Forget Paul

LJ4ptplay

Starter
The torn ligament in his right middle finger that forced Chris Paul to shut it down for the season was quietly sustained in Paul's first game back from knee surgery against Dallas on March 22.

We say quietly because Paul, so desperate to get back on the floor after the knee injury cost him 25 games and New Orleans' shot at the playoffs, kept trying to play through the finger issue until he was finally convinced that risking any further damage (to his hand or his knee) was a pointless risk with the postseason out of reach.

But the most frustrating season of Paul's career -- which began with the firing of close friend Byron Scott and was notable mostly for the Hornets' continued stripping-down of their roster to avoid paying luxury tax -- is poised to end on what looks like an undeniable high.

League sources say that the proposed sale of the Hornets from longtime owner George Shinn to minority owner Gary Chouest should now be regarded as an "inevitability," with an announcement possible as early as next week. And with Chouest in a much stronger financial position than Shinn, there is a buzz building around the franchise already that the necessary money will be spent to rebuild the team around Paul ? and hire a top-tier coach such as New Orleans native Avery Johnson.

This is bad news for rival teams that have been clinging to the hope that the emergence of Hornets rookie point guard Darren Collison would make it possible to steal Paul in an offseason trade. One source close to the situation told ESPN.com this week that to the contrary, Chouest is adamant about keeping Paul, who has tried in vain all season to convince media skeptics that he wants to stay in New Orleans.

The Hornets have said publicly that they will not address the sale or the future of coach/general manager Jeff Bower after the regular season ends, but two NBA coaching sources said this week that Bower is highly unlikely to continue on the bench and is already bracing for the end of his coaching tenure. But it's believed that Bower -- coming off a strong draft with Collison and second-round gem Marcus Thornton and after swinging the necessary trades to get the Hornets under the $69.9 million luxury-tax threshold -- will have a chance to continue in a front-office role with the team if he loses his coaching post as expected.

As recently as last week, before the prospect of a sale was revealed by the New York Post's Peter Vecsey, it was widely assumed in coaching circles that Bower would return next season as coach because Shinn would never spend the sort of money required to get into the bidding for ESPN's Johnson, whose interest in a return to his hometown has been circulating for some time.

Yet Shinn -- now in remission after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in November -- is finally ready to sell after a controversial two-decade run with a franchise that moved away from its fervent followers in Charlotte largely because of the locals' distaste for the owner.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-100409-10/award-winners

It looks like new Hornets' owner Gary Chouest does not want to trade Paul.


So where does this leave the Knicks with their PG needs/hopes. I still have hope for Rubio playing for the Knicks someday, but that is a longshot with the way Kahn is handling things. And he probably wouldn't be available until 2011 anyway.

So who's left? Steve Blake? Who else?
 

LJ4ptplay

Starter
Free Agent PG's:
Raymond Felton
Jordan Farmar
Luke Ridnour
Randy Foye
Kyle Lowry
Sergio
Carlos Arroyo
Will Bynum
C.J. Watson

None of those are appealing to me. You forgot Steve Blake. He is the only one out of the free agents that I would sign.

Who the hell are we going to have running the point next year? We really need to get a PG via trade.

In other news, Azibuke signed his player option. Another SG the Knicks won't be able to sign.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
Was a longshot anyways.

This should further increase our chances of getting Collison with Emeka, which is an essential trade.
 

nyk_nyk

All Star
Free Agent PG's:
Raymond Felton
Jordan Farmar
Luke Ridnour
Randy Foye
Kyle Lowry
Sergio
Carlos Arroyo
Will Bynum
C.J. Watson

None of these guys will dramatically improve the team. If Sergio improves his jumpshot this summer, I wouldn't mind settling for him. Lowry is good but he's too small.
 

Red

TYPE-A
With the Knicks UNDER the cap- the possibilities are endless since we no longer need to match contracts.

That said... how about Devin Harris from the Nets who may get the #1 pick.

Then there's Flynn and a host of B level players we could target.

To even consider Rubio makes absolutely no sense. He would be an experiment at best- one which we can't afford. A Vet like Andre Miller would be more likely if we want to really make a splash.
 

Oldtimer

Rotation player
Shaun Livingston

I agree with Knickmatic. Shaun Livingston is interesting. He played very well for Washington at the end of the year. Before his horrific injury, he showed incredible promise, It has taken him a long time but he may be coming back from the injury as a better player than any of the other available point guards.

