CityGuy

In a shock to the new york Knicks, center Jackie Butler signed a staggering three-year, $7 million offer sheet with the Spurs on the first day of the free-agent signing period yesterday, according to sources.

That makes me believe the new york knicks will have to look for a big man either by signing a free agent or trading a player or two away.

CityGuy

Anyone out there think the New York Knicks will go for Drew Gooden or Kenyon Martin?

PaullyInNYC

The new york knicks new head coach Thomas is feeling the pressure from new york owner dolan to either win or be fired. Its a pretty intense ultimatum. The new york knicks didnt go for kenyon because he is worth too much and prone to injury. They did buy out Mo Taylors contract and are looking to do the same with Quinten Richardson. My question is how will the new york knicks fare this season.

bigapple

When Knicks forward Jared Jeffries was informed two weeks ago he'd miss six-to-eight weeks of the NBA season with a fractured left wrist, he vowed he'd be back sooner. Hopefully his game is better than his predictions.

In another devastating blow, the Knicks announced Jeffries needed surgery after all to "speed up" the healing process. Jeffries went under the knife yesterday and is out six-to-eight weeks from today.

When Jeffries first injured the wrist, Dr. Lisa Callahan, the team's director of medical care, did not feel he needed surgery, so she may have blown the call.

The addition of two weeks to the timetable means Jeffries may not make his debut until next year, Jan. 1, potentially missing the first 33 games.

There was hope Jeffries would be back in December, but after being re-evaluated Monday night, Callahan decided the non-displaced fracture wasn't healing properly.

Jeffries, who signed a five-year, $30 million deal this summer as Isiah Thomas' major acquisition, was to join the team here for tonight's opener and start rehab immediately. He'll be in a splint for now. Jeffries has attended practices and shot free throws with his healthy right hand.

It's a terrible blow for a club looking to shore up its perimeter defense.

"We have a system offensively and defensively and we can cover for those things," Thomas said. "We have players ready to step up and play, not as unique as him. Hopefully they'll get the job done."

Without 6-foot, 11-inch Jeffries, the Knicks are forced to start 6-6 Quentin Richardson at small forward. They have an open roster spot after Jalen Rose was bought out and could look into signing another small forward, perhaps recently waived rookie James White or ex-Knick Qyntel Woods.

bigapple

The New York Post has learned that Jalen Rose will make a decision today where he'll play this season; the three leading candidates are Phoenix, Miami and Detroit. The Knicks saved about $3 million in buying out Rose.

Thomas' immense ego was on display yesterday. Asked which he is better at, coaching or being a GM, Thomas said, "Let's just say I'm great at basketball."... Jerome James (plantar fasciitis) and Jeffries will be inactive tonight, and Malik Rose (hamstring) said it's "doubtful" he'll suit up. ... Thomas said he's had the same talk with Eddy Curry about showing more "manliness" as he did with Jermaine O'Neal when Thomas coached the Pacers. "I want him one day being an All-Star," Thomas said of Curry.

PaullyInNYC

Isiah Thomas was sauntering out of the Pepsi Center, relishing Jamal Crawford's big fourth quarter and the New York Knicks' improbable 109-107 comeback win over the Denver Nuggets when he heard the latest bad news on Kenyon Martin.
The Nuggets' hard-luck big man needs another knee operation, this time on his "good" knee.
"Oh, no. If he's down, I'll miss him," the Knicks coach said. "He's one of the great guys in this league and he's one of the true competitors in this league. He's definitely one of my favorite players that I like to watch. I don't like coaching against him because when he was with the Nets, I never could beat him."
With that, Thomas' smile was gone as he left the arena.
Martin was taped up and ready to play when a team doctor sent him instead for tests on his swollen right knee that revealed loose cartilage. He'll learn Thursday when he'll have the surgery and how long he might be out.
Martin was confounded by his latest knee injury. He was limited to a career-low 56 games last year after undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee and said just Wednesday morning during the shootaround that he felt he had finally put that behind him.
"I was scheduled to play. I was taped and everything. The doc came in and looked at me and told me I needed to get an MRI," said a somber Martin after the game.
He has no idea how or when he got hurt, either.
"That's the most frustrating thing," Martin said. "I have no clue. None whatsoever. How I did it or what day I did it."
All he knows is it started hurting this week and that he'll be sidelined again. For how long, nobody knows.
"I won't be out the entire season, but I have no idea at this point," he said.
His teammates nearly won without him, but for the third straight game blew a big fourth-quarter lead.

PaullyInNYC

The New York Knicks record is now 2-3. There next game is thursday at Houston following San Antonio the next night. Lets see if the Knicks can get some revenge on a loss earlier this week when San Antonio won 105-93.

PaullyInNYC

The Rumble at the Garden ..... so thats what its called when the Denver Nuggets visited the new york Knicks Saturday. Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets connected on a punch and that caused a lot of chaos. Nate Robinson of the ny knicks got involved and was suspended for 10 games. Carmelo was suspended the most for 15 games.

TheMan

Since that rumble the New York Knicks have been playing well. They have won 3 in row but lost there last game to Philly. The Knicks, still playing without three suspended players, quickly cut into a 52-37 halftime deficit by scoring the first six points of the second half. But the Sixers responded with a 7-0 run -- two baskets by Webber and a three-point play by Dalembert -- for a 59-43 advantage. When the New York Knicks get their suspended players back they should make a run for another winning streak. Maybe this sparked them a bit. Perhaps another rumble ???

SwimCoach

The longer the game, the better the New York Knicks are. This is there third triple over-time game in which they have won all three. The Knicks withstood their third overtime game in 10 days and their third this season of two or more overtimes, outlasting Richard Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons 151-145 on Wednesday night.

Channing Frye forced the third overtime with a buzzer-beating jumper, Jamal Crawford took over from there and the Knicks improved to 4-0 in OT this season.

Throw in a triple-overtime victory over Phoenix last January, and obviously the Knicks know what they're doing when the games drag past 48 minutes.

"We don't want to give Coach a heart attack, but we have shown we can win in these type of situations," Crawford said.

The Knicks overcame Hamilton's career-high 51 points, the first 50-point game against them since Michael Jordan accomplished the feat in 1997. They have won a pair of triple-overtime games this season, having beaten Memphis in their season opener.

Playing 55 minutes, Hamilton was 19-for-37 and made all 12 free throws in the first 50-point game by an opponent at Madison Square Garden since Jordan's famed 55-point night on March 28, 1995.

"Like they always say, New York is the Mecca of basketball," Hamilton said. "I read that in Michael Jordan books my whole life and I played here in the Big East tournament, so it's always fun to play in the Mecca of basketball."

Crawford finished with 29 points, nine in the third overtime. He carried the Knicks after Stephon Marbury fouled out with a season-high 41 points in the second extra period, leaving the already short-handed Knicks with only two available guards.

"Tonight we never thought we were going to lose," Marbury said. "We always knew we were going to win. We played well down the stretch and guys made plays when they were supposed to."