Quick fix until Davis is ready to go

finestrg

Rotation player
(1) Trade Fields, Jorts, Jerome Jordan and cash to the LAC for Ryan Gomes. Do this when Shump & STAT are ready to go. Shump takes over for Fields at the 2 sliding over to 1 at times throughout, Gomes backs up Amar'e AND Melo. The Clippers could use all 3 players (all 3 fill instant needs for them -- quality backups for Caron Butler, Griffin AND DeAndre Jordan -- Fields could even start for them at 2G eventually) and it would give them a complete roster at 15. I think they'd go for this -- they'd be getting 3 young players with nice potential. And we'd get a solid, ready-to-go backup hybrid F with good skills.. Good trade for both teams. Fields could work here with B-Diddy (Harrellson too) but I'm not willing to wait. Gotta give to get and Gomes, to me, is a fine player in his prime we could move forward with and an upgrade at backup 3/4. We could use a trade like this to consolidate this roster down some anyway. With the 2 open roster spots created -- sign C Marcus Cousin and SG Manny Harris for depth. Cousin's game is far more advanced than Jerome Jordan's (and Harrellson's too for that matter) and Harris has good 2G skills for this system (better than Fields) and proved he belonged in the NBA last yr with the Cavs...Gomes/Cousin/Harris is a substantial upgrade over Fields/Jorts/JJ imho.

OR

(2) Find a way to open up just one roster spot and sign Al Thornton. Dude's got a nice offensive game that's not based on 3s -- more of a post-up/slashing/solid mid-range J type of SF. Honestly the Jeffries and Bibby signings, for what they got (over $2.5M combined this yr), were HORRIBLE signings. I'd cut both players right now, esp. Jeffries.

(3) Elevate Jeremy Lin. Relegate Bibby to 3rd PG and let's see what Lin can really do. Neither TD nor Bibby can get into the teeth of the defense -- that's the big problem...Douglas can't penetrate, can't push the ball, and doesn't get others involved nearly as much as he should (surprisingly can't finish at the rim on a break away if he's hounded by a defender -- either gets his shot blocked or misses the layup badly -- has a lot to do with his lack of elevation). I think Lin can do some of these things...At this point, I'd be willing to give him some mins to find out... What have we got to lose? We're not getting any sustained PG play at all. The whole offense is like a chicken running around out there with its head cut off. A majority of our posessions are either Melo trying to create something out of nothing against collapsing defenses or everyone and their mother jacking up 3s....I can't bear to watch it anymore..See what Lin can do. He can't possibly give us any less than Bibby. Bibby's shot at this point. Slow, shaky with the ball now, can't penetrate, trouble creating his own shot...Give Lin a chance. Otherwise, why'd we even get him??

----------------------------------------------

If we went 1 & 3:

5 - Chandler
4 - Amar'e
3 - Melo
2 - Shumpert
1 - Douglas
--------------
3/4 Gomes
4/5 Cousin
Lin
Harris
--------------
Novak (spot duty when we need some deep shooting to open up the inside)
Walker
Balkman
--------------
Davis (injured key piece, awaiting return)
Bibby
Jeffries

I know they'll never do anything like this..They're not gonna do a thing --- they're gonna wait this out until Boom Dizzle returns. That's their plan...Honestly, can we really afford much more of this poor play for another 4-5 weeks?? I wouldn't stand pat. Why throw away games in the meantime? I'm not calling for an overhaul but I'd tinker with this roster right now if I were Grunwald..These moves put us in a better position to compete now until Davis returns and then it gives us a better roster with more weapons once he does return.
 
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finestrg

Rotation player
Dude that doesn't change the fact that we have TD at PG and that's never going to do anything.

Yeah, I agree Toney's a problem but I think we can survive until we get Davis back provided we make some adjustments:

- Elevate Lin to backup PG. I think he's capable of have much more of an impact over Bibby. Like we saw last night, when Douglas is bad running the team, it doesn't get any better when we switch off to Bibby. Lin might be able to fix some of that (Shump too when he returns, hopefully by the weekend). Let's find out...I'm not into trading for a starting PG right now -- I'm willing to wait for Davis. Doesn't mean we can't tinker and make things marginally better in the meantime.

