<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Blur:</div><div class="quote_post">The Knicks are in an interesting situation, either they make the playoffs, or they get a high lottery pick, I expect the latter to happen. Even though the east, particularly the Atlantic divison, is extremely weak. I doubt the Knicks, in the long run will finish with a better record than either the Raptors or Nets. The Raptors have played an extended stint this season without Chris Bosh and are still a game or two out of first place. While the Nets have proven in the past they are a second half team.</div> Well, not really. As of now, the Knicks have two chances to make the playoffs: win the Atlantic Division, which they trail by a single game, or take 8th place, which they trail by half a game. So the Knicks aren?t in as bad a predicament as you say they are. As for your ?high pick? claim, that is also untrue as well. If the season were to end now, the Knicks would be 10th in the draft. That isn?t a high pick. Besides, most of the talent in this draft will be in the top 5 with Greg Oden, Kevin Durant likely going 1 and 2. Unless one of them gets badly injured, those two will definitely not slip to 10th. And The Raptors being a few games behind the lead speaks volumes about the lack of quality in the Atlantic Division?not on their prowess as a team. The Nets may or may not pick it up, they?re too inconsistent to make a verdict on them. Also, with the loss of Krstic the Nets might, needless to say, struggle even more, especially since their schedule gets increasingly harder. And while we?re on the topic of schedules, the Knicks have probably had one of the harder schedules in the Atlantic thus far, not to mention having to deal with a variety of injuries and suspensions. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Its like I said before just having this pick does not necessarily mean we will choose to use it. We could easily package that pick for a superstar player, or as a piece in a sign and trade deal.</div> I don?t know what superstars are available, but I highly doubt a superstar will come to the Bulls without giving up a substantial amount of picks and young players. Unless someone comes and demands to be traded to Chicago, like Iverson did, then a superstar won?t be acquired. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">How does Chicago expect to mold a project without playing time? The same way the Lakers did it with Andrew Bynum this past season. By having him hit a specific weight program/diet to raise his playing weight. Playing with Ben Wallace everyday in practice does not hurt either. He is still 19 years old he has plenty of time left in the league to become the player everyone expects.</div> The reason why Bynum has gotten so much playing time is mainly because of the injury to Chris Mihm, the Lakers starting center the past two years. In addition, the Lakers don?t have as many options upfront as Chicago does. Ben Wallace has just signed a $60 million deal in the summer, so obviously he is in the Bulls long-term plans, but every big man wearing a Lakers uniform is expendable?Wallace is not. The Bulls are already stacked upfront with Wallace, Nocioni, Brown, Allen, Sweetney, and Thomas, so it will be nothing short of a miracle if Thomas can develop while sharing minutes in the midst of a glut. Not to mention all of those players are more established them him, too. His age of 20 is a plus, but I still think he would be hard-pressed to find minutes anytime soon with Wallace and Nocini probably keepers. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Also something I have not even mentioned up until this point is that, if we draft these young guys, they will offer us a bit of insurance for the future. For example if we are not able to resign all of Nocioni/Gordon/Deng then we still might have Thabo/Tyrus to step in and fill the void that was left.</div> There is no way everyone on the Bulls can receive max contracts, so you do have a point there. However, if the young players aren?t getting any minutes, than they will probably leave too. Besides, many of the young guys Chicago has are from high to mid lottery picks: Hinrich, Deng, Gordon, were all in the top 7. Surely Thabo can?t fill in the shoes of any of the aforementioned players. Thomas did go fourth; however, I won?t hesitate to call this one of the weakest drafts in recent memory. So even though those players are insurance policies you can?t expect them to replicate the same success as your core proven players. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Wallace has improved his offensive game a bit since coming to Chicago, in my opinion. Although, he is still mediocre on his best day, he is worked into the offensive game plan, and a player who has to be respected. You can not offer Curry a cope out by mentioning the Knicks team defense, you and I both know that a majority of those rebounds come from David Lee, and that Curry was/has been a poor rebounded his entire career.</div> Why does a player who averages 6.8 points and shoots 40.3% from the free throw line have to be respected? The only thing Wallace is good at is perhaps setting screens and getting the occasional putback/tap in, since he?s active on the boards, but other than that he has no offensive game whatsoever. The point is if you?re going to mention Curry?s defensive deficiencies, then you have to mention Wallace?s offensive deficiencies. Curry has been noted for being a poor rebounder, which I acknowledged, but he has improved, also. It?s not a cop out?if you put anyone next to a good rebounder, it?s inevitable their rebounding numbers will go down. Similarly to if you put two good scorers next to each other their scoring numbers will go down. Curry?s rebounding numbers aren?t as high as they could be because he is playing next to arguably the league?s best rebounder in David Lee. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The thing that always stopped Curry from playing big minutes was the fact he always remained in foul trouble. Although, his weight played a factor, it was not the only factor. You look at Curry and another player at the same position side to side, you can see that Curry is still closer to the out of shape than in shape margin. Shaq played all those minutes for so many years in Los Angeles/his first season in Miami. Does that mean he was always in good shape?</div> As the stats dictate, Curry is averaging less fouls per minute, which is why he is able to play more minutes, consequentially having a bigger impact on the game. I can?t speak for Shaq, however, Curry been in shape since he first entered training camp, which is one of the reasons why many Knick fans were somewhat optimistic heading towards the season. And anytime you are 350 pounds and able to play 38-40 minutes and consistently score 27+ while snatching 11+ rebounds, and blocking 2+ shots, you are in at least decent game shape. But that doesn?t really matter since Curry <u>is</u> in shape, the main reason why he?s averaging a career high in minutes. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Blur:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, the Bulls offered him 10,000 dollars for the next 40 years regardless of the test results simple because they were concerned about his health. However, Curry refused. However, they asked Paxson a while ago if he would take back the Curry trade if he could, and Paxson just smiled and said I believe something along the lines of no chance or no comment. As he had just acquired the 2nd overall pick, as well as a chance at a high lottery pick the following season.</div> Curry shouldn?t be forced to do that. In fact, it?s actually illegal in many states to demand a heart test like what Chicago was doing. Besides, $10,000 in 40 years is nothing to a professional athlete. Curry made more money than that on his rookie salary! Curry at age 24, is already one of the league?s most dominant centers. In fact, Curry is 2nd in points amongst centers only outdone by Yao Ming. He?s demanding double teams from other teams and is doing a much better job passing out of it. Post scorers at the 5 are hard to come by these days and the Knicks no doubt found a gem in Curry. If he continues his hard work, he will be pretty tough in his prime. I will take a dominant post scorer over Tyrus Thomas and a pick in the 10-16 range. And it doesn?t matter what Paxson thinks because even if he did regret the trade, he would never admit it. No GM will regret a move they make, especially in the same season they made it.
