Posts tagged ZachRandolph at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Yesterday morning, we chided an Associated Press reporter for buying Isiah Thomas's wolf tickets regarding the impact of a few nights off for Zach Randolph. Isiah said New York would be worse; I argued it would be difficult to be worse than the Knicks have been. It is crepes du crow for dessert. I was wrong.

Mike Miller scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half, and the Grizzlies snapped an 18-game road losing streak Friday night with a 120-106 victory over the New York Knicks.

Memphis had actually passed Minne-freaking-sota for #2 in the Beasley sweepstakes this week before beating New York. Since Pau's been gone, the Grizzlies have gone 4-19. And the Knicks lost to them at home.

Kudos, Isiah. Your plan actually worked to perfection. Good luck against the Wolves tonight.

Here's the lede of a Brian Mahoney Associated Press story published Thursday afternoon.

If Isiah Thomas' job is in jeopardy, he won't try to save it with meaningless wins down the stretch.

Thomas made it clear Thursday he's playing for the future - whether he's a part of it or not - by revealing the Knicks probably will not use Zach Randolph the next two games.

Mahoney assumes two things: That if Zeke were to keep Randolph in the lineup, the Knicks would win; and that the Knicks do not stand an equal or better chance of winning without Z-Bo.

With Randolph, the Knicks are 1-9 in their last 10, with the sole win coming over 12-55 Miami missing Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. With Randolph, the Knicks are 19-48. With Randolph, they have the #25 offense and the #29 defense in the league. I would venture to say they could not get much worse without Randolph.

Further, sitting Z-Bo opens up more minutes for David Lee, who just now has gotten some starts thanks to Eddy Curry's injury yet still cannot get 30 minutes most nights. Lee is vastly more efficient on offense, a better rebounder, and at least a more passionate defender.

In the wake of last year's rampant tanking, it would do us well to check out the schedule, as well. (Remember: Isiah thinks sitting Randolph makes them worse than they already are, which is really bad. So he believes sitting Z-Bo will make them lose some games they would have won.) The next two opponents? Memphis (three games "ahead" of New York in the lottery race) and Minnesota (two games closer to Beasley). Nice timing, Zeke.

After dismissing Larry Harris from the role of general manager yesterday, Herb Kohl spoke to the press about Harris' limitations, or at least the implied notion that Kohl did not give Harris much leeway for making roster related transactional moves. Specifically, Kohl stated that he did veto a Zach Randolph to Milwaukee deal; but also said that he and Harris were on the same page all along.

"Larry has no difficulty or animosity with me over the right I had to say, 'Let's not do the Zach Randolph trade,' " Kohl said. "He would not bring that up to you as any point of contention. He would say, 'Yes, he had the right to do that, whether I agree or not.' "

Nothing smells finer on an early Thursday morning than a little politician double talk. Am I right? What Kohl essentially is saying, at least to me, is that he told Harris he was not going to trade for Randolph (purportedly for Charlie Bell, Dan Gadzuric and Bobby Simmons). And Harris won't contend that Kohl's veto power was outside any scope of normal behavior. Go figure.

Kohl's also discussed his reasoning for not wanting Z-Bo, which, not so shockingly, came down to character issues. Bear in mind that Randolph has a large contract and has had personal issues on/off court, but at least he's better than Gadzuric and Simmons combined.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
Ronald Murray got the starting nod for the Pacers last night. This is not shocking because he's been getting minutes. It is odd though, that a team in Indiana's position would rather give Flip run than let Travis Diener develop further; presumably this could also be a move to let Diener get more comfortable in the role he was used to. Or something. Regardless, Flip certainly has value as someone who will score points and pick up threes while hurting your percentages and not really giving you many assists from the PG position. If that's something you're interested in.

