Jordan Williams?

finestrg

Rotation player
How 'bout adding this kid? Had no idea this kid was a free agent. Anyone remember him at Maryland? He was a monster his soph. year -- averaged over 16 ppg and almost 12 rebs. a game. Drafted by the Nets in 2011 (2nd round, 36th overall), traded to ATL & waived last Sept. I'm just not sure about Camby and Sheed anymore. This kid could really come in and help us on the glass and add to our interior presence in a big way. Plenty of size at 6'10" 260 and he's got some skill to him as well. Great motor/hustle, hits the glass hard and he can score on the block with either hand, score it with his back to the basket and he can hit jumpers out to about 15' with good touch & form. I say waive Kurt Thomas who's done (or Brewer or White -- would rather it be Thomas though, same position) and add this kid. Let's be honest here -- the chances of adding a good big via trade are slim, and so is relying on Camby or Sheed to come back and really help us at this point. We could go out and grab this kid today if we wanted to (provided he's kept himself in shape---he has been away from the game since Sept.). If he's in shape, I see a bigger/younger, more skilled version of Kris Humphries with this guy. Not a bad plan B for an extra productive big right here if you ask me. Any thoughts?
 

metrocard

Legend
I wouldn't mind. He's got good size and can rebound which is our weakness. He averaged almost 4 offensive rebounds per game for his short time with the Nets. Plus he's only 22.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
I think so. I mean I was thinking about adding a Luke Harangody or Henry Sims out of the D-league for this purpose (instant upgrade along the frontline provided we can't find anything worthwhile via trade) but I think this kid would be an even better choice.
 

finestrg

Rotation player
Suppose we can't find anything we want via trade but we did the following: waive/buy out Kurt Thomas, Brewer and James White and replaced them with 6'10" 260 lb. Jordan Williams, Shelvin Mack (a good serviceable PG with nice size, strength, defensive prowess and a good perimeter stroke---this guy's played well for Washington on a couple of callups already) and Andy Rautins (averaging 14.5 ppg and hitting over 45% of his 3s---they obviously like JJ Redick for his shooting--this kid's similar, maybe just as good a shooter when you get right down to it and we wouldn't have to give up a damn thing, only waive a useless player to open up a roster spot). I'd be open to this Josh Smith trade we're hearing (either version, the one with Harris or Pachulia) but suppose it doesn't go down. And suppose there aren't any other trade scenarios out there that look worthwhile. Then what? A nice backup strategy like this to add instant talent and fill holes could really pay dividends. And best of all, we hold onto Shump who we all like anyway (I'd actually like to see Woody play Shump at his natural position and stick with him much longer to start games---instill confidence in this kid and give him a longer leash--stop hooking him after 3 mins every damn game). Holding onto Amar'e and Shumpert while adding Jordan Williams, Shelvin Mack and Andy Rautins might be the better move than trading for Josh Smith.
 
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metrocard

Legend
I think with the Knicks you pretty much have a team that believes they're flawless...Melo is close to a lot of the guys in the locker room, only guys I see going are short term guys like Prigs, Copeland and even maybe White, I say maybe to White because he seems really cool with Smith, Novak and Melo, and Woodson and all these guys seem to have a connection, iono if Grunfeld has enough balls to make a move to improve the roster.
 

welcometonycity

Rotation player
Nice find. Watched him live at a couple nets games last year. Dude is a solid asset. I don't see us making a move for him though...
 

tiger0330

Legend
The Knicks are going with vets not young projects. Chandler said getting Sheed and Gumby back is key, so depending on their prognosis will sway the Knicks to make or not make a trade.

I think them being back at practice says we stand pat but Josh Smith plus fillers for Stat plus Shump would make me think about it.
 
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finestrg

Rotation player
See, I don't look at any of these guys as "projects," as in the sense of too young to have an impact. The Knicks might very well feel this way but I don't at all....There wouldn't be much of an adjustment at all for Jordan Williams or Andy Rautins. Looking for 15-20 mins outta Williams, that's it -- patrol the paint, hit the glass hard (this guy's a stud rebounder and we need help on the glass), get us 2nd opportunities, utilize those extra 6 fouls, help us keep STAT & Chandler fresh/out of foul trouble, and score it a little inside if/when the opportunity presents itself. No question in my mind this kid could do all these things and assimilate right in right away. Rautins, a guy we drafted and liked at one point (some within the organization probably still do), same thing----just get open, space the floor and shoot the ball. He can do that. It's not rocket science...Honestly, there's not much of a difference in overall talent between Rautins and JJ Redick the way I see it. Redick by a little, granted, but not enough of a disparity to warrant unloading Shumpert. Rautins is a poor man's Redick and he could serve the exact same purpose. Same purpose Steve Kerr served on all those Chicago Bull teams. Andy actually scored 20 pts. for the Thunder in an NBA preseason game once. He can play, we just never gave him a shot here at all. We already have the foundation set. And the subfloor, and the walls, and the roof..All we need is for these guys to come in here and be the solid role players they could be..I look at this stuff like filling prescriptions at a pharmacy -- why pay more for a brand name if you can get the generic form for much cheaper and it does the same thing for you? Shelvin Mack, esp. if we expected him to play some point, would take longer to catch on but he's got NBA experience with Washington where I thought he looked pretty good. I think he could be an upgrade over the 35-yr-old Prigioni (I see a much better version of Toney Douglas with Mack---unlike TD, I think this kid can actually play some point)...You wanna forget about adding Mack, fine, but I'd still think long and hard about adding Williams and Rautins. They'd be perfect---Williams and Rautins could give us so much more than Kurt Thomas and James White imho (out of our three end of the roster guys, I guess I'd have to keep Brewer for his ability to defend 2s & 3s, which I actually think is overrated though btw). If I were the GM, I would feel a responsibility to plug any glaring holes on the team and give my coach as many options to win with as I possibly could. Minor upgrades like this give Woody more options then he had before, bottom line. And for the record, I don't feel like we should keep guys around that do little more than wave their pomp-pomps from the bench, lighten the mood in the locker room, give Melo someone to play cards with or go to the movies with on road trips -- all that nonsense is overrated. Not at the expense of hogging roster spots that could be used for talent upgrades to fill holes....I've seen a lot of stuff written about that, how Kurt Thomas and James White are important guys that help out with chemistry, etc...Gimme a break. I always want to see mgmt. up the talent level at all costs; give me guys that can go out there and impact the game with their talent and skill over putting unnecessary stock in this team chemistry nonsense any day. Not saying chemistry's not important. Sure it is. It's just a distant 2nd when compared to building the most talented roster you can build...Adding Williams & Rautins would provide excellent insurance--guys that could fill in right away and impact the game with their unique skillsets (one with his size & rebounding, the other with his lethal 40+% 3-pt shooting stroke). To me that's more important. Both Williams and Rautins are good dudes anyway -- not like I'm talking about adding bad character guys here.
 
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metrocard

Legend
The problem with Rautins is after 20 minutes he kinda disappears, but if he's improved then I can see your point.

I like Williams more just based on the fact we need a rebounder against the Pacers and Bulls.
 
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