T SHIRT CONTEST!

We’re giving away a free t shirt featuring one of the greatest Knicks of all time, Patrick Ewing!

Printed on 100% cotton tees, this popular t shirt design is currently sold on the TARNATION! Sports t shirts website for $20 but you can get it free, in your size, up to XXXL by entering our contest below.

You an enter the drawing as many times as you wish below. Winner will be announced on Jan 25th. Good luck!

Enter the giveaway HERE

Apr 26, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert (21) brings the ball down the court during the first half against the Charlotte Bobcats. The New York Knicks defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 104-84 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

The Knicks have had 22 picks since 2000 that have produced a total of one All-Star appearance. Thirteen of those picks did or have done next to nothing (or worse) in the NBA.

With the No. 48 pick in the 2012 draft (Kostas Papanikolaou), it’s easy to say that history is not on the Knicks side, but the last two times the Knicks have been on the clock, they did pretty well by selecting Landry Fields (2010) and Iman Shumpert (2011).

Now that the draft is in the books, I thought it would be intreresting to take a look back at the Knicks drafts since 2000.

Warning: Proceed with Caution. Some of these selections may make you sick.

2000: Donnell Harvey, Florida (22nd overall); Lavor Postell, St. John’s (39th)

Who could forget the 2000 draft. Actually probably everyone because it was very forgettable. Harvey was dealt (along with John Wallace) for Erick Strickland and Postell averaged 3.2 points per game in three seasons in the Big Apple. Looking back, DeShawn Stevenson was selected right after Harvey and the Knicks passed on Michael Redd to take Postell.

2001: Michael Wright, Arizona (38th); Eric Chenowith, Kansas (42nd)

The Knicks had only a pair of second rounders in 2001, but missed on both as neither played in the NBA.

2002: Nene, Brazil (7th); Milos Vujavic, Serbia (36th)

The Knicks almost got it right with Nene in 2002, but we all know how that turned out after he, Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson were traded for Antonio McDyess and Frank Williams.

Nene has averaged 15.1 points and 8.5 rebounds and all the Knicks have to show for the first three draft classes of the decade are Postell‘s 3.2 points per game.

2003: Michael Sweetney, Georgetown (9th); Maciej Lampe, Spain (30th); Slaveko Vranes, Montenegro (39th)

To say the Knicks missed badly in 2003 would be the understatement of the decade.

2004: Trevor Ariza, UCLA (44th)

Finally a guy that turned into a decent basketball player. The only problem is that he didn’t do it in New York and was a part of the Steve Francis trade. If you are scoring at home, that’s five drafts with nothing to show for it.

2005: Channing Frye, Arizona (8th); David Lee, Florida (30th); Dijon Thompson, UCLA (54th)

Mar 13, 2010; Dallas, TX, USA; New York Knicks center David Lee (42) grabs an offensive rebound against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena. The Knicks beat the Mavs 128-94. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

It took five years for the Knicks to land a player that would contribute, but this wasn’t a terrible draft on paper as the Knicks got a couple of assets. 

Frye had a decent rookie season when he average 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, but was traded to Portland after two seasons in the Big Apple in the Zach Randolph deal.

Lee is the only Knicks draft pick to make an All-Star team this century. He spent five seasons in the Big Apple and became a very productive player, his best season coming in 2010 when he averaged 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds.

Thompson played two unproductive seasons in the NBA, none with the Knicks as he was part of a draft day trade that sent Kurt Thomas to Phoenix for Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson.

2006: Renaldo Balkman, South Carolina (20th); Mardy Collins, Temple (29th)

How could anyone forget this failed draft? This was Isiah Thomas at his best, especially since Rajon Rondo went with the very next pick after Balkman and Kyle Lowry was also still on the board.

Balkman played four seasons in a Knicks uniform in two different stops and never averaged more than the 4.9 points per game he did as a rookie.

Collins played 2.5 seasons in New York and never average more than the 4.5 points he did as a rookie.

With a pair of first round picks in his pocket, Thomas struck out swinging on both. This draft is one that sticks with me when you look at the Knicks recent failures.

2007:  Wilson Chandler, DePaul (23rd)

No complaints here as Chandler became one of my favorite Knicks until he was dealt in the Carmelo Anthony trade.

2008: Danilo Gallinari, Italy (6th)

Two good picks in a row and without them, the Knicks wouldn’t have Anthony right now. As painful as it was to see Gallinari and Chandler go, it was nice to see two draft picks that were NBA players. Gallinari reminded Knicks fans of how good he was when the dropped 37 on the Knicks and severely outplayed Melo in a Denver win at the Garden in January.

2009: Jordan Hill, Arizona (8th)

Well the streak of  two good first round draft picks ended in a big way when the Knicks took Hill with the eighth overall pick in 2009. The very next two picks were DeMar DeRozan and Brandon Jennings.

