Get it Done Donnie

So far I’d have to give the Knicks a solid B for this off season. They signed Amare, Felton, traded for three young assets in Randolph, Turiaf, and Azubuike and stock piled three future second round picks. Couple that with the young nucleus of Toney Douglas, Danilo Gallinari, and Wilson Chandler the makings of a competitive lower seeded playoff team are definitely a possibility. Yet Donnie Walsh’s job isn’t complete for the off season. Last night the leagues best point guard Chris Paul came out and requested a trade to New York, Los Angeles, or Orlando. I’m sure teams like Portland and Dallas will also be in play but the near fact Paul mentioned New York on his wish list means we’re heading in the right direction.

The 26 year old Paul is definitely in the conversation as the leagues best point guard along with Derron Williams and Rajon Rondo. In four professional seasons Paul has averaged 19.3 ppg and 10 apg. Injuries limited Paul to only 45 games last season but he still averaged 18.7 ppg and 10.7 apg. When last healthy in 2009 Paul averaged a staggering 22.8 and 11.

Paul is a game changer folks. Amare Stoudamire is a very good player and every public comment he’s made in the last 4 weeks have only made me like him more as a player and leader but if you add Chris Paul to this roster we’re talking about a team that not only should make the playoffs but could legitimately win a few rounds in the playoffs and give teams like Boston, and Miami fits.

Knick Trade Assets

Eddy Curry – Let’s face it Eddy Curry is nothing more then a waste of god given talent but the fact remains that Curry has a massive 11.4 million dollar expiring contract. New Orleans is in financial shambles (hence Paul wanting to leave) and would love to be able to clear 11.4 million off there books.

Toney Douglas – If the Hornets were to trade Paul they would immediately need a point guard to backup Darren Collison. Toney Douglas would be an ideal fit. He’s 24 years old and averaged 13 points per game over the last two months of last season. Along with his upside Douglas is under team control for the next 3 seasons at a reasonable salary.

Danilo Gallinari – I’d love to keep Gallo but if it meant acquiring Chris Paul then so be it. The 22 year old Gallinari is under team control for the next two seasons and would make a max of 5 million dollars. Gallo averaged nearly 16 points per game last season and could easily make the jump to 20 this coming season.

Wilson Chandler – Much like Gallo, Chandler is under team control for the next two seasons. Will averaged 15 ppg last season and would be a nice cheap building block for a team rebuilding.

Anthony Randolph – Anthony Randolph might very well be the definition of upside. Randolph has the skill set and athletic ability to be a super star in this league. On the flip side he has the mental toughness to be the nice Isiah Rider. All that said a 21 year old kid who played has college ball at nearby LSU would have to be appealing to the Hornets.

Ronny Turiaf & Kelenna Azubiake – I lump them together because they both are young players who have expiring contracts and would be nice side pieces to make a trade.


I would trade every single one of the players above. The only real problem I would have is if we had to trade both Gallo and Randolph. To sweeten the pot I would also consider taking on one of New Orleans awful contracts. From looking at New Orleans Roster I would bet they would love to trade Emeka Okafur, Peja Stojakovic, or James Posey.

My proposed trades

Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph, Toney Douglas and Picks for Chris Paul

Eddy Curry, Gallo, Toney Douglas and picks for Chris Paul

Or become more creative and do something like this

Curry, Turiaf, Azubiake, Chandler, and Douglas for Paul and Okafor


There are a lot of options but for once I actually do think the potential packages the Knicks could offer the Hornets are far superior then any of the teams that could make a move for Paul. Anthony Randolph or Gallinari are fair superior and much more cost effective then any player on the Magic, and Lakers roster.

A possible lineup of Paul, Azubiake, Gallo, Stoudamire and Turiaf is a pretty dangerous team. Not to mention the fact that there’s a certain free agent to be in Denver that will be keeping close watch on NY this season.

Champion? Maybe. Follower? Definitely. Greatest Ever? No longer possible

To quote a disgusted Walt Clyde Frazier “He took the easy way out”. As the sports world watched; Lebron James went on National TV and declared he’s going to take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. In one statement James proved all his naysayer’s correct. The former king (I’ll get to this later) of the NBA shrunk under pressure yet again and took the easy way out.

Dwight Howard may be considered the superman of the NBA but by all accounts James was the player with all the super human ability and charisma, but last night in front of millions he burned his own cape. His lips quivered as he tried to explain to the world why he was leaving Cleveland to try to win championships with a dream team. Not only did the Ohio native leave his hometown team, he made a one hour TV special to rub it in the face of the fans that supported him since he was 15 years old.

