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The Knicks Busy Summer

The New York Knicks have had a busy offseason as they transition from the Thomas era to the D’Antoni regime. They first signed Chris Duhon, the former Chicago Bulls point guard who is likely to compete for a starting job with the embattled former Georgia Tech star Stephon Marbury. The drafting of Italian league player Danillo Galinari was also met with skepticism by Knicks faithful at the annual NBA Draft at MSG, but the exciting brand of basketball that D’Antoni brings to the job ought to buy him some time with those impatient New Yorkers. Rumors of favoritism were a buzz on draft night given the fact that D’Antoni played with Gallinari’s father in the Italian League. I suspect the coach probably knows what he’s doing and Danillo is talented enough to be on an NBA roster.

Their most recent move of trading former controversial first round pick Renaldo Balkman to the Nuggets is another sign that it is a new day for the Knicks. Balkman was known for his hustle and hard work ethic, but admittedly lacked the talent level of a typical first round pick. The fact that the Knicks picked up the likes of former Washington Huskies forward Bobby Jones and undersized former Florida Gator Taurean Green from Denver just shows that they were anxious to dump Balkman. The biggest thing right now for the Knicks though appears to be their attempts to clear cap space. Now why would they be so feverishly attempting to find cash available? Well, unless you have been living under a rock you have heard about the interest that LeBron James may have in signing with the Knicks in the summer of 2010. Would LeBron want to play with a group of players that has a reputation for not being easy to motivate however? It is hard to believe that basketball players could have a hard time getting ready to play on one of the biggest stages in the world.

The orchestration of bringing a great architect like Donnie Walsh abroad to develop a coherent roster was an essential move in this process. Walsh as the former Team President and CEO of the Indiana Pacers was the man making most of the key personnel decisions that led to consistent playoff teams for the Pacers. Being a native New York guy will also help Walsh navigate the media storm that is the “Big Apple.” I’m sure Walsh would consider dumping the rather large contracts of Jared Jeffries and Jerome James as well if he could find a buyer. Another key would be of course looking for potential trade partners for Marbury if he gets off to a rocky start with D’Antoni. There is precedent to show that they may not exactly see eye to eye given their short time together with the Suns.

With all the transactions and surely more to come, it will be exciting to see what exactly the makeup of this latest Knicks roster will be on opening night. The only current free agent on their rosters are veteran swing man Fred Jones and young big man Randolph Morris. Both of these men are of little consequence in the big scheme of things. The stars of NYC will come out to see what is there, but the question is will they continuously show up? Fans can be fickle if they do not have a good product to watch. This is the challenge that awaits this new Knicks front office and coaching staff.

By: DeanSmithLegend
Published: 07/29/08


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3 Posted Comments:

@ 2:45 am 08/27/08 by Xiaoyu Yang
Hi there. Knicks were once strong with Patrick Ewing but surprisingly they declined recently. I think it will take a while for them to recover.
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@ 3:14 pm 09/01/08 by C.D. Crowder
As with all teams, as changes are made, it may take a while for the players to come together as a true team. Let's hope they can get it together quickly and take advantage of the talent they've recruited.
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@ 11:30 am 09/26/08 by Sean
I think the Knicks needed to make some of these moves that you reported. The Knicks were downright awful last year. Good post though.
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