Countdown to Training Camp
by, Greg Hutchins

With less than 3 weeks before the start of training camp, Donnie Walsh & Mike D’Antoni find themselves in a bit of a quandary. Both men represent a clean slate for Knicks basketball, but baring a major trade, they will field a team virtually identical to last year’s 23-59 squad. The additions of Danilo Gallinari, Chris Duhon, Anthony Roberson & Patrick Ewing, Jr. are a plus, but the question remains: when will this franchise become respectable again?

Optimism tends to run high whenever a New York team hires a new head man. Considering Walsh hired the best coach on the market, there are many who will come to The Garden this season expecting marked improvement. With D’Antoni at the helm a .500 season is realistic, but far from a lock. If we’ve learned anything from the Larry Brown debacle, it’s an impressive resume is not enough to get the job done at MSG. Unlike Brown, D’Antoni has no championship ring to flash, but we’ve yet to hear a player say they didn’t enjoy playing for him.

Some media outlets have praised Walsh for his patience, but far more can be read into it. Walsh - who was touted by David Stern as one of the sharpest minds in the game - has yet to make a move that significantly reduces payroll or upgrades a position. It’s rather perplexing to think Walsh has only been able to move Renaldo Balkman since coming on board in April. Balkman’s salary was a drop in the bucket compared to the likes of Jerome James, Jared Jeffries & Malik Rose. All three players should have been jettisoned to the Western Conference by now. Moving Zach Randolph has become Walsh’s # 1 agenda item, but offers have been few & far between.

The proposed Randolph-to-Memphis deal is one that would save roughly $10M in cap space for the 2010 free agent class, but would

bring in a monumental lottery bust and chronic underachiever. As for Walsh’s pick for starting point guard, Chris Duhon may become a decent rotation player (much like Fred Jones was last year), but the former Bulls third-stringer does not give D’Antoni the type of playmaker he needs to move the ball at his signature pace. Duhon’s signing was believed to be addition by subtraction, but if Marbury comes to camp, expect him in the starting lineup. Since Walsh did not fire Isiah Thomas, there’s no guarantee he’s going to release Marbury.

If you polled a collection of insiders, sports writers & astute fans, they all expected Donnie Walsh to come in and use his clout to move players for picks and fleece at least one GM for a big time baller. Instead we’ve been playing the guessing game all summer long. Adding four new role players may bolster the bench, but this team’s chances of competing in a vastly improved Eastern Conference with the same core group will be bleak unless Wilson Chandler becomes a budding star or Shawn Marion arrives just before the bus leaves for Saratoga Springs.

Walsh deserves tremendous credit for persuading D’Antoni to come to The Big Apple when his dream job was clearly in Chicago. Adding a head coach with a career .608 win percentage is a step in the right direction, but not nearly enough to ensure a successful 2008-09 campaign. After 5 seasons of coaching Steve Nash & Amare Stoudemire and capping off his summer with a gold medal courtesy of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James & Dwayne Wade, D’Antoni may walk into the gym at Skidmore College and wonder what he’s gotten himself into.

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Before making a run at the likes of Lebron James & Dwayne Wade, Walsh must start building the foundation for contender. Even if he can create $20M or more in cap room, there are at least 8 other teams that will have cap flexibility by 2010. The Nets are certain to be in play for King James’ services considering his close relationship with team part owner & hip-hop mogul Jay-Z. Both men appeared together last week at Ralph Lauren’s Polo Mansion on Madison Avenue for a fundraiser. Joining them were Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and several other athletes & celebrities. No Knicks were in attendance.

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