Knicks · Filling out the roster (page 1)

We have all the Guards we need right now, with Felton, Smith, Shumpert, Hardaway and Prigioni. What we need now is a back-up wing to Carmelo who can score the ball or defend. We also need an interior presence off the bench who can rebound and block shots. According to Jared Zwerling we have $1.7M to offer+the veterans minimum+the league minimum. Here are some guys that we can realistically target.
SF
Dahntay Jones
Antawn Jamison
Francisco Garcia
Marquis Daniels
Mickael Pietrus
Dorell Wright
Stephen Jackson
James Johnson
Austin Daye

Ronnie Brewer

PF/C
Kenyon Martin
Jermaine O'Neal
Tyrus Thomas
DeJuan Blair
Joel Pryzibilla
Lamar Odom
Elton Brand
Jason Maxiell
Marresee Speights
Zaza Pachulia

Lots of interesting options, you have vets and younger guys who will probably be cheap. At SF, Stephen Jackson could be a steal. He adds that tough persona, he struggled with injuries, shooting and found himself in Popovich's dog house which led to him being waived. However, when healthy he's a good perimeter defender and shooter. He's been on championship level teams.

Im leaning towards Francisco Garcia, he played extremely well for Houston in the playoffs. He's had several double digit scoring seasons, he's a good shooter. Garcia also grew up in the Bronx, hometown discount?

I also like J.O'Neal, a other guy who adds the toughness interior defense and rebounding. Last season per 36 minutes he averaged 10 boards and 2.7 blocks.
You're 2012-13 New York Knicks
Starting 5
C Tyson Chandler
F Amar'e Stoudemire
F Carmelo Anthony
G Iman Shumpert
G Ray Felton
Bench
J.R. Smith G
Andrea Bargnani F
Francisco Garcia G/F
Jermaine O'Neal C/F
Pablo Prigioni G
Tim Hardaway, Jr. G
CJ Leslie F
Inactive
Chris Smith G
Earl Barron C

Agree on keeping Barron, even it's just as a 14th, 15th guy like you're suggesting. He's underrated and would be a good backup C. I mean that dude could not play for days on end and all of a sudden fill in with 15pts/15 rebs. He was VERY GOOD his first tour of duty here and contributed mightily that only game he played for us this season despite showing rust & losing his wind after awhile because his conditioning wasn't there (still had about 18 rebs that game!).

Can't possibly have Pablo and Chris Smith as the only backup PGs though. If Felton ever went down and that's all we have to fill in, we're fu#$%*. Pablo's 35-36 years old and I don't even think Chris Smith is a PG -- probably not even an NBA player...Gotta find a way to come up with another decent to GOOD PG somewhere. Come up with a realistic list of about 5 guys or so and go top of the list on down with contract offers. It's arguably the most important position on the floor, much more important than whatever 15-20 min a night PF we wind up coming up with. I'd like to see them take this super serious right now.

Damn right......Elton Brand + CJ Leslie = Problems solved.

of the small forwards available I like Garcia the most.

Pietrus, Jamison and jackson are over the hill.

I would have loved to get Wright, but I think he still has more value in the league.

Garcia played well against Durant in the playoffs, has a good outside touch and is tough. Perfect complement for Melo for stretches of the game.

we need at least 2 credible bigmen. Unfortunetly we have no money for guys like brand and KMART.

Isnt Brand still making money from the 76ers?

He already got 2 max deals.

NYK is going to be a good fit for him and at the same time compete for the championship

unstopaball12 wrote:Isnt Brand still making money from the 76ers?

He already got 2 max deals.

NYK is going to be a good fit for him and at the same time compete for the championship

if he wanted a title he could go to miami

Lamar Odom is done, he couldn't even come in to camp in shape this season despite wanting to redeem himself for the disaster of the year before. He's just going to get plumper for this point on, until one day the weight doesn't come off (likely this season).

Yikes, we're looking thin at back up PF/C- where is our rebounding?! Need a SF too. And a 3rd PG.

What happened to Shawne Williams work out with us?

Give me Delfino, Jordan, and Martin/Brand and I am a happy camper.

I'm sorry but we still need a pg! If you think we can count on Felton being able to play all 82 and prigs at 36 being able to fill in when needed, you are crazy.

I think a big priority at this point is finding a pg who can get the ball across the half court line with more than 16 seconds left on the shot clock.

franco12 wrote:I'm sorry but we still need a pg! If you think we can count on Felton being able to play all 82 and prigs at 36 being able to fill in when needed, you are crazy.

I think a big priority at this point is finding a pg who can get the ball across the half court line with more than 16 seconds left on the shot clock.

I agree. We have to have learned the lesson of the last few years. WE CAN'T get caught with too few PG's again. Injury to the PG spot is a huge issue for this team in the last few years. We just don't keep enough guys on the roster to be able to deal with injury at that PG spot. Some youth and speed would be nice.

unstopaball12 wrote:Isnt Brand still making money from the 76ers?

He already got 2 max deals.

NYK is going to be a good fit for him and at the same time compete for the championship

No, Philly amnestied him with one year left on his deal.

nixluva wrote:

franco12 wrote:I'm sorry but we still need a pg! If you think we can count on Felton being able to play all 82 and prigs at 36 being able to fill in when needed, you are crazy.

I think a big priority at this point is finding a pg who can get the ball across the half court line with more than 16 seconds left on the shot clock.

I agree. We have to have learned the lesson of the last few years. WE CAN'T get caught with too few PG's again. Injury to the PG spot is a huge issue for this team in the last few years. We just don't keep enough guys on the roster to be able to deal with injury at that PG spot. Some youth and speed would be nice.