Hot Cakes
Z-Bo represent! Zach Randolph scored 21 points and pulled down 14 boards while starting at center against the Pacers on St. Patty's Day, showing us what he should have been doing all along in the Eastern Conference. Were it not for that stupid Eddy Curry and those meddling kids. Randolph's shooting percentage was looked about as appeasing as a Guinness at 6 a.m., but that should improve some as he takes more shots in the post. Still, he's going to have a nice run to close out the season for fantasy owners.

Josh Powell put up a double-double last night against the defenseless Al Jefferson, going for 10 points, 12 boards and two blocks. Powell is a low end center, obviously, but you could do worse around playoff time. Of course, beware the insanely high rate with which he picks up personal fouls as those aren't always "great" for court time. He should see plenty of run until Chris Kaman returns.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
I never wish injury on anyone. But just like Old Yeller, at least the Knicks had the sense to put Eddy Curry out to pasture for this season. But you know what that means? Well, not much in terms of real basketball, since the Knicks stink. But in fantasy terms it means a lot, especially since Isiah Thomas wasn't smart enough to stock a second center on his roster. Zach Randolph should be center eligible soon and that's a huge boon to fantasy owners looking for late season positional mobility. It also means that David Lee will be starting. Which is you-uge. Also, you can expect to see Randolph's field goal percentage bump up and his rebounds to increase as well without Curry clogging the lane.

Hot Cakes
Ronny Turiaf might be able to backdoor some center eligibility as well, depending on Pau Gasol's injury length. He scored 13 points with eight boards, two dimes and three blocks on Sunday against the Rockets. Look to grab him immediately in smaller leagues with lower eligibility requirements.

Gerald Wallace continues to come off the bench after his return from a concussion. The Bobcats want to make sure he's good and healthy, plus they have an interest in making sure he doesn't disrupt their recent run of chemistry. (Not shockingly coinciding with the release of Jeff McInnis.) Expect "Crash" to ease back into the rotation, but you should be starting him.

As the trade deadline approached, the Knicks were said to be in discussions to move, among other people, Zach Randolph. In case you were wondering why the team was having trouble moving someone who averages 17 and 10, here's a video example of why Z-Bo isn't a desirable addition to your team.

Yes, in case you don't believe your eyes, you just witnessed a 6'9" power forward dribbling down the shot clock behind the three-point line, and then launching an air-ball. And you thought that Zach's questionable past, not getting along with his teammates, or his attitude towards officials might have had something to do with it. Shows what you know.

[via Basketbawful]

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Isiah Thomas has had some trouble deciding whether his pair of expensive, no-defense, all-offense-and-even-then-not-a-great-amount-of-offense big men can mesh together or not. While Zeke's mind is susceptible to visual coercion, Fact and Reality are not: This ain't working, man.

Witness: Zach Randolph -- 28 minutes, 7 points of 2-13 shooting, 5 rebounds. Eddy Curry -- 26 minutes, 12 points on 4-11 shooting, 5 rebounds. Nary a block between them. And the opposing bigs? All-World stud Chris Bosh shoots 7-11 for 17 points; Andrea Bargnani goes ballistic for 25-7-5. Isiah! It's not working! !!!

Also receiving votes:
Those Phoenix small forwards get good credit for the Suns' bludgeoning at the hands of Detroit -- Grant Hill went scoreless and assistless in 26 minutes; Boris Diaw put up a magical 2-2-0 line in his 21 minutes. Linton Johnson III was easily the best Phoenix SF on Sunday. Frightening.

Ben Wallace debuted for Cleveland and kindly offered 12 and 10 in 34 minutes. And Jason Kidd finally had the game everyone in Dallas has been waiting for -- 12 points, 17 assists, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals.

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

There's a rumor floating around the New York Post that the Knicks came to the Bucks and offered Zach Randolph plus expiring contract former dunk champion Fred Jones for Dan Gadzuric, Charlie Bell and Bobby Simmons. And apparently the Bucks rejected it. Which seems odd to me.

