Knicks Trade Randolph & Crawford

The Knicks are 6-5 after being lousy last year. I watched them the other night play a very competitive game against the Celtics in Boston though they lost by 7 or 8 at the end. They looked like they were a much improved team with playoff possibilities this year.

Now they've traded their top two scorers for mediocre players in order to clear cap space for 2010 when LeBron James becomes a free agent. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8826626/Knicks-gain-cap-space-by-dealing-top-scorers

Is it just me or does this seem rather stupid to anybody else? Why wreck a team this early in the season when it seems to be finding its groove to worry about two years in the future? And what chance is there that LeBron would choose to go to a team that looks like it's going to be subpar for the immediate future when he will certainly have other options?

Originally posted by no1marauder
The Knicks are 6-5 after being lousy last year. I watched them the other night play a very competitive game against the Celtics in Boston though they lost by 7 or 8 at the end. They looked like they were a much improved team with playoff possibilities this year.

Now they've traded their top two scorers for mediocre players in order to clear ...[text shortened]... ke it's going to be subpar for the immediate future when he will certainly have other options?

I agree they are idiots for these trades from a pure basketball stance. However, when you consider the corporate ownership is all about money, they must feel the attraction that LeBron or D-Wade would bring will boost the profit margin more than putting a competitive team on the floor this season. I would have thought they could have traded those guys later in the season if they found themselves out of the hunt by then. Surely they aren't trying to position themselves to grabbing a lottery pick AND LeBron or D-Wade going into next year? In the Big Apple, nothing really surprises me anymore. Certainly no fiscal responsibility is ever exercised by any of their teams.

Originally posted by no1marauder
The Knicks are 6-5 after being lousy last year. I watched them the other night play a very competitive game against the Celtics in Boston though they lost by 7 or 8 at the end. They looked like they were a much improved team with playoff possibilities this year.

Now they've traded their top two scorers for mediocre players in order to clear ...[text shortened]... ke it's going to be subpar for the immediate future when he will certainly have other options?

I grew up watching and listening on the radio. The Knicks have been a disgrace for a team in the New York market.

Originally posted by no1marauder
The Knicks are 6-5 after being lousy last year. I watched them the other night play a very competitive game against the Celtics in Boston though they lost by 7 or 8 at the end. They looked like they were a much improved team with playoff possibilities this year.

Now they've traded their top two scorers for mediocre players in order to clear ...[text shortened]... ke it's going to be subpar for the immediate future when he will certainly have other options?

Yea I was also surprised when they traded Randolph who was off to a pretty decent start for them, but in their defense, they did pick up some players that should mesh well in D'Antonie's (spelling?) system. And I also don't think NY being a subpar team would have too much of an impact on his decision in 2010. I mean, we have all seen what he has done with subpar teams; come to think of it, has he ever really been on a good team? We'll have to see what NY's FO does in the next two years that might make their team an attractive club for LeBron. Personally, if his contract were to expire today, I think he would have three options: Cavs, Knicks, or Nets. He would stay in Cleveland if Mo and him make that team championship caliber and the Cav FO commits to surrounding him with more help. He would go to NY if the situation in Cleveland doesn't get any better and the Knicks offer him a sweet deal. He would goto the Nets if they move to Brooklyn; Harris, Xi, and Lopez all develop and mesh well together; and they offer a sweet deal that beats the Knicks and Cavs respective offers. I dunno, there are a lot of factors but something tells me that he is leaning towards NY, which ever team it may be.

Originally posted by MoneyManMike
I dunno, there are a lot of factors but something tells me that he is leaning towards NY, which ever team it may be.

I watched some parts of LeBron's interview after his game tonight at MSG and he said something like that right now he is focused on a championship with Cleveland, but that NY fans should "keep an open mind about 2010." We have also seen him wear a NY Yankees hat a number of occasions, even at a Cleveland Indians playoff game. And then there is the whole Jay-Z situation. And now that NY is clearing out cap room for LeBron, I think the Knicks have a leg up on the Cavs for 2010.

The goal is to win a championship sometime before the Cubs win a World Series, something the Knicks haven't done since 1973. The team so far this season looked better than it has in awhile - though after the last three seasons, that's not saying much. But while Randolph and Crawford are good players, the best case scenario was going to be a .500 season and a bottom-level playoff berth where they would get swatted around by Boston or Cleveland for three games and sent home.

I also don't think the Knicks got that much worse - although their play will likely diminish while the new guys learn D'Antoni's system and mesh with the other players - and hopefully Gallinari will show he skeptics that he was worth his high draft pick status. And hopefully they can find some bad team in Outer Podunk to dump Marbury on. His behavior has been a total disgrace.

But what the Knicks are doing is clearing up cap space so they can possibly sign TWO marquee players in 2010. And it's not just LeBron, there's a whole long list of stars who'll be free agents. The 08-09 and 09-10 seasons are not really important.

While it would be ideal if the Knicks were already at least an average team by this time, it's not essential. Boston was a dreadful team until they signed Garnett and Allen and suddenly they were unbeatable. The best scenario might actually be two more years of lottery draft picks in addition to young players like Lee and Robinson who have been developing nicely.

Regarding LeBron, he seems like the type of person that would be lusting for the huge stage that New York would provide. He reminds me of Reggie Jackson when he came to the Yankees and declared that "he was the straw that stirred the drink". And he knows what his market value for endorsements etc would be if he could bring a championship to Madison Square Garden.