Poor investment

[Ferretsquig]

A nice, well thought out piece on the situation the Knicks are in...along with his thoughts on Darko...nice to have sports writers agree with you every once in a while.

Good Lord, it can't be true that Knicks owner James L. Dolan is trying to acquire Steve Francis.

Doesn't Dolan realize that adding to the Knicks' payroll is the problem, not the answer? The Knicks' reconstruction has to begin sometime, and adding someone like Francis isn't a step in that direction.
......
But the smartest fans despise Dolan for his ignorance. The worst irony of the Knicks' dilemma is that they would be in far better shape today with a skinflint owner, because a low-payroll team can be rebuilt far more quickly than this garish mess. The cheap, young Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks are far more promising than the bloated Knicks.

If Dolan suddenly changed course, would the Knicks be worse? They couldn't be. Would he have to change his administration? No, because Thomas is one of the league's best draft evaluators (see Tracy McGrady and Channing Frye), and coach Larry Brown loves to teach. Will the fans be angry? Not if they see young players attacking at both ends and showing improvement -- the opposite of what they're seeing now.

The more Dolan spends, the less he is respected. Remember how Cleveland's notorious owner Ted Stepien ruined the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1980s by trading away their future draft picks? Dolan is the Stepien of this generation: the patsy who mortgaged the Knicks' future by spending incoherently.
Imagine if next Thursday he embarked on a two-year plan to make the Knicks younger, sleeker and promising? If he talked about looking in the mirror and recognizing his own mistakes?

Now imagine the opposite. Another big trade, more overpaid players. The same hopeless results.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/ian_thomsen/02/16/notes/index.html

 

[NJFINSFAN1]

Thomas has been better then Layton, but not by much! He gets a high grade of maybe a C.

 

[MikeO]

agree with you? On what that there is "no salary cap in the NBA" or that "Melo had a 10 game career before the NBA draft" :sidelol: :sidelol: :sidelol:

Is your week up yet? Are you even supposed to be talking NBA!

 

[GreenMonster]

Tell us something everyone didn't know.. It doesn't mean the Knicks will actually go out and do anything..

 

[MikeO]

Tell us something everyone didn't know.. It doesn't mean the Knicks will actually go out and do anything..

Exactly!

What do you want the Knicks to do? Just tank it??? Just stop trying to get better? They aren't trying to make bad moves on purpose! While everyone agrees these moves aren't improving anything, that isn' the intention!

They can't just say, were done for 3 or 4 years and were not going to spend any money and try and get under the cap. First off MSG Network would go under (it almost has gone under each year for the past 3 years and doing that would put it under). Second, the loss of revenue from ticket sales, which is unlike any other NBA team because of what they charge and the competition they have in NYC for the entertainment dollar, would KILL Dolan and his bottom line!

The Knicks are not the Cavs, Sonics, Bobcats, or any other team from a market like that. They can't do what the Bulls did and just tank it and get high draft picks for 2 or 3 years in a row. People who say....."just lose for 3 or 4 years, get high draft picks and let contracts run out..." don't know a few things.
1) The entertainment dollar in the NYC market
2) The situation at MSG Network
3) Courtside ticket prices at MSG and actual revenue!
4) Cablevision losing the Knicks and MSG Network to a rival sports station

What everyone forgets is THIS IS A BUSINESS FIRST!

 

[phunwin]

The problem is that the Knicks don't HAVE to tank! If someone would just beat Isiah over the head every time he tries to trade a draft pick, they'd be fine. You could build a damn good team from the guys he's drafted in Toronto, NY and Indiana. Rebuild through the draft and take your chances with the guys on the roster.

When Thomas has drafted a guy, he's usually turned out well. When he's traded for a guy, he's usually flopped (at least relative to his salary and the value traded away for him). This is not rocket science. Concentrate on the things you do well, avoid those you don't. It's absolutely shocking to me that a team with an outstanding talent evaluator, a Hall of Fame coach and virtually limitless resources is among the worst in the NBA and unlikely to get better anytime soon.

 

[Ferretsquig]

What do you want the Knicks to do? Just tank it??? Just stop trying to get better? They aren't trying to make bad moves on purpose! While everyone agrees these moves aren't improving anything, that isn' the intention!

So the Knick's ownership doesnt care if the team wins anymore? Somehow I find that hard to believe.

The Knicks are not the Cavs, Sonics, Bobcats, or any other team from a market like that. They can't do what the Bulls did and just tank it and get high draft picks for 2 or 3 years in a row. People who say....."just lose for 3 or 4 years, get high draft picks and let contracts run out..." don't know a few things.
1) The entertainment dollar in the NYC market
2) The situation at MSG Network
3) Courtside ticket prices at MSG and actual revenue!
4) Cablevision losing the Knicks and MSG Network to a rival sports station

What everyone forgets is THIS IS A BUSINESS FIRST!

1-What about it? I saw more Wade jerseys than Marbury ones the last time I was in NYC. That massive billboard in times square probably had something to do with it.
3-already dealt with that one - they could lose 80% of their total revenue (from ticket, merchandise, cable contract) and still gain monetarily if they cut their roster cost in half. This isnt some big earner, they pull in 180 mil in revenue a year
4-Cablevision owns a majority share, MSG isnt going anywhere unless they want to sell

 

[MikeO]

So the Knick's ownership doesnt care if the team wins anymore? Somehow I find that hard to believe.



1-What about it? I saw more Wade jerseys than Marbury ones the last time I was in NYC. That massive billboard in times square probably had something to do with it.
3-already dealt with that one - they could lose 80% of their total revenue (from ticket, merchandise, cable contract) and still gain monetarily if they cut their roster cost in half. This isnt some big earner, they pull in 180 mil in revenue a year
4-Cablevision owns a majority share, MSG isnt going anywhere unless they want to sell

Your credibility on ALL NBA topics has been proven the past few days. You have none! You are out of your league when talking on this matter.

 

[Ferretsquig]

Your credibility on ALL NBA topics has been proven the past few days. You have none! You are out of your league when talking on this matter.

By all means attempt to contradict the statements. I dont see how posting inane comments about the credibility of a message board poster refutes the argument.