Our Future

[Mr. J]

Obviously, it has not been going well so far, but I have talked enough about our current state. I am here to talk about our future in years from now. There has been this question just really bugging me for a real long time now. Where are we headed from now? Currently, the Knicks have the highest payroll in the league by a land slide at 103 million dollars. We are the biggest market in all sports, but the only thing that separates them from us is the cap. You have teams in New York like the Yankees, who can throw more money than the temper tantrums we have, when the Knicks lose like they did against Dallas. I?ve said many times the Knicks will probably never be under the cap. Probably not in our lifetime. The Knicks are definitely very fortunate what they picked up from the draft.

The Knicks picked up Trevor Ariza a 6?7 SF from UCLA, just full of talent. Ariza is very good for a 19 year old coming out of his freshman year of college. I think this guy will develop into a LeBron James type player because he can do it all. I see him being a lesser version of course but, this Ariza guy in his prime will be great. Ariza can rebound, defend, and pass. Once Trevor Ariza gets more of an offensive game, he will be great for the Knicks. He has been working on his jumpshot has we can see. Still not good but unquestionably much better from when we first saw him up in the summer leagues.
Trevor Ariza is definitely our best perimeter defender hands down. I can?t wait to see him in 3 years. I know he will be an NBA star by then, or at least really close to it. Ariza at his best can be averaging around 17ppg, 5rpg, 5apg, 2spg, and 1bpg. Of course this is while he is still a Knick. If it was not, I am confident that he would be averaging much more! I see him really filling up the stat sheet. With the 43rd pick in the 2004 NBA draft the Knicks definitely selected a lottery talent. I?m just glad that we got him.

Now a year before that in the 2003 NBA draft, the Knicks drafted another talent. Michael Sweetney, a 6?8 PF from Georgetown, surprised us all. I thought Sweetney would not be all that good and we made a mistake. Boy was I wrong. After Mark Aguire came to New York and helped him, he has not ceased to amaze me. When given sufficient minutes, Sweetney has always produced. Sweetney is very capable of averaging a double double if he was made a starter or got more burn. He is already a low post threat?something we have not had since the days of Patrick Ewing. If he gets a foot in the paint, it?s a wrap. The way he mixes his size, and quickness so effectively is something that I have only seen from Shaq. Let?s not forget about his unsung defense. Michael Sweetney may not block a shot to the third row, but he is a decent defender especially for his size, although you wouldn?t be able to tell because he plays so big. Those finishes, soft hands, and post up ability will be very good for the Knicks future. I see him at his best averaging around 18ppg, 11rpg, 2.5apg, and 2bpg. Again, this is while he is in New York. I also think he will be putting up more. Definitely a good pick. If you ask me, Scott Layden is not looking like such a horrible GM after all. He did manage to bring us some solid rookies in Sweetney and Williams (too bad he is gone though

)

You guys all know about the guy am about to say. His name is Jamal Crawford. At only 24 years of age, Jamal Crawford is already a more than solid contributor giving us 20ppg. This guy is on his way to NBA stardom. Jamal Crawford is just like Ariza and Sweetney because they have so much to learn and their talent is so great. Jamal Crawford is far from reaching his very best and can become more of a bigger role for the Knicks in the next couple of years. Once he learns shot selection, and hits the weights a little bit, Jamal Crawford will be very hard to guard and defend (I hope he puts the effort in that also.) I see Jamal Crawford averaging around 24ppg, 5rpg, and 6apg, at his best (again here as a Knick). This was a good move by Isiah Thomas. Let?s just hope Isiah makes more good moves instead of bad.

The Knicks can not go very far with this current team that they have now. I think before we can ever consider ourselves ?elite? it will have to be until these future stars develop. All of the Knicks players that they have now, are not worth talking about because of their veteran age. We might be put in a discouraging situation with our cap mess however, let?s look on the bright side. We have 3 future NBA stars in our midst, and if we hold on to them, we will be a very good team. Let?s see what the future has in store for us. Btw, don?t look at the bright side for too long because the way these guys are playing, you might get blind

!

 

[KnicksUK]

You write well man, good stuff.

To be honest, we're still top of the division and not playing at our best, when we step it up we can start to pull away from Philly. It's not all doom and gloom!

 

[JWohl]

?

Did I miss the question here. I mean it was a great article but is there something to respond to?

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jwohl:</div><div class="quote_post">Did I miss the question here. I mean it was a great article but is there something to respond to?</div>
It was nothing to respond to. You don't have to respond to anything you don't want to. I just thought you guys might be interested on my take of our future.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KnicksUK:</div><div class="quote_post">You write well man, good stuff.</div>
Thank You. I try my best to keep the Knicks forum rolling.

 

[Big C]

I think Ariza is a good player , but I don't think he will be a superstar. He has problems scoring in the halfcourt offense. Until he works on that part of his game he will be a regular player. Sweetney is good and can be a double double guy. He reminds me of Othello Harrington when he played for the Grizzlies. Crawford is a unstoppable force that when he reaches his peak there will be no stopping him. He has to work on his defense.

 

[Tribute to H2O]

If we hold onto our expiring contracts we'll be under the cap as soon as Houston and JYD come off the books. So if Isiah is patient in the future were looking good. I already said that Ariza plays more like Shandon did when he first entered the league. Right down to the athleticism, defense and not so good jumpshot. Man Shandon was a good player back then. If Ariza can get a respectable jumpshot he'll be a good player.

As for Crawford...I dont know about him averaging 24 ppg. He should be a good shooting guard though and get a couple of rebounds, assists and the odd steal or two. Only thing that worries me is the same thing that worried me about John Starks. That almost selfish attitude. Constantly shooting. I just get the feeling that history will repeat itself and Crawford will duplicate Stark's 2-18 performance in an important game.

