Random Thoughts
These are things I pondered as I sat down to eat some Thanksgiving crow about my prediciton that the Nets would be better than people think.........
While I'm on the Nets, my sources tell me that LeBron James is just as likely to go to the Nets as the Knicks at this point. Contrary to popular belief, living in New York is much more important to LeBron than playing at Madison Square Garden. LeBron is keenly aware he can live in Manhattan and conveniently play for the Nets in Newark or Brooklyn. And yes, before you laugh at me, I really do have sources!!
Also, a quick post script on the Lawrence Frank firing. Lawrence was as hard working a coach as there was in the league. He earned his players' respect with tireless dedication. I have been critical of Frank in the past for not emphasizing shot selection enough. His teams always seemed to take a high volume of contested perimeter shots. Nonetheless, he was in a no win situation this season and handled his departure with grace and class. He is definitely a guy who deserves another chance without a stripped down bargain basement roster accompanied by an injury epidemic. Frank is one of the good guys.
Its very strange to me that as much as Greg Oden has improved from last year to this year, there are nights that Portland looks like they're regressing. And as good as Oden has looked he got shredded last week in consecutive games by Brook Lopez and Marc Gasol.
The Miami Heat have very little bench. Its starting to become a problem and the calendar's just turning to December. Their lack of depth will not exactly be a selling point when it comes time to re-sign Dwayne Wade.
The next head coach to get the axe will most likely be Jay Triano of Toronto. Its one thing to lack skilled perimeter defenders. Its another thing to hold no player accountable for what they do at the defensive end of the floor. With Chris Bosh in the last year of his contract, it is too important a season to let it slip out of control over effort issues. I would think that Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo sees the urgency and will act accordingly.
As good as the Atlanta Hawks have played, I guarantee you that Jamal Crawford will shoot them out of a very important game before alls said and done.
Read the above line again and insert the Denver Nuggets and J.R. Smith where the Hawks and Crawford are.
How do teams with NO guards like the Knicks and the Heat (besides Dwyane Wade) allow Jamaal Tinsley to end up signing with the Memphis Grizzlies. Tinsley has been a much better fit with the Grizzlies than Allen Iverson was ever going to be. He has made their whole starting lineup a better team. In the meantime the Heat keep rolling a slow Mario Chalmers out next to Wade every night and the Knicks keep giving Chris Duhon 30 minutes a night.
Speaking of Duhon, who do you think he has naked pictures of , D'Antoni, Dolan, or Donnie? My guess is Dolan.......
As good as the Phoenix Suns have been early on, they have gotten exposed this week as a team who plays weak interior defense. They should be a player in the trade market at deadline time looking for a big man who defends.
The Washington Wizards have started to play better with the return of Antawn Jamison. In the end, the best this group can do is a first round playoff loss. I know I belabor this point, but the two players he traded the #5 pick for last year, Randy Foye and Mike Miller, are making very little contribtuion to any success the Wizards are having. They could have been competing just the same and had Ricky Rubio stashed in Spain to begin loading up for their future. Unfortunately for Ernie Grunfeld, this might be his legacy in Washington.
Is Thabo Sefolosha the Swiss translation of Shane Battier?
Speaking of the Oklahoma City Thunder, it looks like they're starting to come around a little. Kevin Durant has been very good and Thunder coach Scott Brooks hides him well on defense. But the most important thing for the Thunder is the continued development of point guard Russell Westbrook. When Westbrook keeps his turnovers and missed shots low, ands his assists high, it directly translates into success for the Thunder.
T.J. Ford is the worst starting point guard in the league not named Chris Duhon. But at least you can forgive the Pacers for not pusuing Tinsley. He was a key reason that Pacer president larry Bird kept a bail bondsman on speed dial.
I hate to say it, but the San Antonio Spurs are getting old before our eyes. At this stage, there is no way I could see them competing athletically in a playoff series with the Lakers or the Nuggets.
Doc Rivers is doing a very nice job of rationing his veteran starters' minutes, especially Kevin Garnett. If the Celtics do not enter the playoffs healthy, they will not have much of a chance to get back to the finals.
Cleveland Cavalier coach Mike Brown is not exactly making friends and influencing people when it comes to his own players. His choice of giving Zydrunas Ilgauskas a Did Not Play-Coaches Decision for the first time in Ilgauskas' career on the night Ilgauskas was to break the Cavliers games played record was foolish and needless. Furthermore, the Cavs are a much better team with Anderson Varejao and Ilgauskas on the court as oppossed to J.J. Hickson and Shaquille O'Neal. Brown needs to be careful about genuflecting to Shaq too much. Shaq has torn down much better coaches than him. Just ask Stan Van Gundy and Mike D'Antoni.......
Before anyone gets too excited over the better than usual start for the Charlotte Bobcats, remember that the Bobcats have not traveled West yet and they're not exactly world beaters on the road. Stephen Jackson helps, but he's really just a band aid on a bullet wound.
So much for last year's draft being a weak one. It actually is spawning a point guard revolution. Brandon Jennings is leading the Bucks to respectability. Ty Lawson is a key bench player on a championship contender in Denver. Darren Collison led New Orleans to a 5-4 record in Chris Paul's absence. And a few of the point guards who started slow are starting to look better. Jonny Flynn has been struggling to learn the triangle offense for Minnesota and has started to improve as they've ran more pick and roll. Eric Maynor is ably backing up Deron Williams for Utah. Jrue Holiday has started a few games for the Sixers and been effective, although he's going back to the bench next week when Allen Iverson arrives. And thats not even including future star Sacramento's Tyreke Evans, who is really a two guard, but dabbles at some point. The only one of this group that is really struggling is Stephen Curry. He's having tremendous difficulty on the defensive end.
