Keys For Next Season

I know I might get flamed for this, but I dont care right now.

The keys for us to have a succesful season next year:

-Sign Herb Williams to a contract extension: Self explanitory. He was there when Riley and Van Gundy coached. He knows what it takes to get back to where the Knicks were. And the players respect him. And hes not that old. Give him a training camp and you'll see the results

-Keep Tim Thomas: Herb Williams has the ability to bring out the talent in him. LOok at the difference when Lenny was coaching and look at it when Herb is. TT is becoming more productive now. Give him the offseason to rest up and the results can become very good.

-Keep Kurt Thomas: Runs the pick and roll great with Marbury, and he provides that leadership and veteran advice that the youngsters need.

-Get a good draft pick: Like a guard or a foward and trade them to a team with Penny Hardaway, Bruno Sundov, Maurice Taylor for a Tall Shotblocking PF or Center.

-Give Ariza,Sweetney,Rose and J.Williams more minutes: If we spread the minutes productively, our good players wont be tired in crunch time, and we wont self-destruct.

-BE PATIENT: Wait for Houston to come back. Show him that we still believe in him. And he'll come through, like he has so many other times.

-Give Marbury some support: There are alot of people in New York that are really hating on Steph, saying that we should trade him. He's the best thing that happened to the Knicks since they last reached the playoffs.

These are some of the Keys I think will help. If anyone else has some feel free to post. Also if you would like to comment on mine, help yourself.

Another key for next season is to work with Crawford during Training Camp and the Off-Season.

Herb and the other coaches need to work on a balance with Jamal about getting his own points while working it in with the team. The last few games he has been looking to pass to much and not getting his shot off. If he can learn to balance out his scoring and passing and when to take shots and when not to, he would be great.

P.S-He also needs to get a lot stronger.

also like ive been saying go after a legit big man,jamal maglorie jamal maglorie

I agree with everything you said..to an extent.

I think it all starts with the draft though. I dont believe we need to trade up at this rate. Pick a C in Johan Petro and as much as I keep saying Channing Frye for our second first rounder lets get a good guard if ones there. I still think Petro, Frye and Elder (Head, Anderson or Harlem Born-Hodge could all be options)

SO im putting draft at #1

Kurt Thomas, as much as like him and think hes good for us, I know if we have any chance of landing someone like an Eddy Curry or Kwame Brown hed be the key person in the deal.

But I do agree with keeping Tim Thomas. Maybe its favoritism on my part because he "plays in spurts". I think his athleticism and ability is showing little by little even more. And I know im like a violin playing because weve heard this before, but if we let his contract run out im very positive that hed resign with us out of gratitude for considerably less money (gratitude and realization that he wont get the same contract anywhere else)

Penny Hardaway, unsure about him. I dont know if letting his contract run out would do us any good. it is money off the cap but what does that mean now a days for the knicks? So if theres a possible trade that will benefit us in the long run go ahead.

SO im putting picking our trades wisely as #2

and with our midlevel exception at 5 million. LETS SPEND IT WISELY. Get a good guard with some and what about Keon Clark with the rest? Who ever we sign please only make it for 1-2 years tops

Choose carefully who we want to keep. with resigning Ariza, 3 draft picks and say no trades we have a 14 man roster...1 slot left so do we sign someone with the MLE? do we give one of the spots to Sundov? Jackson? Butler?

and when we resign Trevor Ariza do it reasonably. i mean dont give him a crapload of money (even though hes a great player for us) I just cant think of a reasonable number to put on him...what about you?

SO im putting using the MLE & Resigning reasonably at #3

The coaching situation is a little rough situation ive noticed. Fans and owners and media want Phil Jackson. Why? well being a person who USED to want him to come here its the name power simply that. its shiny its marketable and its a star. but besides for that its 9 rings with people like Jordan, O'Neal, Pippen and Bryant and an outdated triangle offense.

Brown is unhealthy and getting too old. As I respect him I wouldnt want him to be coach and I think he wants to retire after this year anyways.

I was Herb back. yea yea yea hes only been coach for whatever. he doesnt have a winning record. well yes but he was put into a horrible situation and made the best of it. And no matter what anyone says, now that hes coach, Tim Thomas is actually playing, Crawfords looking before he shoots (passing if not seeing a shot), team is playing better D..sure it could be the "team recognizing their faults" im just saying its coincidental that it happened right when Herb became coach..sign him to a 1 year extension and let him get a real try out..

SO im putting 1 year contract to Herb Williams at #4

YES like I said earlier let Allan rest up. We have to face hes not going to be the Houston of old, but he can come pretty damn close if we just ease him back into the game. Not force him like we had earlier. I think he can be a great contributor eventually. But dont bring him back the rest of this season like he wants to do..

