Knicks sign Jonathan Bender

Yesterday, the Knicks signed Jonathan Bender to a non-guaranteed contract for the veteran's minimum. Bender, 28, was drafted 5th overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 1999 NBA Draft. He was later traded to the Indiana Pacers for Antonio Davis. The 7 ft 230 pound forward has career averages of 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 15.0 minutes in 237 games over seven NBA seasons, all with Indiana. He enjoyed his best season in 2001-02 when he averaged 7.4 ppg and 3.1 rebounds. He was forced to retire with knee issues in 2006

Walsh, having drafted him, seems to really like Bender and thinks he can contribute to the team. From what I remember Bender is a versatile forward who can play the 3 through the 5, making him a good addition to D'Antoni's system, which relies on players who can defend multiple positions. There are questions on if he can still play, however.

I think this is a no-lose situation for the Knicks. Bender is on a non-guaranteed contract, meaning that the Knicks can wave him with no repercussions at any time. If anything the Knicks gained a practice player who can maybe show rookie Jordan Hill some moves that he learned in his seven years in the NBA. If we gain anything more out of him it is a definite plus and it will make Donnie look like a genius. But the odds are D'Antoni will stick to that eight man rotation (9 if you count Curry) and keep Bender around for practices and injury insurance.

Tomorrow we play the Charlotte Bobcats. This is a huge game for our playoff hopes, as the Bobcats are currently tied for the 8th spot as of this writing. We are currently a game and a half behind the final spot in the east, a win tomorrow will bring us even closer to the goal of making the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

D'Antoni is in a tough spot. As I mentioned in my previous post, Bobcats coach Larry Brown thinks very highly of Eddy Curry, and playing Curry tomorrow may give Brown the idea of bringing him to his team and giving us a couple of expiring contracts in return. However, as we saw in the New Orleans game, playing Curry almost blew the game for us, and we needed a big second half to win that game. I don't know if I would want to risk blowing this game if I was D'Antoni. The fact is Curry does not rebound well right now, and I still see him getting lost in the flow of the offense. If coach decides to play Curry it could get ugly for Knicks fans. I could be wrong and if Curry improved since the last game it would be great, but I just don't see four days making a huge difference.

That's all for now Knicks fans. I will post tomorrow after the game with analysis and thoughts. Cross your fingers!

Questions or comments? E-mail me at nyec2010@yahoo.com

Chat with you later!