The New Era! - Mini ShaQ's Knicks

[Mini ShaQ]

Here is my new dynasty, I'm sorry about all the confusion and I hope you will follow my strides to take New York back to it's glory days. I hope to bring the bright lights back to Madison Square Garden. Let's Go! First update comes right in the morning.

Hope you enjoy and follow it.

[Mini ShaQ]

Knicks News!

Hey everyone and welcome to another edition of Knicks News, I'm your host, Walt Frazier.



Alot has happened over the last week in our beloved Garden. Alot of shocking new developments for the future of the franchise. I will take you through it step by step, and we have certainly have alot of goodies to bring you today.

First of all the reign of Isiah Thomas as the General Manager/Head Coach have ended, the coaching duty before it begun, owner Jim Dolan demoted Isiah Thomas today. "The decision had to be made, I made the choice I think was right and I stand by my decision". Mr. Dolan said about demoting Isiah. Thomas is still with the club, right now serving as an Assistant Coach for the Knicks, head assistant. And the reason mr. Dolan made this move was because today it was announced that mr. Dolan have hired a new General Manager and Head Coach for the New York Knicks. Matin "Mini ShaQ" Haso is now taking over for Isiah at the reigns of this ballclub.

A reporter asked mr. Dolan about hiring an "rookie" from Europe to handle a major legendary basketballclub in the NBA, how can you send a boy to do a man's job?

"Matin is a very capable and good General Manager and coach, he has been around, both as a player and executive, I have full confidence that he will give us that plan to get back to the glory of the Knickerbockers".

There were alot of doubts to say the least, and criticism, fans are a little anxious to say the least when a complete "rookie" get's the reigns of the team. But I say, hey he can't do any worse right? So join me in welcoming Matin "Mini ShaQ" Haso to the New York Knicks and up on stage.

Clyde: Welcome to New York.
Matin: Thank you very much.
Clyde: So do you really think you can turn this team around?
Matin: Yes I do, I see a great future here for this club. I am dedicated to do everything in my powers to make the Knicks a winner again.
Clyde: Meaning what? That you will clear out the team?
Matin: Oh no, not at all, meaning that with the right leadership and the right moves both teamwise, chemistrywise, and finansially we can turn the fortune of this club.
Clyde: Ok, so where do you see the team going this year? Lottery or playoffs?
Matin: Well I would be lying if I said I'm not aiming to win instantly and go for the playoffs now. But we'll see as the season progresses, right now I'm just focused on the season up ahead and getting to know my boys. *smiles*
Clyde: Speaking of, you are in the stretch run of that now correct?
Matin: Yes, we've been at it this week, working hard and getting to know one another.
Clyde: And how's it looking?
Matin: Very good, I see alot of positive things with this team, looks like they enjoy playing together and that's very important.
Clyde: I know you've worked behind closed doors all week, anything you could tell us? Something doesn't smell right here. *smiles*
Matin: In due time, in due time.

Clyde: Ok, well that's all the time we have for now, I wish you the best of luck and I look forward to hearing your thought's and secrets after training camp, good luck with everything and God Speed. Matin "Mini ShaQ" Haso ladies and gentlemen.

Matin: Thank you very much for having me Walt. And I hope that the city of New York is looking forward to the new Knicks season.

[Mini ShaQ]

News Out Of New York!

Hey everyone, Clyde Frazier here! I'm here with a news update straight from the New York Knicks training camp. It has been announced by GM, HC Matin Haso that the Knicks have hired a new staff to aid him this year. Ignacio Jimenez was recently hired as an Assistant Head Coach, along with Isiah Thomas, Juan Suarez as an Assistant, Roland Maier is the new Scout and Pedro Ortega was hired as the new Trainer.
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Ignacio Jimenez is a native of Italy, but he was born in Argentina, he has been the Italian National team Coach for 4 years, and now he wants to test his skills in the big league. "He is a very experienced high profile person/coach, and I'm very happy I was able to convince him to come overseas" -Matin Haso. Jimenez prevously spent time in Benetton Treviso, CSKA Moscow and most recently FC Barcelona.