Hill played 24 games as a Knick and averaged 4.0 points per game before being dealt to Houston in the Tracy McGrady deal that ultimately cost the club their first round pick this season which ultimately turned out to be Royce White, who has a chance to be a very good NBA player.

2010: Andy Rautins, Syracuse (38th); Landry Fields, Stanford (39th)

Rautins did nothing, but Fields has turned into a nice player. Considering where the Knicks were picking, to come out with a player that started 143 of 148 games in the second round is a very good value pick.

Rautins on the other hand has appeared in a total of five NBA games, playing a grand total of 24 minutes.

2011: Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech (17th)

The Knicks did well with Shumpert who as a rookie became an outstanding defensive guard. Hopefully his knee recovers fully as Shumpert is slated to be the starting 2-guard for a long time.

2012: Kostas Papanikolaou, Greece (48th)

This guy is talented and although Knicks fans would have rather hoped to hear a name called out that could contribute right away, but while Papanikolaou won’t be coming to the NBA for a couple of seasons, hopefully the Knicks can finally hit on one of these foreign-born players.

In coming up with these rankings, I took into account time spent in a Knicks uniform, overall production and how well the team performed. For instance a legend such as Patrick Ewing doesn’t make the cut, being that the only season of the 2000′s that Ewing spent in a Knicks uniform was 1999-2000. The same goes for Larry Johnson, as while he had a great run in New York, he only averaged 10.3 points combined in 2000 and 2001.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the Top 10 New York Knicks players of the 2000′s.

May 6, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) reacts on the court against the Miami Heat during the first half of game four in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

Didn’t Make the Cut: Ewing, Johnson, Charlie Ward, Tim Thomas, Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler

10. Tyson Chandler (2012): Chandler’s only spent one season in the Big Apple, but it was a big one, averaging 11.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Despite only wearing a Knicks uniform during this past season, he makes the list for winning Defensive Player of the Year and for the overall impact he had on a team that made the playoffs.

9. Stephon Marbury (2004-08): Here’s a guy whose name I was hoping to never have to type again as I was not a big Marbury fan, but he did average 17.6 points and 6.9 assists in a Knicks uniform, including a big 2005 season in which he averaged 21.7 points and 8.1 assists. Yet he was never able to prove he was a winning-type of point guard at anytime in his NBA career.

8. Jamal Crawford (2005-09): Crawford started for the Knicks initially and then was reduced to a bench role under Larry Brown, but still put up solid numbers, averaging 18.0 points and 4.4 assists in a Knicks uniform. The Knicks never made the playoff though during Crawford’s run in New York.

7. Marcus Camby (2000-02): Camby went onto greater things during his NBA career, but had a solid stop in New York after he was acquired in 1999. During his three years in the Big Apple this century, Camby averaged 10.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

6. Kurt Thomas (200-05): The Knicks made the playoffs three times since 2000 with Thomas on the roster and he did an admirable job for the Knicks, averaging 11.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. He brought toughness and energy to the Knicks and had a very nice run.

5. David Lee (2006-10): Lee started slowly after being drafted in the second round in the 2005 NBA draft, but turned himself into a very nice player. He averaged 12.6 points and 9.5 rebounds while in New York and made the All-Star team in 2010 when he had his best year as a pro, averaging 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds.

4. Latrell Sprewell (2000-03): Sprewell spent five years in a Knicks uniform, four of them coming after 2000. Despite the controversy that surrounded his career, Sprewell was very good for the Knicks, averaging 14.6 points per game in New York. In addition the Knicks qualified for the postseason three times since 2000 with Sprewell in uniform.

3. Amar’e Stoudemire (2011-12): Stoudemire has spent only two years in the Big Apple and is the main reason the Knicks started to turn things around. He’s averaged 21.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in a Knicks uniform and may be higher on the list if it wasn’t for the injuries and a rough 2012 season.

2. Allan Houston (2000-05): Looking at six of Houston’s nine years in New York, he averaged 18.7 points per game during that time span and it was a shame that his career came to a premature end. New York made the playoffs three times in that span and although they never won a series, Houston remains one of the more popular Knicks in recent memory.

1. Carmelo Anthony (2011-12): Melo is the best pure talent the Knicks have had in uniform since 2000 and while he’s come under criticism, Anthony has averaged 24.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in a Knicks uniform. He’s helped the Knicks make the playoffs both seasons since being acquired from the Denver Nuggets and although things haven’t exactly gone as smoothly as Knicks fans may have hoped for, you can’t doubt that Melo is the most talented player to wear a Knicks uniform in a very long time.

Starks keeps rising and then flushes an emphatic left-handed dunk that sent the Garden crowd into a frenzy.

