DEAD(line) that talk!
a message to underachieving NBA teams
by Guichard Cadet
The day after the Knicks fell apart in the fourth quarter versus the Toronto Raptors, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote trade prospects Donyell Marshall and Jalen Rose may have ruined that deal, due to their spectacular performance.
I’ve been hearing about various Knicks’ trades involving these two players for weeks, and want no parts of it. Though Marshall’s length and outside shooting would be a great addition to a frontline that cannot consistently score in the perimeter, he is a defensive liability; thus you can’t trade any of the Knicks “4” or “5” position players for him, so you have to include Jalen Rose in the trade.
By doing this, the best move for the Knicks would be to give up Tim Thomas and Penny Hardaway, thereby relegating Marshall to the bench as a backup, and Jalen Rose as a starter. It sounds good on paper, as does any trades involving well-traveled veterans such as Rose and Marshall.
The call of many is to fire coach Lenny Wilkens, trade this and that player, and that the GM does not know what he is doing. WRONG!!
Right now, Knicks GM Isiah Thomas is doing precisely the right thing but it is having an adverse effect on his team.
NBA players are well aware of thetrade deadline, and do either of two things. They play to their highest capabilities or taper their performance, so they can escape dungeons like Toronto, or entice big market (or playoff caliber) franchises like New York.
Knicks’ players, except for Stephon Marbury, do not know whether they will be traded. This fear has subconsciously crept into their game, hindered their performance and undervalued their worth on the market – same can be said for the coaching.
Once the trade deadline passes on Feb. 24, players with expiring contracts will play to their maximum effort and talent level, and their respective teams will reach the goals they set at the start of the season.
When it comes to veterans with expiring contracts, the question for the Knicks and other underachieving NBA teams: will this one trade make you a championship contender NOW, like Rasheed Wallace’s did for the Detroit Pistons a year ago?
I’ve been hearing about various Knicks’ trades involving these two players for weeks, and want no parts of it. Though Marshall’s length and outside shooting would be a great addition to a frontline that cannot consistently score in the perimeter, he is a defensive liability; thus you can’t trade any of the Knicks “4” or “5” position players for him, so you have to include Jalen Rose in the trade.
By doing this, the best move for the Knicks would be to give up Tim Thomas and Penny Hardaway, thereby relegating Marshall to the bench as a backup, and Jalen Rose as a starter. It sounds good on paper, as does any trades involving well-traveled veterans such as Rose and Marshall.
The call of many is to fire coach Lenny Wilkens, trade this and that player, and that the GM does not know what he is doing. WRONG!!
Right now, Knicks GM Isiah Thomas is doing precisely the right thing but it is having an adverse effect on his team.
NBA players are well aware of the
Knicks’ players, except for Stephon Marbury, do not know whether they will be traded. This fear has subconsciously crept into their game, hindered their performance and undervalued their worth on the market – same can be said for the coaching.
Once the trade deadline passes on Feb. 24, players with expiring contracts will play to their maximum effort and talent level, and their respective teams will reach the goals they set at the start of the season.
When it comes to veterans with expiring contracts, the question for the Knicks and other underachieving NBA teams: will this one trade make you a championship contender NOW, like Rasheed Wallace’s did for the Detroit Pistons a year ago?
posted by Guichard Cadet @ 1:15 PM
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