The WALSH Irony, the LEBRON snub & a new KNICKS' era begins!

PART ONE

I have this thought roaming around my head all morning that sometimes the best moves in life are the ones you don't make.

I know this sounds crazy... but hear me out.

We all want to bash D-Walsh. And I know it appears he's done a terrible job. I honestly feel that he jumped the gun with the Jeffries trade, that we could have dumped him this week easily. OK. It happened. We bash him for not drafting a PG last year, even though we got Douglas (who might be best of the bunch for all we know). I accept that. He tanked two seasons for this, and what transpired (although can we blame the Knicks if this triumvirate really concocted all this in Beijing)?

Quick veer folks... that's all.... now we simply are forced now to do this the blue collar way. It's tough, but it's a thousand times more rewarding when you accomplish your goal this way, then when you go out and buy everything.

Yanks winning in '96 & '98 was sweeter than the '99-'00-'09 titles.

I mean, if we had Lebron right now, we're the bad guys. Cool. But we would always win with someone who wasn't ours, in a way. Not that I wouldn't take it.... but if we roll up our sleeves and do it another way.... It'll be so much better.

Anyway, we all sort of agree that Walsh is a failure because he didn't land the prized free agent (Lebron James). Ok. Fair enough.... BUT....

Wouldn't it be funny.... THE IRONY of it all, if Walsh did build a winner underneath our noses, and we never saw it coming?

Let's take a quick look at things: Hear me out!

1. We sign Amar'e Stoudemire. Simply put: He's the #3 free agent on the market. Aside from Gasol, I think the best interior offensive player in the NBA. He's a strong personality who will lead this team, clean out the locker room and give us an identity. Lee gets 6 eyars for 80 mil, STAT gets 5 for 100. We all love LEE, but Amar'e is better and will help attract another star next Summer.


2. Dealing D-Lee in a sign-&-trade with GSW.

Here's what L-Odom said about A-Randolph, according to theknicksblog.com:

""It's like looking in the mirror a little. He's 6'11." He's left-handed, and he can put the ball on the floor. He's two times as athletic as I was at that age. If he stays focused, the sky is the limit for him."

This kid could instantly fill the Boris Diaw role in D'ant's SSOL system. He might mature to be better than BOSH in 2 years. Maybe he's an Odom type force for us? He might be a bust and never amount to anything... But he's a lottery pick, he's 20, has skills and unlimited physical gifts.

Ronny Turiaf is exactly what STAT & Randolph need. A tough woker in the paint, plays defense, blocks shot, grabs rebounds and clogs the lane. Perfect compliment.... great fit.

Azubuike could be L-Barbosa in this offense and then some. With he and Bill Walker (another player Walsh brought in) we may have our starting SG and 6th man spark-off-the-bench for years to come? Again, who knows.

I know. This wasn't the plan. We wait 2 years... a decade really.... And here we have Stoudemire, Randolph, Turiaf, Azubuike? What!

But doesn't it feel good though? I'll tell you what, that front court alone is 10 times better than what we had. It stinks David Lee can't be here, but at least we get to see one team build around Curry-Lee (so we can all adopt GSW now). BUt Lee was never a 4th quarter go-to guy nor a strong presence-voice in the locker room. We move on.

3. Grabbing Bill Walker, drafting Douglas-Gallo.

Will Douglas be a starting PG in the NBA. A cross between Ward-Childs, or will he be a Rondo type player? And Walker, nw that's he's healthy and in pro shape, will he reach the potential he was expected to fullfill coming out of High School. Will Gallo have a Dirk-Turkoglu-Schremp-Kukoc impact in this league.

4. The BIG IF (this year's draft and remaining free agents).

Rautins, Fields, Jordan and whoever else is brought in here this Summer (Ridnour and whatnot). All they players.... Fill roles, specialists who round out the picture, will one be a star? We don't know. Probably not. But we'll see. Are their more trades in the works?

There you have it. The Walsh plan might still work. Maybe Douglas, Gallo, Walker, Randolph-STAT are a championship-contending core. Maybe this teams gets out there and runs the ball, and is the new-&-improved Suns team of the East (as we expected). Pieces are in place. t's young with loads of potential... It has a true star. Who knows.

What if Curry bounces back to form this year. Turiaf brings that nastiness. We swing a few deals. Toss in Chandler (IT's guy). What if we battle MIA the way we battled MJ?

After all, the key weakness down in MIA is obvious.... Their frontcourt is weak. Right now, we have the better interior. If I were Walsh, I make deals to exploit that. We almost have enough parts to run the SSOL (maybe one PG away). Grab Ridnour and then grab another BIG BODY (insurance b/c we know Curry can't be trusted).

