The Knicks Fix

For those who haven't seen it by now, Memphis Grizzlies beat writer Ronald Tillery posted a blog yesterday in which he said talks between the Griz and Knicks regarding Zach Randolph have reached a point where Memphis is trying to get the Knicks to take some of the deferred money in the contract (recall that Portland had a chunk of Zach's contract deferred when they signed him to it).

A person I generally trust when it comes to these matters suddenly clammed up when I asked about this most recent, quite detailed report from the Memphis side.

With Patrick Ewing's induction into the Hall of Fame tonight, I doubt the Knicks would want any news, especially a trade rumor, to overshadow Ewing's day. So stay tuned on this one . . .

*

This won't exactly overshadow Ewing today, but there was some other Knicks-related news to come out. According to the Daily News, Stephon Marbury's cousin, Jamel Thomas, has a book ready to release and apparently Stephon is a target once again.

*

I spoke with Charles Oakley earlier this week to get some stuff about Ewing. Oak is funny and sometimes he's unintentionally funny. It might be unintentionally funny, but Oak still has that cooking show, "Cafe Oakley", that he's hoping will get picked up for the fall. Right now SNY and the Food Network are considering it. MSG Network passed.

*

I'm heading over to the Hall of Fame press conference in a few. I'll try to post more items throughout the day.

Knicks guard Jamal Crawford has agreed to write a blog for Newsday.com this year, updating us on everything from the Knicks' shot at getting back to the playoffs, to his favorite music, movies, style and even his perceptions on fans and the media.

Check out Jamal's blog, "Crawful to Crawsome" here: newsday.com/jamalblog

Sicne some of you asked, the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be broadcast on NBAtv and ESPN Classic.

The Knicks Fix will be there and we'll blog after the press conference on Friday morning.

In the meanwhile, have a listen to Patrick as a guest on the Michael Kay show yesterday on ESPN Radio.

There are times here in Fixer Nation I have to pass the mic. Willis, it was your turn. The best writing is the kind that comes straight from the heart and unfiltered. Here is Willis' post from the previous blog, which I am honored to give it's own entry on this blog.

Only wish Don LaFontaine was still around to read it out loud.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ultimate Warrior.

The Knicks Franchise ate lunch out on Patrick from the moment the envelope opened. Revolving Door at GM, Revolving Door at Coach, Revolving Door at Point Guard. And every year he made it work. All the while suffering the back stabbing pygmy hordes of the New York media. Quick fix after quick fix, over the hill star after over the hill star (if only Rolondo had gotten burn in that game!!!!) always "better do something now, because Patrick's knees are gonna go." Mountains of ice, oceans of sweat, and he was still there, waiting for a Pippen, his ill-fated boon companion, Bernard King, never to be by his side. Had Bernard not fallen - who would have stood in their way?

(Bloghost note: I've talked to enough people who agree that BK and Ewing would have never worked. The King wasn't about to give up shots and the post-up was his place for the most part. On paper, yes, Ewing as the shot-blocker, mid-range shooter and King as the No. 1 option would be a good 1-2 combo...as long as they had a decent guard. But where they were as players at the time, doubtful their games would have meshed. All hypothetical tho, so I'll let you carry on from here...)

Then more ruinous fate - Stu Jackson defends the honor of the league when PJ Brown tries to plant Charlie Ward headfirst and Patrick never gets to play out the string, and the Heat embarrass themselves against the Bulls. And then the year they go to the finals again, his achilles goes, and instead of Camby and Ewing against Duncan and Robinson, its LJ on a bum knee with Camby caddying the boards.

The True Warrior - the one who drawing his sword, throws the scabbard away, because there will be no other battle than this battle, the total commitment of self. He is the guarantor of his own word, winning and losing are already the same, because he will never, ever, give less than everything. No whining, no triangulation, no excuses - we will win - and he fought on carrying that whole organization on his back. That he didn't win doesn't make him a liar, doesn't make him less of a player, it is only that fate decided otherwise.

