Vasilieos Spanoulis a KNICKS!?!?!?

[Paeds]

Walsh seems to feel that the pg situation is our primary need. I'm not going to disagree. With darko and curry coming in the pg spot seems a top priority.

ummm walsh had NUMEROUS chances this summer to solidfy the pg spot, yet failed

Luckily he decided to solidify our FUTURE instead

[GONYK]

From on old article regarding Spanoulis' time with the Rockets and his lack of playing time....

Van Gundy was in a contract year and the rookie was turnover prone. The two feuded over playing time and Van Gundy once said, "He says, 'I was McGrady back home.' Great. McGrady is McGrady here."

Haha, Van Gundy is the man. That's even better than the JVG/Francis story.

[HarthorneWingo]

From on old article regarding Spanoulis' time with the Rockets and his lack of playing time....

Van Gundy was in a contract year and the rookie was turnover prone. The two feuded over playing time and Van Gundy once said, "He says, 'I was McGrady back home.' Great. McGrady is McGrady here."

I'm with GONYK. That was funny. I can seeJeff wanting to bang his head on the wall after hearing that. Man, I miss that guy.

[Hardaway 10]

From on old article regarding Spanoulis' time with the Rockets and his lack of playing time....

Van Gundy was in a contract year and the rookie was turnover prone. The two feuded over playing time and Van Gundy once said, "He says, 'I was McGrady back home.' Great. McGrady is McGrady here."

I'm with GONYK. That was funny. I can seeJeff wanting to bang his head on the wall after hearing that. Man, I miss that guy.

JVG, it seems, is not the angel most think he is. According to Pete vecsey, JVG destroyed Frederic Weis before he had any chance to be a contributing player for the Knicks. He then supposedly ran Fabricio Oberto out of the Knicks training camp in tears by getting personal and offensive. Marcus Camby to this day swears he is the cruelest person he has ever known.

And the best one? Vassilis Spanoulis had a mother who had attempted suicide and was suffering from depression. Van Gundy refused to allow Spanoulis to leave to attend to her. She called on the phone and asked him to please let Spanoulis leave. JVG responded by going to the Houston papers and mocking her in the paper and laughing about it.

[GONYK]

JVG, it seems, is not the angel most think he is. According to Pete vecsey, JVG destroyed Frederic Weis before he had any chance to be a contributing player for the Knicks. He then supposedly ran Fabricio Oberto out of the Knicks training camp in tears by getting personal and offensive. Marcus Camby to this day swears he is the cruelest person he has ever known.

And the best one? Vassilis Spanoulis had a mother who had attempted suicide and was suffering from depression. Van Gundy refused to allow Spanoulis to leave to attend to her. She called on the phone and asked him to please let Spanoulis leave. JVG responded by going to the Houston papers and mocking her in the paper and laughing about it.

All of that may be the case, but that comment was still funny.

[Rasho Brezec]

I'm going to root for the Clippers or something if this overrated ballhog wears a Knick jersey. I'd rather see Nate Robinson be a full time starting PG for one season than watch this primadonna dribble the ball for 20 seconds and then trying a crazy pass to someone on 3pt line.

[can o peas]

i approve spanoulis.

haha you would you souvlaki head. jk, he is ok and couldn't hurt.

[bencraven]

Amazing news if it were actually happening....

[NoLayupRule]

Walsh seems to feel that the pg situation is our primary need. I'm not going to disagree. With darko and curry coming in the pg spot seems a top priority.

ummm walsh had NUMEROUS chances this summer to solidfy the pg spot, yet failed

You never seem to get it but you are always quick to jump on any situation.

If walsh had "numerous chances" I'd love to know what they were.

If you suggest overpaying Kidd was a missed chance then you don't get it.
If you suggest overpaying sessions wad a missed chance then I dissagree.
If you think bringing as many as 3 pgs who fit the system, come cheaply, have big upside and have all won significantly as a mistake then you very simply don't get a darn thing.

None of these invitees are the sexy choice but all are the smart choice. Get it?

[NoLayupRule]

Walsh seems to feel that the pg situation is our primary need. I'm not going to disagree. With darko and curry coming in the pg spot seems a top priority.

ummm walsh had NUMEROUS chances this summer to solidfy the pg spot, yet failed

You never seem to get it but you are always quick to jump on any situation.

