Post by irish2u2 on May 31, 2009 13:46:10 GMT -5
Orlando eliminates the Cleveland Cavs thwarting LeBron James once again in his quest for a title. Is this good or bad for NY's chances to land LBJ in 2010?
There are several sides to this argument. I personally feel that LBJ will leave Cleveland in the summer of 2010 regardless if he wins a title or not. I still believe he wants a bigger stage and if the Cavs win it all next year it means next to nothing long term because a lot of that team is older and will be gone soon and the rest of the players aside from LeBron are limited. The Cavs have no real shot at a significant upgrade unless they can luck into another Pau Gasol-like giveaway, which is highly unlikely, until the summer of 2010. I cannot see them re-signing LeBron and adding Wade or Bosh. In Cleveland.
I believe the Knicks still have a chance to get LeBron but what they do the next year is vitally critical. LeBron is not going to sign with a rebuilding from the ground up New York Knicks team. He has to see himself as the last piece in a championship puzzle and he has to see a team more talented than his own is right now. I think LeBron loves the idea of playing in NY and his recent statements to the contrary are just a smart smokescreen but LeBron knows his legend needs championship rings.
I am not overly impressed with this year's draft however I think there are some opportunities to put together 2 vital pieces of the LeBron puzzle.
One is Stephen Curry. With Danilo Gallinari (more on him later) Curry would provide a net for James. LeBron needs outside shooters who can effectively stretch a defense. This is how he finds the room to drive to the basket because teams know LBJ can and will get the ball to open shooters. The Cavs have 5 guys who are better than average shooting the trey (Mo Williams, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Aleksander Pavlovic, and Wally Sczerbiak) and King James always finds them if they are open. In fact one of the reasons they shoot the trey so well is because James provides more wide open shots than maybe any other player in basketball.
The Knicks have Gallinari and he is a great long distance shooter. After him the team falls off dramatically as far as accuracy goes. The next more accurate Knicks are 2 guys who may not be with the 2010 Knicks, Harrington and Duhon. Curry is an exceptional long distance shooter and unlike another collegiate perimeter ace who hasn't done much as a pro, JJ Redick, Curry can get his own shot.
To return to an original draft day thought the Knicks need to wrangle the #2 pick from Memphis. That would allow them to take Hasheem Thabeet. I know the very valid arguments about Thabeet being exceptionally raw but 3 things cannot be disputed about him. He is 7'3, he is athletic and he blocks/alters shots. He has upside for the future and yet he can come right into the league as a rookie and contribute significantly because he does best what we do worst.
I'd offer up David Lee for Darko Milicic and the #2 pick. It's a gamble but one possibly worth taking. Milicic is a FA in 2010 so his salary is no problem and we clear room for James. I don't think Memphis is particuarly enamored of anyone in this draft and Lee is popular and a known quantity.
By trading Lee we free up the PF slot for Gallinari who is absolutely key to our future. A healthy Gallinari has the potential to be a very good player for the Knicks maybe even better than good. He isn't the rebounder that Lee is but obviously he is better on offense and shooting, he handles and passes the ball extremely well and he shows signs he may be a decent defender. He also can grow into a post player giving us an offense/defense 1-2 punch in the pivot that compliments James and his game well allowing us to add a FA PF (Bosh?) along with James in 2010.
Thabeet and Curry are perfect if LBJ is the realistic goal. If not then keep Lee, make a deal with Nate to get a mid-teens pick and take a chance on BJ Mullens. With our #8 pick I'd be looking at potential more than anything making Tyreke Evans or Demar DeRozan a possibility along with Jrue Holliday and Gerald Henderson. If Walsh thinks he can get LeBron then building a potential team around him is smart. Otherwise we need to get talent and hope the lure of NY attracts a couple of star NBA free agents in 2010.
There are several sides to this argument. I personally feel that LBJ will leave Cleveland in the summer of 2010 regardless if he wins a title or not. I still believe he wants a bigger stage and if the Cavs win it all next year it means next to nothing long term because a lot of that team is older and will be gone soon and the rest of the players aside from LeBron are limited. The Cavs have no real shot at a significant upgrade unless they can luck into another Pau Gasol-like giveaway, which is highly unlikely, until the summer of 2010. I cannot see them re-signing LeBron and adding Wade or Bosh. In Cleveland.
I believe the Knicks still have a chance to get LeBron but what they do the next year is vitally critical. LeBron is not going to sign with a rebuilding from the ground up New York Knicks team. He has to see himself as the last piece in a championship puzzle and he has to see a team more talented than his own is right now. I think LeBron loves the idea of playing in NY and his recent statements to the contrary are just a smart smokescreen but LeBron knows his legend needs championship rings.
I am not overly impressed with this year's draft however I think there are some opportunities to put together 2 vital pieces of the LeBron puzzle.
One is Stephen Curry. With Danilo Gallinari (more on him later) Curry would provide a net for James. LeBron needs outside shooters who can effectively stretch a defense. This is how he finds the room to drive to the basket because teams know LBJ can and will get the ball to open shooters. The Cavs have 5 guys who are better than average shooting the trey (Mo Williams, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Aleksander Pavlovic, and Wally Sczerbiak) and King James always finds them if they are open. In fact one of the reasons they shoot the trey so well is because James provides more wide open shots than maybe any other player in basketball.
The Knicks have Gallinari and he is a great long distance shooter. After him the team falls off dramatically as far as accuracy goes. The next more accurate Knicks are 2 guys who may not be with the 2010 Knicks, Harrington and Duhon. Curry is an exceptional long distance shooter and unlike another collegiate perimeter ace who hasn't done much as a pro, JJ Redick, Curry can get his own shot.
To return to an original draft day thought the Knicks need to wrangle the #2 pick from Memphis. That would allow them to take Hasheem Thabeet. I know the very valid arguments about Thabeet being exceptionally raw but 3 things cannot be disputed about him. He is 7'3, he is athletic and he blocks/alters shots. He has upside for the future and yet he can come right into the league as a rookie and contribute significantly because he does best what we do worst.
I'd offer up David Lee for Darko Milicic and the #2 pick. It's a gamble but one possibly worth taking. Milicic is a FA in 2010 so his salary is no problem and we clear room for James. I don't think Memphis is particuarly enamored of anyone in this draft and Lee is popular and a known quantity.
By trading Lee we free up the PF slot for Gallinari who is absolutely key to our future. A healthy Gallinari has the potential to be a very good player for the Knicks maybe even better than good. He isn't the rebounder that Lee is but obviously he is better on offense and shooting, he handles and passes the ball extremely well and he shows signs he may be a decent defender. He also can grow into a post player giving us an offense/defense 1-2 punch in the pivot that compliments James and his game well allowing us to add a FA PF (Bosh?) along with James in 2010.
Thabeet and Curry are perfect if LBJ is the realistic goal. If not then keep Lee, make a deal with Nate to get a mid-teens pick and take a chance on BJ Mullens. With our #8 pick I'd be looking at potential more than anything making Tyreke Evans or Demar DeRozan a possibility along with Jrue Holliday and Gerald Henderson. If Walsh thinks he can get LeBron then building a potential team around him is smart. Otherwise we need to get talent and hope the lure of NY attracts a couple of star NBA free agents in 2010.
