The Plan Has Worked - N8 Requests Trade.

NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks say the agent for Nate Robinson has asked the team to trade the recently benched guard.
A team spokesman says the request was made Saturday and that team president Donnie Walsh will have discussions with Robinson's agent, Aaron Goodwin.
Robinson, a productive backup last season, hasn't played in the last eight games. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni insists the benching isn't personal, only that he wants to use the players who give the team the best chance to win and that Robinson currently isn't one of them.
D'Antoni grew angry with a series of questions about Robinson's place in the rotation before the Knicks' 95-91 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
"We're trying to win," D'Antoni said. "I can't explain exactly every second the ins and outs, and we were on a roll and that roll doesn't quit just because you lose a game. You see over time if this works or not."
A message was left with Goodwin Sports' office seeking comment.
Robinson is averaging only 10.9 points after scoring a career-best 17.2 per game last season. The two-time slam dunk champion re-signed with the Knicks on a one-year deal this summer after generating little interest as a restricted free agent.

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I say "The Plan Has Worked" because I believe Nate would have vetoed a trade if he were playing, and I'm sure Donnie and Mike felt the same.

We need chips to trade away our horrible contracts and N8 is not only a chip but a gimmick. Teams with low attendance like Milwaukee or Memphis could use a spring loaded smurf to get anus in seats.

So, he was put in the dog house for that precise reason IMO. Considering the lack of interest in him last off season, it'll be interesting to see how his presence in trade scenarios is received by other teams.

I for one won't be missing him. He's a great player for his size,but he's not a great player. He walks tall for his size, but he'll always be too small to make a real difference.

He can't play D.

He's better than Duhon.

さよなら Nate.

Unfortunately, according to Kahn (I think) said Walsh has been aggressive trying to find anyone who wants N8, but nobody is biting.

So, it's a catch-22.... now that we benched him (and, as you said, convinced N8 to accept a trade) his value is at it's lowest....

Even POR is passing on Robinson (and he would be a local boy coming home and they need bodies).

I guess we might find a taker, but we aint getting anything in return.

I do think several teams want to shake something up.... so perhaps this is all part of some mega-blockbuster and N8 goes somewhere as a salary match.

Well, anything in return is better than nothing obviously. There has to be teams out there that are interested in his ticket sale ability.

Seriously though, if we were to somehow manage a Curry or Jefferies trade and had Nate in the package and he vetoed it.........

There'd be an assassination at MSG.

Guess what though? Now no team is tradin for him knowing the Knicks will eventually just release him.

We let go of Nate for nothing...

Knicks lose again.

Not a huge market for Nate during the offseason, doubt there is one for him now!

We'll never know how much truth there was to the whole Nate and Jared Jefferies to Sac. for expiring contracts last season, but if Donnie did turn that down he's gotta be sick thinking about it now!


See the problem is that Chicago is hurting for a scorer like Nate since losing Ben Gordon, but Nate doesnt play one minute against them the other night for them to get an upclose look at him this season.


This whole situation is really really dumb to me!

Wait a minute.

This is exactly.. EXACTLY what happened last season. D'antoni decides he doesn't like a guy on the team. This is the second time in two years. There's something wrong with this man as a coach. No other coach just tells a huge part of the team that he can't play anymore.

Something is really wrong here. Only this Knicks franchise I swear to God.

Scribbles said:

Guess what though? Now no team is tradin for him knowing the Knicks will eventually just release him.

We let go of Nate for nothing...

Knicks lose again.

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It might be a buyout...Marbury part 2...and a once again a sad solution.

What I've been wishing for since his rookie year has finally come...

I'm fighting back the tears of joy right now...

Sad? more so - Exemplary.

Paul1355 said:

It might be a buyout...Marbury part 2...and once again a sad solution.

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Well I'm glad we have a zero tolerance approach to any and all bullshit from players regardless of popularity or price tag. How would you like to watch a millionaire professional act like a gibbon under your roof and rules whilst putting up sub par numbers and revolting against the coach?

Walsh & D' Antoni have the big picture closing in and don't need distractions from players with personal goals that surpass team ones.

A buy out btw is highly unlikely really. Unless he becomes a real distraction behind the scenes there can't be much point. Not unless it gets really snakey between N8 and the management.