- This trade with the Clippers works well for both clubs. Then we go out and add two useful players on the cheap that actually fit the system better than two of the players we just had. Gomes (a quality backup for both Amar'e and Melo)/Marcus Cousin/Manny Harris is an upgrade over Fields/Jorts/Jordan. Gomes can post and shoot and he's got some girth to play down low (his skills are wasted on that Clipper team right now -- he's not getting the minutes or the touches he needs to be effective. Over here under D'Antoni armed with 25-30 mins as the primary reserve all-purpose F, he'd be relevant again in a big way---I picture a return to his Minnesota days where he was at his best); Cousin's a true center that can move/rebound/post up and shoot the ball better than Jorts or Jordan (picture Channing Frye only more physical/capable of playing down low); and Manny Harris has better overall skills than Fields and Billy Walker. I liked him at Michigan and he played well last yr for the Cavs in limited duty. He'd thrive in this system...All 3 of these guys would actually.

The idea is to improve upon the poor PG play with Lin now getting 15-20 mins a night and to also make minor improvements to other parts of the roster as well (backup 3/4, backup C, SG).
 
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quiggle

Starter
Lin is just a circus sideshow to lure the dominant Asian community in New York to watch the games. cant trade him just yet
 

tiger0330

Legend
Lin isn't the answer, he's filler until the guys get healthy and won't be here when they come back. Lin is an Horatio Alger story, unfortunately the story is going to be played out in China. The dude is not good enough to play backup in the NBA.
 

shizzee

Benchwarmer
better quick fix til davis gets back

Balkman Douglas Fields for Dragic T.Williams



perfect PG for D'Antoni system does not need training camp to know his system. His best yr was with Stat and D"antoni in his 2nd yr. 2 yrs removed from the system. avg defender, but shoots less than douglas just overall a smarter pg. Should help Stat alot. I hat to give on Fields but T. Williams is natural at SG more than Fields, I believe Shumpert coming back Wednesday is already better Fields. Adding Dragic will allows Knicks to bring Davis off the bench until the playoffs.

Dragic Shumpert Melo Stat Chandler
Davis Williams Novak Jorts Jeffries
Jordan Bibby
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Lin isn't the answer, he's filler until the guys get healthy and won't be here when they come back. Lin is an Horatio Alger story, unfortunately the story is going to be played out in China. The dude is not good enough to play backup in the NBA.

At this point you try Lin and see if he's better than what we've been running out there. Proper PG play is the key to this offense --- STAT, Melo, Chandler, Fields, etc. will all function so much better with a good PG out there directing traffic and getting the ball to these guys in transition and delivering the ball to these guys in the right spots.

I'm not gonna just assume Lin is trash --- this guy played well for Harvard including a huge game @ U-Conn (against Kemba Walker?) a couple of yrs ago AND a game in SL for GS I believe a summer or two ago where he went head to head with and actually outplayed John Wall. Now's as good a time as any to see if that was a fluke or if he can really play. Can't be any worse than Mike Bibby who's bringing nothing to the table. D'Antoni shouldn't be against trying at this point. Douglas can score a little but neither he nor Mike Bibby can running this offense the way it needs to be run.
 
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quiggle

Starter
so youre saying because Lin played well in college that he's well in the pros? tebow was a Heisman winner in Florida and completed 6-20 passes in his last NFL game. how do you compare the two?
 

petescud

Starter
I agree. Look at all the great coaches of our time. None said iso 98% of the game and we win. They are all probably laughing at the Knicks for signing Dantoni....I think a combo of STAT/Melo not belonging on the same team unless a coach can get in their heads (PJackson) and our coach a phony



Doesn't matter who we bring in, we'll never win with this coach, sorry.
 

SSj4Wingzero

All Star
so youre saying because Lin played well in college that he's well in the pros? tebow was a Heisman winner in Florida and completed 6-20 passes in his last NFL game. how do you compare the two?

Nobody said Lin is good.

But at this point, can he really be worse than Mike Bibby, who so far has dont jack shit for us?
 
Nobody said Lin is good.

But at this point, can he really be worse than Mike Bibby, who so far has dont jack shit for us?

We should have gone for Charles Jenkins, decent PG for Golden State and he's frm New York too! Mark Jackson was smart enough to pick him up, but all D'Antoni wants are guys who used to shoot the ball well years ago...that's why we picked Bibby.
 
Lin, I like because he looks to pass before shooting...his defense can use some improving but that comes with minutes.

Douglas, I also like but I don't see him as a full time PG under D'Ants system. He's more of a energy guy with great defensive abilities. His range has improved and I expect other parts of his game to do the same. He's a hard worker and is commited to learning. His passing is improving but D'ant confuses the poor dude with this hurry up and shoot the 3 point gameplay.

Shumpert, I think will do better than both TD and Lin, He understands Defense and knows the flow of offense comes when the energy/momentum is in his/our teams favour. Besides, he has some NY swag and that will go a long way in this city. Over the holidays, I listened to some of his unreleased album (rapp) and was surprised at how NYC he sounded, Cool dude too, btw. He knows the NBA is going to be his bread and butter, hopefully he dosen't get caught up in the inner city life...especially when he dosen't have to.

