Official Free Agency Thread

NYk_Reloaded718

★KNICKS-TAPE★
Unrestricted free agent Shawne Williams, who had his best season in New York in 2010-11, wants to return to the Knicks but the team isn't interested, according to a source close to the versatile forward.

The source told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks are "a good fit," and that he's open to taking the veteran's minimum, which is all they can offer. The Hawks and Bobcats are also looking at Williams, who is represented by Happy Walters, the same agent as Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert.

Several sources have told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks want to add a seasoned power forward, possibly to back up Stoudemire. The top candidates are Kenyon Martin and Louis Amundson, but both players want at least the mini mid-level exception of $3 million or higher. Other fours include D.J. White, Chris Andersen, who played with Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith in Denver, and Jordan Williams, who played for the Nets last season.

While Shawne Williams isn't as skilled inside as Martin and Amundson, he can rebound and guard power forwards with his strength and length. He can also stretch the floor and knock down the three, a skill for which he became a fan favorite in New York. In 2010-11, in only 20 minutes of action, he averaged 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly one block, while shooting 40.1 percent from downtown.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/kni...ants-to-return
 

NY17KNICKS

★Melo Mafia★
Unrestricted free agent Shawne Williams, who had his best season in New York in 2010-11, wants to return to the Knicks but the team isn't interested, according to a source close to the versatile forward.

The source told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks are "a good fit," and that he's open to taking the veteran's minimum, which is all they can offer. The Hawks and Bobcats are also looking at Williams, who is represented by Happy Walters, the same agent as Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert.

Several sources have told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks want to add a seasoned power forward, possibly to back up Stoudemire. The top candidates are Kenyon Martin and Louis Amundson, but both players want at least the mini mid-level exception of $3 million or higher. Other fours include D.J. White, Chris Andersen, who played with Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith in Denver, and Jordan Williams, who played for the Nets last season.

While Shawne Williams isn't as skilled inside as Martin and Amundson, he can rebound and guard power forwards with his strength and length. He can also stretch the floor and knock down the three, a skill for which he became a fan favorite in New York. In 2010-11, in only 20 minutes of action, he averaged 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly one block, while shooting 40.1 percent from downtown.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/kni...ants-to-return
TBH,I'd love to have Shawne back.
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Unrestricted free agent Shawne Williams, who had his best season in New York in 2010-11, wants to return to the Knicks but the team isn't interested, according to a source close to the versatile forward.

The source told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks are "a good fit," and that he's open to taking the veteran's minimum, which is all they can offer. The Hawks and Bobcats are also looking at Williams, who is represented by Happy Walters, the same agent as Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert.

Several sources have told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks want to add a seasoned power forward, possibly to back up Stoudemire. The top candidates are Kenyon Martin and Louis Amundson, but both players want at least the mini mid-level exception of $3 million or higher. Other fours include D.J. White, Chris Andersen, who played with Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith in Denver, and Jordan Williams, who played for the Nets last season.

While Shawne Williams isn't as skilled inside as Martin and Amundson, he can rebound and guard power forwards with his strength and length. He can also stretch the floor and knock down the three, a skill for which he became a fan favorite in New York. In 2010-11, in only 20 minutes of action, he averaged 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly one block, while shooting 40.1 percent from downtown.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/kni...ants-to-return

If he'll take the minimum then get him back here! He wants to be here, and his numbers here, as shown in the link, were solid.

He defends well, boards, the occasional swat, and can shoot. What more do we need from a 10mpg PF?

And what if Amar'e goes down again?

Melo slips to the 4, but who backs him? Does Kurt Thomas take the reigns?

Sign 'With an E Williams'.
 

Rob Low

Rotation player
Unrestricted free agent Shawne Williams, who had his best season in New York in 2010-11, wants to return to the Knicks but the team isn't interested, according to a source close to the versatile forward.

The source told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks are "a good fit," and that he's open to taking the veteran's minimum, which is all they can offer. The Hawks and Bobcats are also looking at Williams, who is represented by Happy Walters, the same agent as Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert.

Several sources have told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks want to add a seasoned power forward, possibly to back up Stoudemire. The top candidates are Kenyon Martin and Louis Amundson, but both players want at least the mini mid-level exception of $3 million or higher. Other fours include D.J. White, Chris Andersen, who played with Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith in Denver, and Jordan Williams, who played for the Nets last season.

