This week in the New York Knicks

[bobobrazil1984 0]

The Knicks payroll will now be pushing 130 million. They made themselves into a team that can contend for the 8th spot next year. It's not worth it at all. The trade should be looked at in those terms.

 

dear god, that number is obscene, especially for a team that bad. I'm just thinking what we (Pistons) could be like if money was no thang the way it is for the Knicks and we could just spend and grab bad contracts with reckless abandon. Our bench would be Mike James, Mehmet Okur, Corliss Williamson, Michael Finley (we were in the 'sweepstakes' this summer, coulda offered much money) to go along with Delfino and McDyess.

[alfdogg 0]

Lakers looking pretty impressive against the Kings. In what may or may not be a coincidence, Lamar Odom is looking more involved than I've seen him this season.

[naiwf 0]

The Knicks payroll will now be pushing 130 million. They made themselves into a team that can contend for the 8th spot next year. It's not worth it at all. The trade should be looked at in those terms.

 

dear god, that number is obscene, especially for a team that bad. I'm just thinking what we (Pistons) could be like if money was no thang the way it is for the Knicks and we could just spend and grab bad contracts with reckless abandon. Our bench would be Mike James, Mehmet Okur, Corliss Williamson, Michael Finley (we were in the 'sweepstakes' this summer, coulda offered much money) to go along with Delfino and McDyess.

 

It must suck to only have 4 All-Stars and the most balanced starting five in the league while making it to the Finals in back to back seasons. Stop being greedy and worrying about a bench that doesn't even need to play!

 

Instead of getting "Pistons type players" Isiah decided to get the coach no one on your team wanted, and he's really paid immediate dividends by crushing the confidence of most of our rookies and demanding that we get Marbury's clone to play in the backcourt alongside him. I always hated Larry Brown before this season, now I just wish the old fucker had just retired. The two ex-Pistons employees in our front office have done more to damage the Knicks franchise than anyone outside of Scott 'Worst GM of all time before Isiah' Layden and the Dolans.

 

Odom looks like he's trying to stay in LA beyond this year, I guess the trade rumors scared him straight. Artest is looking positively Shaq like in his conditioning.

[Guest]

I think Odom's turned a corner. Thank God. I think the break helped, plus it's good to get a dose of Portland and Sacramento.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

Instead of getting "Pistons type players" Isiah decided to get the coach no one on your team wanted, and he's really paid immediate dividends by crushing the confidence of most of our rookies and demanding that we get Marbury's clone to play in the backcourt alongside him. I always hated Larry Brown before this season, now I just wish the old fucker had just retired. The two ex-Pistons employees in our front office have done more to damage the Knicks franchise than anyone outside of Scott 'Worst GM of all time before Isiah' Layden and the Dolans.

 

you know me and my friends have always joked that maybe Isiah is still working for the Pistons, but I never even thought of Larry Brown as an "ex-Piston" before you said that. maybe they're both still working for the Pistons! Hopefully they can take a trip to Cleveland in a year or two and ruin them as well

[Ripper 0]

Isaiah said that he personally didn't understand why Brown wanted Francis but made the trade because the coach requested it.

 

So now the question is, what was Larry Brown thinking.

 

For the record, I think that the knicks will be much improved in the short term.

[C Dubya 04 0]

Well, as a Sixers fan, I can tell you that the very short term is the way that Larry thinks. He knows that he'll be jumping ship soon enough, so why not sell out the future for a couple of wins now. In the Sixers case, I don't disagree with the strategy as much as with the Knicks. The Sixers made the finals with Larry. I can't see the same happening with the Knicks.

 

On a side, the Sixers gave up Lee Nailon and a pick for what will likely be a worse pick. That should tell you something about either Nailon or Billy King or both.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Lakers looking pretty impressive against the Kings. In what may or may not be a coincidence, Lamar Odom is looking more involved than I've seen him this season.

 

It's probably because he heard he was being traded for Tracy McGrady.