James idolized Michael Jordan growing up and has often been proclaimed as the second coming of Michael Jordan, but would Michael Jordan ever have shown up at a boys and girls club in Connecticut in jeans and a button down to announce that he was leaving Chicago to go play with Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing? MJ optimized the meaning of cool. MJ could show up at a press conference after dropping 50 or losing a nail biter looking as cool as ever in his $100,000 suits and answer ever single media question without actually answering the question. Lebron made it perfectly clear last night that he is no MJ, in fact he made it perfectly clear that he is no Kobe.

The Real King of the NBA

The name King now belongs to Dwayne Wade. With the help of Pat Riley, Dwayne Wade pulled the strings and brought two superstar level players to his team and his city. Wade flirted with other teams and went on visits but you knew he was never really going to leave. In fact he probably just went on these visits to provide the Heat staff with inside knowledge of the other team’s pitches.

Wade comes out looking amazing. He’s the unselfish player who is willing to take much less money in order to share the spot light with two other players. But the thing Lebron fails to realize is; Lebron is helping to further build the Dwayne Wade brand not the other way around. Wade is the star of what could very well be the next great sports dynasty. Lebron will now be villainized across the country while DWade comes out looking great. Wade won his solo ring and that’s something Lebron will never be able to say.

Goodbye DLee

David Lee gave the Knicks everything he had since his arrival. He played in one of the worst situations possible but he steadily improved every year and he should be commended for that. He’ll never be anything close to a defensive presence but he is a double-double machine and I wish him all the best in Golden State.

Next Season

I’m not going to lie the immediate future still looks pretty bleak. Amare Stoudamire, Anthony Randolph, and Kelenna Azubuike are nice additions and with the future growth of Gallo, and Toney Douglas we should improve. The main goal at this moment should be to find a short term solution at point guard and hope that coach D can work some magic with a roster that is better built to run his system. As things stand right now I’d have to predict around 35-40 wins max for this team. But with the expiring contract of Eddy Curry we may be able to make a trade that makes us more competitive.

The Future

You’d think I’d learn my lesson but as we stand right now the Knicks would have the most money going into free agency next season. Three free agents out stand out in next years class; Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, and Toney Parker. I’d take my chances with a squad of Amare, Melo, and Paul against the Heat.

The Time is Now

After two years of speculation the wait is over. Tomorrow night at 9 p.m. Lebron James will officially decide where he’ll be playing basketball for the foreseeable future. By all accounts Chris Bosh has turned down an opportunity to join James in Cleveland and he’ll join Wade in South Beach. That leaves King James with the options of pairing with Amare and a nice young core in New York, forming an unholy tripod of greed in Miami, playing with Derrick Rose and maybe Carlos Boozer in Chicago, or going back to the same flawed Cleveland roster and being loyal.

I got to tell you the suspense is killing me. I’m refreshing realgm.com, theknicksblog.com, and espn.com at a clip that may lead to a serious obsessive compulsive disorder. Every 10 minutes my mood changes. Every pro Knick report is followed by about 10 reports (mostly from those ESPN assholes) that continue to give the Knicks no chance. The whole Lebron sweepstakes has turned into an ass backwards version of The Bachelor. He’s flirted with them all but in the end he’s only got one last rose to give.

Some thoughts before the biggest sporting event in the last 10 years;

Would Lebron and his team really make a prime time special just to announce he’s staying in Cleveland? That would be as anticlimactic as Geraldo Rivera entering Al Capone’s vault just to find an old cigar box.

Doesn’t it seem like this hour press conference somewhere in the Cleveland area would be a nice way for him to attempt to let the Cleveland fans down easy? There is absolutely no chance that the Cavs fans would ever forgive him but having an event where all proceeds benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland would be one of the better send offs he could have. He’d have an hour to apologize to the fans and confess his never ending love for them before slipping out the back door.

Lebron can now deflect some of the blame on Chris Bosh. Lebron tried to get Bosh to come to Cleveland. The trade was worked out, but Bosh said he had no interest in playing in Cleveland.

Sticking with the Bosh theme, doesn’t this make it completely clear to Lebron that he’ll never be able to build a dominate team in Cleveland. Nobody (Bosh would have made close to 130 million in Cleveland as opposed to 100 in Miami) wants to play in Cleveland.

