D'Antoni + Lee = 20/20 (Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.)

This weekend features a back-to-back series between division rivals, the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks. They may be ”battling for the 14th spot in the East” right now, but both teams have a bright future. I ask SML, writer for Stop Mike Lupica and Sports On My Mind, and Mike Slane, beat writer for NYKnicks.com, about what’s going on in Knickerbockerland. (Check out my answers to Raptors questions at Stop Mike Lupica.)

What are some positives from this Knicks season, aside from clearing out cap space and dropping dead weight?
SML: Well, the clearing of cap space is going to be the biggest positive from this season by such a large margin that it overshadows everything else.  In fact, it’s pretty much overshadowed everything else – the other positives and the negatives (more on that later).  The pluses: David Lee (and Nate Robinson to an extent) emerged as solid players that now hopefully have some real trade value; Mike D’Antoni’s fast-paced system is the most exciting thing to happen to Knick fans in almost a decade; the team has some good young pieces, particularly Wilson Chandler, but also the aforementioned Lee-Robinson duo that might be in NYC past 2010.  Most importantly of all, the negative energy that engulfed the Knicks, from the media coverage to the fans at the games, has been replaced by a different energy.  It’s not positive – not quite – but it’s the feeling of “okay, where are you going to take us next, Donnie Walsh?”.

That’s the two biggest changes with the team right there – one, Donnie Walsh seems to have a plan, and everyone knows what the ideal plan is long term (hint: it’s LeBron), but at the same time we all want to see how it’s going to actually unfold.  Will David Lee be a part of that future?  What will be the backup plan if LeBron says no?

The second change has been D’Antoni.  He’s a coach who has a structure on offense (the previous coach, Isiah Thomas, did not have a very structured offense, to say the least), and who seems to inspire his players more.  While the overall success of his coaching here is still to be determined, at least there is a more positive attitude in general.  Players seem less surly, the media seem less surly, and the fans are happier, too.

Slane: The biggest positive by far is rookie Danilo Gallinari. Despite playing only 28 games this season, he’s shown all the doubters that he can play and will be a valuable piece to the team’s future. Not only is he already the best shooter on the Knicks but he has surprised the team with his defensive skills. Honestly, I thought this guy was going to get pushed around against NBA players – he might be the skinniest dude to ever put on the blue and orange – but he really held his own. I’m hoping he bounces back from his back injury over the summer.

Another positive is just the overall culture of the team. Nearly every game is a sellout or close to it, and the fans got to experience a playoff atmosphere for the first time in years. The Knicks have broken so many offensive records this season under Mike D’Antoni and they’re really a fun team to watch. They would have been a playoff team had they not made the deals involving Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford, but they did remain competitive through most of the year even after making four in-season trades.

Image by Points In The Paint

Speaking of dead weight: What is the future of Eddy Curry?
SML: 45%: Donnie Walsh somehow finds a way to trade him this offseason, even if it means the Knicks give up an asset to do so – someone like David Lee, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler, or maybe even the #1 pick this upcoming draft (if it’s not a great pick).  My bet is still on a Lee & Curry (and money… don’t forget that money goes far in today’s NBA given the economic conditions) package trade.

55%: Donnie can’t find any takers this offseason, not even with David Lee included.  The Knicks have him work out in the offseason, and try to play him early next season with the hopes of getting his trade value up enough that they can shop by next season’s trade deadline (February 2010).

Bottom line: I don’t think there is anyway Curry is here in NY past the summer of 2010.

Slane: Eddy Curry has had a rough year to say the least. With starting the season off with a bacterial infection followed by knee injuries and all the personal problems, you have to feel bad for this guy. I think he’ll get some much-needed playing time in the final few games and he says he plans on coming in early this summer to workout with his teammates. If he’s healthy and in shape next season, I don’t see why he couldn’t be a good offensive player again playing for D’Antoni.

Little Nate is larger than life. (Streetball.com)

What do you think of Nate Robinson? Is his enthusiasm contagious or grating?
SML: Both!  That’s the Nate Robinson Mystery, all in one.  Ask Mike D’Antoni himself… he’s been back and forth all season long on Nate.  When his energy is controlled and channeled correctly, he is positively explosive.  When it’s out of control and Nate is lashing out at opponents, showboating, and fighting with refs… it’s negatively explosive.  Someday he may develop the maturity, or the coolness, to not a) bicker with refs b) fight with opponents and c) showboat.  But until then, you have to take the good (those 30-point outbursts off the bench, those 12 assists, 1 turnovers games, the tough defense and hustle) with the aforementioned bad.