Damn.. After all this you've gotta wonder just what's been said and done from both parties. We'll find out once the trade is over and the fat lady (Curry) sings.

Crazy8s said:

Well I'm glad we have a zero tolerance approach to any and all bullshit from players regardless of popularity or price tag. How would you like to watch a millionaire professional act like a gibbon under your roof and rules whilst putting up sub par numbers and revolting against the coach?

Walsh & D' Antoni have the big picture closing in and don't need distractions from players with personal goals that surpass team ones.

A buy out btw is highly unlikely really. Unless he becomes a real distraction behind the scenes there can't be much point. Not unless it gets really snakey between N8 and the management.

Damn.. After all this you've gotta wonder just what's been said and done from both parties. We'll find out once the trade is over and the fat lady (Curry) sings.

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Exactly, This guy pisses on us the fans by not taking his job seriously, Fooling around in the lay-up line acting like a damn clown in the media. As far as I'm concerned he is exactly whats been wrong with the Knicks in the past few years. How anyone can defend this guy is beyond me, It has nothing to do with D'ant not liking him, It has everything to do with him being nothing more than a sideshow and circus act. For us to become a winning team we have to rid ourselves of this bullshit and move forward. What has he done for us on the court? Absolutely nothing. Stop defending him. He's a hunk of shit with a bad attitude. Dont let the door hit your ass on the way out. Getting rid of him show's that D'ant and Walsh are commited to making this team BETTER and not into the Ringling Brothers.

How's this quote.

Robinson says he is still ready to play for the Knicks, but added,

"I haven't got that privilege to play the way that I like to play."

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Doesn't that just say it all? Comes off a career 17ppg season, and drops a quote that you'd hear from Iverson. Not that it's acceptable from the Answer, but at least when reflecting on AI's arrogance you think "well, he was MVP".

And then this defenseless, poor passing (@ sub 6 feet) oompa loompa considers himself worthy of being considered a star that's been scolded. It seems every cheer he ever got as the little guy that could inflated his narcissism to the point where he's blinded by his own BS.

It's not how you want to play Nate. It's how much you want to win and how accepting you are of the role you're assigned to do so.

GTFO

More on the inevitable eviction

NEW YORK -- Nate Robinson, Mike D'Antoni and Donnie Walsh all went into damage control mode Sunday, giving everyone an earful about how there's nothing personal between the player and the coach, how Robinson really, truly wants to be a Knick, and how cooler heads might prevail after Walsh speaks Monday with Robinson's agent, Aaron Goodwin.
We'll spare you too much of the details and quotes, because all of it probably can be summed up in one word:
Bunk.

Robinson does want out, and a source close to the Robinson camp tells ESPN.com there's one place the former slam-dunk champion would truly like to land if a trade can be worked out: Boston.
If that can't happen, Robinson wants a buyout, believing he will be able to sign with one of the top contending teams in the league, including the Lakers, Cleveland and Orlando -- the thinking being that he can provide the instant offensive boost for any of those teams that he once provided for the Knicks.

Sunday night's 98-94 victory against Charlotte marked the ninth consecutive DNP-CD for Robinson, whose tension-filled relationship with D'Antoni has reached a tipping point. The Knicks have gone 6-3 since D'Antoni removed Robinson from the rotation -- a point D'Antoni repeatedly used in his own defense in addressing the matter prior to the game -- and Robinson's camp has made the decision to go public with its displeasure, formally requesting a trade while letting the media know it was doing so.

But a couple of problems exist in regard to Robinson's demanding a trade:
• Robinson has the right to veto any trade (because he would be forfeiting his Larry Bird rights by accepting a trade), and as unhappy as he is, at the end of the day he'd rather sulk at the end of the bench in New York than battle Wayne Ellington for spot minutes in Minnesota. One source close to the Knicks said the list of teams that Robinson would accept a trade to could be described as "slim and/or none."

• Robinson also is what's known as a base-year compensation player, a designation given to any player whose salary rises more than 20 percent from the previous season (Robinson went from making $2.02 million to $4 million). If the Knicks found a trade for Robinson that was to his liking, they could only take back a player making $2.02 million or less (Rudy) -- and Walsh has been adamant that he will not take on any contracts that eat up the cap space he has squirreled away for next summer. (Note: A trade of Robinson to Boston for J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker would work under salary cap rules, but would add nearly $2 million to the Knicks' 2010-11 payroll. A Robinson-Marquis Daniels swap -- with all deals possibly brokered through a third team -- would make more sense for New York payroll-wise, but it is questionable whether that would interest the Celtics -- even with Daniels sidelined until the All-Star break by thumb surgery.)

