Posts Tagged ‘New York Knicks’

NBA Trade Season – Part 1

Posted: June 6, 2012 in NBA, Trades
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With the NBA season winding down and teams looking to win the upcoming off-season, I have constructed four trades I would love to see happen (if for no other reason than shaking up the status quo). I tried to avoid the boilerplate trade-talk involving Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Rudy Gay, and Josh Smith, and attempted to come up with my own original scenarios. Enjoy.

*For two of the trades I had to make an educated guess at the values of the players involved so they could be used in a sign and trade*

Scenario #1 – Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns

MIA: Steve Nash (sign and trade – $10.00m), Marcin Gortat ($7.25m), Markieff Morris ($2.06m), #13 overall pick, and future conditional 1st round pick

PHX: Dwayne Wade ($17.02m) and Mario Chalmers ($4.00m)

Why for Miami:

If Miami doesn’t win the title this year, changes may be in order. Next season, the Big Three will a year older and will have endured back-to-back grueling playoff runs – all while Wade’s body has already showing signs of deteriorating. With this trade, Miami gets arguably the best shooter in the game (Nash), the solid big man they desperately need (Gortat – 15.4ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.5bpg), and a solid, young big man off the bench (Morris). On top of that, with the #13 pick, the Heat could add shooting guard Jeremy Lamb or Dion Waiters to round out their new starting five.

Starting Five: Nash, Lamb/Waiters, James, Bosh, Gortat

Bench: Cole, Miller, Battier, Morris, Haslem, Anthony

Why for Phoenix:

A poorly constructed roster has left the Suns without a point guard or shooting guard to build around. Sacrificing depth at the only two positions they can, power forward and center, the Suns fill two gapping holes while maintaining coveted salary-cap flexibility. Even with Wade’s salary tacked on, the Suns would go into the free agency period with only $39m on the books, allowing plenty of space to make further acquisitions (Spencer Hawes? Chris Kaman?). More importantly, the Suns would have a new cornerstone to build their franchise around, as well as a better, younger replacement at point guard than restricted free-agent Aaron Brooks. Who knows, maybe Wade could even convince Deron Williams to come to Phoenix and be his running mate? (Sorry, getting ahead of myself with that one…)

Starting Five: Chalmers, Wade, Dudley, Frye, Lopez

Bench: Brooks, Childress, Warrick, Free Agent

Scenario #2 – New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors

NYK: Stephen Curry ($3.95m), David Lee ($12.74m), Andris Biedrins ($9.00m), and 2012 2nd round pick

GSW: Amare Stoudemire ($19.94m), Jeremy Lin (sign and trade – $5.00m), and future conditional 1st round pick

Why for New York:

Carmelo Anthony and Stoudemire have proven they have difficultly co-existing. If the Knicks truly want to make Anthony the face of the franchise, then they must surround him with players who can play off of him and do not demand the ball to be effective (as Stoudemire and Lin both do). Curry’s shooting provides a great compliment to Anthony’s point-forward skill-set, while Lee is not afraid to do the dirty work Stoudemire shies away from. Biedrins, while thrown in for cap reasons, would be a slight upgrade off the bench behind Tyson Chandler.

Starting Five: Curry, Shumpert, Anthony, Lee, Chandler

Bench: Douglas, Fields, Novak, Biedrins

Why for Golden State:

After this season’s proclamation of making the playoffs ended with the team going into full-blown (alleged) tank-mode, Golden State needs to do everything it can to win back its devoted fan base – even if that means taking on Stoudemire’s contract. While the risk of Stoudemire’s uninsured contract is considerable, the reward would be substantial if he stayed healthy. Teaming Stoudemire with newly acquired center Andrew Bogut would provide the Warriors with one of the most formidable front-courts in the Western Conference. Lin would not only provide scoring from the Warriors’ backcourt, but his addition would be a marketing bonanza for the team based in the Bay Area. Consider the addition of front-court depth like John Henson or Perry Jones with the #7 pick in the draft, and the Warriors might finally be ready to compete for a playoff spot – albeit a year too late.

