This is a bad trade but not a terrible one. You cannot evaluate NBA trades based on talent alone, you have to look at the salary cap ramifications. The only, the ONLY way the Knicks are ever going to be good again, I mean really good, not 8th in the East, is to tear it down and start all over. They need to stop acquiring high priced players and build from the bottom. Instead of Francis for two more years at $33 million the Knicks are on the hook for four more years of Randolph at $61 million.
If you just look at the talent, the Knicks definitely got the better deal, Francis was a waste and Frye is decent, but that's about it. By the way, the Trail Blazers are going to buy out Steve Francis so they basically gave up Randolph for Frye, that's how much they think of Randolph.
One of the reasons they wanted to dump him is because of his bad behavior, they won't want him teaching how to hire girls to perform a sex show to their new star Greg Oden.
Randolph is also fat and lazy and doesn't play defense. Which means he's just like Eddy Curry, a fat, lazy defensive liability already on the Knicks. This is actually my biggest problem with the deal, the redundancy of having Randolph and Curry, two big men who need the ball to operate down low. I also think this move will have a deletirrious effect on the best Knick, David Lee. He is going to play less power forward and more small forward, making him a defensive liability, and taking him away from the low post where he is a demon on the glass.
If Curry and Randolph can work together with Marbury perhaps the Knicks can win 40-45 games this season but I don't see any way this collection of malcontents is going to be willing to give the effort on defense necessary to be a really good team.
great analysis
ReplyDelete