Would you trade for anyone on New York?

[francishsu]

The biggest problem with the Knicks is with leadership and work ethic. I believe that Brian Scalabrine would greatly benefit their organization, teaching their youth how the game should be played. I think the Scal's salary matches well with Fred Jones.

[MyInsatiableOne]

I would trade Scal to the Knicks for a ham sandwich, two basketballs, a pair of sneakers, and 50 bucks. We'd get as much use out of those as we do out of Scal.

[MalReyn]

Morris couldn`t get minutes on a terrible knicks team and he would be a backup on our team? From what little I was able to see from him he looked terrible.

Which is more a testament to Thomas' ineptitude than Morris himself. He's gotten ~60 "DNP - Coach's Decision" rather than being sent down to to D-League to develop.

Snippet from an article last month.

Thomas continues to say that he is not ready to concede the season and give Morris and first-round pick Wilson Chandler extended minutes. Meanwhile, Thomas failed to take advantage of the D-League, where both players could have faced live action on a consistent basis rather than serve as practice dummies and sit idle during games.

"I just like the practice time and what they get here, and the hands-on we get to have here," Thomas said recently. "They get to learn our system more, the way that we want to play. I just think the on-court time they get playing against the pros we have here is better for them. There are times and opportunities when you can send a player down to the D-League, but most of the time you want to keep a player in your system doing the things you do every day so you know when you need them, you can put them in a game."

And yet, Thomas has never used the D-League. He even vetoed Larry Brown's attempts to send Nate Robinson down to the NBA's minor league two years ago. There is a theory that Thomas, who led the CBA into bankruptcy, doesn't want to contribute in any way to the D-League being a success. Thomas denies having a personal bias against the D-League.

So instead, Chandler's minutes are relegated to garbage time and Morris is wasting away on a team that is 18-41.

"I think he can play in the NBA," Howard said of Morris. "That's why he's here. Me and my teammates talk about it all the time, me and him going at it. They want to see him play in the league. Hopefully he can get a chance to play sooner or later so somebody can see his potential."

[campybatman]

Renaldo Balkman could be a James Posey-like complement player and steady defender off the bench if the Celtics decide to move on from Tony Allen. Celtics will need to trade for him, though. Still, Balkman could be a cheap piece to add to the bench by Ainge. You can't have enough defenders.

[wigglestrue]

Depending on the price (Scal + picks?) and what works per the CBA...Lee, Balkman, Chandler, Morris, or Collins. Wouldn't mind them bribing us with a pick to take Jeffries, either. But we're short on tradeable assets/contracts. We'd need more overpaid scrubs to interest Isiah, lol.

[GuyClinch]

The Knicks DO have some talent worth having - the problem is most of is involved with bad contracts. I'd take Crawford, Lee and Balkman among others if offered in the RIGHT deal.

With trades it all comes down to what your getting out of it. Heck Jerome James is okay if they sweeten it with a half dozen lottery picks. No offense but without knowing the particulars of a deal these kinds of discussions are worthless.

I am sure that say Cleveland would take Delonte West and maybe Joe Smith if they had to do it over again - but not at the cost of a Big Ben who is slated to make more then Lebron - and Wally who was done a half dozen years ago!

Pete

[Truthiracy]

To answer the question: NO!

David Lee...why is he so overrated? Because he's not a thug on a team full of thugs? His stats are not that good, he'll be a little better than a Jeff Foster type player throughout his career.

Wilson Chandler is garbage, so what if he had a couple decent stat lines in meaningless games where he was a focal point in the offense? Balkman? All he does is run around the court like a maniac, doesn't help much in any area.

Every other player on that team is a detriment. Jamal Crawford? Please. 2-guards that shoot too much at a low % can't help any real contender.

I can't say I'd want any current Knick player, although after the draft I'd want Rose...no not Malik Rose, Derrick Rose, when Stern hands the Knicks the first pick in the draft.

[Pogue Mahone]

David Lee...why is he so overrated? Because he's not a thug on a team full of thugs? His stats are not that good, he'll be a little better than a Jeff Foster type player throughout his career.

You do realize how valuable Jeff Foster is, right? If Lee could be 'a little better than Jeff Foster' that is incredible.

Foster can cover both interior big men and step out to the cover quicker perimeter PFs. He has the lateral quickness to blitz and recover on the pick-and-roll. The only other player I can think of in the league who can do both, equally well, is Nene.

Furthermore, Foster offensive rebounds at historic levels. Only three players in the history of the league with at least 10,000 MP (well, since offensive rebounds have been recorded) have rebounded on the offensive end as well as Jeff Foster (as measured by Offensive Rebound Pct.) Those three players are Dennis Rodman (17.2 OReb%), Karl Malone (16.3%) and Larry Smith (15.8%.) Jeff Foster has recorded 15.3%. Only one other player with at least 10,000 MP has recorded over 15.0 OReb%. Foster is closer in offensive rebounding level to Rodman (the gold standard of offensive rebounders) than the sixth ranked player is to Foster himself.

That's not all. Foster is also a terrific defensive rebounder (48th all time, 23.4 DReb%) despite covering the more difficult of match-ups defensively so Jermaine O'Neal could freelance and conserve energy for offense. O'Neal gets the fanfare for being a great defender on all those Indiana teams but he doesn't do what he does without Foster. It is the same reason that Garnett needs a Perkins to truly shine on the defensive end. The Fosters, Perkins and Nene's of the NBA allow their athletic counterparts to utilize their length, quickness and overall athleticism to make an impact defensively.

Other than skin color, David Lee and Jeff Foster are not very similar at all. David Lee is incredibly athletic but struggles on defending the box. Lee is a good offensive rebounder but he is far from being a great offensive rebounder like Foster. Lee is an excellent defensive rebounder, though. Lee is also able to leverage his athleticism into being a better finisher, both on the break and in traffic.

My point is that Lee is a good player but Foster is elite level in low-post defense, defending the pick-and-roll and offensive rebounding.

Wilson Chandler is garbage, so what if he had a couple decent stat lines in meaningless games where he was a focal point in the offense?

You are entitled to your opinion but I call B.S. How is he going to establish himself if he doesn't get playing time? Chandler is a good prospect, imo. Boston is in need of a wing prospect for life after the Grande Trio. While Chandler isn't the ideal prospect, the likely acquisition cost isn't prohibitive and would be a nice piece for the future.

Balkman? All he does is run around the court like a maniac, doesn't help much in any area.

Except he can legitimately cover most SGs, SFs and many PFs. Furthermore, he rebounds like Glen Davis at the offensive end. Balkman is no world beater but he is solid and a good player. He is often overlooked because he doesn't do any of the glory stats. I can't stand Isiah Thomas but he nailed all three draft picks in Balkman, Lee and Chandler, imo.

[campybatman]

I'm curious about the New York situation with their players because I'll like to see how they solve it going forward. It's like the players that they like and should retain are their trade assets and the players that they likely desire to move will be a tougher sell to other teams.

The mentality among their players has to be low morale. Everyone knows that no one's place on the roster is secure. Zeke got canned... So, you know a Spring cleaning of the roster is forthcoming. The new head coach should want his own players to coach or those players already there who can succeed in his system.