Starting Five: Lin, Thompson, Jefferson, Stoudemire, Bogut

Bench: Jenkins, Rush, Wright, Henson/Jones

Scenario #3 – Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers

UTA: Andre Iguodala ($17.71m)

PHL: Al Jefferson ($15.00m) and Raja Bell ($3.48m)

Why for Utah:

The Jazz use their front-court depth to bolster a limited wing position (especially limited considering CJ Miles may depart as a free-agent). Having babied Enes Kanter (#3 overall pick last year) this past season and already having future star Derrick Favors (#3 overall pick two years ago) on board, the trade provides more playing time for the two of them to develop their vast potential. Adding an elite defender like Iguodala to the lineup would allow youngsters Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks to worry about what they do best – score the basketball. By including Bell in the deal, the Jazz are able to shed a bit of ‘per-year’ salary as a result of taking on Iguodala’s extra year.

Starters: Harris, Hayward, Iguodala, Millsap, Favors

Bench: Watson, Burks, Kantor, Free Agent

Why for Philadelphia:

The 76ers front-court depth has long been an issue. Considering center Spencer Hawes is a restricted free-agent this off-season, acquiring a quality big man will likely have to be done via trade. Iguodala is expendable not only because of his large contract, but because former #2 overall pick Evan Turner emulates much of his game at the same position. Acquiring Jefferson (and his 19.2ppg, 9.6rpg production) would be just what the doctor ordered for the 76ers.  Even after the trade, the 76ers would only have about $50m on the books (depending if they re-signed Jodie Meeks), allowing them to make additional moves this off-season.

Starting Five: Holiday, Meeks, Turner, Brand, Jefferson

Bench: Williams, Bell, Young, Allen, Vucevic

Scenario #4 – Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings

HOU: Tyreke Evans ($5.25m)

SAC: Kyle Lowry ($5.75m)

Why for Houston:

This season’s breakout of fellow point guard Goran Dragic makes the underrated Lowry expendable. Evans could fulfill Bill Simmons’ wet dream by coming off the Rockets’ bench as a monster scoring combo-guard. Having the size and experience to play both guard positions, Evans could provide minutes at both guard spots while Dragic and starting shooting guard Kevin Martin rest. The addition of Evans would also give the team added leverage to prevent themselves from overpaying for the solid, yet unspectacular Courtney Lee. With the #14 pick, the Rockets could always select a guard (Austin Rivers/Terrence Ross) to replace Lee or a backup center (Tyler Zeller/Meyers Leonard) to replace Marcus Camby. Depending on whom they choose to resign, the Rockets could be players in the free-agency market or have the ability to take on salary in an additional trade.

Starting Five: Dragic, Martin, Parsons, Scola, Dalembert

Bench: Evans, Lee, Budinger, Morris, Patterson, Zeller

Why for Sacramento:

As much of a surprise as rookie point-guard Isaiah Thomas was this past season, he is not at Lowry’s level and would be better suited as a ‘spark’ guy off the bench. Lowry, along with enigmatic yet talented DeMarcus Cousins, would give the Kings a solid foundation to build around. If the Kings were able to land Kansas power-forward Thomas Robinson with the #5 overall pick, Kings’ fans may finally have something to cheer about in the near future. The departure of Evans will create more touches for the rest of the team – a good thing for the ongoing development of also-underrated Marcus Thornton.

Starting Five: Lowry, Thornton, Outlaw, Robinson, Cousins

Bench: Thomas, Fredette, Garica, Greene, Thompson, Hayes

*Thanks to HoopsHype.com for the salary information*

Oh, Knicks – What Have You Done This Time?

Posted: June 1, 2012 in Knicks, NBA
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“All men commend patience, although few are willing to practice it” – Thomas Kempis

If the goal of front office personal is to build a strong, talented core to consistently contend with the upper echelon of one’s sport, then patience is not only a key, but is a must. You need only look at the steps taken by the Oklahoma City Thunder in recent years to see the positive effects patience can have on an organization. Unfortunately for long suffering New York Knicks fans, their team’s idea of patience is similar to Terrell Owens’ idea of child support – allegedly nonexistent.

One must only look back to February 20011 to understand how the Knicks once again find themselves wading in a pool of turmoil and mediocrity. You ask – How could this happen so quickly after years of clearing cap space to bring in alleged superstars? We’ll let me tell you…

Last season, having recently signed Amare Stoudemire and gotten off to a strong start, owner James Dolan (pictured below) had an alleged itchy trigger finger and desperately wanted to bring another ‘big name’ to basketball’s brightest stage. Reportedly ignoring the advice of one of the NBA’s most well-respected general managers, Donnie Walsh, the owner exacted his will and executed a blockbuster deal for alleged superstar Carmelo Anthony. GM Walsh felt the Knicks would be better off to show some patience and simply wait for Anthony to become a free agent at the end of the year. Dolan couldn’t wait. Walsh is no longer with the team (It always seems to work out that way).

