Who will be the 8th man? any chance of running a 9 rotation?

[Moochthemonkey]

Banks usually runs the 9 when we play, and now that he is gone with Marion, there's only 7 people in the rotation.

Brian Skinner may even get less minutes since we have a bigger front.

Thoughts?

[KPCB34]

Id like to see more of DJ

Hopefully he can play well to keep the minutes he may get.

[whambamslam]

I agree Strawberry will be the next one of the bench.

[-SDU-]

obviously its DJ, banks fell in the doghouse (again)and DJ started getting minutes each game, then it all stalled recently and banks came back, we all knew it was strange, and now we know why

itll go back to being DJ now, no question

[nanoclarkology]

I don't know what our chances of having a full rotation are. But for one thing Shaq is out like 2 more weeks right?

[Cash]

With 2 of the 5 most foul-prone players manning our big spots, one of whom is very injury-prone, I would expect Skinner's minutes to go up. Since Kerr is pecker-slapping D'Antoni's style with this trade, I'd expect him to also mandate that DJ get Banks' minutes. But I wouldn't be surprised if DJ stayed glued to the bench.

[hunterxaz]

he's anticipated to play next wednesday. so 1 week

[nevetsov]

It's interesting because when Hill signed with us, we all thought Mike D would do the "smart" thing and limit him to around 25-30 mins a game. As it turns out, Grant is playing a heck of a lot more than most would like and, aside from that freak appendectomy, has been healthy all season.

Shaq on the other hand is a completely different kettle of fish. I can't see D'Antoni keeping a "7 starter" philosophy and playing everyone (including Shaq) 35+mpg. So he will have to adjust and hopefully go a bit deeper into his bench.

I'd like to see something like this:

Nash (33) / DJ (15)
Bell (13) / Barbosa (35)
Hill (26)/ Bell (22)
Stoudemire (35) / Diaw (13)
O'Neal (20) / Skinner (10) / Diaw (18)

Stoudemire, Barbosa, Bell (35mins each)
Nash (33 mins)
Diaw (31 mins)
Hill (26 mins)
O'Neal (20 mins)
Strawberry (15 mins)
Skinner (10mins)

[Krapinsky]

Perhaps you guys will trade the Hawks pick for a 3/4. Somebody like Ryan Gomes, but perhaps another player with a year or two more on his deal.

[garrick]

Someone posted that you can't trade first round picks for more than two years in a row.

[dm17415]

It's interesting because when Hill signed with us, we all thought Mike D would do the "smart" thing and limit him to around 25-30 mins a game. As it turns out, Grant is playing a heck of a lot more than most would like and, aside from that freak appendectomy, has been healthy all season.

Shaq on the other hand is a completely different kettle of fish. I can't see D'Antoni keeping a "7 starter" philosophy and playing everyone (including Shaq) 35+mpg. So he will have to adjust and hopefully go a bit deeper into his bench.

I'd like to see something like this:

Nash (33) / DJ (15)
Bell (13) / Barbosa (35)
Hill (26)/ Bell (22)
Stoudemire (35) / Diaw (13)
O'Neal (20) / Skinner (10) / Diaw (18)

Stoudemire, Barbosa, Bell (35mins each)
Nash (33 mins)
Diaw (31 mins)
Hill (26 mins)
O'Neal (20 mins)
Strawberry (15 mins)
Skinner (10mins)

I would give 5 minutes to Shaq from DJ.

[jlove_26]

Someone posted that you can't trade first round picks for more than two years in a row.

That is true, but the Atlanta pick is different. Yes we traded OUR 1st round pick last year, but AFTER we picked a player. We traded OUR 1st round pick this year (2008) to Seattle as well as the 2010 pick. However, we can trade the Atlanta pick because theoretically it's not ours.