New York won the game, 96-91 to take a 2-0 series lead, but would wind up losing the next four and the series.

To date this is one of my favorite individual plays in Garden history.

Just the name alone probably makes Knick fans want to vomit. It is unfortunate for Charles Smith that he will always be one of the most infamous Knicks. Smith was a decent player, but will always be remembered for one moment; 1993, Game 5, Bulls. Enough said. (more…)

Derek Harper might be one of the most underrated and unappreciated players who ever donned the Knicks uniform. I think people forget just how good of a player he was and how valuable he was to the early-mid 90s teams. He only played 2 1/2 years for the Knicks and is better known for his years with the Mavericks, but will always hold a significant place in the heart of Knick fans. (more…)

We learned about this article a couple weeks ago and apologize for just getting around to putting it up. If you’re down about the Knicks and need to refresh your head before Friday night’s Game 3, make sure you give this well written, informative article by Hardwood Hype’s Emile Avanessian a thorough read—whether you’re too young to have witnessed Bernard King’s greatness or are left wondering where scorers like him have gone.

Unless you’re a Knick hater/Bulls fan/basketball historian or purist, here’s something you probably won’t want to watch today. But in this crazy world of ours, there exists a wonderful proverb most New Yorkers may be unfamiliar with: Things could be worse. Force your eyelids open, soak this one up, and get ready for a Knicks turnaround victory tomorrow night against Orlando.

Danilo vs. Carmelo: a spirited battle of ridiculously Italian first names. (Source: Interbasket.net)

After failing to get LeBron James in the off-season, followed by a pre-season loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, things looked bleak this summer, but what a difference a few months makes.  Antony Marino takes us through the lows of our past, up to the highs of our present (without using drugs):

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10.Because Jared taught Wilson Chandler how to keep a single facial expression for 48 minutes straight.

The many facesface of ILL Wil.

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If Timofey Mozgov doesn't work as center tonight, maybe it's time for Amare to strap it on and man the middle. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

KnickerBlogger interviews New York Times writer Howard Beck who intelligently wonders if perhaps we should move power forward Amar’e Stoudemire over to center?

Mike Kurylo: Speaking of Amar’e – is he really going to play the 4 exclusively, primarily, or occasionally? What’s your take from what you’ve seen in practice?

Howard Beck: That’s a great question because over the last week or so, watching Turiaf struggle a little bit and watching Mozgov flash between promising and foul prone I’ve been thinking about that same thing. And I’ll ask Mike D’Antoni about that today when I get there. In Phoenix, the Suns were widely successful with Amar’e as their so-called undersized/non-traditional center, and I don’t know why the Knicks can’t be successful as well. I think they have to (try) a banger/traditional center next to Amar’e to help him out and keep him out of foul trouble. But I think there is a lot of merit of playing it the Suns way – which is go undersized at every position and just outrun the other team up and down the court. You know there are only a few true centers who are scoring centers in the league anyway, so it’s not as if Amar’e Stoudemire is going to just sit there every night and get banged on by low-post/back-you-down centers. There just aren’t many of them anymore. I think we’ll end up seeing Stoudemire at the 5 a lot, but I think Mike D’Antoni doesn’t want to start that way. He’s inclined to, if he can, keep Amar’e at his natural position.

Personally, while I’ve enjoyed pushing all the Mozgov Could Be Great propaganda, I just have a hard time picturing him being a big contributor for the first few months of the season (if not longer).  Initially I’d actually assumed that we’d eventually realize we needed to move Amar’e to the 5 spot not just because both Moz and Turiaf are more 10-20 minute guys rather than starters, but also because we’d be itching to give Anthony Randolph more minutes.  Even though we’ve mentioned Randolph in the center conversation, he’s really more suited to play power forward or small forward.  Which are the ideal positions of probably our two best players in Stat and Danilo Gallinari, thus limiting the backup minutes available.  So I assumed we’d need to play Stat at the 5 to allow Randolph more time.  The problem is Randolph’s been so mediocre in training camp/pre-season, the coaching staff correctly hasn’t been searching to get him more minutes.  Perhaps he’ll grow more comfortable as the season goes on and will work his way into the starting line-up.  Beck, however, predicts that we will indeed move Amare over eventually, but it will be to get Kelenna Azubuike in at shooting guard.

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Move over Felix and Oscar, there’s a new, even odder couple in town.  Former Knick fan fave Anthony Mason makes one think of hustle, toughness, solid defense & rebounding, making the most out of one’s limited abilities, and surprisingly intelligent passing.

Words to describe Eddy Curry?  Indifferent, lazy, poor defender & rebounder, never fully tapped his incredible abilities, and a guy who’d rather turn the ball over than pass it back out to a teammate.

