Randolph Morris doesn’t count due to the fact that he never got to play.
And as much as it pains me to write this, Isiah Thomas is still getting paid to be a Knick.
Drum roll, please.
So according to Ken Berger, the first Knick player voted off Donnie Walsh’s island may in fact be… Renaldo Balkman. Who are the Knicks looking to get back in any such rumored deal, you ask? If the Knicks deal to Denver, Berger speculates they’d cut whomever comes back, meaning the 2006 first round pick of Balkman was a complete waste by Walsh and D’Antoni’s standards.
I think Balkman had some really great moments as a Knick during his rookie campaign, but admit that he was basically MIA for a very large percentage of last season. That could be on Balkman for his play in practice (we will never know because those were off limits thanks to the Knicks’ policy the past four years), or on Isiah Thomas for not giving him PT.
If D’Antoni really insists on all of his players being able to shoot the rock, not only is Balkman’s future with the Knicks in doubt, but Mardy Collins, David Lee, Jared Jeffries, Malik Rose, Quentin Richardson and Jerome James should all put some thought into putting any Westchester property they may own on the real estate market to see what it could go for–in case they have a change of address in the months leading up to November, 2008.
If it comes to be true, somebody get ESPN to promote former Knick Greg Anthony. It may turn out afterall that it didn’t matter in the slightest bit what Isiah Thomas remembered about him as a player.
As Steady used to say,
Just bloggin’
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
KD, greetings my fellow Defenders according to KBerger and AHahn it is Balkmans
basketball percieved inabilty to think on the fly in the flow of D’Antoni’s offense, that has him slated as Knick expendable. Balkman’s skill set would better suit a strong veteran team. Thus he could be his freelance self. If the rumor is true Best Wishes Renaldo…take nothing for granted and work on your game as tirelessly as you play it during the game.
Good AM Defenders!
KD big PROPS for allowing US to stop by YOUR HOUSE and spend sometime.
This is a move that makes sense considering the skill level. We have Jeffries for now, plus Jeffries is bigger and more versatile and this system will help him (Don’t need two similar players). He’ll grab more weakside rebounds and his handle and slashing ability will be helpful. He’s also better defender IMHO! We all knew this was coming, but I wish RBALKMAN the best wherever he lands.
ONE LOVE DEFENDERS
Keep it POPPIN!
Yes Cooley you are on the money with your comparison and analysis…plus here’s another thing that may have had an some bearing on this planned deal being considered. I bet Herb gave his take on last years quitting job(yes the players and the coach/GM created that mess!)and provided inside info on who did what.
Yo Knicks D, Balkman trade appears to be a done deal.
Nuggets Acquire Balkman
Denver sends Green, Jones, draft pick to New York
DENVER, July 28, 2008 — The Denver Nuggets have acquired forward Renaldo Balkman and cash considerations from the New York Knicks in exchange for guard Taurean Green, forward Bobby Jones and a 2010 second round draft pick, team Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien announced today.
Balkman, 6-8, 210, averaged 3.4 ppg and 3.3 rpg in 65 games for the Knicks last season. Originally selected by New York in the first round (20th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft, Balkman has averaged 4.2 ppg and 3.8 rpg and has shot .499 from the field in 133 games in his two seasons with the Knicks.
Green was acquired by the Nuggets in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers on February 21. He averaged 1.1 ppg in nine appearances with Denver last season.
In two stints with the Nuggets during the 2007-08 season, Jones averaged 3.4 ppg and 1.5 rpg in 25 games.
What is the thinking for this trade?
Cap room?
Here is the story on our new Knicks.
Someone explain this to me!
Nevermind
The Knicks will just waive them before Aug.1.
I feel like this is a worthless move and that Balkman could have been included as a pot sweetner in a Zach trade. Just to clear cap space that equals 1.3 mill ? Worthless.
Renaldo Balkman will land on his feet in the NBA, he’ll always have a job. Some coach will see the potential in this guy and use him wisely. His 3 point shot is coming along, and he has develop some nifty moves in the paint; Is quick to the boards both defensively and offensively….. He rebounds, blocks, plays Defense and handles the basketball exceptionally well. He’s Mr Excitement in the open floor with his spectacular dunks. Go get ‘em ‘Taz’. I’ll miss you.
JohnQ/Syd
You both make good points.I agree with you JQ that would help sweeten a deal to dump Zach or other unwanted players.We didn’t get nothing for a player of that talent.We only made playing time available for Danilo and Chandler.But,again that could have been done via a larger trade………1.2 million saved is nothing to get excited about.We still need to dump James,Marbury and,yes, Collins.
Great move getting rid of Balkman. He was not helping us win. He was a great off-the-ball help defender but he could not keep a guy in front of him. He obviously was completely inept on offense and if you attack the basket and don’t make free throws – you’re worthless.
1-2 million saved is not a lot but if it takes that 1-2 million to get where we need to be for 2010 then Donnie Walsh is a genius. You only make this type of move if you have a long term plan in place.
I love it.
Sup Defenders? It’s been a minute!
