Seth sort of eluded to this, but I wanted to announce my pleasure in having a nucleus more or less set. For the first time in the post-isiah era (and really even all the way through the isiah era) we aren't waiting on some foolish future aquisition. We finally are what we are more or less. Sure, we still need a big league Point (I would love Baron Davis, but it's totally cool if that doesn't happen; there's too much good food in The City) But we're not in the CP3 Hunt, I'm pretty sure we won't have the money for Deron Williams. It's just so nice to have the most interesting part of our team be what happens on the hard wood, not the negotiating table. I am pumped, and you should be too. Orange and Blue Forever!

So Jonny Flynn is on the market allegedly.  Has not had a great pro career so far from what I've heard, I don't think I've actually seen him play.  But I do remember him tearin git up for the Cuse in the tourney, and obviously that 6OT classic.  I mean, the kid looks like he's got some giant balls, and can play a little bit?  If the  price was right, and the price would definitely have to be right, I mean a second round pick and an expiring or something, I'd be interested in kicking his tires.  It's very possible Minny was just a bad fit for him, and he could flourish somewhere else.  Granted it's more likely he just doesn't really have nba skills, but I'm at least curious.  and we do need a young pg to back up/be groomed by Chauncey Billups, I mean, couldn't Flynn conceivably fit that bill? Thought it was at least worth mentioning.  I mean, unless Carm's Wedding toast works out.

That was tough.  Paul Pierce might be the man I despise most in the nba.  Because he has an “ugly as frozen vomit” handle and he’s a little overweight, and he’s always come off as smug to me.  But he’s one of the greatest closers of his generation, probably second behind Kobe.  To lead the entire way, to look so good, to have Amar’e look so good.  And then it just fell apart at the end.  Just awful.

I did not expect the Knicks to win, and honestly, the terrifying thought of them getting blown out crept into my head more than once earlier in the day.  But they didn’t.  They played  the best the team in the conference, and could be the best team in the NBA, to the very end.  If there were an extra .03 (or however long Amar’e needed to finish his stroke) on the clock they would have won.  And after I got over the initial sting of that loss, there were a lot of positives to take away from that game. 

Amar’e is such a big time player.  I can’t say that enough.  On the biggest stage with the brightest lights, he plays his best.  That fact cannot go understated.  I am so proud to have him as our superstar.  This was the first big time game the Knicks have had in a very long time.  It was almost a playoff type atmosphere, which leads me to my next point.

For the guys on the team that are our guys, Knicks draft picks, this was their first taste of anything like that.  And I’m impressed for the most part how they handled that pressure.  Keep in mind they were dueling with a team that has mastered these type of situations, and the Knicks gave them all they could handle.  With more experience in situations like this they will be a force.  As I’m writing this, I’m listening to a Bill Simmons podcast, he and Rick Bucher are discussing the importance of Jordan Farmar, and Baby, and how beyond your big stars, you need quality role players, and I feel like this Knicks team is stacked with them.  1-7 can go to war.

And the last thing is, in the last few minutes they were forced to grind it out and half court produce some buckets, and they didn’t do terribly.  Again, this is the cream of the crunch time crop, and the C’s have their vaunted defense, but Felton elevated his game in the fourth when it slowed down, Amar’e did well.  They showed they can slow it down and play playoff basketball.  Now they weren’t spectacular, or that lead wouldn’t have slipped, but on their very first effort, they didn’t completely melt down, and it’s not a victory, but I wouldn’t qualify the performance as a total defeat either.

A very tough loss.  I have a friend who’s a boston fan, and he was sending me texts about how impressed with the squad he was.  I wanted to punch him in the face, but it’s true.  This was a good game, and this squad looked impressive (I’ve probably used that word to many times in this already, but it’s the perfect word for their performance) can’t wait for the rest of the season, no matter what happens I really, really enjoy watching this group of guys.  Now let’s go get the Heat.  GO KNICKS!

P&T was mentioned on local sports radio show today.  They were talking about some of the information this site has presented, mostly mike theintern's post, and the rumor about the presser coming from Houston's house.  I called in and repped for us.  pointed out OchoCinco's twat.  that last sentence came out wrong.

it was cool our little community got some run.

apparently this isn't long enough so i'm going to fill space by asking if lebron could be our starting point?  wil-chan at the two, gallo at the 3, amare at the 4 and barron at 5.  it'd never happen, but it's a crazy thing to think about for a moment. 

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So, of course pulling Lebron, Wade and Bosh in free agency would be very awesome. But I just don't think that's likely. I'd honestly prefer to see Lebron in Chicago, because that offers him the best opportunity to win (although don't discount the Clippers; Baron Davis, Air Gordon, Bron, Blake Griffin, and Zombie Kaman would be one heck of a starting lineup) and I want to see him want to win. I want winning to be the most important thing to Lebron so that he can be a truly great top 5 all-time type of guy, because I like seeing greatness.

So that leads me to my dream summer in order of importance

1. Resign David Lee. I place a high value on the personality of players, and his consistent improvement year in and year out illustrates a hard working guy that is committed to improvement. I think he's got the mindset of a champion and does everything he can to improve his game. He can most certainly be a valuable piece in creating a winning culture.

2. Bring in Kevin Pritchard as our GM. The guy has a proven track record of sound moves (Ok, how many good small forwards are there in the league? Like a million. How many good centers? 5 maybe. Nobody knew Durant would develop into quite the dominant force he's become so you can't blame him for that. Oden was the safe pick.) Donnie can still be the pres. Of bball ops. But Pritchard knows what he's doing and would be a great asset to the office.

