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LeBron James will have money on the table sometime Sunday, which is the official first day the Cavaliers can offer an extension to their superstar. James is expected to appreciate the offer - by rule, the most the Cavs can give in an extension is three years and $65 million - but not sign it. Not with half of the league, including the desperate Knicks, carving out huge chunks of salary-cap space to make a bid for him next summer.
For Donnie Walsh, this still has to be the master plan. This incredibly arduous undertaking that is rebuilding - no, make that resuscitating - the Knicks can be accelerated by the addition of one special player.
Following the Field of Dreams method (if you build it, he will come), Walsh hired the most popular coach (Mike D'Antoni) with a very popular offensive system. The Garden, James' favorite venue, comes built-in, as does the incomparable New York market.
The issue is, and will remain, the supporting cast. Cavs GM Danny Ferry added an aging Shaquille O'Neal via trade this summer but failed to lure a high-end free agent (Ron Artest or Trevor Ariza) with the mid-level exception. Ferry's issue is that players are wary of coming to Cleveland without a guarantee that LeBron will be there after next season. Adding Shaq grabs a headline but eventually will only clog the middle for LeBron, who, if you haven't noticed, likes to drive right into the area that the 300-plus-pound O'Neal tends to take up the most space.
Alan Hahn Alan Hahn Bio | Recent columns
But the Knicks - who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday - failed to gain any advantage this summer, either, despite their own feeble attempts to upgrade with Jason Kidd and Grant Hill.
Word is Kidd and Hill talked and that once Kidd got the sense that Hill was leaning toward staying in Phoenix, he decided to stay in Dallas. Was it all about the money? On the surface, it looked that way, given that he took the higher offer. But we're told that neither of those guys - veterans pushing 37 - were interested in carrying this franchise alone for even a year with so much uncertainty still in the balance.
Walsh still has the mid-level exception ($5.8 million) to use if a savvy, respected veteran-type (Andre Miller) wants to try a one-year stint before trying free agency again next summer. A trade for Carlos Boozer could accomplish the same. Lamar Odom? Not a legitimate option. Ramon Sessions? Milwaukee is sure to match and the Knicks know it. Allen Iverson? Moving on . . .
Let's also not forget that the team's own restricted free agents, David Lee and Nate Robinson, remain unhappily unsigned. Both once were believed to be the only symbols of hope for this dying franchise and yet now are too closely associated to the losing atmosphere. Lee, whom the Knicks want to retain, is a victim of a rarity in Knicks history: fiscal responsibility.
So where's the new hope for the franchise? What do they possess that would make the Knicks the unequivocal destination for LeBron's rings-the-thing mentality?
Walsh did draft a potential franchise player in Danilo Gallinari last year, but back issues have the Italian forward marked as a bust if he can't ever get 100 percent healthy. This year's crop brought in two first-rounders, but Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas - who produced uninspiring performances in the NBA Summer League, which ends today in Las Vegas - are role players.
So, yes, considering how much improved the East became this summer, this rebuild could take a while. Especially if LeBron decides to stay in Cleveland. And if he does, there's always 2011 (Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant). Or 2012 (Chris Paul, Deron Williams). Or . . .
For Donnie Walsh, this still has to be the master plan. This incredibly arduous undertaking that is rebuilding - no, make that resuscitating - the Knicks can be accelerated by the addition of one special player.
Following the Field of Dreams method (if you build it, he will come), Walsh hired the most popular coach (Mike D'Antoni) with a very popular offensive system. The Garden, James' favorite venue, comes built-in, as does the incomparable New York market.
The issue is, and will remain, the supporting cast. Cavs GM Danny Ferry added an aging Shaquille O'Neal via trade this summer but failed to lure a high-end free agent (Ron Artest or Trevor Ariza) with the mid-level exception. Ferry's issue is that players are wary of coming to Cleveland without a guarantee that LeBron will be there after next season. Adding Shaq grabs a headline but eventually will only clog the middle for LeBron, who, if you haven't noticed, likes to drive right into the area that the 300-plus-pound O'Neal tends to take up the most space.
Alan Hahn Alan Hahn Bio | Recent columns
But the Knicks - who are owned by Cablevision, which also owns Newsday - failed to gain any advantage this summer, either, despite their own feeble attempts to upgrade with Jason Kidd and Grant Hill.
Word is Kidd and Hill talked and that once Kidd got the sense that Hill was leaning toward staying in Phoenix, he decided to stay in Dallas. Was it all about the money? On the surface, it looked that way, given that he took the higher offer. But we're told that neither of those guys - veterans pushing 37 - were interested in carrying this franchise alone for even a year with so much uncertainty still in the balance.
Walsh still has the mid-level exception ($5.8 million) to use if a savvy, respected veteran-type (Andre Miller) wants to try a one-year stint before trying free agency again next summer. A trade for Carlos Boozer could accomplish the same. Lamar Odom? Not a legitimate option. Ramon Sessions? Milwaukee is sure to match and the Knicks know it. Allen Iverson? Moving on . . .
Let's also not forget that the team's own restricted free agents, David Lee and Nate Robinson, remain unhappily unsigned. Both once were believed to be the only symbols of hope for this dying franchise and yet now are too closely associated to the losing atmosphere. Lee, whom the Knicks want to retain, is a victim of a rarity in Knicks history: fiscal responsibility.
So where's the new hope for the franchise? What do they possess that would make the Knicks the unequivocal destination for LeBron's rings-the-thing mentality?
Walsh did draft a potential franchise player in Danilo Gallinari last year, but back issues have the Italian forward marked as a bust if he can't ever get 100 percent healthy. This year's crop brought in two first-rounders, but Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas - who produced uninspiring performances in the NBA Summer League, which ends today in Las Vegas - are role players.
So, yes, considering how much improved the East became this summer, this rebuild could take a while. Especially if LeBron decides to stay in Cleveland. And if he does, there's always 2011 (Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant). Or 2012 (Chris Paul, Deron Williams). Or . . .
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