I don’t like this trade from the Knicks’ perspective, I was a strident voice urging Balkman to be a steady 15 minute guy off the bench last year. I thought that was appropriate for his skill set, it gave Taz a defined role and I think he would’ve quickly grown by leaps and bounds in terms of self-confidence and chemistry with his teammates instead of merely being a defensive freelancer in gah-bage time. He never got that chance, pining for burn on the bench while stubby-ass Q jacked up bricks. =(
Some thoughts on this trade:
- The Low-IQ thing: This “label” is USUALLY racially-biased. I think the specific charge was that Taz was a poor fit for the “read and react” D’Antoni offense. I wouldn’t expect him to be a primary decision-maker on the floor, so I think this charge is baseless. Was he an extraordinary frontcourt passer? No – but it’s hard to prove much of anything from the bench. i’d love to know who “leaked” this classless quote to the media!
- Character Issue: Balkman was one of the few Knicks singled out last season as a poor practice player. For this reason alone, if it is true, the trade can be justified. I still don’t like it, mainly because there is no publicly-available evidence that Balkman was a loafer in practice. But IF he is/was, then i applaud Walsh for taking one step back in order to take two steps forward. Seven straight losing seasons generally means some tough-ass practices are in order – all year long! Anyone who is NOT thinking on that level should be purged so as not to infect our younger players with bad habits (assuming they aren’t already compromised). Didn’t someone post (was it YOU, KD?) about watching Balkman aimlessly lofting treys during pregame last season? Not exactly a smoking gun, but – perhaps a warning sign? I dunno.
- The Money: A new era of fiscal responsibility seems to be here. Isiah started it last season, and it appears to be real (not fugazy). Maybe Dolan’s pockets are not endlessly deep, maybe Daddy Chuck got fed up, maybe Steve Mills (demoted to sports team ops) is trying to repair his reputation with a tight-fisted fiscal approach – who knows? i do NOT expect to see any buyouts in the future, barring of course any FURTHER bizarro-land actions by Steph or anyone else. We shrug off the payouts to Lenny, Chaney, Jalen, Stevie, JYD, etc – but I bet those names aren’t on the Dolan family Christmas card list anymore. Can’t blame them for trying to get what they pay for from now on – i just hope it doesn’t result in systemic stubborness that ignores the sitrep on the Garden floor.
- There is no Wizard of Oz: I hope this trade puts to bed – permanently – the chatter that Isiah is still in charge as a shadow-GM. It’s possible that Walsh greenlighted this move with this point in mind, as a message to KnicksKnation about a new day being here. Zeke would never have approved this. (“My name is Donnie Walsh and I approve this message.”)
- The Solid: D’Antoni styles this deal like he was merely doing Taz a favor, putting his needs over the team’s (“Renaldo really had no role after we drafted Gallinari, and with the emergence of Wilson Chandler his minutes would be nonexistent,” D’Antoni told The Associated Press. “So it really wasn’t fair to him to keep him in a spot that he wouldn’t play and also gives us an opportunity to clear up a roster spot and move on.”). This is disingenuous – unless he’s being truthful, in which case it is downright idiotic! Knicks fans require ruthless fucking efficiency in rebuilding this team into a championship contender, and that translates into putting the team first. All other considerations should come second. Truthfully though, I am kind of happy that Balkman landed with the Nuggs, it is a nice fit for him running the break with AI & Melo Yellow, they’ll hide his shortcomings well and let him be a roaming disruptive force on defense, which they sorely need. A smallish AI/Smith/Balkman/Melo/Nene lineup would be mobile, active, and kinda bad-ass, especially on the break.
- The Youth Movement: See above – this move can be interpreted as a vote of confidence in Gallinari’s potentialities. Now Gallo gets the “youth” minutes at the three, unless Chandler struggles against the grown-ass men starters (ugh) and forces a veteran Q/JJ platoon (double ugh).
- The Trade Not Made: Other GM’s probably look at taking on Zach’s contract as a net negative proposition for their team. In order to do it, they need to get something (else) in return. Maybe that means cash, or picks, or a player with a positive production per cap dollar ratio like David Lee. Maybe that means NY taking back a ‘bad contract’ like Kenny Thomas’. I think the Clips’ proposal was a tad steep (not by much though), and I cannot knock Walsh for not taking it. However, if I were GM, I would have pitched it to Dolan as a package deal (we dump a ton of salary but in exchange Mr. D – allow me to buy out Marbury and waive him). Not having Zach and Starbury on next year’s squad would have HUGELY REDUCED our “FTAS ratio” (Frowns to Available Shots), and lightened the spirits of everyone else on the roster immensely. It also would have removed a ton of talent, but – ah well, we didn’t do it, so let’s move on.
- Free Agency: Duhon I cannot get too excited about. It’s akin to Freddie Jones, the remix. While we’re collecting castoffs from the Bulls’ backcourt, maybe we should poach Craig Hodges from the Zenmaster’s staff?
- The Handicap: We overpaid for Duhon, sacrificed short-term gain with the Rooster pick, and bet too quickly (rather than checked) with Robberson (who I hope has a better career than Norm Robberson). Now this trade, a poor return for a guy who I think will pan out to be a useful bench player in Denver. Walsh took on a tough job, but I cannot say I’m real happy with the results thus far. Isola says it’ll be at least Oct/Nov before Marbury gets moved, so I will try to reserve judgement until after the trade deadline at mid-season.
Keep the noize TURNED UP!!!
Randolph Morris, Eddy Curry, Marbury brilliant moves on Thomas’ part.