While Shawne Williams isn't as skilled inside as Martin and Amundson, he can rebound and guard power forwards with his strength and length. He can also stretch the floor and knock down the three, a skill for which he became a fan favorite in New York. In 2010-11, in only 20 minutes of action, he averaged 7.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and nearly one block, while shooting 40.1 percent from downtown.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/kni...ants-to-return

Sig check.

He abandoned us when we desperately needed a back up 4 and went to the Nets of all people. I don't want him back now
 

NYk_Reloaded718

★KNICKS-TAPE★
I can understand those who DONT want shawne williams back because of the disloyalty, going to the Nets, you feel betrayed etc etc. Shawne williams is also the same dude that was charged with possession of Marijuana in 2007 and also charged with selling codeine substances in 2010. Yes he was grateful the knicks gave him the chance and he played great for us in 2010, but at the end of the day he did what was best for him. A 5 mill deal with the Nets presented itself and he chose that path, at the end of the day the NBA is a business and he has his rights to do what he wants.. he's human like the rest of us, im sure he has family he has to support as well. Lets face it that 5 mill deal was a once in a life time opportunity i don't see him being offered that kind of money again or repeating that brilliant shooting season he had with us.... just look at him now his production took a tumble and he's being offered only vet min for whatever team he signs too.

Now for those who DO WANT PURP back why?????????? did anyone watch him playing for the Nets, he looked terrible and shot 28%fg with a 24% 3 pointer percentage :barf: i rather have Birdman, we dont really need Purp if we already have Novak who clearly shoots better than Purp. All we need is a legit backup Big Amundson, K-Mart, Birdman one of these guys are bound to end up here.

However if it all came down to us ending up with purp and signing him, ill still support him & pray to God his season looks nothing like it did last year.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
What about Jordan Williams?

Very interesting...Didn't even know he was available. Has upside. Dude was a rebounding machine in college and he can score. Double-double machine. Wasn't great with the Nets his rookie season but there's nice potential here. I'm down.
 

NYk_Reloaded718

★KNICKS-TAPE★
Darko Milicic has agreed to sign with the Boston Celtics, according to a source.

The Celtics expressed interest in Milicic when he was amnestied by the Wolves in July.

Via A. Sherrod Blakely/CSN
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Not sure what to make of bringing Shawne Williams back. Right off the top he feels a little redundant with Copeland, no? I could be down for Shawne over James White though. After watching him in summer ball, I'm not convinced that White makes any meaningful contribution here. As always, I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it.

And yeah, 'with an E' can play some 4 in a pinch (let's be honest with that though -- D'Antoni did it because he wanted his shooting on the floor, not because he was some great defender, although for a guy playing out of position, he did do a passable job defending the post to be fair), but he'll always be a 3 trying to cover at the 4. Would rather have a legit backup 4 behind Amar'e. DJ White continues to be the best choice in my book. He's got the size/bulk for the position, plus he can rebound, block a shot and he's a real underrated offesive player...Wouldn't be the worst move in the world though -- Shawne can definitely shoot it and stretch the defense -- I'd just assume sign a legit PF to backup STAT.

Just looking over the roster again -- I know they're not finished yet but as of right now, it feels unbalanced and lacking true quality depth in a few places. Two big questions remain for me: (1) a legit PF to backup Amar'e if he ever went down (or if Woody decides that reducing STAT's mins to keep him healthy & fresh for the playoffs is the right move), a guy who can step right in and plug the hole w/o changing things drastically and forcing guys to play out of position (I don't know one championship team that won it all with guys playing out of position); (2) getting another legit SG for depth in case Brewer, Shump or God forbid both are slow to return.

It won't happen but this is what I'd love to see:

(1) Buy out KT and sign DJ White. Fill the spot with a more viable option, a much younger guy capable of taking over major mins at the 4 if the need arises. Offer White the vet min. acknowledging that he's worth more, sell the team as a championship level squad (esp. if he came aboard), offer about 20 mins a game and a handshake to re-up him after the season at fair market value. I think he'd accept those terms. He's the best 4 left on the market right now imo. If he declines, I'd quickly turn my attention to Jordan Williams. Big boy (6'10" 250+) with some nice budding skills & upside. 3rd choice: Sean Williams. Have to convince Dolan that buying out KT at this stage of his career is in the best interest of the team. I'm sure that's easier said than done...You know what though, it wouldn't be be a lot of money (dude's set to make $1.35M -- $1M probably gets it done, maybe less. 800-900K?).

(2) Decide on Chris Copeland or Shawne Williams as an extra shooter/depth behind Melo.