The marketing machine that is Lebron James and his team has played this absolutely perfectly. He was visited by 6 teams; (coincidence that he’s changing his number to 6 next season) launched a brand new website, and opened up a twitter account while keeping one of the most logical landing places on the back burner. ESPN has always said Chicago, Miami or Cleveland while always giving the Knicks little to no chance of getting any free agents. It’s been ridiculously obvious how well this guy can market his brand; just imagine the money he could gross in New York.

Other then Miami the Knicks have the best supporting cast to offer. Amare, Gallo, and future cap space is better then what the Bulls, Nets, or Cavs currently have to offer. That’s just a fact at this point.

Come 9 p.m. we’ll find out. But my gut is telling me I’ll be pre-ordering a Lebron Knicks jersey come 10 p.m. that night.

Amare Thoughts

To be honest I’ve always thought Bosh was a better player then Amare and he probably is. But if I had to choose between the two I’d probably go with Amare.

Amare took on the challenge of coming to New York by himself while Chris Bosh has made it perfectly clear he wants to be a number two option. Not only did Amare sign on the dotted line without any help he proclaimed to the media that the “Knicks are back”. That took a lot of guts and that’s something Chris Bosh would never have done.

Big Risks Equal Big Reward

At the age of 17 Lebron James was anointed with the title of King James. During his 7 year NBA career King James has certainly lived up to the billing. He’s averaged close to 28ppg and is the two time most valuable player. But as July 1st comes closer the rumor mill continues to intensify. Will Lebron stay in Cleveland? Will he attempt to do his best Michael Jordan impression and run wit the Bulls in Chicago? Does a team that will play its home games in Newark for the next two seasons really have a shot? And finally will Lebron give New York fans a reason to care again?

Cleveland

The more I think about it the more I feel like Lebron should stay. Cleveland is the most depressed City in America. Nobody knows this better then the Akron born James. The closest Cleveland has come to winning a championship is when Jake Taylor laid down that terrific suicide squeeze to beat the Yankees in Major League.

The Cavs front office has let Lebron down. That can’t be denied. Since his arrival they have made bad decision after bad decision. (Instead of letting the expiring contracts of Ben Wallace and Wally Z come off the books this summer making them a free agent player) they rolled the dice and traded for an over the hill Shaq.

All that said if Lebron wants to be a global icon and a great player shouldn’t he want to embrace the challenge of defying the odds and winning a championship for his home town fans.

Nets

Can somebody please explain to me why the Nets young core of talent is so appealing? Last I checked this young core of talent just barely won over 10 games last season. Brook Lopez is a decent player and Devin Harris is nothing more then a shoot first point guard.

The Nets biggest appeal is their new owner and their impending move to Brooklyn, but does Lebron really want to play in Newark for two seasons? And say what you want but no matter how bad the Knicks are they will still be New York’s number one team. Just ask Mets fans about how the Yankees own New York.

Chicago

I understand that a nucleus of Lebron, Rose, Noah, and second max free agent is probably the best situation talent wise for Lebron but from an outsider’s perspective what does Lebron really gain from winning a championship in Chicago? It’s been done. It’s actually been done 6 times in one decade by the greatest athlete of our generation.

Besides living in the shadow of MJ, the Bulls also have many holes that people fail to mention. Derrick Rose is an outstanding point guard, but does his game really mesh well with the ball dominate Lebron. Lebron is bust suited to play the role of Magic Johnson and dominate the ball while be surrounded by outside shooters. Last I checked the Bulls have zero shooters on there roster.

Last but certainly not least, if the Bulls sign Lebron and another max free agent how are they going to be able to resign Noah next season and Derrick Rose the season after? Bulls ownership is notoriously cheap (they broke up the Bulls dynasty because they didn’t want to invest money into Pippen and Jordan after 98). The Bulls could very well compete for a championship the next two seasons but after that Lebron would basically be stuck in the same situation he is now.

Miami

This option actually infuriates me and in some respects questions Lebron’s competitiveness. Forming a three man all-star team in Miami is the easy way out. Does it mean anything to anybody if three of the top 10 players in the NBA join forces and win a championship? If Lebron, Wade, and Bosh hold up a championship trophy 4 of the next 5 years in Miami nobody would be surprised in the slightest.

Wade won his championship so he’ll always be able to live on the fact he was the best player and carried his team to a championship, while Lebron will always be known as the player that took the easy way out and joined forces with two other superstars just to win a championship. You see this often with players late in their career, but it would be a slap in the face of every NBA fan if a player of Lebron James caliber in the prime years of his career just decided to cash in on some easy championships instead of taking on a challenge and fulfilling his still untapped potential.