[Dangerous A 0]

Odom and Bryant were just killers to the Kings tonight. I really don't know about Kobe woofing at the Kings bench after made shots in the 4th like the dickhead that he is though. It's like he's trying to light what's left of the rivalry back up, but it's just not happening. Things are different. Almost all the players from that 2002-03 time period are gone. The Kings are a lottery team. The Lakers are a Kobe injury away from the lottery. Rivalries only really work when both teams are good. One team isn't and the other is helter skelter.

 

On the rivalry note, the NBA needs to quit it with the rivalry week shit. There aren't any good rivalries left in the NBA. When some start, then you can start to advertise them, but until then, just play basketball.

[Precious Roy 0]

So now the question is, what was Larry Brown thinking.

 

He's probably thinking that he's had success with two 'shooting points' in Iverson and Billups, and was making headway with Marbury before he got hurt (Steph had a string of excellent games), so his best chance for success is with those types of players.

 

If LB can work his magic on Francis, on defense especially because he's got the talent to be a stopper, and if him and Marbury can mesh into a two-headed point/scorer monster...the Knicks could become really tough to deal with. This is of course a HUGE IF, but fuck it, it's worth a shot at this point.

[naiwf 0]

Francis is about 6'1, who exactly is he going to stop on defense? The Knicks are going to get torched by any backcourt with a post up game until one of those two undersized combo guards get traded. If it's possible, I think the team will actually be worse off in the short run as Francis will not be allowed to be himself and that pretty much negates the point of trading for him in the first place.

[Precious Roy 0]

Francis is about 6'1, who exactly is he going to stop on defense?

 

Francis is a strong dude, 200 lbs of compact muscle, he doesn't get posted up easily. He's also listed at 6-3, not 6-1.

[naiwf 0]

Francis is about 6'1, who exactly is he going to stop on defense?

 

Francis is a strong dude, 200 lbs of compact muscle, he doesn't get posted up easily. He's also listed at 6-3, not 6-1.

 

Nate's listed at 5'9 and looked to be Spud's height when they stood side by side. Everyone's always said Francis is shorter than his list height, and there's a difference between not getting posted up by the opponent's point, and the opponent's 2 guards. He will be guarding 2's on the Knicks since Marbury can't, and guys like Wade, T-Mac, Kobe etc will be feasting on him in the paint.

[Ripper 0]

Francis is a pretty good defender though. Thats why they were able to get away with that Mobley/Francis back. Not saying he will be able to hang with the likes of Kobe or T-mac, but really...who can? You play that Larry Brown help defence.

 

I read that Isaiah wanted to send Hardaway and the pick from Denver to Portland for Darius Miles and Theo Ratliff, but Brown said of the two trades he would rather have Francis.

[2GOLD 0]

Francis is a pretty good defender though. Thats why they were able to get away with that Mobley/Francis back. Not saying he will be able to hang with the likes of Kobe or T-mac, but really...who can? You play that Larry Brown help defence.

 

I read that Isaiah wanted to send Hardaway and the pick from Denver to Portland for Darius Miles and Theo Ratliff, but Brown said of the two trades he would rather have Francis.

 

I'll regret saying this in a year I'm sure, but I'll say it anyway. Brown has lost his mind. His poor health has gotta be effecting his decision making.

[Precious Roy 0]

What's the word on Francis for tonight? Is he expected to start?

 

I'm really excited about tonight's game, but I think New Jersey is a really bad matchup for Marbury and Francis' first game together. We don't need the embarrasment of a blowout loss to the crosstown rival on ESPN, like the talking heads need any more ammunition...

 

I do think it's rather comical that ESPN 'just happened' to schedule the Knicks for right after the trade deadline, since it was a virtual lock that Isiah would make a big deal

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Isn't the Knicks' acquisition of Steve Francis a little bit like what adding Jackie Chan and Steven Seagal to the cast of "Walker, Texas Ranger" would have been like for viewers?

