Knicks · Woodson setting up keeping Chris Smith? (page 2)

Not going to happen. Chris Smith will go to the D-League. Woody and mgmt are just being nice, showing JR that they ahave been really considering and watching Chris. But he clearly hasn't played well enough to take the 15th spot.

I think we keep
1. Toure
2. Jeremy Tyler
3. Diogu

And if not Diogu, then some other vet Big who is cut from another team or who we can bring out of retirement like we did with Rasheed last yr. But not Chris Smith.

I won't get worked up over it until I see something official. Woodson has to censor himself: "Does being JR's brother enhance Chris's chances of making the roster?" "Sure it does, I mean, does anyone think he would be here right now if it weren't for blood?"

At the end of the day, I just don't see him giving up Toure for Chris freakin' Smith. If that day comes, sure, I'll join the mutiny.

Markji wrote:Not going to happen. Chris Smith will go to the D-League. Woody and mgmt are just being nice, showing JR that they ahave been really considering and watching Chris. But he clearly hasn't played well enough to take the 15th spot.

I think we keep
1. Toure
2. Jeremy Tyler
3. Diogu

And if not Diogu, then some other vet Big who is cut from another team or who we can bring out of retirement like we did with Rasheed last yr. But not Chris Smith.

Those are the three guys I'm pencilling in as well, though I wouldn't be upset if they took Leslie over Diogu based off of potential. a year practicing against Melo, Peace, Smith and Shump everyday could do him some good. as for Chris smith, I remember him being solid in Louisville. I don't think he's an NBA player, but he shouldn't suck this much. On the plus side, at least he's able to maintain the same level of play he had in the summer league. Consistency counts, I guess.

BRIGGS wrote:Say it isnt so Woody???? Why does being JR's brother enhance Chris's value to the Knicks? We need all of the good players we can get--the team is going to lose 3 draft picks like Minnesota did.

Let's be real here, this has nothing to do with Woodson. This is certainly coming directly from upper management.

Markji wrote:Not going to happen. Chris Smith will go to the D-League. Woody and mgmt are just being nice, showing JR that they ahave been really considering and watching Chris. But he clearly hasn't played well enough to take the 15th spot.

I think we keep
1. Toure
2. Jeremy Tyler
3. Diogu

And if not Diogu, then some other vet Big who is cut from another team or who we can bring out of retirement like we did with Rasheed last yr. But not Chris Smith.

I think you are right. What you posted makes sense. I will have real concerns about how things are going if he does make the team.

Sounded to me like Woodson was trying to be as diplomatic as possible about a decision that probably isn't his to make. One quote from the Daily News stuck out:

Smith, incidentally, has a contract that becomes fully guaranteed if he is on the opening night roster which is highly uncommon for free agents trying to win a job

This offseason we saw the return of one of the worst execs in this franchise's history. And now the brother of a player who crashed and burned the Knicks playoff hopes, and got himself suspended on top of that, might be getting a sweetheart deal for doing absolutely nothing other than being said player's brother. Mgmt knowing full well that the open roster spot would be better spent on another player, any other player.

I wish Dolan would move on to another one of his toys, getting too old for this ish.

Major league franchise with minor league management.

this is beyond absurd - Chris Smith is a certifiable scrub

VCoug wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:Say it isnt so Woody???? Why does being JR's brother enhance Chris's value to the Knicks? We need all of the good players we can get--the team is going to lose 3 draft picks like Minnesota did.

Let's be real here, this has nothing to do with Woodson. This is certainly coming directly from upper management.

This has Dolan written all over it, he probably enjoyed reading about JR responded to a girl on twitter if she wanted to get "THE PIPE"

This is very normal with large organizations.

My wife found a job....So when they knew I was looking, I was hired instantly.

And others with similar qualifications or better skill sets don't even get a return phone call.

Again, this is normal. Whats not normal is for Woody to mention this to the press!

This is usually one of thoese things owners just sweep under the rug, especially if adding Smith keeps one of your important employees happy. JR could've broke the bank with a new contract, but he did Dolan a favor by excepting a cheap contract. Gotta return the favor somehow.

