Pablo Escobar
Rookie
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix0711,0,1747928.story
I like the idea of making a trade for Wally Szczerbiak. The new york knicks need more perimeter shooting. Wally is still a better shooting guard then Jamal Crawford.
Gallinari has chance to standout in summer league
<DL class=byline>BY ALAN HAHN | [email protected] <DD>9:49 PM EDT, July 10, 2008 </DD></DL>This won't be a real NBA debut, but for Danilo Gallinari, the coming week at the NBA Summer League is a chance to make an important first impression.
The Knicks' first-round pick, taken sixth overall, was roundly booed by the New York crowd on draft night. Fans will get their first look at the 19-year-old Italian star when the Knicks' summer league team begins play Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus. The game, which tips off at 4 p.m. EDT, will be aired live on MSG Network.
The team will begin practicing in Las Vegas Friday night and will be run by assistant coach Phil Weber, the former Long Island Lutheran standout who followed Mike D'Antoni here from the Phoenix Suns. D'Antoni will be on hand and Donnie Walsh will arrive Sunday.
Walsh says he doesn't put a lot of emphasis on performances at the summer league, but instead is more interested in mingling with the executives from the 20 other NBA teams that participate in it. After signing guard Chris Duhon, Walsh said earlier this week that he is not finished retooling the roster He will remain involved in trade talks throughout the summer with an eye on jettisoning some of the bigger contracts (read: Stephon Marbury and Zach Ran.dolph) while also filling holes in the roster.
<!-- google ads --><!-- END google ads --><!-- END rail -->It's worth mentioning that before guard Baron Davis finally agreed to a five-year, $65-million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday, his representatives checked out the Knicks' interest in him, a source told Newsday. In May, Newsday reported that Davis, before he decided to opt out of his contract with the Golden State Warriors, reached out through intermediaries to see if the Knicks had any interest in acquiring him in a trade.
"It clearly seemed that New York would have been Baron's first choice if there were a fit," said a person with knowledge of Davis' situation.
Walsh never got too deeply involved in pursuing Davis because the Knicks, with an eye on being under the salary cap by 2010, would not commit contractually to anything beyond 2010 in a sign-and-trade scenario.
There are other situations still brewing. The most notable involves another Warriors guard, Monta Ellis, who is a restricted free agent and, according to multiple sources, has a desire to play in D'Antoni's system. A person with knowledge of the situation said a sign-and-trade is a long shot, however, because a third team would have to be involved to make the deal work for both sides. The Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers are in hot pursuit, just in case Warriors executive Chris Mullin decides to trade Ellis.
Walsh plans on staying involved in all of the talk but likely will put more emphasis on making smaller moves to improve specific areas of the team, such as perimeter shooting. Long Islander Wally Szczerbiak is being shopped by the Cleveland Cavaliers ( the Nets reportedly declined a trade that would have sent the rapidly declining Vince Carter and his hefty contract the other way), and he fits in so many ways. Szczerbiak is an excellent shooter and, perhaps just as important, he has an expiring contract.
I like the idea of making a trade for Wally Szczerbiak. The new york knicks need more perimeter shooting. Wally is still a better shooting guard then Jamal Crawford.