Why not trade for some guys now and then use Bird Rights

[PosImpos]

This was the strategy the Knicks tried for years and years.  They never wanted to let a contract expire, because they could use Bird Rights to stay tens of millions of dollars above the cap.

I don't think that's a great way to rebuild.  Basically, the team is settling for sub-par pieces to stay competitive in the short term.  I think it's very hard to add a legit championship piece employing that strategy.

Yeah but the Knicks weren't exactly run by a brain trust.  I think the strategy would work fine if you weren't trading for players like Stephon Marbury.

Even if you don't make dumb moves, you still need a true franchise superstar to build around if you want to really contend.

Unless you have that in place already, spending lots of money on free agents is just shuffling deck chairs.

The only realistic way for the C's to get such a player, in my opinion, is to get high draft picks, acquire good young talent, and develop that talent.  Whether one of those drafted players turns into a superstar, or you move your assets for such a star, you need to do some tanking and drafting high to get there.

Or, you can go with my plan and keep this team going for a few more years, short contracts and keep building up our youth until then, gathering assets.

Two things might happen, a year were we have an opportunity to acquire someone during free-agency or we find ourselves in a good opportunity to make a trade and acquire the players/assets we need to rebuild. During that span you're also drafting players.

So maybe we don't go all the way, but at least we'd still be competing, and with these players you never know if they might just pull one miracle, there's always a small hope. Even so, you gave yourself a chance of competing while delaying the tank machine, and if all goes as planned, you might never reach the point of having to tank to rebuild.

The key at the moment is to not give any player more than a 2 year contract. You might get away with a couple of 10 million dollar type of players for long contracts to pair up with Rondo, but no more than that. That way you keep some talent to attract players, but at the same time have the cap space necessary to acquire someone when the opportunity presents itself.

You're not going to get a star (draft or trade) unless you're bad at some point and draft in the top 10 at least once.  The best case scenario for your plan is that we make it to the second round a few years in a row and pick up some role players in the draft.

[BudweiserCeltic]

This was the strategy the Knicks tried for years and years.  They never wanted to let a contract expire, because they could use Bird Rights to stay tens of millions of dollars above the cap.

I don't think that's a great way to rebuild.  Basically, the team is settling for sub-par pieces to stay competitive in the short term.  I think it's very hard to add a legit championship piece employing that strategy.

Yeah but the Knicks weren't exactly run by a brain trust.  I think the strategy would work fine if you weren't trading for players like Stephon Marbury.

Even if you don't make dumb moves, you still need a true franchise superstar to build around if you want to really contend.

Unless you have that in place already, spending lots of money on free agents is just shuffling deck chairs.

The only realistic way for the C's to get such a player, in my opinion, is to get high draft picks, acquire good young talent, and develop that talent.  Whether one of those drafted players turns into a superstar, or you move your assets for such a star, you need to do some tanking and drafting high to get there.

Or, you can go with my plan and keep this team going for a few more years, short contracts and keep building up our youth until then, gathering assets.

Two things might happen, a year were we have an opportunity to acquire someone during free-agency or we find ourselves in a good opportunity to make a trade and acquire the players/assets we need to rebuild. During that span you're also drafting players.

So maybe we don't go all the way, but at least we'd still be competing, and with these players you never know if they might just pull one miracle, there's always a small hope. Even so, you gave yourself a chance of competing while delaying the tank machine, and if all goes as planned, you might never reach the point of having to tank to rebuild.

The key at the moment is to not give any player more than a 2 year contract. You might get away with a couple of 10 million dollar type of players for long contracts to pair up with Rondo, but no more than that. That way you keep some talent to attract players, but at the same time have the cap space necessary to acquire someone when the opportunity presents itself.

You're not going to get a star (draft or trade) unless you're bad at some point and draft in the top 10 at least once.  The best case scenario for your plan is that we make it to the second round a few years in a row and pick up some role players in the draft.

Don't know what being bad at some point has to do with not being able to get a star via trade. And I never proposed getting a star via drafting. Drafting all would do would make you acquire assets you can use to pair up with other trade assets we currently have, like say Rondo and expiring contracts of Ray/Pierce/Garnett and whatever competence they might have when that time comes.

[PosImpos]

This was the strategy the Knicks tried for years and years.  They never wanted to let a contract expire, because they could use Bird Rights to stay tens of millions of dollars above the cap.

I don't think that's a great way to rebuild.  Basically, the team is settling for sub-par pieces to stay competitive in the short term.  I think it's very hard to add a legit championship piece employing that strategy.

Yeah but the Knicks weren't exactly run by a brain trust.  I think the strategy would work fine if you weren't trading for players like Stephon Marbury.

Even if you don't make dumb moves, you still need a true franchise superstar to build around if you want to really contend.

Unless you have that in place already, spending lots of money on free agents is just shuffling deck chairs.

The only realistic way for the C's to get such a player, in my opinion, is to get high draft picks, acquire good young talent, and develop that talent.  Whether one of those drafted players turns into a superstar, or you move your assets for such a star, you need to do some tanking and drafting high to get there.