Depending on the numbers he demands or is likely to get, he could be a very good investment.
 

iSaYughh

Starter
A Livingston-serg como wouldn't be horrible.

Agree w Red tho that our main targets should be Harris -- assuming JohnWall holds up for them -- and Flynn.

Seems doable given circumstance and resource. That's a good call to go full steam after those 2.
 

KNICKMATIC809

Benchwarmer
if the knicks do get there hands on lebron ..we dont have 2 look for a top point cuz lebron is a point/forward ... i'll stick with toney douglas and his impressive defense to guard the top best pg in the league plus he already has a year of experience on him so next season his going to be even better .... but a guy like livingston that is 6'7 and is still young and at the end of the season he played pretty darn good ..donnie even made a statement saying he's on his list
 
None of those are appealing to me. You forgot Steve Blake. He is the only one out of the free agents that I would sign.

Who the hell are we going to have running the point next year? We really need to get a PG via trade.

In other news, Azibuke signed his player option. Another SG the Knicks won't be able to sign.


You already mentioned Blake so I didn't put him on the list, but raymond felton is better than him anyway and has more upside and plays better D.
 

Paul1355

All Star
It looks like new Hornets' owner Gary Chouest does not want to trade Paul.


So where does this leave the Knicks with their PG needs/hopes. I still have hope for Rubio playing for the Knicks someday, but that is a longshot with the way Kahn is handling things. And he probably wouldn't be available until 2011 anyway.

So who's left? Steve Blake? Who else?
Kahn has made it clear he does not want to trade Rubio and he drafted him # 5 expecting his contract with Spain to have problems.

We have options, a sign and trade for Monta Ellis....getting Luke Ridnour sounds good after he had his most productive season scoring 10 points and having about 4 assists I think in only 20 min a game.

Ramon Sessions is still a possibility with T Wolves being stacked with PG's.

we can always draft a PG after buying money to go in the 1st round.
 

knickzrulezH20

Sexy Stud
I doubt we get a really good PG. We'll probably just end up with an average one. If Donnie can pry Ricky Rubio or Devin Harris from their respective teams, it'd be a miracle.
 

knickzrulezH20

Sexy Stud
With the Knicks UNDER the cap- the possibilities are endless since we no longer need to match contracts.

That said... how about Devin Harris from the Nets who may get the #1 pick.

Then there's Flynn and a host of B level players we could target.

To even consider Rubio makes absolutely no sense. He would be an experiment at best- one which we can't afford. A Vet like Andre Miller would be more likely if we want to really make a splash.

If we can get Rubio, WE GET HIM.

Buttt I like the Johnny Flynn idea to. If the Wolves get Wall, why would they need Flynn? He'd be expendable for them. We probably would be able to get him at a decent price to. Not a bad idea, but the Wolves need to win the lottery for this to happen (Something that they've never done so far lol)
 

smokes

Huge Member
If we can get Rubio, WE GET HIM.

Buttt I like the Johnny Flynn idea to. If the Wolves get Wall, why would they need Flynn? He'd be expendable for them. We probably would be able to get him at a decent price to. Not a bad idea, but the Wolves need to win the lottery for this to happen (Something that they've never done so far lol)

But Kahn likes having 2 PGs playing at the same time remember?!!?! GM'ing at its finest...
 

ibraheim718

Benchwarmer
If we can get Rubio, WE GET HIM.

Buttt I like the Johnny Flynn idea to. If the Wolves get Wall, why would they need Flynn? He'd be expendable for them. We probably would be able to get him at a decent price to. Not a bad idea, but the Wolves need to win the lottery for this to happen (Something that they've never done so far lol)

See H2o now your talking some sense.

I'm for an all out plan to pry Rubio from the wolves. Do it.
 

knickzrulezH20

Sexy Stud
But Kahn likes having 2 PGs playing at the same time remember?!!?! GM'ing at its finest...

Lol I know! But you missed my point. I said it would happen if they got John Wall. Thus it'd be John Wall/Ricky Rubio. Unless Kahn wants 3 PG's? I'm pretty sure he'd be assasinated if he ever came up with that idea lol.
 

smokes

Huge Member
Lol I know! But you missed my point. I said it would happen if they got John Wall. Thus it'd be John Wall/Ricky Rubio. Unless Kahn wants 3 PG's? I'm pretty sure he'd be assasinated if he ever came up with that idea lol.

Nah I got what you wrote but Rubio isn't coming to the NBA until 2011 at the earliest so he might want a season of Flynn/Wall to evaluate his amazing double PG theory!
 
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