Feb
26, 2001
NBA
BASKETBALL - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Knicks
Not Real Contenders By
COREY WOODS
(Editor's
Note: We received this the morning of the NBA trade deadline. It was late
in being posted. However, the points made are fairly irrevelant to the
Mark Jackson - Chris Childs trade, so, read on.)
Despite
what GM Scott Layden may want to believe, the New York Knicks are far from
being title contenders. What is very odd about this situation is
that you know that Layden, Jeff Van Gundy, and Garden boss Dave Checketts
all know this to be true as well. The Knicks suffer from quite a
few problems. First off, the team is structurally flawed. The
Knicks have two players, All-Stars Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston,
who are both natural shooting guards. Sprewell, who is the more complete
player of the two, is forced to play out of position every night at the
small forward slot. Sprewell is currently averaging a little over
seventeen points a game and shooting in the low forties. Does anyone
have any doubt that Sprewell would be shooting forty-five percent and averaging
twenty-three points a game if he was playing his natural two guard position?
A
major problem with the Knicks is that they continue to believe that Allan
Houston will someday blossom into a great all-around guard. Yes,
he does have the tools. He is the prototypical shooting guard with
one of the most beautiful jump shots the NBA has ever seen. The reality
is though, Houston is as good now as he ever will be. He is a one-dimensional
jump shooter who does little of everything else. He plays little
or no defense, doesn't rebound well, passes poorly, and has a marginal
left hand at best. He is a great pure shooter who will be a perennial
All-Star but will never take a team to a title because he is too content
to let the game come to him. There is a reason why Sprewell has been
embraced by the fans despite his shady past while Houston, the coach's
son with the choirboy image has been the subject of constant ridicule.
Despite
all of these issues, the one most at fault for the flaws of the Knicks
is Layden. His personnel moves have left many observers scratching
their heads. He trades Patrick Ewing, the only reliable center, for
6' 8" sweet shooter Glen Rice. On the surface, the trade seemed good.
Ewing needed to go. The problem is that the Knicks are not a team
that runs shooters off of screens, which is what Rice needs to truly be
effective. They knew this when the acquired him. They knew
this when he re-upped for four years and thirty-six million dollars.
Now, they are doing everything they can to dispose of him. They acquire
Luc Longley only to bury him on the bench. Layden traded the rights
to Florida forward Donnell Harvey for combo guard Erick Strickland, only
ot have VG bury him on the bench as well.
The
Knicks will only improve when Layden decides to ante up and make everyone
with the exceptions of Sprewell and Marcus Camby available for the right
price. Many say that the Knicks the way that they are could still
win the East. Maybe. That's still one of the silliest arguments
that I've ever heard. You build a team to win a title. Teams
want to win the NBA Title; not the Eastern Conference title.
The
real Knick problem is not the lack of a point guard. The issue is
the lack of dependable low-post scoring. Juwan Howard would be a
great help to the Knicks, and you know that he's available for the right
bait. Why not dispatch Houston to Washington in exchange for Howard?
Washington's brass would love to rid themselves of Howard's huge contract.
By obtaining Houston, the Wizards would receive a player who would most
likely opt out of his contract as soon as possible, which would free up
major cap room for rebuilding. Howard would allow the Knick perimeter
players more freedom to operate from the outside.
Layden
must stop offering journeymen like Chris Childs and the walking wounded
like Larry Johnson. If the Knicks are really serious about obtaining
quality players, such as Gary Payton, Dikembe Mutombo, or Mike Bibby, they
are going to have to offer players with real value. And yes, that
means Houston, Camby or Sprewell. Their current team if left intact
will be watching the NBA Finals on television just like the rest of us
this coming June.
- - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[InsideHoops Home | Message
Board | NBA News | NBA Teams]
Find this basketball info useful? Share it with your hoops fan friends! Quick links:
