Willie Warren

finestrg

Rotation player
Here's another guy we should be looking at imo. 6'4" combo guard that kinda reminds me of Baron Davis. Quick, strong, fantastic handle (great hesitation moves off the dribble), can penetrate, pass and shoot it pretty well from deep (just needs to raise the arc on his J a little bit---he tends to shoot it on the B-line a little). 9 yrs younger than Keith Bogans, a ton of upside and unlike other NBA combos like Ben Gordon, this guy can legitimately play some point. He had a great yr as a freshman at Oklahoma playing with Blake Griffin, then regressed a little his 2nd season for a few reasons: After Griffin left for the NBA, Warren had a little trouble adjusting to being the main man (he should've followed Blake right out the door and into the lottery); he clashed a little with OU head coach Jeff Capel on some issues and also missed some time dealing with a bout of mononucleosis. It was really a tough sophmore yr for Warren -- all these things really hurt his draft stock (dude looked like a sure-fire lottery pick after his freshman year). Wound up being drafted in the 2nd round by the Clippers 2 summers ago and he didn't stick---they just recently cut him a couple of weeks ago right before the New Year. Dude's a FA now. Much more talented than Toney Douglas. Any thoughts on this dude? I see A TON of talent & potential here.




 
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finestrg

Rotation player
Sometimes it's all about fit and showing a little vision...TD obviously doesn't fit here, certainly not as a PG that's expected to run the team and distribute the ball. I've seen enough -- it's to the point now where I'd like my team to go out and look for alternatives, not just sit on their hands and wait for Baron Davis who still might be weeks away from suiting up. Hopefully Shump and a rejuvenated Mike Bibby are the answer -- at least coach finally has made the adjustment to go with these guys more and they're both responding...I'd still like some more depth there, preferably another guy that can penetrate, distribute and play the uptempo style..Shump can obviously do these things. I'd like them to add one more guard capable of doing the same things.. I see these qualities in Willie Warren... I'd rather look at young guys with nice upside that would come cheap over washed up vets that never even carved out distinguished careers for themselves to begin with..I mean wouldn't you wanna take a chance on a guy that might have boom potential? What's the worst that could happen? He doesn't work out and we cut him..On to the next youngster with high upside and skills that could help us. I don't see anything wrong with taking flyers on these types of players. To me that's the way to go..
 
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Wargames

Starter
Sometimes it's all about fit and showing a little vision...TD obviously doesn't fit here, certainly not as a PG that's expected to run the team and distribute the ball. I've seen enough -- it's to the point now where I'd like my team to go out and look for alternatives, not just sit on their hands and wait for Baron Davis. Hopefully Shump and a rejuvenated Mike Bibby are the answer...I'd still like some more depth there, preferably another guy that can penetrate and distribute.. And I'd rather look at young guys with nice upside that would come cheap over washed up vets that never even carved out distinguished careers for themselves to begin with..I mean wouldn't you wanna take a chance on a guy that might have boom potential? What's the worst that could happen? He doesn't work out and we cut him..On to the next youngster with high upside and skills to could help us. I don't see anything wrong with taking flyers on these types of players. To me that's the way to go..

Its just that honestly I think TD can be retuned to his older role, but at the very least TD needs to get minutes to try to find a decent trade for him.... Which I don't think will happen until after the Knicks sign players to the MLE.

Anyhow you know what really peeves me... The knicks didn't get one good player in the Lee trade. I know it was a sign and trade and in many ways just a formality. However another decent rotation player on the Knicks roster right now would be so clutch......
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Its just that honestly I think TD can be retuned to his older role, but at the very least TD needs to get minutes to try to find a decent trade for him.... Which I don't think will happen until after the Knicks sign players to the MLE.

Anyhow you know what really peeves me... The knicks didn't get one good player in the Lee trade. I know it was a sign and trade and in many ways just a formality. However another decent rotation player on the Knicks roster right now would be so clutch......

