Isiah-era Knicks That The Don Had To Fix: Where are they now?

All the talk in the city yesterday was about the hiring of former vice president of Nuggets basketball operations Mark Warkentien as Knick consultant,possible heir to the "Don",they are several other potential predecessors out there to take over for the real KnicksGM,69 year old Donnie Walsh.The question the streets wanna know is will the "famously unpredictable," James L. Dolan retain his 2012 option by the deadline of april 30th reported by the New York Times. I say instead of grooming his replacement while he is arguably the GM of the year,besides the former Knicks coach that fled after 94,how about we make him feel appreciated for the great work he has done like landing STAT and lock him up for as long as he wants to be the KnicksGM.

Internally, there are fears that Dolan will attempt to bring Isiah Thomas back to run the team, the Times reports.

Here is a rundown and update of the players the last KnicksGM brought into NYC.

THE BALLERS they tried

Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies Had a brief and forgettable stopover with the Los Angeles Clippers. Now producing the usual gaudy numbers for Memphis: 20 points and a career-best 13.2 rebounds a game. Has not made the playoffs or been part of a winning team, though the Grizzlies have a shot at the eighth seed in the West. Salary in 2008: $13.3 million. Current salary: $17.3 million. How he left: Traded (with Mardy Collins) to Clippers, for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas, on Nov. 21, 2008.

Jamal Crawford, Atlanta Hawks Won the Sixth Man of the Year award last season, simultaneously proving that Crawford was a) one of the better players Isiah Thomas acquired and b) was miscast by Thomas as a starting guard and No. 1 scoring option. Remains a key reserve for playoff-bound Hawks, but scoring and shooting percentages have dipped, to 15.9 points and 43 percent. Salary in 2008: $7.9 million. Current salary: $10.1 million. How he left: Traded to Warriors, for Al Harrington, on Nov. 21, 2008.

David Lee, Golden State Warriors Named an All-Star in final Knicks season, albeit as an injury replacement. Was the best member of a bad Knicks team, averaging 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds. Now a solid member of a poor Warriors team, averaging 16 points and 9.7 rebounds. Salary in 2008: $990,000. Current salary: $10.8 million. How he left: In sign-and-trade deal with Warriors, for Anthony Randolph, Ronny Turiaf and Kelenna Azubuike, on July 8, 2010.

Nate Robinson, Boston Celtics Other than Crawford, the only Isiah-era Knick to play a major role for a playoff team. Helped fuel Celtics’ Game 4 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010 N.B.A. finals. Now averaging 7.7 points and shooting .412 as the Celtics’ sixth man. Salary in 2008: $1.3 million. Current salary: $4.2 million. How he left: Traded (with Marcus Landry) to Boston, for Eddie House, Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens, on Feb. 18, 2010.

Wilson Chandler, Knicks Thomas’s best parting gift — a talented, low-maintenance, high-scoring forward who always plays hard and improves every year. Averaging a career-best 17.4 points. Current salary: $2.1 million. Future: A free agent this summer, could be used in trade for Carmelo Anthony or let go to make room for Anthony.

ON THERE LAST LEGS hanging by a thread

Quentin Richardson, Orlando Magic Opened season as a key rotation player, became superfluous when Magic acquired Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson. Played 57 minutes in January. Salary in 2008: $8.1 million. Current salary: $2.3 million. How he left: Traded to Memphis, for Darko Milicic, on June 26, 2008.

Jared Jeffries, Houston Rockets Found niche as versatile defender in his final years with Knicks. Niche in Houston is between 13th and 14th seats on the bench. Has made 17 appearances this season, averaging 7.8 minutes. (Side note: Thomas, upon signing Jeffries, said he would “balance the plane ride.”) Salary in 2008: $5.6 million. Current salary: $6.9 million. How he left: Traded to Houston (with Jordan Hill) in three-team deal that brought Tracy McGrady to Knicks, on Feb. 18, 2010.

