Knicks prepare for Pre-Season

The Knicks will kick-off their pre-season on Sunday against the Nets, ending a long and uneventful off-season. With David Lee and Nate Robinson both signed to 1-year deals, all players arriving fit and healthy (with the exception of Eddy Curry) to training camp, it’s finally time to get down to business.

Some notes from training camp:

- As mentioned, despite coming into camp lighter (although still safely above 300lbs) and ready to make a solid contribution, Curry tore a calf muscle in the team's first session, putting an end to his camp. We are still yet to see what Curry can produce in D'Antoni's system, after injury and off-court troubles plagued most of Curry's 08-09 season.

- Despite being in Europe most of the off-season, Darko came into camp looking to be in great shape. It’s been a long time since the Knicks have had a big man that can run the floor and block shots, and I am quietly excited to see what he can bring to the team this season. Darko seems to play with a scowl on his face most of the time, and doesn’t back down from anyone. That should play well with most old-school Knicks fans.

- Rookie Toney Douglas has looked solid running the point in camp, and could even be looking at the backup point-guard spot come the start of the season. Jordan Hill hasn’t looked as ready. His conditioning doesn’t seem to be quite there yet, although he has shown some nice post moves, and is confident with his jumper. Due to the log-jam of bigs on the team this season, Hill may struggle to find minutes early.

- The big buzz from training camp has been Danilo Gallinari. Quietely among the League’s best shooters in his limited appearances last season, Gallinari is fully recovered from his back injury and has a lot of people talking about his amazing shooting touch. He also looks like he may have grown an inch or so, and seems to be easily in the 6'11 range. Definitely a player that could surprise a lot of people next season, you might want to add him to your fantasy team.

Whether or not this team is good enough to make the playoffs or not this season is still uncertain, however with a young team and some exciting prospects in Chandler and Gallinari, a healthy squad and a fast-paced system, the Knicks are looking like they could be fun to watch this season.

Lee and Robinson still waiting for their payday

Knicks players David Lee and Nate Robinson seem to be the odd ones out this Free Agent season, with both still waiting to receive a substantial contract offer from any team in the League (although Greek team Olympiakos has apparently expressed interest in them both).

The lack of attention that each has received can be attributed both to their Restricted Free Agent status (allowing the Knicks a short-term period to decide whether to match any offer), and the real effect that the global economic crisis and 2010 Free Agent sweepstakes has had on spending throughout the League.

According to the Daily News, the Knicks have offered Lee a four-year deal worth $32 million – around $8 million per season. Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein is reportedly seeking at least $10 million per season for Lee, something which Knicks GM Donnie Walsh, and to date any other team in the League, appears unwilling to offer.

In the meantime almost all of the big players in this year’s Free Agent market have made their moves, in Lee’s case leaving possibly only Portland as a team likely to extend an offer, if their current offer to Paul Millsap is matched by the Jazz (which appears to be a certainty).

As more time passes, it looks more and more likely that Lee and Robinson’s will be left with the option of either accepting their one-year Qualifying Offers from the Knicks ($2.7 million for Lee, $2.9 million for Robinson) and then hope for a bigger payday next off season; re-sign with New York for less money than they were seeking, or to head to Europe.

In Robinson’s case, there is the real possibility that he could take up the offer from Greek team Olympiakos, with the amount of money on offer rumoured to be the equivalent of $10 million per year.

If both players accept their Qualifying Offers and stay in the US, the Knicks could see both players walk away from the team as unrestricted Free Agents next off season with no compensation in return. While this would be the worst case scenario, it appears that it’s a gamble that Donnie Walsh is willing to take, as overpaying for either could cost the Knicks their chance at signing a marquee Free Agent in 2010.

NBA Icons: The marketing of an NBA star

How the promotion of individual stars dictates the way basketball is played, marketed, officiated, and perceived in today’s NBA

If I were to say that the NBA was all about fame, money, individual glory and endorsement deals, would you agree or disagree? The fact is, today’s NBA might not be only about those things, but there’s enough truth in that statement to make you think about it at least for a minute. But has it always been like this? Some would argue that the minute basketball players were able to play professionally and live comfortably off their salaries, the business of basketball eclipsed a mere passion for the game, and it has been a steady slope downwards into commercialism ever since.

