You guys realize the most minutes he ever played per game in a season was 16 minutes per game? His career high in rebounds is 8, thats very raw experience for a veteran, when I feel, this Knicks team is already solid, and would be 8th seed contenders if we could get a young guy, who does everything Jerome James does, but is 23 years old, Steven Hunter who can play PF/C, and doesnt foul as much, and rebounds better than Jerome James, i felt like Isiah didnt go for better, and settle for less, and that to me is disrespect, to the best fans in the world, I'm just tired of Isiah always picking the should be 2nd - 3rd option, when the first is clearly avaialbe Steven Hunter would of been huge, and he doesnt average twice as many fouls - block ratio ...lol Jerome James foul to block ratio is 2:1, thats not going to HELP the defense, and James is very limited on offense, and won't help Marbury. This lineup would of kicked ass Marbury(77')/Robinson(84') Richardson(80')/Crawford(80') Thomas(trash)/Ariza(85') Sweentey(82')/Lee(83') Hunter(81')/Fyre(83') with Veterans like Houston, Penny, Rose, Taylor, Jerome Williams, etc..........thats a solid squad but we signed a 30 year old 7"1 270 man who has never grabbed 10 rebounds in his NBA life, to 5 years I better stop talking bad about Isiah, he probably reads what I write and does these things on purpose to hurt me.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trueplaya4real:</div><div class="quote_post">Ya people so negative man. At least the Knicks add it on a piece they could use. What ya wanna see Channing Frye get dunked on in his first game. The thing is that James is a big body and the Knicks need some bigs. **** hes about to turn 30 but so wat, Jordan delivered for the Wizards at 40!!!!!!. The Knicks are gonna kick ass next season and when they do ya gonna wish ya never talked about Jerome like that.</div> Uh.. how about 'No'. Jordan is Jordan and will be Jordan. Jerome James is Jerome James and will be so.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">His career high in rebounds is 8, thats very raw experience for a veteran, when I feel, this Knicks team is already solid, and would be 8th seed contenders if we could get a young guy, who does everything Jerome James does, but is 23 years old, Steven Hunter who can play PF/C, and doesnt foul as much, and rebounds better than Jerome James, i felt like Isiah didnt go for better, and settle for less, and that to me is disrespect, to the best fans in the world, I'm just tired of Isiah always picking the should be 2nd - 3rd option, when the first is clearly avaialbe</div> His career high in rebounds is actually 12 rebounds [which isn't that good, but still] against Toronto. This year his highs were 7 rebounds 4 times lol. His career high in minutes is 35 minutes which he's gotten twice, and last season it was 32 minutes vs Memphis.
I think it was a good signing, he had the weight and height combo that no other free-agent center has. Other than Eddy Curry, who obviously isn't available for the MLE. He will do better in the Eastern conference, because centers in the East are pretty bad. Ooooh Raef LaFrentz, Jason Collins, Dalembart, and Arujo are the Atlantic centers lol. NY needed a center most, and they got the best one they could get. Swift is a headcase, not to mention he is 6'9 and would make it look like Isiah is signing another PF... Hunter's stats are inflated b/c being on the Suns. When he plays center his points come from Nash and he doesn't catch half of the passes. He also gets rebounds, because the high number of shots taken in a Suns game, and the lack of other dominant rebounders on the Suns.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SkiptoMyLue11:</div><div class="quote_post">I think it was a good signing, he had the weight and height combo that no other free-agent center has. Other than Eddy Curry, who obviously isn't available for the MLE. He will do better in the Eastern conference, because centers in the East are pretty bad. Ooooh Raef LaFrentz, Jason Collins, Dalembart, and Arujo are the Atlantic centers lol. NY needed a center most, and they got the best one they could get. Swift is a headcase, Hunter's stats are inflated b/c being on the Suns. When he plays center his points come from Nash and he doesn't catch half of the passes. He also gets rebounds, because the high number of shots taken in a Suns game, and the lack of other dominant rebounders on the Suns.</div> How perfect for the Knicks! They have a PG that can dish out 8 asts on a given night and they have Jamal Crawford who will jack up shots.
