Tyson Chandler is coming into this season with a lot to prove. For starters, Chandler has been working extensively on developing a reliable medium-range jumper and hookshot (dont’ laugh). In addition, Chandler speaks on his off-season regimen to get stronger (and hopefully prevent injuries), and possibly letting out the Knicks game plan on which position Melo will be playing most this season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP3tNwxA8wk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The questions about Amar’e Stoudemire’s health have intensified today with the disclosure that the veteran forward underwent an unreported knee surgery in July.
The New York Daily News states Stoudemire had the surgery as a “clean-up” procedure on one of the knees.
The sugery marks the third knee procedure Stoudemire has undergone in the last 12 months. Last year, Stoudemire missed the beginning of the season due to a debridement surgery on his right knee. The same procedure, this time on his left knee, caused him to miss the end of the regular season and a total of 53 games.
At press time, the Knicks are preparing for their opening media day. Stoudemire has yet to release a statement.
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I doubt many of us were expecting much from Stat this year, but it’s still disheartening to hear that he’s had yet another surgery. I’m not deterred by the claim it’s not “serious.” Anything having to do with Stat’s knees is serious, as the last 12 months have shown.
I’m sure Amar’e will downplay this and claim he’s in “phenomenal shape,” but it serves as another warning for Knicks coach Mike Woodson that Stat will have to be on a meticulously-managed minute schedule. I’d be shocked if we see him play more than 15 minutes a game this season unless we’re severely short-handed.
The Knicks have been a roll this week and sewed up one of their last remaining depth roles in signing 9-year point guard Beno Udrih to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.
The Knicks have been vigorously pursuing Udrih for the past few weeks. According to undisclosed sources close to Udrih, his main reason for joining the Knicks was a chance to play for a contender.
Udrih averaged 8.2 points and 4.6 assists last season for the Bucks and Magic. Over the last 27 games of the year, Udrih increased his numbers to 10 points per game and six assists while shooting 40% from the field and 39% from three-point range.
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This is a very good pickup, especially at the veteran’s minimum. When Felton went down on Christmas Day last year, the Knicks backcourt suffered greatly with the increased burden on the old legs of Jason Kidd and Pablo Prigioni. Udrih not only works the pick n’ roll well, but he has a solid mid-range jumper which will be essential in keeping the floor spaced.
The other point guard option was Bobby Brown, who from what I’ve seen is an aggressive point guard with a scorer’s mentality. I wouldn’t have been mad at picking him up, but Udrih’s NBA experience was likely the deciding the factor in NY choosing him.
Considering the limitations we had on the financial end, we’ve made some excellent moves this summer in improving nearly every position.
The Knicks have added much-needed relief to their forecourt depth with the announcement yesterday of signing 6’10 Jeremy Tyler to a reported two-year deal.
The 22-year-old Tyler was the 39th pick in the 2011 draft. Selected by Golden State and later playing for the Hawks, he averaged 3.6 points and 2.5 rebounds over 63 games.
Over the summer league, Tyler showed marked improvement in his rebounding and interior offense, being a surprise standout averaging 12.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over 17 minutes per game.
Tyler is expected to provide backup minutes for Tyson Chandler and also at his natural power forward position.
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This is an excellent signing. Tyson Chandler is not had a legit backup at the center position since he’s been a Knick. Yes, Tyler is billed as a power forward, but at 6’10, 260 pounds, he can definitely be a solid contributor at center in today’s league. Tyler has shown he can be aggressive, has no signs of being injury-prone, and most importantly, is young. He’s certainly a project, but his game and mentality will benefit greatly by being surrounded with veterans like Kenyon Martin, Chandler and Metta World Peace (yes, I included Metta’s crazy ass…).
View the clip below and get familiar with our latest signing.
With Carmelo Anthony potentially hitting the free agent market before the 2014-2015 season, everything the Knicks star says about the team will be dissected. In many cases, the dissection will be result in over-analysis, as evidenced by Melo’s recent statement over the weekend at his Queens youth camp that his window for a title is “closing.”
Below is the quote in its entirety courtesy of the New York Post.
My window is closing. I’m trying to bring a championship to New York ASAP.
He clarified that he was not speaking about his specific time with the Knicks, and addressed that he’s not considered the possibility of leaving.