Agreed. I guess the only way to look at it is that we needed to clear out Lee to make room for STAT and as good as Lee is, Amar'e's still an upgrade. But yeah man, I totally hear ya. Turiaf's gone--we gave him away for nothing (again though like Lee, to make room for a better player in Tyson Chandler); Kelenna never recovered from that bum knee (too bad too because he was a damn good player that would've helped us) and the jewel of the deal, Anthony Randolph, the coach locked away in his doghouse instead of teaching, developing, instilling confidence in and incorporating into the plan. I've moved on but I'm still pissed off over D'Antoni's handling of AR. He did a bad job with that kid, 100%.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Warren just signed on to play for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League and had a nice 1st game off the bench in 16 mins...He actually played about 17-18 games in the DL last yr and played extremely well. The Knicks should jump all over this guy now. He's gonna blow up out there -- he'll be starting for that team not before long. Cut Lin and bring in Willie Warren NOW!! Why waste the roster spot on Jeremy Lin? MDA's never gonna play that kid. He's not the answer..Warren's a far better prospect than Lin.. With Douglas out now with 'shoulder problems,' shit, this move is a no-brainer man...Take a chance on this kid's potential/upside. I've seen interviews with this kid -- he's far from a bad kid. He just needs a real shot somewhere.. I think any talk of selfishness and immaturity is overblown...And so is all this talk that he's not a PG -- this dude exhibits some real nice passing ability and court vision, in addition to his ability to score the ball. He'd be great here. A Warren/Shumpert backcourt would be ABSOLUTELY EXPLOSIVE!! Everyone would love playing with this kid --- he'd be an extra offensive weapon that would take pressure off other guys and he has enough skill to get our main guys the ball where they need it.. Grunwald should take a chance on him right now, no hesitation.

http://www.nba.com/dleague/playerfile/willie_warren/index.html

First game for Rio: http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20120107/DAKRGV/gameinfo.html#nbaGIboxscore

Here's a longer clip of his HS championship:
 
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clumsy

Rotation player
This dude is the same exact player offensively as Toney Douglas. Probably has less explosion too....he's taller than TD but has the same wingspan. Not sure how his defense is.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
This dude is the same exact player offensively as Toney Douglas. Probably has less explosion too....he's taller than TD but has the same wingspan. Not sure how his defense is.

Wow. You're kidding me, right? The same offensive player as TD? With less explosion? Wow...You obviously never saw this guy play before...Even by the clips I put up (which granted, youtube highlight clips can sometimes be misleading---not in this case though), you can clearly see that his game in nothing like TD's. NOTHING. FARRRRRRRRRRRR more explosion than TD has ever shown in his life...How can you even use the words 'Toney Douglas' and 'explosion' in the same sentence anyway?? TD's explosive?!? Since when?? Sorry dude, TD has no explosion at all whatsoever.. TD's almost exclusively a jumpshooter that (a) can't get more than 2 inches off the ground and (b) has no idea how to pass the ball...This guy Warren on the other hand will take you right off the dribble with a crazy handle all the way to the tin with ease, sometimes splitting defenders like they weren't even there and then he's been known to throw it down with authority right on guys' heads, a-la Baron Davis (the Davis of old anyway). Great handle, can get anywhere he wants to get on the court AT WILL, good jumpshooter and to me anyway he's a very underrated passer. As is, his outside J's effective but his form could use a little more refinement. Even here, I'm not even prepared to say Douglas holds an edge. I think Warren can shoot the ball well too. Fact of the matter is TD can't hold a candle to Willie Warren talent-wise. All Warren needs is the right opportunity. TD's a woefully overrated role player with marginal talent that just lost his job; Willie Warren could be a star. Warren can do things on the court that Douglas can only dream about doing..That's the difference. Even right now -- TD established in the NBA and Warren looking for a way back in -- I take Willie Warren over TD every day of the week and twice on Sunday..The Knicks should've brought him on board the moment he was cut by the Clippers.

Just on athletic ability alone, look at these clips and tell me where the Toney Douglas comparisons are:



 
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clumsy

Rotation player
Well it looks like he plays with a little bit more control based on the clips shown but then again it's college which is much inferior to the NBA in terms of talent so i can't be too sure. I thought TD had a good tournament showing too....did this Willie Warren dude have that.

Add to the fact if you wanna go by draft stats...Toney Douglas is superior athletically...He's faster/quicker/stronger and can jump higher has the same reach.
 

metrocard

Legend
Oh Yeah? And what happens when Shump needs to sit?? Who's the viable PG option behind him that can run the team and do the things he does? Hello -- We don't have one!!

This isn't the NBDL or Minor Leagues, Warren has talent but needs to mature him game, Warren can't run a team, I don't know where you get this info from. Warren hasn't done anything or accomplished anything in the NBA to say that.

We have two solid vets in Davis and Bibby. We'll be okay ,we won't go far but we'll be okay.
 

NYKnicks11

Benchwarmer
This isn't the NBDL or Minor Leagues, Warren has talent but needs to mature him game, Warren can't run a team, I don't know where you get this info from. Warren hasn't done anything or accomplished anything in the NBA to say that.

We have two solid vets in Davis and Bibby. We'll be okay ,we won't go far but we'll be okay.

For real. What has Warren, Mills, Lin or any of these guards you want the Knicks to sign actually proven in the NBA?
 
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