Hollinger: In Free-Agent Feeding Frenzy, Knicks Are ...

In Free-Agent Feeding Frenzy, Knicks Are Shopping for Scraps

As for Brown, you might want to sit down before you read this. The Knicks supposedly want to give Sweetney to the Wizards so they can do a sign-and-trade for Brown. This is rumor, not fact, so we should give Isiah the benefit of the doubt. But if he does pull the trigger on such a ridiculous trade, James Dolan should find the pinkest slip in his possession and slide it under Isiah's door, taking care to cut the phone line before Thomas can execute any more deals.

Sweetney averaged 17.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per 40 minutes last year and led the Knicks with a 53.1% shooting mark. Brown, meanwhile, slumbered through the year with 12.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per-40 minutes, and was kicked off the team in the playoffs because of his lackadaisical attitude. Sound like a fair swap? And while some still gush over Brown's potential, keep in mind that Sweetney is actually seven months younger.
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But Sweetney for Brown? Adding Antoine Walker? These aren't the kind of moves that a team serious about rebuilding should even be considering. One wonders if Isiah won't again short-circuit the process in a grab for immediate gratification, much as he did with the acquisitions of Marbury and Tim Thomas two years ago.
 

Ted

Benchwarmer
In my opinion you can look at this rebuilding attempt as an optimist or a pessimist.
Pessimistically, Zeke sucks. And he really might.

Optimistically he got a bunch of scraps to get to this point so he could have a good draft and maybe make a move or two this off-season and from here on in it's smooth sailing with Marbury, Crawford, Q, Frye, Sweets, Nate-Rob, DLee, Kwame/whoever, etc. playing like the Kings or Mavs.
Few probably looked at underachieving C-Webb, Raptors “point guard” Doug Christie, a few draft picks (Peja, J-Will, and Hedo), positionless combo guards (Delk then Jackson), and free agent Vlade Divac as the nucleus of a perennial contender.
How about an 18 year old from Germany (Dirk), a Canadian point guard with a bad hair cut and only average athleticism, Finley, and an endlessly revolving door of overpriced talent?
It's the expensive, stupid, risky way to go about building a team that cannot ever win a title, but if Zeke is as good a judge of talent outside the draft as he is in it he might pull it off. Titles are nice but I'll take getting deep in the playoffs year in and year out.
Also, rumors are rumors and I'm sure that Zeke loves the attention.
 

ny3nyk

Rotation player
what is it with the rumors with kwame? he did not turn out to be the "superstar" he was supposed to be in washington, but i think sweetney will. sweetney has a bright future and i dont think we should give him up just yet
 

Ted

Benchwarmer
What it is with Kwame is that he has the physical gifts to be an elite player. Not to say that he will or you trade Sweetney to get him, but a long list of players have struggled on one or more teams before clicking and becoming stars:
C-Webb and Rasheed obviously come to mind because they're athletic 4s who struggled in Washington. MVP Steve Nash averaged 10 MPG as a rookie then 20 MPG before being moved to Dallas. These three also went to college before coming into the league. Jermaine O'Neal has some obvious similarities because he was a prep to pro who spent four years in Portland before emerging in Indy. Of course Pippen was calling O'Neal the best player on a pretty good Blazer team. T-Mac took a couple years before he looked good in Toronto. The list goes on and on.

My biggest questions with Brown would be his attitude and will (obviously). A pretty long list of players got several chances and never got it (Isaiah Rider would be the poster child) or just weren't good enough to get it (fellow #1s Joe Smith and Kandi). But mostly players with that much talent turn into at least contributors: Donyell Marshall looked like a pretty big bust when he got traded to the Warriors and averaged 5 and then 7 points after solid rookie numbers and is now a decent player. So while I don't think that Kwame is suddenly going to turn into KG, maybe Rasheed Wallace or so is possible.

The playoff incident and general regression this year makes Kwame very unattractive "character" wise, but of course I've never met him and when he came into the league I remember hearing that he was a Southern choir boy. Before this year he was on a pretty decent career track. 11 points 7.4 rebounds is pretty decent three years out of high school (although it was on a miserable team).