SO im putting comeback of Houston at #5

draft at #1
picking our trades wisely as #2
putting using the MLE & Resigning reasonably at #3
1 year contract to Herb Williams at #4
comeback of Houston at #5

i 100% agree with jadamel for saying to be patient with allan houston..im glad he hasnt come back here at the end of the season, and i dont care if he misses the beggining of next season, as long as he is at full health when he returns, and continues to rehab now, for the end of his career..

well, whatever the knicks do it better make them a better defensive team.. our defense this season was just :rolling:

I agree with everything you guys have said, but some things just might not happen. Herb is the interim coach right now. If Isiah really wanted to coach next year, he would've already signed him to a contract extension. Avery Johnson got one. Nate, although he wasn't an interim coach, just verbally agreed to a contract extension. They can happen during the season. What else besides the draft should be on Isiah's mind? I want Williams to stay as the coach, but if he felt like Herb was the best coach out there, he'd already be signed to an extension. He might have already, but it may only be for next season. I don't like Tim Thomas and have never liked him. But I know that he is talented enough to score on any small forward in the league. If he just brought it every night and try to play some defense instead of bruing his feet in cement, we'd be a better defensive team. Same goes with Marbury. Did you guys see Reggie abuse Marbury in overtime? Got by him with ease. I don't think that Steph realizes that help won't always be there. He expects it to be, but he's gotta do a better job on the defensive end. Another thing: trades are harder to come by for us now. Instead of having 4 or 5 contracts that expire next season, we have two. Not something that teams want to trade for. Whether you like it or not, Mo taylor and Malik Rose AND Kurt Thomas AND JYD all all signed for 3 MORE YEARS! Teams may want the players, but they certainly don't want the contracts, making deals harder to come by. I agree with NYKnicks15 that the draft is our top priority. I want to Isiah draft two big men, then go after a defensive-minded combo guard or swingman. Preferably Petro and whoever is available, Frye in a good draft. This year's draft is loaded with big men. I feel that size is our biggest weakness, so size is a must. As far as free agency, I'm not sure there's anyone out there worth spending the MLE on, maybe Mighty Mouse. And just to let everyone know, the minimum years on a MLE contract is 3 years, not one or two. Peace, for now.

Yes size is important, but so is skill. We might end up drafting another Bruno Sundov. Tall as hell, but nothing to show for it, except for a good jump shot.

haha, thats why i love Bruno... its so typical of the European guys, who are learning to play basketball, they think its all about shooting, and they dont preach to the big guys to build muscle and get a post up game... i still like him though

I disagree with a couple of things. First off keep Tim Thomas??? Tim Thomas is a bum, why would we keep him? We can't get his full potential out, only he has to do that. If he is motivated, than that's how he starts working. Anyone remember in Sacramento this season? Tim Thomas didn’t want to lose his starting spot and he played very well that game. The next game when he was starting, he was back to his usual crappy self. I thought Knick fans were happy he was playing well to increase his trade value along with that expiring contract. Tim Thomas will only take away potential minutes from Ariza. Keep him away!

The next one is get Kurt Thomas out of here. Wait before you guys kill me, hear me out. The Knicks are going in another direction and Kurt Thomas’ contract is only increasing by the year. Many teams will be interested in a double-double machine such as Kurt Thomas. We also should start looking to free up space for Sweetney to start blooming. Also the Knicks have an absolute HUGE glut at the power forward. How are we going to give time to Malik, JYD, Mo, Sweetney, and Kurt. That’s way too much. Before the deadline, the Knicks almost got Drew Gooden for Kurt Thomas. I’m sure a more thought out trade could be established. The Knicks want some more young players and even though Kurt is one of my favorite Knicks, I don’t know if we can hold on to him.

Stephon Marbury should not really be kept. He’s a good player and all but he’s far from a leader, he plays horrible defense, and Marbury is a role-player, nothing more. Unless we put a star next to him, he’s not leading the Knicks. He simply isn’t a natural leader however, he was forced to be because he was the best player on the team. We see this all the time. He isn’t a complete player (his lack of defense is a perfect example), and something we’ve seen a lot. He is VERY UNCLUTCH. As the leader he shies away from taking the last shot. The only time he did was yesterday against the Pacers. He was bailed out by Sweetney. We need to get him out and get a real floor general. Maybe we can trade him for a Paul-like point guard.

The true key is who will we draft? I have a lot of confidence in Isiah. I mean he did manage to grab McGrady the rookie of the year Damon Stoudamire, and he also got Ariza with the 43rd pick. I think Isiah can bring home a future star to the orange and blue. Let’s see what happens though. We do have 3 picks and I’m very excited to see what’s going down. Cross your fingers guys!

you know what i hate ...last season allan houston a week after we get swept comes out and says i feel fine, and this season hes just played slightly over 500 minutes

Yah, well. We don't want to rush him back and have him get hurt once again. He has been rehabing almost all season, will not have the offseason and he should be ready for next year.