(3) Come up with more SG depth. I'm not comfortable starting the season with Brewer and Shump as question marks. No guarantee either guy makes it back by their projected return time (Brew by opening night; Shump by Christmas, maybe January). When you rush guys back, you tend to have setbacks. We need more depth here, plain and simple. If we're really serious about making a run for it all then getting off to a fast start is so important. Cut James White. Never should've guaranteed this dude any money to begin with. Should've been a training camp invite all the way...Weigh signing Tracy McGrady. They just had him in supposedly. If he looked good, offer him a contract. Looked like he definitely had something left in that ATL Hawk clip from a yr ago. If that goes nowhere, sign a younger guy capable of filling in on the interim -- go with talent over experience here (there's already enough experience & leadership on this team). There are guys out there man: Chris Douglas-Roberts (prior NBA experience), Jamelle Horne, Scotty Hopson, Austin Freeman, etc.

(4) With the finally roster spot, grab Marcus Cousin for a little more depth at PF/C. This dude's talented and NBA-ready. I see an upgrade over Jerome Jordan here actually. Same age, just as big (6'11"+, 255), only with more game & better skills.

5 - Chandler
4 - Stoudemire
3 - Melo
2 - JR Smith
1 - Felton
---------------------
5 - Camby
4 - DJ White or Jordan Williams/Sean Williams
3 - Novak
2 - McGrady or CDR, Hopson, Horne, Freeman
1 - Kidd
---------------------
5/4 - Marcus Cousin
3/4 - Chris Copeland or Shawne Williams
2 (IR) - Iman Shumpert (he's the future - there's a spot ready for him but I want him to take his time and come back ONLY when he's ready - don't want the Knicks to rush him back -- if they can pick up another viable SG, they won't need to)
2 (IR) - Ronnie Brewer (diff. situation than Shump -- don't want him rushing back either but I'm not sure I see a future in NY beyond this yr with this guy anyway - ideal situation might be for McGrady or another SG pickup to overperform outta the gate and keep Brewer on the bench when he got back)
1 - Prigioni
 
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Kidd Karma

Benchwarmer
Don't think you need to buyout Thomas to add DJ White. I think White might be of better value, as he as a 12-15th guy most of his career, will play with a motor. KMart is name value, but he's more of been there done that, give me the green....one last time.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Don't think you need to buyout Thomas to add DJ White. I think White might be of better value, as he as a 12-15th guy most of his career, will play with a motor. KMart is name value, but he's more of been there done that, give me the green....one last time.

Right, you wouldn't have to currently but in my scenario you do. On my 15-man, I'd be looking to add a younger replacement for KT (DJ White - carrying DJ White AND KT would be redundant), another SG for depth (McGrady or one of those younger cats), keep Copeland or sign Shawne Williams (their choice) and pick up another young center with nice potential for insurance in Marcus Cousin (what happens if Camby breaks down? He always does. Plus, Chandler wasn't playing at 100% with the wrist problem about the last 1/3 of the season and it was a short year too). Those 3 additions plus the others make 15.
 
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Kidd Karma

Benchwarmer
Right, you wouldn't have to currently but in my scenario you do. On my 15-man, I'd be looking to add a younger replacement for KT (DJ White - carrying DJ White AND KT would be redundant), another SG for depth (McGrady or one of those younger cats), keep Copeland or sign Shawne Williams (their choice) and pick up another young center with nice potential for insurance in Marcus Cousin (what happens if Camby breaks down? He always does. Plus, Chandler wasn't playing at 100% with the wrist problem about the last 1/3 of the season and it was a short year too). Those 3 additions plus the others make 15.

Ah, I see, I'm guessing they see KT as their emergency 4th center if, knock on wood, Tyson or Camby or Amare can't go. KMart would see time in an Amare center scenario. Right now I have no problem with adding DJ White as the backup 4. With Melo as an option there as well, White solidifies the depth there. I think they're overrating the experience factor a bit too much, you want your 12-15 guys to have a motor, get on the floor, push people around. KT isn't goign to get you more than 15 a night. Cousin can definitely pick lots of experience banging with Camby and Chandler in practice. It's a great opportunity to bring in young raw centers to learn from our older guys.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Tommy Dee saying that we're looking to add a veteran SG/SF for training camp:

http://theknicksblog.com/uncategorized/tkb-exclusive-knicks-looking-to-sign-a-veteran-sgsf-to-camp/

I get it -- it's what I've been saying -- how can you go into the season with huge health concerns with Ronnie Brewer AND Shump? Or just say, 'we're fine, we'll just have 90-year-old J Kidd fill in at the 2'. Huh? Say what? Come on now...Gotta come up with another true SG somewhere. I'm glad the Knicks agree and are out there looking. My thing though -- why on Earth limit the search to just NBA veterans?!?!?!? WTF is with that logic? Don't they have enough of a veteran presence on this team already? Why overdo it? With enough vet experience/leadership at C, PF, SF, PG (even JR Smith's been around for awhile now) and just about everywhere else -- go get the best SG/SF talent out there PERIOD, regardless of experience.

