excellent court vision and can see a play develop before it happens.  Good point guards can see things happen before they do and I’m rethinking this whole “we need Dwight Howard over Deron Williams” argument that is developing.

Unfortunately for the Knicks, all they need is a semi-reasonable point guard who can play the position and run a simple pick and roll.  A pick and roll because that’s ALL Amar’e needs.  That’s all Carmelo needs.  Someone to hit the man as they are running right to the hoop.  The Knicks are too much of a half court team and settled for far too many jumpers while the Warriors were getting to the hoop with regularity.  Tyson Chandler got into foul trouble and without him the Knicks were a layup line again.

There was far too many troubling signs on offense that continue to plague them  If the Knicks superstars aren’t hitting their shots nobody is trying or attempting to grab the offensive rebound and nobody is trying to initiate any offense.  The limitation the Knicks have is that too much of the offense depends on Melo and Stat.  Stat is not an offensive initiator.  He took far too many double teamed and contested shots instead of finding the open man.  Too many isolation situations where there was NOBODY willing to pass off.  It was too stagnant while on the other end, the Warriors were putting on a clinic.  This time an average point guard dominated the Knicks.  It was kind of sad to watch and its troubling that the Knicks don’t have any kind of sustained defensive intensity right now.  I get that they need more practice time.  I get that they need more time to get used to one another and the defensive schemes of Mike Woodson.  I get all of that, and I see some improvement from Amar’e but again, its not a sustained effort throughout and that’s what they need.

The Knicks will need to work on how to run plays on offense that consist of more than one guy being isolated and everyone standing around watching.  Now granted there will be few games like this where the Knicks have both stars off their games.  And right now the Knicks have two guys capable of dropping 30 on any given night and so the Knicks will overcome and have rare games like last night but here’s the good news:  The Knicks had a pretty terrible day shooting and yet they still led through three quarters of the game.  Their defense kept them in it and they were great in keeping their hands actively in passing lanes.

The final verdict:  these games will be far and few between.  The Knicks will play better.  They just need to keep their defensive intensity alive for longer stretches.  Slow and steadily the Knicks are getting better.

Osi Umeniyora returned to Giants practice right in time for the G-men who will need the waves of pass rush to stop the Cowboys and it appears, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, that he returned faster than ever.  Jorge Castillo of the Star Ledger reports that amidst the thrill of victory was the reality that the Giants passing attack has suffered in the last two weeks and will be depended upon to play well Sunday night.  

Osi is going to be key for the Giants but I agree with Jorge, the passing attack has been average.  Eli has been good, however but the receivers haven’t been making plays.  Apart from that 99 yard play, the Giants have been uneven.  I think it has to do with the reshuffling of the line.  I liked Mitch Petrus at Guard and Kareem Boothe at Center.  If the Giants hope to fly they need Jake Ballard back and they need Travis Beckum to finally show some kind of skill.  They need Hakeem Nicks to catch passes again.  They need Mario Manningham back in the line up.  They need guys to step up on offense.

The defense is tough to figure but it can only get better having Osi in it.  Osi figures to get plenty of pass rush and in the report, it says that he will probably only see action during obvious pass rush situations.  Which would move JPP into the interior and give the Giants four really good strong defensive players on the line.  That line would cause massive mayhem and given that the Cowboys will have Sammy Morris and a banged up Felix Jones, the Giants will need the athleticism to get pressure on Romo.  Add on to the fact that Romo will have a banged up arm its not looking good for the Cowboys.

Which is what scares me about Sunday night’s game.  Add on to the fact that the Giants are playing at home which has been anything BUT good.  Like I said earlier: this game is so evenly matched that it can literally go EITHER WAY.  Ugh.

The Miami Heat were in their second close game in a row and they found a way to win.  And for the second consecutive game, crunch time buckets went to player not named Lebron James and that will get plenty of the attention if its a trend that continues.  Tom Haberstoh of ESPN’s TrueHoop (who’s been fantastic by the way) covers the Heat and said that the bucket that Wade hit to win it for the Heat should not have counted according to Rob Mahoney.  On a night full of close games, another one came down to the wire between the Thunder and Grizzlies and Kevin Durant won the game for the Thunder, but it wasn’t without conflict.  According to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman, Durant and Westbrook got into a fight where both had to be restrained.  This is bad news for the Thunder.  

These are two of the most talented teams and the two that most of the expert crowd predict to make the Finals this year.  But this shows the problem with having too much talent in two different ways.  Last year, the Heat struggled with who would get the crunch time scoring opportunities and especially who WOULDNT.  The Heat this season have played 2 close games out of three and are already hearing the whispers of superstars who can’t get it done.  And again, Chris Bosh is quietly having monster games in which both Lebron and Wade are expected to step up.  Regardless of what happens, the Heat are facing similar pressure to show up every night.  In front of a sell out crowd, the Heat got the opposing team’s best game.  The Bobcats played tremendously last night and came close to pulling off the upset had it not been for the general excellence of Lebron and Wade.  Lebron had the monster game.  Wade wasn’t nearly as effective and Bosh was having a really good game as well.  The Bobcats put forth their best effort and yet the Heat’s three man team were too much for the Bobcats to handle.  Of course it didn’t help that Paul Silas chose to not play his two most effective scorers in Byron Mullens and Kemba Walker (I already know what you’re thinking, Kemba who right?) down the stretch.  But its interesting that the Heat still play in that rock star atmosphere where every single game they play they get the very best from the competition and they are surviving on pure talent.  The point though comes down to what exactly was the rationale behind giving a cold D-Wade the look at the final shot OVER Lebron who had 35 points OR Bosh who had 28 points.  Wade who was troubled by an ankle sprain that kept him out for most of the third quarter came back in and defensively played great blocking a few shots and coming back in transition to finish a few more.  But offensively the night belonged to Lebron and yet the coach decided to draw up a play for a cold D-Wade who finished the night 5 for 13.  So why would the coach give the ball to Wade if Lebron had it working last night?  And that’s the question that will be posed to Lebron every time a game comes down to the wire and the Heat require someone to hit a clutch shot or make a clutch decision.  That’s the price of being given such uncoachable talents (I promise that’s not an insult and that’s a compliment).

On the other end, this brotherly blood feud between Durant and Westbrook was eventually bound to happen but it appears that the schedule is not the only thing that’s being compressed.  With only 66 games, it appears the drama is fitting itself in pretty early with this team.  After finishing a stinking 0 for 12 and with no regard to his team’s position in the game, Westbrook kept shooting and I kept thinking to myself “uh oh”.  To me, and this is just me, Westbrook has the higher ceiling than Durant.  Durant is a phenomenal scorer and he can make plays happen and he’s a willing passer but Westbrook has the ability to be it all.  Scoring/defensive/slasher/playmaker and thus I’d rather take Westbrook’s upside more so than Durantula.  I think Durant just works on his shooting and becomes automatic like Dirk in the coming years while, if Westbrook dedicates himself he can become a much better player.  Which is why I floated the possibility of the Lakers making a run at Westbrook instead of Chris Paul.  I love Paul and to me he’s the best (pure) point guard in the NBA today BUT if they added Russell Westbrook and Kobe took him under his wing, how awesome would he be for them?  He’d give them the kind of jump athletically they haven’t had in quite some time and for Kobe having that second superstar on his team would help his old legs because he could resolve himself to be that pop and stop shooter.  Kobe’s getting up there in age and the Lakers are asking him to be the focal point of the offense and while he can manage that on some nights, its not something he can do on a nightly basis.  Its also interesting that I see a lot of parallels between Kobe and Russell Westbrook.  Westbrook has the talent to be a great, not good player in the NBA.  He just needs guidance.  Something he will NOT get in OKC.  He’s as untouchable as Durant and while Durant is more highly regarded among front office people, Westbrook is like I said more talented potentially than Durant and so keeping him in a Thunder uniform is of utmost importance.  But imagine the Lakers offer them Andrew Bynum for Westbrook and Nazr Mohammad.  Imagine what that does to the Thunder?  That front line would be beastly.  Kendrick Perkins and Bynum down low and Durantula playing the three.  AT 6 feet 11.  How tough a match up would that be for opposing teams?  Meanwhile the Lakers get a good developing young player WHILE still preserving precious cap space for Dwight to supersize their front line WHILE still having Pau Gasol for next year.  Imagine THAT team in LA.  How does this not work out well for both teams?  Please.  Someone tell me?  Oh wait.  You can’t.

Aside from the issues that Durant and Westbrook have, which are real and exist and were eventually going to reveal themselves, the fact is the Thunder have a problem that most teams would love to have.  How Scotty Brooks handles that will be something to watch.  Remember, this is what Phil Jackson used to do really well.  Great coaches know how to handle egos and massage them while making the co-existence workable for the betterment of the team.  Embedding that team philosophy in guys who clearly are looking out solely for their own stats is tough but a necessary evil in this profession.  At some point, Durant and Westbrook will have to face the prospect of putting aside their issues and working out an understanding.  Westbrook will be told he’s the playmaker and Durant will be told to shoot because that’s how this will work.  Until Westbrook can be trusted on a nightly basis to keep the plan, this situation bears watching.  How long can you trust Westbrook to set aside his ego?  How long can you expect Durant to play Mr. Nice teammate?  How long before it becomes painfully obvious to everyone involved (Sam Presti, please) that the Thunder NEED to get some value for Westbrook now before it becomes impossible to get anything good for him? People may say its too early but let’s be real, the path to a championship has been cut to 66 games and now is a better time than any to make that run start to count while you still have a chance to.

Ken Davidoff of New York Newsday finds common ground for A-Rod and the Wilpons.  Kinda.  

This shady German operation has me thinking about aging superstars and their constant need to compete with their younger competition.  Whatever happened to aging gracefully?  Speaking of gracefully has anyone put those sad puppy Coupons out of their misery yet?