You forgot about one player though mrj18...Bruno Sundov. Before anyone laughs he's only 24 years old. He's over seven feet tall and he can shoot the three ball. He also has some nice footwork. I can see us developing this guy to the point where he becomes serviceable. If he hits the gym, and plays more physically and aggressively he could be a decent rebounder and a good shot blocker. At least an average low post defender. I think he should be a project for us. We can lock him up for a relatively cheap price and see how he develops.

Then there's my favorite young player of them all...Michael Sweetney. The future rock at the powerforward position. You said it all up there. Great rebounder, he'll be a great low post player soon, underrated defender...what's not to love. He's a guy who will give us 20 ppg and double digit rebounding in the future. But I'll tell you one thing we can have all the great players in the world but if we dont have a decent coach(not Wilkens) we wont get anywhere. We need to draft a point guard to be fully ready when all of our young guys develop. Nazr should still be serviceable, maybe even Marbury. If Isiah hangs onto those expiring contracts we'll be able to sign some free agents to shore up any weaknesses we have. So about three years down the line we'll be more than ready to make alot of noise.

As for the present if we could get a decent coach we could go places. We have the players but not the strategy or coaching. I still believe we have a chance to make a strong run in the playoffs but not with Lenny as the coach.

 

[Mr. J]

We can be under the cap by then, but will Isiah really wait and think about our future? I doubt it. He's just one of those guys that want to get good immediately. Figures, this Isiah we're talking about.

I hope Ariza turns out better than Shandon Anderson please don't scare me guys. I really think this guy can develop into a superstar. He has the vision, defense, athleticism, hustle, work ethic and everything.

 

[02civic]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tribute to H2O:</div><div class="quote_post">If we hold onto our expiring contracts we'll be under the cap as soon as Houston and JYD come off the books. So if Isiah is patient in the future were looking good. I already said that Ariza plays more like Shandon did when he first entered the league. Right down to the athleticism, defense and not so good jumpshot. Man Shandon was a good player back then. If Ariza can get a respectable jumpshot he'll be a good player.

As for Crawford...I dont know about him averaging 24 ppg. He should be a good shooting guard though and get a couple of rebounds, assists and the odd steal or two. Only thing that worries me is the same thing that worried me about John Starks. That almost selfish attitude. Constantly shooting. I just get the feeling that history will repeat itself and Crawford will duplicate Stark's 2-18 performance in an important game.

You forgot about one player though mrj18...Bruno Sundov. Before anyone laughs he's only 24 years old. He's over seven feet tall and he can shoot the three ball. He also has some nice footwork. I can see us developing this guy to the point where he becomes serviceable. If he hits the gym, and plays more physically and aggressively he could be a decent rebounder and a good shot blocker. At least an average low post defender. I think he should be a project for us. We can lock him up for a relatively cheap price and see how he develops.

Then there's my favorite young player of them all...Michael Sweetney. The future rock at the powerforward position. You said it all up there. Great rebounder, he'll be a great low post player soon, underrated defender...what's not to love. He's a guy who will give us 20 ppg and double digit rebounding in the future. But I'll tell you one thing we can have all the great players in the world but if we dont have a decent coach(not Wilkens) we wont get anywhere. We need to draft a point guard to be fully ready when all of our young guys develop. Nazr should still be serviceable, maybe even Marbury. If Isiah hangs onto those expiring contracts we'll be able to sign some free agents to shore up any weaknesses we have. So about three years down the line we'll be more than ready to make alot of noise.

As for the present if we could get a decent coach we could go places. We have the players but not the strategy or coaching. I still believe we have a chance to make a strong run in the playoffs but not with Lenny as the coach.</div>


i think Marbury will need to be rid of if the Knicks want to develop a real good future team. I mean, just in terms of payroll Marbury will be making 20 million a season the first year you guys come close to being under the cap. With only Kurt Thomas, Jamal Crawford and Marbury signed the Knicks will have 29 million in salary eaten up. And thats not including signing Ariza who will be expensive if he's the player you say he could turn out to be. You also have toe sign Sweetney which could be expensive as well if you say he's a 20-10 guy, which is a tall order and i dont think he could be, but we all have our opinions. Nazr would be gone 2 years earlier, so if you wanted to keep him around, and he does keep improving that could be another 8, or knowing Isiah 14 million a year. I mean it will be better than it is now. But its not unreasonable to say with Marbury, Crawford, Thomas, Sweetney, Ariza and Nazr the Knicks could be over the cap. with at least 6 more players, more likely 9 more players needed thats real tough.
If Ariza and Sweetney pan out its not as bad, though NY is a tough place to grow as a basketball player, they expect results and alot of times it means going with the veterans and not giving the rookies a chance to develop.

 

[Beat]

I dont think we have to get rid of Marbury. Actually I think he is just what we need at the point guard position. Someone who can drive and dish, But I Think we do need a shooter thats why i think we should trade (If possible) Jamal Crawford and Penny Hardaway for Sprewell and Wally. Then we trade Nazi and some fillers for Kwame Brown. We get defense at the sf/g position in sprewell, post defense in Brown and some much needed shooting in wally. After we have our players I'd go out and look for a coach so we could get rid of Lenny Wilkin and if all works out i think that team could be a contender
Marbury/Brewer
Houston/Ariza
Sprewel/Szerbiak
Williams/Sweetney
Brown/Sundov/Baker
Or somethin like that.
Any way this will be my last time posting for a while. With Bball practice school projects work and all I wont have anytime to post. So I'll be gone 'til november lol