A pep talk from Walsh and D’Antoni
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- September
- 26
Before we sat down with Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni, we got to see a rendering of how the Knicks locker room will appear when the renovation is complete a couple of years down the road.
LeBron James was nowhere in the picture.
And since training camp isn’t officially open until a slogan is printed on a t-shirt, here’s a good one courtesy of Walsh:
“If you have a problem with Mike, the problem is probably with you,” he said.
Perfect, no?
Walsh got grilled about Stephon Marbury, but wasn’t specifically talking about the controversial playmaker when those soon-to-be-famous words were uttered.
On that subject, don’t expect a buyout.
Bassically, it’s just the way that Walsh does business. He’s old school when it comes to throwing money away.
“I can only tell you this,” he said. “I was doing this in Indiana for a long time and I can’t ever remember buying out a contract. I did it through trades. (Buying players out) just isn’t good management.”
So if you’re not a Marbury fan, it sounds like you have to hope a contender loses a point guard to injury before the season gets under way and makes a reasonable offer to Walsh.
D’Antoni went 1-on-1 with Marbury this week, and isn’t dwelling on the past.
“I don’t care what he did in Minnesota or last year,” he said of Marbury.
Everybody has a clean slate.
“I’m kinda in a unique position in that I’m not tied to anybody,” D’Antoni added. “We have a chance to remake this team.”
Danilo Gallinari will not be ready for camp. D’Antoni figures it will be a couple of weeks before the rookie is up and running. The cranky back has prevented any kind of basketball activity for the last two months.
The early reviews indicate David Lee, Wilson Chandler and Jared Jeffries have made a strong impression on the powers that be. And yes, there’s plenty more to discuss, but the cars are clogging up the West Side Highway, and it’s time for me go. I’ll check in later.
This entry was posted
on Friday, September 26th, 2008 at 2:56 pm by Mike Dougherty.
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Walsh kept Isiah and Marbury. Sounds like the same old Knicks with a new wrapper.
Sam is right. This new regime is such garbage. This franchise continues to have no respect for their fans.
Let’s see Walsh didn’t buy out a player who interested conference rivals.
Yeah… what a fool… better idea is he paid 21 mill so the Heat or celts could get another player… good thinking lads.
You two are more interested in moving people out of spite and seeing headlines than worrying about the ON COURT product.
Zeke is out of the picture and we’ve got a new system why would that new system punish a player?
It would be idiotic for Walsh to agree to pay 21 mill to get rid of A PLAYER THAT HAS NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM FOR HIM.
You children want him to carry out your grudges.
Walsh… or the “new regime” as you call it have zero reason to buy out Steph until he becomes a problem FOR THEM. And might I add…... he’ll have some trade value as we get closer to the deadline. Why give away money when you can use the player or get value in return???
Because some fans prefer drama.
Eyes on the prize ladies…the game is played on the court not on the back pages…whine is the court play stinks… but stop making sports a soap opera and put away the tissues until we’re 15 games into the season.
Agreed with Dan. There’s still some sorting out to do, that’s what training camp is for. Everybody wants everyone traded, but people forget, you got to have a partner to make trades, and even then you want fair market valus, you just don’t to be a dumping ground for other teams. Remember, outside of Steve Nash, the Suns had essentially the SAME TEAM that was there when D’antoni began to coach Phoenix. Not to say the knicks had the same players, but ther is some talent there that can help win. what Isaish was doing the last couple years was crazy, and it had to mess with some players; heads. Let’s see what happens 2-3 months into the season.
Dan’l,
You make a good point, though in a heavy handed way.
The Knicks have a lot of players like Steph. High volume shooters, indifferent defenders, disinterested passers, and questionable chemistry guys. Guys who, though they have talent, have not helped with the bottom line of getting wins in the NBA. So, fans are tired of these people and would like to see a change. More Nate Robinson, even maybe Anthony Roberson. I agree that these people may not effect the bottom line significantly but, at least, they won’t come across as arrogant and maybe we could feel better about rooting for them.
I could go either way, that is, I don’t have much hope either way. If Nate and DLee were ever going to be all stars they probably would already be. It didn’t take Chris Paul too long to get a starting job. So, though I’m tired of Marbury, I’m not sure I see a better solution. I agree that having him come into MSG and drop big 4th quarter shots on us in a green uniform is something I would hate to see. I disagree that we should trade him unless it’s for Carmello.
I would do Stephon and Lee for Carmello. I think the McNuggets might bite in February because they’ll know they’re going nowhere and they can save 21 million $. I love David Lee and he’d be a good McNugget but I don’t see losing him as burning us down the road. We take on more $, anathema to some I know, but it’s Carmello and it’s now. This is one of the best players in the world. I think predicating our future on LeBron or nothing is not a good strategy, though he is the best in the world, period. The Knicks need to draft really well and not spend tons of money on flawed players. It’s easy, just be selective and do your homework. Spend some time with advanced statistics (sorry Mike). Donnie has not done any damage yet people!! That’s already better than Isiah.
Actually, he could have done some damage if this draft pick can’t get on the court because of his back. Dudes, this guy hurt it in July in one half of a summer league game. You’re telling me he’s ready in the middle of October at the earliest? Why doesn’t that strike anyone as a serious situation?
@Dan: The Nuggets would never part with Melo for Marbury and Lee. That’s preposterous.
To all you who cant understand why Starbury is still on the team, please realize that it is only temporary. Walsh is hoping that Starbury is truly in the best shape of his life, because it opens alot of trade options further in the year. Everyone knows we arent winning this year, so why not give him this LAST chance. Best case scenario: He plays hungry and like the talanted player he can be. And when the trade deadline nears, trade him away for something useful (not just a bunch of old high priced vets). That way you dont have to pay for the full year AND you get something in return.
Dan,
In response to your comment about my response being heavy-handed, I could live with that. further analyzing this issue, The DO need some guys that are committed to the other end of the court. In the system D’Antoni’s trying to implement, I def don’t see at least 4 guys that don’t fit in(Curry, James, Malik Rose, Mardy Collins-what the hell is he still doing on the roster? Buy him out already) but unless you can find someon willing to take a chance on Curry(no excuse for a bigman who can’t get more than 5 rebs a game, u can do that in your sleep) We just gotta hope for the best. I am a diehard Knick fan, so while I think I’m realisitc, I might be hoping for a lot more. As far as trading for Carmelo, you might be right. I don’t think he’s a team/coach killer, just an idiot off the court. We don’t have a 1st-round pick next year, also Carmelo only plays on one side of the ball, which we already have more than enough of.
Protein and Peptide Conference