Updates on Marbury, James, and Rose

The most talked about issue with the Knicks prior to the start of training camp has obviously been the possible buyout of Stephon.  If you saw his interview with Bruce Beck, you would have learned that Steph is not interested in negotiating a discount for the buyout.  He wants all of his $21.9 million either way.  It seems like Walsh and Dolan are having a hard time letting him play for someone else and paying this large sum of money as well.  I think they would feel more comfortable negotiating a settlement in the $15 million range.  However, they may end up having a bigger problem with letting him remain on the team at the start of the season.  Do not expect this story to go away any time soon.

Newsday has also reported that Jerome James and Malik Rose may be finished with the Knicks as well.  Everyone remembers the assanine 5-year, $30 million contract Isiah signed him to.  Sadly there are still 2 years and $12.6 million left on his deal.  The Knicks are reportedly trying to convince James to retire due to medical reasons.  This would help the Knicks by allowing insurance to pay for a nice chunk of what is still owed to Jerome.  This is funny to me since it seems like James has been in retirement mode the last two seasons.  He sure keeps his body in retirement-like shape.

My favorite Jerome James Knick moment came during the Larry Brown year (AKA “The Longest Year”).  There was one game (I forget the opponent) where James was given the start at center.  It was surreal.  James had the best six minutes of his life.  He was making everything.  I believe he scored a dozen or so points in the first six minutes.  Then there was a whistle for a foul and I see James bent over as he was huffing and puffing.  He was so fat and out of shape that he was gassed midway through the first quarter.  So he signals towards the bench that he needs to be taken out.  This during his best start to a game in forever.  I remember the look on Brown’s face when he signaled to him that he was done.  Brown just gave a blank stare out towards the court and shook his head.  Vintage Jerome James.

The other news is that the Knicks may consider buying out Malik Rose.  This makes no sense to me.  Rose has $7.6 million owed to him for the rest of his deal.  I say hold onto him.  He is a good character guy that can actually play some defense.  Keep him as a mentor for the young guys and a guy you can use off the bench every now and then.  If you’re going to have to pay him, you might as well hold onto him or dump him at the trading deadline to another team.

If you waive Steph, convince James to retire, hang onto Rose, and get a comeback from Allan Houston that leaves you with a roster of 15.  Perfect.  That would be my plan.  Even if Houston’s comeback is short lived, as I expect it to be, you can sign a cheap guard off the street.  Maybe the return of Fred Jones?

Quick Rewind: USA 116, Australia 85

In Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup at the Olympics, the US men’s basketball team pulled away from Austrailia in the second half en route to another blowout win.  They held just a 12 point lead at half but started the second half with a 14-0 run.  Game over.  In case you missed the game, here is what different people are saying about the Redeem Team at the moment:

Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press says:

“I’d like to give you one moment when the Australia men’s basketball team was in trouble against the United States, but that’s like picking one time of year when Hawaii is pretty. The Aussies fell behind early, came back to tie it at 21, and should have asked for the check right there.  The final score was 116-85, and if you want to know what this tournament has been like for the Americans, this little nugget should tell you: Afterward, a few reporters were seriously asking the U.S. players what it felt like to be tested for the first time.  A test? Five minutes into the second half of this quarterfinal game, the United States led by 23 points.
If that’s a test, I’d love to hear what those reporters think of the LSAT.”

Greg Couch of the Chicago Sun-Times says:

“I believe these big stars with some of the biggest egos on the planet are getting along and becoming friends, not just for show. The U.S. beat Australia 116-85 today, and the news was that Australia was within one at the end of the first quarter.  The U.S. hasn’t lost a quarter yet in the Olympics, and is all the way into the semifinals. The U.S. will play Andres Nocioni and Argentina on Friday.  The U.S. defense works into passing lanes, and blocks shots. And if an opponent isn’t demoralized from the start, it happens soon enough. That’s what happened today.  You already know that Team USA is winning again. But Team USA is a team again, too, talking hokey things about winning for the three letters on the front of the jersey. And it’s believable.”

Chris Sheridan of ESPN says:

“Australia’s game plan included dropping four players quickly back on defense while letting a fifth, one of its speedy point guards, apply ball pressure and make the Americans use an extra few precious seconds before getting their offense running. The Australians also placed a premium on protecting the ball and turned it over only once in the first quarter — something no American opponent had managed to do until then — and dared the U.S. team to beat them from behind the arc (the Americans did finish 12-for-25 after the poor start). And when Team USA managed to get open looks, especially from inside, the Aussies gave hard fouls and took gambles that the Americans would miss from the line.  For a half, it worked, and the game would have been even closer if Australia hadn’t missed several open looks from underneath and if Andrew Bogut hadn’t fumbled the ball out of bounds two times during a second quarter in which Australia coughed up seven turnovers.”

