Knicks Knacks

I never really wanted to play in the NBA. I just wanted a shoe contract.

But if you are harboring grand aspirations, the Knicks’ minor league affiliate is looking for players. Seriously. Imagine the possibilities, maybe one day Rafa and AdamL will be taking apart your game right here for all to read.

How cool is that?

This is the release from the NBA promoting an open tryout here in New York for the Tulsa 66ers:

NBA DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE’S TULSA 66ERS
TO HOLD OPEN TRYOUT IN NEW YORK

New York’s City College to Play Host to Knicks D-League Affiliate for Open Tryout-

NEW YORK, Oct. 17, 2007 – The NBA Development League announced today that the Tulsa 66ers will hold the first-ever open D-League team tryout in New York City, the home of one of their NBA parent teams, the New York Knicks. The event will take place at The City College of New York on Saturday, October 27, 2007 beginning at 9:00am.

The open team tryout will offer free agent athletes in the New York area the opportunity to compete for a place in the 66ers training camp, where they will vie with returning D-League players for a spot on the final 2007-08 roster.

The event in New York marks the first time that a D-League team has held an open tryout out of market in the hometown of its NBA parent team and comes on the heels of the creation of the 2007-08 NBA/D-League Affiliate Program. The program is a league-wide initiative that is aimed at bringing about more in-depth working relationships between D-league affiliates and their NBA parent clubs.

“Twenty-nine out of 30 NBA teams have either assigned a player to or called up a player from their D-League affiliate in the first two years of our affiliation system, which we’re very proud of,” said Dan Reed, D-League President. “Many teams have also taken it upon themselves to work together deeply on both business and basketball issues, and we’re seeing these efforts really take off this season with our new affiliate program, as evidenced by this collaboration between the 66ers and the Knicks.”

Local talent in New York will flaunt their basketball skills in front of Tulsa 66ers head coach Joey Meyer, who has had 12 players called up to the NBA on 15 different occasions during his six years in the D-League. Meyer joined the D-League for its inaugural season in 2001 coming off of a 13 year stint (1984-1997) as the head coach of the DePaul Blue Demons, where he posted a 231-158 record, including six 20-win seasons, and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Coach Meyer will be joined by other members of the 66ers front office to watch D-League hopefuls take the next step in pursuit of their goals of playing in the NBA.

Open team tryouts, which are held regularly in D-League cities, have produced impressive talent, including Clay Tucker, who earned All D-League Honorable Mention for the 2006-07 and 2005-06 seasons, Terrance Thomas, Anthony Terrell, and Chet Mason.

“Local tryouts provide an excellent opportunity for players to compete at a high skill level and display their talents,� said Coach Meyer. “It’s exciting to see young basketball players competing for the opportunity to move closer to their NBA dreams.�

Registration fees for the tryouts are $150 per player, and are due by 5:00p.m. EST on October 26. Tryouts are limited to the first 150 players to register and registration fees may be paid in the form of credit card and money order only. No personal checks or cash will be accepted. For registration forms, please contact the 66ers from office at (918) 585-8444, or online at www.tulsa66ers.com.

Entering its seventh season, the NBA Development League – the NBA’s minor league established to develop talent across all disciplines for the NBA – has relocated its headquarters from Greenville, S.C. to New York City to help foster the D-League’s continued growth by giving it direct access to the support and resources of the NBA and WNBA. During the 2006-07 season, 19 NBA teams assigned 24 players to D-League rosters, and 14 NBA teams called-up 16 players (‘Gatorade Call-ups’) while 31 D-League alumni participated in the NBA Playoffs. Additionally, every referee hired by the NBA since 2002 has worked in the D-League, while coaches, athletic trainers and front office executives are also being developed. The 2007-08 NBA season will also include the first-ever D-League coach to be promoted to the NBA with Sam Vincent taking over head coaching duties for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Designed to help grow the sport of basketball both domestically and internationally, the D-League offers NBA-quality basketball and fun, family entertainment at affordable prices. For additional information on the NBA Development League, visit nbadleague.com.