There is a reason Hector is lauded as a great hero - he took the field against the divine-born Achilles knowing he would not see the sun fall that day. There is a reason the story of 47 Ronin is still told, a story that begins AFTER the defeat of their Daimyo and their cause. Front running is easy, the other side takes more guts and heart, and truly tests the character of the man. I'm proud to have fallen with Patrick instead of winning with Michael - that was our fate, I wouldn't trade it for another.

Excellent reference, Willis. Well done.

I'll be there Friday for Patrick Ewing's induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Got this Foo Fighters song stuck in my head. Fitting, though....

There goes my hero
watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
he's ordinary.....

Not like I'm into Kleenex-sponsored nostalgia, but below is the best tribute video I could find on YouTube. If you shut off the sound (the music is a bit weepy) the highlights are a fun walk down memory lane....if you can try to ignore that none of these memories resulted in a championship.

If you loved him, you loved him for coming back every year trying again. The hard-luck fate that made him so human as opposed to Michael Jordan's aura of invincibility that made him so maddening. How could anyone be so perfect?

If you hated him, it was for his inability to be the indomitable stud he was in college (and that he was friends with Jordan, who walked into Patrick's house and ate his dinner whenever the hell he wanted to.)

Without further ado....there goes my hero, he's ordinary....

So why did the Rockets take Frederic Weis' rights from the Knicks just to remove Patrick Ewing, Jr. from the roster?

As we said here a few blogs back after Little Fella went to Houston as part of the Ron Artest trade, the Rockets had no intentions of including either Sean Singletary or Ewing, Jr. -- the two throw-ins in the trade -- in their roster plans. Singletary was traded to Phoenix for DJ Strawberry last week.

The Rockets could have waived Ewing, Jr., but Rockets GM Daryl Morey knew Donnie Walsh had an interest in acquiring him. So to avoid a (rather minor) salary cap hit for waiving Ewing, Morey agreed to a trade that worked for everyone.

It had to be a player or a draft pick to make the deal work. The Knicks could have surrendered a future second round pick, but with so few picks in the next two drafts, Walsh couldn't afford it. The only contract (half-guaranteed) that the Knicks own that is comparable is that of Anthony Roberson's, and the Knicks have plans for him. So...what about the rights to a player?

Hmmm...are there any players out there the Knicks still own the rights too?

Hmmm....

Ah-ha! Bonjour, Frederic!

Donnie provided the NBA with a good chuckle and kudos to Morey for playing along. Doesn't mean anything to them (aside from a little salary savings and clearing a roster spot). Just now the Rockets own the lifetime rights to one Freddie Weis.

Of course Vince Carter owns Weis for life, too. Nasty.

* *

* - Just imagine the controversy right now if the Knicks wound up landing Monta Ellis in a sign-and-trade this summer. After locking up Ellis with a lucrative, long-term deal, the Warriors are now disturbed by the news that Ellis suffered a major ankle injury while working out at his home in Mississippi. My man Marcus Thompson III has the scoop on Golden State's skepticism that Ellis injured the ankle while working out. Glad I'm not in that circus, Marcus.

* - Starberman says Stephon Marbury has slimmed down to 200 pounds this summer. And here I recall being told by many of Stephon's loyalists that his weight was never an issue.

* - Speaking of weight, I think the Knicks get far more out of keeping Ewing, Jr. on the roster, even as the 15th man to wave towels and be the player the Garden faithful calls for in blowouts, than they do inking Jerome James' name on the inactive list 82 times this season.

* - I never like to delve into politics here (or anywhere) but I wrote on this blog a while back about Barack Obama's love and ability to play hoops. OK, I can dig it.

But wait, what's this? I'm already smitten with John McCain's VP choice -- she had me at "hockey mom" -- and further investigation reveals Sarah Palin starred on her high school basketball team back in the day. (That's her No. 22, on the right in a photo circulating around the internet....And, hey, don't sleep on Alaskan hoops. Just ask Carlos Boozer.)

So it's Nancy Pelosi meets Nancy Lieberman. Nice. They called her 'Sarah Barracuda.'

Grrrrrowlll.

The Knicks have traded the rights to Frederic Weis to Houston for rookie forward Patrick Ewing Jr., ending the first-round bust's infamous non-career here.

So we thought it would be a good time to walk down memory lane and dig up one of the most humiliating moments in sports history, starring Mr. Weis himself.