Most of the moves that New York Knicks Head of Basketball Operations Isaiah Thomas have pulled off have entertained mixed reactions – but Thomas’ recent trade for talented young Chicago Bull’s guard Jamal Crawford may be his most puzzling move to date.
Friday, the Knicks landed Crawford and journeyman forward Jerome Williams from the Chicago Bulls for C Dikembe Mutombo, C Cezari Trybanski, G Frank Williams, and F Othella Harrington.
On paper, the move made sense for the Knickerbockers.
Crawford, who is heading to New York, was clearly the most talented player in the deal.
A tall 6-5, 190-pound guard, Crawford averaged 17.3 points and 5.1 assists in 80 games for the Bulls this past season. Last season he was one of just four NBA players to record at least 50 points in a single game (April 11, 2004 versus Toronto).
However, Crawford’s arrival in New York creates serious chemistry issue for the Knicks backcourt.
Simply put, there will not be enough shots to go around next season.
Marbury needs enough shots to get his 20 points. Houston needs an excess of shots in order to be effective because he is virtually a one-dimensional player. Houston may be a world class caliber shooter, but if he isn’t frequently handed the ball, it is pointless to have him on the court because he contributes nil to the squad’s rebounding, passing and defensive efforts.
Crawford is going to want to shoot too.
In 2003-04, he averaged 22.5 shots per 48 minutes played.
Crawford’s arrival in New York along with his enormous contract (7 years, $56 million) also beckons the question, who is going to start in the Knicks backcourt in 2004-05?
Thomas, however, has already told reporters that his squad’s backcourt is set for the upcoming season.
“ If Alan Houston is healthy, Jamal has told us he has no problem whatsoever with coming off the bench,” Isaiah said.
I don’t doubt Thomas’ inclination to keep the Knicks’ starting backcourt combo of Marbury and Houston intact. But, there will be pressure to validate Crawford’s contract, which will translate into less playing time for all three members of the Knicks backcourt.
If I were Isaiah, I would pull off another backcourt altering trade. I’d give up Allan Houston for anything – though pulling off such a move is admittedly difficult because of his pricey contract.
Hey, I’d trade Marbury too. Isaiah, however, has labeled the Coney Island-bred star “untouchable.”
Raptors star forward Vince Carter said last week that he’d entertain trade offers from New York. I say ship Marbury for him. Carter has rare above-the-rim ability and could make the Knicks front court more formidable.
In fact, right now, the Knicks’ frontcourt currently lacks start power: it consists only of underachievers – Tim Thomas – unproven talent – Mike Sweetney – and role players – Nazr Mohammed, Jerome Williams and Kurt Thomas.
This front-court class may be good enough to hold its own en route to securing a 2004-05 playoff bid for the Knicks. However, it doesn’t have the talent to last against star big men including Shaq in Miami and Jermaine O’Neal in Indiana come playoff time.
Even the long rumored (and increasingly unlikely) addition of the touted C Eric Dampier, a mediocre player until his breakout effort last season, won’t significantly bolster the team’s chances of competing against legitimate front-court stars.
Dampier had a career season in Golden State last year when he averaged 12.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. In New York, Dampier will find it harder to perform at that level as he faces the tremendous pressure of being an athlete in New York on a day-to-day basis.
All that said, the players that the Knicks gave up for Crawford were largely non-factors since Thomas took over the front-office reigns.
Their exits from NY mean little to the squad.
Thirty eight year old Dikembe Mutombo cannot last a whole season anymore. In 2003-4, the center played in only 65 contests and saw his production wane as the year progressed.
Harrington and Frank Williams fell out of favor in the Knicks rotation last season.
Harrington, a former star at Georgetown, average only 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 2003-4, while logging in a Knicks career low 15.6 minutes per contest.
Had Harrington remained with the Knicks, his playing time would have waned even more as the club tries to find time for 2003 first round selection F Michael Sweetney.
Williams who saw his playing time increase toward the end of former Knicks coach Don Chaney’s term, saw his playing time drastically cut following the Knicks traded for star G Stephon Marbury.
Cezari Trybanski, who came to the Knicks from the Phoenix Suns as part of the Marbury trade, is young, unproven and would probably have never cracked the lineup in New York.
Unlike other players in the deal, most notably Mutombo and Harrington, Crawford’s career and stock is both young and on the rise.
Originally selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft and then traded to Chicago on Sep. 25, 2000, the four-year NBA veteran has improved his scoring, rebounding and assist averages in each season.
However, Isaiah has grossly blow out of proportion the upside potential of the trade.
At the press conference in which the team introduced Crawford and Jerome Williams to the Knicks, Thomas remarked, “Our goal is to win the NBA Championship - and we think the additions of Jamal and Jerome will be important pieces of that puzzle,” Thomas said.
Yes, Jerome Williams will add grit and depth to the Knicks and frontcourt and Crawford will add talent to the backcourt.
But don’t expect the Knicks to build on its 7th seed finish in 2003-04.
Expect the Knicks to struggle in 2004-05 should the franchise stick with its “revamped” lineup.
The Knickerbockers performance will demonstrate that a team’s whole does not always equal the sum of its parts – albeit an individually talented cast in New York’s case – if it lacks chemistry.
One year from now, it will be evident that Isaiah Thomas’ move to acquire Crawford and Williams, and maybe Dampier, were based more on a false vision for success, rather than a definitive plan to make New York the beasts of the Eastern Conference once again.
Steven Orbuch is lifetime sports fan who hails from New York. While not reading stacks of books and watching tons of television, Steven writes for his college's daily newspaper, The Dartmouth.