I THINK WE SHOULD KEEP JYD AND HOUSTON TO COME OFF DA BENCH.CRAWFORD CAN PLAY PG IF STEPH GOES OUT AND JYD CAN PLAY ALL FRONT COURT POSITIONS EFFECTIVELY. LET HOUSTON KEEP REHABBING. ALL OFF SEASON TILL HE IS BETTER AND CAN PLAY LIMITED MINUTES OF DA BENCH

i dont think marbury is a role player. he may not be a #1 superstar but hes more of a 2 or 3

mrj18 said:

I disagree with a couple of things. First off keep Tim Thomas??? Tim Thomas is a bum, why would we keep him? We can't get his full potential out, only he has to do that. If he is motivated, than that's how he starts working.

Click to expand...

Herb Williams has really motivated him as the full time coach, working on him with his big man game, and getting his hot to come around.. we've seen Tim Thomas' flashes of briliance, and i think if herb stays TT stays, at times he can be one of the most dangerous "small" forwards in the league...

the key to success for the knicks:

make isiah thomas head scout / in charge of talent evaluation and fire him as gm

make phil jackson the new gm

unload the entire roster

start fresh

this team aint goin noewhere any time soon unless drastic changes happen.

pyotrveliky said:

i dont think marbury is a role player. he may not be a #1 superstar but hes more of a 2 or 3

Click to expand...

What makes Marbury more than just a role player? Marbury is not a leader he doesn't have a complete game.

mrj18 said:

pyotrveliky said:

i dont think marbury is a role player. he may not be a #1 superstar but hes more of a 2 or 3

Click to expand...

What makes Marbury more than just a role player? Marbury is not a leader he doesn't have a complete game.

Click to expand...

There aren't alot of players with a complete game..
He does have the complete game of a good PG, A good PG should range around here:
Shooting- 40%-45% FG, 30%-40%3-Pt, 75%-85% FT
Passing- 6.5-8.5 Assts, 3.5 TO's (at most)
Defense- (At least) 1.10 Stls, 3.0-6.0 Rebs.

Marburys Career
Shooting- 43%FG, 32%3-Pt, 79%FT
Passing- 8.3 Assts, 3.20 TO's
Defense- 1.29 Stls, 3.10 Rebs.

The only people I know in the NBA right now with a complete game (that come to mind) would be
Lebron James
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Jason Kidd

JaDaMeL05 said:

mrj18 said:

pyotrveliky said:

i dont think marbury is a role player. he may not be a #1 superstar but hes more of a 2 or 3

Click to expand...

What makes Marbury more than just a role player? Marbury is not a leader he doesn't have a complete game.

Click to expand...

There aren't alot of players with a complete game..
He does have the complete game of a good PG, A good PG should range around here:
Shooting- 40%-45% FG, 30%-40%3-Pt, 75%-85% FT
Passing- 6.5-8.5 Assts, 3.5 TO's (at most)
Defense- (At least) 1.10 Stls, 3.0-6.0 Rebs.

Marburys Career
Shooting- 43%FG, 32%3-Pt, 79%FT
Passing- 8.3 Assts, 3.20 TO's
Defense- 1.29 Stls, 3.10 Rebs.

The only people I know in the NBA right now with a complete game (that come to mind) would be
Lebron James
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Jason Kidd

Click to expand...

They're somethings that don't appear in the boxscore that determine more of a player. Marbury plays NO defense. He is a pretty pathetic defender to say the least. Although he gets 8apg, some might still consider him selfish and also he isn't that great of a rebounder. You have players like Camby who are almost as efficent as him in a less time. Marbury isn't a leader and he hasn't gone anywhere in his whole career. When you have teams like you do now with no leaders, you get these type of results. Look at the 02-03 Knicks. They better than us and they were always injured!

I agree with keeping Tim Thomas.... on the bench. Let's face it, he'll never get any better. The guy is 28 years old, and if he hasn't broken out by now, nothing will make it happen. Nobody breaks out that late. Nobody goes 8 years playing mediocre basketball then all of sudden puts it together. Even JO, who everyone thinks of as one of the slowest developing guys in the league, did it by the age of 23 after 4 years in Portland.

TT doesn't play defense, and he's maybe the worst rebounding SF in the league, certainly the worst rebounder at 6'10 in the league. None of that will change. He's not going to all of a sudden increase his scoring. He's not going to use his size on the boards. He'll be next year what he had been for the last 3.

Since trading him for anyone whose contract runs past 2007 would be a huge mistake, let him sit on the bench. Maybe let him start, or bring him off the bench, but keep him to minimal amount of minutes per game (20?). Let the Knicks play Ariza, Jerome or go with 3 bigs as Herb has done (Sweets, Rose & KT). Who knows maybe Penny comes back or we get a SF in the draft. Tim Thomas is not the answer.