playing both sides to the middle...

depending on the outcome of a series of physicals, outfielder Jason Bay will be joining the New York Mets for the next 4 to 5 years. Great news depending on who you talk to. i can say the constellation is pleased. Adding another bat to a healthy lineup is just what the doctor ordered. Sure, GM Omar Minaya still needs to scour the streets for pitching but this isn't about the Mets, other than the fact we can be sure, as Met fans, that going into the New Year our ship isn't being steered by a complete simpleton. Temper your distaste, Omar's job is whole lot easier than the one my friends Knicks GM Donnie Walsh and Coach Mike D'Antoni have been knee deep in over at the World's Most Famous Arena for the past year and a half...

when i wrote for The TORCH, St John's Official Student Newspaper back in the early nineties i used to receive correspondence from Walsh, who was working as the Indiana Pacers top PR guy. He would keep me up to date on the comings and goings of SJU alum Malik Sealy, that is before Malik was traded to Minnesota and ultimately died tragically in an auto accident a few years later. i would foolishly ask for press credentials to Knick games when the Pacers were in town, i mean; its 1994—playoff tickets are too much to ask for? Walsh eventually went on to run the basketball operations over in Indianapolis until the room got too small with Larry Bird joining him in the front office. Walsh came home to NYC and inherited a Knick franchise in absolute disrepair...

fast forward to the current state of the Knick winners of 9 of their last 14 after starting 12-19 overall after starting 1-9. D'Antnoni has found a strong and short rotation. A hallmark of a team on mission is a good, tight 8 man rotation. The best teams in the league practice this philosophy. It identifies a players role and keeps play consistent. D'Antoni has received a little heat from fans and an agent about the 12 games Nate Robinson has sat on the bench with a DNP-Coaches Decision. Robinson is a fan favorite to be sure, and a favorite of mine, personality wise, but i can clearly see that he doesn't quite fit the program here. He might get his time at some point, especially if Larry Hughes play continues to ebb, but the mission here is to make the playoffs and if D'Antoni feels he's better off playing a guard rotation of Chris Duhon, Larry Hughes, and Toney Douglas then so be it. There is no lottery pick to play for, that is, unless your Utah Jazz fan. So playoffs ahoy...

Walsh has molded the current roster to allow for the largest amount of room under the salary cap to use next year in 2010 NBA Free Agency Bonanza. But there is still a piece of dead weight drowning any dream of LeBron James, Chris Bosh or the like. That dead weight is Eddy Curry, signed to the teeth for the better part of the next two years and not playing a minute ever since Jonathan Bender came from the gas station to take those 5-10 minutes away from him. Not that he was playing consistently well or, for that matter, consistently or well. Curry has been an abomination, the poster boy for an administration gone insane when Isiah Thomas reigned over the Franchise. Curry needs to go, no money down, and cash back. Imediamente!...

then comes news from Houston that oft-injured, former next Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady was sent home by Rockets management as they try to work a deal to get him out of town. McGrady wants meaningful minutes and a chance to prove his worth after micro-fracture surgery. Hmm, maybe we can do business here...

let's sum it up, neither Nate Robinson or Eddy Curry are happy and there is no answer for them as to when they will ever see the court again as anything more than a spectator. The Knicks need to clear cap space by jettisoning Curry but need to give a prospective trading partner something of worth in return. With no first round pick to speak of and a squad improving everyday with the emergence of David Lee's and Danillo Gallinari's all-around games and a team defense that has kept opposing teams shooting poorly and turning the ball over a Knick fan should be screaming for the playoffs, and D'Antoni and Walsh should be doing everything in their power to make that happen, while not jeopardizing cap space for next year...

I propose trading for Tracy McGrady and the Rockets 2010 first round pick, offering in return Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Eddy Curry. That makes Robinson happy, and gets Curry off the books for the next two years. Sure, i like Chandler's game, but there seems to be a disconnect between where he is as player and talent and the next level. Not to mention the 2010 free agent class is filled with better players who do the same thing. McGrady's contract is dust next June. McGrady's is a dyed in the wool scorer. A finisher, exactly what the Knicks need late in games when the pick and roll disappears. He is a perfect fit for a team starving for playoff experience and a team looking for a quick affair, not a long term relationship. Its exactly what McGrady wants, minutes on a team with something to prove, because he has something to prove as well. A good finish and a challenge in the first round of the playoffs and McGrady all but sews up his last professional contract somewhere else. Meanwhile the gaping hole that was once a multitude of attitudes and bloated contracts will go the way of Keyser Sose. Gone...

left will be a chasm of wants and dreams. LeBron? Sure, although he is a bit of a black hole and probably won't leave Cleveland. I'd rather lock up expiring contracts like Lee and Jared Jefferies, who has finally come around as the Knicks all purpose, do-all, cover anyone, take the charge, and hit the floor for the loose ball defensive specialist. Signing Chris Bosh would be another coup, giving us an All-Star post presence, rebounder and shot blocker, and probably should be the Knicks #1 priority. How badly do you think he wants out of Toronto? Layer in Joe Johnson, who thrived under D'Antoni in Phoenix and start making reservations for a perennial trip to the playoffs. Its like the NBA gods have finally seen fit to offer this opportunity to long suffering Knicks and their loyal fans, which right about now amounts to Spike Lee and myself, and i'm not sure about Spike...

make the deal Donnie, you can thank me later...with finals tickets...