Andre signs with Portland--Lee Homeless?

[kgooglog]

Well, by now, all of us but David Lee and Mark Bartlestein are breathing a little easier now that Andre Miller has signed a bloated contract with Portland, which has effectively shut the door on any other NBA team from signing David Lee outright, meaning without a sign and trade.

Donnie Walsh will probably have Lee signed to either a multi-year pact and a bargain basement price or to a one year, $6,000,000 qualifying offer by Monday. To think that Walsh may actually have his two RFAs signed to one year qualifying offers means that NY is firmly in the driver's seat with both David and Nate, something which was unthinkable one month ago.

In the same vein of unthinkable is the fact that Jamaal Tinsley may actually become a Knick as I have heard eerie silence on the Ramon Sessions front. Of course, given the nature of Sessions agent, 'Chubby' Wells contention that a 5 year MLE offer was being prepared by the Knicks for the 23 year old PG's signing, may mark the end of overzealous agents hailing their clients as the greatest show on Earth. Boy, would I hate to be Bartlestein or 'Chubby' at this point in time.

Is it just me or is Von Wafer one of the greatest names in NBA history?

It appears as if our core group is back for another go out at it this season, although the smart money is on Dave being signed and traded. I would say the same about Nate, but to do so would go against Aaron Goodwin's reputation as an honest man who had absolutely nothing to do with trying to jack up Robinson's signing with his fantasy of a $10,000,000 deal in Greece being bandied about.

In other news, Eddy Curry has shed another 20 pounds. Hey, with all the BS surrounding our other players, why not start a rumor that may get Houston interested in Edward?

Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow. Von Wafer. Gotta love it!

[irish2u2]

Great points Ken. Portland was the one team that seemed to want Lee the most so if they still want him a sign and trade is the only way.

Von Wafer is a pretty good player. I hope he gets a shot, pun intended, with the Knicks. I also like Hakeem Warrick who is now an unrestricted free agent. He is a tweener but he is just one of the sickest athletes in the league.

[kgooglog]

Jul 25, 2009 8:41:20 GMT -5 irish2u2 said:

Great points Ken. Portland was the one team that seemed to want Lee the most so if they still want him a sign and trade is the only way.

Von Wafer is a pretty good player. I hope he gets a shot, pun intended, with the Knicks. I also like Hakeem Warrick who is now an unrestricted free agent. He is a tweener but he is just one of the sickest athletes in the league.

'Morn-in' Bill...

As I do every morning, I scanned all of the NY papers on line to read about our team, but what I found to be most interesting were the "Reader's Comments" section which were uncharacteristically, quite hostile toward Donnie Walsh. There seems to be a sense of urgency that Walsh "must do something big" this off-season and that he has somehow failed New York Knick fans by not acquiring J-Kidd, Grant Hill, Andre Miller, or succumbed to the RFA insanity surrounding his own RFAs.

Instead, I think that as a GM, Walsh played his hand perfectly and he expressed this after the last game of the season when he simply said words to the effect that "a player is a good player if you can get him at a good price." So, in my mind, Donnie has actually had a pretty decent off season which has already been marked with a fantastic trade of a declining player for a 24 year old 7'1 former #2 pick who has yet to find his niche in the NBA, drafting a college player who was projected to go as early as the third pick, and, most importantly, not succumbing to any outside pressure to resign Dave or Nate to outrageous contracts.

The Knicks now have a near 100% chance of retaining BOTH David Lee and Nate Robinson, thus preserving the mission at hand, which is to keep as much cap room available for a summer which has been anticipated for many years. The team has gotten better with the addition of Milicic, the departure of Q, the reconditioning of Eddy Curry and Chris Duhon, while keeping his options open.

As an example, Ramon Sessions is still not signed to a 5 year MLE deal and chances are that he will not get this type of a deal for the same reason David Lee or Nate Robinson did not get showered with gold this summer. It's a buyer's market this year and most teams with cap space, are saving it for 2010 as well. I think that Jamaal Tinsley will meet with Donnie, but I would be shocked if Walsh did ink him to a deal, despite being the man who drafted the PG in the first place. I do see Ramon Sessions joining the Knicks, but for a percentage of what his agent claimed the Knicks had on the table....

I was quite surprised that Hakeem Warrick had his contract rescinded--he actually was offered a deal, from what I understand, and he is a freakishly athletic player who I also like. I believe Warrick is 27 years old, and, who knows? New York may want to make a play for him, now that he suddenly appeared on the scene.

I am happy Andre Miller is out of sight, out of mind, for Miller's status, IMO, directly had an impact on Walsh's next moves. With respect to David Lee, I agree with what you said in another thread. Play defense, start making jump shots from 10 feet out and further, fire Mark Bartlestein, and sign the one year, $6,000,000 offer while playing your ass off in order to prove to the NBA world that you are worth $10,000,000 a year.

I am even starting to rethink the PG situation now that Nate is back on Knick radar, and am thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so horrible for Walsh to anoint Nate the role of reserve PG who would then share the time with Toney Douglas. We didn't lose Chris Duhon, and are arguably 3 deep at the 1, although Robinson is not exactly a pass first player.

Walsh may take a chance at Tinsley, as the papers all say that he is meeting him next week. According to what I've read, Tinsley would sign for $45.00 in order to play for Walsh. Personally, I see Starbury redux, but without the price tag or the amount of drama. But, he would not interfere with Cap-Space 2010, and used to be a very talented point before getting shot at.

I want Von Wafer, purely because he has the coolest name in the league. The Knicks can use a SG as well, for the notion of Larry Hughes' sub 40% FG shooting, is terrifying, to say the least.

Walsh preserved our most valuable trade chip; this being the Mobley contract, and will add two more in David Lee and Nate Robinson. Hughes, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon, and a host of very cheap contracts in Joe Crawford and Steven Hunter are also commodities due to expiration dates and cost. He preserved our young core of promising players in Chandler, Gallo, Hill, Douglas, Milicic, and possibly David Lee and Nate Robinson. The team is better now than it was, IMHO, for I think Saer Sene is another 7 footer who gives us defense, shot-blocking, and 6 fouls a game.

And lest we forget, we have a trimmed down, chiseled athletic specimen in one Eddy Curry, who seems to have remained 26 years old for the longest period of time allowable by the CBA. If J-Hill has any "Amare" in him, we may not even need to upgrade the PF position. If T-Douglas has any of the leadership qualities that a good PG possesses, Walsh may have already upgraded our point position.

[daglazer]

Did you guys know that Von Wafer was on our summer league team last year? And, that he played so poorly that we did not even invite him to camp. Wafer is a good athlete, but a bit of a knucklehead as a player. IF you think Larry Hughes had bad shot selection, watch Von Wafer play.

That being said, he does have a cool name.

[kgooglog]

Jul 25, 2009 16:48:21 GMT -5 daglazer said:

Did you guys know that Von Wafer was on our summer league team last year? And, that he played so poorly that we did not even invite him to camp. Wafer is a good athlete, but a bit of a knucklehead as a player. IF you think Larry Hughes had bad shot selection, watch Von Wafer play.

That being said, he does have a cool name.

DA...

You gotta sign the guy, just for the name. Imagine the introduction of Von Wafer, complete with that old NBA Championship Bulls' music, which would add drama and suspense when the PA guy finally says, " at guard, wearing number (whatever), VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYFER!

That would be priceless....