Comments on: On Cloud Nine

By: MattinDC

MattinDC — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:30:43 +0000

Being a life long Knicks fan in DC is tough, since I have seen what Ernie Grunfeld has done with the Wiz. I wish he was still GM in NY, with Isiah as the head of scouting/coach. Knicks would be much better at gauging free agent talent.

Case in point: Jared Jeffries. There’s no good reason why Balkman should play less minutes than Jeffries, besides the fact Isiah overpaid for him. Same as “Big Snax” James.

Best option for Knicks – do nothing in the free agent market, let the youth develop, stop playing Francis and James (limit Jeffries minutes too), shoot for a lottery pick in next year’s draft.

By: Caleb

Caleb — Sun, 27 May 2007 01:00:03 +0000

Ken has a good analysis, but I would qualify it by saying that Carter is not just athletic, but a good shooter at any range, and a good playmaker for a swingman (lots of assists, good ratio)… so I don’t think his performance will fall off a cliff like some might expect.

If I were Houston or the Lakers or Cleveland, any team that was a player away from contending, I’d be tempted to mortgage the future to get Vince on board for the next year or two.

That said, it would be ridiculous for a rebuilding time like NYK to take him on – he supposedly has nagging knee problems, and post-30 would be a white elephant at a salary any higher than $7 or $8 million per – not to mention the 15-plus million that would be part of any sign and trade.

By: Ken "The Animal" Bannister

Ken "The Animal" Bannister — Sat, 26 May 2007 23:41:30 +0000

“I agree, this team needs a real shooting forward, you can keep Oneal KG and Gasol as they are getting old and would cost us too many young players.”

Carter, like many players who rely on explosiveness, is going to decline quickly in his 30′s (he’s 30 now). And whatever package “Isiah could put together for Carter (not that he should) is going to be more or less the same as what he has to offer for the 3 PF’s you mentioned.

Honestly, I think Lee will give the Knicks great production for 1/10th of the cost of any of the big 3.

And regarding age — O’Neal is 29, Gasol is 27 and KG is 31. And PF’s tend to produce much more into their 30′s than SF/SG’s (like Carter).

All of this is moot, really. The story in the Post regarding Carter was SO clearly fed to Berman by Carter’s agent in the hopes of starting a bidding war for his client. The Nets aren’t going to give him max money. The only way to secure a big payday is to get the Nets to do a sign and trade — hence the article mentioning Isiah’s “interest” from “A source close to Isiah”. Don’t believe the hype, people.

By: Owen

Owen — Sat, 26 May 2007 20:09:33 +0000

Kdun – Why you would pick just three games to make the point that Mardy Collins is an NBA level point guard, I don’t know. But even with this small sample size there are some problems with your analysis. Mardy Collins was 16-48 from the field (five three pointers) and 17-24 from the ft line. That’s really a terrible shooting performance as a starter.

I agree with Caleb, Mardy has not yet shown he is ready for prime time. I hope he does so next year, I would love him and his game if his shot fell more frequently.

By: Gmal

Gmal — Sat, 26 May 2007 02:36:10 +0000

Mardy’s april stats where good considering the
the other injuries to the team. I think he caught some teams by surprise but next season he will have to come up with a consistant outside shot, I’m not worried about the t/o’s at this stage. The late talk about getting Vince, Oneal etc shows that Isiah has tipped his hand here that he is comfortable about the pg spot. Of all the names out there I like Vince as the best fit.
I agree, this team needs a real shooting forward, you can keep Oneal KG and Gasol as they are getting old and would cost us too many young players.

By: Kdun

Kdun — Fri, 25 May 2007 15:02:53 +0000

What about Collin’s stats when he started in April?

14.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2 steals. Sure the 4 turnovers has to be improved, but for a guy who sat for most of the season before seeing extended minutes at the end of the season, a few turnovers is expected.

April 7 – 19 pts, 12 rebs, 8 assists, 5 steals
April 15 – 12 pts, 8 rebs, 11 assists, 3 steals
April 16 – 23 points, 10 rebs, 7 assists, 2 steals, 2 TOs, 9-12 FT

Collins stats for the entire 82 game season are poo, but a 22 year old that can play perimeter defense, rebound, distribute, and get to the line = NBA-level point guard. When Steph’s gone, I think Collins has a 50/50 chance of taking over the starting spot.

By: Caleb

Caleb — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:37:35 +0000

Sorry… the full Collins line:

FG 38%
3-pt 27%
FT 58%
Asst/TO 1.5/1

Can you honestly call that an NBA-level point guard?

I agree he has some value as a defensive player, but would have to be Dikembe Mutombo in his prime to be even an average starter.

By: Caleb

Caleb — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:35:41 +0000

Here are the career stats for Mardy Collins:
FG 38%

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=4157

By: xduckshoex

xduckshoex — Thu, 24 May 2007 17:00:28 +0000

I don’t think Collins was anywhere near as effective as Balkman was. He used too many possessions and didn’t do much good with them. Of all the players on the Knicks who played 15 mpg or more, Collins was the absolute worst.

By: mase

mase — Thu, 24 May 2007 15:19:32 +0000

“Mardy Collins? Fughetit. Maybe a defensive role-player, if we?re lucky. ”

…I saw him take over games with an array of offensive moves(drives, good passer, he’s excellent at absorbing contact and can finish like a veteran). Also, he can play lock-down defense but needs to improve his outside shooting. He was just as impressive as Balkman this season which is why I support any trade with a team willing to take some of our vets(specifically Francis and JJ) for picks.

I repeat for the record I do not want O’neal or KG or Lewis, maybe Pau. We could really have a good team with the core of of 1st or 2nd year players if drafted by Isiah.