Sebastion Telfair seems to think he's coming here: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/fa...
Not the best solution, but he's good enough to get the job done off the bench. The big man search may still be a problem. Brand is already getting bigger offers and Martin is looking for bigger offers. We may have to do what we did last year and wait until later in the season to see which guys are still available off the scrap heap.Right now, all we can do is look at the Jason Maxiel and Jermaine O'Neals of the world.

Would like to see

Iman
JR
CJ Leslie
Melo
Bargnani

work together to close out games

I believe you can only have 1 player that is not a threat shooting wise and that is CJ Leslie
However, his abilities to push the tempo, handle the ball, and ability to initiate or finish on the fast break with his speed/athleticism/length can make up for his weakness's with this lineup
CJ Leslie could be used like how Iman was use in his rookie year, similar to Jared Jeffries, to put pressure on the opponents PG's and allow the rest of the team to play OFF him on DEFENSE or as a lockdown defender on the SF spot
We would get a better idea how CJ Leslie would do when we watch him the summer league
But I think he can play a point forward role, similar to how Lamor Odom was used in his younger days in LA

You can also have one weak link on DEF and that is Barg's, everyone else must step up in all parts of their games

JR Smith improved his ability to handle the ball/facilitate/penetrate and finish but does not mix well with Tyson Chandler because he clog's the paint and is not a scoring threat
However, with Barg's he forces a mismatch at Center, how I wanted Copeland to be utilized vs The Pacer's in the 2nd round
While there is no true PG in this lineup, all 4 players from PG-PF can handle the ball, while Barg's draws the opponent's C *which i usually the best shot blocker/help defender/rebounder* or get a wide open 3point shot

I think that is a lineup that actually could work best on both side of the floor and run a philosophy/lineup that would work
Most importantly, they compliment each other as with their skillset, and fit together

Woodson is not big on rookies but CJ Leslie is player like Shump that has great athleticism/DEF and could disrupt many positions with his length/built
I think he is a rookie that Woodson would actually give a shot to play if he does well when given the opportunity with effort and DEF

I do question if he would utilize Bargnani because of his lack of REB/DEF ability, since he did not give much of a chance to Copeland
However, Bargnani is a 7footer that could get his shot off anytime and/or take it to the rim if a C decides to challenge his shot
For defensive purposes, you can put in a mobile PF/C like Kmart/AJ Matthews in for Bargnani, maybe even Melo

Iman
JR
CJ Leslie
AJ Matthews
Kmart

pretty much anyone can rotate here and recover in time with their speed/athleticism/size/length
Everyone in this lineup has the ability to defend 2-3 positions

If Tyson Chandler regains his mobility it would be great but he was far from it last season

C'Mon you want an un drafted rookie to close out games? Leslie was a disappointment at NC State dude once had the potential to be a first rounder.

Maybe you guys are right about needing a PG, I thought Shump could play a little PG if Felton went down. Hardaway, Jr. is a combo guard. We really need a back-up 3 and another big. Sebastian Telfair, Jannero Pargo, Boobie Gibson, Will Bynum, DJ Augustin, Keyon Dooling are all decent, affordable solutions though. We know Telfair is a Brooklyn kid, Gibson's wife is Keshia Cole the R&B artist she may be interested in having Gibson in a big market.

Also Ron Artest may be amnestied by the Lakers. He's wanted to play for the Knicks, maybe we can snag him for the minimum? Nick Young is an interesting option, dude can score there doesn't seem to be a market for him.

How many more players do we need at the 2-3 position? You still have Melo and Smith and then Shumpert, Hardaway Jr. etc. I want a big PF/C who can board and block shots. Jermaine fits the bill. He was recently out in Germany getting the Kobe treatment: http://www.tmz.com/2013/06/14/jermaine-oneal-germany-knee-doctor-fixed/

As much as I liked how gutsy Pablo was for us last year, I wonder if we wouldn't have been better off upgrading the PG position and using all of our MLE money on a PG like an Aaron Brooks - someone the right side of 30 with some time in the league.

I think Pablo has Jason Kidd written all over him - maybe good for the first two months of the year, then nothing. Hope I am wrong.

VDesai wrote:How many more players do we need at the 2-3 position? You still have Melo and Smith and then Shumpert, Hardaway Jr. etc. I want a big PF/C who can board and block shots. Jermaine fits the bill. He was recently out in Germany getting the Kobe treatment: http://www.tmz.com/2013/06/14/jermaine-oneal-germany-knee-doctor-fixed/

Jeffries had that done also. It is supposed to prevent the need for micro fracture surgery, uses your bodies own anti-inflamatories. It seems like something they should allow here. O'Neal wouldn't be a bad pick up.

My wish list...

Telfair
Brand
Delfino

I think we desperately need another PG and a rebounding big man. But I don't really think our front office is too worried about getting a PG - I have made fun of Woody's offense and deservingly so but I do believe that he has little use for a PG. the man actually wants to walk the ball up and dump it to Melo - Shumpert can do that just fine.

franco12 wrote:As much as I liked how gutsy Pablo was for us last year, I wonder if we wouldn't have been better off upgrading the PG position and using all of our MLE money on a PG like an Aaron Brooks - someone the right side of 30 with some time in the league.

I think Pablo has Jason Kidd written all over him - maybe good for the first two months of the year, then nothing. Hope I am wrong.

That's why I believe we need another PG. I believe Pablo will help the team as long as he isn't relied on too much.