• Robinson cannot be traded until Dec. 24 -- 90 days after he signed his contract, when the Knicks gave him a deal more than $1 million above what he would have had to accept under New York's qualifying offer, in large part to assure he would not have a base-year designation next summer.
• By waiving his trade veto, accepting a trade and thereby forfeiting his Bird rights, Robinson would preclude himself from being a part of any sign-and-trade deal the Knicks might make next summer to reel in a top-tier free agent. And if he returns to the rotation in March and April, that'll be the time for Robinson to establish greater financial value.
But a number of team executives and player agents believe next summer's free agent market is going to be especially difficult to navigate, especially if the top three players on the market -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- are less than hasty in making their decisions.
"After those three and a couple others, it's going to shut down -- and it's going to shut down quick," one agent told ESPN.com. "A lot of guys are going to be left waiting at the doors."
And that is why the preferable endgame for Robinson is a buyout, despite what he maintained Sunday in saying he preferred to remain with the Knicks -- provided he gets a chance to play.
The Knicks still have an interest in pumping up Robinson's value for the sign-and-trade market, which is why Robinson could land back in the rotation by the time the trading deadline passes and New York either has or hasn't moved Jared Jeffries, the player with the cap-clogging contract deemed most movable by management. Jeffries logged another 31 (scoreless) minutes Sunday night after playing 31 the previous game, 40 against Chicago on Thursday, and 40 Tuesday at Charlotte when he defended everyone from Tyson Chandler to Raymond Felton and produced one of his better statistical lines of the season: 11 points, six steals, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a 3-pointer.
But Robinson's patience would certainly be tested by another two months of riding the pine, and the Knicks' aversion to having controversial players around (part of the reason they shied away from Allen Iverson, and the sole reason why they banished Stephon Marbury a year ago) could possibly make them agreeable to a buyout.
But things will have to get a lot uglier than they've already gotten (Robinson took it personally when D'Antoni joked that he'd play Satan himself if it helped get a win) for Robinson to force the Knicks' hand regarding a buyout. And it seems the wisdom of being seen by other teams as even more of a problem child would dissuade Robinson from heading too hard down that road.

That being said, something has to give at some point in this standoff, and Monday's discussion between Walsh and Goodwin should at least set the table for identifying what possible exit ramps might be available in the weeks ahead. Then again, Walsh will make the argument -- as D'Antoni did -- that players have been in and out of the rotation all season, and Robinson could be as key a component as Larry Hughes, who was in D'Antoni's doghouse when the season began.
But when Robinson didn't play in Chicago on Thursday, with D'Antoni shortening his rotation to six players despite the fact Hughes was sidelined by a strained groin, the dam burst.


Goodwin came out and said Robinson wanted a trade, Walsh said Monday would be a good day to discuss it, and everyone tried to say the right thing Sunday as the crisis crept along. But remember this: Walsh has historically been averse to doing buyouts (Marbury's was the first he had ever done as an NBA executive), and it's hard to see anyone in the Knicks' organization seeing any way in which a buyout of Robinson brings a long-term benefit.
So expect this situation to remain at loggerheads for the time being -- unless one of the key players changes the equation in a major way through their actions or words.

If that's the case, a buyout may be the best thing for everyone involved. And make no mistake: Barring a trade to a contender, a buyout (and it doesn't have to happen tomorrow, next week or next month if that means it's more likely come in late February, when Robinson will still be free to sign with a contender and still be playoff-eligible) is the endgame Robinson likely sees as his most palatable option.

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I can't wait until this lil turd is out of this city. His career will go the way of Harold Minor's unless he lets a coach get through to him.

He's not a franchise player no matter how much he can score. Many scrubs can put up Nate's numbers if they took as many shots as he does with this current team of nobodies. If he goes to a real winner, he's not going to have that green light to play the same way he is accustomed to. That's why dudes like Delonte West and others that can score easily seem to disapear in this league

Starks said:

I can't wait until this lil turd is out of this city. His career will go the way of Harold Minor's unless he lets a coach get through to him.