No, these two guys are not developing a sitcom or reality tv show (although I’d pay big bucks to watch that).  Instead, according to the New York Post

The Knicks have enlisted former Knicks defensive stalwart Anthony Mason to work with Eddy Curry and try to motivate him to save his career, The Post has learned.

Mason, a former Knicks forward who embodied the team’s defense and toughness from the 1991-1996 glory days, wore a Knicks coaching shirt yesterday and appeared briefly on the court. But mostly Mason’s work with Curry will be behind the scenes, in the weight room where they will be workout partners.

Curry, who could be cleared for practice in the next two weeks, is out with a right hamstring strain, but the Knicks also want him to lose more weight and Mase is on the case.

Curry was not permitted to go to Milan and Paris, partly to work out with Mason.

Mason, out of Springfield Gardens, is trying to get back into the league as a coach/special instructor.

[Knicks President Donnie] Walsh said the Curry idea made sense because Mason, also trying to drop a few pounds, already was using the team’s practice facility to work out.

First, let me apologize for mistakenly writing and bashing Curry for not going to Europe to bond with the team.  It had been reported that he had chosen to stay behind which I thought was a big mistake because it would only further alienate him from his new teammates.  Second, I’m impressed that Walsh hasn’t given up on Curry since nearly everyone else in the world has.  Honestly, as the Post says in their first line, if Mason is able to turn Curry around, it would more save Curry’s career than help the Knicks.  So that’s a pretty nice move by Walsh.  Third, along those same lines, since Mason is trying to break into coaching circles, this is also a pretty generous move on Walsh’s part to give him his shot.  If anything, this seems more like a really nice goodwill move rather than an intelligent basketball decision, but since owner Jimmy Dolan is made of money, who cares?  Fourth, Anthony Frickin’ Mason and Eddy Curry together????

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Over at SportsIllustrated.com, Ian Thomsen does an Atlantic Division preview with a very dispiriting view of the Knicks chances.  Naturally he lists the Celtics as the top team in our division, but sadly we come in fourth out of five, only ahead of the Toronto Raptors, but with Philadelphia at number two and New Jersey at number three.  While my hopes have dimmed a bit after our first two pre-season games (although I’m hoping our performance tonight will renew my faith — particularly you Ray Felton), if we end the season behind both those teams I will be really, really, really, really, really, really bummed.  I’m talking really, really.  Here’s the summary capsule, but there’s also a video preview of the Knicks at the link:

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Lastly, on an even more depressing note since it’s about real life and not fluff like basketball, NBA Fanhouse tells this sad story:

Former New York Knicks captain Ray Williams was driving away last week in his faded, 1998 Chevy Tahoe, finally regaining possession again after it sat in the transmission repair shop for almost a year, waiting for him to scrape together $2,900 to pay the repair bill.

He was beaming. It was one proud moment for a homeless man.

[...] The triumphs of “Sugar Ray,” Williams are dramatically different today.

Williams, now 55, was once the toast of the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, where he captained the team that won 50 games during the 1980-81 season, more than any other Knicks team in a 15-year span. He earned his nickname because of his laid-back manner and his sweet style of play, averaging 20.9 and 19.7 points in back-to-back seasons.

A year later, he helped the cross-river New Jersey Nets open a new arena, leading them in scoring, through a 20-win improvement and into the playoffs. In the final game of the regular season, he scored 52 points against Isiah Thomas’s and Bill Laimbeer’s Detroit Pistons, setting a franchise scoring record that still stands today.

Timofey Mozgov (R.) starts at center tomorrow; how will he deal with the pressure? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

On Twitter Chris Sheridan posted that Timofey Mozgov has won the starting center spot.  Sounds like reporter conjecture (which I’m starting to realize Sheridan does a bunch) rather than actual news.  Coach Mike D’Antoni might be leaning that way, but no way has he 100% decided that because he’s concerned about foul trouble.  At the very least, he’ll wait and see how Moz does in his first start on Wednesday against the Celtics (and potentially the-still-extremely-capable-at-getting-opposing-centers-into-foul-trouble Shaq).

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More useless Twitter news?  The NY Post’s Mark Berman twatted:

Eddy Curry is doing shooting drills on his own here at #Knicks practice. Looking OK. Probably back sooner than later.

Reportedly a few words got cut off from the message and it was supposed to read: Probably back [to being a disappointment] sooner than later.