I've read that he's willing to play on the Knicks D league. Will he still count towards a roster sport, if he plays on the Knicks D League?

blkexec wrote:This is very normal with large organizations.

My wife found a job....So when they knew I was looking, I was hired instantly.

And others with similar qualifications or better skill sets don't even get a return phone call.

Again, this is normal. Whats not normal is for Woody to mention this to the press!

This is usually one of thoese things owners just sweep under the rug, especially if adding Smith keeps one of your important employees happy. JR could've broke the bank with a new contract, but he did Dolan a favor by excepting a cheap contract. Gotta return the favor somehow.

I've read that he's willing to play on the Knicks D league. Will he still count towards a roster sport, if he plays on the Knicks D League?

Not when it comes to a major sports franchise signing athletes. Especially not with the NBA when it comes to signing players to a team with very few open roster spots. JR doesn't deserve this type of consideration. If his brother had the makings of a game and JR didn't play a very large part in how we finished last season, maybe. But that's not the situation we're in, not even close.

If Chris does make the team. would he be the worst player to suit up for the Knicks in the past 10 to 20 years?

I don't think Chris is making the team, no way. But a small part of me wants it to happen so I can enjoy the drama, talk a bunch a shyt on the knicks and take it easy on the knicks love for a good Dolan lifetime.

So his contract is set up that he collects all of it if he's on the roster for at least one day.... seems like the deal is he's kept for a little bit - then released (so it looks legit). We then resign Murry or whoever gets cut in his place. JR happy, Chris happy, Knicks happy enough, Knick fans left shaking their heads...

jskinny35 wrote:So his contract is set up that he collects all of it if he's on the roster for at least one day.... seems like the deal is he's kept for a little bit - then released (so it looks legit). We then resign Murry or whoever gets cut in his place. JR happy, Chris happy, Knicks happy enough, Knick fans left shaking their heads...

Yes, this was my thought also. Except that Murry makes the team to start. Perhaps Jeremy Tyler doesn't make the team for the first week or 2 since he is injured and can't play until probably end of Nov. So we sign Chris Smith for this time and then cut him and he re-signs on our D-League team. This actually makes some sense and everyone is happy and gets something.

MaTT4281 wrote:I won't get worked up over it until I see something official. Woodson has to censor himself: "Does being JR's brother enhance Chris's chances of making the roster?" "Sure it does, I mean, does anyone think he would be here right now if it weren't for blood?"

At the end of the day, I just don't see him giving up Toure for Chris freakin' Smith. If that day comes, sure, I'll join the mutiny.

Good point. CS clearly doesn't deserve a spot but let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Agreed.

And I agree with Mark, Crush, BigDaddy and whoever else --

Last 3 should be:

Murry
Diogu
Tyler

Murry's earned it. Would've liked to have seen CDR given more of a shot -- I know he could've helped us. Wasn't given an opportunity to see what he could do...Hopefully we can retain him with the Bayhawks somehow even though he has nothing left to prove at that level..Still a little pissed off at Woody for not giving him a chance and for suppressing him because he's wanted the kid Murry all along. I don't think that's how you go about something like this (I don't think he beat out CDR fair and square) but whatever, time to move on...Diogu has played well and also deserves a spot -- Martin and STAT are both question marks and Bargnani has underperformed so far by a large margin. I'd like more depth at PF...And I think you take Tyler because he's grown and made nice strides before he broke his foot. Never really liked what I saw from him at first, from his H.S. clips to the Japan clips to his brief stint with GS... What convinced me -- he looked better in SL for us and then the NBDL video on youtube from last year. This video shows a lot of potential. He has a lot of things to work on but the foundation is there -- makes you think that if he has no ill-effects coming back from the foot (Knicks need to be smart here--do not rush this guy back. There's no need. In fact, give him extra time to heal just to make sure), he could be another Vin Baker. Obviously, he needs more work to get to that level -- he's not there yet. Needs more polish (Baker in his prime was a very polished big man) but I think that's his ceiling. They're very similar -- similar height, they both have that mid-range J and Tyler reminds me of Baker down on the block with his ability to spin, convert on the post with a variety of quick/effective moves, footwork etc.. I dunno man -- the next Vin Baker would be a hell of a player for us eventually. Speaking of Baker -- not sure what he's up to these days -- last I heard, he turned his life around from the alcoholism but was dealing with bankruptcy...Hiring Baker to work with all our bigs (Tyler specifically) wouldn't be a bad idea, for both guys. Having Tyler work with The Dream in the off-season and then Larry Johnson and Vin Baker full-time (off-season and throughout the year) wouldn't be a terrible plan. If we're gonna keep this guy, pull out all the stops to help him develop into a Vin Baker-type player. Again, here's Tyler's impressive D-League video from last year:

CrushAlot wrote:This is almost as unbelievable as Grunwald being let go to bring Mills back. It makes no sense. At some point it seems Woodson will get tired of compromising his character to continue to work in a situation like this. There are some pretty strong signs that the owners nba seasonal affective disorder is returning.

Unfortunately as our owner is only our owner due to birth, it makes sense that he sees nothing wrong with nepotism. However, given the choice I would probably agree to taking on Chris Smith if it was a condition of keeping JR.

What worrys me is that Isola said we likely keep- Tyler, Smith and Murray. Now I like Tyler and Murray, but it does mean we aren't signing any healthy PF/C- a very risky move given Amar'e and K-Marts status.

smackeddog wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:This is almost as unbelievable as Grunwald being let go to bring Mills back. It makes no sense. At some point it seems Woodson will get tired of compromising his character to continue to work in a situation like this. There are some pretty strong signs that the owners nba seasonal affective disorder is returning.

Unfortunately as our owner is only our owner due to birth, it makes sense that he sees nothing wrong with nepotism. However, given the choice I would probably agree to taking on Chris Smith if it was a condition of keeping JR.

What worrys me is that Isola said we likely keep- Tyler, Smith and Murray. Now I like Tyler and Murray, but it does mean we aren't signing any healthy PF/C- a very risky move given Amar'e and K-Marts status.

Hopefully what Markji posted about Chris is the worst of it. Man if he makes it fans are gonna be tough on JR and rightfully so.

Agree about the healthy PF/C thing. Bargs looks like he'll be a disaster at the 5 (specifically on D) and I think Aldrich should get the nod over Diogu, just based on size alone. Last night, he came in and kept alot of offensive possessions alive and I think his rebounding will be more important than Diogu's scoring ability. Hope it's Tyler, Murry and Aldrich.

We desperately need bigs to play Chi, BK and Indy. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Very surprised how ineffective Aldrich has looked. I'm not asking for a star -- this guy was never gonna be a star -- just gimmie this guy here and I'd be good:

In this video, he looks great. Everything we could possibly need: + rebounding, cleaning up around the rim converting putbacks, layups and dunks, and challenging/blocking shots. Look at how quick he looks off the floor for rebounds, putbacks and blocks...WHERE THE HELL IS THIS GUY??? This is how he looked in college...Just a big, active body that fulfilled his role real well...Even though he hasn't played a ton for us thusfar, he's had the exact same opportunities as seen in this video and hasn't produced the same results...For us, he's looked a step slow on all the same opportunities. I mean what gives? Makes me think he might be hurt or something. I hope he's being straight with the Knicks -- if he's hurt, he's gotta speak up. It would explain a lot -- The Knicks would probably take that into consideration. It would help his cause (if it's something that can be rehabbed and fixed). Either that or he might just be out of shape, maybe severely out of shape. Maybe he packed on some unnecessary weight. It's a shame really because the Aldrich I remember would've been perfect for us, a keeper.

If Smith makes the team, the NBA will probably investigate things and we will lose a few draft picks.

smith could have second reason for being on team: enhance locker room environment to keep jr focused,

jr, with brother chris in locker room, has someone that relies on him

he will want to act as a better model for his rookie brother,

before we go bashing chris smith, think about it. real talk.

don't get me wrong, he still sucks. but i'm not bashing him, he just sucks as a basketball player but has reason