I never watched FSU play during Douglas’ time there, so I don’t have that much of a feel as for why Walsh asked Dolan to buy this pick for $3 million before any signing.  Considering Douglas’ size (6′1″ and around 220lbs) and the defensive reputation that follows him out of FSU, I hope he can be a Nate McMillian type player for us.  We could use that in our back court, no doubt.

The last guy we drafted from Florida?  David Lee.

The last guard we drafted from FSU?  Charie Ward.

That’s pretty good company Douglas, hope you do well here in NYC.

Our Knicks will be playing their first game on the 14th in Vegas against Memphis.

The New York Knicks summer leauge roster and schedule can be viewed here.  …Where is Valley High School?

All of the games will be telvised on MSG, word up!

Who does that leave for the Knicks to go after?  Well, Grant Hill is in the house today to speak with Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni.   Some are thinking if the Knicks landed Hill (Boston can’t now, since they’ve got ‘Sheed) that Wilson Chandler would be shopped heavily.  Considering that LeBron is a small forward, if the Knicks decided to deal Chandler, I’d consider that an indication the Knicks still feel they can land LeBron.  Obviously Chandler was shopped during the draft to no avail, so Walsh may not view him as a building block in the New MSG.

What are the Knicks going to do about their point guard issue?  Duhon is a great backup, but fell apart as a 40+ minute starter.  Nate’s assist numbers were up (all of his numbers were up under Mike D) but he’s just not a point.  Walsh needs to do something in the back court.

Just thinking about what we’ve done so far.  We didn’t add much, but we got rid of Q, that’s good.  If Darko got one block a game he’d be a statistical defensive improvement upon our last two centers (Lee, Curry).

How will this effect the Knicks lineup?  The new kid that we drafted, Jordan Hill, is an athletic big man at 6′10″. If he can run the floor as advertised, Mike D’Antoni should be able to use him well in his system.  Would he play along side Lee, or would Lee or Harrington be relegated to come off the bench?  Let’s also not forget about Eddy Curry, who will probably be given another chance this year to resurrect his career.

Small Forwards:  Al Harrington, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari

Power Forwards:  Jordan Hill, David Lee, Jared Jeffries

Centers: Eddy Curry, Darko Milicic, Chris Wilcox, Mouhamaed Sene

Since Minnesota was involved in that unfair Kevin Garnett trade that should not have been allowed, I say this is the basketball universe’s unfolding of karmic retribution.  They said they new he might stay for a few years when they picked him, obviously they drafted more than one point in case he did decide to stay.

Maybe the Ewing curse is finally wearing off on us, but the Kevin McHale curse is only getting started in Minny.  Is Rubio holding out for the Knicks?  I don’t know how much you can read into it.  He went into the draft, got picked high, and decided to stay in Europe instead.  This is a recurring theme amongst some of these Euros.

Basketball teases.

Lee has been one of the few Knicks in recent memory I can liken unto an Oakley or a Starks.  There has simply been a shortage of real knicks in recent years, most of them fall over and die instead of standing up to fight.

Lee I wish you the best wherever you end up.  Hopefully it is with us, but this is business and with the lifespan of the average NBA player being so short, I hope you get everything you’re looking for with this next contract you’re about to ink.

Would the signing of Kidd be a white flag surrender in the effort to steer Ricky Rubio to New York?

I’m betting we walk away with Stephen Curry tonight, but with all the changes going into the draft–Shaq in Cleavland, Vince Carter in Orlando, Jamal Crawford in ATL, and let’s not forget we just bought the 29th pick at the bottom of the first round, who knows what the Knicks will look like after it is all said and done.

Tonight we can take John Coltrane GIANT STEPS tonight towards 2010 success, or we can take baby steps, either way, good luck to our Knicks, may the do the right thing when it counts…

Let’s see if there isn’t a spike in season ticket sales in a few hours…

Hypothetical question:  what would a back court consisting of Rubio and Curry look like in today’s NBA?  Undersized, no defense, how would that work?

Just bloggin’

…Are walsh and D’Antoni on the same page as far as what this team needs to do in preparation for the season, and more remotely, the summer of 2010?  Some all-star players will come here just because of the money and the prime-time spotlight, but if we want the handfull of truly elite players, we have to make the moves now that prove to them we are on the right track.

Yo Danilo, how’s that back feeling, homie?