Mike Pereira went postal on Jon Gruden in this FoxSports column.  

Me and Mike Pereira are FOREVER cool after this.  Does anyone else feel like Jon Gruden likes almost everything on the planet?

Finally, if women EVER wanted to understand why they feel they are being objectified on television.  They had better hope that THIS never gets shown in front of a nationally televised audience.  

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December 23, 2011 · 12:46 pm

Daily Rounds 12/23

Last night was the Knicks second and final preseason game, both against the New Jersey Nets soon to be of Brooklyn, and the Knicks won 88-82.  Frank Isola said that the Knicks will need their BIG 3 to step up all year long in order for them to be successful.  Mike Vaccaro likes this Tyson Chandler and says that Tyson Time (my own unique-but-not-really nickname) is off to a rousing start.  Barbara Barker wrote about the newly renovated frontcourt making its debut in the newly renovated MSG.

Just a few quick notes that I took from this game:

– Sloppy.  Its to be expected though considering that the Knicks barely had a training camp AND had to work in several new players including two rookies and a new starter.  Amar’e Stoudemire’s shot was off and he didn’t even play a single second in the second half which shows you how concerned D’Antoni is in keeping him healthy throughout the season.  What that means in the regular season will be interesting but Amar’es shot wasn’t falling and yet he basically sat throughout the second half while Avery Johnson kept his entire starting 5 out on the court for the final quarter.  Carmelo seemed to be the only one with a semblance of a good, consistent game.  Pick and rolls need to be worked on and so does alot of the defensive spacing but I like in general where the Knicks are going.

– Defensive prowess-  I’m not trying to use Clyde lines but you can’t help but try and talk like him after a Knick game.  There was definitely more effort on the defensive front.  My All-Defensive Knick team would be Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony (yes,), Renaldo Balkman and Tyson Chandler.  I love the effort these guys give on defense and Carmelo when he’s into it, can DEFINITELY excel at it.  How much effort he wants to give is completely on him.  As long as during crunch time he shows forth that effort to lock down his guy I’m ok with him giving not max on other plays.  Sounds like I’m advocating for taking plays off but for guys as talented as Melo, it can appear he’s taking plays but he’s still giving more effort than less skilled players.

Alot of that communication came from….

– The Tyson Chandler Effect.  Chandler has been a revelation on the court.  On the bench.  In warm up.  In practice.  Just his whole demeanor and leadership that he’s brought to this team is awesome.  It reminds me of….Amar’e from last season when he came.  Amar’e was a vocal leader prodding his underachieving, underrated line up.  The Knicks were a legit threat with all their supposed “non-talent” they didn’t have to trade for Carmelo Anthony.  What Tyson does is bring a presence in the middle of the paint which has long been a freeway for opposing offenses.  He’s so good at keeping communication open while he’s on the floor AND EVEN on the bench.  HIs biggest thing is keeping confidence up and keeping everyone loose.  I LOVE Tyson Chandler and I’m ready to get his jersey.  He looks like the real deal and a great fit.

– Questions about the bench are going to rise but I LOVE our bench.  One major bit of news that came out of D’Antoni’s post game presser, is that he’s going to use a rotation of 10,11 maybe even 12 guys to keep everyone fresh.  That would be awesome.  Aside from the starting five, expect minutes from Iman, Jorts, Balkman, Devin, Novak when he arrives, Baron Davis and Mike Bibby.  It would be completely out of character for D’Antoni and maybe he goes back to his old ways of riding his 8 man rotation out during the course of a season but you have to take a man at his word.  I believe that things like a good supporting staff are important as having superstars on your front line.  That’s why the Mavs won the title and the Heat didn’t.  If you’re top heavy its almost impossible to win titles because eventually the tops wear out because they are human.  The Knicks need to get alot of production from their bench and eventually their second unit is going to have to play above and beyond the call of duty.  I like that Jorts does NOT hesitate shooting that three and I’d like to ask Renaldo Balkman to NEVER chuck up threes like that.  I think Balkman’s cutting to the hoop is underrated and teams need to be wary of that especially if Carmelo is handling the ball.

– Knick rookies stepping up-  Jorts and Iman are the two guys who will have a large hand in determining how far the knicks go.  Jorts is definitely just an energy guy off the bench meant to spell Tyson Chandler and also provide defense and rebounding.  He still needs to work on getting proper boxing out techniques but I think he can improve.  Iman is a combo guard and for him that means chucking up the shot every five seconds.

One of the best bit of reporting I heard was that Baron Davis went up to the neophyte and told him that Deron Williams is laying off him on purpose to bait him to shoot.  Iman listened to him and began driving to the hoop which really helped the Knicks.  I would like for Iman to drive and kick out and pass.  He has a nice stroke but he has to know when he has the hot hand and when he doesn’t.  Last night’s 2 for 10 meant he didn’t.  At one stretch he began chucking up shots at the beginning of the 24 shot clock.  That’s not effective nor efficient if you’re not making them.  Toney Douglas began heating up after going a whole half without scoring.  Iman should’ve looked for Toney on some of those plays but instead tried to find his own shot.  I get that he is listed as a combo guard and I get that his athleticism makes him an excellent one AT THAT, but he needs to know WHEN he’s on and when he’s not and I think at 6’5 if he can make the transition to point guard it would be the best thing for the Knicks in the long run.  I dont want OJ Mayo 2.0 on my team.

Don’t get me wrong, on the defensive end the man is a tireless worker and trust me that jump shot is going to come, but I’d like for him to really work on driving and passing and understanding that.  I realize it may not happen this year and the shortened schedule will force the Knicks hand in giving him a ton of playing time, add into the equation that Toney Douglas may struggle a bit going forward and Knick fans will want Shump to play but I see that as a good thing.  Hopefully the Knicks move forward trying to push the idea to Shump that he needs to find the open man.

– Melo as a passer-  Man am I excited to see him run the point at times on this squad.  He’s such a gifted passer/scorer/everything offensive that we sometimes undervalue how good he is.  I mean the guy can do it all.  He had probably the best assists and he’s got the mind of a savant when he’s playing basketball.  His ability to pass will throw defenses for a loop and he’ll give his teammates really easy baskets and once the defense lays off him, this will give Carmelo tons of easy possessions and plenty of one on one opportunities which he’ll certainly take advantage of.  He’s really a pleasure to watch.

– Toney Douglas and Landry Fields worry me-  I realize they didn’t have terrible games but they disappeared for stretches throughout yesterday and it has to bug you that both of them are NOT having great training camps but nobody really is.  Everyone’s struggling and coming to grips with the fact that the NBA season is beginning Sunday, a measly two weeks after training camp started. They will need to work hard because Iman Shumpert is there and gathering steam.  He looks like the more active athlete, and the guy they want eventually taking over either spot (my vote is for point guard), but I think that D’Antoni would rather have these two succeed.  In the end, I think both of these guys would benefit coming off the bench instead of starting but that’s all depending on how quickly Baron Davis recovers and if the Knicks have anyone to play shooting guard.  Again, I’d rather Shump NOT pick up habits like wanting to score all the time like he already does, but hey, there’s always the hope that he picks up better habits like using his slashing, driving style to dish the ball out.

– Why all the hate towards Kris Humphries- Gotta love New York fans.  That’s all i’m going to say.

– Clyde Frazier is already in midseason form- “The only green I like is money” and “Where’s the Kardashian guy?” I’m ready to go!

Here is today’s list of Knick stories including Marc Berman’s contention that the waiting for a team to be built is over for the Knicks.  NOW is the time for Knicks to go out and win a title.  Amar’e Stoudemire says that the Heat are not ready to climb for the title but the Knicks are ready to contend against Miami or whatever that means.  Frank Isola of the Daily News tries to explain.  Speaking of the Heat, Tom Haberstroh of TrueHoop did an excellent report on Erik Spolestra going to Oregon to study the offensive scheme of the Ducks, the college team who made it to the national championship game last year and have been perennial contenders under the guidance of Chip Kelly.  Also, Seth Walder gives you the low-down on pricing of MSG tickets if you wanted to sit courtside.  

Not lacking confidence is a good thing and frankly a welcome thing in these parts.  For years the Knicks and its fan base have had to be very quiet, patiently waiting for a winner to be built.  Well, the Knicks told everyone to open their eyes.  The Knicks are here and this is what the contender looks like.  Sure, there are still a few pieces to be added midseason.  The Knicks still have the $2.5 million room exception which can be used on someone like, say, a Kenyon Martin, but the Knicks know that in order for them to compete they have to go through Miami who almost certainly WILL get that number one seed.  Speaking of the Heat, that article scared me because of what it contained.  It looks like Spolestra was determined to make an offense that was part Showtime, part Amoeba, part crazy offense where Lebron and Co. will be playing a lot of smaller line ups to take advantage of their quickness and elusiveness.  Again, I dont know how it will work but I expect this shortened season to REALLY be the best thing for the Heat because if anyone is built for this kind of crazy schedule its young teams with very capable superstars.  Do I think the Heat will win the East this year?  Yes.  Do I think the Heat are better than the Knicks?  yes.  Do I think Lebron is the best player in the East?  Yes.  Do I think Dwayne Wade is better than Carmelo Anthony?  No.  I think its a tie but that’s only if Melo comes to play on the defensive end because Wade does.  Again, for the Knicks to contend I think Berman put it correctly, that Melo playing Point Forward HAS to work out and Melo has to play at an MVP like level.  I expect Amar’e AND Melo to bring 50-52 PPG and about 18-21 RPG.  I really hope that all goes well and they remain healthy and D’Antoni IS serious about a heavy rotation of players.

