One of the NBA offseason’s most widely rumored deals is dead. “Zach Randolph can expect to be with the Knicks when training camp opens in a little more than a week,” reports Newsday’s Alan Hahn. “By Darko Milicic mathematics, it’s one-percent certain.”
Multiple sources said the Grizzlies, who were already hesitant to begin with after long internal discussions about taking on Randolph’s contract, decided to pass on the deal.
You may recall the Grizz wanted the Knicks to make several concessions in the trade, from agreeing to pay a chunk of the deferred portion of the contract to including a first-round pick in the deal. Donnie Walsh declined and left it up to the Grizzlies to come back with a better offer. Instead, they folded.
Z-Bo might be the most unwanted 20-10 guy in the NBA. But what makes this daunting for the Knicks is they now have to bring Randolph into camp after quite obviously trying to trade him. He doesn’t fit into what Mike D’Antoni plans to do with the style — run, run and more running — but the Knicks can’t afford to bury Randolph on the bench because it would only further decrease his already plummeting trade value.
With Memphis out of the conversation, the market of interest in Randolph has pretty much dried up at this point. It is unlikely you will find a team willing to bring in a player with that big of a contract and that much of a character issue — by the way, not hearing great things about his conditioning level, which is alarming — just a week before camps open. Right now the Knicks will probably have to get Randolph playing well enough to showcase and wait for a team to have a need at the power forward position.
The Brian Scalabrine of U.S. Presidents welcomed the NBA Champion Boston Celtics to the White House yesterday. After Paul Pierce used a June visit to Fenway Park as an excuse to slide into 2nd base, I’m disappointed the The Truth wasn’t allowed put his finger on the button, or at least issue a few executive pardons.