It wasn’t 100%, pinhead. It did come out that Kobe did have NY as one of the top 3 teams he would go to.

True but both were in the final year so their worthlessness was only for a matter of months. Malik has 2 years left on his contract so he really isn’t much of an asset for another year and a half. Is it worth keeping him on the team for that? It wasn’t worth it for Mo Taylor or Jalen Rose and they were both already in their walk years.

It seems that come Feb. 2009, if we need an expiring contract to get a trade done, Marbury’s $20 million will be more than enough. Rose’s $8 mil. is chump change.

Therefore, unless we love what Malik brings to the locker room (which this site doesn’t, since his grade was an F) I think he should be considered a candidate to be bought out in favor of the younger guys.

But, of course, all buyout discussions must begin with Jerome James.

If Nichols gets cut and becomes the next Reggie Miller, Isiah will forever be known as the guy who burned Dolan’s money for 4 years then refused buy out Jerome James. I’m not saying Nichols will be Reggie, but it’s almost worth dumping James as a security measure against it.

Hell, even if Nichols becomes the next Tracy Murray fans will not forgive Isiah’s stubborness…

this really isn’t true, two of many examples to the contrary are Antonio Davis to Toronto and Penny Hardaway to Orlando, both of whom were making in the $15 million range at the time and whose careers were done.

Contrary to what has been written here, Rose will NOT be a valuable trade asset next year. Teams do not look for 8 million dollar players they won’t use when looking for S/T. They look for rotation players. They are better off letting a player walk than to add a crap player’s salary for a year. Maybe this makes sense in video games where the money is fake, but it won’t fly in reality.

Isiah and the team likes Rose who is the lockerroom leader and good example to the younger bigs. I wouldn’t bother buying him out until next year as he still provides some use. Let’s be honest, none of these guys on the bubble is going to be an impact player, better to carry a veteran with an impact behind the scenes than an unproven rookie who doesn’t know the NBA grind.

Mardy Collins isn’t really a candidate to get cut as he’s an ultra cheap first rounder, they can keep him another three years for dirt cheap.

Fred Jones I’ve considered a lock to make the team since he got here, despite his expiring contract. He’s a rotation player in this league, and the Isiah connection doesn’t exactly hurt. So really, it’s been two spots this whole time.

Morris is talked up as a second first rounder for the Knicks, he was never really a canidate to get cut either. They need a backup center as Jerome James doesn’t cut it. So really, it’s been one spot.

Jerome James also has a long term deal but his injury puts him in a potential buyout position. Still, it’s unlikey to happen this year. There never has been an open roster spot.

Still, the Knicks had nothing to lose in inviting these guys to camp, you never know what will happen 3 months down the line. Even Jordan, who basically replaced Dickau, whou would have been cut anyway.

You’re right. Sweetney started off on the IR.

nba teams couldn’t send their players to the d-league back in 2003, that phenomenon started maybe two years ago.

I think it is very true about age and potential being linked. While there are many 4 year college players that became superstars like Boozer and Duncan most if not all of those players were pretty good their rookie year and did not have to fight for a roster spot.

So if Nichols or Jordan get cut we are not missing out on that much. They might very well become solid NBA players but if they fail to make the team, solid is about as much as they could ever hope for.

With all that said I would like to keep them both because while I do not know what we will get from them I know we will get below average basketball from both Rose and James. We only need five big men and they are Curry, Morris, Randolph, Lee and Jeffries. Plus Balkman and Chandler can play the 4 in a pinch, so we have no need to keep ineffective ones. If Houston makes the team, which I highly doubt, then we should cut whoever shows less out of Nichols or Jordan because neither of them will play much anyway. If they both impress then we should cut Jones because with Houston on the team he won’t play anyway.