Knicks finish Summer League 0-5

Like spring training, preseason football, and preseason hockey, what happens in the NBA Summer League doesn't matter longterm. Still, I'm sure Knick fans would have liked to come away with a victory, rather than go 0-5 in Las Vegas. The clubs most recent loss came yesterday, a 89-84 defeat to the Washington Wizards.

What does matter in the Summer League, rather than the win-loss record, is how your rookies perform. Here, the Knicks get high marks. 8th pick Jordan Hill, and 29th selection Toney Douglas were equally impressive in their Knick debuts. Hill led the team in points and rebounds with 14.4 and 8.2, respectively. He showed surprisingly good range and a nose for the ball. Douglas was the team leader in assists with 7.0 per game. I thought he was more of a combo-guard and a scorer coming out of Florida State, but Douglas showed the ability to run the team, and could turn out to be a very good point guard. If he develops properly, I can't see a place for Nate Robinson past 2009/2010.

I was also surprised by the play of Morris Almond, who scored in double figures all five games, and averaged 14 ppg. Almond was drafted in 2007 by the Jazz with the 25th pick, two picks after the Knicks drafted Wilson Chandler. The former Rice star appeared in just 34 games over the last two seasons, averaging just 3.1 points in 8.6 minutes a game. Almond can really shoot the rock, and I think their is a place for him on this team.

So yes two of the five losses were blowouts. But so what. The important thing that Knick fans should take away from Summer League '09 is that they have two rookies, who look like they will be able to contribute at the NBA level.

Here are the results of all five games, just for housekeeping purposes:
July 14 vs. Grizzlies L 90-86
July 15 vs. Pistons L 96-73
July 17 vs. Kings L 84-71
July 18 vs. Bulls L 90-84
July 19 vs. Wizards L 89-84

Knick Tidbits:

• Knick beat writer Frank Isola is reporting in the Daily News that team president Donnie Walsh has met with free-agent point guard Andre Miller. It is not believed the Knicks have made a formal offer. Last year for the Sixers, Miller averaged over 16 ppg and 6.5 apg.

• It would behoove Donnie Walsh to make a run at restricted free-agent Ramon Sessions instead of Andre Miller. Bucks beat writer Gery Woelfel wrote just a couple days ago that the Knicks are the front runner to land the former Nevada star. Woelfel writes that Donnie Walsh is trying to negotiate a sign-and-trade, and if he cannot will offer Sessions the MLE. At just 23 years old, Sessions averaged 12,4 ppg and 5.7 assists last season. To me, this move makes the most sense. Sessions is younger and more athletic than Miller at this point in his career. He would fit in perfectly with Mike D'Antoni's up and down style of play, and could very well be the point guard of the future.

• It sounds like David Lee is going to be a Knick or a Trailblazer next season. The Knicks have a five year offer on the table for about $7 million a season, but the Blazers have more money. Portland actually can offer Lee upwards of $10 million a season, now that the Jazz matched their offer for restricted free-agent Paul Millsap.