Finally some sanity...
As to the underlying premise of the the thread...I believe are depth of players has always been the Knicks problem. We need a bonified 1-2 punch of two Superstar/Allstar Caliber players and the rest of the team solid rollplayers that compliment our main focus. Going back to the late 90's when Ewing was in decline we had great depth but no MJ, Malone or Oneal caliber player but were stacked with underacheiveing halfway superstars. Our bench always had players that we felt could be starters on our team but certainly on other franchises. We never won a title and we are in the same situation now.
We need to trim the fat and get Kobe period...
Sanity? I think it is more realistic to think that Morris's summer league play is indicative of how he'll perform in the regular season is more likely than us landing Kobe! Neither is all that likely, but if one or the other was going to happen next season the smart money is not on Kobe landing in the Big Apple.
But yes we do have a talanted bench, in fact I think it is a championship quality bench, we have role players, hustle players, defenders, and players who can come in and change the course of the game. The problem is our starting 5 is a bit shaky to me. I mean individually I like each player, but as a unit we are extremley off balanced in my opinion. We are an obvious half court team with Zach and Eddy, and assuming they get the type of touches required for them to be affective then, Steph and Jamal are going to have to become role players in the starting line up, and I don't think they bring the type of intangiables needed to be role players. I'm not saying that Mardy is a better player or even point than Steph, but he's better suited for the lineup than Steph. He doesn't have to score to be affective, he'll play lock down D, he's taller making it easier to make entry passes, he can hit the boards, plus he can be used as a post player as well. If Mardy develops a jumper, and can start knocking down his free throws at around 78% than he should be our starting point. I think Q should be the starting SG for this type of lineup, again a player who brings other qualites to the game other than scoring, he can also D and hit the boards, and post up and ofcourse knock down the 3. So who is our SF ? A question I haven't figured out yet, I mean again it's only summer league, but if Chandler could ever play like he did in the Summer League against real competttion, then I would say he's the perfect fit, again a rebounder, defender, low post threat, and most importantly a team player. But again that's only if ( big big if) he can turn into what we saw this summer.
But ofcourse Isiah has a lot of loyalty to Steph and Jamal for being two of his first major acqusitions. I can maybe see Jamal being traded, but would he really trade Steph, or if Steph is not producing in the offense like is being expected, would he start another player over him? Would Isiah let him walk after next season? Isiah once said that he's commited only to winning when asked if he would trade Steph to appease Larry Brown, now the question is if Steph doesn't make this team better then would he let him go ? Please don't get it confused Steph and Jamal are two of my favorite players in the league....but we do have the players on this roster who can make this Eddy and Zach project work effetively
Projected Lineup
Mardy
Q
Chandler ( possibly)
Zach
Eddy
bench
Nate
Fred Jones ( defense w/ some scoring)
Balkman
Lee
Nichols
Dan Dik or equiv. ( we need a true backup point)
Now that would also require Nichols to play like he did in the summer, which may or may not be all that likely, but ( and a huge but that is) if he and Chandler develope, and this is our lineup, then we are talking a solid all around team, our weak interior is disguised by our great on the ball defenders, we're easily the best rebounding team in the league, Nichols Q Nichols and Nate can drain the 3 and Lee and Balk provide the energy. One major risk is can other than relying on the rookies is can Q be relied on as a full-time starter with the injury? So my lineup isn't without flaw, but hey you gotta admit it makes the Zach trade look a lot better.