Marbury a KNICK!!!

[SO]

Originally posted by IrishAlkey
Ignore SO.

Like that wasn't happening anyway...

Name the last player the Knicks picked up in the draft that went anywhere?

Nene! One of the best young power forwards in basketball, playing for the young, athletic, playoff-bound Denver Nuggets, traded on draft day for Antonio McNoKnees.

Their lotto picks are destined to failure and always have been.

Why not just forfeit every future draft pick then? Believe me, I know the Knicks and their awful draft history. They had a nice 4 year stretch - from 1985 to 88, and since then the best players they drafted were Charlie Ward and Greg Anthony. Til 2002 that is, when they drafted future All-Star Nene! And traded him for a cripple...

You pick up the second-best point guard in the NBA.

Really? Baron Davis? AWESOME!!!

Oh, you mean Stephon Marbury. Well, fourth or fifth best is still really good, I won't argue that. Marbury is really, really good. More on that...

You have a point guard that other names will want to play with.

But can't, because the Knicks are so damn far over the cap.

Package Keith and Williams and beg Indiana for Artest.

How many first-round picks do we throw in? I don't get this rumor. Artest to KVH is a downgrade. Indy already has Tinsley/Anderson at the point, and besides the CBA would make it impossible. For it to work, it would look something like:

KVH/Frank Williams/Sweetney/Doleac for Artest/Al Harrington/Croshere

While I know that Indy would like to get rid of the headcase that is Artest, I'm sure they could get more, without giving up Harrington.

Nobody knows what the hell Vujanic can do. Oh boy, 20 points a game against some scrubs in Europe... take him.

Nobody knows? Nobody knew what Nowitzki could do, or Peja, or Manu Ginoboli when they were lowly euroleague players...now they're all just key players on REAL championship contenders. Or how about last year, who knew what that LeBron guy could do, what with playing against a bunch of high school scrubs.

Well, I do know that Milos Vujanic can start at point for a gold medal, world championship winning team that beat a team of NBA All-Stars, while going head-to-head with the best PG in the world and holding his own. How do I know? Because it happened, and I saw it. I've also seen him play in a few games since then, and know that that wasn't a fluke. Don't believe me? Here's Chad Ford of espninsider.com:

At first glance, his game is eerily reminiscent of Steve Nash's, with one or two differences. Both players are fantastic shooters (Vujanic goes 4-for-9 from beyond the arc tonight). They both love to push the ball up the court, and always keep their cool even under pressure. Vujanic, however, is a better athlete and a tougher defender.
The NBA's best point guards all have one thing in common -- the ability to split defenders and get the ball to the basket. Jason Kidd is the master of this, and Vujanic isn't far behind.

One second he's shooting 3s. The next he's pushing the ball on the break and dishing a perfect behind-the-back pass to a trailing teammate for the jam. The next time down, he's battling for offensive rebounds, and then he's flinging himself into the stands for a loose ball. Vujanic has a killer jump stop and can pull up on a dime and sink the open jumper.

CSKA has no answer for him. At times they triple-team him, but he always makes them pay. He is putting on a show tonight. Of all of the players we've seen on the trip, he is by far the best. His stat line at the end of the game tells most of the story: 28 points on 7 of 14 shooting, seven assists, three rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes. Most important, Partizan scores a huge upset over CSKA.

Oh, so he is Steve Nash, but more athletic and a tougher defender. I'll take that!

You bite it big with Penny, but you have to take a hit to get a perennial all-star like Stephon. He'll be 27 this year. Hopefully, he's matured. He's not gonna' want to blow this opportunity. I just hope Isiah has at least two more tricks up his sleeve.

Look, Stephon is great, an All-Star, and one of he best PG's in the league. He's definitely matured since his days in NJ; he's better defensively, and more willing to distribute the ball and spread the floor. I just think we gave up way too much for him. What we get now is a team that can win a little now, win a little later. What we gave up is a team that would lose a lot now, but hopefully put us in a position to win it all later. And that's all that matters: Championships. Not putting asses in the seats, not generating a buzz. Championships. I've been a Knicks fan for almost 20 years, watched them build from young Ewing/Jackson/Walker in the 80's to the team that almost could...and almost could...and almost could again in the 90's. I don't want a team that makes the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, or even a team that can win the East but still isn't as good as the 5th best in the West. And in a few years, when the West Coast powerhouses start to fade and opportunities open up around the league, who will grab those opportunities? It won't be the aging Knicks, with Houston and KVH and Thomas sniffing retirement, Marbury trying to lead a team of aging veterans and not-ready-for-prime-time rooks and sophs. It'll be today's young teams - the Cavs, Nugs, Jazz, the Bulls and the Heat.

And Knicks fans will be saying, if only they'd have rebuilt when they had the chance, instead of going for the quick fix. If only...