As everyone surely knows, the Knicks were able to acquire Tracy McGrady’s expiring contract which now gives them between $32.2M and $34.2M, depending on if the salary cap is set at $50M or $52M (reports vary between the two sums). In other words, the Knicks will be able to afford two maximum player contracts which is code for James or Wade and a second premium player of their choosing.
But what if James or Wade resign with their respective teams or decide to move to a city not named New York? Peter Vecsey of the New York Post sums this up nicely:
“[I]magine if the Knicks can’t entice Wade as James’ partner, or by his lonesome, or can’t secure either of them? I know Chris Bosh perceives himself as a franchise player. Clearly, he’s vastly improved and is definitely the best player on the court many nights. But, with all due respect, he’s a textbook No. 2 All-Star for a championship challenger.
Same goes for Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Amar’e Stoudemire and any other free agent-to-be you want to cite not named Dirk Nowitzki (who has committed publicly to remaining a Maverick) or Yao Ming (who's too fragile to think about investing yards of yen in him).
Once more with feeling: If the Knicks are unable to get James or Wade they might as well save the cap room for Kevin Durant in 2012 when he becomes unrestricted, because all the above false saviors aren't remotely worth Max Factor or Maxwell Smart.”
I couldn’t agree more with Vecsey (although I'm not convinced on Durant, but that’s besides the point). Bosh, Johnson, Stoudemire, Boozer or anyone else available this summer just won’t cut it. None of these players are franchise-changing players by themselves and, frankly, even when paired together, they don’t seem to be able to get you much past a first or second round playoff exit.
After years of dysfunction and incompetence, Knicks fans shouldn’t have to settle for second-level free agents or role players masquerading as Alpha Dogs. If they can’t get one of James or Wade, they should sit on the money and wait for the next crop of franchise-changers to come up for negotiation.
Eddy Curry’s $11.2M contract expires after next season. If the Knicks don’t spend their money frivolously on players this summer, they’ll be even further under the cap next summer. Without the benefit of draft picks, the Knicks will surely get worse in the short term. But I’d rather the Knicks get worse and rebuild the right way than chain themselves to the misguided notion that Bosh, Johnson, Stoudemire, Boozer or someone else will be good enough to make a difference.
But what if James or Wade resign with their respective teams or decide to move to a city not named New York? Peter Vecsey of the New York Post sums this up nicely:
“[I]magine if the Knicks can’t entice Wade as James’ partner, or by his lonesome, or can’t secure either of them? I know Chris Bosh perceives himself as a franchise player. Clearly, he’s vastly improved and is definitely the best player on the court many nights. But, with all due respect, he’s a textbook No. 2 All-Star for a championship challenger.
Same goes for Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Amar’e Stoudemire and any other free agent-to-be you want to cite not named Dirk Nowitzki (who has committed publicly to remaining a Maverick) or Yao Ming (who's too fragile to think about investing yards of yen in him).
Once more with feeling: If the Knicks are unable to get James or Wade they might as well save the cap room for Kevin Durant in 2012 when he becomes unrestricted, because all the above false saviors aren't remotely worth Max Factor or Maxwell Smart.”
I couldn’t agree more with Vecsey (although I'm not convinced on Durant, but that’s besides the point). Bosh, Johnson, Stoudemire, Boozer or anyone else available this summer just won’t cut it. None of these players are franchise-changing players by themselves and, frankly, even when paired together, they don’t seem to be able to get you much past a first or second round playoff exit.
After years of dysfunction and incompetence, Knicks fans shouldn’t have to settle for second-level free agents or role players masquerading as Alpha Dogs. If they can’t get one of James or Wade, they should sit on the money and wait for the next crop of franchise-changers to come up for negotiation.
Eddy Curry’s $11.2M contract expires after next season. If the Knicks don’t spend their money frivolously on players this summer, they’ll be even further under the cap next summer. Without the benefit of draft picks, the Knicks will surely get worse in the short term. But I’d rather the Knicks get worse and rebuild the right way than chain themselves to the misguided notion that Bosh, Johnson, Stoudemire, Boozer or someone else will be good enough to make a difference.
3 comments:
I think that's one of the problems of the NBA is how easy it is to get stuck in mediocre purgatory - neither good enough for a true shot at the title nor bad enough to eligible for a top pick. If the Knicks can resist pressure to suck for 3 odd years it's probably the best long run strategy but it's hard thing given economic/fan pressures
Regardless of where James and Wade go, teams like the Knicks who have huge cap room will be offering HUGE contracts to players that dont deserve them. It will lead to serious inflation of talent and there inevitably will be teams that are spending way over their talent level. Something about supply and demand. It's pretty sad.
I don't see how the Knicks can resist pressure and not sign someone from the second tier. Honestly... they've PURPOSELY sucked for 2 years now (preceded by years of Isiah)... and PURPOSELY sucking for 3 more years, just to POSSIBLY get Kevin Durant seems to be asking a lot of the fans. I think they should still sign one of the other second-tier players (who are still good), and if they want, try to plan for Durant.
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