Does winning 5 championships in Miami with an all star team around him = winning one championship in Cleveland or New York? And does playing with an all-star team help Lebron reach his absolute peek ability?

New York

I’m obviously biased here, but to me there are only two options for Lebron James. Stay in Cleveland or come to New York. In 1991 Mark Messier was traded from his hometown Edmonton Oilers to the Rangers and the rest is history. Messier is now known as the Messiah. He brought the fans of New York something they only dreamed of for 54 years. Lebron has the chance to do the same

The challenge is huge. The Miami and Chicago (debatable) would obviously offer you a better chance at instant gratification but the opportunity New York offers you is life long gratification. The Knicks haven’t won a Championship since 1973 and they haven’t been relevant since 1999. This city, this fan base, and the NBA (they won’t admit it but the NBA needs the Knicks to be relevant again) need a New York basketball revival.

With all do respect to Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing, upon arrival Lebron will be the greatest basketball player to ever put on the orange and blue. He’ll leap frog Derek Jeter and Kobe Bryant and become the biggest name in New York and professional basketball.

As far as basketball goes the situation is painted pretty bleakly by most of the national media but the Knicks do have the second (Mia # 1) most money to spend in free agency and they could offer Lebron a sidekick free agent, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, the 12 million expiring contract of Eddy Curry, and the full mid level exception for next season.

It wouldn’t be that far fetched to turn Eddy Curry’s contract into a point guard and center for next season. Also Toronto is rumored to be interested in signing David Lee which would open up a sign in trade for Chris Bosh which would lead to additional savings. The opportunities are their. The Knicks may not be the most appealing in 2010 but come 2011 and so on they have the most flexibility of all the teams on this list and would be able to reload the team via free agency and trades.

The Choice is yours. Do you truly want to be King or just part of a great team.

Tough To Swallow

Three and a half quarters of quality basketball just don't cut it folks. After yet another sluggish start the Knicks led the Bobcats by 12 midway thru the 4th quarter only to see the game slip away. The Cats ended the game on a 12-2 run and beat the boys in blue and orange 92-87.

Would it have been nice to continue this recent hot streak? Absolutely it would have been, but all things considered i can live with the performance and shake the loss of quickly. Despite our recent good play, we're a mediocre team that lacks a go to scorer down the stretch. Raymond Felton took over late and the Knicks din't have an answer.

I know it seems like the same old Knicks. They tease you into believing they've turned the corner only to go on one of their trademark 8 game losing streaks. But when you take a step back and look at the game objectively, we really didn't play all that well. Chris Duhon was our leading scorer and if not for some sloppy play down the stretch we could have stolen a road game against a decent Charlotte team. To me the one positive to take out of last nights performance is that we can play a C+ game and still be competitive.

Game Notes

As i said Chris Duhon led the Knicks in scoring last night with 18 points. Duhon has turned the corner since his early season struggles. I'm 100 percent behind the benching of Nate Robinson but you cannot ask Duhon to play 43 minutes a night and be effective. The combination of Toney Douglas and Larry Hughes have to play atleast 13 minutes a night at point. If you limit Duhon's playing time to 35 minutes those late game turnovers should deminish.

Larry Hughes and Al Harrington combined to shoot 7-23 from the floor. Hughes and Harrington have been the offensive catalyst as of late. If both players are having an off night its going to be tough to win games.

Jared Jefferies played a great game. 11 points, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, 2 blocks, and 3 assists. The Knicks were + 15 with Jefferies on the court. I can say with absolute certainity that if JJ doesn't foul out we find a way to win that game.

Sticking with the Jefferies theme, can his trade value get any higher at this point? As important as he is to our current success,it is far more important to trade Jefferies for our future success. Larry Brown is known for making bonehead trades, (the names Jalen Rose and Steve Francis ring a bell?) give him a call.

Last but not least.... Can our best offensive player and shooter get crunch time minutes. Gallo had an off night but your best shooter needs to be on the court late in games. I don't even care if the ball touches his hands but Gallo is a great decoy who will spread the floor.

That's all for now.

A Winning Streak?

Three Straight Wins, 4 out of 5, and a respectable 6-6 since getting off to a franchise worst 1-9 start, and last but not least just two games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. That’s right folks your 7-15 New York Knicks are in playoff contention. Welcome to Eastern Conference of professional basketball.

