On the clock
-
- February
- 21
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
With a couple of hours left to make a move, Isiah Thomas does not appear to be on the verge of another shakeup. It only takes one phone call to change everything, though. It’s hard to confirm any rumors at this point in the day since most team officials are busy talking with each other. Agents keep the phone close, too, monitoring proposals that relocate clients.
I’m going to be in front my computer all day, so if you’ve got a question, fire away.
Anybody who’s thinking 2010-11 is going to be a great season here in New York should be keeping an eye on what Cleveland does. LeBron James is getting impatient. Will the Cavaliers make something happen to pacify the anxious superstar? They might have to accept some bad contracts in that kind of a deal, which everyone here knows damages long-term prospects.
To help pass the hours and minutes, let’s have some fun.
Since we all know you can’t fire the team, let’s trade the coach. You can have any living coach for Thomas, who do you want?
This entry was posted
on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am by Mike Dougherty.
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I really like the way Avery Johnson operates. He always keeps a cool head, motivates his players, and never clashes with them. I’d take him.
I hope the Knicks send Curry to Miami for expiring contracts. Either that or just don’t make any moves at all
Ok guys…we must understand. It’s over. Time to be sart and get some draft pick! We gotta take losses!!!
When I think of a team that needs a trade I think Cavs! Here is my deal (it works on trade machine)
New York Knicks
Incoming Players
Ira Newble
Salary: $3,441,900 Years Remaining: 1
PTS: 4.3 REB: 2.8 AST: 0.4 PER: 10.76
Eric Snow
Salary: $6,703,125 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 0.9 REB: 0.9 AST: 2.0 PER: 4.08
Donyell Marshall
Salary: $5,566,965 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 4.3 REB: 3.0 AST: 0.4 PER: 9.05
Drew Gooden
Salary: $6,453,416 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 11.2 REB: 8.4 AST: 1.0 PER: 12.75
Damon Jones
Salary: $4,172,432 Years Remaining: 2
PTS: 6.1 REB: 1.1 AST: 1.6 PER: 10.72
Outgoing Players: Zach Randolph, Jamal Crawford, Jared Jeffries, Fred Jones
Cleveland Cavaliers
Incoming Players
Zach Randolph
Salary: $13,333,333 Years Remaining: 4
PTS: 17.3 REB: 10.3 AST: 2.0 PER: 17.42
Jamal Crawford
Salary: $7,920,000 Years Remaining: 4
PTS: 20.3 REB: 2.8 AST: 4.8 PER: 15.20
Jared Jeffries
Salary: $5,632,200 Years Remaining: 4
PTS: 2.6 REB: 2.7 AST: 0.8 PER: 6.88
Fred Jones
Salary: $3,300,000 Years Remaining: 1
PTS: 6.5 REB: 2.5 AST: 2.4 PER: 10.25
Outgoing Players: Ira Newble, Eric Snow, Donyell Marshall, Drew Gooden, Damon Jones, 2 1st round pick
Thoughts?
I like Jeff Van Gundy. For coach and GM. You can’t just fire Isiah as coach; he’s got to go as GM too.
My only hesitation is that I think Isiah might be able to persuade Ron Artest to accept a midlevel exemption here next year. However, there are two problems with that thought: 1) Artest might just be intimating that to get a better contract elsewhere (as others have done) and 2) even if he does attact Artest, are the Knicks with Artest and Isiah better than the Knicks without either Artest or Isiah?
I’m leaning toward the thought that Isiah is the real cancer on this club. Everything he touches turns to dust. I don’t trust him to make a trade. I don’t trust to coach a group of all-stars (to say nothing of the current Knick roster). I don’t trust him to develop young players (e.g. M Randolph, Chandler, Robinson, etc.). I don’t even trust him to make a first round lottery draft pick.
I know some people think he’s a genius draft picker. And I agree that he’s done some good work with late round picks or even a second round pick (e.g. Ariza). But I think he made a mistake taking Frye over Bynum, and I think he would make another mistake with this year’s lottery.
So, in my book, anyone is better than Isiah. And of the coaching candidates out there now I like a reunion of JVG.