[Precious Roy 0]

One upside of the Francis deal, it makes the Knicks awesome in NBA Live

 

Knicks - 99

Nets - 72

 

Francis - 22 pts, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 9/14 fg

 

Kidd - 25 pts, 4 assists, 0 rebounds, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 9 turnovers, 7/37 fg

 

Who says the Marbury/Francis backcourt can't D up?

[Precious Roy 0]

10-0 Jersey

 

Oi!

[alfdogg 0]

Francis is a pretty good defender though. Thats why they were able to get away with that Mobley/Francis back. Not saying he will be able to hang with the likes of Kobe or T-mac, but really...who can?

Ruben Patterson?

[alfdogg 0]

The Pacers are now 0-3 against the Hawks. Splendid.

[Just John 0]

Well, after the big trade, the Knicks played like well... Like they have all season. I also briefly saw some graphic on ESPN (didn't catch it all), that showed something like the Knicks getting rid of 3 guys who they owed no money to after this season, but picked up like $30 million more in salaries. Is there some catch to this?

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I wasn't playing that close attention to the NBA in the late 90s and early 00s. What's the deal with the large crop of players (Brian Grant, Antonio Davis, Keith Van Horn, Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, Tim Thomas, Juwan Howard, Penny Hardaway, Antoine Walker, Latrell Sprewell, Vin Baker) who got contracts in $15 million +/- range?

 

None of these guys were ever really superstars and nearly all of them were bench warmers or cut towards the end of their contracts. It just seems like there is this whole lost generation of players who made astounding money and never really did anything of note.

[naiwf 0]

A lot of idiot GMs started handing out max contracts like they didn't mean anything. I blame the Bird rule which allowed you to go over the cap to resign your own players. All of these dudes ironically became albatrosses because of their contracts, so I guess that's some kind of wierd poetic justice.

[Precious Roy 0]

I wasn't playing that close attention to the NBA in the late 90s and early 00s. What's the deal with the large crop of players (Brian Grant, Antonio Davis, Keith Van Horn, Allan Houston, Jalen Rose, Tim Thomas, Juwan Howard, Penny Hardaway, Antoine Walker, Latrell Sprewell, Vin Baker) who got contracts in $15 million +/- range?

 

None of these guys were ever really superstars and nearly all of them were bench warmers or cut towards the end of their contracts. It just seems like there is this whole lost generation of players who made astounding money and never really did anything of note.

 

Basically...contracts started getting out of control in the mid-late 90's due to lack of market restrictions....in a hyper competitive environment the owners went overboard trying to outbid each other....the market was so fierce that guys like Brian Grant, Juwan Howard and Vin Baker got massive deals.....the owners got sick of it....which led to the 99 lockout and the new CBA and all the salary restrictions and cap rules that came with it. All these massive expiring contracts of recent years are leftover from the pre-lockout deals. It's why guys like KG and Marbury still make insane money, why Penny was making $15 mil this year, and why someone like Shaq could resign for $20mil a year (a provision in the deal that allows for resigning of players to equal their previous deal, but if the player goes on the open market they have to adhere to the current rules, basically a grandfather clause). Pretty soon all contracts will fall in line with the new math.

 

Watching this LA-LA game.....Elton Brand is out of his mind this year.....and it's nice to see the Clippers take it to the Lakers

[Guest]

Kobe's on another planet, while the Lakers are squarely on Planet Earth. When the team starts out the game bad, they stay bad.

 

And there's no rivalry, just like Lakers-Kings and Lakers-Blazers wasn't. Spurs-Lakers was the only thing remotely close. Wait until they win something first or beat the Lakers in a playoff series. When they do, the rivalry begins.

[Precious Roy 0]

they play in the same building....

[Guest]

I don't give a fuck.

[Precious Roy 0]

I don't give a fuck.

 

good for you. I'm pretty sure the NBA players who live and ball in LA 'give a fuck'

[Guest]

You can walk up to any random person in LA and ask them which NBA team plays there. 99% will name the Lakers. There isn't a rivalry yet, but there will be.