In all seriousness, this recent win streak has been borderline impressive. Beating the helpless Nets doesn’t mean much but beating a good Hawks team and a banged up Blazers team has to catch your attention. This recent turnaround has been spearheaded by the impressive play of Larry Hughes, and Jared Jefferies (not a misprint). Along with the better on the court play the coaching of Mike D’Antoni has been impressive as of late.

Larry Hughes

If he had a longer contract I would definitely consider buying a Larry Hughes jersey. Larry Hughes is a good player. He has a great basketball IQ, defends the perimeter, conducts himself in a professional manner, and is the best passer on the team.

There is definitely the potential of a serious man-crush developing between Larry Hughes and myself. Hughes played so horribly during the preseason that contract buyout discussions were being reported but since be inserted into the third game of the season (coincidence… I think not) Hughes has been the best player on the team. The shooting numbers won’t impress you but Hughes fills out the stat sheet. For the year he’s averaging 13 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 4.5apg in just 32 minutes. I’d say the chances of Larry Hughes being in New York next season are at about 5 % but I can say with complete confidence that if Hughes continues to play at this level he can help make a good team great. He’d be a tremendous 3rd option or 6th man off the bench on a contender. I’d say he’s a Bruce Bowen type with a more well-rounded offensive game.

Jared Jefferies

I want to preface this by saying Jefferies is grossly overpaid, just like Hughes, Jefferies could help make a good team great. If you cut Jefferies salary in half and put him on the 90’s Knicks he would be a fan favorite. The guy has little to no offensive game (can be said of a lot former Knicks) but the intangibles he brings to the game can’t be measured in stats. JJ can guard every position on the court. Just this season he’s guarded Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Brandon Roy, and Brook Lopez.

Jefferies leads the team in charges taken and while he doesn’t block a ton of shots he alters most. Isiah Thomas signed Jefferies with the idea of him being a glue guy. Jefferies is a glue guy but there is no such thing as a glue guy on bad teams. As much as Jefferies is bashed by fans and media (myself included) I defy you to find a win this season where Jefferies didn’t contribute in a positive way.

Mike D’Antoni

The so called genius of Mike D’Antoni has been tested this season. Many uninformed fans have even called for D’Antoni’s job (his coaching tenure starts opening night 2010). But as of late D’Antoni has made some coaching adjustments that have paid off. The three major adjustments I’ve noticed are; coaching defense, added movement on the offense, and sending Nate Robinson to the bench.

Defense

During training camp all the buzz being reported was that the team was working on defense. The season started and there was absolutely no defense to be found. When you have zero size in the front court it’s tough to be a good defensive team but with players like Hughes, Douglas, and Jefferies in the rotation you can be an adequate defensive team. Along with better individual defenders D’Antoni has also flirted with using a 2-3 zone scheme. It’s probably a good idea to mix up your defenses when your team lacks shot blocking. It only took the coach 90 games to realize this but he’s come around.

Better Offense

Three point attempts are down and scoring is up? The ball movement has improved tremendously over the last 2 weeks. The offense is similar to a Princeton style offense with all the cutting and off the ball screens. Other then Al Harrington the Knicks lack isolation players that can consistently created their own shot. With Hughes, Gallinari, Hrrington, and Chandler playing a motion style offense the number of uncontested easy buckets have doubled.

Along with the obvious change in offensive philosophy the resurgence of David Lee and Chris Duhon has to be praised. Too start the season Duhon was good awful but as of late he’s been serviceable. He’s started to trust Gallinari more on the offensive end, and Gallo has delivered. Late in last nights game with Portland, the Blazers pulled within 9, only to have Gallinari exploit a mismatch and drop a cold blooded three-pointer with a hand in his face that sealed the deal for the Knicks.

Adding to Duhon’s resurgence has been the further development of David Lee’s game. Lee no longer is just a hustle player on the offensive side of the court. He’s added a 15 foot jumper and is slowly trying to add a post game. David most likely won’t see a 10 million dollar contract from the Knicks but some team will pay him and that team will be acquiring one of the hardest working players in the league.

Benching Nate Robinson

I like Nate. He’s a dynamic scorer who can change the tempo of a game the second he steps onto the court. But his act is played out at this point. He’s not a rookie anymore, posing for the crowd when your team is down 15 points ain’t working for me. At some point he may realize his strengths and tone down his act but until that day comes he really is of no use to this team ( Interesting stat: The Knicks are 7-6 when Nate Robinson plays less than 15 minutes. That includes the games in which he's been injured and/or received DNP-CDs. When Robinson plays more than 15 minutes the team is 0-15. ) Add that up with the fact that Toney Douglas is younger and shows a willingness to defend and there really is no reason to give Nate playing time.