Turns out, NBA commissioner David Stern might eventually sit in judgement of Knicks president Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden.

He’s not going to act, though, until the appeals process is exhausted.

In other words, don’t hold your breath. A jury found Thomas and MSG liable in the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former team executive, and ordered Knicks owner James Dolan to fork over $11.6 million. It was just one controversial headline for the NBA during a difficult offseason.

Actually, it accounted for lots of seedy headlines in these parts.

“I have the power to do certain things,” Stern said during a conference call this evening. “I don’t have anything in mind. I don’t know if we will do anything, but pending appeal, pending further analysis of the situation, nothing has changed.”

The commissioner has been in touch with Dolan to address the situation.

“I think it’s far to say that Mr. Dolan and I have had a continuing conversation on the subject of the litigation, but I won’t go into the specifics,” Stern said.

He denied reports of a personal appeal to Cablevision patriarch Charles Dolan to assume a more active role in ownership.

“I have not spoken to Isiah,” Stern said. “And the report about Mr. (Charles) Dolan is like so many other things in New York, completely fabricated.”

Before the Knicks practiced today, Isiah Thomas shook hands and thanked Demetris Nichols, Jared Jordan and Walker Russell Jr. for stopping by.

All three have been waived.

There were no surprises, though I’m certain a number of people are disappointed the Knicks couldn’t find room for Nichols.

I agree the kid has a sweet stroke, but there’s a reason why he was a second-round pick. Logging time in the D League or in Europe is the only way to improve on the suspect handle and poor decision making. He might still catch on with another team, but he won’t learn much sitting on the end of somebody’s bench.

Nichols seems like a nice guy, so I do hope the road back is short.

I pulled a Renaldo Balkman feature together last night for our print editions. Since the links are not back up following our crash, you can find it here. I didn’t have room to include one tidbit.

Balkman was sporting a new grill. The removable gold caps on his lower teeth flashed all through our pregame talk. It’s quite a look.

“I just got out of my boot,” Balkman said with a laugh. “It’s a sign of saying I’m back. I’m back to my old self now.”

Eddy Curry hasn’t played more than 18 minutes in each of the last two games because of foul trouble. I spoke with a couple of scouts last night who believe certain teams will start small against the Knicks, looking to saddle Curry or Zach Randolph with early fouls.

Boston did it the other night with Brian Scalabrine. Right now it’s just a concern, not an issue.

Lastly, we asked Philadelphia coach Mo Cheeks for a scouting report on Zach Randolph. They were in Portland together for nearly four seasons.

“Zach, he’s a worker,” Cheeks said. “I think that’s what sets him apart, he’s a worker. If he’s not getting plays called for him, he knows how to go to the glass and rebound the ball. He doesn’t necessarily have to play on the block. I think that’s what makes him such a good player. Some of his strength is on the block, but he has the ability to step off the block and put the ball on the floor, make jump shots, and he’s an excellent rebounder. So, while you certainly can benefit from running plays for him, if you do not run plays for him, he has the ability to go get the ball.”

Quentin Richardson is getting a night off. The incumbent at small forward twisted his left ankle in the Boston, so the Knicks coach Isiah Thomas is just being careful.

“I forget (how it happened),” Richardson said. “I did it at some point in the game against Boston, but it didn’t bother me until the next day. It’s not a big deal at all, though.”

And then came a flurry of questions about the back.

The poor guy could walk in with a hangnail, and all of us concerned writers would eventually get around to asking how that issue might affect the back.

He’s pain free at this point, in case you’re wondering.

Thomas continues to be a little bland. Here’s a taste:

Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press is clearly working on a season advance. He got all dressed up for the pregame chat, asked whether it’s going to be important for the Knicks to get off to a good start this season, and went down in flames.

