| Walsh Should Act Now To Attract LeBron Later Authored by Keith Schlosser - February 11, 2009 - 10:47 am
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With all three games falling out of reach towards the end, it is safe to say that fans were filled with more disappointment and regret after each loss. That regret is of the team's plan to "wait" until the summer of 2010, when the likes of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade hit the free agent market. However, watching this group of role players Donnie Walsh has put together shows that the team is not all that far away from being a contender.
Now is the time for Walsh to move.
When the Cavaliers drafted LeBron James in 2003 with a dynasty in mind, there was a long road ahead. The team struggled to surround LeBron with a favorable supporting cast, watching players like Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and Donyell Marshall pass through their revolving doors.
However, after early struggles, the Cavs have made significant progress and are fighting the defending-champion Celtics for the top spot in the East this season. Cleveland seems to have finally found the right players for LeBron, with guys like Maurice Williams and Ben Wallace fitting in well.
So, with this success having been nearly six years in the making, why would LeBron want to go through it all again with the Knicks?
The class of 2010 is still more than a year away, but the reality is, Donnie Walsh needs to start his bid for greatness immediately, especially if he wants to attract James or other elite free agents.
Since Mike D'Antoni left Phoenix for New York, Suns' players have struggled to fit into the mold of new head coach Terry Porter's system. Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, two crucial players under D'Antoni, were traded earlier this season and Amare Stoudemire has, since November, voiced his concerns about not being the focal point of the offense. General manager Steve Kerr was quick to ship out Bell and Diaw, and now he seems anxious to make Stoudemire the next D'Antoni favorite to pack his bags.
In come the Knicks.
Hopefully, Walsh can work the phones before the Feb. 19th trade deadline, and Stoudemire will be heading to New York. The Knicks need to fortify themselves as legitimate contenders before the team decides can pursue LeBron in 2010. James is not going to want to go through a rebuilding process all over again after getting a taste of what competing for a championship is like in Cleveland.
The Knicks need to acquire a player like Stoudemire to prove that the team is ready to fight tooth-and-nail through the full forty-eight minutes with teams like those they faced during "Dream Week." Stoudemire is already a likely candidate for the Knicks in the summer of 2010 along with James. Why not acquire him now and build rapport in hopes that he will stay past 2010 and be an asset in recruiting James?
He was an All-Star under Coach D'Antoni in Phoenix, a formidable interior scorer, and will only be 28 years-old in 2010. If traded to New York, he would make the Knicks instant playoff contenders while they wait for LeBron in hopes of eventually making a championship run.
Walsh has a few pieces with which he can potentially work some magic. The team holds Stephon Marbury's large expiring contract, as well as young talents in Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler. Assuming the Knicks want to keep David Lee and later pursue LeBron, one would find it difficult to give Robinson the money he will likely demand this coming offseason, when he will be a restricted free agent.
Currently playing behind Al Harrington, Chandler would again get pushed to the bench if the Knicks were to sign LeBron in 2010. Although the Suns have a number of swingmen at this point, Grant Hill has hinted at retirement at the end of the season, Matt Barnes is likely to demand a mid-level exception salary this offseason, and Chandler is much more talented than Jared Dudley.
Chandler and Robinson -- one of basketball's most electrifying players -- would be a good young duo for the Suns to acquire in addition to the tremendous cap room the team would receive after waiving/waiting for Marbury's contract to expire.
For the Suns to make this deal work, they would also need to send out former Sixth Man of the Year Leandro Barbosa -- yet another player who has fallen out of favor in Phoenix, but was a longtime favorite of D'Antoni. In order to keep Lee and Stoudemire while targeting LeBron, the Knicks would be forced to move Eddy Curry and/or Jared Jeffries, which is already a major priority of Walsh's.
Making a deal like this is a must for Walsh and the Knicks, as this "wait" is causing fans to grow ornery. If Steve Kerr were not to take Walsh's bait, a fallback option for Walsh would be to call the Raptors regarding Jermaine O'Neal. If anything could revive O'Neal's career, it would to be under Walsh again, who was in charge of O'Neal's former team, the Pacers. Given that his contract runs through next season, the Knicks would only have to flip Toronto Marbury's expiring contract in order to make the deal work.
O'Neal would be a low risk if he were acquired for Marbury, as his contract will be up before the summer of 2010. Hopefully, he would be able to provide the Knicks with some type of credibility until then.
Walsh came to New York with a plan, and it is a plan that currently cannot fail. All that is involved is a waiting period. However, to better execute this plan and guarantee future results, Walsh needs to make another move before the trade deadline this year.
He needs to secure another star that can help the Knicks establish the winning reputation that LeBron James will be looking to be a part of in 2010. If he cannot do that, however, his grand plan of luring James to New York may slip through the team's fingers, just as these last few victories have. |
