Be realistic.......
You cannot and will not trade Steph.... there is one reason why you will not..... He will play his AZZ off for Thomas and we all know it... it will be like having him in a contract year.....
you must and will trade Stevie Franchise and (dare I say it?) Nate Robinson ......lets also make it clear that Steve is not a better point guard than Marbury... and anyone who wants to debate that need to look up their career numbers. Postseason stats are meaningless in their careers since neither has truly made a dent. The only possible way to keep Steve is if he is playing the 2.. which by the way makes him seriously deficient on the defensive end - so much so, that he would not be able to compensate for it offensively. Therefore you MUST trade Steve. Since we are not in a position of power we have to take what we can get for him - and face it, it wouldnt be much. Minnesota is starved for a point, and I have no problem giving them Francis. It would be nice to pry the #6 pick. We have to take their crud, but I would insist on Jaric. Reason? We need a serviceable back up point. I dont want to hear about his shortcomings. Its obvious he has many otherwise he would be a star, and you dont trade stars. Therefore its a moot point.
Ultimately that leaves you with Jamal Crawford at the two. Let me add that he is just as undersized as Francis, but he does have extensive experience at the 2, and that other factor - He will play his AZZ off for Thomas as well. You guys need to remember who Thomas brought in and who will play hard for him. In two or three years Crawfords contract will become as asset. But since a championship is not being won within the next two years, Crawford is your best bet.
Jalen Rose is the only PURE 3 that we have. You wont trade him. You dont create a hole while trying to plug one. You leave yourself just as deficient. His contract too, will soon become an asset.
Does anyone really need me to convince them to keep Channing Frye? If so, you are clearly not a Knicks fan, 'nuff said.
Whether or not you think Eddie Curry will be a 14 and 7 guy forever or not, doesn't matter. He is better than what a lot of teams have plugging the middle. And it IS still possible that he can get better. Whether or not he does, remains to be seen. But, you dont trade him. You would be giving away youth. Let me also mention that he will ALSO play hard for Thomas.
So here is what we have:
PG: Stephon Marbury *
SG: Jamal Crawford *
SF: Jalen Rose
PF: Channing Frye
C: Eddie Curry *
Bench:
PG/SG: Marko Jaric - by way of Minnesota
SG: Quentin Richardson
SF/PF: David Lee
PF: Malik Rose
PF: Maurice Taylor
C: Jackie Butler
Swingman: Qyntel Woods - who frankly can be added as a throw in to any deal and it would not change the scope of the team.
#6 From Minny
#20 Draft picks - not a strong draft class so take your pick and hope for the best...
Cap space means nothing in the city of New York. As the contracts expire rest assured someone else will be obtained with just as a high a salary. The only thing we can hope is that the player coming in will actually be a help - instead of say a "Glen Rice" for example.
If you are thinking that I really have not changed much, then you are right... but next to some names you may have noticed an asterisk....and in that, you will see why its not necessary to change much. This team is much better than their record. A set rotation, and Larry's exit will add 7 wins off the top. Talent alone should have won more games. But if Thomas coaches as well as he should they should be at least a 45 win team. Thats not championship caliber and rings should not be expected within 3 years. But call me back in three years and see what we have at that point.
* Denotes player who will with almost certainty, play considerably harder for Thomas than anyone else.