The chase begins with Duhon
The possibility of Chris Duhon running the offense next season isn’t likely to sell many advance tickets, and on the surface it appears to be a temporary fix.
Stop and think for a minute.
The last time anybody saw the Knicks win a playoff series, who was setting things up? Charlie Ward. He played in 46 postseason games between 1997 and 2000. How good was he? Ward probably was on right par with Duhon in a lot of ways. He came off the bench much of his career and was a solid defender who didn’t make a lot of mistakes with the ball.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh knows this team cannot survive with a star at every position.
It’s not about collecting talent. Somebody has to do the little things and keep the marquee names happy. And the short-term deal might work in this case. Duhon probably wants more than just two years, and he certainly would like to bring in more than $3 million a season. But this scenario would give him a chance to move into the starting lineup and earn a bigger payday with a team that is headed in the right direction.
There is just one snag. A big one.
Miami and several other teams are interested. Let’s see, Dwyane Wade and South Beach or Eddy Curry and Madison Square Garden? We don’t know whether any of them are willing to go long term because it seems the Knicks have plenty of company in terms of prepping for the summer of 2010 when LeBron James, Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire hit the free agent market.
Duhon averaged 5.8 points and four assists in 22.6 minutes per game for the Bulls last season.
On another topic, did you see the NBA hired a former two-star Army general to oversee the referees? Major General Ronald L. Johnson is now in charge. According to the release, he will oversee the entire officiating program and will report directly to NBA president of basketball operations Joel Litvin.
It’s what NBA commissioner David Stern promised when Tim Donaghy turned everything upside down.
July 1st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hey, a cool new blog design!
July 1st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Oh, that’s interesting, it was a new design on the entry page but then the same (also cool) one after the comment posted.
Anyway, as for the Knicks, yeah, Duhon is a somewhat decent temporary fix.
And good point, that a team can be good, or better than good, with an unspectacular point guard. And the Knicks desperately need a pass-first PG since they have so many guys that don’t create for others
July 1st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I heard from 1050 ESPN’s Andrew Marchand, of course while listening to the Max Kellerman Show, that Duhon would be meeting with Knicks’s management today to discuss possibly signing on with the Knicks.
I think him signing here is the best scenario for him and us.
For him it gives him a chance to get major shine while running an offense that increases the value of point gaurds in general. If he is able to thrive under D’antoni, a short term deal won’t necessarily hurt him if his value increases while under D’antoni’s system. In two years he could use his increased value for a bigger payday, if not here, then with a team who would covet him at that time.
For us it gives us a solid defender, who is more of a traditional pass first point gaurd, and who can distribute the ball to the marquee scoring options on this team.
Win – Win situation I say.
Hope it happens.
I’m tired of all the Isiah Hoopla’ followed by Drama’
July 1st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Mike, the logic is curious. Why waste time and $$$ on a “so-so” short-term solution without addressing larger needs and determining what you already have?!?Duhon is not a significant enough talent over Mardy Collins to account for even one win. N8, while having drawbacks, might be perfect for MD’s uptempo style. I would allow both of them to perform in the Vegas league,with Chandler and Gallinari,two core players I would think, to determine how compatible to MD’s “system” they might be.I’d take my chances that Duhon is long gone.Additionally, how come there are no “rumors” surrounding defensive help,this team was sooo bad they played zone?!?Don save the $$$, we can lose with MC and N8 just as easily as with CD and frankly, N8 might be easier on my eyes.
July 1st, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Yes George, exactly, why bother shopping for a point guard? And we stand the risk of being turn down by Chris Duhon? Give me a break!
We should address our shot blocking deficiency and our lack of defense. Shoot let Steph play out his last year, he has to play his best to get another contract and if he gets hurt or acts stupid, buy him out and let Mardy, Nate, or Jamal run the team. Everyone was raving how great Jamal ran the point last year. What, the honeymoon is over? It’s not like we’re going to the playoff or anything.
Is it time to question the Don? A questionable first round pick. Is he a Dolan puppet? Dolan had enough of Marburry and Dolan wants him out of here, so Don has made it a priority to get a new point. When anyone who has watch the Knicks knows, defense and shot blocking are the priorities!
July 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Oh yea I forgot to ask, how much longer does Q Richardson get a bye? You hear Marburry, James, Jefferies, Zach and Curry have to go all the time. When does Q’s name get mention in the got go category? I have had enough of this guy and I don’t want him taking away any minutes from the Rooster or Chandler. I don’t care if he’s putting up 50 in practice, he’s a bum. Buy him out, PLEASE!
July 1st, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Loki,we’re starting to agree more & more, I’m getting nervous!! Agree nearly completely with some small “nits”.If DW & MD are rebuilding this team then they need to decide on their “core”,which should include Gallinari,Chandler and I would hope Lee, everyone else is a “usual suspect” and must prove themselves.Marbury MUST go,they can’t afford to take the risk of him muddying the well!!I don’t believe the “talent” on this team is as dismal as others suggest and think the worst of IT’s shortcomings was his inability to coach!!There are CYO teams in B’klyn who play more sophisticated offenses than the K’s last year, and less zone on D.If Lee is a core, than Jamal,who also has value has to go and I would package him with Eddy!! I fear you’ll be disappointed with Q,he has a positive history with MD and that may lead to a longer leash.The team should be Gall,Chandler,Zach,can’t move him now,Collins and Lee as starters, JJ,Balk and N8 off the bench.And yes, most importantly,get a shotblocker!!
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:13 am
I like this point guard!!! He he doesn’t shoot the ball as well as I would like but that doesn’t mean he can’t. He shot .375 from three ball range last year! That is incredibly impressive I don’t think the Knicks as a team shot that from the field! Despite his impressive three ball numbers he shot under .400 on a whole but it’s not like he had many opportunities to get into rhythm on that chemistry-less Bull’s team. He is much better then Mardy Collins particularly on a D’Antoni offense which requires at least one person who can effectively pass the ball…and some of you want the ball but in the hands of Mardy Collins! Out of all the frustrating things I saw from the Knicks last year the thing that irritated me more than any other was that Mardy Collin’s play when he threw the ball pointlessly over to David Lee despite being open himself and missed Lee completely. The ball just flew out of bounds and Collins just shrugged. It was the dumbest thing I have ever seen in my life.
Duhon on the other hand is a pass first point guard who is not only good at passing but who is careful enough with the ball to not turn it over every five seconds like a Mardy Collins.
The Knicks should definitely try to get this guy and work just as hard at getting Marbury out of that locker room (call Cleveland; James leaves if he doesn’t get a star point guard…and he didn’t say it couldn’t be an ex-star).
P.S. I agree that we should decide on a good core of young players including Gallinari (who’s name we can all spend the next year trying to figure out how to pronounce as we all fight over who said he will be great first wanting to take the credit for our selves(as he will be great)), and Chandler who—based on what I saw last year (as our “coach” gave him no playing time most of the season) could be really good (he’s strong…and smart).