He's not a franchise player no matter how much he can score. Many scrubs can put up Nate's numbers if they took as many shots as he does with this current team of nobodies. If he goes to a real winner, he's not going to have that green light to play the same way he is accustomed to. That's why dudes like Delonte West and others that can score easily seem to disapear in this league

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West actually isn't a big scorer...more of an all around guard.

I really wanted Nate to come back to us with a fresh mindset ready to play team basketball, but it seems that's not going to happen.

But to ask for a trade to Boston... That's just a spit in the face to the fans really. For one thing it's turning into Marbury 2.0, and for another Boston doesn't have anything we want unless we can package Jefferies/Curry and get an expiring in return.

I'm not sure why Boston would even want Nate, they seem to have a pretty good bench already.

metrocard said:

West actually isn't a big scorer...more of an all around guard.

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Not West. I meant that dude from the Nuggets. What the hell was his name? Delonte something?.... Oh. DeMar Johnson I think

smokes said:

I really wanted Nate to come back to us with a fresh mindset ready to play team basketball, but it seems that's not going to happen.

But to ask for a trade to Boston... That's just a spit in the face to the fans really. For one thing it's turning into Marbury 2.0, and for another Boston doesn't have anything we want unless we can package Jefferies/Curry and get an expiring in return.

I'm not sure why Boston would even want Nate, they seem to have a pretty good bench already.

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Let's put this in perspective. The team is 0-whatever when Nate plays over 19 minutes. He goes to the bench and they start to win, 6-3 I believe. And after a mere 9 games of not playing he wants to be traded. What world is he in. I like Nate and thought he would be able to adapt to the team becoming more professional. Obviously he can't. Duhon spoke up over a month ago about being more focussed during warmup. This was clearly directed at Nate. He had amply time and warning to adjust. Then he shoots the ball at the Nets basket, clowns with Dwight Howard before the game and commits a silly off the ball foul. He is the problem not D'Antoni and I cannot believe the way the media portrays this. This is all part of the Knicks becoming more professional. Nate should stay for the season. If he really cared about the team, he'd work harder to get in the rotation, cut out the circus act and play a little D. If he cannot do that, he should stay on the bench and Donnie should use him as a bargaining chip to further the team. All that matters is winning. If Nate can't get that, then I'll happily throw out his jersey that I bought 2 years ago, at the end of this season.

Papajoe said:

Let's put this in perspective. The team is 0-whatever when Nate plays over 19 minutes. He goes to the bench and they start to win, 6-3 I believe. And after a mere 9 games of not playing he wants to be traded. What world is he in. I like Nate and thought he would be able to adapt to the team becoming more professional. Obviously he can't. Duhon spoke up over a month ago about being more focussed during warmup. This was clearly directed at Nate. He had amply time and warning to adjust. Then he shoots the ball at the Nets basket, clowns with Dwight Howard before the game and commits a silly off the ball foul. He is the problem not D'Antoni and I cannot believe the way the media portrays this. This is all part of the Knicks becoming more professional. Nate should stay for the season. If he really cared about the team, he'd work harder to get in the rotation, cut out the circus act and play a little D. If he cannot do that, he should stay on the bench and Donnie should use him as a bargaining chip to further the team. All that matters is winning. If Nate can't get that, then I'll happily throw out his jersey that I bought 2 years ago, at the end of this season.

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I love this post. And who the hell Nate thinks he is changing his jersey number like he's Kobe. hahahahaha

He'll get waived and not picked up like Earl Boykins

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To be honest I don't usually pay much attention to these poll options, but this on caught my eye and made me realize, if Nate could accept a role similar to what Boykins has in Washington he could be really dangerous. In the games Washington won recently he was a huge part of it especially his 4th quarter game. He usually only plays 1-3 minutes per quarter unless it's the 4th when he can play anything from 3-12 minutes closing out the game, and he's a dangerous weapon.

Thing is I doubt Nate would willingly take that role.

funny

All you nate haters.. want nate out because he dances around and smiles and doesnt take his job seriously... so your saying lebron dancing around and all his crap isnt a circus act as well... so you must be saying you don't want lebron?