Back next week with players I can't wait to watch and the players I'm sick of. Giddyap. Y'all be cool.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
An Open letter to New York Knicks president and general manager Donnie Walsh
Dear Donnie,
Considering that you're a Bronx native and have lived your life working in the business of professional basketball, I would never insult you by explaining to you the type of fan base that you've inherited when you undertook the enormous task of rebuliding the organization that Isiah Thomas ripped apart as if it were the low cut top of an office intern. However, from what appears to be happening, it may be time for you to be reminded our need and desire for basketball relevance. We're too loyal a group to accept anything else.
We don't possess the entitlements of New York Yankee or Boston Celtic fans when it comes to championships. We understand that those are few and far between. But our loyalty, appreciation of history, and understanding of the nuances of the game commands basketball relevance. And the product that you put on the floor each night is the polar opposite. As fans, we have been graced with an anti-competitve team of mercenaries who play as if they are waiting for a savior to arrive from the heavens. He actually did arrive two Fridays ago, but the problem was that he was wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform.
I am a 40 year old Knick fan, so I am obviously too young to recall the championship teams of 1970 and 1973. My first recollection of rooting for the Knicks is the 1975-76 team with a young Bob McAdoo in his prime and the last season of the great Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Even at the tender age of 7, my father taught me enough to know that if we had Clyde and Earl the Pearl Monroe, we were relevant, no matter how old they were. The following year, in Willis Reed's first year as head coach, the Knicks advanced to the second round of the playoffs after a 43-39 season. It wasn't greatness, but the Knicks mattered.
In the next few years, the Knicks drafted well, and I got the pleasure of rooting for good young players like Bill Cartwright and Micheal Ray Richardson, who together led the Knicks to a 50 win season after Hall of Fame coach Red Holzman had returned to the sidelines. Unfortunately, we got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, but as fans, we had hope and confidence about the future. Unfortunately, the following year, we took a step back and had a 33 win season and missed the playoffs. That also ended up being Holzman's last season as head coach.
Now, Donnie, I want you to observe what happened after this. Management was bold and aggressive. The Knicks traded Richardson to the Golden State Warriors for future Knicks legend Bernard King. The Knicks also hired Hubie Brown as head coach. Led by Brown, King, and Cartwright, the Knicks won 44 games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs only to get swept by eventual NBA champion, the Julius Erving led Philadelphia 76ers. But the statement was made. As long as the Knicks had King and Hubie Brown, we would be a force to be reckoned with and Madison Square Garden would once again be a tough place for opponents to play.
The following season was memorable for a variety of reasons. The Knicks won 47 games in 1983-1984 and were also knocked out in the second round of the playoffs. But this was the year that the Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons in a 5 game epic series in the first round of the playoffs. This series was memorable for all Knicks fans because of the classic duel that developed between King and Pistons guard Isiah Thomas. The same Isiah Thomas that exhibited disgusting gall in announcing to Knick fans in his first season as general manager, "Welcome to the Playoffs." Well Donnie, I guess Isiah exhibited his selective memory in forgetting that we beat him that year in the playoffs, so no need to welcome us. Now that I think about it, maybe his methodical dismantling of every aspect of our organization was an elaborate revenge plot, but I digress. The Knicks would lose a 7 game second round series that season to the eventual World Champion Boston Celtics. Again, we may not have been the best team in the NBA, but we were relevant.
The following season was characterized by a stroke of bad luck followed by a stroke of great luck. Bernard King's devastating knee injury defined this 24 win season. And a lucky ping pong ball defined the offseason. The Knicks weren't having such a great season when King went down, so the 24 win total at season's end was somewhat predictable. What we didn't predict Donnie is Commissioner David Stern picking our ping pong ball out of the lottery bucket giving us the right to select Patrick Ewing with the first pick in the draft.
Now I know Donnie that I do not need to recount to you many details of the Patrick Ewing era with the Knicks considering you became the Indiana Pacers general manager in 1986. You lived it in a unique way. You successfully built a team to compete with Ewing's Knicks. As an executive, you understood that the right decisions weren't always the easy ones. Your second year as Pacer GM, you risked getting lynched by an angry mob by selecting Reggie Miller in the first round in 1987, opting to leave Indiana hometown hero Steve Alford on the board. And we all know how well that worked out. However, Donnie, I do feel the need to enlighten you some on what us Knick fans FEEL about Patrick Ewing, because this helps underscore our insatiable desire for basketball relevance.
Patrick Ewing was suppossed to be the Knicks savior. He was the avenue that would return us to the championship glory years of the early seventies. Unfortunately, he was never properly surrounded with enough talent to get us over the hump until it was too late in his career. Whether it was Dave DeBusschere, Al Bianchi, or Ernie Grunfeld, none of our GMs could get the formula exactly right around Patrick Ewing. They all delivered us big time coaches. Ewing was coached by Hubie Brown, Rick Pitino, Pat Riley, and Jeff Van Gundy. (The Don Nelson era NEVER happened, I swear..), but it was never enough. By the time Grunfeld surrounded Ewing with an athletic, skilled group, it was too late. If Patrick played with Latrell Sprewell, Allen Houston, Larry Johnson, and Marcus Camby when he was in his prime, odds are we would have won a title. And we wrongly blamed Patrick for that.
