Wild Day of Rumors Ends Without a Major Trade for Knicks

The Knicks’ trade rumor mill was buzzing all day but the Knicks only made a minor trade a day before the trade deadline.

The Knicks received some cap relief for this season by trading Darko Milicic to the Timberwolves for Brian Cardinal. The Knicks are expected to waive Cardinal in order to open a roster spot.

The Knicks also got word that the NBA is granting the Knicks $9.5 million of cap relief for the retired Cuttino Mobley. 

Three major rumors surrounded the Knicks all day and as of the day’s end, none of them are official.

One trade has Nate Robinson going to the Boston Celtics for assets unknown. Reports went back and forth all day about the specifics but up to 15 hours before the deadline, nothing is clear. Eddie House is probably a sure piece that would go to the Knicks. Along with House, there were rumors that the Knicks would also receive either Boston’s first round pick, second round pick, or JR Giddens. If Boston actually surrenders a pick for Nate, it would be an incredible trade for the Knicks. Eddie House is a guy that can play well in D’Antoni’s system and I could foresee the Knicks re-signing him tis summer. But House would be icing on the cake if the Knicks get a pick from Boston.

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Knicks Rumors Before Trade Deadline

Donnie Walsh is a busy, busy man. Just ask the rumor mill. Walsh and the Knicks are linked to several different trade rumors. Let’s try to break them down.

The Knicks and Bulls are both discussing possible trades for the Rockets’ Tracy Mcgrady. Read about the possible Knicks-Rockets trade. Sports Illustrated says a McGrady trade to the Knicks is about done. 

The Knicks and Bulls aren’t only competing to land Tracy McGrady, but they are rumored to be working a trade between each other. If McGrady doesn’t get traded or gets traded to the Knicks, then the Knicks and Bulls may make a trade of Tyrus Thomas for Al Harrington. Tyrus Thomas is allegedly part of the package that would be exchanged for McGrady if he gets traded to Chicago. 

Through the Sacramento Bee, Yahoo! Sports reports that the Knicks are one of three teams, along with the Nets and Grizzlies, who are interested in making a trade for the Kings’ Sergio Rodriguez. 

The Boston Herald is reporting the Knicks may send Nate Robinson to the Celtics. Knicks beat writer for Newsday, Alan Hahn, has reported the Knicks will most likely get Eddie House and a second round pick from the Celtics.

Knicks, Rockets Getting Closer to McGrady Trade

Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports are reporting the Knicks and Rockets are inching closer to a deal that would send Tracy McGrady to New York. 

According to Wojnarowski and Spears;

The Knicks and Rockets have designed the framework of a deal that would unload New York’s Jared Jeffries, Jordan Hill and either Al Harrington or Larry Hughes for McGrady, Joey Dorsey and Brian Cook.

As talks stood on Monday, the price of dumping the burdensome contract of Jeffries – who is owed $6.9 million next season – comes with the Knicks and Rockets exchanging 2011 first-round picks and the Knicks’ 2012 first-round choice going to Houston. New York also might include a 2010 second-round pick.

The breakdown of the trade is as follows:

Knicks Receive:
G Tracy McGrady (Due $23 million in 2010 & contract expires)
F Joe Dorsey (Due $880,000 in 2010 & 2 years left on contract after this year)  
F Brian Cook (Due $3.5 million in 2010 & contract expires) 
Houston’s 2011 First Round Pick

Rockets Receive:
F Jordan Hill (Due $2.5 million in 2010 & 1 year left on contract after this year)
F Jared Jeffries (Due $6.5 million in 2010 & 1 year left on contract after this year)
F Al Harrington (Due $1o million in 2010 & contract expires) or G Larry Hughes (Due $13 million in 2010 & contract expires)
Knicks 2011 First Round Pick
Knicks 2012 First Round Pick

Rumor: Knicks In Talks of Three-Way Trade For Tracy McGrady

The Knicks are discussing a possible three-way trade with the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets that would send Tracy McGrady to the Knicks, Al Harrington to the Wizards, and Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood to the Rockets according the Yahoo! sports. 

There may be other players involved in the discussion. 

Tracy McGrady’s contract expires after this season.

Bobcats End Knicks’ Four-Game Win Streak

The New York Knicks are going to look back to their loss tonight to the Bobcats and kick themselves. The Bobcats, led by Stephen Jackson, beat the Knicks 94-87 and snapped the Knicks’ four-game win streak. The Knicks led through three quarters and looked good in the process but collapsed in the fourth quarter and were outscored 28-13 in the period.

Each of the Knicks starters scored in double figures but nobody made any big baskets in the fourth quarter when they needed it the most. Knick turnovers also aided in the Bobcats’ come from behind win. Their defense also fell apart in the last quarter and the Bobcats’ defense got stingier late in the game. 

The game was a let down. When Chris Duhon leads the Knicks in scoring with 18 points, that’s not a good sign. Al Harrington only shot 4-13 from the floor and 1-7 from downtown and totaled 11 points. Danilo Gallinari was 2-7 and 0-5 from beyond the arc and had five points coming off the bench.

The Knicks can get back on track Thursday when they play the Bulls in Chicago. They follow that game up with the Clippers at the Garden on Friday. 

On a side note, only eight Knick players saw minutes in the loss to the Bobcats.

Knicks Win Four Straight

Who are these guys? The Knicks are turning their season around right in front of our eyes and have expanded their win streak to four tonight. The Knicks beat the Hornets 113-96 and scored the game’s final 18 points. Chris Duhon was hot down the stretch from beyond the arc and ended the game with 22 points and 9 assists. Al Harrington led all scorers with 28 points. 

