Well, that’s another Knicks season gone by. 32-50 is not much better than 23-59, until you consider that the Knicks traded away many of their “better” players in the first half of the season. The Knicks were fairly competitive, and considering how crappy they have been for so long, I am satisfied.

Looking ahead, there are a lot of choices to be made, and I’m glad IT isn’t the one making them. The two biggest questions are Nate Robinson and David Lee. I think the bad economy helps NY out in both cases, because many teams will be hoarding money to deal with lower ticket sales and also the impending 2010 free agents. Personally, I think 2010 is mostly fools gold. Even before the Cavs were good, I was skeptical about the intensely loyal Lebron James ever leaving Cleveland, and now there is pretty much no way he goes anywhere. The chances were slim before, and Mo Williams pretty much killed any chance of LBJ going anywhere. Dwayne Wade’s team is just good enough, and I think Miami somehow swings for Carlos Boozer in 2009 to keep Wade happy (this makes me happy because I don’t like Boozer or the Heat, and I feel like he will screw them somehow).

I think the one 2010 superstar the Knicks might have a chance at is Chris Bosh, because his team is terrible and Canadian. There are a lot of good mid-priced options in 2009, and I hope Walsh goes for them. I think NY should continue to try to trade for hard-working, cheap players because the fans are willing to accept this right now and D’Antoni’s system makes a lot of these types look pretty good. As for the current team:

Point Guard

• Chris Duhon: He’s ok, but I suspect he is merely a stopgap. I’d say keep doing what you are doing with him. Duhon faded a bit down the stretch, but he was serviceable and his contract is not that bad.
• Nate Robinson: He’s gotten more under control, even if he is still more of an undersized SG than a PG. I like him, but only if he’s not too expensive. Although he competes hard and is great off the bench, Robinson is very small and not likely to get much better. I think some of his stats are inflated because of D’Antoni’s system and all the shuffling the Knicks did mid-season.
• I’d try to get a decent backup PG on the cheap and shop Robinson eventually (later rather than sooner, since he is a fan favorite). I think Duhon is just barely good enough to make this position less of a priority than shedding bad contracts to get a superstar.

Wings

• Wilson Chandler: I like him, especially on the rookie contract. I see him sticking around.
• Al Harrington: I think Harrington is a bit overrated, but Walsh really likes him. I think Walsh drafted him and had him on several different teams. Even if he is out of an NJ HS, I am not sold on Harrington. He scores a lot, but he isn’t that efficient and he doesn’t bring much else to the table. I don’t see Walsh losing him to free agency, but I just hope that the Knicks don’t overpay for his services.
• Larry Hughes: I hate his game, especially now that he hasn’t been getting a ton of steals for several years now. I think he’s gone by 2010, if not sooner. Hughes is the type of player that gets “thrown in” to make contracts match up in big trades.
• Quentin Richardson: Richardson might be one of my least favorite Knicks (in terms of his game). Richardson’s body is done, and his shooting is terrible. He must be blackmailing someone in order to continue to get so many minutes.
• Danilo Gallinari: I think he looked ok in limited time, so hopefully his youth will enable him to bounce back quickly from back surgery. Gallinari still has good potential and a cheap contract, although Brook Lopez sure made NJ look smart. Eric Gordon and DJ Augustin are too short for me to be upset at NY for choosing Gallinari.
• I suspect that Harrington and Chandler will be retained, and the Knicks will try for a middle of the road wing player. I think getting some more accurate 3-point shooters might go a long way towards restoring the glory of D’Antoni’s system.

Bigs

• David Lee: He really impressed me, but I don’t know if I would want to extend him for a big contract. Lee is very solid and a good soldier, but we’ll have to see what he wants in return for staying with the Knicks. I would not be against trading Lee while his value is high, but that would really weaken NY on the boards.
• Eddy Curry: I feel bad for him as a person, but not so much as a player. There is no way anyone wants a fat center who doesn’t play defense (and might drop dead at any point due to a heart condition). The problem is that even if Curry is healthy, his inability to run up and down the court makes his scoring prowess less valuable to D’Antoni. I don’t like Curry’s game, but I think we’re stuck with him.
• Jared Jeffries: I think he’s a bit of a scrub, and not really cheap either. I don’t think Jeffries’ defense is really that great, and his offense is definitely terrible. It kills me that Jeffries averages over 20 minutes a game.
• Chris Wilcox: Even scrubbier than expected, but no one expected that much for him. Wilcox is another throw-in type player.
• The Knicks need a lot of help up front.

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