Let's get out and run-n-gun, shoot 3s and dominate the middle. Let Lebron-Wade do their thing. Neutralize and negate BOSH. Force the super-uber wing players to hit the outside shot. We almost got MJ-Pippen b/c we owned the paint. Remember that!

Conclusion: We didn't get Lebron, but maybe Douglas-Gallo-Randolph-STAT-Walker and other Walsh imports turn out to be the better move?

PART TWO

I feel a great sense of relief this morning!

I already have to pull for Arod. Don't think there's room left to root for another type of ME-1st, narcissistic, self-titled CHOSEN-1, with all the baggage that comes along with rooting for a team with such a star player as its leader. It's bittersweet, no?

Now, I definitely don't begrudge Lebron one iota. With a looming lockout, and the fact that teams like BOS-LAL are almost unbeatable, with our crappy owner, we all know Lebron had to do something... anything... otherwise he would be 28 & titleless.

Perhaps he is doomed to be another Karl Malone - Patrick Ewing no matter what. Maybe that is his destiny for defying the gods and calling hismelf THE KING. We are witnessing what exactly? Kobe had to chuckle last night at The Decision, eh?

Anyway, he has every right to go where he wants. I find it odd that he didn't let Gilbert know, but that's just they way it goes.... Owners don't tell their workers everything.... It's just that having people come to CLE, bow to him and kiss his ring, have that 1-hour special... It went beyond the pale.

I thought CHI gave him best shot to win, but MIA a close 2nd. Good for him. I hate Riley, and MIA, but I'm not angry or sour that this went down. I expect Paul to join them in 2 years, as Wade is fading. This was all agreed on, while D'ant coached these guys, in China. So be it.

HOWEVER, I don't think Lebron James is the portrait of the unselfish athlete, putting money-fame-stats behind winning, sacrificing much in pursuit of a title. No, no. no... No way.

I see it the other way, that this was the ultimate selfish act.

The whole entire process was a joke, and spit ill-will on many faces...He went to MIA for the most selfish reason - ALL HE WANTED WAS TO WIN A TITLE. Nothing wrong with it, but his motives certainly weren't altruistic. He wanted to find the easiest path, b/c he feels hs brand needs championships. He can't be MJ, or even KOBE, if he never wins or only wins 1 or 3!

That's it. He gets his money (and no state tax levels things out). Fine line between confidence and cockiness, and while there is no "I" in team, there certainly is a "me." NOw, there is nothing wrong with this. Not inherently.

BUT, let's get one thing straight: Lebron James doesn't want to be part of a team that wins, be one of the guys, he wants THE CHOSEN ONE to enhance his brand. There it is. As simple as that. He's already sensing that he wont catch Russell, and now he's worried he wont be MJ or Kobe. He is afraid of being D-Wilkins!

Hey, did Dirk go running to SA or OKC? Nope. He stayed and will fight for DAL. Did MJ, BIRD or anyone else flee and to play 2nd fiddle on someone else's team? Lebron James has forever tarnsihed his image, and unless he wins 3 titles or more.... This will be a disaster for him.

SO.... enough about that.

I think it's great for the NBA. Two trains heading for a collision (MIA-LAL). Good to have something to loath.

My only issue, my beef, I just fell like Wade-Lebron-Bosh left such a stain, and bad taste, in the mouths of the owners, that these 3 clowns have ensured a lockout next Summer. Almost in spite of their actions. If you piss off billionaires, you will feel the wrath (See: Gilbert's missive).

Be careful boys, if you fail to win in 2010, and there's a 1-2 year lockout.... WOW! Guess what happens to your legacy then?

I agree he did the best he could. This is probably the best Knicks team we have fielded since Isiah.

Honestly i think this is a 45 win team as constructed.

clumsy said:

Honestly i think this is a 45 win team as constructed.

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Exactly. AND, if the youth it has shows flashes.... promise... It will attract Melo, Parker or Deron Williams next year.

We make playoffs. Battle. Add more pieces next year. Now we are in the mix baby!

The best thing is that we're flying under the radar today. It's all about the Heat the winners and Cav's the losers. Nobody is looking at us. We can now go and do our own thing. Let's do it..A come from behind win. :thumbsup:

Amen. The reality is we are a better team today than we were last year.

If STAT-RANDOLPH-CURRY roam the paint.... That's tough for teams to contend with.

Gallo raining 3s; Chandler-Walker-Douglas slashing.

We are a 5-8 seed. Will get better in 2011 as well.

The dark days are gone!