You see Donnie, Patrick gave us every thing he had. When his athleticism started to fail him a little, he re-made his game. He gave us over a decade of excitement and was a John Starks 2-18 performance away from delivering us that elusive title. As a Knick fan, I wish I appreciated Patrick the way I do now. He gave us basketball relevance for a long stretch. From the late 80's through the late 90's, Patrick Ewing was New York Knicks basketball and we mattered. Madison Square Garden was electric every night, no matter who the road team was. As I watch the disaster that you're rolling out night after night, I get a deeper and deeper appreciation for what Ewing delivered. And Donnie, before I detail our demise to you, which is crucially important because you seem to be making many of the same mistakes, I need to point one other thing to you about Patrick Ewing.
Patrick Ewing is currently an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic and from all accounts a damn good one. From what I understand, Ewing has played a significant role in the development of Orlando center Dwight Howard. Before that, he was instrumental in developing Yao Ming. Ewing has also been very public in his desire to return to the Knicks as a coach, whether it be as an assistant or running the show himself. The only former Knick players who have a much historical significance to our organization are Willis Reed and Clyde Frazier. The organization has always found roles for both of them whether it be on the sidelines, the front office, or the broadcast booth. However, when Ewing requested an interview for an opportunity to join Mike D'Antoni's staff before last season, he was rebuffed. Donnie, we have always been a franchise whose history mattered. I would hope that if another chance would arise to be able to bring Ewing back to the organization in a role he's qualified for (assistant coach or head coach), that you'll make it right with Patrick and bring him home, but I digress......
It all started to go down hill Donnie, when Jeff Van Gundy, a coach who I greatly respect and admire, won a power struggle with Ernie Grunfeld and Grunfeld was dismissed as GM. His successor was former Utah Jazz GM Scott Layden. Layden's plan seem to be to build the Utah Jazz east and call them the Knicks. The problem was that Scotty boy didn't have Karl Malone and John Stockton, which is the equivalent of the white tigers performing in Vegas without Siegfried and Roy. Layden took on salary like Isiah Thomas harassed female employees. As opposed to letting Ewing's contract expire and come off the salary cap, keeping in mind that the group he had had gone to the finals with Ewing getting hurt early in the playoffs in 1999, Layden shipped Ewing out and brought back Glen Rice and his bloaded contract and Luc Longley's corpse and the corpse's bloated contract. Layden paid absurd amounts of Cablevision's money to sign free agents Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson, and Clarence Weatherspoon. He traded Marcus Camby, and the #7 pick in the 2002 draft, which ended up being Nene, for Antonio McDyess cooming off knee surgery. McDyess was never the same player. Nene is currently the starting center on a legitimate title contender and Marcus Camby is still blocking shots, changing shots and pulling down rebounds at the age of 35. And for Layden's final gift, he cornered the market on overweight, undersized power forwards by drafting Michael Sweetney in 2003 who ate himself out of the league. Needless to say, if Layden had been willing to rebuild, we would have been closer to turning it around. Instead, Scotty boy put us on the road to irrelevance.
The thing is Donnie, is that most Knick fans believed that we were on our way out of the woods in December of 2003 when Layden was dismissed and MSG management hired Isiah Thomas on Garden president Steve Mills' recommendation. Needless to say, Thomas descended our proud organization to depths none of us ever thought imaginable. Donnie, I would never insult you by detailing the train wreck that Isiah made of our roster and salary cap situation. After all, you are the one who has taken on the monumental task of turning around this atrocity. No one understands this personnel mess better than you. but I do feel the need to remind you how Thomas dragged our organization through the mud. He took a class organization with a proud fan base and reduced it to the lowest common denominator.
His first year on the job, he humiliated a classy gentleman in head coach Don Chaney by joking about firing him on the David Letterman show 3 days BEFORE he fired Chaney. He created a corporate culture within the Knick offices that was akin to a go-go bar, culminating in a very public sexual harassment trial. Because of Isiah, the name Anucha Brown Sanders has been engraved in New York Knick history for all the wrong reasons. Donnie, it still puzzles me how garden management would pay $20 million to Shandon Anderson to go home, but wouldn't pay $6 million to Sanders to spare the organization epic embarrassment. And as you well know, Isiah couldn't just go away quietly. His convoluted overdose/suicide attempt last year forced you to publicly defend him just because you kept him on with the organization because you personally like Isiah and you are a compassionate man. And of course Isiah handled it in his own unique way by publicly throwing his 16 year old daughter under the bus. Donnie, this mees you have inherited goes beyond the roster. The culture has been poisoned and there is no quick antidote to cleanse it. And I'm sparing the details of the disaster that Stephon Marbury brought home with him.
Donnie, you've done some very good things since you took over the Knicks. Finding takers for Zack Randolph and Jamal Crawford for players with expiring contracts was no easy feat, but you got it done. And your first round pick last season, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari shows a lot of promise, assuming that he doesn't need back surgery. But Donnie, what you've done in your tenure is not inspiring confidence and from all appearances, you are putting all of your eggs in one basket.
