The NBA offseason has been one for the ages. Forget the Lebrocacle, which has taken the crownless king’s talents to South Beach and MEami to be forgotten. The Knicks have been clearing cap space for 2 years to get to this juncture and all signs point to them being half way there.
Key Acquisitions:
Amar’e Stoudemire
Raymond Felton
Anthony Randolph
Kelenna Azubuike
Ronny Turiaf
Timofey Mozgov
Key Losses:
David Lee
They now have some depth both in the front and backcourt with athleticism and length. With Felton we get a young, disciplined point guard that led a less than stellar Bobcat team to the playoffs last year. He has great instincts, distributes the ball like a point should and is the brain we need to lead Mike’s free flowing offense. Look for him to tutor Toney Douglass as his backup as Douglass provides some legit depth at the point.
The sign and trade for Lee was a great move that added 3 solid players for very little money against the cap. Turiaf is too short to be a true center, but he’s pretty wide and likes to bang bodies on the inside. So he’ll do the dirty work and could be an Oakley-esque defender in the paint. Azubuike will provide some depth at the SG and could challenge Chandler for the starting spot. Randolph is the player that could be a stud in this league. He’s definitely rough around the edges, but has great length, can spread the floor and be a dynamic player in Mike D’s system.
Landry Fields seems to be the only solid pick up in the draft. He’s averaging 16 points a game, shooting 55% from the field and has a knack for creating space while off the ball.
Most importantly and why we’re only half way there is that the Knicks are in great position to acquire another top player whether through free agency next summer or a trade this season. Part II next week.
1 comment:
I've got a good feeling about Fields - not that he's going to be an NBA all star but that he can contribute on a regular basis and be the kind of hard-work low maintenance player that can thrive with Coach Mike.
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