Without question, Michael Jordan, the games greatest player of all time, played his part in the process. Never before had the League and its fans experienced such a phenomenon. Michael’s unbelievable skills on the basketball court, his charisma, and most importantly commercial appeal would change the way of American basketball forever. Jordan became a global icon, a brand in his own right, bringing a golden era of basketball in America, and the NBA milked it for all he was worth. A casual fan could care less about his teammates or the Bulls, everyone just wanted to be like Mike. Jordan was such a cash-cow for the League that any indiscretion on Michael’s behalf was brushed under the carpet without question. The game was Michael’s, and the NBA was very happy to sit back and ride the Jordan wave.

When MJ retired (for the second time), the gaping hole of Jordan’s individual success, and the success it brought to the League, was never going to be forgotten. In the years that have followed, many outstanding players have entered and left the league, though none have managed to top the success and marketability of Jordan. But that hasn’t stopped the League from trying to make it happen. Flash forward to today’s NBA, and you will see a select group of players ultimately dictate the way a game is going to be played, how it will be called by the refs, and how it will be reported in the media. While Jordan’s success was organic, we have now entered the age of the manufactured superstar.

In today’s League, LeBron James is the definition of NBA marketing madness and all the hype that goes with it. “King James” was dubbed “The Chosen One” by Sports Illustrated, and had signed on to more than $100 million worth of endorsement deals before he even stepped foot onto an NBA basketball court. Never mind the fact that the King is yet to take his team all the way to a Championship, he is the face of the NBA and turns everything he touches to gold. And while LeBron may be the biggest, but he is certainly not the first player to be hyped to the extreme before truly earning it.

When a player does earn it and brings their team success, however, the Hype machine kicks into overdrive. When the Lakers won the Championship this year over the Lakers, the story was all Kobe, all the time. Kobe finally won a title without Shaq. And if you believe the media, the title was the end point of a long maturing process, in which Kobe transformed his game to become the complete and ultimate player and teammate. Commentators were falling over themselves to praise the ground Kobe walked on, and everything else about the series was pushed to the margins. The story was always going to be about Kobe; he knew it, we knew it, the refs knew it, and David Stern most definitely knew it.

Taking nothing away from Kobe, he is arguably amongst the top 10 players of all-time, but we have now reached a point where teams are merely places to find our stars located. Watch any preview for the NBA and it will tell you that Star Player A’s team is facing off against Star Player B’s team – Kobe’s Lakers vs. LeBron’s Cavaliers, Chris Bosh’s Raptors vs. Dwyane Wade’s Heat, etc. The NBA Hype machine is in full effect promoting and propping up its star players, and has shown to be more than willing to overlook off-court indiscretions, and even worse, protect them on the basketball court to ensure their star image is not tarnished. And it doesn’t take a genius to see it happening. Next time you see Kobe elbow some poor guy in the face with no call, LeBron take five steps to the hoop, or Wade get fouled by fresh air, thank the NBA’s star policy.

Simply put, the focus on individual players is hurting the game of basketball. When one player can receive calls when others can’t because of their status, and individual success is put before that of the team, what message is that sending to the players and kids who may some day make it to the League? It’s no secret that fundamental basketball skills have fallen to the wayside in recent years, as scoring has become the de-facto determinant of a player’s abilities. You don’t become a star by doing the little things to help your team in today’s NBA, you do it through dunks, flashy passes, highlight reel moves, and being “the man”. Being an important part of a winning team, and doing the little things to help your team win isn’t enough to satisfy the average player looking to become a megastar. Just ask Trevor Ariza, who recently turned down the chance to fight for another title with the Lakers and instead chose to sign with the Houston Rockets for the same amount of money. The reason why? “Respect”.

While a handful of players who genuinely believe in the team concept (such as Ron Artest, who was willing to play for the Lakers for much less money than he would have been offered elsewhere) are the exception, the number of players who think like Ariza are growing. And when everything around them is geared towards the promotion of the individual, who can blame them? It’s a sad state of affairs, and one that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

If it all goes well for Ariza, he might even get the star status he is after in Houston. More likely, however, is that come next June Ariza will be watching the Lakers win another Championship, with Kobe once again getting all the glory. Then again, maybe that’s why he left in the first place.

