New York Knicks Rumors: Andre Miller, No Thanks

A few days ago, the Denver Nuggets listed 37-year old point guard Andre Miller on the trade market. Miller, who is currently suspended after getting into some kind of hissy fit with coach Brian Shaw, has averaged a career low 5.9 points and 3.3 assists a contest this season.

Now, we understand that Miller is very indignant with his coach. That being said, he’ll probably get little to no playing time when he returns from his suspension. But here in New York Knicks land, the consensus isn’t too interested in letting Denver ship over Miller, despite his anger, which isn’t fooling anyone, well, me at least.

Dec 30, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Ray Allen (34) guards Denver Nuggets point guard Andre Miller (24) in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center. The Heat defeated the Nuggets 97-94. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

For the people that want some kind of deal to be triggered for Miller, a deal won’t happen, unless it’s at the expense of a young gun player, Iman Shumpert being the central case study for the past season and a half. Or Tim Hardaway Jr. Heck, even Toure’ Murry, who is starting to get run recently.

The magic word, yet again, is “asset.” Almost a month ago, Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry was in the mix for a potential trade. Although the deal was nixed, at least the offer was very reasonable, because Lowry is a substantial part of the Raptors’ roster; a solid point guard that is somewhat on pace to have his career year. Seriously, let’s be real here; trading one or both assets for an old, hoary, disgruntled at the moment Miller is not the way to go.

Some people that want Miller to depart for New York are the ol’ veteran leadership supporters. Yes, it was one of the key ingredients that brought the Knicks to a 54-win season last year, but not all of it was. Ball movement is what got them to that 54 win mark. It certainly is true that Miller was successful playing alongside with Carmelo Anthony in Denver. But this season has been totally different than last year. And besides, there’s a guy named Pablo Prigioni, who’s only a year younger than Miller, which is a lot more valuable to the team.

Prigioni is the master of ball movement. He eats, sleeps, and breathes ball movement. He infuses ball movement. He’s what makes the offense flow like a river. Even though he doesn’t have glamorous statistics (neither does Miller right now), Prigioni makes the offense thrive with his pass-happy intelligence quotient and his three point shooting, which has improved immensely. When he shoots, he usually drains them. On the other hand, Miller is a career 21 percent three point shooter. Sounds like he can’t shoot. That right there is automatically not a good fit for a team that still likes to bomb threes.

If anything, the Knicks don’t have any vacancies at point guard, it’s just that injuries struck again. Prigioni is down with a toe injury and should be back next week, and Beno Udrih has an inflamed knee. Raymond Felton just recently returned from injury. People need to be patient as job.

I’m not saying that Miller is incompetent and can’t run an offense. He’s clearly capable of doing that. He has bountiful experience, 14 years of bountiful experience. But there’s no need to strike a rent-a-player deal that won’t have significant value over a long time frame.

Speaking of Felton, when he’s driving and kicking constantly, he’s unstoppable. Opposing defenses double him in the paint and he finds the open shooter lurking on the perimeter. At this point in his career, Miller can’t do anything besides posting up. It would be miraculous for him to break down a defense, yet, draw a double team.

Although Felton is absolutely terrible on the defensive end, as well as the Knicks’ point guards as a collective, Miller on the defensive end isn’t that much different. For people to think that Miller will add defense to the Knicks’ back court, then stop immediately.

Maybe the farthest this trade rumor will go is if J.R Smith is thrown into the deal. Other than that, I’m not sold on the idea of bringing him to New York. This is just the latest story in the New York Knicks rumors mill.

Follow James on Twitter @j_griff

Follow and like Buckets Over Broadway on Twitter and Facebook