[NYT] Lee traded for Randolph, Turiaf and Azubuike

This will make the Knicks better than last year, along with the signing of Amare.

DD

 

they needed players and got 3 quality guys for one......their 3/4 spots are very solid right now...however i think they still need at least one impact player in the backcourt to be significantly better than last year. Azubuike is nice, but need someone better than him int he backcourt.

 

I think was good news.

When the Knicks implode and Randolph skunks it up in NY, how soon can we snatch him away? I am one who believes our coaches will be able to get his head screwed on straight. So I think the price we will have to pay for Randolph just went way way down.. great move by DM

 

I strongly disagree. First, David Lee is durable. He'd be there every game. I don't think anybody will be surprised if Amar'e misses 15-20 games. Further, Lee is a much better rebounder and defensive player. And don't discount all the depth they lost. Al Harrington is gone. Jared Jeffries, their only defensive player, is gone. Chris Duhon is gone even if they do replace him with Raymond Felton.

Turiaf is garbage. Azuibuke is returning from an injury. Randolph could become something special but do you really trust D'Antoni to develop him? He did such a wonderful job with Jordan Hill. Further, would you really want to rely on him as a starter? They have to. They don't have anybody else. And I worry about him. One of the big question marks on Randolph is his maturity. And now Stoudemire is his team captain and role model? Ouch.

In my opinion, this team will be considerably worse than last seasons. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference got tougher. Chicago improved. Milwaukee improved. Miami improved.

New Jersey improved by adding Favors and essentially trading in Yi and Chris Douglas Roberts for Outlaw and then adding Petro as a decent backup center. They also hired Avery Johnson as a coach and I really think he's going to help that franchise turn it around. And they aren't done making moves (though they'll probably still be pretty bad). I'm not willing to go so far as to say that the Nets will definitely have a better record than the Knicks, but I think they'll be a harder team to beat this year and that could hurt New York's record.

Obviously Toronto and Cleveland got worse, but I think people shouldn't count Cleveland out as a playoff team just yet. They have a roster full of quality role players and a couple borderline stars in Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams. They won 62 games with Lebron, and I just have a hard time believing they aren't capable of winning 35 games without him. And 35 games can actually put you in the running for the playoffs in the East. And who knows? Maybe they'll add somebody like Al Jefferson and be a .500 team.

Charlotte should be about the same - and I don't know why people discount them either. I like Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace better than anything on the NYK roster - including Amar'e. If Larry Brown sticks around, they'll make the playoffs again. Even without Felton.

Obviously the Celtics, Magic and Hawks will still be in the running.

My rankings would be as follows:

Magic
Celtics
Miami
Chicago
Atlanta
Milwaukee
Charlotte
Cleveland (I know people will think I'm crazy for this)

I don't see New York making the playoffs. I won't be surprised if they don't win 30 games. And if Amar'e gets injured? I think they could win as few as 15 games.

 

People keep going crazy about Randolph's upside so it may work out for them. They also needed the players so the Knicks got what they wanted, fill their roster and leave room for one last tier 2 FA.

But on paper, at this moment, the Warriors gained huuuuge over the Knicks.

Lee surrounded by Ellis and Curry will be damn interesting/exciting to watch.

 

the knicks came away like highway robbers outta this one...david lee could have easily just walked for nothing or just only walked away giving a couple of meaningless picks back to NY...but NY got the ultimate sleeper of the nba in anthony randolph...and azubuike will put up almost allstar numbers

turiaf is just gravy