Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Knicks to Miss Out on John Wall Sweepstakes; Hornets Fire Scott
Sometime on the evening of June 24, 2010, NBA Commissioner David Stern could well utter the following words…”With the first pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select John Wall of the University of Kentucky.”
Of course, the team that could really use Wall — just named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List — and his transcendant abilities is the New York Knicks.
And the Knicks — off to a dreadful 1-8 start — could well earn the right to select the 6-foot-4 Wall with the top pick. Several mock drafts project Wall as the No. 1 pick next year, ahead of Derrick Favors, Ed Davis and Greg Monroe.
There’s just one problem.
The Knicks traded the pick.
Utah now holds New York’s 2010 1st-round pick after the Knicks dealt for Stephon Marbury.
To borrow a phrase from Spinal Tap, Marbury is currently residing in the “Where are they now?” category and spends more time texting New York Post beat writer Marc Berman than he does actually playing basketball.
So where does all this leave the Knicks?
Well, without a quality point guard, now or later.
Starting point guard Chris Duhon posted this gem of a line in last night’s 114-101 loss to Al Horford and Atlanta: 0 points on 0-for-6 shooting, 3 turnovers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists.
“He’s going to have to play better and he’s going to have to do it,” a visibly shaken Mike D’Antoni said.
Asked if Duhon might lose his starting job, the coach said, “We’ll see. I don’t know yet.”
At the rate the Knicks are going — which is to say, full-speed straight off a cliff like those chicks in Thelma & Louise — they are “on pace” for a final record that says 10-72 or 9-73.
Is it likely to get that bad?
Probably not, but let’s say they win 25 games.
Is that going to be enough to attract LeBron James or Dwyane Wade to the Garden next summer?
“Honestly, I wouldn’t say they [the Knicks] have to make the playoffs. They just have to compete. Both those guys are on really good teams right now so who knows what the future holds?” former Knick and current Hawk Jamal Crawford said before the game. “It would be tough for them to leave that.”
Assuming those free agents did want to come to New York, what point guard will they be playing with? Someone who leads his team to the playoffs and makes his teammates better?
Or someone whose team has one more NBA win right now than I do.
One thing’s for sure, the Knicks point guard next year won’t be John Wall — barring some blockbuster trade.
Wall could be headed to Utah…if the winless Nets don’t grab him first.
HORNETS FIRE SCOTTThe New Orleans Hornets announced Thursday that they have relieved Byron Scott of his head coaching duties. Scott will be replaced by General Manager Jeff Bower.
New Orleans lost 124-104 at Phoenix on Wednesday, falling to 3-6 to start the season.
Former Hornets and Bulls head coach Tim Floyd was named an assistant. Floyd stepped down as coach at USC before the season in the wake of the O.J. Mayo scandal in which Floyd allegedly doled out cash payments to a runner in exchange for landing Mayo.
“I want to thank Byron for the hard work he has put in during his time with the Hornets,” said Hornets Owner George Shinn. “I’ve hired Jeff Bower to take over the coaching reign. He knows this team better than anyone, has the respect of the players and in basketball circles, is regarded as one of the best basketball minds in the business. This is our best opportunity to reach our goals this season.”
Bower has spent his 14-plus seasons with the club.
After serving as the assistant general manager for the 2000-01 season, Bower was promoted to general manager in June of 2001 and has since held that position. He returned to the bench as an assistant under Floyd in 2003-04.
“Accountability was our theme this past summer,” said Hornets Vice President of Basketball Chad Shinn. “We talked about the fact that everyone on our staff is held to a certain standard of performance and we didn’t feel this was happening at the head coach level. We feel like we still have an opportunity with our nucleus to get to where we want and Jeff is the right guy, right now to move us in that direction from the bench.”
“As we look at our long-term coaching plans, it’s not about who the head coach is, it’s about the role of the head coach to get the team to perform to their capabilities and reaching our potential this season,” said Bower.
Bower served three years as an assistant coach at Penn State University from 1983-86 before moving to Marist College, where he led the Red Foxes to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1987 after winning the Northeast Conference.