For the extra three months of his service, and the thrill to watch Anthony’s Knicks get swept out of the 2011 Playoffs, it cost the Knicks – Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first round pick, two second rounders, and $3 million in cash. HOLY… SHIT. All that for three extra months of regular season basketball and a playoff ass kicking?!? I’m no expert, but that seems a tad excessive… especially when it was no secret Anthony had every intention of signing with New York in the off-season anyways. Oh well, that’s just the Knicks being the Knicks. Or Dolan being Dolan.

But the craziest part of all, despite the excessive price the Knicks paid for a couple extra months of Anthony, it was the rash moves made this off-season that could be the most crippling for the team going forward. Coming off the four-game beat down handed out by the Boston Celtics in the 2011 Playoffs, the Knicks once again looked for the quick-fix solution to a championship (Spoiler Alert: It didn’t work). Instead of being patient and waiting until the summer of 2012 when two potential superstars (Deron Williams and Dwight Howard) could both opt of their contracts and be unrestricted free-agents, the Knicks just had to make another headline.

Using their one-time only ‘get out of jail free card’, the Knicks chose to exercise their amnesty clause on veteran point guard Chauncey Billups, who had one-year, $14.2 million remaining on his contract (The amnesty clause effectively wipes the salary off the books without the team taking a salary cap hit). Just to make sure this newly found salary cap flexibility didn’t burn a hole in their deep pockets, the Knicks immediately signed a player who was fresh off a championship season and who’s value would never be higher, Tyson Chandler. He received a four-year, $58 million contract. Just for the record, now heading into the 2011-12 season, the core players on the Knicks were locked up for 4-years, $83 million (Stoudemire), 4-years, $83 million (Anthony) and 4-years, $58 million (Chandler).

While it’s great to have core stars locked up to long-term deals when a team is competing for championships, this collection of misfit talent finished just 36-30 and was recently stomped out of the first round of the 2012 Playoffs by the younger, more talented Miami Heat. Next year, the Knicks’ core is just going to be one year older and one year further from the primes of their careers (minus Anthony, who should be in the latter half of his prime). The Knicks are again handcuffed. So you ask once more – How, after years of working so hard to create salary cap space, did the Knicks get to this point? Answer: They were not patient.

For the sake of this upcoming hypothetical, let’s assume the Knicks’ owner got his way and executed the Anthony trade. Had Dolan then exercised just a year’s worth of patience, the Knicks could have been legitimate title contenders for years to come. Here’s how that may have come about:

  • Instead of using the amnesty clause on Billups this past off-season, the Knicks let him play out the final season on his contract and open up $14.2 million in cap space.
  • Since the Knicks are proud owners of the single most untradeable contract in the entire NBA (Stoudemire’s – because the contract was unable to get insured and his body is more fragile than Humpty Dumpty’s), the Knicks accept the amnesty clause as a ‘gift from God’ and use it on Stoudemire following the 2012 season. The 3-years, $65 million remaining on his deal would be wiped off the cap, thus creating an average of $21.67 million of cap room over the next three seasons.
  • Then, knowing the Knicks were going to have a ton of cap space, Dwight Howard chooses not to pledge another season aboard the sinking Orlando Magic, and as a result creates a ridiculously strong class of free agents (headlined by himself and Deron Williams).
  • With the plethora of newly created cap space, the Knicks hire Don Draper to execute one of his world-famous sales pitches and the Knicks’ patience finally pays off in the form of a trio named Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and Deron Williams – or as you may call them, instant contenders for the next 5 seasons.

I think I know the answer to this, but I’ll ask it anyways. Who would you rather build a championship-contending team around? Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler, OR Anthony, Howard, and Williams? That’s what I thought…

Even if the Knicks were only able to sign one of those two stars this off-season, at least fans could continue dreaming about how the team may spend the remaining cap money to bring in a third stud in the very near future. Unfortunately for diehard Knicks’ fans, the Knicks are dream killers.

Not only did the team assemble a rash, ill-advised group of borderline superstars, but they also simultaneously crushed any hope fans may have had for a better future. Like it or not Knicks’ fans, this is your team for the next three years – a middle of the pack squad who will likely be bounced in the first round of the Playoffs season after season. This my friends, is exactly what impatience does in sports. It crushes more souls than Voldemort. That’s that.