Anytime your favorite basketball team can trade an over the hill, injury-prone, shoot-first point guard  and a undersized jump-shooting center/forward “tweener” for a 25 year old power forward that averaged 23 points and 10 boards (in the West no less) and two affordable role players you should be happy.  And generally speaking, the Knicks trade to acquire Zack Randolph was a good move and makes me happy.  It gives the Knicks arguably, the best offensive team in the East.  

 But…

 There is always a “but” right?

If we were talking about fantasy basketball, there would be no warts on this deal. However we are talking about real, live NBA basketball and this deal does have some potential laws:

Who owns the post? 

Knicks beat writer Frank Isola mentioned this today in the Daily News and I wondered the same thing last night while thinking about the trade.  Who will be the primary post up option, Eddy Curry or Zack Randolph? It’s rare that a team is successful when both big men are offensive players. It’s almost like having to star running backs playing at the same time; it’s great in theory but doesn’t work in actual games.  The Knicks tried this approach years ago with Patrick Ewing and Bill Cartwright and it didn’t work.  And while it did work for the Spurs, Tim Duncan and David Robinson were both skilled enough to be effective from the high post both as shooters and passers.  Neither Curry nor Randolph have that type of skill set.  Generally speaking, at the two “power” spots, one player scores, the other rebounds and defends.   Isiah will have to be creative to make sure both players get enough touches and stay out of the other’s way.

What happens to David Lee?

David Lee is the Knicks best rebounder and most popular player, however by adding Randolph, Lee may see significantly less playing time.  While it’s possible that Lee could see minutes at the small forward spot, because both Randolph and Curry are most effective operating in the paint, the Knicks would most likely balance the line-up by having a perimeter shooter at the small forward position to compliment their two big men.  While Lee has shown signs of developing a mid-range game, his game is really finishing around the basket.  

I know it seems like I’m nitpicking.  At the end of the day the Knicks get a player who is in the prime of his career that averages 23 points and 10 rebounds and get rid of Steve Francis who contributed one buzzer beater and nothing else and Channing Frye who just didn’t fit with Eddy Curry. That alone makes the Knicks better than they were yesterday before the draft started. This should make me happy.  It’s just that I’m a Knicks fan and lately, there has always been a but.

According a report in Monday's Newark-Star Ledger, James Dolan has given Isiah Thomas a vote of confidence, telling the team that Thomas didn’t have “anything to worry about right now”.

 I can’t say that I’m surprised.  Unlike Larry Brown, Thomas has been the consummate “company man”.  He doesn’t talk negatively about his players or the organization which may rank higher on Dolan’s good employee criteria than actual performance (see Marv Albert).   To Thomas’ credit, there has also been on-court improvement as the Knicks have already surpassed last season’s win total.

 However, I still don’t believe the Isiah Thomas will turn the Knicks into a long term winner or deserved this vote of confidence.  Let’s not forget that the Knicks are currently seven games below .500 in maybe the worst division in all of sports.  There is still dead weight throughout the roster, namely Steve Francis, Jerome James, Jared Jeffries and Kelvin Cato. And while the Knicks will finish with a better record than last season and possibly make the playoffs, I think this “progress” is fools gold.  This team just went from atrocious to really bad.  Despite their “improvement” still turns the ball over too much (16 turnovers per game, last in the league) and doesn’t pass it enough (19 assists per game, 26th in the league). They are horrible on defense (22nd in scoring defense) and lack a franchise player. Besides that things are looking great.  You can probably make a pretty good case that the Knicks are higher in the Atlantic division standings this season because Allen Iverson was traded out west, Richard Jefferson has been hurt off and on all season and the Celtics are throwing games.

Am I saying that Isiah should have turned this team into the Suns in half a season? Not at all but at the same time it's a little early to think he's the answer as a coach and that this team is on the right track.  Isiah isn’t doing anything great, he’s just being graded on a curve.