Before the season I predicted the Knicks would go 38-44 and that prediction is still possible. They’d have to go 31-29 the rest of the way which I wouldn’t bet on but if they can reach 35 wins (28-32) they make the playoffs. The Knicks are as good if not better then Philadelphia, Indiana, Detroit, Charlotte, and Milwaukee.

Trade that should happen but won’t

Knicks Trade: David Lee, and Al Harrington
Portland Trades: Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Andre Miller, and Travis Outlaw
Chicago Trades: Kirk Hinrich, Tyrus Thomas, and Jerome James

New York Receives: Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James

Chicago Receives: Al Harrington, Travis Outlaw, and Andre Miller

Portland Receives: Kirk Hinrich, and David Lee

“Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money”.

Since becoming Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni has compiled a stellar record of 33-59 (27-56 since the Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford trades). The former coach of the year with Phoenix was brought in as an established coach with a proven offensive system. Since his arrival we’ve realized his “seven seconds or less” system only works with talented players and his lack of interest or overall lack of ability to teach defense is a huge negative when building a championship team. Two summers ago I believed D’Antoni was the right hire and even now I still think he’s the right man for the job. While Marc Jackson and Avery Johnson may have taught defense they wouldn’t have had the past success needed to get a free pass from the media and fans.

Most Knick fans are under the belief that Mike D’Antoni’s tenure as Knick
head coach begins opening night 2010; sadly most Knick fans are wrong. Mike D’Antoni’s official evaluation begins tonight when the 1-9 Knicks travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. I’m well aware that a 1-9 starts basically seals our fate and the Garden playoff draught will reach 5 years, but starting tonight the overall goal of this franchise is to give the league the illusion that Eddy Curry is still a player destined for stardom.

Phase one is complete. The new slimmed down version of Eddy Curry actually looks the part of the NBA player. Now the hard part begins, offensive “guru” Mike D’Antoni must devise an offensive scheme that highlights Curry’s strengths and hides his many weaknesses. For those who don’t remember Eddy Curry averaged close to 20 points per game just three years ago. Despite all his problems he does have strengths that can be highlighted. Even after losing close to 60lbs Curry is still indefensible after he catches the ball deep in the post. He has an above average post game and despite his size he’s surprisingly athletic and can finish above the rim. If I’m Mike D’Antoni I’m using every motivational technique I’ve ever learned in my life and urging Eddy Curry to run to the opposite block after every missed shot by the opposition. The key to making Eddy Curry look effective is proving to the league he is in shape and inflating his stats (It shouldn’t be hard… Stat wise Wilson Chandler, David Lee, and Al Harrington are having good years). If you can get Curry to bust it down the court and receive post entries before the defense has time to setup he can score and score in bunches. If that option isn’t available I’d run the normal offensive and tell Curry to focus only on hitting the offensive glass. While his defensive rebounding is dreadful, he’s shown flashes of being respectable on the offensive glass.

Unfortunately for us Curry makes David Lee look like a good defensive player. Despite his athletic gifts he shows no lateral movement and zero shot blocking ability. There is a bright side though folks. When your team is so bad defensively you can’t blame just one player so Curry should receive the same pass the rest of our awful defenders get. His sole focus should be on blocking shots and inflating an overrated NBA stat. Sean Williams of the Nets is a great shot blocker but an absolutely horrible defensive player. While I believe the stat is overrated, many NBA executives look at shot block numbers and believe a player is a good defender.

The goal to me is simple. Ease him back into the lineup the first week. The last thing we need is have Curry injury himself again. But come middle of December the goal should be to have him playing 26 minutes a night while averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block. If Curry can do that he becomes a tradable asset and let’s not forget that by trading either Jarred Jefferies or Eddy Curry we can afford to sign not one but two superstars come next summer.

At this moment it may seem far fetched but there is one GM out there that may just be stupid enough to pull the trigger on an Eddy Curry trade. The Golden State Warriors are in even worse shape then we are and they have a coach/gm in Don Nelson that has a proven track record for making bad decisions (Nelson was the coach that wanted to make Anthony Mason into a point forward). Monta Ellis and Anthony Randolph are unhappy in Golden State and would both fit this offense well. We probably wouldn’t be able to get both but I’d consider a package of Eddy Curry and Wilson Chandler for Monta Ellis and Ronny Turiaf a definite possibility.

To continue on the Arrested Development theme The Final Countdown for Eddy Curry begins tonight.