The Paralysis of Analysis

I happen to believe the rumors that a Kobe trade is in the works. I also think a Ron-Ron trade is in the works. You might ask, why hasn't anything happened?

The reason is simple. You have to do one or the other and Isiah is waiting it out looking for the better alternative. The question is not that the Knicks are questioning the quality of the player they'd be receiving but rather working out the details of those leaving so as to ensure enough is left to last through the playoffs.

In both deals the Knicks will be saddled with a bad contract or two. Now that the Knicks have pretty much dried up their own legacy of bad contracts, there's good reason to be cautious taking on too much incoming dreck. The Knicks are preparing for a championship run not another spin around the NBA hamster wheel of mediocrity.

And the Knicks have plenty of healthy desirable trade assets IIF(if and only if) the right deal is put into play.

If media reports are correct, Kobe has already psychologically checked out of LA. He's ready for a clean break. The choice is to catch a rising star team to latch onto or to overstay your welcome (see Nowitski) and wind up getting traded to the geriatric All-Star teams of the year and try to win a ring that way (Lots of luck to the Clover Acres team this year).

The vibes I'm sensing are that Artest is a Knick very soon unless the Artest talk is a smokescreen for the deal of the decade.

Stay tuned.

Garnett a Celtic?

Mike Dougherty is reporting a Garnett to Boston deal is in the works. He speculates:

Just for kicks, let’s put Garnett in Boston and debate the standings.

How will the upcoming season play out if nobody answers Danny Ainge with another marqee name?

1. Celtics? 2. Raptors? 3. Knicks? 4. Nets? 5. Sixers?

I don’t see a lot of separation between the Raptors, Knicks and Nets right now. This might be a good thing for a league that needs to draw attention far away from the scandal that is playing out. Renewed interest from the fans in Boston and New York would help a great deal.

Also, do the Knicks have to get Ron Artest now or do you like the depth on hand right now? The price goes up if Garnett comes East.

MUMA MIA!

Three-way

Could happen, no?

Turkoglu and Battie to Sacto.

Artest to NY.

Shareef to Orlando.

JJames, N8, and Chandler to Orlando.

Ron-Ron Rumors, Our-Test

Despite what the New York Post believes, there is no way David Lee gets dealt for Artest. Quite frankly, Isiah has already assembled the beast in the East and Ron-Ron would simply fortify that fact.

However, Isiah is not a fool. David Lee is the best sixth man in the league and hardly qualified to be trade bait. He will get plenty of minutes keeping Randolph and Curry fresh for the playoffs.

More likely might be a package of Jeffries, Nate, and Chandler. Jeffries never got untracked here and may come back strong in a different environment. With the maturation of Collins, Nate needs minutes he won't get here, and Chandler is a nice first-rounder who could make the trade very, very attractive on Sacramento's side of the house. The by-product for the Knicks is that the player glut gets resolved and for Sacto - instead of signing more expensive free agents, they staff the team with some relatively cost-effective players.

Nor do I agree that Artest would be a disruptive influence here. For some reason NY beat writers hold NY athletes to higher moral and ethical standards than they do the parade of sleazy NY politicians making the rounds every day.

Knicks fans aren't looking for religious camp counselors. We're looking for a few good men who will restore some glory to the damned franchise. It is ok to like Randolph and Artest for what they are; gifted athletes.

If the Knicks want to rehabilitate the reputation of these fellows then use Marbury as an example. Find a needy city charity, hire a full-time counselor and advocate assigned to Randolph and Artest to point them in the right direction - working to improve the community. In other words, lose the thug hanger-ons and surround these guys with some decent voices.

Derek Fisher - pick up the courtesy phone.

How the Lakers Affect the Knicks

John Hollinger of the NY Sun claims, Lakers May Throw Wrench in Knicks Off-Season Plans.

For those who have been living in a cave for the past two days, Bryant's trade-me-no-wait-don't plea has implications that will affect the 'Bockers. On the pipe-dream side, there's the possibility that Bryant could become frustrated enough to consider a jump to New York in 2009, when he can opt out of his current contract. That's both a long shot and a long way away, plus it would require two more years of salary discipline by team president Isiah Thomas to keep the Knicks under the cap — yeah, right.

However, Kobe's tirade indirectly affects the Knicks in a more important way: He puts the Lakers in pursuit of many of the same players. The entirely legitimate part of Bryant's lament is that ever since the Shaquille O'Neal trade, the Lakers have wasted the prime years of his career because they've been too scared of their own shadows to pull off a trade. Call them the anti- Knicks, if you will. Most obviously, they passed up a shot to acquire Jason Kidd in February when it wouldn't have even cost them that much.

And he concludes...

The lack of tradable contracts similarly eliminates the Knicks' hopes of obtaining most of the other players listed above. If they can't get O'Neal, New York's pursuits in the trade market are likely to be limited to the same guys they've chased ever since Thomas came to town: faded pseudo-stars, overpaid mediocrities, and other assorted castoffs who have fallen out of favor in other NBA cities.

One player in particular fits the mold. File this one under "it's crazy, but it just might work," but of all the players I listed above, the one guy New York has a realistic shot at is Artest. He's from Queens, he wants to play here, and he'd be willing to play for Isiah. Obviously, there's a big risk here — the Knicks have a young locker room, and adding Artest to an already somewhat volatile mixture could be a recipe for disaster.

Additionally, I'm not sure Isiah is desperate enough to try something like this yet, not after getting a contract extension in March as a reward for owning the East's no. 8 seed for an entire day. Remember, he's seen the "Artest Experience" first hand, and there's no reason to live through it again when he's got such a cushy gig right now.

However, if the Knicks start slowly this fall, all bets are off. Artest's salary is small enough — $7.8 million this year — that either a straight-up trade of Crawford, or a two-flakes-for-one deal that hands over Robinson, Jerome James, and a draft pick (lottery-protected, please), would satisfy the league's salary cap requirements.

In the meantime, expect plenty of smoke and little fire. Other than a possible O'Neal deal, New York doesn't have the goods to pull off a big-time trade unless it's for a whack job like Artest. You'll hear plenty of rumors this summer about the Knicks pursuing trades for big-name stars, but without better chips it will be all strictly entertainment for their beleaguered fans. O'Neal was the one quasi-realistic trade possibility, but with the Lakers now likely to bid against the team, it adds one more daunting obstacle to the Knicks' hopes for an off-season upgrade.

I happen to think Artest is a great fit assuming the trade is right.