Sportsmeat

ESPN does this not infrequently, so yes, I’m blatantly stealing from them—the gist is that they take a team and say how they could make it better. This is not a WFAN listener suggestion-type thing, where you solve all a team’s problems by trading Al Jefferson and Delonte West for Dwyane Wade and Shaq, but a legitimate way to make a team at least a little bit better.

And since I (a) read about the Knicks every day and (b) find them fascinating in a car-wreck kind of way, here it goes:

Start David Lee
This is a pretty easy suggestion, actually, yet Isiah seems inexplicably against it. In general, I’ve never understood why you wouldn’t just start your five best players. The bigger issue here, however, is this: If the Knicks plan to build an offense around Eddy Curry, which seems the case, he needs a good partner in the frontcourt. Lee, unlike Channing Frye, offsets Curry’s weaknesses. The big issue is that Curry is a lousy rebounder; Lee is an excellent one. Moreover, Lee doesn’t need a lot of touches, which is a good thing since Curry will get most of them. Plus, going big at the 4 and 5 allows the Knicks to go small and leave Q Richardson (one of their five best players, unlike Jarred Jeffries) at the 3, Jamal Crawford at the 2 and Marbury at the point.

Cut Steve Francis
This was a dumb trade to start, and keeping an unhappy Francis around is not going to help matters. Plus, he just doesn’t fit. He and Marbury really are too similar—essentially, both can score and neither makes his teammates better. But Marbury is the better player, so he stays. I know it sucks to eat Francis’s salary, but the Knicks have to admit a few mistakes if they are going to move forward.

Acquire a Real Backup Point Guard
The funny thing about the Francis trade (nauseating, perhaps, if you’re a Knicks fan) is that the Knicks could have used the same pieces to get Earl Watson, a legit point guard and team guy who would be perfect playing 20 minutes a game at the point. I have no idea if Watson is still available, but maybe Brevin Knight is. Or someone to the effect where they will distribute the ball, play a little D and be happy with 15 minutes a game. This person would be one of three reserves, along with Jeffries (Q could always slide to the 2 to spell Crawford in such cases) and Frye (offense off the bench). Then, if you need energy, bring in Nate Robinson (who is definitely NOT a point guard) or Renaldo Balkman, and if you need fouls, bring in Jerome James. But these three—Robinson, Balkman, James—should be complementary parts, not part of the regular rotation (though I think Balkman could become one in the future).

Conclusion
The Knicks are not going to become a championship team with the players on the current roster. It’s just not going to happen. But they can be a solid playoff contender in the East, and then hope they get lucky in the draft or in free agency. Or, if the Knicks ever have a first-round pick again, maybe David Stern will rig the ping pong balls to bounce their way. If not that, have Clyde suit up.