"Ignacio is definately an exellent addition to this team, he has shown the skills you need at this level, now he just needs to continue what he's been doing for several years now". -Jim Dolan

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Juan Suarez is from Spain, another exellent pick up by the Knicks, another very experienced professional that knows the game inside and out. Juan has been with FC Barcelona all of his career. And is very much looking forward to this challenge. "It's a great opportunity for me, to prove myself, and to show the world who I am on the biggest of stages as far as basketball goes. And helping the Knicks, turning them into a winner again really motivates me". -Juan Suarez

He's already helped me out alot, he is an exellent shooting coach, and guard oriented, I can't tell you how happy I am to have him here, he will progress my game in a big way". -Nate Robinson

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Roland Maier is a native of Germany, he has been a scout for 10 years, and his breakout came when he essentially got NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki into the league, he was then sending scouting reports to teams leading to the Milwaukee Bucks picking him 9th Overall in the 1998 draft. He was never on any staff though so this is his first assignment as an hired NBA Scout. "I mean what can you say, prolly one of the top 5 best scouts in Europe, outstanding at spotting talent, most so on the offensive end, but very wellrounded, just a great guy to have". -Matin Haso

"I know him very well, I mean he's the reason I'm here, so of course I kept in touch with Roland, I love him, he's a great guy and I'm really happy to see that he is getting his shot in the NBA now". -Dirk Nowitzki on video feed from Dallas when news was given.

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Now this was an eyeopener. Pedro Ortega, he resides and was born in Sweden, his family is from Chile. He is virtually unknown, if you saw him on the train you would not react. Just a normal guy. I had to ask Mr. Haso about this.
Clyde: What are you thinking hiring Pedro? He has never been heard of outside of Sweden.
Matin: He's hardly heard of in Sweden either. *laugh* But I know what he can do, he has a good approach on healing injuries and that's what I'm looking for, you're resumé is one thing, you're people skills and healing skills are quite another. I know Pedro, and he's a good man and the right guy for this job.

I then went to the highest source about this.
Clyde: Mr. Dolan, what do you think about this unknown Swede coming in here as the new Trainer?
Dolan: Well, I did hire an unknown Swede to take over my entire team as both the Head Coach and the General Manager, so what harm can one more do? *laughs* No but seriously, I have full confidence in Matin, and if Pedro is the man he wants, then he's the right man for the job.

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I got the opportunity to ask Matin a question about these staff hirings.

Clyde: Did you happen to notice you're staff is completely EUROPEAN? *smile* What is that about? Anything against us american?
Matin: Well of course not, but I had a chance to snag some of the premier coachingstaff talent available and the fact that they are european does not really play into the factor, I know these men that I hired and I know they are the right fit for us.

Clyde: Well you have my trust too, I hope it all works out well. Thank you.

That's all for now from the Knicks training camp, we will be back shortly with more surrounding the team itself. See you next time, on Knicks News update.

[Marquis]

haha the staff of Europeans guys.

Looks good, good luck at the next update

[Mini ShaQ]

haha the staff of Europeans guys.

Looks good, good luck at the next update

Haha, had to be done. There is a first for everything.

[Mini ShaQ]

Knicks Training Camp Team:

This year the New York Knicks went to camp with 20 player but only 15 spots, 14 of which are guaranteed for this season. So basically we have 5 players fighting for one rosterspot.

"As of now we have 14 guaranteed contracts, that is correct. Then you never know what will happen do you? But one roster spot is open to fight about". -Matin Haso

The Guaranteed contracts are as following:
Rookies Mardy Collins and Renaldo Balkman


And players from last season:
Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose, Quentin Richardson, Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries, Channing Frye, Nate Robinson, Malik Rose, Jamal Crawford, David Lee and Jerome James


And then there's that elusive 15th and final spot. And the Knicks have 5 invitees to play for it, one has been on the team for a little bit, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, former Knickerbocker Qyntel Woods, Free agent veteran guards Derek Anderson and Jim Jackson, and last but certainly not least, a legend in the game of basketball, also a former New Yorker and a veteran that's giving it the absolutely last push in the league, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.


"It's definately a tough choice, I mean all 5 are veteran player, although some more then others, and they can all play the game and have good understanding, and in training camp they were all just very competetive and wanting to go to work every day. As of now Nikoloz has a contract with us, we'll see what happens". -Matin

That's all for now folks... will be back with the decision and other news when given. Something that may help that decision is the two preseason games that the Knicks will play against the Hornets and Hawks. After that the roster will be finalized according to sources.