You see Donnie, what you have here is a team of mercenaries, with very few building blocks. You brought in a coach who subscribes to an up tempo guard driven system. Yet in this past year's draft, with a draft loaded with point guards who could succeed in running Mike D'Antoni's system, you chose to select yet another power forward. Donnie, I don't think very much of the player you selected, Jordan Hill. He's very raw and is a low energy player. He appears to be the second coming of Jerrod Mustaf. But its virtually immaterial how good Hill is, unless he morphs into Amare Stoudemire. Donnie, you don't have any guards. And you left 4 point guards on the board who all could have been long term solutions at the position. Ty Lawson is a key bench contributor on a title contender in the Denver Nuggets and you left him on the board for Hill. Before you accuse me of 20/20 hindsight, Donnie, click on this link http://deependdive.blogspot.com/2009/06/some-wrap-up-business-on-finals-and-my.html. Brandon Jennings scored 55 points last Saturday night for Milwaukee and is the fastest guard in the league and you left him on the board for Hill. Eric Maynor won a game for Utah the other night scoring 11 4th quarter points against Toronto and you left him on the board for Hill. And Utah has one of the league's best point guards in Deron Williams but deemed Maynor too good to pass up. Darren Collison led New Orleans to a win earlier this week replacing an injured Chris Paul, the best point guard in the league. New Orleans took Collison even though they have Paul because he was too good to pass up. You passed on him for Hill. Your answer was to select Toney Douglas at the end of the first round, who is an off guard in a point guard's body. That #8 pick was a huge key in getting things going on the right track and you squandered it. Even if Hill ends up being productive, he'll never get enough playing time behind Gallinari and David Lee.
This entire formula has created an atmosphere where your players have very little vested interest in team success. Lets use Lee as an example. He made his name in the league through hustle and scrappy play. These days, he hustles one out of every 3 games and plays more like a finesse player. Part of it is the culture, but Lee needs to realize if he approached effort the way Anderson Varejao does on Cleveland, he may have gotten that 5 year $50 million contract he was looking for ths past offseason. Instead he's back in New York on a one year contract praying that you'll find enough value in him to sign him to a long term deal. And while we're talking about one year contracts, Donnie, if you do decide to sign Allen Iverson, which will definitely help, please waive that sideshow clown Nate Robinson. His clown act on and off the court only furthers the classless culture that was pervasive during the Isiah regime. Remember, Donnie, Iverson's a freebie for you this year. He won't hurt your lottery chances because Isiah traded next year's first rounder in the Marbury trade. We'll call that trade the gift that keeps on giving.
Donnie, I know the plan is to use the available cap space to sign LeBron James in the offseason. But frankly thats no excuse for what occurred two Fridays ago at the garden when Le Bron and the Cavaliers came in for a visit. It used to be that if one of the best players in the league came on a conference rival came into the Garden for a nationally televised game, the one thing he could count on was to be knocked on his rear end several times through the course of the game. The way everyone, and I mean everyone Donnie, genuflected at this man's feet made me want to vomit bile. A regular season game against a conference rival turned into a recruiting visit, and the whole country saw it. What happened to the pride of the New York Knicks? And before you blame the fans, remember they're taking their lead from the organization of which you are president. I must say Donnie, it is a new low for our very proud franchise and that begs my last question.
I understand that signing LeBron is Plan A, but what's plan B? What happens if LeBron stays in Cleveland, Dwyane Wade stays in Miami and Chris Bosh joins him there, Amare Stoudemire stays in Phoenix, and Joe Johnson goes to The Bulls? What are the Knicks going to do? Donnie, you have to realize that the Bulls, the Heat, the Nets, and the Clippers all have cap space available for one of these stars. Each and every one of those teams are a more preferable destination for a star who wants to win immediately. We've reached a new low when the Clippers are a more attractive free agent destination than the New York Knicks.
One last thought for you Donnie. You've been around this game and you've seen alot. You know what its like to deal with siginificant organizational adversity. After all, you were the President of the Indiana Pacers when the your players ran into the stands 5 years ago in Auburn Hills, Michigan to beat up fans. Please recognize how dire this has become for your loyal fan base. Implore your coach to play the young guys, or at least guys you think are part of the solution. If you bring in Iverson, surround him with Gallinari, Lee, Wilson Chandler, and Douglas. Let D'Antoni know that Jordan Hill should have a role in the rotation. If he stinks, and I think he does, Donnie, you need to know sooner rather than later. Please get this ship steered in the right direction. As fans, this is what we deserve. We've done our time. Make us relevant again.
Best Regards,
Brian Geltzeiler
Dear Donnie,
Considering that you're a Bronx native and have lived your life working in the business of professional basketball, I would never insult you by explaining to you the type of fan base that you've inherited when you undertook the enormous task of rebuliding the organization that Isiah Thomas ripped apart as if it were the low cut top of an office intern. However, from what appears to be happening, it may be time for you to be reminded our need and desire for basketball relevance. We're too loyal a group to accept anything else.
We don't possess the entitlements of New York Yankee or Boston Celtic fans when it comes to championships. We understand that those are few and far between. But our loyalty, appreciation of history, and understanding of the nuances of the game commands basketball relevance. And the product that you put on the floor each night is the polar opposite. As fans, we have been graced with an anti-competitve team of mercenaries who play as if they are waiting for a savior to arrive from the heavens. He actually did arrive two Fridays ago, but the problem was that he was wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform.