I think before I considered Kwame I'd look into his substance use. I couldn't give a crap if he smokes, but if I was paying him millions of dollars to perform athletically I would.
Bottom line is that if you can give him a short contract and give up little (in a sign-and-trade) or nothing (if the Wizards are bluffing and no one else is interested) he's worth a look, for 5 or 6 years and Sweetney or even Lee I'd be much more hesitant and would have to be blown away with his personality. Lee and one of the bad contracts also might be worth it.
 

NYK Way

Benchwarmer
You shouldn't expect a rookie to be having big minutes their rookie season unless their a Carmelo Anthony Lebron James or Dwane Wade.
 

Trin_Starr

Starter
Sweetney is good but I give most of the credit to Mark Aguirre.
Mark molded him into a good player.

MJ must have seen something in Kwame to choose him with the #1 pick, and whatever it is, I am +ve that Mark Aguirre can bring it out of him!
Once Kwame is willing to learn, I think a change of environment will do him good.
 

hoop115

Benchwarmer
Trin_Starr said:
Sweetney is good but I give most of the credit to Mark Aguirre.
Mark molded him into a good player.

MJ must have seen something in Kwame to choose him with the #1 pick, and whatever it is, I am +ve that Mark Aguirre can bring it out of him!
Once Kwame is willing to learn, I think a change of environment will do him good.

The problem with Kwame is that he isn't smart enough to learn. Eddie Jordan was supposed the mastermind behind the Nets offense when they still had KMart. When he left to go and coach the Wizards, Brown was the one player who could not pick up his offensive schemes. Eddie Jordan flat out called him stupid. Another knock on Brown is that he has small hands causing him to be prone to turnovers. I would say Brown is a plan-B to going after Eddy Curry or even Stro.

BTW...MJ is known as a horrible talent evaluator. He traded Rip Hamilton for Courtney Alexander, who doesn't even play in this league any longer.
 

Ted

Benchwarmer
The point with Nash was that he sucked in Pheonix then broke out in Dallas.

If Kwame is really dumb, which makes some sense, then it shouldn't be too hard to figure that out when Zeke meets the guy. But just cause Eddie Jordan calls you dumb doesn't mean you can't be a good NBA player.

Eddy Curry will cost a ton and be hard to get in a sign and trade unless the Bulls want to take on Tim Thomas for a year at 13 million for some reason. Swift for the MLE is possible if the Hawks don't like him.
I think that the most easily attainable guy is Magloire. The Hornets are not even pretending to want to win now, so unless they have really high hopes for Paul (which I do but maybe not right away).
MJ is terrible as an exec. but he traded Rip for Stackhouse not Alexander.
 

portega1968

El Cacique
jajajajja Alexander for Rip, definitely hits the nail...anyways, who has a larger wingspan, Sweets or Kwame? ...Did Eddie Jordan say that? dang!!!
 

hometheaterguy

Knicks Guru
The point you guys are missing is Sweets is an undersized PF with a potential weight problem. He could turn into the next Charles Barkley (who also was critisized for being undersized with a potential weight problem) or he could turn into Oliver Miller. Right now the Knicks are in a pinch. If they leave things alone they have 4-5 years before their problems go away. There is a high school center who will be a senior next year (Can't remember his name) that all the sports talk radio stations are claiming to be the next legit center. OK, the knicks could tank it for a half of a decade and take a chance that their lottery ball will pop up and they could pick him, if he stays true to form. Maybe their draft picks and current young guys (sweets and Ariza) turn into good or great NBA players. Maybe everything goes the other way and their players don't turn out to be anything at all and the lottery ball goes to another team. Well, we are shopping the free agent market anyway and who knows who will be there or the state of the NBA at that time. My point is, The one "risky" move that Isiah will make is Swift or Kwame. I am sure he would rather trade Rose or Taylor to get him or even sign one of these guys outright. If sweets gets us length at the 4 spot, than I am happy. With Frye and Lee, I think sweets in expendable. JYD can grab 10 rebounds a game, maybe more, with ample playing time and as far as the scoring goes, now we are loaded with guys that can put up numbers but we need length desperatly.
 

Ted

Benchwarmer
I don't think their problems are as bad as you think.
With a coach this is a playoff team. Not a contender, but this is not the apocalypse. This is a better team than when Zeke got here. Eisley, Houston, Spree, Othella , and KT? We actually started those guys.