In a as a somewhat unexpected move, the Knicks today selected 6’10” PF Jordan Hill from Arizona with the #8 pick. As usual, Knicks fans at the draft booed the selection, but really – when was the last time a pick got cheered?

It wasn’t the first surprise in the draft, with Sacramento choosing to go with Tyreke Evans with the 4th pick instead of Ricky Rubio. Rubio instead went at number 5 to Minnesota, who picked another point guard, Johnny Flynn directly after him. With Stephen Curry going to Golden State at #7, GM Donnie Walsh made the move to take Hill, the best player available, but not the guard that many thought we would go after.

Shortly afterwards, the rumoured deal with Memphis became a reality, with Q-Rich and cash being sent to the Grizz in exchange for Darko Milicic. To cap off the eventful night, the Knicks selected 6’2” SG Toney Douglas with pick #28 (obtained from the Lakers for a future second-round pick and cash).

So where does that leave us? Ignoring the Channing Frye jokes and comparisons today, I think Walsh and the rest of Knicks management made the right choice drafting Hill with pick 8. I was surprised to see him fall to #8, after deliberately leaving him out of my draft preview, and at pick 8 he was a solid option regardless of team needs. Ignoring the best player available and drafting by need is a decision that has hurt teams too many times in the draft, including the Knicks, and it looks like they may have got it right this time.

And it’s hard not to like the Darko trade. Despite being a bust for where he was drafted, Darko is only 24 years old, plays defense, can rebound and block shots, and with Q-Rich being a shell of his old self, this was a no-brainer.

The question is: what does this mean for David Lee? Lee’s chances of remaining a Knick fell drastically after the Hill pick, particularly with Darko now around to pick up some of the slack if he were not to be re-signed. A likely scenario now would see Lee signed and then traded to a team in need of rebounding, in exchange for some back-court help. A name that has been floating around recently is Ben Gordon from the Bulls. Expect something similar for Nate Robinson, too.

I will now leave you with some clips of our draft picks, Jordan Hill, and Toney Douglas:


More Hill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzXQNSrDCXI

Toney Douglas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE6wDadeAfA

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSlBJc7GSaY

To Shoot or not to Shoot?

What does it take to become a contender in today's League? Fresh from the Lakers convincing win over the Magic in this year's Finals, a good friend of LOAKF, Richard C, looks at the essential pieces that make a championship caliber team.

Watching the 2009 NBA Finals between the Magic and Lakers gives us a great contrast in team styles and compositions. The Lakers are obviously built around Kobe Bryant as their number one scoring threat, with the second threat being the combined inside game of Gasol, Odom and Bynum. The third option, used to compliment the first two options, would be the outside shooting of Ariza, Fisher, Farmar and Vujacic. In contrast, the Magic are a team built on jump shooting and three point shooting which will either win them or lose them games.

While good shooting is a clear aspect to any successful team, not many teams live and die by the three point line quite like the Magic do. The ball is usually dumped in to Dwight Howard but his lack of offensive game usually results in a kick out followed by 2-3 quick passes to find an open three. On the fast break they have shooters that essentially run down the sideline, most of the time not even looking to make cuts to the basket. Finally, in late game situations they have the pick and roll with Hedo Turkoglu and Dwight Howard which often results in a long range jumper by Hedo or Rashard.

This got me thinking; can a team really win an NBA Championship where there is THAT much importance on three point shooting? Think for a second, if you were an NBA Executive with an open roster, how would you structure your team? Base it around shooting? Base it on a solid inside game? Would you play inside-out or outside-in? There are so many questions that need to be answered.

Looking back into recent history, since the Lakers three-peat between 2000 and 2002, there have been no teams to win a championship that were built on solid outside shooting with little inside game. The Lakers won it three times with Shaq dominating in the middle; Tim Duncan has three rings from 2003, 2005 and 2007. The Detroit Pistons in 2004 finally came together after trading for then low-post presence in Rasheed Wallace. Shaq also heavily influenced the 2006 Miami Heat. Most recently, Boston won it last year based around Kevin Garnett.