I am a 40 year old Knick fan, so I am obviously too young to recall the championship teams of 1970 and 1973. My first recollection of rooting for the Knicks is the 1975-76 team with a young Bob McAdoo in his prime and the last season of the great Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Even at the tender age of 7, my father taught me enough to know that if we had Clyde and Earl the Pearl Monroe, we were relevant, no matter how old they were. The following year, in Willis Reed's first year as head coach, the Knicks advanced to the second round of the playoffs after a 43-39 season. It wasn't greatness, but the Knicks mattered.
In the next few years, the Knicks drafted well, and I got the pleasure of rooting for good young players like Bill Cartwright and Micheal Ray Richardson, who together led the Knicks to a 50 win season after Hall of Fame coach Red Holzman had returned to the sidelines. Unfortunately, we got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs, but as fans, we had hope and confidence about the future. Unfortunately, the following year, we took a step back and had a 33 win season and missed the playoffs. That also ended up being Holzman's last season as head coach.
Now, Donnie, I want you to observe what happened after this. Management was bold and aggressive. The Knicks traded Richardson to the Golden State Warriors for future Knicks legend Bernard King. The Knicks also hired Hubie Brown as head coach. Led by Brown, King, and Cartwright, the Knicks won 44 games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs only to get swept by eventual NBA champion, the Julius Erving led Philadelphia 76ers. But the statement was made. As long as the Knicks had King and Hubie Brown, we would be a force to be reckoned with and Madison Square Garden would once again be a tough place for opponents to play.
The following season was memorable for a variety of reasons. The Knicks won 47 games in 1983-1984 and were also knocked out in the second round of the playoffs. But this was the year that the Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons in a 5 game epic series in the first round of the playoffs. This series was memorable for all Knicks fans because of the classic duel that developed between King and Pistons guard Isiah Thomas. The same Isiah Thomas that exhibited disgusting gall in announcing to Knick fans in his first season as general manager, "Welcome to the Playoffs." Well Donnie, I guess Isiah exhibited his selective memory in forgetting that we beat him that year in the playoffs, so no need to welcome us. Now that I think about it, maybe his methodical dismantling of every aspect of our organization was an elaborate revenge plot, but I digress. The Knicks would lose a 7 game second round series that season to the eventual World Champion Boston Celtics. Again, we may not have been the best team in the NBA, but we were relevant.
The following season was characterized by a stroke of bad luck followed by a stroke of great luck. Bernard King's devastating knee injury defined this 24 win season. And a lucky ping pong ball defined the offseason. The Knicks weren't having such a great season when King went down, so the 24 win total at season's end was somewhat predictable. What we didn't predict Donnie is Commissioner David Stern picking our ping pong ball out of the lottery bucket giving us the right to select Patrick Ewing with the first pick in the draft.
Now I know Donnie that I do not need to recount to you many details of the Patrick Ewing era with the Knicks considering you became the Indiana Pacers general manager in 1986. You lived it in a unique way. You successfully built a team to compete with Ewing's Knicks. As an executive, you understood that the right decisions weren't always the easy ones. Your second year as Pacer GM, you risked getting lynched by an angry mob by selecting Reggie Miller in the first round in 1987, opting to leave Indiana hometown hero Steve Alford on the board. And we all know how well that worked out. However, Donnie, I do feel the need to enlighten you some on what us Knick fans FEEL about Patrick Ewing, because this helps underscore our insatiable desire for basketball relevance.
Patrick Ewing was suppossed to be the Knicks savior. He was the avenue that would return us to the championship glory years of the early seventies. Unfortunately, he was never properly surrounded with enough talent to get us over the hump until it was too late in his career. Whether it was Dave DeBusschere, Al Bianchi, or Ernie Grunfeld, none of our GMs could get the formula exactly right around Patrick Ewing. They all delivered us big time coaches. Ewing was coached by Hubie Brown, Rick Pitino, Pat Riley, and Jeff Van Gundy. (The Don Nelson era NEVER happened, I swear..), but it was never enough. By the time Grunfeld surrounded Ewing with an athletic, skilled group, it was too late. If Patrick played with Latrell Sprewell, Allen Houston, Larry Johnson, and Marcus Camby when he was in his prime, odds are we would have won a title. And we wrongly blamed Patrick for that.
You see Donnie, Patrick gave us every thing he had. When his athleticism started to fail him a little, he re-made his game. He gave us over a decade of excitement and was a John Starks 2-18 performance away from delivering us that elusive title. As a Knick fan, I wish I appreciated Patrick the way I do now. He gave us basketball relevance for a long stretch. From the late 80's through the late 90's, Patrick Ewing was New York Knicks basketball and we mattered. Madison Square Garden was electric every night, no matter who the road team was. As I watch the disaster that you're rolling out night after night, I get a deeper and deeper appreciation for what Ewing delivered. And Donnie, before I detail our demise to you, which is crucially important because you seem to be making many of the same mistakes, I need to point one other thing to you about Patrick Ewing.