(Information from the Hornets Website was used; Photos courtesy University of Kentucky, AP)Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Sometime on the evening of June 24, 2010, NBA Commissioner David Stern could well utter the following words…”With the first pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Utah Jazz select John Wall of the University of Kentucky.”
Of course, the team that could really use Wall — just named to the Bob Cousy Award Watch List — and his transcendant abilities is the New York Knicks.
And the Knicks — off to a dreadful 1-8 start — could well earn the right to select the 6-foot-4 Wall with the top pick. Several mock drafts project Wall as the No. 1 pick next year, ahead of Derrick Favors, Ed Davis and Greg Monroe.
There’s just one problem.
The Knicks traded the pick.
Utah now holds New York’s 2010 1st-round pick after the Knicks dealt for Stephon Marbury.
To borrow a phrase from Spinal Tap, Marbury is currently residing in the “Where are they now?” category and spends more time texting New York Post beat writer Marc Berman than he does actually playing basketball.
So where does all this leave the Knicks?
Well, without a quality point guard, now or later.
Starting point guard Chris Duhon posted this gem of a line in last night’s 114-101 loss to Al Horford and Atlanta: 0 points on 0-for-6 shooting, 3 turnovers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists.
“He’s going to have to play better and he’s going to have to do it,” a visibly shaken Mike D’Antoni said.
Asked if Duhon might lose his starting job, the coach said, “We’ll see. I don’t know yet.”
At the rate the Knicks are going — which is to say, full-speed straight off a cliff like those chicks in Thelma & Louise — they are “on pace” for a final record that says 10-72 or 9-73.
Is it likely to get that bad?
Probably not, but let’s say they win 25 games.
Is that going to be enough to attract LeBron James or Dwyane Wade to the Garden next summer?
“Honestly, I wouldn’t say they [the Knicks] have to make the playoffs. They just have to compete. Both those guys are on really good teams right now so who knows what the future holds?” former Knick and current Hawk Jamal Crawford said before the game. “It would be tough for them to leave that.”
Assuming those free agents did want to come to New York, what point guard will they be playing with? Someone who leads his team to the playoffs and makes his teammates better?
Or someone whose team has one more NBA win right now than I do.
One thing’s for sure, the Knicks point guard next year won’t be John Wall — barring some blockbuster trade.
Wall could be headed to Utah…if the winless Nets don’t grab him first.
HORNETS FIRE SCOTT
The New Orleans Hornets announced Thursday that they have relieved Byron Scott of his head coaching duties. Scott will be replaced by General Manager Jeff Bower.
New Orleans lost 124-104 at Phoenix on Wednesday, falling to 3-6 to start the season.
Former Hornets and Bulls head coach Tim Floyd was named an assistant. Floyd stepped down as coach at USC before the season in the wake of the O.J. Mayo scandal in which Floyd allegedly doled out cash payments to a runner in exchange for landing Mayo.
“I want to thank Byron for the hard work he has put in during his time with the Hornets,” said Hornets Owner George Shinn. “I’ve hired Jeff Bower to take over the coaching reign. He knows this team better than anyone, has the respect of the players and in basketball circles, is regarded as one of the best basketball minds in the business. This is our best opportunity to reach our goals this season.”
Bower has spent his 14-plus seasons with the club.
After serving as the assistant general manager for the 2000-01 season, Bower was promoted to general manager in June of 2001 and has since held that position. He returned to the bench as an assistant under Floyd in 2003-04.
“Accountability was our theme this past summer,” said Hornets Vice President of Basketball Chad Shinn. “We talked about the fact that everyone on our staff is held to a certain standard of performance and we didn’t feel this was happening at the head coach level. We feel like we still have an opportunity with our nucleus to get to where we want and Jeff is the right guy, right now to move us in that direction from the bench.”
“As we look at our long-term coaching plans, it’s not about who the head coach is, it’s about the role of the head coach to get the team to perform to their capabilities and reaching our potential this season,” said Bower.
Bower served three years as an assistant coach at Penn State University from 1983-86 before moving to Marist College, where he led the Red Foxes to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1987 after winning the Northeast Conference.
(Information from the Hornets Website was used; Photos courtesy University of Kentucky, AP)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