Well James is definitely going to find life in the Atlantic Division a lot easier than matching up with the Western bigs on a regular basis. The Knicks did overpay, but he's not a long term solution. By signing a good but not great center, it's easy to see that Thomas is just providing somebody to man the position until Frye is ready for a starting spot. Signing Swift would've created position battles down the road. What they're gonna do with his contract in 2 or 3 years, I have no idea.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting R_ChutneY:</div><div class="quote_post">. Signing Swift would've created position battles down the road. </div> position battles with PFs lol, they have that now. He is 6'9 and Isiah would have been ragged on for signing another PF. At least James can play center and has a center's build unlike Malik Rose, JYD, Sweetney, Mo Taylor, David Lee, and possibly TT(plays 3 but can't defend SFs). <div class="quote_poster">Quoting R_ChutneY:</div><div class="quote_post">What they're gonna do with his contract in 2 or 3 years, I have no idea.</div> Considering they are massively over the cap it doesn't seem that large contracts matter for NY.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SkiptoMyLue11:</div><div class="quote_post">Hunter's stats are inflated b/c being on the Suns. When he plays center his points come from Nash and he doesn't catch half of the passes. He also gets rebounds, because the high number of shots taken in a Suns game, and the lack of other dominant rebounders on the Suns.</div> Really? Marion averages 9 rebounds every year, Richardson averages 6, Amare averages 9, doesnt Johnson average 5 too? basically you have a solid rebounding squad and if "He also gets rebounds, because the high number of shots taken in a Suns game" was true, why couldn't Amare average 10 - 12 rebounds?
I think what you guys aren't understanding is the tallest person on the roster was we needed a center. Swift might not have signed with us. Let's face reality, we can't dish out big bucks at all unlike thw Hawks. It's very unlikely we could get Swift for the MLE when he could go to another team for more money. The same thing applies for Hunter, too. With so many teams interested in him, he could easily have slipped passed us. If that very likely situation took place and we decided to pass up on James, what would we do? We secured a legit 7-foot shot blocking big man who could help us where we need the most help. He's about to be 30, but you can't have enough veterans on a team especially with the Knicks getting younger. All we need from him is defense and size; that's it. We're not making him our center for the future, we're making him our center for the present and once Frye gets ready (which will hopefully be soon), he'll play backup. Also, let's take into consideration he's playing in the East. Need I say more?
This signing has me scratching my head. After drafting Channing Frye, David Lee, and Nate Robinson, plus trading for Q-Rich, I thought the Knicks were trying to put a more athletic team on the court for next season. I thought Channing Frye was going to masquerade as the starting center and the Knicks were going to run, run, and then run some more. Now Isiah Thomas changes up the plan again by bringing in a 30 year old, hack center. Jerome James had one good series against the Kings, where's he been for the last 7 years? It's not like the Sonics have had any dominant big men the last few years holding back Jerome James. Calvin Booth, Vitaly Potepenko, Predrag Drobnjak, these are all scrub centers he fought for minutes against. Not to mention giving him a 5 year deal on top of everything else. The Knicks were just finally starting to trim their salary and once again Isiah feels obligated to keep the team payroll in the $90 Million range. The Knicks have three young players capable of being their future frontline in a year or two. Mike Sweetney, Channing Frye, possibly Jackie Butler, so instead of giving them more minutes, Isiah is putting an unproven 30 year old scrub center into the starting lineup. The last time I checked, there wasn't much interest from other teams involving Jerome James. Isiah should have grabbed Randolph Morris since he went undrafted, if he wanted a big man. At least Morris still has 'potential' and would be less expensive. J0se said it best ... "I felt like Isiah didnt go for better, and settle for less." I would have given DeSagna Diop and Sun Ming Ming a chance over Jerome James. I thought the Knicks could have had a solid frontcourt with Sweetney and Frye in the paint. They compliment each other because Frye is quick enough to guard the quicker PFs in the league, and Sweetney is big enough to bang with the bigger players in the league.