The Hawks Game is being played tonight dressing everyone exept for Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry and Quentin Richardson.

[CouchPotato94]

Nice.

[Mark.]

I would like to see Penny back, as long as its for a decent price

[Ford2Bosh]

Good luck with this. Start my boy Rose ! Have fun with the Knicks though. I like how you have Clyde as the news guy lol... keep it up.

[Mini ShaQ]

Nice.

Thanks, hope you stick around.

I would like to see Penny back, as long as its for a decent price

Stick around to get the conclusion...

Good luck with this. Start my boy Rose ! Have fun with the Knicks though. I like how you have Clyde as the news guy lol... keep it up.

I love Jalen too... thanks man I hope you keep watching, yeah I think Clyde fits in good being the Knicks broadcaster and all. It was a fun idea.

[Mini ShaQ]

Two preseason game recaps!

The first 2 out of 4 preseason games have been played. At home versus Atlanta, and home against New Orleans. Here's the short recaps of those games.

Against ATL, the Knicks know there's one guy to shut out to collect the win, Joe Johnson. "We are very aware that Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Tyronn Lue for can light up, but if we can shut out JJ, I like our chance". -Matin

Although this strategy did not completely work, Joe pushed the game into overtime and ended up with 34 points and 6 assists, in the extra period the Knicks took over. And closed out the Hawks for a 114-108 OT win. And there were some really inspiring performances. The starting lineup for this game was as following:

C- Jerome James
PF- Nikoloz Tsikitishvili
SF- Jimmy Jackson
SG- Derek Anderson
PG- Anfernee Hardaway

and off the bench Qyntel Woods, Renaldo Balkman, Malik Rose, Mardy Collins, David Lee, Jared Jeffries and Jalen Rose were dressed for gametime.

And there were three HUGE standouts; Jalen Rose who came off the bench, was one assist and one rebound shy of a triple-double, ending up with a very impressive showcase of 10 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals. Jimmy Jackson also had a very good game showing he's still got what it takes even at 36. 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists for him.

But then there was this other guy, the player of the game here. The old vet and legend Penny Hardaway simply exploded! Even outdoing JJ in this match, and leading the Knicks to a win. Penny had an unbeliavable 39 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assist game! And deservantly named Player Of The Game.


Then there was the new-look New Orleans, a very tough opponent for the Knicks to overcome. "They've done a very good job of putting together a competetive team this year, hopefully we can try and do some damage ourselves and stay in their tracks". -Jalen Rose

Starting this game was:
C- Jerome James
PF- Malik Rose
SF- Jalen Rose
SG- Jimmy Jackson
PG- Penny Hardaway

Well there was no stopping Chris Paul or the Hornets in this game, and they led start to finish to write off the Knicks 121-103. Chris Paul was named player of the game with 41 points and 9 assists. But there were two big brightspots on the Knicks team, Jalen and Penny once again. Both were really blazing, and without CP3 on the floor would have dominated the Hornets to a victory. Jalen had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, and Penny was again amazing with 36 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks.

So there is the conclusion to the first two games in the preseason, two more to go against the Nets and the Wizards. Penny has been the man of the hour and really came through showing that he still go it given the time and touches.

P.S. Sorry about the short reviews, will be more in depth with better stat lines when the real season starts.

[Mini ShaQ]

Continuation coming very soon... I've just been crazy busy with basketball, work and so on. The Finalized Roster and two preseason games against New Jersey and Washington coming up.

[Marquis]

wow Penny is looking great so far. Good luck on this, try to improve the layout of the recaps

[Mini ShaQ]

wow Penny is looking great so far. Good luck on this, try to improve the layout of the recaps

Thank you... yeah I will... like I said b4, I'm gonna go more in depth when the real season starts. with better stat lines, some pics perhaps and comments and such.

[The X]

damn, who would've thought that Penny reverted back to his mid-90's days

[Mini ShaQ]

damn, who would've thought that Penny reverted back to his mid-90's days

Yeah he's been crazy so far...