Patrick Ewing is currently an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic and from all accounts a damn good one. From what I understand, Ewing has played a significant role in the development of Orlando center Dwight Howard. Before that, he was instrumental in developing Yao Ming. Ewing has also been very public in his desire to return to the Knicks as a coach, whether it be as an assistant or running the show himself. The only former Knick players who have a much historical significance to our organization are Willis Reed and Clyde Frazier. The organization has always found roles for both of them whether it be on the sidelines, the front office, or the broadcast booth. However, when Ewing requested an interview for an opportunity to join Mike D'Antoni's staff before last season, he was rebuffed. Donnie, we have always been a franchise whose history mattered. I would hope that if another chance would arise to be able to bring Ewing back to the organization in a role he's qualified for (assistant coach or head coach), that you'll make it right with Patrick and bring him home, but I digress......
It all started to go down hill Donnie, when Jeff Van Gundy, a coach who I greatly respect and admire, won a power struggle with Ernie Grunfeld and Grunfeld was dismissed as GM. His successor was former Utah Jazz GM Scott Layden. Layden's plan seem to be to build the Utah Jazz east and call them the Knicks. The problem was that Scotty boy didn't have Karl Malone and John Stockton, which is the equivalent of the white tigers performing in Vegas without Siegfried and Roy. Layden took on salary like Isiah Thomas harassed female employees. As opposed to letting Ewing's contract expire and come off the salary cap, keeping in mind that the group he had had gone to the finals with Ewing getting hurt early in the playoffs in 1999, Layden shipped Ewing out and brought back Glen Rice and his bloaded contract and Luc Longley's corpse and the corpse's bloated contract. Layden paid absurd amounts of Cablevision's money to sign free agents Howard Eisley, Shandon Anderson, and Clarence Weatherspoon. He traded Marcus Camby, and the #7 pick in the 2002 draft, which ended up being Nene, for Antonio McDyess cooming off knee surgery. McDyess was never the same player. Nene is currently the starting center on a legitimate title contender and Marcus Camby is still blocking shots, changing shots and pulling down rebounds at the age of 35. And for Layden's final gift, he cornered the market on overweight, undersized power forwards by drafting Michael Sweetney in 2003 who ate himself out of the league. Needless to say, if Layden had been willing to rebuild, we would have been closer to turning it around. Instead, Scotty boy put us on the road to irrelevance.
The thing is Donnie, is that most Knick fans believed that we were on our way out of the woods in December of 2003 when Layden was dismissed and MSG management hired Isiah Thomas on Garden president Steve Mills' recommendation. Needless to say, Thomas descended our proud organization to depths none of us ever thought imaginable. Donnie, I would never insult you by detailing the train wreck that Isiah made of our roster and salary cap situation. After all, you are the one who has taken on the monumental task of turning around this atrocity. No one understands this personnel mess better than you. but I do feel the need to remind you how Thomas dragged our organization through the mud. He took a class organization with a proud fan base and reduced it to the lowest common denominator.
His first year on the job, he humiliated a classy gentleman in head coach Don Chaney by joking about firing him on the David Letterman show 3 days BEFORE he fired Chaney. He created a corporate culture within the Knick offices that was akin to a go-go bar, culminating in a very public sexual harassment trial. Because of Isiah, the name Anucha Brown Sanders has been engraved in New York Knick history for all the wrong reasons. Donnie, it still puzzles me how garden management would pay $20 million to Shandon Anderson to go home, but wouldn't pay $6 million to Sanders to spare the organization epic embarrassment. And as you well know, Isiah couldn't just go away quietly. His convoluted overdose/suicide attempt last year forced you to publicly defend him just because you kept him on with the organization because you personally like Isiah and you are a compassionate man. And of course Isiah handled it in his own unique way by publicly throwing his 16 year old daughter under the bus. Donnie, this mees you have inherited goes beyond the roster. The culture has been poisoned and there is no quick antidote to cleanse it. And I'm sparing the details of the disaster that Stephon Marbury brought home with him.
Donnie, you've done some very good things since you took over the Knicks. Finding takers for Zack Randolph and Jamal Crawford for players with expiring contracts was no easy feat, but you got it done. And your first round pick last season, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari shows a lot of promise, assuming that he doesn't need back surgery. But Donnie, what you've done in your tenure is not inspiring confidence and from all appearances, you are putting all of your eggs in one basket.
You see Donnie, what you have here is a team of mercenaries, with very few building blocks. You brought in a coach who subscribes to an up tempo guard driven system. Yet in this past year's draft, with a draft loaded with point guards who could succeed in running Mike D'Antoni's system, you chose to select yet another power forward. Donnie, I don't think very much of the player you selected, Jordan Hill. He's very raw and is a low energy player. He appears to be the second coming of Jerrod Mustaf. But its virtually immaterial how good Hill is, unless he morphs into Amare Stoudemire. Donnie, you don't have any guards. And you left 4 point guards on the board who all could have been long term solutions at the position. Ty Lawson is a key bench contributor on a title contender in the Denver Nuggets and you left him on the board for Hill. Before you accuse me of 20/20 hindsight, Donnie, click on this link http://deependdive.blogspot.com/2009/06/some-wrap-up-business-on-finals-and-my.html. Brandon Jennings scored 55 points last Saturday night for Milwaukee and is the fastest guard in the league and you left him on the board for Hill. Eric Maynor won a game for Utah the other night scoring 11 4th quarter points against Toronto and you left him on the board for Hill. And Utah has one of the league's best point guards in Deron Williams but deemed Maynor too good to pass up. Darren Collison led New Orleans to a win earlier this week replacing an injured Chris Paul, the best point guard in the league. New Orleans took Collison even though they have Paul because he was too good to pass up. You passed on him for Hill. Your answer was to select Toney Douglas at the end of the first round, who is an off guard in a point guard's body. That #8 pick was a huge key in getting things going on the right track and you squandered it. Even if Hill ends up being productive, he'll never get enough playing time behind Gallinari and David Lee.