There is no question that defense is a major factor in winning a championship, but strictly speaking on the offensive end, there have been no teams in recent history to win championship with mid range and long range jump shots being the teams best form of offense. There are many aspects to compiling a team that will compete for an NBA Championship, some more important then others. The ones I hold most valuable are discussed below.

The Versatile Guards:
To me, one of the major keys is versatility from the guard positions. Guards that can either slash to the ring or shoot 17-25 foot jumpers. These players don’t exactly grow on trees, players such as Manu Ginobili, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Tony Parker. Where a guard can pose the threat of the outside shot combined with the quickness and effectiveness of attacking the basket, it can drive defences and coaches crazy and should be considered a great luxury.

Teams need more then one source of the “easy basket”. Usually the easy points are considered to stem from a Power Forward or Centre with a solid low post game, but what if they are having an off night? Or, the opposition has an equally talented low post defender and thus the points aren’t too easy? Easy points originating in the Point and Shooting Guard positions, and sometimes the Small Forward position is an often-underrated weapon in the NBA. If the Spurs are struggling and Tim Duncan is simply not feeling too great, the Championship Spurs teams knew they could give the ball to Manu Ginobili to use his outside shot to get himself a layup or free throws. These easy baskets from Ginobili were vital in the 2005 series against Detroit. In 2007, while the NBA Finals were not even competitive, we saw Tony Parker and his newly discovered midrange jump shot create havoc for the Cavs. So much havoc that all Tim Duncan had to do was play “solid basketball”.

This season, although he is the best player in the world, Kobe Bryant did the same thing. Attacked the basket. While he did make many tough jumpers, there were some great slashes to the ring. We saw the same thing in 2006 from Dwyane Wade. You can shut down purely jump shooting backcourts, but you can’t shut down backcourts with so much versatility.

The Big Man:
Clearly it takes more then a solid backcourt to be successful in the NBA. As previously talked about, a solid big man in the middle is vital to any team success. A big man that will not only give you scoring from the low post, but also set the tone defensively. This is where many teams can go wrong, there are a lot of big men in the NBA that bring so much to the offensive end that teams can overlook their defensive insufficiencies.

One of the greatest examples is Amare Stoudemire. Amare has the ability to lead the league in scoring if he had a good season, but he is so bad on defence that he could almost be considered a liability. How many times in the Playoffs have we seen Tim Duncan carve up Amare like a turkey? Not only does his inability to defend in the post hurt them on the scoreboard, but he often commits extremely stupid fouls. Second example? Irk Nowitzki. Yes, Irk. He does not deserve to have “D” in his name. He is the worst MVP of all time, but that is another story. Dirk is amazingly talented on the offensive end, but on defence (where he should be leading and coordinating) he is hopeless. Thus why he has never had much success in the Playoffs and will never have success until he is paired with someone that can make up for his lack of defence.

While it may be silly to mention that Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Garnett have combined for 9 of the last 11 NBA titles, as Tim and Shaquille are once every 20-year players. It does illustrate the importance of an offensively gifted big man that will also anchor the defence. Who will be the new elite big man of the NBA? If Dwight Howard got some offense or if Amare got some defence they could be, if Al Jefferson keeps on improving it could also be him.

The Role Players:
The final major aspect of a championship caliber franchise would be a good mix of role players that know what their job is. An unselfish role player with a specialist field, willing to come in whenever needed to plug a hole or provide a spark, is another major piece to a championship side. There are many different role players that are required; 3-point shooter, shot blocker, energy players, as well as just having solid defenders or more scorers waiting to come in. All of these aspects can be brought off the bench depending on the composition or game plan of the opposition, or by the way the current game is being played.

A solid bench is a way teams can adapt to the opposition and combat some of the impossible matchup problems in the league. And, as we know, match-up problems can be quite major. Just ask Dirk and the Mavs from 2007 that lost to the 8th seeded Warriors in the first round after having the leagues best record during the regular season.

I think a great example of luxury role players were the 2006 Miami Heat. While they had an extremely solid core of Shaq and Wade, they had an amazing shooter off the bench in Jason Kapono, a great shot blocker and overall defender in Alonzo Mourning, a gritty and tough perimeter defender that also possessed a deadly long range shot in James Posey as well as the other guys that could contribute here and there in Haslem, Walker, Jason Williams and Gary Payton. They were a very good supporting cast. Alonzo was the best backup Centre I had seen in a while and they basically had all bases covered by someone in their supporting cast.