Jerome Williams cannot get 10 rebounds. You can't leave him on the court that long, he has too many weaknesses.

Length is nice but it can also be overrated. A guy who can play with length is great, but if you can't play it doesn't matter whether your arms and body are long or short. What the Knicks need is a coach, a system, some defense, and some heart.
 

KnicksFan20

Rotation player
i definatly disagree with u......because jerome williams is a good rebounder.......


his only flaw imo is his shooting faceing the basket ban possibly post up game



but he is a very good player.......
 

Ted

Benchwarmer
5 years ago he was a decent 6th man. I've watched him since he was at G-town and all he really does for you is bring some energy, dive for balls, grab a few boards, and make a shot once in a blue moon. He's a career 6 point 6 rebound guy. If Isiah wants to be an offensive team in the Kings/Mavs mold, which I suspect he does, there is no room for someone who has zero offensive game other than setting screens. But that's really besides the point becaue there is not a team in the league (maybe Atlanta) where Jerome starts. He's 32 has averaged 30 mpg once in his career and has grabbed 9 boards twice 8 once. But his career average is 6.4 and he got a robust 3.6 last year. When he beats out Malik Rose and Mo Taylor for PT, let alone Sweets, Frye, and Lee, then lets talk.
 

hometheaterguy

Knicks Guru
all he really does for you is bring some energy, dive for balls, grab a few boards, and make a shot once in a blue moon.

HHhhmmmm... Sounds like someone else the Knicks had.... Hint???? Solid as an Oak???
 

bobs3304

Benchwarmer
Please don't compare JYD to Oak. There's a reason Williams has been traded from team to team. He does a lotta little things, but he's immature, and can't contribute anything big. He can pump up the crowd, but his personality is so juvenile it's sad. I love his energy, but we're not talking about a player that can step it up from night to night. He's replaceable. And that guy's name is David Lee. End of story...
 

hometheaterguy

Knicks Guru
bobs3304 said:
Please don't compare JYD to Oak. There's a reason Williams has been traded from team to team. He does a lotta little things, but he's immature, and can't contribute anything big. He can pump up the crowd, but his personality is so juvenile it's sad. I love his energy, but we're not talking about a player that can step it up from night to night. He's replaceable. And that guy's name is David Lee. End of story...

You know, I remember when they traded Cartwright to the Bulls for Oak and everyone was screaming that he can't throw the ball in the ocean and he is not going to help the team, that Pat Ewing needed low post help. I remember it all and at first, Yeah he couldn't get the ball to go into the basket. It would clang off the front of the rim or miss all together. His game matured and he developed a short range shot and the rest was history. JYD is a good guy to have on the team, would I use him in a trade??? Hell yes, but I would keep him over Taylor and Rose!!! Ans yes, I see similarities in his game and an early Oakley! Did you see Oak in Chicago and the first few years as a knick? Whew, me and my friends would close our eyes everytime he released the ball!!!
 

bobs3304

Benchwarmer
Oakley was an amazing rebounder even in his first year at Chicago. JYD, with 30 minutes a game, will only get you 8-9 boards tops. Oak could get you anywhere from 10-15.

And Oak was a man's man. He wouldn't shit from anyone, and could step it up when the team needed him most. He would do anything and everything to win. JYD is selfless and plays hard, but he is no Oak, plain and simple.

The sad thing is that even if we trade Marbury, we still should and probably need to trade Sweetney, despite the fact that it is really Taylor or JYD that should be the next in line...
 

KnicksFan20

Rotation player
u do no that not everyone in the league averages 10 boards a game im talking about centers and pf.....


Jerome brings alot.....he grabs so many hard rebounds, he brings alot of effort, hes a fan favorite, a great teamate and great person to have in teh lockeroom.


u call him immature how??? he has fun with wut he does......so he writes a childrens book does that make him immature? i dont understand where u got that from its not like he makes fart noises while being interviewed or picks his nose and flicks boogers at reporters and fans....

tell me how hes immature and how he cant be great OFF THE BENCH.....


if hes not starting why does he need 10 boards a game??
 
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