Before I get killed, but I think this is the best deal for Cleveland, and the Knicks…
Knicks will be in a great position come next year~!
While the Cavs get a team w/ alot of scorers! No one can double Lebron!!
Thats not bad.
Thats 22 million from the Cavs players expiring
Thats 22 million from Starbury expiring
Thats 7 million from Malik Rose expiring
We WOULD lose over 50 million dollars in cap. Not bad at all.
Also with a leader like Lebron James that team might work out.
you want a trade for a coach… hows this for out of left field,
Bring Bobby Knight in here….especially if Isiah is gonna hang around as GM. He’ll either whip them into something at least comparable with an NBA team or kill them each 1 by 1 in the process…Besides Knight’s probably the only guy around who Isiah doesnt think he knows more about basketball than…and anybody who can get in Isiah’s head at this point would be a welcome addition.
Bring in Hubie Brown! He knows how to fire up players and is a top 10 basketball mind. Why wouldnt he want to come back.
Please! Not Hubie Brown! In retrospect the H. Brown era was comparatively good but only because we’re comparing it to the last moments (we hope) of team titanic. My father used to play a game with his brother. They’d alternate picking basketball players for a fantasy team then compare who did the best picking. One day my Uncle made the move that my father acknowledged was the killer move. My uncle let my father pick first then said, “I take Red Auerbach as my GM and let him pick the rest of the team”. It starts at the top.
With Dolan and his crew, it ain’t gonna matter. I think we should play, “ways fans could pressure Stern into doing something, anything!”
BTW, yes, I’m deeply ashamed that I had to use a Boston Sucktic as my example but props where props are due.
xryanx,
Riley doesn’t want Curry, he’s pretty much said as much.
Jeff,
I like JVG, too. He was damn entertaining after practice, but I don’t think Dolan will ever bring him back.
Natha123,
It’s a good idea, but selling Cleveland on players with long term deals many league official consider losers won’t be easy.
Bobby,
Let’s do it. Right now. You could sell tickets to practice. And two months later, the players would revolt
Goose,
Hubie is a master clinician, somebody who raises a team’s basketball IQ. I wonder if anybody would listen, though.
Knicks got to rid themselfs of the entire team, and bring in a teacher like doud collins
I am praying it stays like this and nothing happens.
As for who I would trade Isiah for, there is a lot of options. Isiah is the worst in the league so anyone would be better. I’d definitely trade him for Avery Johnson but my top choice would be Greg Popavich.
As a GM, I’d trade Isiah for anyone, including Kevin McHale.
trade deadline today…just praying we could unload some of these cancers to move forward..1..isiah get fired(lol..we kno dat aint happenin,,though we all wish he would,,,)
2. more realistically..Z.bo,,to milwakee for Dan gadzuric(only somewhat bad contract,,has 4 years left at like 5 mil per,,,Charlie Villanueva(young player,,versatile…and 2 years left on contract.),,and jake voshkul(comes off da cap after season..) if the bucks are committed to making the playoffs this year they might be swindled into making this deal,,,) hopefully.
3.Eddy curry straight up for jason williams(his contract expires after the season)) hopefully riley loses patience and does this….
realistically if these are stretches,,,but a sucker is born every day.
I think u guys have been to critically of isiah thomas…as a coach he may not be the he greatest …but know one can say that he hasnt tried as a gm…theres alot of factors as to why the knicks season is where it is and its not totally his fault…For example Eddy Curry was a potential all star last year and if you wanna cite Zachs addition as the reason has fallen off then whos fault is it that he isnt mentally tough enough to just play his game…for all the talk of zach being such a post player he hasnt spent that great of time in the post all season…and even he has triad to find eddy in the paint to no avail…and lets not all pretend like we werent all chanting EDDY EDDY EDDY last season…secondly the terrible inconsistencies from our small forwards…Qrich is having one of the worst season that i have ever witnessed from a starting forward…and again most of us loved his play last year when he was healthy…this year hes averaging something like 7pts a game…those two are the major reasons why the knicks suck this season..and third i just dont feel like we get to the line enough we need more dribble penetration from guys like jamal and nate on a consistent basis…when they attack the basket good things happen and too often they settle for the jumpshot…these to me are the reason why we suck…you get a center who can give 12 and 9 or even 8 and a block and a half and im good with that…and a 3 who can consistently give you 13-15pts a game and hit the open shot and im good with that…and third a point who attacks the basket ala Tj Ford esque and lets see what we can do!...most of us love balkman love nate, have kinda fallen for jamal, Loved EDDY Loved Channing and now when things turn a lil sour we kick the man who is making an honest attempt at making us better!....sorry i say keep isiah but maybe only as the GM..Thank You
I would LOVE to trade Isiah for Doc Rivers. Not just because Doc is a great coach. Not just because he’s a great guy. But also because Isiah would find a way to ruin the Celtics. And who doesn’t want to see that?
