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Over the past four years, it was my understanding that Isiah Thomas does not think too highly of European basketball players, so why did they recently put him on a plane to go over there and scout them?

From Wikipedia:
“After the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd picks are determined, the 4th-14th picks are assigned to teams based on weakness of record.”

Now for some hypothetical thinking aloud (online):

If I understand this correctly, lets say that none of the three teams with the worst records finishes with the top three picks (very unlikely, but mathematically still possible). After the three top picks are determined, you would then have 4, 5, and 6 going to Miami, Seattle and Minnesota, respectively. So with that in mind, the knicks could finish anywhere, except we know for a fact, that the Knicks will not get the #4 pick, or any picks between #’s 9-14.

That leaves the Knicks a possible pick at #’s 1-3, or 5-8, depending on our luck, which so far seems to be changing this summer.

The solution then?

[1,3][5,8]

But will our choice be part of the solution?

It’s all about the luck of the draw…

For all of you in the NYC area this weekend who would like a chance to meet a living Knick legend, my sources have informed me that NBA great Earl “The Pearl” Monroe will be doing an autograph session at J&R this Saturday at 1:30pm.

You are invited…

The Knicks would have tied Seattle’s 20-win record had they lost those three relatively meaningless games.

The 2008 lottery is scheduled for one week from today, on May 20, 2008 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The results are to be revealed on ESPN at 8:00-8:30 EDT. Here are the odds of winning it all.

(Remember, the Rockets got Yao with only the seventh best chance of winning it all, so there is hope for landing Derrick Rose-with some old fashioned luck)

Latest mock draft from nbadraft.net

We already know the blockbuster news around town yesterday, that Mike D’Antoni has accepted the New York Knicks head coaching position last for $24 million over four seasons.

I admire D’Antoni for the job he’s done in Phoenix, the way he sort of transformed the league with the now highly copied system he introduced in Phoenix, but D’Antoni is not known as a defensive specialist, and considering the Knicks we saw in 2007-2008, I wonder how this is all going to be put together this November and in the Novembers to come leading up to 2010.

So we have another big splash in a series of big splashes. Lenny Wilkins, Larry Brown, Isiah Thomas–Herb Williams never had a chance with the way the Knicks ownership likes to do things at 2 Penn Plaza. I wonder if Dolan forced Walsh’s hand (yet again, since Dolan forced Walsh to keep Isiah with the Knicks organization instead of justifiably firing him outright as he should have done), because Walsh probably did in some degree want to bring in someone like a rookie coach named Mark Jackson.

Especially when you consider what Walsh has already said about the Knicks’ immediate future. If we’re gutting the roster and looking to get under the cap by 2010, what sense does it make to bring in another big-name, top-dollar coach when the roster isn’t much of a match for the style that D’Antoni has clearly mastered? Do the Knicks right now have the horses to “run and gun” considering the way that they shot the ball this past season? How could the Knicks suddenly be athletic enough to get up and down the court the way D’Antoni has with Phoenix? Quentin Richardson can barely run up and down the floor at a slow pace these days. The Knicks were a high turnover team in a half-court offense, how would they fair pushing the ball the entire game?

Here is the thing: I think Chi-town wanted another Jackson (Mark) to coach the Bulls and were maybe dragging their feet making D’Antoni an offer in time. Wouldn’t be the first time the Chicago organization fleeced the Knicks (see Eddy Curry ,and the bad heart drama, versus the no heart reality). Now Chicago isn’t bidding against Cablevision, should they choose to bring in a Mark Jackson or a Tom Thibodeau, should Tom suddenly become available after the playoffs. I assume since Jackson quit his Yes gig that he is intent on getting out of broadcasting and into a NBA head coaching job.

We all know Stephon Marbury’s career with Knicks is soon nearing its end, but with D’Antoni on board, that severance package might be offered sooner than the Feburary ‘09 trade deadline. Just as Bird dismissed Isiah through Walsh in Indiana, D’Antoni’s successful start in Phoenix was nearly paralleled with Marbury’s departure.

What’s up next for the Knicks? We have the draft lottery coming up in about ten days or so, and also the possibility that Donnie Walsh will announce a new GM to go with that new coach from Phoenix/Europe.

