While Larry Brown’s New-Look Knicks might not be ready until January, the NBA 2005-06 season nevertheless begins tonight with a TNT western conference doubleheader: Spurs-Nuggets and Mavs-Suns. Well, dress code or no, I love this game…and particularly if the Knicks can end their post-Ewing slump this year.
Category: Knicks
Decommissioned.
Houston, we still have the same old problem. And thus, longtime Knickerbocker guard Allan Houston retired from basketball today, as a result of his lingering injuries (and as a condition of his not being Allan Houstoned this past summer.) Good luck to ya…and thanks for the memories.
Eddy Hearts New York.
On the the first day of training camp, the Knicks partially rectified their guard-heavy line-up by stealing center Eddy Curry from Chicago (due to the furor over his arrhythmia), along with veteran PF Antonio Davis. And better yet, we got rid of Tim Thomas, who’s underachieved from Day 1. (The Knicks also purportedly give up Michael Sweetney, Jermaine Jackson, and a contingent first-rounder…the only loss there is Sweetney.) I must say, this is a nice catch to start the season, if Curry’s condition is as benign as hoped. Update: ESPN’s John Hollinger disagrees.
Original Sin?
“‘I think the majority of Knick fans have said that this trade was the start of the downfall of the franchise, that this was the first step toward the morass that everybody has been entrenched in since,’ Checketts said. ‘I just think that’s silliness. It was only the first in a series of very bad moves.‘” Although Dave Checketts demures, the NYT retraces the sorry state of the Knicks — 5 years and counting — to the Ewing trade. I can see their point, although that in no way absolves Scott Layden or Isiah Thomas for some seriously lousy decision-making over the past couple of seasons.
Houston, we have no problem.
Well, so much for the “Allan Houston Rule.” Word is Houston will not be waived by the Knicks (although he will likely be retiring.) A semantic distinction, perhaps, but one that looks to save the New York organization quite a bit of money.
Brown to Blue.
It’s official…Larry’s coaching New York next year, and Knickerbocker fans are already dreaming big. Well, he’ll have his hands full with our current gaggle of undersized forwards and shoot-first guards.
A Done Deal?
With MSG head James Dolan paying his respects last night, it’s looking increasingly likely that Larry Brown will coach the Knicks next season. I’m not on the Brown bandwagon as of now, but I might just become a believer if he can shape a quality basketball team out of our lousy and unbalanced roster. Speaking of which, in other Knickerbocker-related news, ESPN’s Marc Stein evaluates the potential impact of the new “Allan Houston rule.”
On the Road Again.
Well-traveled supercoach Larry Brown is cut loose from the Pistons. Are the Knickerbockers next?
The Centers Cannot Hold.
Two centers with unproven upside switch coasts: Washington’s Kwame Brown to the Lakers (for Caron Butler), and Seattle’s Jerome James to the Knicks. And, with Cuttino Mobley heading for the Clips, it seems the NBA offseason is already in full swing. (My thoughts on the James acquistion — Well, we desperately needed a true center after losing Kurt and Nazr (and rookie Channing Frye doesn’t seem like he’ll have an immediate impact), and James had a few big playoff games last year. That being said, he’s no silver bullet.)
Burnt Draft Cards.
On the eve of the 2005 NBA Draft, SI offers their take on the 20 biggest busts of all time. Sam Bowie was a given, but where’s Frederic Weis? Update: The Knicks get their man.