This entire formula has created an atmosphere where your players have very little vested interest in team success. Lets use Lee as an example. He made his name in the league through hustle and scrappy play. These days, he hustles one out of every 3 games and plays more like a finesse player. Part of it is the culture, but Lee needs to realize if he approached effort the way Anderson Varejao does on Cleveland, he may have gotten that 5 year $50 million contract he was looking for ths past offseason. Instead he's back in New York on a one year contract praying that you'll find enough value in him to sign him to a long term deal. And while we're talking about one year contracts, Donnie, if you do decide to sign Allen Iverson, which will definitely help, please waive that sideshow clown Nate Robinson. His clown act on and off the court only furthers the classless culture that was pervasive during the Isiah regime. Remember, Donnie, Iverson's a freebie for you this year. He won't hurt your lottery chances because Isiah traded next year's first rounder in the Marbury trade. We'll call that trade the gift that keeps on giving.
Donnie, I know the plan is to use the available cap space to sign LeBron James in the offseason. But frankly thats no excuse for what occurred two Fridays ago at the garden when Le Bron and the Cavaliers came in for a visit. It used to be that if one of the best players in the league came on a conference rival came into the Garden for a nationally televised game, the one thing he could count on was to be knocked on his rear end several times through the course of the game. The way everyone, and I mean everyone Donnie, genuflected at this man's feet made me want to vomit bile. A regular season game against a conference rival turned into a recruiting visit, and the whole country saw it. What happened to the pride of the New York Knicks? And before you blame the fans, remember they're taking their lead from the organization of which you are president. I must say Donnie, it is a new low for our very proud franchise and that begs my last question.
I understand that signing LeBron is Plan A, but what's plan B? What happens if LeBron stays in Cleveland, Dwyane Wade stays in Miami and Chris Bosh joins him there, Amare Stoudemire stays in Phoenix, and Joe Johnson goes to The Bulls? What are the Knicks going to do? Donnie, you have to realize that the Bulls, the Heat, the Nets, and the Clippers all have cap space available for one of these stars. Each and every one of those teams are a more preferable destination for a star who wants to win immediately. We've reached a new low when the Clippers are a more attractive free agent destination than the New York Knicks.
One last thought for you Donnie. You've been around this game and you've seen alot. You know what its like to deal with siginificant organizational adversity. After all, you were the President of the Indiana Pacers when the your players ran into the stands 5 years ago in Auburn Hills, Michigan to beat up fans. Please recognize how dire this has become for your loyal fan base. Implore your coach to play the young guys, or at least guys you think are part of the solution. If you bring in Iverson, surround him with Gallinari, Lee, Wilson Chandler, and Douglas. Let D'Antoni know that Jordan Hill should have a role in the rotation. If he stinks, and I think he does, Donnie, you need to know sooner rather than later. Please get this ship steered in the right direction. As fans, this is what we deserve. We've done our time. Make us relevant again.
Best Regards,
Brian Geltzeiler
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
We're one week into the season, and some things I see are surprising.....other things not so much......
I'm surprised Shaquille O'Neal showed up in a contract year in such poor shape. He looks like hew's taking nutrition advice from Rex Ryan.
I'm not surprised with how good the Dallas Mavericks have looked. Shawn Marion gives them a lot, which allows them to as for less from Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry.
I'm surprised how good the Houston Rockets have looked. At least for this week, Trevor Ariza has been more than an adequate replacement for Ron Artest and point guard Aaron Brooks has actually played like a point guard. Its been distribution first, shooting second. And wouldn't you know, his scoring hasn't sufferred.
I'm not surprised how good the Boston Celtics have started off. And, most importantly, it appears as if head coach Doc Rivers is understanding his team's most important statistic, Kevin Garnett's minutes. If he keeps Garnett's minutes regulated in the 25-30 range every night, his chances increase exponentially of having Garnett available come playoff time.
I'm surprised how improved Washington Wizards forward Andray Blatche looks. but I'm not surprised that Gilbert Arenas looks like he's lost a step, although that may end up making him a more effective player. I'm still not a Wizards advocate.
I'm not surprised that Kevin Durant has struggled to start the year. Durant is immensely talented, but needs to get stronger and learn how to defend before he becomes any type of elite player. And while we're on the Thunder, I'm very surprised at how much Jeff Green has improved. It looks like the pro game has slowed down for him and he looks a lot more like the Jeff Green that starred at Georgetown.
I'm very surprised the Indiana Pacers look so bad. I know they're missing Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough, but in reality, it doesn't matter. They're soft defensively. T. J. Ford is not a starting point guard in the league. And head coach Jim O'Brien is trying to have them run an up tempo system that they're clearly ill suited to run. This team in no way resembles the Celtic teams of the early 2000s that O'Brien coached.
I'm not surprised that the Knicks are anti-competitive. Granted, Isiah Thomas left Donnie Walsh with a horrific mess, but Donnie seems to have lost a little zip off the fastball so to speak. This situation is crying out for a column of its own.
At this stage, I'm thoroughly surprised that any front office on the league would allow Larry Brown to have personnel input on a team he coaches. but that's exactly what the Charlotte Bobcats have done. I guess team president Michael Jordan's "competitive juices" don't carry over to the success of the team he presides over. But he gives one heck of a hall of fame induction speech. Anyway, Larry is mired with the worst team this side of the Knicks. The Bobcats are so bad, I istakenly placed Jason Richardson on their team in my season preview because I couldn't believe a team's personnel could be so bad.
I'm not surprised that Carmelo Anthony appears to have taken his game to another level. I still contend that his upside is to be as good as Bernard King. And with a very capable team around him, this is a very good situation for Anthony to have lots of success on a personal and a team level.
I'm not surprised how quickly Byron Scott has lost the New Orleans Hornets after their playoff meltdown against Denver last year. The sooner the Hornets dump Scott and bring in someone on an interim basis (anyone), the sooner they'll get things going in the right direction. I'm also not surprised at how quickly Don Nelson has lost the Warriors this year. it was incumbent upon Nellie to unload Stephen Jackson before he could start to poison the young guys. From an effort standpoint, the culture appears tainted. Jackson comes as advertised. Nellie's got no one to blame but himself.
I'm not surprised that Allen Iverson is already complaining about coming off the bench one game into this arrangement. I'm also not surprised that the Grizzlies failed to settle this matter BEFORE they signed Iverson. But, I am surprised that the Knicks didn't seriously explore the possibility of bringing in Iverson for one year. He could have fit in in their up tempo system and was a high reward low risk proposition one a one year deal.
Giddyap. Y'all be cool.
I'm surprised Shaquille O'Neal showed up in a contract year in such poor shape. He looks like hew's taking nutrition advice from Rex Ryan.
I'm not surprised with how good the Dallas Mavericks have looked. Shawn Marion gives them a lot, which allows them to as for less from Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry.
I'm surprised how good the Houston Rockets have looked. At least for this week, Trevor Ariza has been more than an adequate replacement for Ron Artest and point guard Aaron Brooks has actually played like a point guard. Its been distribution first, shooting second. And wouldn't you know, his scoring hasn't sufferred.
I'm not surprised how good the Boston Celtics have started off. And, most importantly, it appears as if head coach Doc Rivers is understanding his team's most important statistic, Kevin Garnett's minutes. If he keeps Garnett's minutes regulated in the 25-30 range every night, his chances increase exponentially of having Garnett available come playoff time.
I'm surprised how improved Washington Wizards forward Andray Blatche looks. but I'm not surprised that Gilbert Arenas looks like he's lost a step, although that may end up making him a more effective player. I'm still not a Wizards advocate.
I'm not surprised that Kevin Durant has struggled to start the year. Durant is immensely talented, but needs to get stronger and learn how to defend before he becomes any type of elite player. And while we're on the Thunder, I'm very surprised at how much Jeff Green has improved. It looks like the pro game has slowed down for him and he looks a lot more like the Jeff Green that starred at Georgetown.
I'm very surprised the Indiana Pacers look so bad. I know they're missing Mike Dunleavy and Tyler Hansbrough, but in reality, it doesn't matter. They're soft defensively. T. J. Ford is not a starting point guard in the league. And head coach Jim O'Brien is trying to have them run an up tempo system that they're clearly ill suited to run. This team in no way resembles the Celtic teams of the early 2000s that O'Brien coached.
I'm not surprised that the Knicks are anti-competitive. Granted, Isiah Thomas left Donnie Walsh with a horrific mess, but Donnie seems to have lost a little zip off the fastball so to speak. This situation is crying out for a column of its own.
At this stage, I'm thoroughly surprised that any front office on the league would allow Larry Brown to have personnel input on a team he coaches. but that's exactly what the Charlotte Bobcats have done. I guess team president Michael Jordan's "competitive juices" don't carry over to the success of the team he presides over. But he gives one heck of a hall of fame induction speech. Anyway, Larry is mired with the worst team this side of the Knicks. The Bobcats are so bad, I istakenly placed Jason Richardson on their team in my season preview because I couldn't believe a team's personnel could be so bad.
I'm not surprised that Carmelo Anthony appears to have taken his game to another level. I still contend that his upside is to be as good as Bernard King. And with a very capable team around him, this is a very good situation for Anthony to have lots of success on a personal and a team level.
I'm not surprised how quickly Byron Scott has lost the New Orleans Hornets after their playoff meltdown against Denver last year. The sooner the Hornets dump Scott and bring in someone on an interim basis (anyone), the sooner they'll get things going in the right direction. I'm also not surprised at how quickly Don Nelson has lost the Warriors this year. it was incumbent upon Nellie to unload Stephen Jackson before he could start to poison the young guys. From an effort standpoint, the culture appears tainted. Jackson comes as advertised. Nellie's got no one to blame but himself.
I'm not surprised that Allen Iverson is already complaining about coming off the bench one game into this arrangement. I'm also not surprised that the Grizzlies failed to settle this matter BEFORE they signed Iverson. But, I am surprised that the Knicks didn't seriously explore the possibility of bringing in Iverson for one year. He could have fit in in their up tempo system and was a high reward low risk proposition one a one year deal.
Giddyap. Y'all be cool.
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