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Imagine if these guys all were young at the same time and played together. Wait, but since Willis Reed and Patrick Ewing both played center, you can only pick one of 'em. Ay, there's the rub. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Right now ESPN.com has a great little thing where for each team in the league you can vote on who their greatest player was for each position.  For the Knicks, do you go Patrick Ewing or Willis Reed at center?  You gotta go Walt Frazier at point, and sorry, Bill Bradley, but Bernard King was unstoppable at small forward.  Shooting guard I’m inclined to go with Earl The Pearl, but I’ve never seen Richie Guerin play, so maybe he has a case?  And if the team is playing with today’s three point line and we’re thinking who’d mesh best together, maybe instead the two should be Allan Houston to stretch out the other team’s defense and keep ‘em honest.  At power forward, for some reason they list David Lee, even though he pretty much just played center.  I’m not picking him, of course, just pointing out that it’s odd that he’s in this category.  Probably you should go with Dave DeDebusschere, although I grew up worshiping at the altar of Charles Oakley, and particularly if you chose Ewing over Reed, then you need an enforcer.

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Today we examine many fans' most hated move by Donnie Walsh: hiring Mike D'Antoni. They might not like our opinion on the subject. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We’re now on the last lap of our Donnie Walsh analysis.  We’ve gone over his Drafting ability (which earned him a zero), his Trades (a nice +3) and his Free Agency Signings (another +3).  Today we look at the remaining qualities under the amorphous title of General/Other, which includes just two large elements.  Honestly, I’ve now forgotten some of the things I was gonna examine in this section, so forgive me if I don’t include something important.  I should’ve jotted down quick notes when I started this endeavor but I never remember that I tend to never remember things.  It’s a curse.  I think.  I don’t remember.  But probably it has been.  Anyway, The rules again:

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Walsh may get credit for snagging one of these All-Stars, but he definitely takes a hit for losing out on the other one. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We’ve already evaluated Donnie Walsh based on his Drafting ability in Part I, resulting in a big ol’ zero, meaning he was neither particularly good or bad.  In Part II, when we discussed Trades, he definitely performed well, scoring a +3.  Today we’ll examine perhaps the most important aspect of his legacy so far: Free Agency.  For many execs this doesn’t play a huge role, however since Walsh’s stated goal from Day One has been to clear cap space for a run at the max players this past summer, then it’s only fair that this should be a hugely significant factor in his evaluation.  Once again, reprinting the rules:

1. I don’t believe in negative Monday morning quarterbacking, so I don’t punish people for making decisions that were widely held to be smart at the time, but ended up working out poorly.  Meaning if LeBron James breaks his leg in seventeen places in a car accident tomorrow and can never really play better than an average player again, I can’t fault Pat Riley for signing him down the road.

2. I do, however, believe in giving credit for decisions that seemed poor/insignificant at the time but turned out great.  When the Suns reacquired Steve Nash from the Dallas Mavericks, many pundits felt they overpaid due to Nash’s back issues and age.  Two MVPs and many amazing seasons later, it’s clear that was a good move.

3. Draft-wise, in addition to no negative Monday morning quarterbacking, I also don’t believe that if someone makes a pick that turns out surprisingly great, you can’t fault all the other teams for passing on the guy.  Like Isiah Thomas gets kudos for finding David Lee at #30, but since no one thought he’d be as good as he ended up being, I can’t penalize all other 29 teams for passing on him.

4. For each positive thing, I’ll add some points (the # of points will depend on how big a thing it was).  Similarly, for each negative decision, I’ll subtract some points.  We’ll keep a rolling tally.

Free Agency Signings

December 2009 – Jonathan Bender

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Now you can find old pictures of Willis Reed on places other than a Wheaties box. Look below to find out where. (source: Yardbarker.com)

We’ll take a little break from putting Donnie Walsh under cross-fire and instead check out some Knick notes from around the interweb.  First off, earlier this morning Team USA pulled off the win against Russia, yet one of the two Ruskies who played really well was none other than incoming Knickerbocker, Timofey Mozgov.  Over on Posting & Toasting, Seth noted the following things (amongst others):

- Timofey backed up Sasha Kaun and definitely outplayed him. He probably could’ve snatched more of Kaun’s minutes had he not been in foul trouble throughout the game. Be it on loose balls, moving screens, or shot contests, Mozgov is a physical player, and his timing and positioning will have to be a little sharper if he ever wants to get major NBA minutes. That said, Mozgov won’t be getting major minutes this season, so he’s welcome to foul away. The Knicks could use that physicality…well, maybe not the moving screens.

- One of Mozgov’s fouls came when Derrick Rose drove to the rim and Timo pasted his shot against the backboard. The refs whistled a phantom foul, but not a single Knicks fan saw the call because we were all changing our underpants.

There’s more good stuff in the post, so check it out.

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Somehow Donnie Walsh was able to get rid of Jerome James (center). It's appropriate that the first photo that came up features him surrounded by food. Also in the pic are former Knicks Jerome "Mad Dog" Williams, Antonio Davis and actor Dennis Quaid. (source: Yardbarker.com)

For those who missed it, we had Part I of our evaluation of Donnie Walsh yesterday, in which we examined how he’s done in terms of drafting.  The rules again:

1. I don’t believe in negative Monday morning quarterbacking, so I don’t punish people for making decisions that were widely held to be smart at the time, but ended up working out poorly.  Meaning if LeBron James breaks his leg in seventeen places in a car accident tomorrow and can never really play better than an average player again, I can’t fault Pat Riley for signing him down the road.

