i live in NY and see a lot of knick games. he's a really underrated player. you're going to be very happy with this move.
I already am. I'm hoping this leads to the Nugs going small for periods at a time and putting Melo/LK/Balkman at the 4. It'd be better with Melo or LK because they can stretch the floor.
mike does not like glue guys. if you cant score he does not want you on his team. he i alot like nellie how many glue guys do you see on the warriors
As a scorer, Balkman is a complete zero. He does not fit D'Antoni at all. This is an obvious move for the Knicks to make if they truly believe in their new coach. It has nothing with to do with D'Antoni supposedly not liking "glue guys". That is false. But if you add "cannot score" to "glue guy" = a player D'Antoni has no use for.
Matt Barnes doesn't / hasn't played for Mike D'Antoni. He just signed with the Suns. D'Antoni doesn't coach there anymore. Perhpas referring to the Nellie comment, though Barnes really isn't a glue guy. And the Warriors liked him so much, they got rid of him. As for Raja Bell...while he's known for being a tough defender, he also happens to have shot 40% or better from the 3 point line 5 out of the last 6 years. Just saying, putting Raja Bell and Balkman on the same level offensively, at least for now, is pretty offensive to Bell. Balkman is a solid pickup for Denver if only because they get a rotation player for nothing. It doesn't get them out of the first round, though. The first step towards that goal would seem to be firing George Karl...
you defended my point well. Both bell an and barnes are at least average offensive threats. I heard rumors about the knicks trading david lee on draft day another glue guy. But David lee made it known to his agent and memphis that he had no intention to resign their.
I understand that Bell and Barnes are superior offensive talents to Balkman. I was merely making a smartass (but correct) comment about opticon's generalization that neither D'Antoni nor Nellie like "glue guys". Nothing was said of offensive talent.
There's GARM rumors about an AI to Houston rumor.. has your board heard anything about this? What would Denver even want?
I just saw that and was going to post there, but I like it more here. It's safer. Honestly, that rumor doesn't pass the smell test to me. Doesn't mean it might not be true, but I personally don't see it. Love the Battier part of the rumor -- dude's one of my top 5 favorite NBA players. Hate the Alston part of it -- dude's one of my 10 least favorite players. Honestly, I haven't heard anything but that's because the dude who feeds us info has been tight lipped lately because someone was narc'ing. I knew about the Balkman deal about a day before it went down, but that's it. Would it surprise me? Yeah, but it wouldn't be as shocking as the Camby trade was.
I just wouldn't understand what Denver would be doing.. trading their second star for a great role player and an above average pg.. those are more pieces you add when you're contending, not rebuilding. I'm assuming by shocked you mean you were pissed by it? I understand saving money, but you've invested way too much into that guy to give him away for a mere 2nd round pick. Unless that TE comes into play?
I would think if the Nuggest are trading Iverson, they'd go for some guys who are younger than Alston and Battier.
Not only younger but better too. They can get a lot more for him than that. That's why I don't believe this at all.
well the nuggets seem to be making some dumb decisions they traded marcuz camby for only a second round pick so maybe they would do the trade
That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is that the AI move obviously didn't work out the way many had hoped. As I've said repeatedly, I don't blame the front office -- you HAVE to do that move. That said, it isn't working, mainly because we didn't surround them with the right players. We have one star who's a weak defender, but a killer offensive player. The best thing to do is surround him with defenders who can shoot. Which 2-deep would you rather have: * Carter / Atkins * AI / JR * Melo / LK * KMart / Balkman * Nene / Hunter or * Alston (ugh) / Carter * Battier / JR * Melo / LK * KMart / Balkman * Nene / Hunter Honestly, it's a lot closer than it should be. If it were a PG I didn't detest instead of Alston, I'd probably go with #2. More balance, more defense. Plus, that deal allows us to trade Atkins (4.5 mil expiring salary) and LK along with our exception. Pick up a big man or a real PG. Pissed by it? No way. Initial reaction was shock mainly because I wasn't warned beforehand. This deal got done quickly -- and let me tell you it wasn't the Nugs who were hesitant to do it. What does that tell you about Camby's value in the league? Second reaction was "I never have to see that ******* in a Nugs jersey ever again". Some of you think I'm crazy, but if you watch every Nugs game you'd see Camby mail in at least 50% of them. You'd see him literally steal rebounds from teammates to pad his stats. You'd see him ignore his guy so he could try for a blocked shot. He's also a ball-stopper on offense. It's bad enough when KMart does it, but when you have to two big men who can't shoot pulling that garbage, it's infuriating. I'm hoping we use the TE. I'm fairly certain I know who the Nugs are focusing on with it, but there's also a possibility we let it expire. If so, I'm ok with that. Kroenke has been paying the big bucks and not getting anything in return for it. I don't blame him if he wants to get the costs under control. Besides, this team as currently built wasn't going anywhere. If you're not trying to improve in the NBA, you're losing ground. By staying pat the Nugs would have lost ground. This way, we have options. Other than Birdman, I'm really pretty happy with how this off-seasno has gone. If Nene can stay healthy (this is where I pause to let everyone, including myself, stop laughing), then our starting lineup is a lot more balanced than last year. Our bench unit has two guys who can score (JR & LK) and three hustle guys who can drive you crazy (AC, Balkman and ugh, Birdman).
I think it's similar to the Nugs getting AI -- I think it's a great move and one you had to do. You didn't give up much to get him and it could (should?) legitimately make you a championship contender. I'm not a huge Artest fan personally. I know the Nugs have tons of crazy people, but Artest is a different type of crazy. When we were talking about getting him, it was a horrid idea for us. But you guys have two "stars" who can put him in his place if he gets out of line. In you guys' opinion -- does this put Battier on the block? I've gone on record saying that those of you that are angry at him are fools, and I'm fairly certain that Morey is a big fan of Battier's game, so I don't see it happening, but you guys probably could use an upgrade at PG that he could provide via trade. Or are you going to try going small at times and putting Artest at the 4? Artest had pretty good numbers under Adelman, so it should work well. God. Rockets, Hornets & Spurs. Those are potentially the top 3 seeds in the West, and you're all in the same division. Wow.
I think the Rockets will likely hold on to Battier. Remember, Artest is potentially just a one-year rental. If he flames out and is a disaster in Houston, the Rockets can always cut ties with him via trade in February, via S&T next summer, or simply letting him leave for nothing. The Rockets would then be shopping for a SF. Battier should be staying around as insurance. If Artest doesn't work out, then the Rockets' core will not have been compromised.