Brandon,
You make some good points, but let’s not forget Jerome James and Jared Jeffries. Those were costly mistakes.For the record, I still like Eddy.
Starks4ThreeYes,
Another Chicago connection? Why not? Doc’s another guy I wouldn’t get tired of talking with.
Jerome and Jared were defintely his biggest failures. To be honest i like Jeffries . Maybe not for the kind if money we are giving him but i do like his play. Now if he only had a jumper (Balkman too). There lack of an offensive game kills us. Jerome and Jared aside i think he hasnt done a bad job of trying to piece together a solid squad it just hasnt panned out!
Any knick news Mike?
I heard if Denver dont get Artest they going for Zach for Nene?
Mike,
What about Randolph? I can’t bring myself to think that a contending team or a fringe team wouldn’t want to add him. If Artest and O’Neal have suitors, why wouldn’t Randolph?
Any living coach? Mike Krzyzewski is #1 and Popovich may be #2. Avery Johnson is a good choice as well. Anyone besides me want to give Mark from St. John’s a run as coach?
mike,
i really believe this knick swoon started when JVG and Ernie
Grunfield could not see eye to eye inpart due to the Oak / Camby and the Starks,Cummings ,Mills/Spree trades,made by
a guy who was an underated G.M. and a visionary that new we had to change!we would have won at least the championship in 99 i believe if Pat didn’t go down !my vote mike goes to him because then he would give a long overdue asst. coaching job to Bernard King imagine D.Lee,Chandler,Morris and the younglings learning that short fadeaway AND BEING TAUGHT WHAT PLAYING WITH PASSION AND HEART IS ALL ABOUT because they sure won’t learn it from Zeke the Zero!
Nothing concrete on the Knicks front, I hear bits and pieces, but nothing I’m able to nail down from a second source. As for Zach, here’s the hold up. He’s got a reputation. It helps that Randolph has behaved here, but he’s known for causing trouble off the court, and for starring on a bad team. When the Blazers were a playoff team, he was surrounded by strong veterans. I know Denver was in the mix, but can you imagine Carmelo, Iverson, Randolph getting along for a full season?
55 mins to go – no news is good news!
Trades only for expirings and picks – anything else the knicks are doomed!
Mike:
Can you share any rumors that you’ve heard?
OOPS
my coaching choice a mouse a duck a kangaroo anything or anybody but Zeke!
Larry Browns 1 and last season in New York is starting to look good !i personally felt it was an Isaih led revolt/tank
when larry started seeing Zeke was dumber than Dog DoDo
when it came to selecting players that play hard evrynight
play d and have some passing ability not Kidd/Paul passing ability how about comlete a pass or two a game hmmmm?
i would love to see in my fantasy that Dolan gives Zeke the boot and Billy the Kidd Donovan the bench.
Why do you like Eddy Curry. He is a nice guy, but doesn’t seem to want to work on his problems – defense, rebounding, conditioning, etc. If he even got on an exercise bike while on the bench, that would be great.
KFFL,
Can’t share until I get something confirmed on the record. It’s our policy not to use those unnamed sources without approval.
Bill,
When you see Eddy up close, he does things players his size aren’t supposed to be able to do. He needs a coach who is willing to play him into shape. He needs a point guard who can direct traffic. He needs to accept more responsibility for his own passiveness.
Is the deadline over?