It's only 2008, but it seems as if teams in the NBA are already preparing for the 2010 Sweepstakes.
The prizes include Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, a few old guys, and most of all LeBron James, who has made it clear that he wants to be a billionaire in the future, and moving to New York can just do that.
New York is the biggest market in the country. I should know, I live in New York, and they make the Knicks looks like an elite team with all the commercials, and clothing. If James does come to new York, there is no question that he will be the biggest icon in thworld.
However, the only question is where will he land, or if he will even take off. Both the New Jersey Nets and Knicks have made it clear that they are trying to get James. The Nets traded away both Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson clearing cap space. The Knicks haven't really cleared much cap space, but they are preparing for James.
Here are some of the moves that they have made so far.
1. FIRE ISIAH!!!! - Hiring Donnie Walsh was a big move for the Knicks. Not only do they get a guy with experience, but also a guy who can actually make good decisions.
2. FIRE ISIAH!!! again - Donnie Walsh made it clear that he would rebuild the franchise and he made his first move by firing Thomas and hiring Mike D'Antoni. Although D'Antoni is a much better coach, he is only known for his up-tempo offense and not-much defense.
3. Danilo Gallinari - A pretty decent player, Gallinari can shoot and also handle the ball. He has proved that he can play in D'Antoni's offense, but he is still a bit too weak on defense. He had to sit out the last four games of summer league after hurting his back. But don't worry, he will be a good player.
4. Renaldo Balkman - Trading Balkman was a tough move for the fans but an easy one for Walsh. With Chandler and Gallinari playing small forward, Balkman was the only one of the three with a limited offensive games. His absence will also be good for Gallinari, because he will receive more playing time.
5. Chris Duhon - Signing Duhon was an important move because it added another guard to the roster, already containing Crawford, Robinson, Roberson, Collins, and Marbury. With the guard spot full, this may be a hint that Marbury will be traded away.
Although the Knicks have made a few moves, it only a few and they still need to make more. Rebuilding a franchise isn't easy, but it can be done. One way it can be done is by getting LeBron. In order to get hm you have to lure him there. With D'Antoni coaching the Knicks and the USA team, he can probably convince the King to come and play in MSG.
But that is still not enough. Although Marbury is a distraction to the team, he can still play, and teams could probably trade for him. I can see the Knicks trade him to the Clippers for Cuttino Mobley and a Second Round Pick. I can also see, Zach Randolph being traded to Miami for Mark Blount, and a few other scrubs.
In conclusion, It's going to be a long season in New York, with changes coming everyday (well, not everyday). With the roster they have now the Knicks may be decent with around 35 wins, but they won't be good. Look for more changes to occur and see LeBron with a blue and orange jersey in 2010.
6 comments Last one added about 1 month ago — Leave a Comment
Emtiaz Uddin 11 months ago
this was my first article. how was it?
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blah blah 11 months ago
Well, a little sparse. Spruce up the writing with non-esoteric statistics, throw in some hip, hyphenated urbanities and liberals like me will be blind to some grammatical errors. It is nice to see a Knick article, but the only people obsessed about the Knicks are die-hard fans like me who'll read any old piece of writing as long as it pretends to expertly opine on the status of this beloved franchise. Pretend to know what you're talking about and make some bloated bloviations and you'll have me tuning in like a ludicrous little idiot soaking up every damn irrelevant word even though I could script an entire novel on the maudlinly mundane signing of Chris Duhon. The essence of good journalism is relevance and meticulousness, so don't print anything that isn't scrupulously researched and ardently believed otherwise it'll make a fool out of both of us! Maybe include some pro-Eddy Curry speculation: maybe he's lost weight?
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30Year KnickFan 11 months ago
As good an article as I've seen on the Knicks so far. A little more analysis would be helpful. For example Balkman's eaving got a 2nd rounder and reduced the number of guarnteed salaries on the bench.
I'd like to see what you can do on writing about next steps between now and the start of the season.
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Paul Nuzzi 11 months ago
I think the point of writing about something like a Balkman trade is what do we think of it. Getting a 2010 2nd round pic make sense.. no salary implications.. and the pic could be at the start of round 2. But lets hope this does NOT mean that Jerome James and Stephon Marbury will be playing for the Knicks this season. Simply put, if they aren't part of the future, and don't need to be removed from the cap for the 2010 season, then dump them know. I understand that trading Steph this year for a guy like Jermain O'Neil with 2 years on his deal is an idea, but how about we not take the chance of him contaminating this season.
To be fair, Steph has had his chance. I was behind him in 06-07 when I thought he played great starting around Christmas, but after last seasons behavior(whether zeek induced it or not), I have no reason to let him suite up again. Not to mention, there is no way he gets an extension. Same for J James. Other teams, such as the sixers, have followed a model of dumping a player for everyone's benefit(C Web), and it was the right move.
I would prefer Balkman on the team as a back up to the 4 spot knowing that Lee would start, and Zach and Eddy would share the 5 minutes.
Exactly what do we think the Knick rotation will be anyway???
My guess their plan is
Duhon Crawford, Richardson, Chandler, Randolph
with Nate, Danillo, Lee ande Curry coming of the bench. Maybe Jefferies gets minutes the first half of the year while Danillo gets his feet wet.
I prefer:
Crawford, Richardson, Chandler, Lee, Randolph
with Duhon, Nate, Curry (again Jefferies followed by Danillo after the trade deadline)
I thought JC could handle the point if he has good enough shooters on the court with him. Imagine that high pic and roll with JC and Lee with kick outs to Q, Chandler, or Randolph who can then break people down. Of if the pass goes to Lee.. he makes good things happen with an advantage after the pic and roll. No reason to hand duhon the ball yet.
Will they resign fred jones after cutting J James?? Will they keep Malik Rose(till the all star break I'm guessin.)
Lots of questions.
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Ben Thomason 10 months ago
Yeah it was good I enjoyed it. I'll read anything about LeBron James.
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Daniel Awesome about 1 month ago
I can't see LeBron leaving Cleveland. The fans love him, he is from there, and he single handedly carried the Cavs to an NBA Finals. He's staying in Ohio.
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