http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/61559.htm (Yet another Isaih about-face...yada yada yaduh) NATE, LEE ON BLOCK AFTER ALL By MARC BERMAN -------------------------------------------------------------------------- February 8, 2006 -- Change the nickname from Nate "The Great" to Nate "Trade Bait." Knicks President Isiah Thomas is desperate to shake things up by the Feb. 23 trading deadline — preferably by adding a point guard, with Denver's Earl Watson his top target. Thomas' edict less than two months ago that he won't trade the young kids is history. A league source said two of the Knicks' three rookie first-rounders — Nate Robinson and David Lee — could be included in deals. Small forward Trevor Ariza could be included, too. In December, Thomas said of the kids, "I wouldn't part with any of them. We haven't had these kind of young players in a long time. Now that we got 'em, might as well keep them." Center Eddy Curry and rookie power forward Channing Frye are the untouchables. "I know he's been trying," coach Larry Brown said. The league source said Thomas would not have drafted Robinson at 21 had he known Brown would end up his coach. Brown doesn't believe there's an in-house point guard to develop. He said yesterday he doesn't project Robinson as a PG down the road, though he played at times there last night. Brown also feels Jamal Crawford isn't a floor general. The Knicks plan to make a run at free-agent point guard Mike James this summer with the mid-level exception. Bobby Jackson is also a free agent. Thomas and Nugget GM Kiki Vandeweghe continue to talk about a Watson deal, though a league official believes two other teams are stronger candidates. "I don't see a deal with the Knicks there straight up," the official said. The Nuggets are wary of the contracts and production of Crawford or Quentin Richardson because of luxury-tax implications. They would like a larger package as they shop Kenyon Martin's big contract. The Post's Peter Vecsey reported Sunday about a 3-to-4 team deal involving Watson to the Knicks and Steve Francis to Denver. But it's unlikely Orlando would be interested in Crawford.
Thank god for the Knicks. Does Thomas even watch basketball anymore? Brown says, "We need a floor general! Crawford is a ballhog!" Thomas replies, "Mike James? Steve Francis?" Brown, "Do you HEAR the WORDS coming OUT OF MY MOUTH?!?" I have a feeling this is a coach/GM pairing that will end in either retirement or homicide.
IT has done a homicide on the Knicks. Or is that a genocide? LB seems a fit for suicide. What a rotter situation in New Yorkland.
I don't think Frye is untouchable. There was a rumor being floated that he was heading to Denver for K-Mart.
I personally just find it funny that for the first time I can remember, and untradeable guy is also untouchable (Curry) Evan
That organization is so lost it's not even funny...makes me thankful to be a Rockets fan. They truly do not know what they are doing...they're just so busy trying to find quick fixes to please the masses and make a run at the playoffs, that they aren't even concerned about building a true championship team. A better idea for them would be to play the young guys, and if need be trade them when you can get max value for them while benefitting the team. Instead, they're going to ship them off now for a PG with most likely a bloated contract, or some other garbage and then go throw as much money as possible at Mike James. I absolutely hated it when he took over in Indy too...but he somehow pulled off the Jermaine O'neal trade, which is probably the reason he still has a high level job today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/sports/basketball/08davis.html Smiling in Toronto, Davis Wags a Finger at the Knicks (Note: edited, leaving in what was germane to the Thread.) By RICK WESTHEAD Published: February 8, 2006 TORONTO, Feb. 7 — After Antonio Davis finished his first practice as a Raptor on Tuesday, he had some parting words for those who run his former team, the Knicks. A Raptor again, Antonio Davis said he was enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. "Larry and Isiah, they need to get on the same page," Davis said of Coach Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas, the Knicks' president. "Is the team going younger or older? What are they doing? Where's the team going?" Davis was speaking publicly for the first time since Thomas traded him to the Raptors on Friday for the 33-year-old small forward Jalen Rose and for what will probably be a mid-first-round draft pick. Davis, a 37-year-old forward, said the Knicks' organization was "a mess." He also said he had been taken aback by his trade to Toronto, where he played for more than four seasons starting in 1999. He has also played in Indiana and Chicago. Davis said the Knicks had gone to great lengths to coax him to report last fall after acquiring him and Eddy Curry in a trade with Chicago. At the time, Davis, whose family lives in Chicago, was considering retirement. "I hope they're happy with what they got," he said Tuesday. "They have to be looking out for the best interests of the Knicks, and Antonio Davis has to be looking out for the best interests of Antonio Davis." Asked if he was holding anything back to avoid further criticizing the Knicks, Davis nodded and smiled. A Knicks spokesman did not return a telephone call seeking comment. The trade has been questioned because Knicks officials said they were in a rebuilding mode but ended up acquiring Rose, who is 33 and who is owed $16.9 million next season. Rose's addition could limit playing time for young players like Trevor Ariza and Nate Robinson. Davis said the recent tumult in Knicks management — Thomas has been accused of sexual harassment by one of the team's former front-office employees in a federal lawsuit — had not affected the players. "It's definitely a circus there, but it's not something players are really too involved with," he said. "You get a few questions about it, but there's really not much more than that. I wouldn't say it's been a distraction." Hinting at his unhappiness with the Knicks, Davis said: "I was telling the guys, this was the first time I've got to run up and down and enjoy myself in a long time. It was nice to see some fresh faces and see guys who really cared about playing and listening to their coach, trying to do everything they can to help each other and to win basketball games."
Davis' piont rings home: It doesn't seem that Isiah has any clue what he wants to do with the team or what direction they want to head in.
