A few guys D’Antoni has yet to give any real playing time to:

Timofey Mozgov: You can argue that he was a starter, but he was never used the right way.  Why not run a clear out and post him up?  Is it that taboo for the seven seconds or less offense to run a traditional post up once a year?  He did post up well against TEAM USA this summer, supposedly “the best players in the NBA.”  Can’t we figure that out for 5-10 freaking minutes a game?  Supposedly he can’t catch the entry pass.  I say clear it out so there is no traffic, the pass will be easier to make.  D’Antoni didn’t post up Shaq much in Phoenix, did he?  I bet he didn’t.

Anthony Randolph:  has yet to be put in the position to be a factor.  He’s not as good as Landry Fields at playing off the ball and still being a factor.  That’s why when he has the ball, he forces the issue.  What could we use from him?  Shot-blocking, pick-setting, reading the passing lanes and rebounding, to name a few things.  If he can rebound and bring the ball up, I don’t see why that would be a bad idea, again, as long as he doesn’t force it and can see the floor and make a good pass.

Andy Rautins:  Can he be a backup point guard in D’Antoni’s system?  Why not activate him and try since on some nights Toney Douglas’ shoulder problems effects his shooting ability.  He can shoot, something that is needed when Douglas shoots less than 40% from the floor on most nights.  He’s athletic enough for us NOT to have to revert back to Chris Duhon.

Roger Mason Jr hasn’t seen daylight since the preseason.

How about the Magic pulling the trigger to get Turkoglu back?  That’s got to be a little humble pie for Otis Smith to re-acquire the contract he didn’t want to ink Turk to begin with.  I can understand why they got rid of Vince Carter.  Why Phoenix would part with Jason Richardson is interesting to me.

We get to see the new-look Magic at the end of this month.

Jameer Nelson

Gilbert Arenas

Dwight Howard

Jason Richardson

Turkoglu

Not a bad starting five on paper.

As far as Carmelo not coming, I say so be it.  Time for the superstars to stop jerking New York’s chain.  We’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime, NBA players and coaches using New York only to not come here.

If you want to come here, the proof is in the pudding.  Man up and come here.  Don’t make the whole city pine for you just to sign with the Russian.

Amar’e Stoudemire might not play tonight due to his soar neck.  It will take a huge effort from D’Antoni to look past his stubbornness and play Anthony Randolph and Timofey Mozgov, although they could be what the the Knicks need right now.  Randolph will turn it over, but if Stoudemire doesn’t play, that’s five less turnovers right there.

Stoudemire is getting the bulk of his 26 points per game off of jump shots from the perimeter.  Mozgov is a true post up player and Randolph can run the floor and finish on the break, so I say give them some PT, especially if Stoudemire is hurt, there is no need to force the issue a la Patrick Ewing when his wrist got jacked in the playoffs in ’99.

And by the way, is James Dolan at all a factor in the stubborn decision to not play Eddy Curry, or is that again all on Mike ‘D’Antoni?  He’s at least good for some fouls.  Again, no use for a post up player, I assume.   Starting to say screw seven seconds or less.

I apologize for the lack of posts towards the end of July. Not much happening in Knicks land right now, so I figure we might as well take inventory of just what we had at the end of 2007-2008 New York Knicks season, and what exactly we have as of right now, having just past the midpoint of the off-season.

Of course, this can all change at any minute. The powers that be continue to alter this well-documented losing roster. Considering the low stock value of some of our more expensive players, it may take some time to really put together a cohesive and competitive Knicks basketball team.

My barber is from Italy. He’s around 70 years old, an old-school guy named Pete. I don’t know how much Pete really knows about NBA basketball in the 21st century, but I was getting a cut the other day, and I was talking to Pete about D’Antoni and Gallinari and he said “watch them win the title next year.” I laughed, and respectfully replied, “I think it’s going to take a little more time before they can compete for a title.”

But I like the positive thinking. You have to aim high if you’re going to hit your mark. I hear that’s what D’Antoni is all about. I’m just glad they’re no longer pouring gasoline on the salary cap fire. Just because MSG has money to burn doesn’t mean they should literally burn it. We’ve had this problem since the days of Patrick Ewing, trying to get the quick fix. Someone finally stepped up, took the helm and decided to take on a new approach, hopefully the right approach to the problem.

“I think he’ll flourish,” said Mike Krzyzewski, who coached Duhon for four years at Duke. “My feeling is he’ll be one of the leaders in the league in assists in Mike’s system. That will make everybody better.”

“I think he’s the kind of guy that the New York Knicks always had,” Walsh said. “A guy that just goes out, plays hard, fits in with the team, has a role to play, will defend. Those are the kind of players we’d like to see on this team.”

So Donnie, care to elaborate as to which players you’d like to see leave this team?

I don’t know about you, but to lead the league in assists implies to me that you are a starting point guard.

Read the full Howard Beck written, New York Times article here.