As far as ruling anything out, I haven’t thought about anything beyond today. My mind is not thinking about next offseason right now. I’m trying to do what I do this offseason, get right, work out, train and prepare myself for this season. When that time comes, I’ll deal with that. It’s not something I’m thinking about right now.
New York is the greatest city to play in the world.
I think I’m in better shape than at the Olympics. I’ve been doing what I’m supposed to be doing. At this point, I feel I’m in that [Team] USA shape right now.
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If this conversation had been held in private, I believe Anthony would have further clarified that the window for this team with himself, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler as the focal points is closing. This team is in the last year of a “win-now” 3-year title plan and it’s clear that while the Knicks have definitely improved over the previous 10 years of ineptitude, the organization is still well short of being a title contender. That won’t change until Amar’e’s big contract comes off the books and the team has the ability to sign a legit second option for Melo. The current team was a gamble with Stat’s injury history and unfortunately it didn’t pay off. Nonetheless, unless the team completely crashes and burns this season, it’s difficult to imagine Melo walking away from a team that’s given him the keys to the city and made it clear he’ll have a huge say in determining the new big signings in 2015.
This off-season saw some hopeful additions with Metta World Peace and Andrea Bargnani, and resigning key contributors from last season in JR Smith and Kenyon Martin. Not to mention there’s still a few rosters spots left to strengthen our point guard and center/forward positions. Rest easy, Knicks fans — I think Melo will be with us well past next year.
Kenyon Martin has come to terms on a veteran’s minimum deal of $1.4 million that will bring him back to the New York Knicks for the 2013-2014 season.
Martin was a mid-year acquisition for New York last season and became an immediate defensive and rebounding force off the bench. Martin averaged 7.2 points, 5 rebounds and nearly a block per game while playing 24 minutes for New York last season.
His production played a pivotal role in the Knicks surging to a late season, 13-game win streak that secured the second best record in the Eastern Conference.
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I was never too worried about K-Mart leaving. Nonetheless, it’s satisfying to see another key role wrapped up. Hopefully Coach Woodson learned from how all our veteran bigs fell apart last year and monitors K-Mart’s minutes closely. More reason than ever to make sure we also sign a younger big like Jeremy Tyler.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8n8W7gRtAg&feature=youtube_gdata_player]
With crosstown and division rivals the Brooklyn Nets shaking up their core with the acquisitions of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, the New York Knicks made their first big move of the off-season in trading veterans Steve Novak and Marcus Camby to the Toronto Raptors for their much-maligned center/foward hybrid Andrea Bargnani.
My initial reaction was one of disgust. After last season, where we saw literally every big on the roster fall due to nagging injuries, the last thing the squad needed was another injury-plagued 7-footer. And in Bargnani’s case, why pick up a big man who doesn’t rebound well (averaging just four over his seven-year career) and is coming off his worst year last season? Bargnani played just 35 games due to season-ending elbow surgery.
But the more I thought about it, the better I felt. Make no mistake, I’m not happy, but Bargnani can’t be any worse than what we got from Novak and Camby last year. Novak’s shooting went down and defensively he was a huge liability on every play. Camby couldn’t stay healthy for any stretch of the season to justify the multi-year contract he was sitting on. It remains to be seen if Bargnani can remain healthy, but at least we get a guy who can space the floor and create his own shot (that’s huge in preventing the offensive stagnation that plagued the team). And while his contract ugly at first glance ($23 million over the next two years), Bargnani be off the books like everyone else in 2015 when the Knicks can blow up the team if needed.
The Raptors will also get Quentin Richardson, a 2016 first round pick, and two second rounders (2014, 2017). It’s an ok deal, but only if Bargnani can be reliable enough to contribute 12-15 points a night. It would seem like a given based on his career, but we all know players all of a sudden like to turn into complete trash when they come to New York.
Will the change to a winning culture and a no-nonsense coach make Bargnani a valued contributor and a crowd favorite in New York City? Us Knicks fans can only hope so (and pray this isn’t the last big off-season move from NY…).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzazsJESZa8&feature=youtube_gdata_player]
![[Video] Tyson Chandler On Developing a Jumpshot, Adding Weight and Melo SF/PF Debate](https://nykloyalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/158408397-0_standard_400-0.jpg?w=400&h=266&crop=1)
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