I never had the intention to bash Walsh; he did the best out of the mess Isiah left . We might not be contenders from now on, but we got a young nucleus with much upside (Randolph, Gallo, Walker, Douglas, Jordan), some solid vets/roleplayers (Chandler, Turiaf, Azubuike) and one star player in STAT, as well as a slightly flexible cap situation.

I'm pretty confident for the future.

Pedro De Pacas said:

I never had the intention to bash Walsh; he did the best out of the mess Isiah left . We might not be contenders from now on, but we got a young nucleus with much upside (Randolph, Gallo, Walker, Douglas, Jordan), some solid vets/roleplayers (Chandler, Turiaf, Azubuike) and one star player in STAT, as well as a slightly flexible cap situation.

I'm pretty confident for the future.

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So true. Plus we have flexibility.... We can still be a player in free agency next year.... And this is SUPER KEY. This means we get to avoid making a deal for dealing's sake. We can swing a deal if it helps our roster, if we like what's offered. Or, we can keep Curry and hope he can throw his weight around and score some points, showcase himself for his next employer and save his career.

We benefit either way.

We could swing a deadline deal, or we could wait until next summer when we add that final piece.

Plan-A would be a front court of Gallo-Melo-Stat.
Plan-B would be to grab Parker-Williams-Paul.

BUT, if say MELO signs an extension, and we're offered a deal we like... We can deal Curry and that's that.

Randolph might even be used to get an All-Star.

We have options. We FINALLY have a team D'ant can coach, to run his system. It should be exciting.

I wanted to build a team around someone who is worth building around, like David Lee. Then, I wanted to draft a future star in the NBA, that would make us forget about not getting LeBron. That would have been Lance Stephenson. Instead, we go for a poormans streaky shooter galore and an impact bench player at best. Yeah guys, thats how you build a team:barf:

I would rather have this:
Stat
Lee
Gallo
Born Ready
Douglas

than this:
Stat
Randolph
Gallo
Walker
Douglas

mafra said:

So true. Plus we have flexibility.... We can still be a player in free agency next year.... And this is SUPER KEY. This means we get to avoid making a deal for dealing's sake. We can swing a deal if it helps our roster, if we like what's offered. Or, we can keep Curry and hope he can throw his weight around and score some points, showcase himself for his next employer and save his career.

We benefit either way.

We could swing a deadline deal, or we could wait until next summer when we add that final piece.

Plan-A would be a front court of Gallo-Melo-Stat.
Plan-B would be to grab Parker-Williams-Paul.

BUT, if say MELO signs an extension, and we're offered a deal we like... We can deal Curry and that's that.

Randolph might even be used to get an All-Star.

We have options. We FINALLY have a team D'ant can coach, to run his system. It should be exciting.

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I hope we can swing a trade with DEN and either SA or NO with the pieces we now have. I want Melo and Parker or Paul before this season begins!

mafra, i always enjoy your posts and this one I particularly appreciate because it offers a true, refreshing perspective on morning like this.

amar'e was the first big piece. he wants to be here, has a ton of playoff experience, knows the system and is ready to slam it down on some heads. he'll have the garden rocking come october, but most importantly he'll lead in the locker room which is something we've been desperately lacking.

i was very pleased with david lee trade -- the pieces we received give us a "Suns East" feel finally with kelenna and randolph, then a big 6'10, 250 lbs enforcer in Turiaf. Also, like you said itll be fun to watch how lee plays with steph curry in cali.

right now i think our first and foremost priority should be to lock up luke ridnour as our steve nash lite. i remember reading that amar'e wants to play with him and i truly believe in d'antoni's ability to get the most out of pgs not named Duhon. even though it seems like a bunch of pieces right now, youre right maybe Walsh is building a TEAM right under our noses. its up to mikey d to make them come together or you use them as pieces in a S&T.

in the wake of this madness i still am longing for that megastar, so you have to think that after last night melo sees a big grand opening in new york. if we can get him this year great, if not I hope he just holds out on that extension. in hindsight, getting the ny native from BK to return "home" (i know he reps bmore) is a much better story than getting LBJ the Mercenary and becoming the NBA villains again.

dassknick said:

mafra, i always enjoy your posts and this one I particularly appreciate because it offers a true, refreshing perspective on morning like this.

amar'e was the first big piece. he wants to be here, has a ton of playoff experience, knows the system and is ready to slam it down on some heads. he'll have the garden rocking come october, but most importantly he'll lead in the locker room which is something we've been desperately lacking.