“We just want to take one game at a time and try to win each game and never look ahead, focus on the game that’s at hand,” Thomas said.

Maybe he just watched Bull Durham.

I spent a good part of the afternoon on a Turner Sports conference call listening to Marv Albert, Doug Collins and Reggie Miller discuss the upcoming season.

There were some entertaining moments.

Collins described the Knicks as dysfunctional while giving a general breakdown of the Eastern Conference.

“New York has a ton of talent,” he said. “Right now it’s a very dysfunctional situation, but they’ve got talent.”

Naturally, he was asked to elaborate.

“I really stepped out into some deep water right there,” Collins said with a laugh. “I think it’s just going to be interesting to see how it all plays itself out this year. They’ve added a terrific talent, and a low post scorer in Zach Randolph. Both Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph like to get down on that low block, how are those guys going to play together. Neither one of them are great passers against the double team. And then you’ve got a lot of guys who are going to want to play, so Isiah’s going to have to figure out his rotations. They’ve got talent, though. There’s no question about that.”

Since the Knicks are on a six-year losing streak, it’s hard to argue with that assessment. The compliments will be of the backhanded variety until they prove themselves relavent on the court.

I’ve also thumbed through the pages of Sports Illustrated, which features The Big Three as coverboys. The magazine has the Knicks finishing second in the Atlantic Division behind Boston, and sixth in the Eastern Conference. In the NBA Finals, SI has Dallas beating Detroit.

And, the annual survey of general managers (or maybe it’s a survey of assistant coaches and team public relations officials), has San Antonio winning another title. They were split on who’s taking the East, Boston or Detroit.

The Knicks were picked to finish third in the Atlantic, behind Boston and New Jersey.

Sign me up right now.

I do not pull for the Knicks. I do not cheer for the Celtics. I would pay to see them go head to head in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in April, though. Last night’s preseason grudge match was a pleasure to sit and watch. Nobody said please. Nobody said thank you. I can’t remember a game with more intensity before Halloween.

There were no second thoughts as Jamal Crawford played the ball and put Ray Allen on the floor. It was a clean foul. And every Knicks fan is hoping that a few more bodies pile up under the basket.

Kevin Garnett and Zach Randolph bumped and banged all the way down the stretch to the point where they were both worn out. Nobody looked at the calendar and stepped aside. The coaches kept the rotations short and substituted according to the circumstance. It was a great show. There’s no better way to prepare for the regular season than playing under those conditions.

Now let’s see if they find a way to maintain this new-found scowl in between the lines.

And now, here’s my dose of reality. I’m noticing the offense works best right now when Eddy Curry and Randolph are not sharing the court. I’m not saying they won’t figure it out. The process will probably take a couple of months, though.

I can watch the second half with my eyes closed.

After catching some heat for the lack of concentration and imagination, the Knicks are responding with a pretty good show against the Celtics, who seem to be having some issues of their own.

Zach Randolph is showing more of his game, mixing in power moves with jump shots. Nate Robinson came off the bench and made a difference. Jared Jeffries earned part of that mid-level exception. And the list of positive contributions goes on.

It’s probably a good thing.

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas was starting to get a little grumpy, offering nothing but abbreviated answers each of the last two days. Of course, the defense still isn’t reliable, but the Celtics are going to give a lot of teams matchup nightmares.

Just a note to the Fred Jones supporters, he’s going to get minutes when Jamal Crawford isn’t looking particularly inspired on defense. But right now, he’s behind Crawford, Stephon Marbury and Nate Robinson. And when Renaldo Balkman comes back, Quentin Richardson might get some minutes in the backcourt as well.

There’s not a lot of room in the rotation.

I’m sensing the Knicks are beginning to get serious with 12 days to go before opening night in Cleveland, or maybe they’re just tired of explaining two bad preseason losses.

Perhaps we’ll begin to see the urgency tonight in the rematch with Boston, which only won by 40 points up the coast a week ago. I’m anxious to see the Big Three Part II in person.