The Mets are officially in trouble says a brand new book by Mets blogger Howard Megdal who recently released an E-Book titled Wilpon’s folly.  According to Jeff Bradley of the Star Ledger, it talks about how much debt that the Wilpons have and how even with the investors they claim will purchase the necessary amount of shares to make $200 million that the Wilpons will be forced to sell the team.  Josh Kosman of the Daily News says the book made a claim that the Wilpons used their friendship with Bud Selig to make him look like the bad guy so if David Einhorn, who wanted to invest in the club and in effect take majority ownership SHOULD the Mets not be able to pay him back, ever tried to sue him the Wilpons could say that it was Major League Baseball’s decision not to approve ownership and not his.  According to Anthony Reiber, the Mets are cutting their GCL team in a cost-cutting move further developing fears within Major League circles that the Mets are indeed in a very seriously dire financial situation. 

Look, I’ll say it again: The Coupon family WILL NOT sell this team willingly.  It will take a bank robber and a ski mask and a machine gun to sell and even then they may take a few minutes to weigh death.  I hate what they have done to this team but in the back of my mind I believe they have had good intentions the whole way.  Have they made some poor investments?  Sure.  Have they embarassed the Mets enough?  Hopefully.  Is it the darkest before the dawn?  Scientifically I have no idea.  But I do believe that the Wilpons are true fans.  Unfortunately the team they root for no longer occupies Brooklyn but Southern California and they have been trying to get Jackie Robinson to play second base for their team for years and just can’t find a suitable contact number for him.

The Coupons are major league owners which should give the rest of us some hope that one day we could be total fuck ups and still enjoy the luxuries of owning a Major League franchise.  I think that the Mets are in a deep shithole and won’t be able to get out of it and this season’s ticket sales will be an issue.  Do I think the Mets can get enough investors to make the $200 million goal?  Yes.  Unfortunately business people will look at the Mets as a great investment considering they play in the biggest market and having an ownership stake in a franchise is huge for guys who are rich but not wealthy.  Remember kids there’s a difference.

But how much longer before they are asking those guys to invest more money in and how much longer before the math comes back to the Coupon family that they no longer own a majority share?  Again, these are questions that the Coupons really hope they don’t have to answer in the long run but its impossible to ignore.

A semi cool thing.  Ok its a major cool thing.  If you haven’t heard about Louis CK you’re living under a rock but if not check this article out on the New York Times about his come up- and his new comedy special which is coming out in a very unique way.  

Howard Beck of the New York Times also looks at how Brook Lopez’ stress fracture could ultimately deal a very big blow to the Nets chances at landing Dwight Howard.  Self explanatory but for those who want the elaborate answer.  

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December 21, 2011 · 2:13 pm

Daily Rounds 12/21/2011

The Knicks play their second and final preseason game, both against the New Jersey Nets soon to be of Brooklyn (yes that’s what I’m calling them), and will make their professional debut in the new revamped Madison Square Garden.  Marc Berman goes over some of the structural changes of the new Garden including, the infamous Willis Reed Tunnel being gone and being replaced by a corner entrance.  The biggest story to watch tonight will be in the backcourt.  The Broadway Bigs as they are being called are set in stone in the line up and have their names written in ink while the back court has their names written in pencil.  Marc Berman, Alan Hahn , and Howard Beck of the New York Times  weighs in the tenuous nature of the back court of the Knicks.  Also, contained within those reports is this little nugget:  Steve Novak of the San Antonio Spurs will be claimed by the Knicks IF no one else does after he was waived by the Spurs yesterday.  The 28 year old 6’10 big is more known as a three point specialist, and yesterday tweeted (before being deleted) “Next stop, NY”.  Mike D’Antoni also revealed that they would NOT be pursuing James Posey which means Posey decided to sign elsewhere and he’ll make that known soon.  The K nicks retain that $2.5 million room exception to use on some other player since Novak will only be paid the league minimum.

It was all good just a year ago.  Last year with limited expectations, Landry Fields burrowed his way into the starting line up and began earning rave reviews for his rebounding prowess (led the league in rebounding for guards) and ability to mesh in the system and hit the occasional three point shot.  After the Carmelo trade, he hit the rookie ceiling and noticeably struggled.  Worse, he struggled mightily in the playoffs looking overmatched and gun shy and confused amidst the glare of the playoff atmosphere.  Douglas meanwhile was a reserve the entire year, first behind Raymond Felton and second behind Chauncey Billups but he looked good coming off the bench.  What I like most about Douglas is that the moment doesn’t scare him or make him play the game differently.  He plays good defense and almost every advanced defensive metric showed that he was the best defender the Knicks had.  While that may not be saying much, that defense coming off the bench is key and vital.  He will now be starting at point guard for the Knicks and with that brings certain responsibilities that Mike D’Antoni still doesn’t feel Douglas is prepared to handle.

Take for instance his announcement that he’d like the offense to run through Carmelo Anthony much like Larry Bird did with the Celtics.  Great offensive players, both passing and scoring, can make teams better with the different facets of their game.  In the first preseason game, we saw Melo do some nice pick and roll with he and Amar’e and then he and Chandler.  This of course leaves you wondering whether Mike D’Antoni really feels confident giving the keys to the team over to the young point guard.  Of course, Douglas will be tested early.  IF the Knicks don’t play well out of the gate and struggle mightily, the back court will be blamed almost immediately and maybe without just cause.  The front court has two very good scorers and another guy who gets his buckets via the alley oop OR put backs.  The pressure is on the front court to succeed.  Think about the players the Knicks picked up: Mike Bibby, Baron Davis.  The player they were rumored to be in on, Chris Paul.  What do they all have in common?  They all play the point guard position so Douglas knows that the pressure is on to make Knick fans forget that Chris Paul is no longer an option and that they shouldn’t be putting a countdown for the Baron to emerge on Broadway’s biggest stage in anything but a tailored suit.

Other than Landry and Douglas a few other things to watch for in tonight’s final dress rehearsal before the Christmas day game against the Celtics:

1. How good is the Knicks defense?  We’ve all heard about how Tyson Chandler will shore up the defense for the starting five.  That’s a lot of pressure for one man to do.  Minus Tyson the Knicks will revert back to a defenseless group if you believe the experts.  I’m going to watch the entire starting five’s defense.  How well do they play in Mike Woodson’s system?  Woodson, despite D’Antoni’s insistence that he wasn’t brought in to coach up the defensive side of the ball, is THE GUY who will draw up that side of the ball and it will be interesting to see the on the ball defense that Anthony and Amar’e play.  Everyone keeps telling me that now that Amar’e can play the power forward that he’ll be better on the offensive end.  Meanwhile, Kevin Garnett plays PF, David West will play PF, Chris Bosh pla….wait, that was a joke.  Point being there are plenty of REALLY GOOD power forwards.  How exactly are the Knicks protecting Amare?  Offensively he will be game against all of those guys without a doubt.  Defensively is where I worry.  I’ve seen Melo play D, and I don’t mean the matador D he usually plays.  HE CAN play when he exerts himself at that end.  Remember the Celtics comparison from a few weeks back?  When the Celtics brought in Tom Thibodeau, and KG to shore up that end of the ball suddenly Paul Pierce played defense like never before.  HOPEFULLY, Tyson Chandler can have a KG like effect on Melo.  We all know what Melo can do on the offensive end, its up to the defensive end.  Finally, Landry Fields I’m praying for you man.  NO ONE ELSE is hoping you succeed more than me.  BUT, he’s a liability on the defensive end.  He doesn’t switch well and he has very limited lateral range and can’t trail really quick shooting guards in the league.  He’ll get beaten on one on ones which means the Knicks may have to commit another guy to him and then may have to sit him in crunch time.  He can’t be slow if he’s guarding the likes of D-Wade and co. and he HAS to learn to body up and play one on one defense if he wants to stay in the starting line up because….

2.  IMAM SHUMPERT is finally in the house-  The heralded rookie is making his MSG debut and if its anything like last week the Knicks will have a really good problem on their hands.  Shump seems to take a liking to the defensive side of the court which is good for that second team which is a huge question mark.  He and Mike Bibby play in that second unit and are first in line to get the starting gig if Landry and Toney struggle.  I need to see more of Shump, and so tonight will be huge for me.  Tonight will be bigger for me than Sunday because I will understand if Shump isn’t ready for opening day.  He’s not used to NBA competition on a nightly basis and frankly many won’t be ready for the shortened season.  Maybe he can show us a thing or two.

3. How does Tyson Chandler fit into the offense?  We know where he stands defensively.  Offensively I want to see some pick and rolls and see him cutting to the rim.  One of the biggest things I saw from the first preseason game was: Renaldo Balkman always cut to the rim when the defense converged on Melo or Amare.  Its up to those guys to look for the open man and its also up to the guys on the court to converge to the basket and try and get easy buckets.  Layups and dunks will be available and that is Tyson’s specialty.  It isn’t inconcievable that Chandler will average 12 pts and 12 rebounds this year.  Throw in 2 blocks a game and play solid can’t-see-it-in-a-stat-line-defense and you have the makings of a super signing.  Hopefully a ton of free easy baskets and a few plays designed to get Chandler those buckets instead of him having to get those buckets on his own.

4. How do Amar’e and Carmelo co-exist on offense?  Look, I get that last season was a trial run and there was very little time to mesh but this past offseason troubled me for two reasons:  Melo hung out with his boy Chris Paul because they probably assumed he would wind up in a Knick jersey while Melo wasn’t recruiting him.  Secondly, he and Amar’e didn’t even come together for the opening of training camp because Amar’e preferred to work out on his own down in Florida.  You know, with the name that shall not be mentioned around Madison Square.  I get that they run in different circles, but as a Knick fan I’d like for them to be closer.  I’d like for them to want the other to score 30 points every game and I’d like for the both of them to look for the other on offense.  THEY will have to carry this team together.  Last season the Knicks had their most success when they did a rotation of Melo playing with one unit and then Amar’e playing with another unit and then both playing crunch time minutes.  As good as that success was, it did nothing for the ultimate goal which is to have BOTH comfortable playing with each other.  What’s the point of having two superstars if they can’t play on the same court at the same time?  Everyone will compare this to the Miami Heat situation where three superstars are looking at the prospect of sharing ONE basketball after being THE GUY on their own teams.  I’d like to think that half a season and a small mini-training camp have worked out those issues for the Knicks but they haven’t and I don’t expect them to.  This first month of basketball will really try my patience and I’m prepared for that.  I just would like to see my team’s two superstars which the Knicks haven’t had since the days of Earl the Pearl and Walt Clyde Frazier (by the way 70’s basketball player nicknames>Today’s players nicknames) be a more cohesive unit.  YES, that’s what I’d like Santa!