3. draft picks. With Pritchard as the GM let's give him some opportunities to add to the talent of our main core of Gallo and Lee. I'd be cool with taking a bad contract or two for the year if it meant some nice picks along with them. But let's start trying to build this thing the right way, like they did in Portland and OKC.

4. Most unlikely thing but could try really, really hard to trade for Chris Paul? Yeah, I'd really like that a lot.

That's my dream wish list. If all the writers are dreaming up wacky scenarios, why shouldn't I?

OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Brendan Haywood or Tyson Chandler? Obviously we need a center, and those are probably the two best options on the market. Who do you like? I think I'd give a slight edge to Chandler because he seems like a better shot blocker to me, but I'm definitely no expert on Haywood, maybe he's got the chops. That's why I'm asking you.

What's up with Kirk Hinrich? Surely the Wizards don't need him. Gilbert, and Wall already more than cover the PG spot for them. I think Captain Kirk would thrive in the run n gun. He's a decent defender, big for a point, good shooter, and a good passer. Plus he showed a lot of character in the Derek Rose situation. Plus he worked a lot with Team USA, and is kind of familiar with SSOL.

Matt Barnes is a free agent again. He's a guy who's played for the Knicks and D'antoni, albeit separately, but he's familiar with everything and would help our defense tremendously. We could get him on the cheap and him and Gallo would provide good contrast at the 3 spot.

So I live in Rochester NY.  basketball no mans land basically, because there isn't really an nba team that lays claim to western ny.  yeah the knicks are in our state (why i became a fan) but toronto (168 miles) and cleveland (250 miles) are both closer.  but 12 year old me didn't know that.  (yeah i was a bulls fan befoer then, who didn't love jordan {do i have enough parentheses so far?})

well i was out at the bar when the celtics finished off the cavs.  and there was a cavs "fan" going nuts.  he was a skinny whtie kid that talked like he was black, rocking a lebron jersey and my favorite part a milwaukee brewers hat.  dude is going absolutely nuts for the cavs, to which i roll my eyes and make condescending comments to my buddy.

well after the game i'm walking to the bathroom and he locks eyes with me and starts shaking his head.  shit.  he says"i don't know what to do man."  fuck.  i wanted to say "no big deal bro, the lakers bandwagon is pretty popular too." but didn't.  instead i say "well as a knicks fan i'm happy" still high from the boston crowd chanting "new york knicks" what does he fire back with "dude, i've been thinking about becoming a knicks fan!"  nnnnnnooooooooooooooo! he then proceeded to follow me into the bathroom and tells me about all the cavs games he's been to this year.  dude, not wile my dicks out.  needless to say i wasn't gonna sit through this, I went outside and peed behind the bar. 

if that cat is a package deal with lebron, chicago you can have him. 

our day will come, but their will be a price. 

David Lee needs a good nickname to cement his all-star bid.  I'mthinking "The Milkman"

an obvious reference to his milky white skin, but also his hard working daily grind mentality. 

thoughts? other ideas? This is important!

But apparently i don't have enough words for this post.  milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman! milkman!

If you read hoopshype too this'll be old news. 

"Selecting No. 8 in Thursday's draft, the Knicks have narrowed their point-guard search to three guys: Curry, Memphis' Tyreke Evans and Holiday, in that order."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06202009/sports/knicks/knicks_book_holiday_175179.htm

I watched alot of Jonny Flynn this year, and I kinda wish he was in the mix.  Holiday's a bit too wild for me.  And I gues it's time to concede the Rubio dream, although him running a D'Antoni offense would almost make up for the isiah era.  almost.

I really hope this is just the Boston Media jerking with us...

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2009/06/07/he_feels_nba_is_within_reach/?page=3

check under the "Free Throws" section. 

I admit I've been out of the internet rumor loop since the season ended, what are some things other people have heard regarding Robinson/Lee?  Does it look good?

I mean obviously I'd love to keep them both and see them both as key parts of a nucleus that could win a championship spearheaded by the right guy.  Both on the court and in the locker room.  but if I had to choose between them I'd probably go Lee, cause combo guards that look to score are way more common than double double machines.

check it out.  All the rumors swirling around the league are the suns need to make a move to cut payroll.  They're talking about trading amare to everyone from Sacramento to Chicago.  But if there goal is to get money off the books why not trade the player with less production and a bigger contract, right?

The problem is no one wants a run-down shaq for 20 mil for the next two years. 

Well NY has a problematic PG who makes $21.9, and his contract expires this year. 

Swapping them allows for phoenix to get salary relief at the end of this year without trading their best player. 

New York erases the Marbury headache, gets frontcourt help in the form of a legit center, and I'll give you one guess when his contract comes up.  summer of '10 baby.  everyone gets what they want.

personally I love the position the team is taking with Steph.  If he refuses to take any kind of a paycut as well as refuse to to hire an agent and work on getting a deal out of new york - F him.  He needs to play ball with Donnie Walsh before he can play ball with anyone else. 

Look the team's clearly not going anywhere this season, so I'm not worried about this being a distraction (as if these players aren't used to playing with distractions) Let's at least stick it to one of the guys that helped ruin this franchise. Make him sit at home and collect his money if he's not going to take a cut, he can't have it both ways.  you don't get paid to play for someone else's team.

But I feel like I'm the only guy that feels this way.  I'd love to hear what other knicks fans think.