Ok, so there is one more year before the summer of LeBron, and some might argue that this summer is almost as important. Last year at this time, the Knicks were closing out a 23-59 season, just hired Donnie Walsh to oversee the rebuilding of the franchise, and he still hadn't come up with a coach, and had a roster full of untradeable contracts.
Fast forward a year and the Knicks improved by 9 games (23 to 32), have a coach in Mike D'Antoni that plays a style the players love to play- and managed to clear cap space for the LeBron summer by dealing Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph- ON THE SAME DAY!
So when you look forward to this summer, the Knicks will have to make two big decisions, and still have to save cap space for LeBron. I, therefore, have come up with a plan to make the Knicks more competitive next year, and save money for atleast LeBron-
STEP 1: Hope David Stern comes through and gets the Knicks from the 8th slot to either 2 or 1...and get the them either Blake Griffin or Ricky Rubio. Either one would give the Knicks a legit piece to build around. The move here is to go with Rubio if they get #2 (obviously Griffin goes 1 no matter what). Rubio gives the Knicks a superstar point guard at just 18 years old, and allows Chris Duhon to come off the bench. Rubio is the perfect point guard to play for D'Antoni, and would be an enticing piece of the puzzle for LeBron.
STEP 2: Sign David Lee.
- Lee is a fan favorite, and really is the heart of this team. While he may not be worth 10 million a year, he's definitely worth 7-8 million. His ability to grab rebounds is sorely needed on the team, and with the added players and talent around him he wont be as beaten down by the end of the year.
STEP 3: Trade Nate Robinson to the Bulls for Ben Gordon
- Gordon would give the Knicks a go-to guy at the end of games, and a lights out scorer who has shown he can come off the bench and light it up. Both players are restricted free agents, so the contracts could even out. Gordon would probably command more, so perhaps Robinson and Jared Jeffries could get it done. Robinson would give the Bulls another scorer in the Gordon mold, and they could focus on Loul Deng and getting him paid.
And of course, I will personally take Jared Jeffries to the airport and see him off.
Step 4: Sign Dmitrius Nichols and Patrick Ewing Jr.
- Nichols and Ewing Jr would provide energy and scoring off the bench, respectively, and both showed glimpses. Nichols averaged 20 points a game in the summer league for the Knicks a couple years ago, and Ewing Jr had Knicks fans in love with him during the pre-season last year.
This would then make the roster look like this:
PG- Rubio
SG- Gordon
SF- Chandler
PF- Gallinari
C- Lee
Bench: Quentin Richardson, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon, Pat Ewing Jr and Demitrious Nichols.
That, with D'Antoni coaching, would make the playoffs. And be enticing to a certain player in Cleveland...
Fast forward a year and the Knicks improved by 9 games (23 to 32), have a coach in Mike D'Antoni that plays a style the players love to play- and managed to clear cap space for the LeBron summer by dealing Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph- ON THE SAME DAY!
So when you look forward to this summer, the Knicks will have to make two big decisions, and still have to save cap space for LeBron. I, therefore, have come up with a plan to make the Knicks more competitive next year, and save money for atleast LeBron-
STEP 1: Hope David Stern comes through and gets the Knicks from the 8th slot to either 2 or 1...and get the them either Blake Griffin or Ricky Rubio. Either one would give the Knicks a legit piece to build around. The move here is to go with Rubio if they get #2 (obviously Griffin goes 1 no matter what). Rubio gives the Knicks a superstar point guard at just 18 years old, and allows Chris Duhon to come off the bench. Rubio is the perfect point guard to play for D'Antoni, and would be an enticing piece of the puzzle for LeBron.
STEP 2: Sign David Lee.
- Lee is a fan favorite, and really is the heart of this team. While he may not be worth 10 million a year, he's definitely worth 7-8 million. His ability to grab rebounds is sorely needed on the team, and with the added players and talent around him he wont be as beaten down by the end of the year.
STEP 3: Trade Nate Robinson to the Bulls for Ben Gordon
- Gordon would give the Knicks a go-to guy at the end of games, and a lights out scorer who has shown he can come off the bench and light it up. Both players are restricted free agents, so the contracts could even out. Gordon would probably command more, so perhaps Robinson and Jared Jeffries could get it done. Robinson would give the Bulls another scorer in the Gordon mold, and they could focus on Loul Deng and getting him paid.
And of course, I will personally take Jared Jeffries to the airport and see him off.
Step 4: Sign Dmitrius Nichols and Patrick Ewing Jr.
- Nichols and Ewing Jr would provide energy and scoring off the bench, respectively, and both showed glimpses. Nichols averaged 20 points a game in the summer league for the Knicks a couple years ago, and Ewing Jr had Knicks fans in love with him during the pre-season last year.
This would then make the roster look like this:
PG- Rubio
SG- Gordon
SF- Chandler
PF- Gallinari
C- Lee
Bench: Quentin Richardson, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon, Pat Ewing Jr and Demitrious Nichols.
That, with D'Antoni coaching, would make the playoffs. And be enticing to a certain player in Cleveland...
looking at what you read..... no position scarcity?
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