Azubuike Eyes Return

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AZUBUIKE EYES RETURN

As he iced the long scar on his left knee an hour before tipoff, Knicks guard and former Tulsa Victory Christian standout Kelenna Azubuike insists he is close to playing for the first time since Nov. 14, 2009, after major surgery on his patella tendon.

?It's all about patience, really. I'll be back soon,? said Azubuike, who has been on the Knicks' inactive list all season. ?It's been tough mentally. You've just got to stay with it. I feel myself getting better every day, I have people encouraging me. I'm good.?

The undrafted Azubuike joined the league as a free agent out of the NBA Developmental League. He played four seasons at Golden State before being traded to the Knicks last July. He is making $3.364 million and his contract expires after this season.

Read more: http://newsok.com/thunder-notebook-okc-remains-among-nba-elite/article/3534806#ixzz1BsizXL92
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
He'll be a shell of his former self. Sad, but true. T Mac is a good example of how long it takes to get back.

Shame.
 

petescud

Starter
Yeah, i wasn't a fan of this D Lee trade, especially now that we know these guys. There had to be better available trade then this. DLee plays little Defense, but last night i saw him in the SA/GS game. In the first half he kept them in the game. He finished with like 33pts 11 RPG 5Ass....

Maybe i'm totally wrong...just venting
 

KingCharles34

All Star
So we gonna act like Donnie G made the decision to bench Randolph? The least Antoni could do is give ARan some garbage minutes, smh @ his stubborness

And lets not forget, Azubuike might be ready to comeback but does Antoni plan on giving him any minutes?
 
So we gonna act like Donnie G made the decision to bench Randolph? The least Antoni could do is give ARan some garbage minutes, smh @ his stubborness

And lets not forget, Azubuike might be ready to comeback but does Antoni plan on giving him any minutes?


The whole point of the David lee trade, was it was the best trade available for a prospect, a defensive big man, and a shoot guard all with expiring contracts after this season.

The expiring contract idea, to uphold the cap room was one of the smartest moves a GM can ever make.

Donnie took the miss of 2 max salary free agents, turned it into a trade for some prospective players, and a big man; and maintained the overall plan of signing 2 max players going into 2011.


It was notttt trading LEE for TURIAF

it was trading LEE for Carmelo/Chrispaul/D will/ D howard. CAPSPACE.


if you look around the league, yeah we could of gotten better value for LEE, but no one that would be as big as those 4 aforementioend free agents, and none that would have an expiring contract this summer.

thats all there is to that.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
So we gonna act like Donnie G made the decision to bench Randolph? The least Antoni could do is give ARan some garbage minutes, smh @ his stubborness

And lets not forget, Azubuike might be ready to comeback but does Antoni plan on giving him any minutes?

Was the same situation w Hill. Interestingly, Hill still got traded n Randolph still has teams ready to jump at giving us a 1st.

I think Azzy will def get minutes. D'antoni has zero tolerance for a few things. The biggest is attitude, specifically when he thinks the attitude isn't leading to the crisp, up tempo pace of 'controlled chaos'.

The bullshit is Randolph, and Hill actually, are prototype players D'ant would prize.

Size w excellent speed, athleticism, rebounding/blocking, and talent to shoot ( especially Hill).

I've always assumed D'ant/walsh wanted to lowball, but overprotect Hills value. Just to make sure Jeffries got traded. Walsh wanted the cap potential that bad. Hill was raw enough where showing to much could have been a lethal double edged sword.

Randolph needs a sit down w Mike, imho. Hash shit out. Stat fresh, lay shit on line. And stat giving him situational minutes where we can risk his oft wild/undisciplined/selfish play. His game is to good, n itd to good for us.

Sadly expect another Hill Syndrome victim. Will overprotect current value, keep relatively static, so as to facilitate a bigger picture trade.
 

knickzrulezH20

Sexy Stud
I basically have forgotten about Azu. I think D'ant was losing patience with how long the recovery process was taking, doubt he cracks the rotation this year.

Hopefully he can retain his athleticism though, he was fun to watch on the Warriors.
 
Was the same situation w Hill. Interestingly, Hill still got traded n Randolph still has teams ready to jump at giving us a 1st.

I think Azzy will def get minutes. D'antoni has zero tolerance for a few things. The biggest is attitude, specifically when he thinks the attitude isn't leading to the crisp, up tempo pace of 'controlled chaos'.

The bullshit is Randolph, and Hill actually, are prototype players D'ant would prize.

Size w excellent speed, athleticism, rebounding/blocking, and talent to shoot ( especially Hill).

I've always assumed D'ant/walsh wanted to lowball, but overprotect Hills value. Just to make sure Jeffries got traded. Walsh wanted the cap potential that bad. Hill was raw enough where showing to much could have been a lethal double edged sword.

Randolph needs a sit down w Mike, imho. Hash shit out. Stat fresh, lay shit on line. And stat giving him situational minutes where we can risk his oft wild/undisciplined/selfish play. His game is to good, n itd to good for us.