Renaldo Balkman, Denver Nuggets The hustle. The hair. The Rodman-like nose for the ball. There was little to enjoy about these Knicks, but Balkman’s frantic energy was something. He is more static now: He has played 44 minutes this season. (Side note: Balkman was drafted one spot ahead of Rajon Rondo in 2006.) Salary in 2008: $1.3 million. Current salary: $1.7 million. How he left: Traded to Denver for Taurean Green, Bobby Jones and a second-round pick, on July 28, 2008. (Jones and Green were later waived.)

Eddy Curry, Knicks Symbol of an era of overpaid underachievers. Peaked in 2006-7 (19.5 points a game), regressing ever since. Unable to stay healthy or in shape jeopardizing career. Has appeared in 10 games since start of the 2008-9 season. Salary in 2008: $8.9 million. Current salary: $11.3 million. Future: If Knicks cannot trade his expiring contract by Feb. 24, they will probably waive him.

WASHED UP,NOT IN THE ASSOCIATION steph should be ashamed of himself

Stephon Marbury Benched by Coach Mike D’Antoni. Refused a buyout. Took a buyout. Joined the Celtics. Played sparingly. Declined to re-sign with Celtics. Wanted better offer. Found no other offers. Went on YouTube. Ate Vaseline. Now playing in China. Salary in 2008: $19 million. How he left: Waived Feb. 24,2009.

Jerome James Often injured, always jovial, rarely in shape. Spent a lot of time on what came to be known as the Jerome James Memorial Stationary Bike. Presumed retired. Salary in 2008: $5.8 million. How he left: Traded (with Tim Thomas, Anthony Roberson) to Chicago for Larry Hughes on Feb. 19, 2009.

Malik Rose Consummate nice guy, veteran of two Spurs championship teams, tried best to infuse professionalism in a chaotic environment. Now a broadcaster for the Spurs. Salary in 2008: $7.1 million. How he left: Traded to Oklahoma City for Chris Wilcox on Feb. 19, 2009.

Mardy Collins Steady, selfless guard. Not particularly good at anything. Out of league after failing to make Washington Wizards last fall. (Side note: Paul Millsap was still on the board when Collins was drafted in 2006.) Salary in 2008: $967,000. How he left: Traded (with Zach Randolph) to Clippers on Nov. 21, 2008.

Fred Jones Won 2004 slam-dunk contest. Won 23 games in only season with the Knicks. Spent 2008-9 with Clippers. Has not been seen since. Salary in 2008: $3.3 million. How he left: Was not re-signed after 2007-8 season.

Randolph Morris When Knicks signed him straight out of college — via little-known loophole — Thomas said Randolph was like an extra first-round pick. Like an extra Mardy Collins. Salary in 2008: $810,000. How he left: Was not re-signed after 2007-8 season.

SOURCES:New York Times
VIA:offthedribble.blogs

Wilson Chandler gets tooth knocked out and spits it out!

A Look Inside an Old Knick’s New Numbers

via msg.com

On Wednesday night, the Knicks host the surprising 5-2 Golden State Warriors and a familiar face: New Warriors forward David Lee.

Though Knicks fans seem excited about the team’s new era, Lee’s departure remains bittersweet. He was a fan favorite in his five seasons in New York and unquestionably the team’s top performer for at least the last two, earning his first All-Star Game appearance in 2009-10.

Substituting statistics for sentiment though, Lee has clearly struggled with his new team, at least offensively. Over his last two seasons with the Knicks, Lee averaged 18.1 points per game and 24.1 points per 48 minutes. So far, those numbers are down to 12.3 and 17.4, respectively. This is hardly surprising since Lee was usually expected to be the primary scoring option for the Knicks, whereas in Golden State, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry bear most of the offensive burden. But while Lee’s drop in per-game and per-minute production is predictable, his diminished percentage and rate stats are not.

Lee has always been a highly efficient offensive player, with a career field-goal percentage of .554, a true shooting percentage of .597 and an Offensive Rating of 119. (Year-to-year, a 119 Offensive Rating usually is good for top 15 in the league.) In the early going of the 2010-11 campaign, those numbers are down dramatically. Lee is shooting just .425 from the field, with a true shooting percentage of .473 and an Offensive Rating of 102. His career lows in those respective categories are .545, .584 and 116.