i was very pleased with david lee trade -- the pieces we received give us a "Suns East" feel finally with kelenna and randolph, then a big 6'10, 250 lbs enforcer in Turiaf. Also, like you said itll be fun to watch how lee plays with steph curry in cali.

right now i think our first and foremost priority should be to lock up luke ridnour as our steve nash lite. i remember reading that amar'e wants to play with him and i truly believe in d'antoni's ability to get the most out of pgs not named Duhon. even though it seems like a bunch of pieces right now, youre right maybe Walsh is building a TEAM right under our noses. its up to mikey d to make them come together.

in the wake of this madness i still am longing for that megastar, so you have to think that after last night melo sees a big grand opening in new york. in hindsight, getting the ny native from BK to return "home" (i know he reps bmore) is a much better story than getting LBJ the Mercenary and becoming the NBA villains again.

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Thanks! And let's remember every day that goes by where Melo doesn't sign Xtension.... we're closer to getting him.

I so look fwd to seeing what moves we make from here. For all we know SA trades us Parker. Maybe teams want to give us charity to spite MIA? Who knows. Lol!

I think we are a PG (Ridnour) and one more beefy, defensive C away from being more than just a playoff team... one perhaps with some bite.

And no better way to recruit than to have Amar'e dominate and the kids showcase their skills. That's a helluva recruiting pitch.

That's the thing with David Lee. Deron Williams, Carmelo... a star like that would probably be more willing to come play with Amar'e than with Lee. David landing in the perfect place. I'm glad, but it's time we move on from the last decade....

AND, if Melo does sign an extension.... We simply shift gears and go to the next plan of attack.... maybe Curry-Chandler package for Chandler, or Okefor-Collision.

Maybe then PArker would sign a lesser deal to come to NY and be on this team.

As NY POST WROTE:


There you go. The bar is set high now. Stars now have to align themselves with other stars. This means that Melo might not be willing to stay in DEN. Forget just one star, you need a few now. Let's hope Amar'e and the kids prove to these guys we are ready to compete....

Otherwise, we still have options.

I think Carmelo would be foolish not to sign an extension given the threat of lockout/uncertain new collective bargaining agreement. As a result, I doubt that he is in our future.

In any event, we have a team we can get behind and I sure would love to see the Knicks be able to push some people around down low.

I can also say that I am glad I do not have to root for James. I hope Riley and the Heat crash and burn.

the more i look at our roster the more confident i am that this squad can be a 50 win team that plays defense. and the best part about it is that we would be doing something we havent done in a decade; dominating the paint! Amar'e led the league in points in the paint and Randolph/Tauriaf will get theirs and Tariuf will run the paint defensively i've watched games he's played in and he's a great low post defender. im excited with this squad already and were not done. we could beat a team like Miami they have major flaws and Amar'e and the defense of Tariuf mixed with a little of both from randolph will help capitalize on that weakness.

i have a feeling when we face em we will get physical something we havent been since Ewing

are we really better off than we were with the z-bo / jamal team a few years back? i can't say for sure. i like amar'e i like the lee deal, but really... after 2 years of miserable basketball and promises of blowing up the roster for a reason, we're basically at an equivalent point that we were with that group...

www.lebroncansuckit.com

so after 2 years of waiting we went from the 6-3 team of

marbury
Jamal
Chandler
Lee
Z. Randolph

to..

Douglas
Azzibuke
Gallo
Amare
A. Randolph

The only real upgrade is that we have STAT and we're still way under the cap

well done Mafra, one of your best posts/threads I have seen.

We do have a bright future and we are finally becoming a balanced team that still has many young players with huge upside in Randolph, Douglas, Chandler, Gallo, Walker, and Azabuke people think will be really good this year.

I just hope we don't over pay someone or waste the Eddy Curry trade asset.

LeFlume said:

The best thing is that we're flying under the radar today. It's all about the Heat the winners and Cav's the losers. Nobody is looking at us. We can now go and do our own thing. Let's do it..A come from behind win. :thumbsup:

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On the other hand we are not losers TBH im glade he is out of this town now that i know what type of a player he is. I open my eyes to see these selfish boys grow up and just leave you with a big ?

bboycustom92 said:

so after 2 years of waiting we went from the 6-3 team of

marbury
Jamal
Chandler
Lee
Z. Randolph

to..

Douglas
Azzibuke
Gallo
Amare
A. Randolph

The only real upgrade is that we have STAT and we're still way under the cap

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WAY under the cap.

As opposed to WAY over it. We dumped 30 million dollars' worth of contracts with another 10 million leaving.

If the Knicks suck, at least we're not footing a 90 million dollar payroll for them to suck. (thanks Isiah).