Here's hoping these guys are on Glen's short list:

(1) Chris Douglas-Roberts - prior NBA experience (he's got the vet presence they apparently covet above all else), yet he's still young and the man's flat out an excellent scorer. Very crafty player. Plus at 6'7", he can handle some SF duty. If CDR had any hesitation coming here it might have to do with getting some clarity on a current and future role. That might be the only thing. Otherwise, this guy's the perfect fit for us...How's this for clarity: I'd offer him the vet min and tell him that he's guaranteed to split time with JR Smith in the beginning of the season and then once Brewer's back, if he's playing well, he keeps the job. Period. His to lose. Better talent than Ronnie Brewer anyway in my opinion. Also communicate to CDR that if he plays well the entire season, we're open to a multi-year extension at fair market value. I don't see how Roberts could expect anything more than that -- he's not even in the league right now.. And I don't see how we owe Ronnie Brewer anything at this point. The guy's a fringe NBA basketball player who got hurt. Hasn't even played in one game yet for the Knicks.. Sorry Ronnie, but you blew out your knee -- what do you want the Knicks to do?? Unfortunate for Brew but the Knicks need to cover themselves with more SG depth here. If I'm Glen, CDR's agent would've been one of my first calls.




(2) Tracy McGrady - vet presence, played well for ATL last year. Just worked out for us. I'd love a younger guy, but if they went this route, I'd be OK with it. This clip convinced me he could still help.


(3) Scotty Hopson - probably signed on in Europe somewhere, but if he's available, I'd pounce. So talented -- it'd be like adding a 1st round pick imho. More than enough talent to be playing in the NBA. 6'7" (and very athletic), so he can swing between the 2 & 3 with no problem.


(4) Jamelle Horne - similar to Hopson across the board. Might not be available (Europe?), 6'7", athletic, enough talent to play in the NBA for sure, plays both ends of the court, effective from 3, etc. He'd be a fine addition here. Who the hell cares that these younger guys don't have prior NBA experience? SO friggin' what...It'd be like adding a draft pick. Do draft picks have NBA experience prior to getting their names called by the commish? Ahh, no, yet a great percentage join their teams and have some sort of an impact eventually, some right away. I could definitely see that with Horne on the Knicks.




(5) Austin Freeman - Nice 4-yr career at G-Town. Again, just like these others, he's got more than enough talent to play NBA ball, especially offensively where he shows very good scoring instincts. Crafty and creative off the dribble...This cat only goes about 6'4" though -- a tad small for a 2 but not too small. Not the athlete Hopson & Horne are, but I wouldn't call him unathletic..Solid outside touch -- 38% from 3 over 4 years at G-Town. Outside shooting took a little dip last year in Italy but it was probably a product of getting adjusted to a foreign country, new surroundings, a whole new lifestyle, a new league, a new team, a new coach and how he does things, etc.. Make no mistake, this guy can shoot the ball..Still put up 20 a game in Italy last year. I read he's got type-1 diabetes and yet he's still out there doing his thing. Good for him man. I see a little Marshon Brooks/Marcus Thornton in this guy... Like Ray Felton, weight has always been a little bit of an issue with him, yet he's able to play well even at 230-235 lbs. Like a youtube poster commented on, he looks to be in great shape in this vid, lighting up some team for 38 last season:

 
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CoolClyde

Moderator
Free Agent Update - One Week Before Training Camp Begins

One week to go before start of camps, free-agent list still includes:

Kenyon Martin
Derek Fisher
Chris Andersen
Mickael Pietrus
Leandro Barbosa
Josh Howard
Anthony Tolliver
Louis Amundson
Mehmet Okur
Maurice Evans
Yi Jianlian
Ryan Gomes
Tracy McGrady
Michael Redd
Hassan Whiteside
Ben Wallace
Jonny Flynn

:crossfingers:
 
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