The rotation is probably going to be shortened this week as Isiah Thomas looks to identify the 10 regulars. Locking in early is very important because we kept hearing last season how teams like San Antonio and Detroit and Phoenix have been together for a number of years.

The excuse is valid to a point, but there’s no longer any reason why the Knicks should be considered strangers.

I’ll give you an educated guess, although things could very well change by the end of the week:

Eddy Curry
Zach Randolph
Stephon Marbury
Jamal Crawford
Quentin Richardson
David Lee
Renaldo Balkman
Nate Robinson
Jared Jeffries
Malik Rose

A couple of guys have a chance to move in and out of the lineup depending on matchups:

Fred Jones
Wilson Chandler
Mardy Collins

Check back as game time approaches, there’s always more coming. And don’t forget to vote in the poll. We’ve got four more positions to do before the Knicks head to Cleveland.

Anybody who likes to see hard work and decency rewarded has to be a little sad things didn’t work out for Allan Houston, who stopped by the practice facility this morning to explain why his comeback attempt lasted just a week.

In short, the former All-Star wasn’t up to game speed.

Houston believes he would’ve gotten there eventually, but realized the Knicks were not in a position to grant the required patience.

“I’ve always believed that God shows us our paths and I think that this one is where I’m supposed to be right now,” he said. “When I came into camp, I had felt really, really good and I felt like I’d tested it against NBA players. I felt like I could contribute again and still be effective. But when I went into camp, the intensity was a shock to my body. It’s almost like I didn’t have time to really recover from that and get to the point where I could kind of feel the way I felt before camp.

“At that point, when I realized in this particular situation with the Knicks and their roster and what Isiah’s doing with the team, it just wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair for me to try to have that recovery time that I thought I needed to really be effective.”

Houston isn’t actively looking for another chance, but he’s not ruling out a second comeback elsewhere. James Dolan gave him permission to use the MSG practice facility and training staff to stay in shape.

The eternal optimists will live his assessment of the Knicks.

Houston was asked whether he views this group as a playoff team.

“In practice they are,” he said. “And the reason I say in practice they are is because I see their habits. I see their work ethic. I see their desire to be very good. What’s going to happen, what’s going to tell to me is, Isiah’s given them a very sound strategy, philosophy. Last year they kind of had the excuse that everything was kind of new. It was a transition. This year, they’re going to have to take what Isiah’s telling them and execute it, from defensive strategy to plays. They can be very good. I’ve seen it in practice.

“What I saw in Boston was very atypical of how they’ve been working during training camp. So my answer is I think they can be (a playoff team), but they’re going to have to take everything they’re practicing and what Isiah is telling them and do that. It’s not like they don’t have a good strategy. They have an identity I think now and they have good enough players.â€?

I’ll leave you with a link to Houston’s webpage where the experience is written up in his own blog. Check it out.

Before we move on to bidding Allan Houston farewell, I have a couple of photos from yesterday’s open practice. They would’ve been up last night, but gremlins were hiding my USB cable. Sorry. I think most of the fans got a kick out of seeing the Knicks up close in a slightly relaxed setting.

And except for a bus ride in heavy traffic, it was an easy afternoon for the players.

“I think this is one of the best things we have every year,” Eddy Curry said. “Fans get to come see us for free and kind of experience what we have to go through every day in practice. it’s more than playing games.”

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas was not introduced.

Based on the applause, David Lee is currently the most popular member of the Knicks.

“He’s a great guy, I guess that is transmitted through the crowd or something,” Eddy Curry said. “I’m not sure. I don’t know. He’s a great guy and well deserving of it. There’s not one thing, but he’s definitely the fan favorite, that’s without a doubt.”

A couple of possessions later, Thomas stopped the scrimmage when the defense broke down and had everybody run suicides.

Do not challenge Nate from halfcourt. He will take your money. The guy has a higher percentage from the time line than Shaq has from the foul line.