If walsh had "numerous chances" I'd love to know what they were.

If you suggest overpaying Kidd was a missed chance then you don't get it.
If you suggest overpaying sessions wad a missed chance then I dissagree.
If you think bringing as many as 3 pgs who fit the system, come cheaply, have big upside and have all won significantly as a mistake then you very simply don't get a darn thing.

None of these invitees are the sexy choice but all are the smart choice. Get it?

[Thorn]

Walsh seems to feel that the pg situation is our primary need. I'm not going to disagree. With darko and curry coming in the pg spot seems a top priority.

ummm walsh had NUMEROUS chances this summer to solidfy the pg spot, yet failed

You never seem to get it but you are always quick to jump on any situation.

If walsh had "numerous chances" I'd love to know what they were.

If you suggest overpaying Kidd was a missed chance then you don't get it.
If you suggest overpaying sessions wad a missed chance then I dissagree.
If you think bringing as many as 3 pgs who fit the system, come cheaply, have big upside and have all won significantly as a mistake then you very simply don't get a darn thing.

None of these invitees are the sexy choice but all are the smart choice. Get it?

[Flaming Mo]

I've posted a couple of days ago that he should definitely be worth a look, especially since his game is perfectly suited for D'Antonis offense. People shouldn't base their judgement on him being a euro and on his time in Houston since he is a more mature player now.

He played vs France yesterday and while he didn't look that great against some of the very athletic french players (comparably with NBA easily as they have Batum, Parker and Turiaf among others on the team) he was still controlling the greek game very well and played some tough D on Tony Parker. His shot again looked pure and at no time he seemed to lose his PG mentality.

Now him becoming the Knicks starting PG, I don't know. Him getting heavy minutes is the only scenario I see him succeeding in the NBA but on the Knicks, there are other guys worthy of PG minutes like Duhon and Douglas. It would also be one hell of a lot of pressure for the guy coming to the Knicks and being named the starter right away...

[Thorn]

While I would not be opposed to giving hi ma look honestly I like the young blood we are bringing in and I think it is a trend that we should continue with at this time.

[Pharmcat]

overypaying for sessions? hes a steal at 3.9 million-4 million range!!!!!

[KnicksGod]

overypaying for sessions? hes a steal at 3.9 million-4 million range!!!!!

It's a good price for Sessions but the bottom line is that Walsh obviously felt that it was more important to keep flexibility for next year. Sessions isn't worth dropping out of the LeBron sweepstakes and they may feel they have a shot at two max slots, which obviously increases their chances at LeBron. $4M is not a lot but it could be the difference between $13 million of extra cap room after 1 max and $17 million of extra cap room after 1 max for Wade, Bosh, etc. Comprende?

[Thorn]

overypaying for sessions? hes a steal at 3.9 million-4 million range!!!!!

It's a good price for Sessions but the bottom line is that Walsh obviously felt that it was more important to keep flexibility for next year. Sessions isn't worth dropping out of the LeBron sweepstakes and they may feel they have a shot at two max slots, which obviously increases their chances at LeBron. $4M is not a lot but it could be the difference between $13 million of extra cap room after 1 max and $17 million of extra cap room after 1 max for Wade, Bosh, etc. Comprende?

Now that very well sums up the point I have been trying to make all along. Sessions is a talent and one I would have liked to have but you have to look at where we are and where we are going. Our goal is max contract guys or close to it. We want game changers not just good players at a low cost.

We have so much potential over the next two years, and we have every reason to be optimistic about what lies ahead of us. I think it is time we put the bashing aside, let go of the negativity we all went through during the Layden and Thomas eras and started to understand anything is possible once we right the ship. Frankly I think we are pretty much there. We have shed salary, acquired young talent, and moved our team to a place where we have options.

[Guy986]

Greek Mac a pure shooter? WTF

The reason why he couldn't find playing time in Houston(aside from being a rookie and turnover prone) was because he didn't have NBA 3 point range. He's a bit like Andre Miller in that he could rock that J from 15 feet but can't shoot 3s at all. Maybe he improved his 3 point shooting over the last couple of years? I seriously doubt it. His shot as i recalled was very flat.

