Trading Spree for Payton won't make much of a difference at this point, b/c do you really want the Knicks to continue with the whole "make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs and bow out" routine that they done for so many years.
I'm sick and tired of the playoff team that never wins the big one. The Knicks and Jazz are so similar that way, in that they were always playoff contenders, but never championship caliber.
The one year we were was against the Bulls in the infamous Charles Smith layup disaster Game 5 playoff series...we should have beat MJ that year.
And furthermore, we should have beat the Rockets in '94. We had the better team, and were up 3-2 game going into game 6...the thought of Starks getting his 3 blocked at the buzzer down by two points by Hakeem still gives me nightmares. Anyone else remember that he was on fire in that 4th quarter of game 6, and had scored 25 points in the quarter...he would have hit that three! Dammitt! That was really his last shining moment with the Knicks, b/c after game 7's 2-18 performance, he was never the same, even if he did win a 6th man award later.
Van Exel is a nutcase, but I do love LaFrentz...but he's playing better, and I don't know if Denver wants to get rid of him..mainly they want to get rid of Van Exel...it'll be a tough trade.
In terms of Vin Baker, he just got hurt last night, and has 3 dislocated toes and is out...INDEFINITELY! So that's out, plus he's a nutcase all his own.
The problem is, Houston is almost untradable with his contract, and the only ones with value are Spree and Camby, whose hurt. I think the best thing that they'll do is maybe a little trade, but nothing major.
My hope is that come draft time, the Knicks make their move. I'm not even sure if they'll have a pick this year with all the picks that they've traded away in the past, but if they do, it should be in the top 10-15 at least. Trade up, and while Jason Williams from Duke is just a wet dream for Knicks fans, maybe pick up that high schooler whose on the cover of SI this week...I don't know if they're even going to let him in the NBA b/c he wants to go straight from high school without completing his senior yr...but we'll see.
Rebuilding is the key, with draft picks and young talent. Everyone is expendable at this point, b/c this team is not going to win a championship, and building a team just to get to the playoffs and do some damage, and then bow out, is not what I want. I want a ring, b/c I live and die with this team, and this has been a slow death the past decade.
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<font color="#0F00CD">"Lumos!"</font color="#0F00CD">