What’s most important?
The order of importance in my opinion would be:
1. Inside presence: because with a player like Tim Duncan or Shaquille O’Neal anchoring the defence and the offense running through them, you will always be competitive.
2. Role players: a great supporting cast surrounding an inside presence may be considered a one-man team but it will always be a very good team with a rock in the middle.
3. A versatile backcourt: this is a luxury and not 100% necessary but is a major asset to any team.

In short, I don’t think any team can win an NBA Championship when their offense is so geared towards consistent jump shooting. Many teams can go through the regular season winning a lot of games from consistent shooting, but come Playoff time these teams are usually eventually weeded out, as they can’t keep it up for a seven game series. Definitely not for four straight seven game series’.

There is no one thing that will make a team a championship calibre team, but a coming together of many important aspects that will ensure a team is competitive right through June. Any one aspect alone is usually irrelevant as it takes many pieces to make a championship team as well as a great coach.

So, how would you build your team?

Knicks 2009 Draft Preview

NBA.com

And with the 8th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks…

With the NBA Draft quickly approaching (June 25th), LifeofaKnicksFan breaks down a number of prospects, one or more likely to be available to the Knicks with the 8th pick.

Unless the Knicks trade up in this years draft, or a top prospect decides to pull a Steve Francis and make things difficult for a small market team, the Knicks have little-to-no chance of grabbing any of this year’s consensus top 3 (Griffin, Thabeet and Rubio). Instead, they are faced with a plethora of guard-hybrids and a lone power forward that could realistically fall anywhere between the 4th and 11th picks in this year’s draft. With the guard positions being one of the main weaknesses on the Knicks, this year’s guard-heavy draft has a lot to offer them.

Here we have narrowed it down to the players that could realistically still be available by the 8th pick, would fit the Knicks needs, Mike D’Antoni’s system, and are being projected to go around where the Knicks will be selecting in the Mock Drafts. (Check out this page to see where each player sits in each Mock Draft around the web).

Stephen Curry
6’3” PG/SG Davidson
(Ranked #6 by ESPN, projected to go #8 by NBADraft.net, and #5 by DraftExpress)

Curry has been vocal about his desire to play for the Knicks, however his strong play in the draft workouts could mean that he is picked before they have a chance to select him. Son of Dell Curry, Stephen has a great shooting touch and would fit well into D’Antoni’s fast pace offense-first system. However he is a little undersized at the SG position, and while he has spent time there, he is not a natural point guard by any means. His defense is also a little suspect. Sounds familiar to Knicks fans, but in this case the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Tyreke Evans
6’5” PG/SG Memphis
(Ranked #7 by ESPN, projected to go #6 by NBADraft.net, and #6 by DraftExpress)

Standing at 6’5” 210 pounds, with a 7’3” wingspan, his size is his advantage, and uses his length to rack up steals and boards. Another hybrid, Evans is a solid point guard, although is probably more suited to the SG position. He will need to develop a more consistent jump shot to really challenge his defenders in the NBA, however his strength and success with the pick-and-roll offense make him a offensive threat. The knock on Evans is he doesn’t defer to teammates as much as he should, and is turnover prone.

Jonny Flynn
6’0” PG Syracuse
(Ranked #9 by ESPN, projected to go #7 by NBADraft.net, and #7 by DraftExpress)

Flynn is a scorer, but also a lightning fast playmaker at the point guard decision. He has a tendency to make stupid mistakes from time-to-time, taking bad shots and committing too many turnovers, however he has a terrific handle and seems to have good instincts for the fast-paced game. His lack of size hurts him around the basket though, and generally makes him a non-factor on defense. If drafted by the Knicks he would logically fit in well with the fast paced style of play, however he would also fit in well with the compete lack of defense currently present.

Jrue Holiday
6’4” PG/SG UCLA
(Ranked #8 by ESPN, projected to go #18 by NBADraft.net, and #8 by DraftExpress)

Holiday has great defensive instincts and has a high basketball IQ, however struggles offensively and lacks the athleticism of those being drafted around him. He will most likely be a project player to whichever team drafts him, but his ball handling skills and pass-first instincts could see a number of teams rolling the dice on him to see if he can become something special in a few years time. Wild card.