Here's my scouting report on Spanoulis as a Rocket:

Pros:
Good penetrator
Good passer off pick and roll
mid range game
alot of energy
good size for PG
cold blooded

Cons:
ball dominant
turnover prone
no 3 point range
combo guard

[NoLayupRule]

overypaying for sessions? hes a steal at 3.9 million-4 million range!!!!!

that confirms it. You dont get it.

We are negotiating with Lee and Nate to keep them around but even they are not gonna be on contract past this year.

Kidd was exactly what D'Antoni wanted but we were not willing to pay him past this coming year.

Why then, when dumping contracts to snag possibly entice Lebron James and other top level players, would we add 4 mil to a already declining cap?

And its not like Sessions is any sure thing. If he was so great why isnt he being held in Mil, why isnt he getting more than 4 mil? thats not even the MLE?

he may turn out to be a great player and we may kick ourselves for missing him or he may not

[Flaming Mo]

Greek Mac a pure shooter? WTF

The reason why he couldn't find playing time in Houston(aside from being a rookie and turnover prone) was because he didn't have NBA 3 point range. He's a bit like Andre Miller in that he could rock that J from 15 feet but can't shoot 3s at all. Maybe he improved his 3 point shooting over the last couple of years? I seriously doubt it. His shot as i recalled was very flat.

Here's my scouting report on Spanoulis as a Rocket:

Pros:
Good penetrator
Good passer off pick and roll
mid range game
alot of energy
good size for PG
cold blooded

Cons:
ball dominant
turnover prone
no 3 point range
combo guard

Fair assessment, yet from watching him in the last couple of days, he is definitely not a combo guard and definitely not a guy without three point range anymore. Sure, it's a small window and I had the same impression of him from his days back in Houston. Yet he was used differently in Houston by Van Gundy if I recall correctly and now with Greece he's their leader and their true PG. Players do different in different roles. While this may speak for Spanoulis, it's also a question mark considering we don't know how his role in NY would actually look like. All I can say is that it only makes sense to bring him over if we give him a big enough role, I don't see him being very effective in a smaller, role player kind of situation.

That he is not a pure shooter, well, he is definitely a guy who doesn't look to shoot it at all from the outside as he is mainly concerned with running the offense and igniting it by penetrating. That doesn't mean he won't punish you. The game against Germany was a perfect example for his awareness of the game and his understanding. The entire game Germany fought over screens and defended him closely on the perimeter. He of course as every smart player would do punished them with one drive and kick or finish after another. Then when the game got close, his defender was lazy for one moment and went behind a screen. Spanoulis hit that three right into his face and put the game away. These kind of things tell how smart and fundamentally/strategically sound a player he is and I tell you, I love to see things like that from players on my team. The Knicks rarely had that in recent years, especially at the PG position. Duhon was a move in the right direction last year. Not immensly talented but well coached and smart. And from what I remember, he ran the Knicks offense better than any point guard in about 6 or 7 years...

[I Feel Devotion]

Greek Mac a pure shooter? WTF

The reason why he couldn't find playing time in Houston(aside from being a rookie and turnover prone) was because he didn't have NBA 3 point range. He's a bit like Andre Miller in that he could rock that J from 15 feet but can't shoot 3s at all. Maybe he improved his 3 point shooting over the last couple of years? I seriously doubt it. His shot as i recalled was very flat.

Here's my scouting report on Spanoulis as a Rocket:

Pros:
Good penetrator
Good passer off pick and roll
mid range game
alot of energy
good size for PG
cold blooded

Cons:
ball dominant
turnover prone
no 3 point range
combo guard

I know Spanoulis very well from FIBA and from the Euroleague. He is an outstanding shooter with absolutely unlimited shooting range. Deadly from the pull up jumper, off the dribble, and also on catch and shoot kick outs. He's one of the best shooting point guards anywhere.

I hope you are not basing his shooting ability on playing 3 or 4 minutes in garbage time every 3 or 4 games with the Rockets. His shooting ability and his range on his jump shot are definitely his strongest part of his game.

And Spanoulis is no combo guard either. Pure point guard 100%. If the Rockets played him as a combo guard they played him out of position.