B. Davis, I don't know. I feel many people are just too optimistic and have no real idea just how bad of an injury Davis has. To think he will come back and automatically play well (or play at all) will be a set up for disappointment. With these kinds of injuries you have to be extremely careful, it's just a game of ball not the game of life. He'll have to decide what's more important if (or when) the injury is tweeked again. Besides, I'm not sure if he'll have the stamina/endurance, or durability to last in this fast pace system. Under any other coach... he'll probably be a great asset to the team. But, I don't expect the Davis of old to play, I do see his experience being a big plus, thou. how much? depends on the coach.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Nobody said Lin is good.

But at this point, can he really be worse than Mike Bibby, who so far has dont jack shit for us?

Thank you. All I'm sayin'. How much worse can this young man possibly be? Maybe he overachieves...Or maybe, just maybe, he's actually pretty good. He probably won't supplant Douglas, but I'd give him Bibby's mins. What the hell have we got to lose? Maybe we come up with a dude that can actually run the offense for stretches...I tell ya right now, he's a more-capable penetrator than Douglas and Bibby. Dude's a 6'4" PG with some decent skills. Give him a shot, let's see what he can do!
 
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finestrg

Rotation player
Lin, I like because he looks to pass before shooting...his defense can use some improving but that comes with minutes.

Douglas, I also like but I don't see him as a full time PG under D'Ants system. He's more of a energy guy with great defensive abilities. His range has improved and I expect other parts of his game to do the same. He's a hard worker and is commited to learning. His passing is improving but D'ant confuses the poor dude with this hurry up and shoot the 3 point gameplay.

Shumpert, I think will do better than both TD and Lin, He understands Defense and knows the flow of offense comes when the energy/momentum is in his/our teams favour. Besides, he has some NY swag and that will go a long way in this city. Over the holidays, I listened to some of his unreleased album (rapp) and was surprised at how NYC he sounded, Cool dude too, btw. He knows the NBA is going to be his bread and butter, hopefully he dosen't get caught up in the inner city life...especially when he dosen't have to.

B. Davis, I don't know. I feel many people are just too optimistic and have no real idea just how bad of an injury Davis has. To think he will come back and automatically play well (or play at all) will be a set up for disappointment. With these kinds of injuries you have to be extremely careful, it's just a game of ball not the game of life. He'll have to decide what's more important if (or when) the injury is tweeked again. Besides, I'm not sure if he'll have the stamina/endurance, or durability to last in this fast pace system. Under any other coach... he'll probably be a great asset to the team. But, I don't expect the Davis of old to play, I do see his experience being a big plus, thou. how much? depends on the coach.

Good analysis...I agree on Shump (he'll help out immediately when he's ready) and esp. Davis. You're right bro. Nobody really knows what Davis will bring & how hurt his back really is. All I'm banking on is the Cavs version of BD. If we get that, we'll be in good shape. Davis last yr for Cleveland wasn't the high-wire act he was in previous stops like Golden State but to me he still looked good last yr. Maybe even better than Chauncey Billups by comparison. Ran the Cavs' offense efficiently and confidently. Very smooth player out there. Can still push the ball, still a great passer, still gets others involved and he can still put up points. Remember his Cavs debut last yr against us at the Garden? He looked great that game -- scored the ball on us at will (Billups & TD couldn't deal with him at all) and he pushed the ball and got guys involved. He looked like he was playing on that team for months the way he played that night. And those were a bunch of kids out there he was playing with and made look good -- imagine him at the controls of an offense that featured Melo and STAT?? I'm not even banking on getting Baron Davis of a few yrs back -- I think those days might be long gone. But if we can get the Cavs' version, we'll be in excellent shape. Diddy showed last yr that he can still play at a pretty high level. He still looked darn good to me. That's why I remain optimistic about him. I'd be nice to start hearing some positive updates on him, how he's responding to treatment, etc. Hopefully that starts to come now..Then we can start to really get excited.
 
Tom Haberstroh
And yes, Mike Bibby is still doing his torpedo act: Knicks are -40 with him on the court this season and +28 when he's sitting on the bench.




Sums it up.....Bibby is done, like he was last season in Miami.
 

CoolRunnings

Benchwarmer
Quick Fix? Thats easy, just bring back Felton. Man I miss that guy. I was watching this countdown on Amare yesterday and most of it was with Felton and he ran our offense so much better. Kid had heart and seemed never to get tired. I doubt its possible to get him back with his 7 mil contract. But when you compare his stats with Billups they were dead even and he's 50 years younger.

He was our best pg since Charlie Ward.
 
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