I think the main reason for this is the salary implications. Crawford wasn't coming off the books until after 2010, as opposed to Harrington, who expires either this year or next year (not sure). Plus, Harrington could be a pretty good fit with D'Antoni. He's an athletic forward who can shoot well and runs the floor pretty well too. I think he'll be just fine in D'Antoni's style of offense.
His contract expires in 2010, right in time for the Knicks to try to lure a big name FA. He does, however, have an opt out clause after this season if he chooses to use it.
Good luck or I should say better luck with Harrington. Warriors fans thought the same thing when we got him and AL produced, but he ended up as cancer on the team. For whatever reason, he didn't hit it off with Nelson and eventually it came back to bite us. His production became more erratic and you could see it was affecting his play and it was going downhill. I heard it said that AL has to be one of the main cogs on the team to be happy, i.e. be selfish and get his stats. I am not sure if this was the case with him at Golden State, but I don't have a good reason why AL's production started going downhill and he ended up being a cancer. He should fit in and do better in New York because Donnie Walsh knows him, was high on him and wanted him. Also, he's closer to home now. So AL may be able to turn it around in New York and realize his max potential.
I doubt he opts out. There's no way he's going to make that $9ish mil on his next contract, so he's going to eat that up, because that's as good as it'll get for him.
Wasn't part of the problem the coach? I could have sworn that I heard he and Nellie never got along too well, but I could be going crazy with that too But I do think he'll fit in with the Knicks. Donnie Walsh is high on him, and having confidence from your teams owner is a good start. Plus, a change of scenery has a tendency to give someone new life. I think that alone will help him out. He's finally out of GS, where he had clearly worn out his welcome, and now he's going somewhere new and getting a fresh start in the process. Plus, he's going to a system that will help him showcase his abilities more than any he's ever been in. Beyond that...he needs to do well. I just picked him up in one of my fantasy leagues, banking on him breaking out now that he's out GS. On a sidenote - this is 7,700th post. Wow.