Another thing the D’Antoni signing indicates to me is that the Knicks will draft a point guard in June, irrespective of where they pick in the draft. One thing you’ll need if you want to play D’Antoni style basketball is an excellent point guard, and right now, the Knicks don’t even have a decent point guard.

And if you remember our poll last week, we had 26 defenders chime in and vote for their favorite coaching choice, Mike D’Antoni finished in second place.

It is worth mentioning that the current MVP of the NBA thinks the world of the Knick’s new coach, as does the former MVP Steve Nash, of course.
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From Wikipedia:

Kobe Bryant, star player for the Los Angeles Lakers, grew up in Italy during the height of D’Antoni’s European career and cites D’Antoni as the player he loved most growing up as a child. During his early career with the Lakers, Bryant chose to wear the numeral 8, D’Antoni’s old jersey number with the Olimpia Milano.

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Lastly, for all the people that think Wilson Chandler will flourish under D’Antoni, did you actually see the injury at the end of the season? That looked pretty bad. I hope Chandler is all right. We’ll know by summer league how bad Chandler’s injury is in reality (can’t ever trust what MSG tells us about Knick injuries), as was the case last season with Mardy Collins. Collins sat out summer league due to knee surgery, and ended up having a horrible second year in orange and blue. If Chandler sits out summer league, consider that a red flag that Isiah played Chandler much too much at the end of a season that was already clearly lost.

For the file attached below, the February numbers are indicative of what Chandler was getting all season long, about 5mpg for about 5 games each month. Then March and April come, and you start seeing heaving minutes from out of nowhere, just like that other promising rookie that got hurt, Mardy Collins, in the preceding season.

Chandler’s season-ending stats

Not too much news to discuss when it comes to our favorite basketball team right about now.

Walsh has already met with both Avery Johnson and Mike D’Antoni, so only a few other remaining candidates have yet to get a sit-down with the new president of basketball operations.

What is apparent is this: much of the climate of the 2008-2009 Knick season will be determined this month. A new head coach will be announced, also possibly a new GM (because Grunwald CAN’T stay), and exactly where the Knicks pick in the 2008 NBA Draft lottery will be determined during the month of May. The rest of the summer will be full of trade rumors and buy-out possibilities (take your pick on who goes, but we just can’t have the same exact team come back no matter who comes in to coach). There will probably be very little free agent activity this summer since Walsh has indicated he wants to reduce payroll for the 2010 free agent market.

Speaking of LeBron, lets see tomorrow night how he bounces back from that bad first game against the Celtics. And when I say bad game keep in mind he just missed a triple double by one assist and one rebound. I don’t expect James to stay locked down for too long, he’s just too powerful.

According to Peter Vescey of the New York Post, Rick Carlisle will soon be named head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. What is interesting to note is that Carlisle, according to Vescey, met with the Knicks on Wednesday prior to the handshake deal with the Mavs.

Did Walsh in so many words tell Carlisle that the Knicks already have their sites set on someone in particular?

With Larry Brown going to the Bobcats, and Carlisle on board in Dallas, the Knicks should be the next team to draw from the coaching carousel in the next couple of weeks.

The New York Knicks will more than likely announce a new head coach prior to the NBA draft in June, and now that teams are getting knocked out of the box in the first round, certain coaches that were previously unavailable are now in the midst of becoming free agents. Who will be next to come in and sit down with Donnie Walsh at 2 Penn Plaza about next year’s Knicks team? If Walsh is smart, he’ll be able to balance interviewing multiple candidates, with being able to secure his first choice for the job, before anyone signs with another team.

It is difficult to predict exactly what the Knicks will look like next season. Are they going to run? Are they finally going to attempt to play defense? Much of this hinges on who you have suiting up in orange and blue, but a coach with a vision for the new New York Knicks will only benefit a franchise that has won just 56 games over the past two seasons.

Riley quit as Heat coach, the Bobcats just hired Larry Brown, and the New York Knicks are looking at Mike D’Antoni, Sam Mitchell, Flip Saunders and Avery Johnson, in addition to Mark Jackson.

This is obviously a bad foul because he reaches for the neck and not the ball, but it makes you wonder: you rarely hear the term “playoff foul” anymore, instead it has been replaced almost entirely with the “flagrant one” and “flagrant two” terminology.