Also, a league source told The News that the Bucks' owner, Milwaukee Sen. Herb Kohl, yesterday rejected a trade that would have sent Randolph and either Fred Jones or Jared Jeffries to Milwaukee for a package including Bobby Simmons, Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric, who all have long-term contracts.

Milwaukee GM Larry Harris, who may be let go at season's end, is eager to make a deal to help his struggling team and presented a similar package to Kohl in January. However, Kohl is reluctant to approve any trades Harris brings to him. The Knicks and Bucks have tried to orchestrate several trades this season, including one that would have featured Stephon Marbury.

Now, getting back Z-Bo and Jones wouldn't be anything that the Bucks should consider a "prize haul", but if you can get a player as talented as Randolph and in the process free up a huge chunk of salary, well, don't you want to make that deal, regardless of how much of a lame duck Larry Harris is? Don't get me wrong -- I'm the biggest Chuck Bell fan on the planet, and Simmons scored a bunch of points for the Clippers one time ... but you gotta make this deal. Bell's contract is great because he's locked up cheaply for a long time, but the Bucks don't start him. And Gadzuric averages less points and rebounds per game than millions he makes per year (five something). Simmons can't stay healthy and he's fairly one dimensional anyway (plus, he makes NINE million this year!!). Look, Randolph is crazy, but not this crazy.

Update: Thanks to Rick in the comments for pointing out the video.

Zach Randolph and Nate Robinson acted like little children themselves during a sideline skirmish last night in Washington. The game went into overtime, but with less than 20 seconds left in regulation the two teammates got into an argument near the team's bench during a time out. From the New York Post's Marc Berman:

Punctuating the verbal jawing, Randolph threw a cup of water at Robinson. Robinson responded by tossing back a towel before they were separated.

Randolph called it "heat of the moment.'' "It was a misunderstanding,'' Randolph said. "Nate and I talked about it.''

Robinson said much the same thing, reading from a script from the P.R. department that closed the locker room an illegal 20 minutes after the game. David Stern has a sign on the locker room doors, saying doors must open after 15 minutes, but the Knicks go by their own rules.

I don't know what's worse, the sniping between teammates or a disgruntled media venting about being forced to wait five minutes -- five whole minutes! -- longer than usual. That this run-in happened between Randolph and Robinson is hardly surprising; they both have a history of turning on their teammates. Randolph famously sucker punched Ruben Patterson back in 2003 while with the Trail Blazers, drawing a two-game suspension and a whopping $100,000 fine, while Robinson jumped a naked Malik Rose in the shower in 2005, ostensibly for welching on a bet.

By now it's crystal clear that the only way Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph belong on the court at the same time is if they're wearing different uniforms, but Isiah Thomas isn't ready to rush into any deals to separate the two. From Newsday:

"I keep looking at our guys, and for as much talk as there has been about Eddy and Zach, they're still 25 and 26," Thomas said. "There's a lot of good basketball left for them to play. While we're in a bad spot, you don't want to make it worse." [...]

Said Thomas: "I don't foresee any major thing happening. But that being said, who knows what some other team is thinking?"

That's a nice little out he left himself there at the end, no? Personally, I'd be shocked if Thomas doesn't spend the week working the phones trying to dump one of them, but in the end I doubt anything will happen. Fact is, nobody wants Randolph, as much because of the baggage he brings as his unwieldy contract (he's due almost $48 million over three years after this season) .

Plus, and this should be a given by now, Thomas is stubborn as hell. The very fact that it's blindingly obvious Curry and Randolph don't belong on the same team makes it's all the more likely that he'll keep trying to force it to happen.

It's natural to expect Isiah Thomas to scramble any which way for excuses, especially during the All Star Break, when suddenly the daily game-to-game action slows down, everyone takes a deep breath, and suddenly starts really examining where teams stand heading into the "second half" of the season. And with that not-so-fun pressure vice closing in and the trading deadline glaring at an untradeable Knicks team ... well, don't act so shocked when you hear Eddy Curry land underneath the bus.