2. I do, however, believe in giving credit for decisions that seemed poor/insignificant at the time but turned out great.  When the Suns reacquired Steve Nash from the Dallas Mavericks, many pundits felt they overpaid due to Nash’s back issues and age.  Two MVPs and many amazing seasons later, it’s clear that was a good move.

3. Draft-wise, in addition to no negative Monday morning quarterbacking, I also don’t believe that if someone makes a pick that turns out surprisingly great, you can’t fault all the other teams for passing on the guy.  Like Isiah Thomas gets kudos for finding David Lee at #30, but since no one thought he’d be as good as he ended up being, I can’t penalize all other 29 teams for passing on him.

4. For each positive thing, I’ll add some points (the # of points will depend on how big a thing it was).  Similarly, for each negative decision, I’ll subtract some points.  We’ll keep a rolling tally.

At the end of adding and subtracting points in the Drafting section, it all ended up back at zero.  today This piece has gotten longer and longer, so we’re gonna break up the second category, Trades/Free Agency Signings, into two parts, getting rid of that slash.  Today we’ll do Trades, tomorrow Free Agency, and then probably Friday the last category of Other/General.

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"Can you shoot like this, Gallinari?" (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Normally, these are the fun type of things we get to argue about without ever being able to know the answer.  Personally I prefer things that way.  I kinda hate how nowadays when you have  debate with someone they can just go, “Let’s check it out on the internet” and whip out your phone.  For me, it’s less about the truth and more the fun of the discussion.  That said, now, thanks to an Allan Houston interview with SLAM Magazine, we have the answer as to who would win a shooting contest between him and Danilo Gallinari.

How does Houston know?  ’Cuz they’ve apparently had several shoot-outs.  For those who don’t know, Houston currently is an assistant to Donnie Walsh and being groomed to move up the team’s ladder on the organizational side.  As such, he of course has his personal take on the upcoming free agency bonanza:

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Adam Sandler and Kate Beckinsale have held the trophy more than 14 franchises combined. (source: Yardbarker.com)

As we prepare for the 62nd championship round, one thing is clear: when it comes to winning the whole enchilada, the rich keep getting richer.

-Out of 30 franchises, only 16 have ever take home the trophy.

-Boston (17) and the Lakers (15) have combined to win (32) more than half of the championships.

-By contrast, the next franchises on that list, the Bulls (6) and Spurs (4), won all their rings during one time period and one superstar’s tenure (a certain Michael Jeffrey Jordan and Timothy Salierius Duncan — okay, I made up Dunc’s middle name; anyone know if he’s got a real one?).

-After that we’ve got 3 three-peaters (copyright Pat Riley) with the Pistons, Warriors and Sixers. Followed by 2 two-timers (Knicks and Rockets). For you Knick fans, that means if LeBron comes to NYC and wins 4 titles, that means we jump to #3 on the list!

For the rest of my post, click here for the main FanSided page.

Big summer franchise movies are assembled much like a NBA franchise team. You’ve got the executives who care more about the bottom line (“Let’s sign Allen Iverson — he’ll put butts in the seat” or “Let’s hire Scarlett Johansson — she’ll add sex appeal!”) rather than whether they create a high quality product. They hire the actors, or ball players. The thing is, it’s then up to the coach, or director, to make something out of this collection they were force fed, with their name being on the line. When a movie sucks, how often do you hear, “Man, that studio executive did an awful job?” And days after the Chicago Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was coach Vinny Del Negro who got the axe, not GM John Paxson.

For the rest, click here.

In a lottery lacking surprise,
DeBusschere drafted “The Franchise”.
But the team was a shame
Losing game after game
And from the cellar they never could rise.

Al Bianchi assembled “the Bomb Squad”
Mark Jackson, J. New, and the Hot Rod.
Traded Cartwright for Oak,
But MacLeod was a joke,
And the roster, though good, remained flawed.

Grunfeld put together some winners
Reaching the finals when league talent got thinner.
He perfected the craft
Of dodging the draft
But his teams needed “Offense for Beginners”.

Ed Tapscot was GM for a day
With a roster on the verge of decay
Instead of drafting Artest
Took the player he thought best:
A Frenchman who stayed in Marseilles.

Scott Layden had the master solution:
Trading Ewing to begin the devolution
Getting Longley and Rice,
Swapping Camby for ‘Dice
And then brilliantly maxing out Houston.

And who could forget our Isiah
At one time, a Hall of Fame playah
But as an exec
Proved an utter train wreck:
A perverted, capped-out franchise slayah.

