How 'bout Sonny Weems? Seriously, why not? 6'6" over 200 lbs., thick/strong, very athletic, improved his jumper over in Europe and he's got prior NBA experience with Toronto. Wouldn't be terrible. Reading over on ESPN that apparently we still have some interest:
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/22476/agent-knicks-interested-in-sonny-weems
Not sure if the Knicks wanna deal with his agent, Roger Montgomery, who just happens to be one of Jeremy Lin's agents as well. Have no idea how much they blame Lin's representation for what went down but they need to put that aside -- if I read this article correctly, Montgomery's being a little cryptic here with the whole "[I'm] not jumping on a veteran's minimum deal just yet" but then goes one to basically say the opposite; that Weems is in fact available to the Knicks for the vet minimum if they want him. Weems could be that one final athletic piece we need to compete against the better athletic teams in this league when we match up against them. I wanna be able to stand toe to toe with those teams, to all teams really...That's how it should be when you go all in...And I agree with Montgomery -- I think Weems would be good either coming off the bench, which he did at times in Toronto, or in a starting role (which I'd actually prefer--let JR continue coming off the bench to lead that 2nd unit attack--I like him there). Either way, I agree he's a rotation player here, at least until Shumpert gets back (then it'll be time for us to cross our fingers on Iman). We could do worse.
I honestly don't know why the Knicks aren't being more aggressive to fill in the gaps. To me, there are two obvious holes on this roster right now, small as they may be: one more productive 2G and one more big off the bench, preferably a guy that can score a little. Unless we can come up with something better, I say grab Sonny Weems and one of these two PF currently playing for Memphis' SL team: Mitchell Watt or Deon Thompson. When I was watching the Grizz/Bobcats game before, Vince and Smitty were interviewing Memphis GM Chris Wallace and he mentioned that Zach Randolph and backup PF Darrell Arthur are expected to be 100% by training camp and that he loves Mo Speights. I don't see Thompson or Watts signing there, definitely not both. One of those two will definitely be available, prob. both. Thompson had a real nice game for Memphis today btw -- 15 & 8 with 2 blks in 24 mins off the bench. Dude's a big presence inside that can clog the lane, score it 15' and in and he was all over the offensive glass tonight as well. Thompson's not the best athlete I've ever seen but he's got some long-ass arms, a scorer's mentality and a pretty good nose for the ball.
For my money, Sonny Weems and Deon Thompson are exactly what we need right now. Knicks need to become aggressive -- target the best remaining players out there to fill these holes and for God's sake, MAKE AN OFFER!! If they say no, then so be it. They seem content to wait 'til the very end (end of what, training camp?) and go with whoever's left. That's not how you do this imo... It's too passive...Be aggressive, even if we don't have much to offer. We've got the vet mimimum AND THE STARTING SG SPOT ON THE NY KNICKS, a team that's built to win now and compete for a chip now, to offer. The Mecca -- NYC...That may be appealing to someone out there on a 1-yr deal...Offer it to someone -- Chris Douglas-Roberts, Brandon Rush, Jodie Meeks, Sonny Weems. Someone...Let me hear that we made one of these guys an offer and got rejected -- I'll feel better..Same deal with the PFs that are out there -- MAKE AN OFFER TO SOMEONE, whoever they consider the best fit. Make it happen while there are still good options available. I think we could get a couple of these guys to bite, as long as we're not sitting on our friggin' hands.