One thing you can definitely say about Donnie Walsh, the guy is a straight shooter. During his introductory press conference he made it painfully clear his number one goal was to create cap space for the summer of 2010. Well over the last 18 months he’s achieved that goal. Gone are Jerome James, Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, and Stephon Marbury. Walsh has gone as far as to say the Knicks have the most cap room in the league heading into next summer. By my research I’d say the Heat and Rockets have better cap situations heading into next off season but Donnie is getting old so I’ll let him slide on some mathematical mistakes. The fact of the matter is Donnie Walsh has slowly (emphasis on slowly) changed the culture in New York and the light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible.
Last season’s training camp opened with news that Eddy Curry was being hospitalized due to a bacterial infection (possibly some bad McDonalds), 6th overall draft pick Danilo Gallinari had a herniated disk in his back and would miss all of training camp, and last but not least Stephon Marbury was still a member of the team. The regular season was a roller coaster ride. Mike D'Antoni’s run-n-gun system was an immediate hit, the team started strong, but before you knew it they traded their two leading scorers and the once thought of “franchise savior” Stephon Marbury was wearing Celtics green. On the court the team was a notch or two below mediocre but off the court the season was a tremendous success. In just one season Donnie Walsh sent Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph, and Jerome James packing without adding any payroll.
As the summer started most Knick fans with any sense of reality realized we wouldn’t and shouldn’t be players in the free agent game. Walsh brought in Jason Kidd and Grant Hill for visits but thankfully both players used the Knicks as contract leverage to get extra money from their respective squads. Nine out of ten mock drafts had the Knicks landing sweet-shooting guard Stephen Curry but at the last minute Golden State coach Don Nelson decided that having a team full of guards was the way to go so he drafted Curry, leaving the Knicks with Arizona big man Jordan Hill. After the draft the reality of losing fan favorite David Lee became a real possibility (apparently hustling and being white entitles you to ask for 10 million a year) but Donnie played hardball with Lee and brought back Lee and Nate Robinson on cost effective one year deals. The moral of these last three paragraphs is simple. Donnie Walsh wants to be a player in the summer of Lebron and he simply won’t add any payroll and frankly he’s 100 percent right for following this strategy. The NBA salary cap structure is absolutely awful. If you make one bad signing or one ill conceived trade your salary cap wiggle room and chances of winning a title are gone. Go ask Philadelphia how they feel about giving Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala big money contracts in a few years.
Back to the present day, training camp officially opens today and one word comes to mind that hasn’t been associated with the Knicks in years…. Stability. With the possible exception of Larry Hughes (I’m putting the over/under at 10 games, before Hughes starts to pout about lack of playing time) this team is filled with genuinely likeable guys who seem to understand the overall direction of the team. When and if this team returns to respectability the majority of this roster won’t be around to experience it but for the time being the players and coaching staff seem to be on the same page. Here are 5 questions that need to be answered before opening night
Can Fat Eddy Give This Team Anything?
The good news is that Eddy Curry has lost 40 lbs this off season; the bad news is that he still weighs 317 lbs. That’s right a professional basketball player attempted to play basketball while weighing 357 lbs. How can a player be that out of shape when 80 percent of playing basketball is running up and down the court? The answer is Eddy Curry simply doesn’t care about playing basketball. The sad part is, when in shape he’s extremely athletic for his size and could easily dominate games. Just three seasons ago Eddy averaged nearly 20 points per game and was a legit all-star possibility. Will Eddy ever live up to his potential? Absolutely not, but by default he is a major key to this season. I’m not asking for Eddy Curry to be an all-star, I’m asking for him to show the rest of his league he has a pulse. I guarantee you that if he looks semi productive their will be a general manager out there willing to take a chance on 7 footer. Let’s face it, in professional sports players with talent get a million chances to succeed.
Was Gallinari Over Brook Lopez The Right Decision?
I personally think Brook Lopez is strictly a robotic player that will never be more then an average big man in this league but there are plenty of people who feel Gallinari is nothing more then a spot-up jump shooter. Danilo actually got a pass from the media and New York fans last season. He only played in 28 games (14-14 record) but for the most part the fans stayed behind him despite his injury problems. There’s no questioning his ability. In the limited playing time Gallo showed glimpses of Nowitzki-like talent. It’s probably not fair to ask a twenty-one year old kid to be the face of your franchise and the number one recruiting tool in landing Lebron James but the bottom line is Gallinari needs to be all that and more.
Can Wilson Chandler Play Shooting Guard?
A major prerequisite to playing the shooting guard position is having the ability to shoot. Wilson Chandler has not shown me at any time during his young career that he’s a knock down jump shooter. He’s an athletic swing man who can run the break and play adequate defense but when it comes to knocking down an open jumper, I just don’t see it. I have no doubt he’ll be able to defend the position but on the offensive side he just doesn’t spread the floor the way D’Antoni would like. That being said he’s a better option then Larry Hughes.
Will Lee & Nate Put The Off Season Behind Them?
Just one week ago David Lee and Nate Robinson were still on the free agent market. Both received one year deals from the team last Friday. I honestly don’t think Nate feels at all slighted by not getting a long term deal because he realizes that playing in New York is the key to him staying in the spotlight and continuing to cash in on all the endorsement money the big city has to offer but I get the impression David Lee felt slighted by the front office during his negations. I’m a big time David Lee fan (so big I look past the fact he plays zero defense and has a limited offensive game) but there is absolutely no way I would pay him 10 million a year. David is the type of player that you want on your team and in your locker room but the Knicks just didn’t have the money to offer him a reasonable extension. Hopefully David sees that and continues to improve as a player and gets rewarded with a nice extension this coming off season.
Are the Rookies Rotation Players This Season?
There’s little doubt that if drafted Stephen Curry would have been the starting point guard from day one of training camp… Jordan Hill, not so much. What Hill brings is an athletic big body that can hopefully develop into a useful player down the road. With a glut of big men (Curry, Darko, Harrington, Jefferies, Lee and Gallo) on the roster I don’t see him cracking the rotation unless he earns it in practice. Hill may not play right away but there is definitely an opportunity for Toney Douglas to see some time as the teams backup point guard. Nate Robinson has proved he’s best suited playing off the ball so that leaves Douglas, Larry Hughes, and Gabe Pruitt battling for the backup point guard job behind Chris Duhon.
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