Sadly expect another Hill Syndrome victim. Will overprotect current value, keep relatively static, so as to facilitate a bigger picture trade.


ok that post could of been made into a few sentences, but I appreciate your poetic approach to the forum.


never the less, Hill sucks dude, Im sorry but realistically for you to sit here and say that Hill was toyed with is ridiculous, if Hill was good he would of played, Just like landry fields who know one expected anything from, starts every game this year, if Hill was what you are saying. Mike D would of kept him in the rotation all year long, the issue was, he just wasnt that good.
 

Paul1355

All Star
AZUBUIKE EYES RETURN

As he iced the long scar on his left knee an hour before tipoff, Knicks guard and former Tulsa Victory Christian standout Kelenna Azubuike insists he is close to playing for the first time since Nov. 14, 2009, after major surgery on his patella tendon.

?It's all about patience, really. I'll be back soon,? said Azubuike, who has been on the Knicks' inactive list all season. ?It's been tough mentally. You've just got to stay with it. I feel myself getting better every day, I have people encouraging me. I'm good.?

The undrafted Azubuike joined the league as a free agent out of the NBA Developmental League. He played four seasons at Golden State before being traded to the Knicks last July. He is making $3.364 million and his contract expires after this season.

Read more: http://newsok.com/thunder-notebook-okc-remains-among-nba-elite/article/3534806#ixzz1BsizXL92
about time, this dude's injury is dragging on

I want to see him play but i dont think he will even get playing time or he will get it right away be too rusty and Dantoni won't play him ever again, just like Mozgov, Randolph, Nate, Hughes, Millicic, etc.

AND I really think Azubuike will return just in time for Donnie to trade him.
 

Paul1355

All Star
So we gonna act like Donnie G made the decision to bench Randolph? The least Antoni could do is give ARan some garbage minutes, smh @ his stubborness

And lets not forget, Azubuike might be ready to comeback but does Antoni plan on giving him any minutes?
I agree

Look Randolph is an idiot and he shoots too much I know but the system promotes shooting so Randolph is essentially playing to his weakness and exposing it.

Randolph can be a shotblocking and REBOUNDING presence but he gets cauht up in impressing the fans and coaching staff on offense and should just play like Ronny Turiaf, not looking for the shot.

His rebounding is something that I feel Mike D is ignoring. Randolph is a good rebounder and his past numbers prove it and the last time he played i remember him grabbing 9 boards.

So idk what teh hell Danotni is doing with teh short roatation with not enough size.

Turiaf is good but only for 20 min cuz he cant stay on the floor and Amare just is not a center

We need Mozgov or Randolph to play a few min a game at least.
 

KingCharles34

All Star
The whole point of the David lee trade, was it was the best trade available for a prospect, a defensive big man, and a shoot guard all with expiring contracts after this season.

The expiring contract idea, to uphold the cap room was one of the smartest moves a GM can ever make.

Donnie took the miss of 2 max salary free agents, turned it into a trade for some prospective players, and a big man; and maintained the overall plan of signing 2 max players going into 2011.


It was notttt trading LEE for TURIAF

it was trading LEE for Carmelo/Chrispaul/D will/ D howard. CAPSPACE.


if you look around the league, yeah we could of gotten better value for LEE, but no one that would be as big as those 4 aforementioend free agents, and none that would have an expiring contract this summer.

thats all there is to that.
I wasnt saying anything bad about what donnie g did.....i dont know how u got that from "So we gonna act like Donnie g made the decision to bench randolph?" I was defending the azu-randolph-turiaf for Lee trade, I agree with what u said. I like what Donnie did I just wish that he would give randolph some minutes and ill be the first to admit he didnt play well at all before but hes 6'11, we know hes better then what he showed and even if its just garbage minutes he should be gettin some playin time
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Azubuike Putting In - Convinced He Can Crack Rotation

It ain't over yet for Kelenna Azubuike .
Azubuike returned to practice Wednesday and said he believes he finally is on the verge of impressing the coaching staff enough to get him back on the court for a game. He may get his chance now that Shawne Williams likely will be suspended for a fight with the Hawks' Marvin Williams late in the game. Both players were ejected.
Azubuike would be a logical suspension replacement for Williams, though the rehab on his knee, on which he had patellar-tendon surgery, has been filled with stops and starts. He returned to scrimmages in mid-November, then shut it down again in December as he worked on his gait. Azubuike simply was not explosive enough in scrimmages for D'Antoni to consider playing him.

PLAYERPROFILESa.jpg

Azubuike said he feels that has changed.
"The difference this time is we've done a lot of strength work right to the injured part," Azubuike told The Post. "It's to a point it feels normal to push off it where before it was still that foreign feeling when I pushed off it. And we're doing stuff in the weight room to get that same feeling. When I get on the court it feels normal.



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knic..._charles_Q25Rql1WSAl0fJbya0d01I#ixzz1CTR8DIoS

Interesting! Can't see how he's a necessary piece though sadly.
 

ronoranina

Fundamentally Sound
Well I'll say this...

As good as Fields has been, if Azzy were healthy he'd be starting and we'd be better off for it.
 
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