Rick Maese of the Baltimore Sun says:

“Any debate over whether replacing an NBA coach (Larry Brown) with a college coach (Mike Krzyzewski) was the right thing for USA Basketball has been quashed. It turns out a college coach was exactly what this team needed, someone who would stress fundamentals and defense, someone who didn’t bring an NBA mentality to international play.”

The reason for success so far has to have been the Redeem Team’s ability to flat out wear their opponents down with tenacious defense, easy transition hoops, and their superior athletic ability.  Argentina represents their toughest test so far.  I say Redeemers win by 20.

Will The Clown Sell the Knicks? Keep Dreaming

Many Knicks fans have believed James Dolan to be a clown with the way he has run the Knicks and the Rangers (especially in the Knicks case).  You can constantly hear him being bashed year after year if you tune into some sports talk radio shows in the New York area.  Under Dolan the Knicks have gone from a proud and storied franchise to the punch line of a lot of jokes.  Let’s review some of the sad history of MSG under Jimbo:

-The New York Rangers missed the playoffs for seven straight years after making it in 1997, the longest playoff drought in franchise history.  And this occurred with the league’s highest payroll.

-Gave Allan Houston a 6 year, $100 million contract in 2001.  No one else offered him more than $75 million.  He retired 4 years later due to injuries.

-There were all the bad personnel decisions including the Jerome James contract (5 years, $30 million).

-In 2005, he signed Larry Brown to a 5 year, $50 million contract to be the head coach.  Brown won 23 games in his first year and was fired.  Dolan bought out Brown’s contract for $18 million.  That’s $28 million for a 23-win season.  $28 million sure doesn’t buy what it used to.

-Then there washe rest of the Isiah Thomas era which was capped by the embarassing sexual harassment lawsuit which forced MSG to pay Anucha Browne Sanders $11.6 million.  An all-time low for MSG.

-Then there was the situation in September when the Rangers filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NHL.  This after the league allegedly threatened to kick the owners out of the league if they did not give up control of the team’s web site. 

You can see what Knick fans have had to endure.  So you can imagine the reaction of Knick fans when rumors of Dolan selling the Knicks began to surface.  There was some speculation that Dolan might sell MSG, the Knicks, and the Rangers as a way to satisfy shareholders of Cablevision, whose stock price has gone down.  It was reported that this rumor got Knick fans more excited than when they see Marisa Miller in a bikini.

But it appears these rumors could be nothing more than wishful thinking.  A recent report by Newsday addressed these rumors:

“Not so fast, though. Dolan’s gesture to investors – allowing them to voice concerns during a “listening tour” last week – seems to have been little more than a head fake. People knowledgeable about MSG in particular, and the sale of sports franchises in general, tell Newsday that it’s premature to run out onto Seventh Avenue traffic and celebrate Dolan’s departure from the Garden of Ills.”

But at least fans of the Knicks can have some hope with their new regime of general manager Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D’Antoni.  Maybe they can help offset some of the bad karma that Dolan has been putting over Madison Square Garden for years.

Knicks ‘08-’09 Schedule Released

The NBA has released this season’s upcoming schedule and the Knicks will start the seasonon October 29th by welcoming Dwayne Wade, Michael Beasley, and the Miami Heat to Madison Square Garden.  Also Larry Brown, the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, will make his return to the Garden on November 5th.  As is always true for each year, there are some very good matchups at MSG that will be sure to be hot tickets.   Lebron James and the Cavs are visiting on November 25th, the Detroit Pistons are in on December 7th, Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets are scheduled for December 28th, the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics visit on January 4th, Mike D’Antoni’s former team, the Phoenix Suns, come in on January 21st, and Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers come to Broadway on February 2nd.  The Knicks will close the regular season with a home game against division rival New Jersey on April 15th.  It would be thought of as a good season if that game has any significance.

Of course the Knicks will be playing in six preseason games in the first couple weeks of October.  However, those games have yet to be announced.  Click here to see the entire schedule.  So it appears we are only a little over 2 months away from the opening tip of the regular season.