5. How bad is the Knicks bench?  We’ll know.  Steve Novak impending arrival notwtihstanding.  The Knicks have Jared Jeffries (D’Antoni favorite for who knows why) and Bill Walker (both are inactive tonight due to injuries) and are mostly unreliable options.  Novak, Bibby, and Shump are really your only other options.  Novak is a specialist so you can’t count on him on a nightly basis to provide you with scoring off the bench.  He’s either on or he’s not and D’Antoni isn’t a proponent of too many bench players.  He likes a steady 8 man rotation and rarely ever veers from that.  I’m really hoping that D’Antoni has a reason to shed that plan and go with a steady 11 man group because he HAS to know that keeping his guys fresh over the haul of this season will be important.

6. Who’s the third option on offense?  We know who one and two is and you can debate as to the positioning.  But that third option is key.  The Heat have a steady three and so do the Celtics, the teams the Knicks are chasing.  Depending on Melo and Amar’e every night to lead the way is reasonable but not something you want to base your game on everynight if you truly think this team is ready to be title contenders.  They need someone to step up.  I like how confident Shump is on the offensive front but he was known as a bit of a ball hog in college, I hope he knows that he’s at best the third option on this team for a while.  Unless Shump is the second coming of D-Wade or Lebron I need him to pick and choose the timing of his shot and drive more and kick out to the open guys.  Antoni’s system is about spacing and having good shooters and from what I see currently the Knicks have three guys currently on the roster that shot over 40% from the field.  The Knicks will have to get higher percentage shots and need guys cutting like Balkman did all night.  In fact I’d like to see Balkman get some playing time today and see if that one game wasn’t a fluke.  I mean I’m pretty sure I know the answer to that question but I still want to reserve judgement.

Ok, so who’s ready for some Knick basketball?

Janis Carr of the Orange County Register is reporting that Mike Brown used his big boy voice and said some things about the Lakers lack of defense during their preseason loss to the Clippers and Kobe was ok with it.  You know, for now.  

I can’t help but editorialize on this one.  Let’s just say that Kobe puts up with this whole Mike Brown as Head coach thing that the Lakers have here.  Let’s just say that he listens to him for some time preach about defense because in all candidness, Mike Brown is a really good coach.  He comes from the school of Popovich and knows how to create a really good defensive scheme but Kobe is still Kobe.  Some of that classic Kobe ego is beginning to pop up again.  He’s 33, going through a divorce that I’m not sure is going to be as messy as people think it is but he’s still a human being and it WILL affect him.  The great ones feed off the negativity and always wind up prevailing.  Remember that stretch where he was flying in and out of Utah and in for games?  He dominated.  Of course he dominated the basketball but he was a great offensive force and played like he never had.

But now he’s coming off an experimental knee procedure where the jury is still out on how effective it will be.  IF the Lakers are really going to be great they are going to need Kobe to step it up.  I’m not going off the deep end when I think that the Lakers will STILL be better than the Clippers this year.  BUT, in the off chance that the Clips DO come together and get some depth which they sorely are lacking, TRUST ME, Kobe’s ego will be on full four (w)heel drive and he will run the Lakers into the ground.  Its no koinky dink that as soon as Pau Gasol turned into the Tin Man, the Lakers had no shot of beating the Mavs.  If that Gasol shows up after being bandied about in trade rumors and I’m going to venture to guess that he’ll remain there until this Dwight Howard sorry ass saga ends, trust me when I say that Kobe will destroy and shed to pieces any last bit of confidence he has.

Jordan’s teams always had a revolving door of teammates that he played with and for.  Paxson, Kerr, BJ Armstrong, Horace Grant and even Scottie Pipper for a time could not STAND Jordan and you either crumbled under his oppressive ways OR you emerged.  Its completely on the Laker team if they are going to be stomped on by Kobe Goliath or if they rise up to play the way Kobe wants:  You know, clear out and let him shoot about 30 times.  JUST KIDDING KOBE FANS!

As if Pennsylvania sports couldn’t get any more insulting and vile, out comes a report that not only are the coaches vile, but so are the sportswriters.  Even their hall of fame ones.  Reports indicate that during the 1970’s Hall of Fame Sports writer Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News is accused of sexually molesting four underage teens including his very own niece.  Conlin abruptly retired following the surfacing of these allegations.  But that isn’t the biggest one to come out.  Monta Ellis is being charged with sending sexual photographs to a former female Golden State Warriors employee and texting her for two months and there are several Golden State Warrior executives also being named in the suit.  

Ok, so both photos aren’t flattering of these two knuckleheads.  BUT if its true, then there needs to be some sort of study done on sexual dominance that men feel when dealing in sports.  What makes men feel that they have any right to do this to little kids OR to females?  I’m not nearly intelligent to comment on the why’s or how comes.  BUT, I do have some defenses for the two that their lawyers may want to look into before they go in with the usual “MY CLIENT IS NOT GUILTY” or ” WAIT TILL ALL THE FACTS COME OUT” arguments.

First off, Colonel Sanders may have had too much grease in his system and made him lax on his moral ground, which he stood upon on a daily basis in Philadelphia when he was a writer there, and thereby he saved all his good citizenry for his columns AND NOT for his own daily life.  Maybe, being under the employ in the same state as Jerry Sandusky made him use the ol “when in Rome do as the Romans do” life model.

As for Monta Ellis, maybe he was sending the employees pictures of his genitals because he felt like she could give him better medical advice than the training staff with the Warriors?  You know those medical professionals: they don’t know ANYTHING!  OR maybe he wanted to show off how good those ExtenZe pills were working out for him.  MAYBE those text messages he sent her were sent under the wrong guise.  Sometimes I save a number under the wrong name.  Maybe he meant to send it some other employee.  DID SHE EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?  But his real defense SHOULD BE that he looks 14 and if anything she was coming on to him and trying to sexually entice him which would be illegal cause that would be raping of a minor and let’s just say that’s NOT the crime you want to be involve din in sports.  By the way, I can’t wait to read up on the facts of this case because it looks like Isiah Thomas and the Knicks vs. Anucha Brown-Sanders part two.  Also, can we please try and harass a REALLY HOT girl this time?  Anucha looked like a big ol bag of Ducha to me.  Atleast Brett Favre had some taste when he decided to step out of the circle of marital bliss.  Which reminds me of another defense that Monta could have:  That wasn’t even his penis.  That was a stunt dick that she saw! SO HA!

Here are the miscelaneous links:

Richard Dietsch released his NBA 2011-2012 broadcasting guide including his favorite group and his must see games on each network.  Its one of those bookmark me articles.  

Here’s a story that needs no punchline:  New York Post revealed that Rex Ryan likes to get together for ice cream socials with the Jets offensive players.  Ahh, the offense, Rex’s favorite guilty pleasure.  Ok fine, I didn’t need to say that but it was right there!

Maybe it was the altitude still kicking in but I’m with John Hollinger (who has them rated as his second best team in the Western conference), I agree that the Nuggets are a contender and I wrote as much a week and a half ago.  Dave Krieger looks at their crazy offseason.  

Ok, more to come later including the NBA preview edition coming soon.  Expect a post tonight about the Knicks after their final warm up!

Enjoy Sports fans!

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December 14, 2011 · 12:48 pm

Daily Rounds 12/14/2011

Today’s daily rounds start with Jamal Crawford, Nene signing, and the possibility that a CP3 deal is back in play.  Also, is Dwight seriously considering resigning with the Magic?  We’ll also talk some Mets baseball and my suggestions about what to do moving forward.

Another day another embarrassment for that other team in New York.  A day after it was revealed that the Mets borrowed $40 million in a “bridge loan” from Bank of America, word now comes that Johan Santana may not be ready for Opening Day.  For Met fans, Christmas may not come at all writes Kevin Kiernan of the New York Post.  John Harper of the New York Daily News says that the pressure may come from the Wilpons best “Bud(s)” at MLB.  

One can only begin to hope that the information being presented before us gives us Met fans a real hope at starting anew.  The Mets have been a laughable mess as the Coupon family have constantly tried to reassure a fan base that have looked at him with looks of curiosity.  I’ve almost waited with baited breath about what they will say next expecting them to have us believe that pigs will fly and eventually every player on their team will turn into some version of the ’27 Yankees.

In fact that bit of drug induced optimism has affected the guarded optimism of Sandy Alderson who also has had to endure the criminal treatment of its own front office.  When asked about sales of shares Sandy acted as surprised as you or me and maintained that it had not affected the bottom line of their moves.  Then explain to us Met fans why you wouldn’t even budge to make Jose Reyes, the best player on the team, an offer to suffice Met fans.  No doubt the price was way too high but I always felt it was a convenient bullet dodging.  Had the Marlins signed Reyes for 5 years at $90 million, surely the Mets would’ve been roasted and nary an eyelash would’ve been shed in the process and the Mets would be singing the same song and dance about Christmas baskets not being worth that much.

Alas, Met fans now have to wait longer for our $25 million ace who will take his time coming off shoulder surgery and let’s remember that surgeries like the one Johan Santana got, don’t ever see good results as most of the pitchers have faded into Bolivia as Mike Tyson used to say.  Though Venezuela would be Johan’s likely retirement spot.  Rumblings of trades have also begun to start to surface.

Let’s say that the Mets decide that its time to pack up shop and trust me, there are signs that if the new lowered and moved in fences don’t help adjust batting averages and influence double digit home run responses from the middle of the order thumpers, the Mets will surely go into fire sale and there will only be kids and Jason Bay by the time September rolls around.  And I’m fine with that.

Frankly, the Mets have run its course with this group and while I had wished they took any offer the Rays gave them in July when they were interested in Jose Reyes, I hope they view that it is time to take advantage of a shoddy free agent pitching market and use assets like Jon Niese to try and get some kind of value back.  The fact is, the Mets need to strengthen their cheap options if they are indeed looking at reducing payroll for most likely the next two years.  The new game plan is to get as many cheap, young arms and everyday players that can make a difference and be taught the game in the right way.

I think having a Wally Backman and a Terry Collins in tow mean that the message will be shouted from the mountain tops and rain upon every level in the organization and a complete changing of the guard needs to take place and its beginning to take shape and take form.  Lucas Duda, Captain Kirk (Niuewenheis), Zach Wheeler, Wilmer Flores, Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, all come without the stain of Met failures.  This is the new class of Met hopeful superstardom that will have to carry the once proud flag of this franchise.

Hopefully it will be done in the crowd of new owners who will NOT feed us some hair brained ideas that they are financially solvent when its clear from several well placed sources and from very plain and clear moves like cutting payroll by $40 million and publicly claiming $70 million losses that they are not.  The fact is, MLB’s lack of involvement speaks to Bud’s ever deepening vows of friendship with the Coupons to never allow them to go under until there is a messy end like every dumb idea Bud Selig has ever had.  Remember the time he decided to look the other way as the steroid issue got way out of hand and then had to get his biggest stars in front of Congress and had several of them lie?

Ok maybe he didn’t make them lie but to put his sport in that spot should’ve gotten him in such gravy that his turkey should’ve been goosed….or however that saying goes.  He shouldn’t have lasted under the clause of not upholding the sanctity of the game which is explicitly stated in every single Commissioner’s starting kit handed out everytime a new one takes office.  Trust me, David Stern is right now rummaging through that to protect him from the eventual lawsuit headed his way if this Chris Paul thing doesn’t get resolved.

MLB’s involvement or not, if those investors the Mets claim will infuse the team with cash does not come together the Mets will be hardpressed to find MLB OR banks willing to give them any more money to save their sorry asses.  They allowed David Einhorn to walk from a prospective deal once they realized they weren’t going to get hit with a $1 billion lawsuit and thought they had escaped, however this economy has been unforgiving to the Wilpons and soon their credibility with lenders and their biggest supporters is expected to dry up like raisins.

If this is indeed the fate of its owners you can expect that fewer dollars will be given to shore up weaknesses this club has so its likely that by July, David Wright will HAVE to be shipped for a cavalcade of prospects.  They would love to trade Mike Pelfrey and the hope here is that he jumps out of the gate with a very fast start and shows life on his fastball and commands his sinker and uses it to get ground balls.  With his size, and his relatively young age he can command a pretty nice grouping of young cost-controlled players.  Its clear that the addition of Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez was meant to inflate their  value to ship them out come July in order to get more prospects.  Jon Niese also will unfortunately have to be sacrificed to the waiting arms of some team including the Jays who have offered top catching prospect Travis D’Arnaud according to reports.  If true, the Mets should jump at the chance at getting a top flight catcher who can call games and also provide offense especially considering the pipeline of top young pitching coming its way.  It may be the only way to field a respectable team.  Given Sandy’s clearly team (drug) induced statement of positivity this year don’t buy it.  Its something meant to lull the fan base into buy more ticket sales.  Several reports leaked yesterday that cold calling for prospective season ticket buyers had become “desperate” and the Mets face probably their lowest opening day revenue in quite some time.  Its a financial crunch they face and it all began with the Coupons.  They are like that guy at the roulette table that doesn’t know when to quit.  Quit Coupon family.  Let someone else place their money down on the Mets and take their chances.  You’ve clearly shown you’re incapable of playing well.

Nene Hilario signed a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets.  Which either means he got tired of waiting or the dominoes are about to start falling in the world of trades.  The Nets were the Nuggets biggest competition for the Brazilian big man so either they have a Dwight Howard trade ready and in place OR they will be forced to sign another big man. Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoop talks leverage in terms of the Clippers, and CP3.  Speaking of which, the Lakers are now back in on CP3 talks.  Remember that talk of Mitch Kupchak about multiple big deals?  Yeah this is what he was talking about.  Bill Simmons in his daily days of Christmas column for Grantland.com writes about the Clippers and this CP3 hostage crisis.  CP3 may be forced to explore his legal options if his trade isn’t consummated at some point according to Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News.   Gabe Feldman, the Sports law guy looks at possible David Stern defenses if indeed this trial goes to court.
Mike Vaccaro writes that Mike Woodson recalls his days on a Knicks roster made him appreciate this city and its love for basketball.   Frank Isola says that the Knicks will need santa to help them out for a deep playoff run.  And finally, for your daily rumor mill item of the day, Yahoo Sports is reporting that the framework of a four team deal that would send Dwight Howard to the Nets is in place and could be completed by the end of the week.  

Remember that time David Stern insisted that this free agency period would be among the craziest in the history of the NBA?  Well he wasn’t kidding.  But he forgot to mention that the crazy part would actually be in HOW it all played out.  In how invested Stern was in the Hornets, the league owned franchise.  In how fervent Stern was in maintaining control over where star players went and how serious he was in invoking prima nocta on Chris Paul.

Ok, so that’s a bit much but let’s understand one thing before Chris Paul begins crying to the ghost of Johnny Cochran: the league runs the Hornets.  As morally unethical as it is, the law won’t hear cases of morality.  To prove collusion, that Stern purposefully blocked any meaningful trades, you would have to prove that David Stern acted as a force of nature and abused his power to ensure that his memo of star players not being able to move to other (read: big market) teams would be heeded.

Listen, I know Stern is probably not long for this job anymore.  His time is waning but the guy is no idiot and he would NOT have stopped this deal without knowing the possible legal ramification.  This is a former defense attorney, he is smart and he is probably the most intelligent of all commissioners by a long shot.  He would not imperil himself JUST to puff out his chest and beat it on top of the Empire State building.  He’s not an animal.

But he has come awfully close and his dic(k)-tatorial moves have made some want Stern to step aside much sooner than he would like.  This may reinvigorate the 69 year old who hinted that at the end of this final term he would be done.  Who knows?  Who knows if the Board of Governors even elect him again for the post?  Like the Sports Law guy said, if he wanted to restrict player movement he could’ve insisted on a hard salary cap OR a franchise tag like in football.  He did neither.  He only made it LESS FAVORABLE for teams to go above the salary cap and less favorable terms for stars to sign elsewhere.  He gave the players a yellow light instead of insisting upon a red which may come back to haunt him if he tries for another term as commissioner.

But the fact remains that this offseason did more to damage his reputation than any other.  He now faces the wrath of several teams who have been left in the wind wondering exactly HOW much control he has over ALL teams.

Meanwhile in Gotham, the Knicks have a new assistant head coach and the worst kept secret is that he’s there to improve the defensive side of the ball.  In Mike Vacarro’s article he lists some of his impressive feats including helping to align Iverson’s focus which landed him in the Finals and that one iconic game where he singlehandedly beat that powerhouse Lakers team (the only defeat during their entire playoff run).  Also his time learning under the tutelage of Bobby knight and Red Holzman helped some and now he’s entrusted with spreading some of that magic fairy defense dust on ALL the players not just Tyson Chandler who can’t shutup about it since he got here.

The Knicks WILL HAVE to rely on those three players staying healthy throughout the season and being the force that we all expect them to be.  Here’s the thing: if they all play average seasons out the Knicks will coast into the playoffs and past the first round.  IF THIS TEAM faced the Celtics last year, I have no doubt they would’ve competed much harder and even beat them.  The Knicks no doubt need to shore up this team.  Yesterday I asked some Knick fans who they’d rather have in a vacuum void of salary and trade, Shawn Williams or Jamal Crawford.  The response was mixed and it shows how many holes the Knicks have after their front line.  The Knicks don’t have a legit point guard as Frank Isola points out.  Their bench is weak and need more guys coming off giving defense and scoring.  That might by why Shawn Williams, with his size, would be the better fit.

My problem is even if we have a deep bench, its all for naught as D’Antoni is a man stuck in short rotation cycles.  He likes certain players and will give them big minutes.  The problem with that is this season is truncated and so he will have to learn to spread his minutes around a bit more.  This is where coach Woodson will come in handy, he having been in this situation as a head coach before.  He also was the coach of Jamal Crawford which also helps.  Crawford rejected a 2 year/$10 million offer from the Pacers where he could’ve been a free agent after this upcoming season.  Crawford is trying for one last pay day and he may be best served playing on a team that gives him the best chance to win.  Are the Knicks that team?  Probably more so than the other two teams looking to sign him: the Trailblazers and the Kings.  The Blazers appear to be the Knicks only competition as he’d certainly see more minutes with them and possibly as a starting two guard.  He’s won the sixth man of the year award previously with the Hawks where Woodson coached and he’s best served coming off the bench for this Knick team helping to handle ball handling and scoring duties.  The second team offense would run through him while also keeping a viable second option on offense on the floor while either Melo or Amar’e rests.  He’s also best friends with Brandon Roy and the problem becomes that in order to afford him the Blazers would have to waive his best friend.  The knicks hope he makes a decision by today as Shawn Williams agent Happy Walters has admitted his client wants to come to the Knicks but won’t wait around too much longer.

The Nets meanwhile have said they are willing to wait to make a deal for Howard but they had better not.  The longer they wait, the more impatient other teams may get and Otis Smith may just make a deal with LA.  If the Nets wait and hang in the wings, the Magic can always use them as leverage on LA to put both Gasol AND Bynum AND those draft picks they seem to be accumulating to make the deal.  Meanwhile Dallas traded both Rudy Fernandez AND Corey Brewer to the Nuggets for more draft picks meaning they are clearing up space for a run at free agency.  In the short term it doesn’t bode well for the Mavs but they have a solid core capable of easily making it to the playoffs and pleasing the fan base.  But next season they could be in store for a HUGE upgrade as its almost a near certainty that Deron Williams will look to come to the Mavs as a free agent unless that Howard deal gets consummated and the Nets convince Deron that they are building something special in New Jersey.

Either way its a huge gamble, but on the short term look at that Nuggets team.  With Nene resigning that team has an exciting core of young players and playmakers.  They will need to find a constant scoring threat but in George Karl’s high tempo system they could be surprise contenders and make a run during a shortened season.  Remember, this season will be good for youthful teams who can survive the grunt of a shortened season.  The Nuggets may be a team, with the re-signing of Aaron Affalo, that can do that.

I’m sure more will come as the day progresses.  Stay tuned.

 

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December 9, 2011 · 3:28 pm

Daily Rounds 12/9/2011 Part 1

So how was your day yesterday?  In a day of whirlwind of activity of mega deals, mini-mega deals, and deals that got nixed at the 11th hour, the world of sports has plenty to talk and discuss this morning and here we go.  We’re going to go even more in depth with even more links.  More reaction.  More coverage.  More opinion. (One) More angry Dan Gilbert letter for us all to take in on the Daily Rounds.  Compose yourself and get ready.  Its so much we had to break it up into two parts.  Part One is all NBA.

Rights Reserved Getty images

Early yesterday, after hopes had been dashed that the New Orleans Hornets were nearing a deal to send Chris Paul elsewhere the Knicks moved fast and decisively and were on the verge of signing Tyson Chandler, Paul’s buddy to a deal.  Marc Berman said it was a surprising set of events that started with the notion that they would not be able to pull off a deal for Chris Paul according to multiple sources (aka common sense).  Here’s where it gets weird.  A three team trade had been agreed to in principle that would’ve looked like as follows was nixed by league officials citing “basketball reasons” for their reasoning:

Lakers GET:               PG Chris Paul

Rockets GET:        C/PF  Pau Gasol

Hornets GET:        C/PF  Luis Scola
                                        SG  Kevin Martin
                                        PF  Lamar Odom
                                        G    Goran Dragic
2012 First Round Draft Pick (Top Five protected) 

The NBA, owners of the Hornets stepped in and decided to squash the deal on account of a majority of owners complaining to David Stern about the deal.  We have reaction.  JA Adande says leave it to the league to kill this.  John Reid of the Times-Picauyne says this will make for an awkward start of training camp.  Johnathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle opines: move over Donald Sterling, we have a new worst owner in all of basketball.  Mark Medina of the LA Times says it will be MORE controversial and MORE talked about than the Decision last summer…and like that, will have its share of consequences.  Ian Thomsen of SI.com says this shows the problem with the NBA owning the Hornets.  “The owners half-pushed this, and Stern took it the rest of the way,” a league source told Yahoo! Sports according to Adrian Wojnarowski putting full impetus on the ownership of the Hornets.  Mark Kriegel of Fox Sports says the the NBA robbed him of writing his story and now he wants revenge.  (hilarious story, please read).  Yahoo Sports put the entire Dan Gilbert letter to the commissioner up on its website.  Finally, Phil Jackson, the Zen master and hopefully soon to be coach of the New York Knicks saw this happening a year ago.  

Here is by far the funniest tweet I’ve heard yet about the proposed trade so far:

Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN)
12/8/11 6:37 PM
Give Derek Fisher all the credit. All those hours negotiating with David Stern & Lakers end up with Chris Paul. Another clutch Fisher moment

That’s just a sampling of the countrywide set of articles that will appear in Newspapers across the country.  First off, let’s begin by saying that the proposed three team trade that would’ve sent Chris Paul to the Lakers was fair.  You hear me Knick fans?  That was a fair deal.  Not many times can you say that the Lakers got an all star player back without feeling as though they had muscled that deal through but in this case it was.  The Lakers were trading the reigning sixth man of the year and a perennial all star big man and compromising their size to get an elite PG in his prime.  The Hornets made out like bandits because they got Odom, a serviceable back up PG in Dragic who I loved (in Phoenix) and a rebounder/masher in Scola who’s 18 pts and 8 rebounds would’ve adequately replaced David West’s 18 points and 8 rebounds.  And the Rockets would’ve gotten a center in his prime to replace the one they lost and reports are circulating that had this deal gone through, they would’ve paired him up with Nene whom the Rockets were thought to be going after hard.  Which would’ve given them the two center pairing they craved.  That draft pick?   That’s the Knicks draft pick they traded to the Rockets so the Knicks, relatively, are involved.

This was by all accounts a great deal for everybody involved.  Everyone but party pooper Stern and the 29 other owners who decided that it was best that the rich NOT get richer and the poor MUST stay poorer.  IF the deal is indeed nixed, this leaves EVERY OTHER trade possibility out of the question for Dell Demps the Hornets GM who got the best possible deal he was going to get.  No way in hell does the league push through any other deal no matter what kind of haul under any circumstances.  This effectively has put the NBA in a no-win situation.  The same thing the owners had fought for; taking the leverage out of superstar player’s hands, is exactly what was at work here.  David Stern, the tactician knew that no explanation would’ve sufficed except the most logical one.

How in the hell can he possibly sell a franchise to a rich person in this recession IF the Hornets are superstar-less.  Chris Paul IS the major draw.  He’s the face of the franchise.  A face that is certainly souring on the possibility that a trade that he would’ve welcomed has now been nixed because the NBA decided that for basketball reasons it was not fair.  Give me a break.  Now the 29 owners and David Stern are analysts and GMs?  No, they have guys who are paid to evaluate talent.  They are paid by other people so they can PAY their superstar employees and small market owners were probably up in arms about the NBA possibly sending another superstar to another big market team for a haul.

Of course the chance that any of these owners even SAW the pieces moving in this trade are slim.  All they heard were the principals in the deal trading superstars for elite superstar.  Now the NBA has firmly placed itself in Darth Vader territory.  David Stern is now seen as the ultimate overlord who will NEVER play nice with players and sets up a situation in which his decision making and his overall attitude towards players have turned nasty.  Those Wade rumors about yelling at Stern to not talk to him like a kid sound just about right.  Stern is NOT going to come out of this unscathed and now, we can add to his obituary that he tried to control the fate of superstars and it eventually cost him his job.  Look, I don’t think Stern WIL lose his job but this is the kind of defiant, in the face of logic just to get your way kind of decision that will always engender ill will between you and the constituency that you are negotiating with.  This will put pressure on owners to either stand behind him 100%, where three already won’t and I’m sure Miami, New York won’t either considering they are in the superstar team building business.  That kind of public pressure to step down will force Stern to re-evaluate whether, at 69 this is even worth it anymore.  He saved the NBA from a long nuclear winter and got the league back in time for an upcoming season that promises to be watched more and talked about more than any in recent memory.  If the lockout hadn’t already whet your appetite, prepare for the main course of a season and a dessert of a playoffs that will surely be the payoff for all the drama and labor strife we had to go through.  This only further proves that despite a labor deal the owners are going to always raise a fuss and try and limit player movement anyway they can.

This also sets a dangerous precedent moving forward.  Forget any deal involving Paul this year.  If this doesn’t go down no deal can, is the thinking here.  The NBA saying this is for basketball reasons is more salt to the wound of three fan bases that thought they had a fair deal.  This was going to effectively take away the huge advantage the Lakers had with their size in the paint.  All Pau was missing last season was heart.  All Bynum is missing is his ability to stay healthy all season and yet you’re betting against a guy who’s mettle can be fixed against a guy who’s got metal fixed in him?  Surgically?  I loved this move because I thought this weakened the Lakers and CP3 was not a definite to sign there long term, even though the Knicks made a move that would’ve made a move to NY impossible, but to nix this deal for basketball reasons is almost spitting in the face of sure fire logic.  A bunch of owners who were cry babies, namely Dan Gilbert (again), enabled Stern to pull this off and now Stern alone fights this battle.  We all know Gilbert is crazy.

As for possible legal action that CP3 and the union can take against the NBA, I can’t see how that would be possible given the fact that the NBA owns the team.  The only recourse they have is to fight a long drawn out legal battle challenging the league’s legal right to own one of its franchises which competes with the other 29 which I think they could win but I don’t think either side is ready and willing to go through with that which makes this basically a dead issue in terms of actually happening but one which has legs and will follow Stern for a long time.  We always thought David Stern had more power than he did, now we know.  So now the rumors of fixing lottery drafts (Knicks) and every other shady deal during his tenure has to be fair game right?  Stern has to be seen like Michael Corleone in the Godfather.  All these reporters are like Kay wanting Stern to admit he has final control.  Stern unwilling to acknowledge it gives us all one opportunity to admit he nixed this deal, does he lie to our face?  He will get in front of a microphone eventually to address this, as he should.  I’ll be interested to hear what he has to say.

As stated earlier and to give further backdrop to the main story, the Knicks did NOT wait around for a deal they knew they could not complete.  They surprised the NBA world by being “98%” close to signing Tyson Chandler.  Howard Beck of the New York Times says this immediately improves the front court, making it one of the best in the league and effectively ends their CP3 pursuit as they will be over the salary cap.  Some hurdles exist including clearing Chauncey Billups’ $14.2 million contract for this season in order to accomodate Chandler’s 4 year $58 million deal which would be through the amnesty clause, something Billups is sour on.  Marc Berman of the Post looks at all the consequences this deal has for the Knicks in the short term but lauds this deal as forming the biggest frontcourt in NBA history.  I dont know about all that Marc, but providing they all stay healthy this should be good.  BUT, cheer up Knick fans, a provision in the newly ratified CBA as of yesterday would allow the CP3 to Knicks to STILL happen.  It will all depend on Amare and Melo though according to Alan Hahn of Newsday.  Here is his plan for the Knicks regarding this provision.  

There are a few moving parts here that need to be addressed.  First, Berman’s report while highly praising to the Knicks, reminds us that optimism must be guarded.  First, the Knicks have to weigh all options including how to remove Billups contract and how to get rid of Turiaf’s contract.  Both together would free up over $18 million in cap space that would go to signing Chandler and the two rookies the Knicks drafted this year, Josh Harrelson and Imam Shumpert.  This takes them out of the Grant Hill sweepstakes who is deciding between Phoenix and San Antonio who decided they were going to amnesty Richard Jefferson, although that hasn’t been confirmed.  Until all those secondary moves can be done, and it won’t be easy, the Knicks will NOT be able to push that Chandler deal through.  Unless of course, they just decide to enter luxury tax territory for this year and the next which I think they should.

Now comes this from Alan Hahn that says that players CAN restructure contracts in order to fit under the salary cap in order to make room for others on their team.  Now obviously this doesn’t mean that New York would be the only place Paul looks but if he wanted to come play with Carmelo as badly as people hinted and if both Stat and Melo would be willing to restructure their deals this COULD happen.  So forget all I said about the  Melo deal effectively ruining any chance of us getting Chris Paul this year.  That’s on hold.  Now, Melo has a chance to really put his money where his mouth is.  You really wanna win Melo?  Prove it.  Convince Amar’e to do the same.  Show that you guys are about the greater good.  Do this for Knick fans who have gone through a dry spell.  We look fondly on a 90’s team that went to TWO FINALS in an entire decade like it was a team that went to 8 finals and won 5 championships.  This is a city that lives and breathes basketball.  Playing in an arena that means more to basketball than any other arena means to any other sport.

Even if he doesn’t come, the Knicks can still get a PG in the free agent market.  Jamaal Tinsley who I liked, signed with Utah and perhaps a reunion with Raymond Felton may be in the works.  How about Steve Nash?  Would he come even if D’Antoni ISNT with the team next year?  These are all questions that can’t be answered right now but this decision doesn’t mean doors are closed to a CP3 future but it also means that the Knicks can turn their attention to other areas where they have more pressing needs.

Rights Reserved Gettys images

What does Chandler coming to the Knicks mean?  It means that the Knicks have effectively decided that in order to really improve, the Knicks need to bring someone defensive minded to anchor the center of the court which is precisely what Chandler will do.  When healthy, Chandler thinks about rebounding, defense and scoring on easy passes.  We’re talking about a guy who will for once think about ONLY one thing.  Think Patrick Ewing but ONLY defense, not also having the burden of offensively carrying his team.  His size will give the Knicks a front court that has Melo as the shortest guy at 6’7, and Amar’e playing the position he was meant to play at PF.  The Knicks are a MUCH improved ball club with this trade.  Only worry I have is his injury history and the Knicks history with big men post-Ewing is worrysome but he’s 29 and all we’re asking him to do is play defense so that should help.  Hopefully he doesn’t go Eddy Curry on us.

Here’s the bad part of this deal.  Sources are saying that Billups upon hearing that he would likely be amnestied, leaving him open for bidding to all 30 franchises without the option of choosing his next destination which COULD end up being a bad team, was irate according to his agent and without the Knicks blessing packed his stuff up and went home.  Billups is a professional who has done his fair share of traveling and has a collection of uniforms with his name on the back that could make any jersey collector blush.  But he was really set on playing for the Knicks and then leaving for Denver at the end of this season.  He returns to Denver as training camps around the NBA open today and deals can be made official.  I didn’t expect Billups to take such a poor turn on this deal but I understand.  Its not easy to leave Denver the way he did.  He never wanted to come to the Knicks in the first place.  His roots are in Denver and he left his children at home and so with these new developments, it appears that Billups will be headed into another situation that he is not pleased with and let’s be fair: he has every right to be pissed.  I would be too.  This is a veteran chasing after one more ring before he eventually retires and goes to work in the Denver front office.  I’m sad for him but I got one message: this is a business.  Move on.  You’re a pro, start acting like one.

The problem isn’t getting rid of Billups as he was never a realistic part of the long term plan here, its using the amnesty on him.  The Knicks by rule get to use the amnesty clause only once and only for players signed prior to July 1, 2011 which may have come in handy should Amar’e Stoudemire’s knees blow out one day driving to the hoop.  The contract as we all know is uninsured for 5 years and $100 million.  Its just a lot of risk involved here.  The amnesty clause by definition would erase one  contract off a team’s cap to give them salary relief.  It can only be used once and the player would still be owed that money by the team who originally was responsible for it.  That player would then be entered into a bidding war in which the team with the highest bid would automatically get the player giving the player absolutely NO SAY in the process.  THIS is why Billups is pissed because he wants to go to a winner, a wish the Knicks wanted to honor but unfortunately could not because the Mavs refused to take Billups salary as part of a sign and trade for Chandler.

 

Today’s start of training camps and official opening to free agency also means that deals can be announced and one major announcement came this morning: Dwight Howard would like to be traded.  It appears his first option is…wait for it…NEW JERSEY.  The Nets could offer 2 draft picks and Brook Lopez and take back any stinky contract (paging Hedo Turkoglou) that Orlando has giving the Magic unbelievable amounts of cap space for the upcoming offseason.  This according to the Orlando Sentinel who believe Howard has made his wishes known already.  

As much as Otis Smith will view this deal as the best deal, the CP3 nixed trade will have repercussions because the Lakers may say screw it and go after Dwight and offer up Bynum and Odom effectively ending any chances that CP3 ends up in LA LA land as well because the haul that the Hornets get would be compromised with no Odom involved.  That’s if the Hornets are still ABLE to deal Paul to the Lakers and IF the Hornets were willing to get back everyone minus Odom in the deal.  They would probably have to get back another player or draft pick somehow in the deal.  It gets complicated but the Lakers have options here and it appears they only have one now that the league has made it clear to every single team that NOBODY will be trading for Chris Paul.  Paul will now be a free agent and this sets up a scenario where teams will try to get way under the cap to sign him, or Deron Williams OR Dwight Howard.

The Dwight Howard to Nets makes sense because of what the Nets WILL become in the future.  The Nets can offer Dwight the big market next year he craves.  They can give him the star player wingman in Deron Williams who told the Nets he likes the organization and what they are building.  There’s a lot to like about New Jersey for Dwight and the chance to build his own legacy, completely unique as opposed to being another name in a list of names that have come in the past HAS to be appealing to Dwight who has to be the most appetizing piece of free agency meat thrown in.

Who comes out winners?  The Clippers.  They just signed Caron Butler for 3 years and $24 million.  The Power of Blake allowed the Clips for once to outbid a team for the services of a player who I feel can come back strong and help.  Yes, Butler is coming off major knee surgery. Yes he’s going to the Clippers where ONLY bad things can happen and playing for an owner that ultimately he will grow to despise. But he’s going to a young team with loads of promise that pending the CP3 trade won’t be made can contend in the Western Conference.  We shall see.

The Magic can basically get the Lakers and Nets to bid against each other over 48hours and get the absolute best offer and take it.  Otis Smith the Magic GM knows he is NOT going to be able to retain the services of one, Dwight Howard, and no amount of drunk calls from rich white guys is going to stop him from exploring his options on the free market.  One which could open up wide for the big smile-having guy.

Makes the rest of the season interesting.

Also, if you want to know about the amnesty provision, Larry Coon of ESPN’s TrueHoop Blog puts it in terms even a 5 year old can understand.  Just cause I can and I love, LOVE his articles and his unique writing style which I’ve tried to copy myself to no avail, Peter Vecsey’s Hoop Du Jour column is back and starts with this stunning turn of events and his take and how believes this is SAVING NOLA.  

These two articles were found late and added later, but here’s the gist of Vecsey’s column which makes sense.  New Orleans is losing the superstar.  They are giving up the most.  A town that has lost so much since Katrina is now losing its star player and who knows what happens once a new owner takes over?  And by the way, what owner will be willing to buy a franchise star-less franchise?  The value of the team would go down and may be had on the cheap.  Now that may sound appealing to somebody out there but the NBA’s owners may not feel this way.  If they rejected this deal, what then would they say is a fair market value for a team that is about to lose their superstar point guard sooner or later.  Vecsey believes Stern came out a hero in New Orleans while looking like an idiot everywhere else.

I agree somewhat with Peter’s logic.  Without Paul and with the pieces they were going to get back they were no better than a .500 ball club and no one loves that.  With Paul they were a few shots away from taking down the Lakers.  Think about that.  The LAKERS.  That’s the CP3 difference and that’s what needs to be taken into account.  Paul’s “WoW” tweet notwithstanding, he’s beloved in this community and everywhere around the league.  You can believe the hyperbole and rumor that this was payback for Paul’s presence during labor meetings (the only daily superstar presence by the way) from the other owners in the small markets namely Dan Gilbert, but I don’t think that was it.  This was about the greater good in the owner’s eyes.  However, this won’t stop Paul from exploring his options.  In fact, now there is NO WAY he signs with any of the small market teams and EVERY CHANCE he goes to one of the big markets to further stick it into the teams.  Whatever Gilbert was fighting for, he is going to lose in the long run.  This is going hardest back on to Stern and on to Gilbert who star players already view with a slanted look and now won’t get a patted eyelash his way.

I hope the NBA is happy.  They got what they want.  For this season.  Next season look for superstars to talk and make sure they don’t let this happen again.

 

 

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December 6, 2011 · 12:53 pm

Daily Rounds 12/6/2011

We’ve got Jose Reyes reaction, and some NBA and a brand new title for the daily blog posting, here goes:

Rights Reserved to ESPN.com

Like any morning after something major happens people begin reflecting and beginning the phase of rebuildi  patching up what’s left.  That’s what Met fans are left to do and mostly what Sandy Alderson and co. will be left with as they face a new era minus Jose Reyes.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the time is right to deal David Wright.   Meanwhile John Harper and Andy Martino of the Daily News say that money issues have put Sandy Alderson in a tough position to find results while being limited in what the front office can spend.  Ken Davidoff of Newsday wants to cut a deal with Mets management: if the Mets aren’t contending by July, start selling off assets like a rockstar in bankruptcy court.   Then there’s Mike Vacarro of the New York Post that asks the question that I’ve been asking Why believe anything the Wilpons are pushing Sandy Alderson to say?

There isn’t a good way to spin this Jose Reyes deal.  In fact, Sandy Alderson said ALL the right things because they were the only things to say.  In New York, like it or not, the word rebuilding can NOT appear anywhere close to the vicinity of your team otherwise its like a black mark that won’t go away.  The Mets have been going down this road for the last few years so it was no surprise that Jose Reyes was sent out with nothing, not even an offer because well, the fact is that the Mets didn’t have the money to give him that offer.  You can even say that if this was the plan all along, to just wait for the market to play itself out for Reyes and hope against hope that there wouldn’t be some hard pressed fool willing to give Jose Reyes the Carl Crawford money, it was a stupid plan.  In fact, it hurt the franchise more than anything.  Sandy Alderson played the market wrong just like the Wilpons have done for so long.  And you know what?  Not for a minute do I believe Sandy was that dumb.

Last season prior to the trade deadline rumors circulated that the Tampa Bay Rays contacted the Mets about Jose Reyes.  They would’ve had to offer them some kind of gravy boat offer, much better than Victor Zambrano for Scott Kazmir anyway, that would’ve netted the Mets something in the vicinity of decent prospects to work with.  But the Mets held on because there was some faint hope of a playoff run.  Then they got this deal for Carlos Beltran for a top prospect that the front office drooled over and pulled the trigger.  The Mets may have never gotten such an offer for Reyes, but you have to believe that the Wilpons put a kibosh on any Reyes trade talk because they hoped the Mets would make a run deep into September that would’ve given them a few extra dollars.  You know.  To pocket for the long term.  Because every single article pertaining to the Wilpon finances are right.  The Coupons are facing a cash crunch and moves like allowing your homegrown player to leave without nary a call to check in leave you wondering exactly HOW these guys are even running a New York franchise.

I would appeal to Bud Selig to put an end to this reign but Selig is the Coupon’s biggest enablers.  The Coupons have been milking Selig’s favor into interest free loans that by the way they STILL haven’t paid Major League Baseball back on.  They have pending litigation in the Madoff trial that will force them to pay some kind of settlement but not in the hundreds of millions that Met fans had hoped that would’ve left them in no other financial position except to sell.

The Mets are a profitable team if run the right way.  In fact, if the Coupons sold the franchise today to someone say the reputation of Mark Cuban the gates would be pouring in with new customers and a revived fan base; confident that ridding the Wilpons would be the equivalent of getting a star franchise player.  Yesterday I woke up resigned to the fact that Reyes was gone, today I woke up angry.  Angry that the franchise I love is run by a bunch of ass clowns that hold on stubbornly to a team they should’ve let go of a few years ago.  A whole family of morons who blindly invested in a guy that gave them hand written statements but only when they asked for it because they thought he was good for it.  A family of idiots who built a shrine, not for the team they own, but for a team that left 50 years ago and relocated to Los Angeles.  That is if the Coupons even recognize the existence of the LA Dodgers.

Somehow baseball ran off Dodgers former owners the McCourts rather quickly citing concerns that he was using moneys gained from the baseball operation to fund his own wild lifestyle.  But here the Coupons are, still plowing forward selling us on an impossible dream.  Ready?  The Mets think that Ike Davis and Johan Santana won’t regress following their surgeries and won’t see any DL time.  They believe that Jason Bay and David Wright will hit 25-30 home runs each now that the walls have been brought in closer.  They believe that Mike Pelfrey will get better in basically his last chance in a Met uniform.  They believe that with $15 million to spend virtually they can fix the bullpen, get two quality back end of rotation starters and then some bench support including back up catcher.

I’m not kidding.  That’s the Mets plans.  Those are the lofty dreams that the Mets front office is pitching to Met fans.  This may be coming from a place of anger.  But don’t bother sending me offers to buy packages this season.  I’m done.  If you win, then I’ll come and partake but don’t bother selling Met fans on something that has NEVER happened.  Is there a remote possibility that this all can play out?  Sure.  But these are the Mets.  We know how this story will play out.  The Coupons are playing us for fools.  I won’t be played.  I can’t be.  I say after the third inning, Met fans stage a walk out of every single home game.  That is, whoever still decides to support the franchise.  Nobody believes for a second that whatever team occupies Citi Field next season will have any real hope of doing anything closely resembling productive.

I am in agreement with Sherman and Davidoff.  I say start trading guys left and right.  Screw it.  You’ve given up on the season already.   Don’t sell your fans hope that isn’t there.  Don’t insult them with talk about optimism that isn’t there.  I could understand if this were a team in Wichita, Kansas or Duluth, Mississippi.  But it isn’t.  This is a New York team.  Unfortunately no matter where this franchise would be, I wouldn’t believe the Coupons to lead it.

As NBA free agency sure to heat up, the Knicks are still in on Grant Hill according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.  Also within that report, Kurt Thomas and the Knicks (namely Assistant GM Allan Houston, his former teammate) talked and the game that was supposed to bring Carmelo back to Denver was not rescheduled within the context of this new 66 game schedule set to be released by today.  Nets PG Deron Williams said he would guarantee a contract extension if the Nets were to trade for Dwight Howard according to Stefan Bondy.  Zack Lowe of SI writes about how players will test the new CBA in many ways. In Bill Simmons second post to his twelve days of Christmas series of articles, he looks at the list of available free agents and who is destined to be overpaid.  Then there’s Adrian Woj’s  Yahoo Sports column about two GM’s making a race to trade for Chris Paul AND Dwight Howard.   As reported in the Newsday blog Knick Fix, Alan Hahn says the Knicks are undeterred by reports that New Orleans will do no deals with New York because of their lack of assets believing they can pull off a trade to land CP3 and complete the trifecta that CP3 toasted about at Carmelo’s wedding prior to last season.   Finally, a story that may interest only me, but the amnesty clause will NOT be used on Brandon Roy, one of my favorite non-Knick players according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian.  

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Rights Reserved to SI.comRights Reserved to Yahoo Sports

Here’s the thing, I don’t think a Chris Paul trade to the Knicks is going to happen.  I give it a less than 5% shot of actually occurring.  Why?  Because it doesn’t make sense.  The Knicks have NOBODY to give up outside of trading the rest of their team for Paul which would leave them with 3 players making roughly all of their cap.  Remember two players, by themselves will take up 40 million and if you’re reading this right, CP3 will probably opt out as a token thing just to reup with the Knicks for the max 5  year 100 million contract that Deron Williams was alluding to when he said he was definitely opting out.  So you have three guys making 60 million and oh by the way, the cap will remain set at $58 million next season with the luxury threshold being at $70 million much like this season.  So where exactly are the Knicks going to fill in the rest of the roster spots?  No, the Knicks and its fanbase have to be patient and I for one am willing to do that.  We can not throw all our money at three players as great as that sounds.

But I’ll give you another reason why a trade to the Knicks or a super team forming in Los Angeles isn’t realistic.  Its not good business.  If the labor deal pushed to prevent big market teams hoarding small market teams for talent then you have to understand that a Knick trade for pennies on the dollar OR the Lakers getting BOTH Dwight Howard and CP3 will not look good in any way.  What makes it worse is that the NBA owns the Hornets and you can believe that every small owner will NOT push for EITHER trade to EITHER coast which ultimately leaves the Hornets in a no-win position.  I think you allow CP3 to make it to free agency and no matter what kind of influence CAA has over the process and getting Paul traded the fact is, I believe CP3 will not sour on the Hornets and he will play his hardest and play out his time with the Hornets and give an honest effort.  He’s been class his entire time in the league and will not allow trade rumors to negatively deflect from his purpose which is to win a championship.

With that being said, the Knicks pursuit of Grant Hill?  I love it.  I’ve been a fan of his for quite some time since his days on the Pistons when I thought he was going to become Scottie Pippen 2.0.  Hill’s injury history are no doubt a part of his legacy but this second life in Phoenix has been revelatory.  Now if the Knicks can somehow get the Phoenix training staff along with Hill in that deal, it would be fantastic.  As far as the trade rumors go, it makes for good business but the fact is until December 9th, anything and everything in a fan’s mind is fair game including Dwight Howard and Deron Williams in NJ or Dwight Howard and CP3 in LA alongside Kobe OR alongside Blake.

Last note before I go, like I said, one of my favorite players will not be amnestied.  Brandon Roy will be a Blazer this upcoming season.  Makes sense, given that they don’t know how his legs will react and one would argue that this shortened season could be worse on his legs given the back to back to back that the Blazers will likely have to sit him in atleast one game and then rest him up in two of those games for extended periods of time.  Tis a shame since I wanted to see him on the Knicks.  Ahh well, dream another dream a different time.

More news coming later in the day as I give you a daily double dose today with some NFL notes and thoughts regarding week 13 and some important fantasy news.  Stay tuned sports fans.

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