Slane: I’m a big fan of Nate. When I first started covering the Knicks prior to the season I had no idea how much he could change the game off the bench. He’s a sparkplug player any team would want and I think he could continue to excel in this fast-paced system, which is clearly perfect for his game. For the few weeks following the All-Star break, he was averaging around 30 points per game and the Knicks were in the midst of a playoff race. That says a lot.

As far as his enthusiasm, I like the energy he brings on the court every night. I really don’t mind the technical fouls and all that as long as it doesn’t affect the overall outcome of the game. If he didn’t play with that certain attitude, he probably wouldn’t be the type of athlete we all know him as.

Who do you like in this year’s draft?
SML: The Knicks won’t get a top-3 pick, but Blake Griffin is a monster.  He’s the clear cut #1.  Is Ricky Rubio waiting another year?

The player I’m most intrigued by in this year’s draft is Brandon Jennings, who spent the year playing in Italy. [Pete's note: Jennings plays for Lottomatica Roma, in the spot vacated by ... Roko Ukic.] He’s been okay out there, putting up so-so numbers in about 20 minutes a night of balling.  But seeing how high (or low) he goes in the draft, and what he does in the NBA, will be very crucial to a lot of future high school stars.

Slane: I have no idea what his status is, as far as entering the draft this year, but Ricky Rubio could be a lot of fun to watch in the Knicks’ offense.  But what the Knicks really need is a shot blocker and some size down low.

Image from Bleacher Report

Beyond LeBron, who do you want from among the potential 2010 free agents?
SML: I’m actually hoping it turns out to be Plan B for the Knicks.  Having LeBron will be great, but you know what?  It’ll be even better, and more meaningful to me as a fan, if the Knicks found a way to win without LeBron.  It’s like that would be too easy.  The ‘96 Knicks were the last Knicks team to have lots of salary cap room; they did it with the intention of maybe luring Michael Jordan to NYC.  It didn’t work, of course.  Instead, they went to Plan B: Larry Johnson (via trade), Allan Houston (via free agency), and Chris Childs (also free agency).  They ended up putting together some really great playoff runs, even if they couldn’t win it all in the end.

Me?  What I really want is this: Chris Bosh (sorry, Jeff) or Amaré Stoudemire for cheap in 2010, then Kevin Durant in 2011.  Nobody is talking about it yet, but does anyone really think Durant, already a top-5 player in the NBA, is going to stay in OKLAHOMA CITY for the rest of his career?!?  If LeBron wants to stay in Cleveland, I say save the cap room for Durant in 2011, team him up with another stud, and let’s see if they can take out King James.

Slane: Sorry I had to stay away from the free agency questions. Since I work for the team, I don’t want to get in trouble for speculating about the future.

The economic downturn – how do you think it will affect the Knicks’ free agency plans, for this year and next?
SML: Not in a negative way.  In fact, it is an advantage to the Knicks – they can still afford to be big spenders at a time when other teams are trying hard to cut costs however possible. The Knicks could probably swings some trades based purely on financial advantage; for example, I believe there’s a handful of players out there without insurable contracts (Eddy Curry’s heart, for example).  These players are dangerous during normal times, but they are even scarier nowadays.  If something happened to these players, the team wouldn’t even be able to collect the insurance money on the player.  The Knicks might be able to trade someone like Jared Jeffries for such a contract, if that player was injured and uninsured.  Something to keep an eye out for….

Anything else you want to talk about?
SML: Yep, one last thing: the Knicks looked good for most of the year, even threatening to compete for the 8th spot for a while, before falling apart at the end of the season.  This reminded me very much, unfortunately, of Isiah’s first season as coach, two years ago.  The Knicks were 29-34, in 8th place (actually better than D’Antoni’s Knicks this season), when they fell apart at the end of the season and ended up in the lottery.  That’s not to say the Knicks will continue to go downward from here.  But there is a bit too much optimism out there about the “step forward” the Knicks have taken, but to me it’s this simple: I’m tired of the lottery.  Until we make the playoffs, I don’t want to here about how much this team is an improvement over last year, blah blah blah.  There are three levels to measure where a team is at: lottery teams, playoff teams, serious contenders.  Right now the Knicks are the in the first group.  The majority of the NBA is actually in the second group, with only a handful of elite teams (Boston, Cleveland, LA, San Antonio) in the top group.  So for all the talk about improvement, the Knicks are still sitting in the bottom third of the NBA.  We Knick fans want more than that.

The bad news is that the Knicks still suck in the present as much as they have over the past seven years; the good news is that for once, we Knick fans maybe have a future to look forward to.

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Thanks again to SML and Mike Slane, as well as DV for making the connection.