Continuing on our merry way with our TrueHoop familia, today we turn our attention to the New York Knickerbockers. Once a franchise looked upon with pride, but then they ran into Vince, Alvin, Antonio, and their old employee named Charles. The Raptors knocked them out in the first round and the Blue and Orange faithful have been reeling ever since.
The folks over at Knickerblogger have given us insight to what is in store this year from the Mecca. Looking back at last season, we got absolutely pummeled at the Garden, bounced back two days later to win by double digits at the ACC, Bargs was impressive again come April and then the next night we looked like we were a fly in a spiderweb and were humiliated. Another split of the season series. Seems to be a theme.
predicted starting 5:
For a team returning almost all of it’s core, this is actually a tough question. The only player they lost, Quentin Richardson, started 51 games for the team last year. So the big question is who will take over that starting role? It’s possible that D’Antoni might see if second year player Danilo Gallinari is ready. But it’s also possible that Eddy Curry or Darko Milicic work their way into the lineup as well. If I had to guess, I’ll go with the center-less option: Duhon, Chandler, Gallo, Harrington, and Lee.
best offensive player:
Nate Robinson, although I’m tempted to say David Lee, due to his strong ability to score inside and recover his teammates missed shots. However Nate can seemingly break down a defense at will, and his passing has improved over the years.
best defensive player:
That’s a question Knick fans have been unable to answer for a few seasons now. You could put up a list of mediocre candidates: Chris Duhon, Jared Jeffries, Wilson Chandler, or maybe newcomers Darko Milicic and Toney Douglas. I’ll pass on this one.
best new player:
The main competitors are Darko Milicic, Jordan Hill, and Toney Douglas. Milicic has a checkered past, Jordan Hill may not see much playing time, and Douglas is a late round first. I’ll go with Milicic, but I think Doulgas is a better choice than Hill, at least for this season.
player that will be missed:
Sorry Richardson, but no one.
weakest link in your top 8 rotation players:
Depends on who is in the top 8. I’ll have to pass for now.
greatest weakness as a team:
Defense. As I said before, the team doesn’t have any great defenders, and there are some guys who are clearly below average.
biggest question heading into the season:
Putting aside "what will happen in free agency next summer?", I’ll go with "who is in the rotation?" It’ll be interesting to see who is getting playing time, especially among Gallo, Curry, Darko, Hill, and Douglas.
if I was GM for a day, I would…
… have signed Ramon Sessions over the summer, and tried to get Lee and Nate locked into reasonable long term deals. If I can’t go back in time, then I’d grab Morris Almond. The Knicks need a scoring guard, and this could be the second year in a row that they let one get away from their summer league team that could make another team’s rotation (Von Wafer).
your opinion of the Raptors:
I love you. You love me. We’re a happy family.
if you had to assign a "movie title" to your expectations of the season, what would it be?
Pass.
- w/l prediction for your team
Pass.
Thanks again to Knickerblogger. If you want to become a stathead, you need to check out this piece on their site. Also, hit them up if you are ever looking for some Knicks tickets.
16 Raps
Isiah Thomas ruined this team, but they do have a few young peices to work with. I think Chandler has the potential to be a 17-19 ppg guy, but he needs to finish his drives with more consistency
The Knicks have been going through the process of undoing a lot of terrible mistakes. Once done (end of this year, the last of it next year) they’ll be able to truly begin a rebuilding process.
Expecting another lost season, but I wouldn’t hang this on the current GM & Coach.
Not sure why they didn’t try to lock up Lee on a reasonable long term deal unless they couldn’t agree on what reasonable is.
“- w/l prediction for your team
Pass.”
Right Answer!
New York City Knicks need and deserve a great all-star player(s) … and they can afford to buy a Lebron, Wade, Bosh, and anybody else.
Resurrecting the NY franchise will be very lucrative for any of these 3 player just based on endorsement contracts.
The NY bball market is not being fully exploited all because their team stink … and Commish Stern knows that only too well.
It’s irrational to think that Lebron will stay in backwater Cleveland, while the lush NY market is beckoning … believe it.
It seemed rational when Carter signed his extension.
…everyone in basketball was saying the same thing you are saying now.
Not a fan of Lebron’s personality, but I must admit that I have noticed a change for the better. He seems more humble and more mature than in the past. The truth is LBJ will always be bigger than NY. Kind of like the hottie that chases the guy who won’t giver her the time of day…until he does. Lebron can use NY and its lust for him to his advantage.
(Besides, NY is a crappy organization when it comes to honouring those that toiled for them… ask Ewing. Too many hall of famers get spit out and dumped by that town. )
Nike alone would give Lebron an additional $10 Million more per year to his current contract to play in NY … together with the NY Knick $25 Million p.a. contract for 6 years.
By the time Lebron counts up his annual income playing for the Knicks it could well exceed $50 Million .. maybe $75 Million p.a. His 2009 income is estimated at $40 Million per Forbes …..