DeMar DeRozen
6’7” SG USC
(Ranked #10 by ESPN, projected to go #9 by NBADraft.net, and #9 by DraftExpress)

The 6’7” shooting guard from USC is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous upside. But you know what that means: he is excellent in the full court game, but lacks in the fundamentals department. A weak outside shot, poor handle, substandard defense and average passing ability plagues his game, but his athleticism should still see GM’s looking to draft him this high based on his potential alone.

Brandon Jennings
6’1” PG, Italy
(Ranked #11 by ESPN, projected to go #13 by NBADraft.net, and #11 by DraftExpress)

Jennings is an interesting prospect. Flashy and flamboyant on the court, Jennings has a wide range of offensive moves at his disposal, has great court vision and is a very good passer. He went straight from high school to play for Lottomatica Roma in Italy, yet is not making much of an impact. Like other prospects his shot selection can be questionable, and his size limits him defensively. Another prospect with terrific upside - he could be the guy that GM’s regret passing on.

Other potential draftees: Gerald Henderson (6’5” SG, Duke), Eric Maynor (6’2” PG, VCU), Ty Lawson (5’11” PG, North Carolina).

So who is the best choice for the Knicks? Stephen Curry. If he is still there by pick #8. His stock has risen substantially in the past few weeks, and with rumors circulating that he may stop working out for other teams, it’s possible that he may have been given a strong indication (or a guarantee) that he will be drafted by a team in the top ten. In reality picks #4 through to #11 are still up in the air, with no real consensus on any clear draft order. Holiday could also be a wild-card come draft-day if a team decides to take a gamble, and if the draft board gets shaken up before the Knicks pick the logical assumption would be that they will select either Evans or DeRozan, with Jennings and Flynn also possibilities.

The real reason the Magic won game 3

The Magic are now 7-0 in the Playoffs when seven-year-old Gina Marie Incandela, diagnosed at an early age with autism, sings the "Star Spangled Banner" before tipoff at Amway Areana. Watching the video it's not hard to tell why, this kid is awesome!

Notes from around the League

* Are the Knicks going to sign-and-trade David Lee? Apparently, according to the Boston Globe. With Lee becoming a Free Agent soon and looking for a pay-rise, this would be a cost-cutting move for the Knicks, with the goal of having significant cap-room for the 2010 Free Agency period (a.k.a. the LeBron sweepstakes) the main priority. Obviously what we can get for Lee will determine how I feel about this, but as a big David Lee fan it will be sad to see the guy go. He has been one of the few bright spots on this team in recent years.

* The Lakers move up 2-0 after an OT game at the Staples Centre today, with the Magic putting up a much better fight after their dismal game 1 performance. Kobe, Gasol and Odom all put in solid performances to hold off Dwight, Rashard and the Magic, who came close to clinching the game with this missed alley-oop layup from Courtney Lee with 0.6 left on the clock at the end of the 4th quarter:

I have to say though, why did Stan Van Gundy insist on playing J.J. Redick in crunch time? He looked afraid to shoot, was nervous with the ball, couldn’t hit his shots, and quite frankly in the Finals that is unacceptable.

* As I spoke about in my Shaq is Angry article in March, Shaq has spent a lot of time vigorously defending his legacy this season through a range of personal insults. Dwight felt the heat again only days ago, when on the opening night of the Finals, Shaq posted on Twitter a picture of what he believed a child from Dwight and Stan Van Gundy would look like. Needless to say it wasn't a flattering image. Adrian Wojnarowski’s column summed it up well.

* If you’ve been following the Nike puppet commercials being aired these Playoffs, you would have realized that they are now somewhat redundant seeing as LeBron and the Cavs didn’t make the finals. Nike’s solution seemed straight forward enough: Remove Kobe from the ads and show LeBron at home while Kobe’s playing in the Finals (watch it here)… umm... well played Nike.

It was only a matter of time before these ads got parodied, with the TreyMoeShow and JerseyChaser doing a great job with these 2 (Warning: may be offensive, not safe for work!)




* Speaking of ads, Dwight just got his own for Vitamin Water and it is, well, check it out and see for yourself: