Eddy Curry has never been a good NBA player, at any point. He shouldn’t be an NBA player. There really is no place in the league for him.

1. Curry is not good passing out of the double team.

2. The Knicks had no one on that team that could consistently hit the ocean from the outside even if he was capable of getting the ball there.

Personally, I think that despite his per minute stats staying the same, he was in fact a better player that year. It’s just not noticeable looking at the annual numbers because he started out a little slow and then the double and triple teams came. That’s something he didn’t have to contend with as much in prior years. So you could say his per minute stats remained flat DESPITE coping with defenses that were geared up to stop him.

All of that is moot though. Last year he was back to the same level as before (if not worse because of Randolph’s presence) and so far this year is even worse. He belongs on the bench until he gets in top condition, demonstrates a desire to play hard every minute he’s on the court, and only IF he can fit into this system well.

We are going to see players who were buried in the past get resurrected and put up some decent numbers and then unloaded by Walsh.

It’s all about 2010

I am as disappointed with Curry now as I have ever been. Working with D’Antoni was a great opportunity for him and instead he comes into camp out of shape. The sickness was not his fault but being so out of game shape was.

At this point I think it is too late for him. I would be surprised if he can get into shape and play his way onto the court this year. Frankly it is exactly what he deserves. He knew D’Antoni’s offense required good conditioning, you would think he would have worked hard to prove all his detractors wrong, instead of proving them all right.

As for Lee I think he would fit on any team in any system. He is something every team needs.

From a Walsh standpoint – he probably understands he can’t move all the deadweight at once. I seriously doubt he’s looking at Randolph as a long-term building block; if Zach looks good in D’Antoni’s system, he’ll be shopped hard at the trade deadline. At least, all offers will be seriously considered.. then, or next summer. Once Randolph is gone, Curry’s minutes will go up and hopefully we can revive his trade value a bit.

Crawford is another thing – based on his style of play, and Marbury’s likely departure, JC might be in the long-term plan. But he also has trade value right now, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move at the deadline.

Hard to guess where Jeffries fits in.

Q & James expire in the summer of 2010, so I don’t expect to see them go anywhere.

However I’m not sure if Curry will fit in at all. He’s the anti-D’Antoni player. He’s poor at rebounding, passing, moving without the ball, moving with the ball, etc.

It’s funny how for a chunk of the summer people were saying Lee wouldn’t fit in with D’Antoni without a jumpshot, and it ends up that Curry’s riding the bench.

And yes, Curry was abominable last season. However, he had a positive Roland Rating the year before: http://www.82games.com/0607/0607NYK.HTM

Playing devil’s advocate, isn’t there hope that he’ll contribute this season — maybe he’ll get lipo or gastric bypass and be able to join in the seven-second offense.