Good to see you Andrew... Hope you stick around.

[Mini ShaQ]

Knicks News; Transactions

Hey Hey, Clyde here! Big news out of the Big Apple again today. Two new signings were announced. But more then that, Mr. Haso went on a spree in the market, and pulled off two trades aswell. To finalize his 15 man roster for the new season.

For some days now talks have been brewing around the league, and sounds have whispered in the winds, those sounds were Matin Haso working on his team for the new season. As said before, two trades were made, one with Houston and one with Portland. Here's the outlook:

Knicks Trade:
Nikoloz Tskitishvili, David Lee and Jerome James

Houston Trade:
Juwan Howard and Dikembe Mutombo



"Admittably, giving up a young prospect like David Lee was hard, but I wanted to instill some veteran experience and leadership to this team, and Dikembe and Juwan bring just that. Both being former allstars, Juwan being a future Hall Of Famer and they are both very capable players, even in later stages of their career. Both create a good positioning battle making our younger guys step up their work levels to earn their minutes, and I like that". -Matin on the Houston trade.

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Knicks Trade:
Malik Rose, Jared Jeffries and Renaldo Balkman

Portland Trade:
LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy



"This trade in my own personal opinion was a no-brainer, I wanted to instill some veteran experience yes, and I've done that, but I also wanted to blend that with the young guns of the league, and I was able to snatch up two of the premier talents in basketball today. LaMarcus and Brandon will be amazing players one day given the right tutelidge and growth. And we believe they can get that here". -Matin on the Portland trade.

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And with that said and done the Knicks had 13 players under contract. And had 2 open spots. And as we all know by now the Knicks had some player fighting over those spots in Camp and the preseason games. And right after the trades were pulled off the phonelines went hot in MSG. And the very next day it was announced that Jimmy Jackson and Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway had been signed to the Knicks roster.



"Well J-Jax is a hugely talanted player that I know very well. I know what he's capable of and I'm psyched to see him in Knicks uniform". -Stephon Marbury

"He has been a solid player in this league for many years, and on any given night he can light you up, he came up clutch on me on many given nights, I'll tell ya that, it's good to be able to call him my teammate instead". -Jalen Rose



"I'm very happy he's back, Penny has had enough trials and tribulations, it's good to see him on such a tear like he was all preseason at this stage, cause this really is his last shot, and boy, I missed my boi". -Stephon Marbury

"Everyone knows and recognizes what he has done, probably one of the premier talents ever to enter the NBA or pick up a basketball, there's no denying Penny's past, and hopefully he can still bring some good efforts to us this season". -Steve Francis

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So there it is. The Roster is set, and we are ready to get underway. But on this special occasion I have on Live feed Knick player Jalen Rose straight from the Garden.

Clyde: Hey Jalen how's it going?
Jalen: It's all good, thanks for having me.
Clyde: No problem, now I heard you're on somewhat of a special mission here today. What's up with that?
Jalen: Well, yes I am. Coach sent me out here to tell all the viewers and yourself something of importance here before the season starts.
Clyde: And that would be?
Jalen: Well, coach decided to cancel the last two preseason games.
Clyde: WHAT? Why would he do that?
Jalen: We feel that we need to focus on coming together a bit more now with all the new faces, I mean we have to blend 6 new players to this years mix now.
Clyde: Yeah I understand that, but why cancel the games.
Jalen: To keep focus, games tend to sometimes be very ego-driven in the preseason cause guys are trying to prove themselves and earn minutes, and for the bigger names it's all laid back and they almost don't seem to care. We want to just focus on ourselves this last week before the season.
Clyde: Well, he is an unorthodox man this "Mini ShaQ", but I guess he knows what he's doing. Ok thank you Jalen for coming on.
Jalen: No problem, thanks for having me again, and remember to root for the Knicks this season.

Clyde: We sure will. Well folks there you have it. Transactions were made, team roster finalized... now it's almost that time. Keep tuning in for more updates. That's all for this time. I'm your host Walt Frazier, and this... is Knicks News

[Marquis]

I can't believe the Blazers are such dumbasses to accept that trade

You benefited a lot

[Mini ShaQ]

I can't believe the Blazers are such dumbasses to accept that trade

You benefited a lot

You can say that again...