Some thoughts before spending the rest of the day watching football and rooting for my fantasy team:

How the hell are the Raiders involved in a nationally televised game for the third time this year? The Raiders were part of the Monday Night Football opening week double header, a Sunday night game against Denver in week 6, and now they are playing at Seattle on Monday Night this week in a game that will feature both teams starting back up quarterbacks and back up running backs..  Can’t say I’ll be rushing home from class to catch this game.

I’m glad to see someone has their head on straight in comparing Tony Romo to Brett Favre.  I will not insult Favre by taking the time to list the reasons why these comparisons are absurd.  I’m just glad that Romo himself realizes that making this comparison is ridiculous.  Can the guy win two games in a row first? It’s unbelievable how quick we pass judgment (both positive and negative judgment) in sports these days. 

I thought I was a sports fan, but I guess I’m really not. I say this because I would never name my child ESPN like this couple.  And we though the name “Apple” was bad. One of my friends once told me that in this country we are getting to the point where the government is going to have to approve names, just to save kids from their parents.  I can’t say she is wrong.   

It’s good to see that the Knicks are making my decision to root for them to lose very easy.  I caught the second half of the home opener against Indiana last night and nothing has changed.  They gave up wide open jump shots off of simple high screens; allowing someone named Jasikevicuis to score 16 points on 5-10 shooting. They had 14 total assists; the Pacers starting point guard, Jamal Tinsley, had the same amount.  And last but not least the Knicks shot 43% from the field, compared to the Pacers 52%.  The positives were that home opener was not sold out, which will hopefully force Dolan’s hand even quicker to dump Isiah, and David Lee and Nate Robinson are still hustling.  Hopefully a new General Manager and Coach can salvage something out of the three young guys and maybe Eddy Curry before they blow the team up.

Being a fan is pretty cut and dry.  You pick a team and root for that team to win.  The more the team wins, the better the odds are to win a championship. Not exactly rocket science. 

Well, what if winning is actually bad for your favorite team?  Do you actually root for your team to lose?  Do you hope they miss that last second shot?  Or that they get out rebounded?  Is it ok to wish for turnovers in key moments of the game?  As crazy as it may sound, that’s what all Knicks fans should be rooting for this season.

The Knicks would be better off without Isiah Thomas.  Everyone knows this.  There is no sense in rehashing the reasons why, they are well documented. As long as Thomas is the Head Coach and President of Basketball Operations, the New York Knickerbockers will not be a championship caliber team.  However, during a weird, rambling interview back in June, Knicks fans were given a glimmer of hope.  James Dolan stated that the Knicks have to make “significant progress” toward being a championship team for Isiah Thomas to keep his job.

If you understand basketball, then you know that the Knicks are more than a season away from making significant progress toward being a championship team.  The Knicks don’t defend, pass or rebound.   So it’s a foregone conclusion that by late spring, Knicks fans will be dancing in the streets at the end of this season since Thomas will be fired, right?  Well, it’s not that simple. 

The Knicks won 23 games last season. And while they have plenty of flaws, they do have talent.  There is quickness and scoring punch in the backcourt with Marbury, Francis and Crawford. Channing Frye has plenty of potential and while Eddy Curry will never be confused with Shaquille O’Neal, he has better tools than most starting NBA centers.  This is a roster that should win more than 23 games.  Think about it, even the Bobcats won 26 games last season.  So it’s not inconceivable that the Knicks could be in playoff contention this season. With a few breaks, the Knicks could get the 7th or 8th spot in the playoffs, playing in a weak conference where the Milwaukee Bucks made the playoffs last season with a losing record (40-42).  That could be just the “progress” Dolan needs to save face and keep Thomas around, which would easily be the worst thing for the Knicks and their fans.

No, success this season will not be a good thing for the long term health of the Knicks franchise or their fans.   It will just lead to more bad trades and free agent signings, continued changes in philosophy and odd draft choices. All of which, I can’t take anymore.  So I’m rooting for the Knicks to lose.  I want them to be terrible.  That’s the only chance they have to turn the franchise around.