Remember, it’s a ‘business’ … and there is not room for feeeeelings towards tribal honking fans anywhere …. believe it
Forget the Knicks. If LBJ is smart and wants to play in the NY market, he’ll join Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee, not Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries. That team will be so threadbare next season if they try to shoot for the moon that there’s a very good chance Knicks fans will turn on him if and when the team disappoints.
Where the f*ck did you hear that NIKE would give him more money to play in NYC? Do you have a single piece of information that you don’t just pull out of your ass?
You’re opinions are like the Basketball tooth fairy. Nice in theory but there’s no way in hell they’re real.
LeBron signed a seven year deal as a rookie (2003 draft class) which would have his current contract expiring at the end of this season. So he’ll be negotiating a new deal with Nike around the same time he’s getting a new deal with some NBA team.
Also, despite reports to contrary, appearantly there is no NYC bonus in LeBron’s current deal.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27925375
Maybe, just maybe, those superstars you’ve mentioned have enough money already and want to win championships more than anything else.
If this is true, why in god’s name would they go to the Knicks? (AKA the Clips of the East).
Lebron will get plenty of endorsements no matter where he goes.
It isn’t possible for these super stars to have too much money lol.
the knicks are the maple leafs, chicago cubs, and the oakland raiders of the nba. no disrespect leaf fans. too bad you lost to cindy crosby tonight eh…
Guess what, its the tribal honking fans that are the reason that he will get that money from Nike. He will get it if he is in Cleveland or LA. All he needs to do, is be in the playoffs consistently.
In fact, he can go tell Nike to go **** themselves and call Adidas, that is the beauty of being the best. Being in NY or LA, is not going to make a difference. NY can get some guy named Jebron Lames, and Lebron will still out endorse him in Nunuit.
His money is far from local, China is in the mix now too. This NY crap might have flown, 20 years ago… but the world is global. Lebron is not going to be any more popular in LA or NY.
Sorry… don’t buy the NY fan junk, they have been shpeeling this crap for a decade, who signed with them?
I’d rate Toney Douglas as their best defender.
I think Darko Milicic has the highest defensive capability but I’m not sure he’s mentally strong enough to fulfill that while playing for this Knicks team. I think he’ll get frustrated defensively, like he did in Memphis, when he’s asked to cover all his teammates defensive mistakes … which will be a lot because of the Knicks overall lack of defense … but if he was on a team full of veterans who were strong defenders, I think he’d blossom and show just how good of a defender he can be when his effort + focus are tuned in correctly.
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I thought the Knicks made the right choice signing David Lee and Nate Robinson to one year contracts. Despite having a chance to sign Lee to a very reasonable contract relative to his talent … I thought it was worth the risk to play for 2010.
I think the Knicks only have a shot at landing Wade or LBJ if they have enough cap space to sign another marquee talent. I don’t think either player goes to NY if that cap space is used up on Lee and Robinson instead.
As much as either guy may love to play in NY, I don’t think they’ll go there if they can’t see a realistic opportunity for a title … which I think they have if they can sign an MVP candidate, a second max contract player (Bosh? Amare?), and hold onto Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. That can be a core of a contender. Fill out the roster and they’ll be ready to go.
So, good decision to stick to one year contracts for Lee and Robinson. I think it’s the only way their 2010 plan has of working out.
Dave,
Just curious, what is your opinion on Bargnani are how far can the Rap’s go with him as their starting centre this year?
I think Bargnani hurts the team more than he helps it. He holds the team back and I believe the situation has only worsened by his extended minutes. I think the longer minutes (more opportunity to hurt the team) are more damaging than the benefits from his improved offensive play (2009 performances). I feel better about the Raptors chances of winning games when he’s not playing.
My best case (reasonable) scenario for this year is a first round loss. I can’t see how this Raptors beat Orlando, Boston or Cleveland in the first round if those teams are anyway healthy. I also don’t see them winning the fourth or fifth seeds which would leave the Raptors – assuming they actually make the playoffs – playing one of those teams.
I’d be very pleased with a playoff appearance. I don’t think they’ll have any success when they get there.
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I think the Raptors future could drastically improve if Bargnani leaves. As long as here, it’ll be very difficult (pretty close to impossible) for the Raptors to become a very good-to-elite team.
Considering Bargnani’s likely trade value … I think the Raptors would instantly become a 50+ win team after trading him (for current talent, not potential or contracts). From there, the team’s future could become very promising.
Dave,
I pretty much agree with you on all points. I am a little bit more optimistic in that I believe with almost 100% certainty that they will make the playoffs (barring injury of course) but I don’t think 4th or 5th seed is in the cards for them (in my mind Washington has one of those seeds sown up and I don’t see the raptors making the other if Atlanta remains good)
So I would think that we would see another first round exit.