Tag: Jose Calderon

Tank Mode Is In Full Effect

~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

jr smith

The New York Knicks were able to trade who?!?!  That’s right sports fans, someone voluntarily took on J.R. Smith.  In a three-team, six-player trade, the Knicks traded Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  In turn, the Cavaliers traded Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Alex Kirk, Lou Amundson, and a 2019 second-round pick to the Knicks.  The Thunder will send Lance Thomas to the Knicks along with a protected 2015 first-round pick to the Cavs.  This trade took place just before tip-off of last night’s games, so none of these players suited up for their respective teams.  The Knicks also waived Samuel Dalembert which will clear $3.8 million of cap space.

This is a good trade for all three teams.  The Thunder added a solid scorer in Waiters for a first-round pick and a throw-in player, making the Thunder a good team who just got better.  The Cavs got two rotation players for the price of one, so as long as Lebron James can corral J.R. Smith, this trade will help the Cavs this season.  And the lowly Knicks continued to clear cap space, including $6.4 million owed to J.R. Smith, in hopes to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  The best part of this deal, by a mile, is that the Knicks were able to rid themselves of the cancer that is J.R. Smith.  Some people believe that the Knicks gave Shumpert away for nothing, but he is hurt, again, and probably wouldn’t have been re-signed following this season anyway.  The Knicks now have only 4 players under contract for next season in Carmelo Anthony, Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Cleanthony early.

Just when you thought the 76ers knew how to tank, the Knicks are going to show them a thing or two.  Following last night’s loss, the Knicks have now lost 12 straight games, tying a franchise record.  The Knicks have the worst record in the league at 5-32, and there is no doubt they are en route to the #1 overall pick in the draft.  Now this may be wishful thinking, but I think Phil Jackson planned on tanking this season all along.  He obviously would never admit it, but I’d bet the polygraph would side with me on this one.  He traded Tyson Chandler just so he could rid himself of Raymond Felton’s contract, and last night he did the same with Shumpert and Smith.  He will certainly be waiving the three bench players he just acquired, so he doesn’t have to pay them.  And now he is left with a pile of cash in hand, and his reputation, in hopes to attract a group of free agents who will bring winning ways back to the Big Apple.

Do you still believe in Phil??  Or have you lost faith in the Zen Master??  Let me know in the comment section below.

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

The “Zen Master” Strikes Again

~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

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Wednesday afternoon, the “Zen Master” showed us once again why he earned such a prestigious nickname.  Don’t know what I’m talking about?  That’s okay, I’m going to fill you in.  Who needs ESPN when you have DaveTalksSports right??  Phil Jackson made a splash yesterday by making his first trade as New York Knickerbockers President.  You would be hard pressed to find some one with a brain to tell you this was a bad deal for the Knicks.  The Knicks will be shipping Tyson Chandler back to the Dallas Mavericks along with Raymond Felton for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, and 2 2nd round picks (34th and 51st) in tonight’s draft. 

For starters, I can’t believe the Knicks were able to offload Raymond Felton (Hey Ray, don’t forget to register those guns in Texas…..oh what it’s Texas, never mind).  The Knicks get a definitive upgrade at the point guard position in acquiring Calderon.  Calderon is going to do exactly what a “true” point guard is supposed to do.  He is going to manage the floor, limit turnovers, knock down the open 3-pointer (which he showed he can certainly do), and most importantly keep the ball out of Carmelo Anthony’s hands (assuming Melo is still on the Knicks next season).  The other thing that most people probably don’t realize is that Calderon is one of the best free throw shooters in the NBA.  Now, you’re probably saying that’s not a big deal, but when you think about it, clutch free throw shooting is often the difference between winning and losing.  The Knicks do commit to Calderon for 3 years seeing as he is under contract, but this is the type of point guard Phil Jackson wants in his “Triangle” system anyway, thus making the $8 million per year easier to swallow.  The Knicks do take an obvious downgrade at the center position by bringing in Dalembert, but he can play some semblance of defense and give you 8 points and 8 rebounds on a consistent basis.  And most importantly, he is an expiring contract.  Even if Tyson Chandler goes back to Dallas and returns to his 2011 form, the Knicks still cleared his $15 million from the salary cap.  As for Larkin and Ellington, these are 2 young players that could turn in to solid role players.  They are in the wait and see category, which is exactly what this Knicks franchise NEEDS!!  Rebuilding while also having a solid foundation if Melo comes back?!?!  Who could have thunk up that genius idea? 

Now that Phil Jackson has gotten his feet wet, I am excited to see what he does with his 2 draft picks this evening.  This is easily the best part of this trade by the way.  No, it’s not that the Knicks are going to find the next Michael Jordan with the 34th or 51st pick, but it is the concept of draft picks that I love.  That sounds silly to say, but if you are a Knicks fan then you know EXACTLY what I mean.  I am also intrigued to see how many more tricks Phil has up his sleeve.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds a team with plenty of salary cap space to take on Amar’e Stoudemire or Andrea Bargnani a year earlier than anticipated.  This would give Phil immediate flexibility to chase free agents.  I think the moral of the story is: Never Doubt The “Zen Master”.

 

If you enjoy my writing, follow me over to intheneutralzone.com where I am a contributing author there as well. Also you can follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like me on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!