Or, you can go with my plan and keep this team going for a few more years, short contracts and keep building up our youth until then, gathering assets.

Two things might happen, a year were we have an opportunity to acquire someone during free-agency or we find ourselves in a good opportunity to make a trade and acquire the players/assets we need to rebuild. During that span you're also drafting players.

So maybe we don't go all the way, but at least we'd still be competing, and with these players you never know if they might just pull one miracle, there's always a small hope. Even so, you gave yourself a chance of competing while delaying the tank machine, and if all goes as planned, you might never reach the point of having to tank to rebuild.

The key at the moment is to not give any player more than a 2 year contract. You might get away with a couple of 10 million dollar type of players for long contracts to pair up with Rondo, but no more than that. That way you keep some talent to attract players, but at the same time have the cap space necessary to acquire someone when the opportunity presents itself.

You're not going to get a star (draft or trade) unless you're bad at some point and draft in the top 10 at least once.  The best case scenario for your plan is that we make it to the second round a few years in a row and pick up some role players in the draft.

Don't know what being bad at some point has to do with not being able to get a star via trade. And I never proposed getting a star via drafting. Drafting all would do would make you acquire assets you can use to pair up with other trade assets we currently have, like say Rondo and expiring contracts of Ray/Pierce/Garnett and whatever competence they might have when that time comes.

To acquire a star, you're going to need to acquire sufficient young assets.  Unless you get fantastically lucky drafting in the mid to late first round, the only way to acquire such assets is to get high draft picks.

[lightspeed5]

it doesnt work like that.

[BudweiserCeltic]

This was the strategy the Knicks tried for years and years.  They never wanted to let a contract expire, because they could use Bird Rights to stay tens of millions of dollars above the cap.

I don't think that's a great way to rebuild.  Basically, the team is settling for sub-par pieces to stay competitive in the short term.  I think it's very hard to add a legit championship piece employing that strategy.

Yeah but the Knicks weren't exactly run by a brain trust.  I think the strategy would work fine if you weren't trading for players like Stephon Marbury.

Even if you don't make dumb moves, you still need a true franchise superstar to build around if you want to really contend.

Unless you have that in place already, spending lots of money on free agents is just shuffling deck chairs.

The only realistic way for the C's to get such a player, in my opinion, is to get high draft picks, acquire good young talent, and develop that talent.  Whether one of those drafted players turns into a superstar, or you move your assets for such a star, you need to do some tanking and drafting high to get there.

Or, you can go with my plan and keep this team going for a few more years, short contracts and keep building up our youth until then, gathering assets.

Two things might happen, a year were we have an opportunity to acquire someone during free-agency or we find ourselves in a good opportunity to make a trade and acquire the players/assets we need to rebuild. During that span you're also drafting players.

So maybe we don't go all the way, but at least we'd still be competing, and with these players you never know if they might just pull one miracle, there's always a small hope. Even so, you gave yourself a chance of competing while delaying the tank machine, and if all goes as planned, you might never reach the point of having to tank to rebuild.

The key at the moment is to not give any player more than a 2 year contract. You might get away with a couple of 10 million dollar type of players for long contracts to pair up with Rondo, but no more than that. That way you keep some talent to attract players, but at the same time have the cap space necessary to acquire someone when the opportunity presents itself.

You're not going to get a star (draft or trade) unless you're bad at some point and draft in the top 10 at least once.  The best case scenario for your plan is that we make it to the second round a few years in a row and pick up some role players in the draft.

Don't know what being bad at some point has to do with not being able to get a star via trade. And I never proposed getting a star via drafting. Drafting all would do would make you acquire assets you can use to pair up with other trade assets we currently have, like say Rondo and expiring contracts of Ray/Pierce/Garnett and whatever competence they might have when that time comes.

To acquire a star, you're going to need to acquire sufficient young assets.  Unless you get fantastically lucky drafting in the mid to late first round, the only way to acquire such assets is to get high draft picks.

Rondo and Green are young assets for one. And that's just the starting point. In any case, the only thing I'm proposing, if anything, is a delay to the tank machine in the hopes that we can manage something while we find a good crop of free-agents into which we can invest into.

Keeping our current roster enables you to add more assets because of bird rights. If we go into rebuild mode just for the sake of going into rebuild mode after this season all you'll find yourself with is a poor crop of free-agents, and investing on players who will more likely than not be poor trade assets.

[Marcus13]

No.  All that's going to do is add roleplayers.  We need to figure out what direction this team is going in before trading for a bunch of spare parts

[OhioGreen]

Right now I see Rondo,Bass,MP3,JGreen, and the rookies as worthwhile assets. Signing Bass,MP3 and JG to reasonable 2/3 year contracts would be a good thing and not totally destroy our cap space and flexibility.
All others, including the Big 3 I would move at the trade deadline for any young players with potential or picks I could get. They are either too old, or minimum vets not worth keeping long term.
Get what you can at the deadline, see what happens in the draft and go from there!