[knicksfreakParticipant]

Havent posted in a while but here goes…

the Knicks’ offseason options are limited so my focus has gone to this years most intriguing team: the Hornets

DRAFT

Anthony Davis is a lock at #1

Take a flyer on Perry Jones at #10 or trade down if possible and get him. They have as close to a lock as possible in Davis so they should go big with their second pick. Jones is a scary pick but he could also end up very good. In the very least you would have an insanely long and athletic front line. He can also build some confidence playing in the shadow of Davis instead of trying to live up to huge expectations.

People are saying Meyers Leonard, Austin Rivers, or Kendall Marshall at this pick but players similar to Meyers Leonard have always seemed to bust in the past: Robert Swift, Kosta Koufos, BJ Mullens, Thabeet… Marshall scares me in every category except distributing the ball. Rivers is a scoring guard that isnt a great distributor but needs the ball in his hands which isnt a great combo.

Try to acquire a second round pick to grab a long shooter in Hollis Thompson. He will fit well if the rest of my offseason plan comes to fruition.

FREE AGENCY

Let Eric Gordon go via either free agency of sign and trade if you can get draft picks and you dont have to take back long bloated contracts.

Same for Kaman

Re-sign Belinelli if he can be had cheaply

Go after Jeremy Lin. I’m not saying he’s a superstar but he did well with a Knicks team without Melo and Amare which was similar to the makeup of the hornets. Davis is already comparable to Chandler as an athletic defensive force with a limited scoring repetoire. The rest of the Knicks team did not boast more talent than the hornets should have this year. Lin is also not afraid to take the big shot and can take some of the spotlight off of Davis so he doesnt feel too pressured.

Back-up plan to Lin is Dragic.

Lin should also help Xavier Henry develop into the player he was projected to be.

projected lineup at start of 2012-2013 season:

Okafor/Davis/Ariza/Belinelli/Lin

2nd string lineup:

Ayon/Smith/Aminu or P.Jones/Henry/Jack

It is not a star studded lineup but i think the players mesh well which is more important than individual talent (see NYK)

possibly trade assets such as Vasquez or Aminu for future draft picks following the Presti/OKC mold

[220Participant]

There are definitely question marks surrounding a lot of players at the 10 spot. Meyers Leonard certainly does seem reminiscent to a lot of first round big guys who didn’t pan out, but he’s more athletic and established than all the big guys you named from past drafts except Thabeet.

It’s tough because they can take a 2 guard, but if they plan on bringing back Eric Gordon it doesn’t make sense to use their second number one pick on a 2 guard.

Perry Jones to me is frightening because there have been a ton of guys with great upside but never pan out because of work ethic and he seems like he could be one of those guys.

Maybe they’ll get lucky and a player they really believe in will slip to 10.

[rhamnlacsonParticipant]

 i think the ideal situation for NO is to get a guy like jared sulinger and anthony davis on the same team then get jlin on the FA market

[rhamnlacsonParticipant]

 and maybe trade okafor for a legit sf

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

I haven’t heard anyone saying Leonard or Marshall (he’s been slipping) at #10 and I don’t think Rivers fits well with Gordon. Lillard would be their ideal #10 pick, but if he’s off the board I would go with Sullinger. It’s amazing how well he would balance out with Anthony Davis as a super strong and skilled post scorer. I am also one of the many that sees little downside with Sullinger; I don’t see how he could be a less successful pro than any of the other "undersized/unathletic" players that practically define the position now. And coming out with college, with the exception of Love, Sullinger is more talented than all of them.

This is Aminu’s last year on the bench. He’s an underrated piece on this team. 21 years old with two years of college ball and two years in the NBA under his belt. At the very least he’ll be a versatile, athletic defender and a top rebounder at his position, and I would argue that he’s a better scorer than people give him credit for. I was shocked that he played so sparingly on such a bad Hornets team that could have sped his growth process up a year by playing him more.

I agree Lin and Dragic are both good options. I would focus more on Dragic if I were them, mainly because I don’t think the Knicks are letting Lin go and Dragic has proven himself in very diverse situations in Houston and PHX. I think he’s put in the hours and is ready to be a long-term starter somewhere and the Hornets would be a great fit. 

The fact that Okafor still has two years and $28M left on his deal is truly amazing. Other than that they’re in amazing shape as they’ll only have Davis, #10 pick, Aminu (Team Option), Jason Smith ($2.5M), Xavier Henry (TO) and Grevis Vasquez under contract going into 2013-14. 

Dragic-Gordon-Aminu-Sullinger-Davis could evolve into a very good team.

 

[knicksfreakParticipant]

I’m not sure if Okafor’s contract is tradeable.

I like the idea of trying to develop a young player like Aminu or P. Jones into the 3 of the future. They could be a slashing threat like Fields was for Lin.
 

I really like the potential of Xavier Henry if he can play next to a good distributing PG.

[TRC1991Participant]

yeah i was just about to ssay the only way to get rid of Okafor is to amnesty him. no team wants his contract. This Hornets team should re-sign Kaman. Kaman and Davis compliment each other nicely in the paint

[rhamnlacsonParticipant]

 trade okafor for a legit sf

pg-jlin via fa

sg-eric gordon

sf- trade for okafor

pf-jared sulinger

center-anthony davis

[hubhubParticipant]

Maybe in 3-4 years will be able to play the 5 but for in my opinion playing the 4 will the best for his development and generally for his career. I wouldnt trade Okafor, he could be a nice compliment to Davis.

[Rockey123Participant]

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