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?

Houston is Back With the Knicks

The Knicks will be opening up training camp on Tuesday.  The news about if Stephon Marbury will be there has been well documented already.  However, it has been reported by the New York Post that longtime Knick Allan Houston has also been invited to training camp as he tries to make one last comeback attempt.  It has been reported by the Post that Houston has accepted the invitation and will be there on Tuesday.  

Houston’s last comeback attempt did not go well and he was done after just one week.  However, Houston is trying to tell us that this year will be different.  He believes that his knees are in much better shape this year and that he will be ready to go.

Here is Jamal Crawford from his blog on how Houston is looking at the workouts: “He’s back and looks a lot healthier than he did in his last comeback attempt last season…I think he may have rushed that one a little bit, but he looks a lot better this time! AND of course we all know his jumper is razor sharp!!!!!!! I can learn a lot watching him.”

I have no problem inviting him to camp since he is a veteran that is a good character guy and maybe he has some advice for some of the younger players on the team.  However, I am not expecting his comeback attempt to last into the regular season.  I think deep down we all know that his body will just not allow it to happen.

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Photo via Getty Images

Coast to Coast: 8/27/08

It’s time to push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the big stories from around the league.

• Sad story as former Blazer Kevin Duckworth died Monday night at the age of 44.  Duck will surely be missed.
• Geez another sad story as former NBA player Wayman Tisdale had part of his right leg amputated due to his fight with bone cancer. 
• Great piece at TrueHoop on the future of Team USA.  There won’t be much to redeem in the future other than their current #2 FIBA ranking.  Got to give credit to Jerry Colangelo on how he changed the selection process and preparation of Team USA.
• We’ve all heard the Zach Randolph to Memphis rumors by now (Darko to NY?) but there is also talk of the Grizzlies looking at Portland’s Travis Outlaw as reported by the Memphis Edge.  Portland is expected to want Mike Conley in return and if that’s the case, I imagine Memphis would do the smart thing and look elsewhere.  I would only look to part with Kyle Lowry or Darko if I were them.
• The AP reports that a Phoenix prosecutor wants the federal files from the Tim Donaghy case.  You can almost picture David Stern cringing as this thing will not go away.
• Nick Collison told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that he is still a little shocked by the move of the Sonics.  “A lot of people just say they are sad to see us leave,” he said. “They say a lot of nice things about me personally. That’s the toughest thing for me. We’re a part of the NBA. We accept this. But the fans are left with nothing, so that’s who I feel the worst for, the diehard Sonics fans who have been around for a long time.”  Well said Nick.  Check out my previous post on the Sonics move here.
• EURweb.com is reporting that Allan Houston has released an open letter thanking fans for all the report he received as his daughter underwent heart surgery.  She will be fine thankfully.  Remember Houston will try to make a comeback with the Suns this year.  Raise your hand if you think his body can last more than 2 weeks in training camp.  I didn’t think so.
• It has apparently been allowed that NBA teams can now pursue signing Iranian center Hamed Haddadi.  He averaged a double-double at the Olympics (16 pts, 10 rebs).  The Grizzlies were reportedly interested, maybe as an alternative to trading for Randolph or Outlaw.
• The Miami Herald reports that the Heat are interested in DJ Mbenga who received a minimum level offer from the Lakers.  First the interest in Jamaal Magloire and now Mbenga.  I still can’t tell if the media is messing with us with these rumors.  I don’t exactly see one of these potential signings satisfying Heat nation.
• I’m sure you’ve heard by now but the LPGA has instituted a rule requiring all golfers to be able to speak English as the New York Times has reported.  Apparently this is something the NBA is not considering.  So when Yi Jianlian is out of the NBA soon, he will not be able to blame it on his lack of expertise of the English language.  Only his lack of ability to play ball at a non-crappy level.   

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.