It’s likely these poor numbers are largely a product of a small sample set, but if they don’t improve it will be alarming for the Warriors, who certainly didn’t spend $80 million on a .425-shooting big man.

Where Lee has remained consistent is his rebounding -- an area in which he has long been one of the league’s top players. His rebound percentage for the season is 18.4%, which is right around his career mark of 18.2%. A particularly welcome sight for Golden State is his offensive rebound percentage of 13.7%. Lee’s offensive rebounding has declined in the last two seasons, dipping to the 8-9% range after he was consistently in the 11-13% range in his first three seasons. That’s key for the Warriors, who desperately need to improve their brutal rebounding stats -- a year ago they were dead last in both offensive and defensive rebound percentage.

Read more HERE

Knicks wanted David Lee alongside Amar'e Stoudemire

via NYDailynews.com

The deal allowed Lee to get the money he wanted - $80 million - but the Knicks felt he wasn't worth such a big contract, not when they needed to address several other positions after losing out on LeBron James and signing Stoudemire to a $100 million max contract. Now playing for another team that is rebuilding, Lee has said he could have played with Stoudemire.

"He probably could have," team president Donnie Walsh said after practice Monday in Greenburgh, when the 3-3 Knicks prepared for Tuesday night's game in Milwaukee against the struggling 2-5 Bucks. "But he wanted what he got. And we couldn't have done the same things if we did that. And that was, fill out the whole team. We needed more than just one player."


Read more: HERE

Amar'e at Center (Again)

via Fanhouse.com

Matrix Unloaded

It turns out that New York's amazing power forward acquisition -- maxed out Amar'e Stoudemire -- might be New York's amazing center acquisition after all. The entire preseason, coach Mike D'Antoni has played Stoudemire at PF next to one of the roster's two true centers: Ronny Turiaf or Timofey Mozgov. It hasn't worked, because Howard Beck of the New York Times reports Amar'e could very well line up in the middle come opening night, with Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari (two true small forwards) with him in the frontcourt and Raymond Felton and Roger Mason in the backcourt.

Sound familiar? It shouldn't, because D'Antoni never had a regular lineup that meek in Phoenix. There are two central issues at play here, at least in the context of this lineup experimentation happening in New York, where David Lee manned the middle in recent years.

The first is the difference between Stoudemire and Lee, and how the team's identity changes with what is essentially a one-for-one swap of the two. But perhaps more importantly, given that it's D'Antoni at the wheel and Amar'e in the front seat, the question of comparison between Chandler and mid-decade Shawn Marion looms largely.


According to 82games.com , about 96 percent of Lee's minutes last season came at the center spot. In 2008-09, Lee spent 94 percent of the time at center. Lee is a great rebounder, comparable to all but the most elite enters on the defensive glass. Still, the Knicks finished 27th in the league on the defensive glass last season and 20th the season prior. Stoudemire is decidedly not a great rebounder. Amar'e typically collects 18-20 percent of opponent misses; Lee has been around 27-28 percent. That's a massive difference, and New York's (already bad) defense will suffer from the Lee-Stoudemire swap based just on the impact of defensive rebounding.

Read the entire article HERE

Yahoo Sports favors Lee over Amare

Yahoo Sports reports
By Zachary Stanley,

How does Stoudemire compare to Lee?


Stoudemire has a slight edge in height (6'9" to 6'8") and he is definitely more powerful than Lee. Lee's outside shooting easily tops Amare's, and his inside-out versatility is more polished, creating a difficult game plan for opponents.

Lee had more rebounds last year but virtually played as a center with the Knicks shorthanded. Stoudemire had more points, but benefited from the stellar services of two-time MVP PG Steve Nash(notes) which is nowhere near the positional talent Lee saw in New York. Stoudemire's signature pick-n-roll with Nash also greatly contributed to his scoring.

The bottom line is that the gap between Stoudemire and Lee is not vast in either direction. Lee will likely prove that further this year in only his third season as a full-time NBA starter at his new home with the Warriors.

But don't fret Knicks fans, you may still be able to see your first meaningful spring basketball since 2004, and David Lee(notes) may be to thank.
Read the entire article HERE