So now there’s a savior named Donnie
Who, to undo all Isiah’d done wrong, he
Traded all of our picks
‘Till Three Thousand and Six
But still wins if he gets us LeBronie!

Calling it quits is difficult for any professional athlete. Just ask Brett Favre, who has yet to make a decision (surprise, surprise!) about whether or not he will play in the NFL again next season. Often times, the will to play overpowers the skills to play in older athletes and forces them to hang on for one…more…year in order to try and leave their sport at the top of their game.

Unfortunately, the recent retirement of Allen Iverson (wait, are we really ready to call it that yet?) reinforces a problem that many NBA players have faced at the end of their career. A.I. has not only had to deal with his diminished skills on the court–he’s also allegedly had to battle his demons off of it. It’s been enough to essentially force him out of the game that he’s loved so much for so many years. But he’s not the first player to face this fate. From contract negotiations gone bad to substance problems to devastating injuries, there are plenty of former NBA stars that have been forced to cut their careers short and leave the game under less-than-ideal circumstances. StreetLevel rounded up ten of the most heart-breaking scenarios…

Some another notes about Marbury is that he average 23 ppg and 10 apg in the regular season, but his team still missed the playoffs.

Marbury is absolutely huge in China and all signs point to him staying and continuing to play in China for a while. Seeing Marbury do well is bittersweet because unlike most I was a big Marbury supporter in New York.

Marbury, as we all know was never given a chance with D’Antoni and our PG play has been awful ever since. Having Marbury around today and playing at the level he’s playing in China would be critical going forward.

Just for a moment picture this lineup for this fall:

PG:Marbury
SG:Johnson
SF:McGrady
PF:Gallinari
C-Bosh/Lee

That’s definitely a possibility for this summer just subtract Marbury. Having Marbury around now would make things look a lot better for this summer. Douglas is still very young and even though he’s shown flashes of greatness, Douglas is not ready to take this team on his shoulders, which Marbury did for years.

Getting rid of Marbury is just one more mistake to add to the Walsh/D’Antoni experiment in New York.

If you’re buying into this summer’s LeBron to New York hype, I promise you, you will be disappointed in a major way.

What If..

(source: ESPN's "30 On 30")

Last night, ESPN premiered it’s most recent installation in their “30 on 30″ documentary series (inspired & led by Bill Simmons, it’s a look at 30 lesser-known stories from these past 30 years that ESPN has been in existence).  Even for a Knick fan, the Reggie Miller-centric documentary was funny, nostalgic, informative, and moving.  There’s something intriguing and different about a doc that looks back at something you lived through as opposed to introducing you to a new world you knew nothing about (although obviously for many people the doc will fall into the latter category).

First, at the time, New Yorkers (and probably most NBA fans in general) thought of Reggie Miller as the ultimate villain.  Michael Jordan was the guy who you wanted to defeat, but Reggie was the guy who you wanted to see get in an “unfortunate” car accident.  It wasn’t about what he did to the Knicks, it was about who he was and how he played.  He talked smack non-stop, played dirty, and would fake & flop to try to get non-existent calls.  And by dirty, I don’t mean physical, ‘cuz you were allowed to play darn physical at the time.  By dirty, I mean doing things when the refs weren’t looking.  Swingin’ them pointy elbows for sneak attacks whenever possible (by the way, there is no truth to the rumor that he rubbed his elbows with sandpaper to get them particularly sharp).  Read what his own sister, Cheryl, says about him in the doc:

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Move over James Cameron! The Pacers try to go for 3 Ds against Patrick Ewing in 1995. (source: ESPN's "30 On 30")

The 30 On 30 series will be premiering the Reggie Miller/Knicks documentary tonight at 9 (Eastern time) on ESPN.  If you miss it, it’ll be on ESPN2 a few hours later, and well, at all sorts of hours and channels forever afterward.  It looks pretty darn good, and for you young fans who’ve gotten used to seeing your Knicks always lose — don’t worry, the winning time refers to Indiana not New York. As they describe it on the film’s site:

Reggie Miller gave New York the finger. The whole city.

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[...] played in what is considered the National Basketball Association’s first game, in 1946, as an original member of the New York Knicks, died on Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla., where he lived. He was 89.

[...] He was a member of the newly christened Knickerbockers when they faced the Toronto Huskies before an estimated crowd of 8,000 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on Nov. 1, 1946. At the time, New York and Toronto were members of the Basketball Association of America, and this was the league’s first game. The B.A.A. would merge with the National Basketball League in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association.

The N.B.A., tracing its roots to those two earlier leagues, today considers the Toronto contest its inaugural game. New York won the game, 68-66.

In an era when professional and amateur teams reflected the ethnic immigrant populations of their respective cities, Rosenstein suited up for the game with seven other Jewish teammates. [...]

