The Question

According to reports, it's starting to look likely that Allen Iverson, lately of the Memphis Grizzlies, is coming to New York.

Is this the right move for the Knicks? It almost doesn't matter. In NYT reporter Howard Beck's uncontroversial opinion, the team is "in free fall" (though they did get their second win last night, to improve to 2-9.) The team has gotten past the expensive and unpleasant Stephon Marbury situation, as well as the Isiah Thomas situation, but now, undistracted, they've simply got to assemble enough talent to win, and it hasn't happened yet.

Head coach Mike D'Antoni was brought in to install his "system," a run-and-gun offensive scheme that leads to more scoring for both teams. But the Knicks don't have the personnel that made it so successful with the Phoenix Suns. Forward David Lee is aggressive, but nowhere near as dynamic as Amare Stoudemire. Danilo Gallinari, who went 0-2 in 17 minutes last night, is a great shooter, but his game hasn't shown much depth. And Chris Duhon, while not a bad point guard, is no Steve Nash.

Enter Allen Iverson, who was too unhappy to stay with Memphis. Iverson has long been known as a one-man show, and while his career numbers are spectacular, he's also been a difficult teammate. In the long run, there's very little reason to think that Iverson, at 34 years old and coming off a truncated season, will turn this team into a winner. Most people have been pretty clear that this is an asses-in-the-seats maneuver. With rumors that Iverson may cost several million to bring on board, the question must be asked: have the Knicks already given up on this season?

On an unrelated note, here is a beautiful video.



MILES:

It appears the Knicks are going to pass on Iverson. I think, ultimately, this is the right call. Believe me, I went back and forth about this all week. Wednesday night, for instance, after the Knicks knocked off the Pacers, I thought the addition of AI would help kick start the Knicks' season.  Yesterday, however, I started to wonder if he would even make a difference. My ambivalence leads me to believe that AI's addition would probably, at best, end up a wash. Sure, he might get the team, maybe, 5-10 additional wins, but so what? Is there really a difference between 20 wins and 25? Thanks to Isiah, the Knicks don't have a draft pick this year, so it really doesn't matter how many games they win or lose. I'd rather see the young guys play, mainly Toney Douglas, who is already more effective than Chris Duhon; Wilson Chandler; Gallo; and Jordan Hill. I'm also interested in watching the gradual progress of Eddy Curry. The guy's been through so much in recent years; it would be an absolute shame to see him piss everything away, including his last chance. 

To answer your question, though, I do think D'Antoni and Walsh have resigned themselves to a subpar, possibly horrible, season, at least to an extent. Since they arrived in New York, they have been (rightfully?) almost exclusively focused on 2010. Whether they'll admit it or not, I think the coach and general manager are willing to take their beatings this year, with the intention of going all out for one or two premiere free agents this summer. Recently, D'Antoni called his players "zombies." He was technically referring to their recent play, but considering that about 85 percent of the roster won't be back next season, the nickname probably revealed a little bit more than he intended. 

Does this team really need, then, a zombie Allen Iverson? I shudder to think.