McDyess the Knicks' savior? Don't believe the hype

On June 26th, the New York Knicks pulled off the biggest trade of the NBA Draft by acquiring Antonio McDyess and the 25th pick (Frank Williams) for Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson and the seventh overall pick, Nene Hilario. The question is: Will this trade have the impact to match the hype?

Fans of the Knicks seem to be very much of two minds on the trade. Either they believe that McDyess is the savior of this once proud franchise, or they realize the depressing truth, that this trade does nothing to substantially improve the mediocre Knickerbockers.

In McDyess, New York receives a power forward that has had one dominating season in his seven-year career. In those seven years, only once has he taken his team to the playoffs and that team, the 1997-98 Suns, lost in the first round.

McDyess simply is not the type of player who dominates a game, despite being an 18 points per game, nine rebounds per game type of guy. Think of a cross between Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, players who put up the numbers, but who can't carry their teams or play particularly well in crunch time.

Obviously, it has not helped McDyess' cause playing in the power forward laden Western Conference. But the plain fact of the matter is that McDyess isn't in the same class as Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Rasheed Wallace and Webber.

Will Antonio have a greater impact in the Eastern Conference? For the Knicks this is the $100 million question.

Frank Williams may have the potential to develop into a starting point in the NBA, but is another point guard really what the Knicks needed? The obvious answer is no. The Knicks desperately need size, strength and attitude on the frontline, and without that, no progress has been made.

The loss of the injury-prone Camby leaves New York tissue thin in the middle, with Kurt Thomas and Travis Knight in the post and Othella Harrington and Clarence Weatherspoon providing relief at the four spot. The trading of Jackson and acquisition of Williams still leaves them with three point guards, but no starter.

To complicate things further, GM Scott Layden is intent on trading for a top-flight point guard, which will inevitably cost him Thomas, the only real option in the post. Even with Thomas in the middle, the Knicks are old, un-athletic and decidedly mediocre. Without him, they have little chance to compete.

Whatever Layden may have done with this trade, he has not made his team a contender for the Atlantic Division, let alone the Eastern Conference title. The only thing he has accomplished is buying himself another year of employment, and maybe given the crazed Knick fans a little hope. If this team fails to make the playoffs, however, Layden will undoubtedly be looking for work next summer.