“Back then, pro teams drafted mostly local kids, so for the Knicks that meant taking a lot of Jewish players because they were the best around; they simply dominated the game,” Ray Lumpp, who played with the Knicks from 1948 to 1952, said in an interview on Monday.

Rosenstein played in 31 games for the Knicks that season, averaging 4.3 points per game, before he was traded to the Providence Steamrollers.

[Rosenstein] was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

The Good:

1. New point guard Sergio Rodriguez took over the starting gig from Chris Duhon.  Spanish Chocolate was a never-ending blur and managed an unbelievable EIGHT steals!

2. New undersized shooting guard, Eddie House, played point when Spanish Chocolate went out, which meant: Chris Duhon didn’t play at all!  Not a second!  And that was goooood.

3. The Knicks did a good job hustling and scrambling on defense, holding the Bucks to a mere 43% fg shooting.

4. Tracy McGrady did not just settle for easy jump shots and instead had a few nice drives to the hoop.  Yes, none were dunks and a couple didn’t go in, but it’s excellent that he’s not shying away from contact with the big boys.

TMac, unafraid, drives to the hole, yet the Knicks still seem to be playing in the dark

5. At halftime the fans were thrilled as the Knicks honored the 40th anniversary of the 1969-1970 championship team.

6. To show how truly stupendous that 1970 team was, the current Knicks, in an outstanding show of support, got together before the game and decided to purposely play horribly so the fans would appreciate the old-timers even more. (more…)

Carl Braun, who was chosen for five consecutive All-Star games as a member of the New York Knicks, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 82.

Braun died in Florida, the team said. He is the second former Knicks star to die in a week. Hall of Famer Dick McGuire, Braun’s teammate, passed away Feb. 3.

“Carl Braun was the first superstar of the New York Knicks and a cornerstone of our franchise’s early success,” team president Donnie Walsh said in a statement. “Watching him play at the old Garden was a privilege for us New Yorkers in the 1940s and ’50s. He is a true legend in our sport and he will be missed.”

Braun was an All-Star from 1953 to 1957 — he missed the 1956 game because of injury — and retired as the team’s career scoring leader with 10,449 points. He’s still in fifth place on the career list behind Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed and Allan Houston.

“As a young New York Knicks fan in the ’50s, I spent hours trying to emulate Carl’s patented over-the-head shot,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. “Carl was one of the NBA’s early great shooters, an All-Star fixture on those Knicks teams and, most importantly, a great friend to all who knew him.”

Born on Sept. 25, 1927, in Brooklyn, Braun also spent two seasons as the Knicks’ player/coach before ending his career in 1961-62 with the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

Braun is survived by his wife, Joan, four daughters and six grandchildren.

After scouring the internet, I was amazed at the dearth of material on Dick McGuire.  Here was one of the greats, and the only footage I could find of him playing bball was on MSG’s memorial for him.  In an age where every moment is recorded of people who are famous simply for being famous (like Paris Hilton or Jon&Kate), it’s sad that the exploits of a true pioneer will likely fade away into nothingness eventually.  How many websites do we need devoted to David Hasselhoff?  It’s up to us to keep our history alive.  How many great films, great books, great songs have been lost?  Someone recently said to me that the reason most books from before 1900 haven’t stood the test of time is because they weren’t that great.  I have a hard time believing that.  Yes, they may not have been Shakespeare, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have books that if they came out today would be considered one of the top 50 books of the year.  It’s also not just about whether things from the past are as “good” as things in the present, it’s about understanding how things have evolved.

For instance, one silent film which was considered a shocker at the time it came out was the original “The Great Train Robbery.”  If you watch it today, well, probably the recent “Taking Of Pelham One Two Three” is more suspenseful to our modern sensibilities.  However, the key to appreciating “The Great Train Robbery” is understanding why it was a shocker.  It wasn’t about the plot.  It was about a shot that they showed at the very beginning, and then the exact same shot shown at the very end.  It’s completely unremarkable to you and me.  It’s just a guy looking at us (ie.the camera) and shooting his gun.  The thing is that up until that point, they’d never had a person look right at the camera before, so when he shot that gun, the audience was literally instinctively afraid that he was shooting at them.  They ducked to the side.  In a sense, it was to them what the first 3-D films were to our times.  That’s incredible.

Similarly, while doing a bit of research on McGuire, naturally a lot of things came up about his contemporary dribbling maestro, Bob Cousy.  There’s an anecdote on him that reminds me of Michael Jordan’s famous improvised shot against the Lakers.  The one where he went up in the air for a right-handed lay-in, then seeing Sam Perkins preparing to block it, mid-air MJ switched the ball to his left hand and flipped it in.  Here’s the description of Cousy in a 1949 college game from an old Sports Illustrated article:

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