I didn’t express myself well at all, but basically I don’t think Memphis does the Conley deal and I don’t think Portland does the Lowry deal. With Bayless having torn up the summer league (whatever that’s worth) and Fernandez playing well last season and in the Olympics, I don’t think Portland gives up one of their two SFs for a decent guard. Maybe if Batum is suprisingly ready for the NBA and Bayless and Fernandez struggle they’d be interested mid-season.

I think there have been discussions of Outlaw for Conley AND Outlaw for Lowry. I don’t see the Griz giving up Conley for Outlaw, however.

Also, does anyone else see the potential comedy value of having two eastern european players on the roster–or even the court– at the same time? It could be its own late 70’s sitcom in itself.

I meant to say :

Also, does anyone else see the potential comedy value of having two eastern european players with rhyming names on the roster–or even the court–at the same time? It could be its own late 70’s sitcom in itself.

Pull the trigger, damn it.

donnie dont do it!

It depends on whether the Knicks were giving up a 1st rounder in the Clippers trade… If not than this trade is far, far worse.
Darko IS NOT A GOOD DEFENDER. He blocks a few shots, but it’s doubtful he actually makes them significantly better defensively. On the other side of the ball he hasn’t shown any passing prowess and he’s a terrible scorer: low volume, low efficiency. He’s a decent rebounder.
The one thing I will say is that it may be largely mental: everyone who saw him play pre-NBA thought he was the 2nd coming and he was actually a passable NBA player for half a season after escaping Detroit for Orlando. At 23 and playing for D’Antoni he actually might get it together and be an NBA player, but is that chance good enough to take on Jaric’s contract? Taking on another guy whose problems are “mental?”
This trade would only be “addition by sbtraction” in the short-term and still leaves them with a bad long-term contract; if Donnie thinks there’s a trade out there in the next season and a half that makes the Knicks better and/or takes more off the cap then passing up this deal seems logical.

TDM,

The way I’ve heard it was more Conley for Outlaw, with Memphis unwilling to make the deal. Since Lowry would be joining Roy, Bayless, Fernandez, Rodriguez, and Blake in the back-court, and moving Outlaw would leave them with only sharp-shooter Martell Webster, and completely unprovens Batum and Luke Jackson on the wing, I don’t think Portland would do Outlaw-Lowry, the big advantage of Conley would be his relationship with Oden (and his potentially higher ceiling).

I previously proposed “Lowry and Malik to Portland, Darko and Raef to NY, and Zach to Memphis . . . Portland gets cap relief and a pg of the future, Memphis gets a low post scorer . . . NY gets cap relief and a shot blocker. In 2 years, NY would have both Raef and Darko off the balance sheet.”

I still think this is possible because the Lowry to Portland rumor has been swirling almost as long as the Zach to Memphis rumor. I have faith that Donnie is going to get the trade done in one form or another. I think anything that gets Zach out will be good in the long run for the Knicks. I don’t even think that Zach is the real problem with the Knicks, but he doesn’t fit, and takes minutes away from Lee. I feel confident that Donnie gets that.