While not the most athletic big man around, I?ve heard James is capable of running the floor and is more athletic than given credit for. The Knicks desperately needed size and James was available. I would have wanted a younger guy, but with teams overpaying this summer and the Knicks having no money to compete, it?s possible the Knicks could be stuck with the same roster with Frye the rookie being their only legit center. Now that they have James, they only have a solid starting center to block shots and bail out the Knicks sometimes on defense who will be able to handle what the East has to offer. The reason why I don?t think he flourished in Seattle was because the Sonics didn?t really have a major use for them. The Knicks need him much more than the Sonics have probably ever needed him so I expect him to finally step up to the plate and lead the Knicks on defense which they so desperately lack.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MrJ:</div><div class="quote_post">While not the most athletic big man around, I?ve heard James is capable of running the floor and is more athletic than given credit for. The Knicks desperately needed size and James was available. I would have wanted a younger guy, but with teams overpaying this summer and the Knicks having no money to compete, it?s possible the Knicks could be stuck with the same roster with Frye the rookie being their only legit center. Now that they have James, they only have a solid starting center to block shots and bail out the Knicks sometimes on defense who will be able to handle what the East has to offer. The reason why I don?t think he flourished in Seattle was because the Sonics didn?t really have a major use for them. The Knicks need him much more than the Sonics have probably ever needed him so I expect him to finally step up to the plate and lead the Knicks on defense which they so desperately lack.</div> I disagree, if he could play consistently the Sonics would definitely have used him more. They had to rely on Danny Fortson, Reggie Evans, and Nick Collison, because they couldn't count on Jerom James staying on the court long enough. The Sonics have an undersized team just like the Knicks. Adding size is fine, but there were and still are better options. Let's keep in mind, the Knicks have two expiring contracts that are valuable. They also have three 1st round picks next year (I believe). Why rush into signing James, when you have all that to offer a team?
Don't worry shape, Sweetney, Frye, and Lee will still get their minutes. James couldn't go more than 20 minutes without getting at least 4 or more fouls.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trueplaya4real:</div><div class="quote_post">Ya people so negative man. At least the Knicks add it on a piece they could use. What ya wanna see Channing Frye get dunked on in his first game. The thing is that James is a big body and the Knicks need some bigs. **** hes about to turn 30 but so wat, Jordan delivered for the Wizards at 40!!!!!!. The Knicks are gonna kick ass next season and when they do ya gonna wish ya never talked about Jerome like that.</div> when you say that jerome james is a launching pad for the knicks to kick ass next season you seriously should think about getting your head examined
Knicks shoulda just went with Steven Hunter..Hes younger, cheaper, wouldve been the big you need to clog the lane up. Hes also more mobile than Jerome James. O yeah..Jeromes offense isnt as bad as you guys think, he can post up alot..But if you want him to average 10 pts per game your going to have to run pick and rolls like Luke did for JJ in the Sacremento series. I still dont see Jerome playing more than 20 minutes per game, he commits a lot of retarded fouls. And his defense is ok..not spectacular or above average..He blocks shots every now and then, but its not like he does it on a game by game basis like your average shot blocker.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MrJ:</div><div class="quote_post">All we need from him is defense and size; that's it. We're not making him our center for the future, we're making him our center for the present and once Frye gets ready (which will hopefully be soon), he'll play backup. Also, let's take into consideration he's playing in the East. Need I say more?</div> If Isiah only signed him for the present, how does it make sense to give <u>Jerome James</u> a 5-year deal paying him $6~7 million a season? I don't know man.. as per Tribute to H20, "Anyway, I think Isiah Thomas should be fired."
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting j0se:</div><div class="quote_post">Really? Marion averages 9 rebounds every year, Richardson averages 6, Amare averages 9, doesnt Johnson average 5 too? basically you have a solid rebounding squad and if "He also gets rebounds, because the high number of shots taken in a Suns game" was true, why couldn't Amare average 10 - 12 rebounds?</div> If Amare chooses to expend more energy of defense and rebounding its highly possible that he will average 10-12 rebounds. When Amare comes off the court, the only player above 6'8 for the Suns last season was Steven Hunter. It shouldn't be too difficult to grab the defensive boards if you are with an undersized powerforward and your team plays in a tempo that has a large number of FG attempts. Its just in my opinion that Hunter had it easy in Phoenix, that he appeared better because of the unit he played with and the role he played.
Who didnt have it easy in Phoneix? Ranks #2 in the NBA in Blocks Per 48 Minutes(4.68) that was the 04 - 05 season Who are you calling an undersized PF? Marion or Amare? if Amare, he's 6"10, if Marion, he plays like he's 6"11, Marion has the quickest jump in the NBA, 6"7 210 guy averaging 9 rebounds consistantly each year is stellar. Anyway, the point is, Isiah sucks, Hunter should of been the main target, theres no excuse to signing a back up caliber 30 year old center to a 5 year contract.
