alsep73: We can’t trade Landry, because he technically isn’t under contract for next season yet. Hahn lays out all our options here, and makes it clear that the most we can expect is a trade up in the 2nd round (and possibly not even that):

http://www.msg.com/blogs/alan-hahn/the-knicks-fix–nba-draft–48th-parallel-for-the-knicks.html

Thanks alsep… (though I wish I’d read that before I carved out a 4 hour block to watch the draft…)

jon abbey:
also I’m semi-intentionally forgetting about Fields there. I would be the happiest man in the world if he never suited up in blue and orange again.

Not sure which is more unnatural– your love for Shumpie or your hatred for Fields :)

What you missed though was the fact that in ’09 Smith played a lot of point guard, putting him in a lot more shot-creation scenarios he’s simply not that good in, as we saw in his absolutely horrific playoff series against Miami. Woodson essentially tried to do the same thing with Woodson Karl did. JR is a good pnr passer, but struggles creating his own shot (is just average in terms of efficiency)

AS you said, for all of his athleticism, his first step quickness isn’t great, and he doesn’t seem to get a lot of torque on his drives.

But here’s the thing, even in a down year, Smith was 56th last season in spot-up efficiency and 34th in transition.

In 2010, he was the 8th best spot up player in the NBA, shooting a Novak like 46.6 percent on 3s!!! He was also 6th off-screens and 4th in dribble hand-offs.

In 2009, he was 38th in spot-up efficiency and the best player in the NBA on “cuts”…..

Smith is an IDEAL off-ball roll player. With Lin and a competent second point guard, you can put him back into a position where he’s extremely efficient.

When you combine his defense and age, I think JR Smith would be the best possible free agent signing the Knicks could make.

ephus: I think that JR Smith is the most interesting Knick to put under the statistical microscope. We know he is an elite athlete. In the past, he was an elite 3 point shooter, although he did not show it this year. He seems to be an elite finisher at the rim (but I am not certain whether the numbers would bear that out). He loves the step back jumper, but is he taking that shot too early in the shot clock? Is there a core of JR Smith that would be an elite player, or is he too much sizzle and not enough steak?

I’ve been a JR fan for a while. He’s got so many blatant flaws, but he’s a fun guy to follow.

Early in his career, he was more of a spot up shooter than anything. He didn’t take midrange shots at all, really. He didn’t get a green light to shoot from midrange until 2009. Unsurprisingly, his efficiency declined immediately.

It’s tough, because JR is absolutely capable of creating decent looks for himself. He turned in a weak season immediately following the expansion of his role, but followed that with a much stronger one as he became more comfortable. With this team, I think JR would be better suited to largely returning to a job as a spot up shooter. Although it may be worth mentioning that that ’09-’10 season when JR started taking more midrange shots Denver posted a top 5 spot in offensive efficiency on the season.

I don’t think JR will ever be truly an elite player. He struggles in getting to the rim, his handle is suspect, and his defense is woefully inconsistent. However, he’s a MUCH better decision-maker with the ball in his hands than he gets credit for, he has solid footwork (allowing him to shoot relatively well off the dribble), and he seems to want to adapt his game to fit a winning culture. I would love to have him back.

jon abbey: hmm, leaving aside my unnatural love for Shumpie, I think I like that. so that would leave us with:

Chandler
Melo
Marvin Williams
Johnson
Lin

JR Smith?
Novak?
Jeffries?

not sure I’m crazy about Melo having to defend PFs every game, but I do love the length there at SG/SF/PF, and it would be nice to dump Toney. not sure, maybe…

I like a Melo-Johnson combo (two guys that can initiate offense on their own and get their own shot) with Chandler cleaning up the glass and Lin attacking and shooting. But I would love better shooting. What is Marvin William’s 3P% and TS% again?

ephus:
Last thought for a while.Bill Simmons has thrown out this trade, asking who says no.Stoudemire/Shumpert/Douglas to Atlanta for Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams.

hmm, leaving aside my unnatural love for Shumpie, I think I like that. so that would leave us with:

Chandler
Melo
Marvin Williams
Johnson
Lin

JR Smith?
Novak?
Jeffries?

not sure I’m crazy about Melo having to defend PFs every game, but I do love the length there at SG/SF/PF, and it would be nice to dump Toney. not sure, maybe…

more importantly, discussions could last longer than 48 hours. it’s hard to put in time and effort to a post or series of posts that you know will essentially disappear a day or two later.