A year ago, Isiah Thomas thought Eddy Curry deserved to be an All-Star. A year later, as the NBA breaks for All-Star Weekend, Thomas suggested that Curry might already be a dinosaur.

Brinson mentioned the budding Jermaine O'Neal-Knicks rumors, and noted Zach Randolph's the only financial return which would make any sense. Coincidentally, Larry Bird's here to shoot down that rumor. Via Indy Cornrows:

The direction we're going, we don't have any interest in Zach, even though I like him as a person, he's a good player but that's not the direction we want to go. We've talked to every team in the league just to see what's going on out there. You know, we played the other night, Jermaine and Isiah [Thomas] are good friends and that's how all that stuff got started.

Without a third team, there's no serious shot at some other deal getting worked out between the parties; that's life with the worst set of contracts in the business, Isiah.

For what it's worth, Bird and Jim O'Brien aren't terribly convincing in their mild assertions to the Indianapolis Star they aren't looking to move J.O. before the deadline. Honestly, the team seems to be going nowhere with or without him, so a deal could wait until the summer.

Being the team player that he is, Jermaine O'Neal was kind enough to let the media know that he "would accept it" if the sinking ship Pacers decided to deal him to the Titanic Knicks.

There are some pretty key issues that would keep anything of this nature from going down. But first, it's certainly worth noting that there are some good reasons why it might happen.

O'Neal didn't want to directly address coming to New York out of respect for the Pacers, but said Madison Square Garden was 'one of the most desired atmospheres to play in in basketball.'

According to O'Neal, the Pacers are in trade talks with several teams and it is no secret that Thomas has tried on several occasions to acquire O'Neal, whom he coached for three seasons in Indiana. O'Neal's high school coach, George Glymph, is on Thomas' staff.

Now, on to those problems. The Daily News mentions there might be some issues getting Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird to the same table to put a deal together, but I would imagine any dislike would only make them eager to pull some shenanigans over on the other one. That aside, who the hell is Larry going to take back for JON and his 19 million dollar deal? The only really logical notion would be Zach Randolph, but, um, he doesn't really fit the image that Indy has been trying to shed recently. No offense to Z-Bo, of course.

Could Jason Kidd land with the Knicks? Hey, why not? It's no less implausible than a complex, three-team deal that involves one of the leading contenders in the West (Dallas) completely shaking up their roster on a whim.

Plus, Isiah Thomas is officially interested, and when he puts his blinders on to make a deal, it's worth a general manager's time to throw outlandish demands out there to see if Zeke will bite. From Marc Berman of the New York Post (via CSTB):

A day after saying he had "no superstars," Knick coach Isiah Thomas said he will ask the Nets what it would take to land the on-the-block Jason Kidd.

The Nets have been forever looking for a big center, and Eddy Curry could be involved in a potential deal, possibly along with Renaldo Balkman, whom the Nets like. [...]

"I think our business is to find out," Thomas said. "When players are on the market, you try to find out. You have to be interested. You have to look."

Stephon Marbury is convinced that a scheduled MRI on Thursday will tell him exactly what he already knows, that he needs ankle surgery and won't be returning to the court anytime soon. But maybe a prolonged absence by Marbury is just what the Knicks need to get better, as well.

The Knicks won their third straight on Wednesday, all with Marbury on the sidelines. They topped the Nets 111-105, winning the season series with their cross-state rivals for the first time since 1999-2000. What's even better is that all of the guys New York needs to get on track produced: Jamal Crawford led the way with an efficient 35 points on just 20 shots, Eddy Curry had 17 and Zach Randolph had 24 and 11. If those three can all produce numbers like that in the same game, the Knicks can be surprisingly competitive.

How long can New York's mini-renaissance last? They have a re-match with Washington, a team they beat Tuesday, this coming Friday, followed by games against the Heat, Celtics and Sixers. With a bit of luck, they could win at least half of those, though a five-game road trip out West that begins the last week of the month should pop their bubble, however big it ends up getting.