Down by one point, 96-95, with under five minutes left in the game, the Knicks stepped up their game. They ended the game on an 18-0 run and remained hot during this cold December month. 

David Lee had a double-double and Nate Robinson did not play again.

How long can this winning streak last? The Knicks have a good chance at extending it at least three more games. In their next few games they play the Bobcats, Bulls and Clippers. D’Antoni’s team is hitting shots, playing better defense, and have improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. They don’t look like the same team that began the season 1-9, a franchise worst.

Knicks Hot Streak

Coming off of an exceptional week where they won three of four games from Tuesday to Sunday, the Knicks are starting the new work week off the same way. The Knicks are 4-1 in their last five games including wins over Phoenix, Atlanta and most recently the Blazers. Their other win came over the one-win Nets and their lone loss was to the Magic. The Knicks were just 3-14 entering the Phoenix game last week that started this four-of-five winning pattern. The win over the Blazers gives the Knicks three consecutive wins. 

The recent hot streak has pulled the Knicks up to respectability and separated them from being the second worst team in the league in front of the Nets. The Knicks have stepped over Philadelphia for third place in the Atlantic Division and have their sights on the second place Raptors who have just two more wins than the Knicks do. The Atlantic division is pretty weak, making the Knicks look better in the division standings compared to the conference standings. They still sit toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference. 

Nate Robinson doesn’t seem to factor into Mike D’Antoni’s plan anymore. Nate hasn’t played in the team’s last four games and D’Antoni would rather bring in rookie Toney Douglas off the bench before Nate. 

The Knicks have been playing very well and have come out strong in the first half of games lately. In the beginning of the season they were starting out slow and by halftime they were already down by double-digits having to claw their way back in the second half. They’ll be competitive in most games over the next week fews with the way they are currently playing. Credit Larry Hughes and Al Harrington, two veterans, for playing well during this stretch.

Carmelo Anthony Scores 50 Against Knicks

Are superstar NBA players dreaming less about playing for the Knicks and more about playing against them? A 50 point performance seems more than feasible for a superstar when his team plays the boys who hail at MSG. Carmelo Anthony is the latest player to drop at least 50 on the defenseless Knicks. Carmelo’s Nuggets beat the Knicks 128-125 on Black Friday. Al Harrington of the Knicks had 41 points. 

Within the last year, Kobe Bryant scored 61 on the Knicks (Feb 2), Dwayne Wade scored 55 (April 12), and LeBron James scored 52 (Feb 4). Melo makes it four 50-point games against the Knicks in the 2009 calendar year. Those are four players the Knicks would love to get their hands on. Any one of them would be the centerpiece of a franchise turnaround. 

This year’s Knicks team likes to spot their opponents anywhere between a 10 and 25 point lead in the first half. Game after game the Knicks are down early and have to climb their way back and seem to get within a manageable range but fall short. The loss to the Nuggets puts the Knicks at 3-13 on the season.

Finally, I pose the question; Why play for the Knicks when you can score 50 against them?

Knicks Roster Will Look Drastically Different Next Season

Of the Knicks’ current roster, only Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Toney Douglas, and Jordan Hill are locks to be on the team next year. Nate Robinson, Eddy Curry (player option), Chris Duhon, Al Harrington, Larry Hughes, Jared Jeffries (early termination option), David Lee, Darko Milicic, Marcus Landry and Cuttino Mobley will be unrestricted free agents while Marcus Landry will be a restricted free agent after this season.

Donnie Walsh hopes to stock and reload the roster and obtain at least one NBA superstar. The Knicks players who are in their final year of their contracts know they probably don’t fit into Donnie’s plans. They know the organization is eyeing superstars like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, to name a few. The point is that the current Knicks will be free agents too and looking to sign contracts themselves. They need to play well in New York this season to get paid by another team next season. Players like Al Harrington, Larry Hughes, David Lee and Nate Robinson won’t get great attention because of the glaring star-power in the free agent class but they’ll be expected to make an impact on the teams that sign them. A poor showing in 2009-2010 will hurt their chances of signing good contracts.

It behooves the current Knicks to play well and win games. It behooves the organization because they don’t have a first round pick and want to show potential free agents there is a good, young group of players to build around. Most of the current Knicks know they aren’t in the team’s future plans, but they are playing for themselves right now as much as they are playing for the team. The team just isn’t that good.

Chandler, Gallinari, and Douglas could be a good trio Donnie Walsh can build around. Hill hasn’t played enough to get a feel of how he’ll be. The roster will be completely overhauled before next season and an entire city is hoping Donnie Walsh can put together a playoff caliber team.

Knicks Come From Behind to Beat Pacers

The Knicks got their second win of the season in a comeback victory at Indiana. The Knicks were down by as many as 13 in the third quarter and pulled out a 110-103 win. They played good defense in the second half and outscore the Pacers 34-17 in the fourth quarter. Larry Hughes scored 22 and Al Harrington scored 26, both came off the bench. Eddy Curry, who hasn’t played in two years, made his season debut and put up 10 points and four rebounds. Second year Knick, Danilo Gallinari, who averaged just under 16 points per game in the first 10 games, didn’t score bucket in the game.

The Pacers only scored 34 points in the second half and the Knicks scored that in the fourth quarter alone. The Knicks were down by 15 at the half and let the Pacers score 43 in the second quarter. 

The veterans played most of the second half and the younger players didn’t have much of a hand in the comeback win. It’s good to see the veterans, who know the Knicks are trying to put together a strong, young nucleus for the future and probably won’t involve them, play hard down the stretch. 

The Knicks could make it two in a row when they host the 0-12 Nets on Saturday.