FanHouse AlHarrington

The New York Knicks haven't made the playoffs since the 2003-04 season, and few expect them to break that streak this spring. However, second-year Knicks forward Al Harrington appears confident enough to predict that the orange and blue will finally return to the postseason this year. Yes, you read that correctly.

FanHouse spoke to Harrington at the NBA Live 10 launch event on Tuesday about why this Knicks team will be surprise many of their doubters. The video interview is below.

I have to hand it to you, NBA offseason. You've managed to outdo yourself this year. No long lulls of nothing. No prolonged sense of abandonment for us. Between Ricky Rubio, Michael Beasley, and now Stephen Jackson, you've kept us quite entertained. Bravo.

It's Friday in the NBA offseason lull, which means wacky things can happen. Like the captain of the Golden State Warriors saying he wants out of the team, pronto. Captain Jack is abandoning ship.

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Amid a fantastic slate top to bottom, Boston at Orlando stood out as the must-watch. And the teams delivered: the Magic ended up with a rollicking two-point victory on the back of Dwight Howard's deft post play and some lovely outside shooting from everyone else. (Which is to say they won this game how they win every other game.)

A lot of players have their own signature shoe but only a select few have an entire brand. Al Harrington recently joined that exclusive club when he recently unveiled his new Protege line. I caught up with Harrington in the visitor's locker room after a recent win in Detroit to talk about the new brand.

The Warriors hosted the Knicks Wednesday night, giving Don Nelson and Al Harrington a chance to finally meet face-to-face and hash out their differences. Except, well, that didn't happen. Instead, the two communicated like they have for most of the year: trading insults with each other through the media.

Before the game, Nelson told reporters that Harrington forced the trade because he wanted more money, and that the only reason things got ugly was because Harrington made it personal. When told of Nelson's comments, Harrington denied ever talking money with his former coach, saying Nelson "just made that up."

FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.

Look, we recognize that this the arguably the best weekend of football of the year. But if Kerry Collins and Joe Flacco trading getting pounded into the turf, or watching Bryant Westbrook just irritates you, there some options.

SATURDAY HEADLINER:
Detroit at Utah, 8PM

Two teams that have been exemplary over the past three years that are struggling to maintain their championship aspirations, but who have been on a tear, putting the pieces back together. Detroit's starting to figure out their rotation after the Allen Iverson trade, and Rodney Stuckey has been lights out. Utah just laid a beatdown of epic proportions on Chris Paul and the Hornets, in defense of the Utah-held "8>3" movement. The Jazz were particularly boosted by the new-and-suddenly-premier Paul Millsap. So you've got Utah's home crowd and the Paul Millsap demolition movement against Detroit's efficiency. Something's gotta give.


SUNDAY HEADLINER:
Miami at LA Lakers, 9:30PM

You really need me to break this down? Dwyane Wade's not being talked about in MVP discussions, even though his team is more competitive than expected, he leads the league in scoring, and the rest of his game is nothing to sneeze at.Kobe Bryant, after a sluggish (by his standards, don't get your underwear in a trapezoid, Lakers fans) start, has been absolutely blistering. His line last night almost made me pass out. Now, clearly the Lakers have the better squad and should dominate, but it'll be fun to see the matchup. Of course, if there was ever a night Andrew Bynum should be able to show why people think he'll be the next great NBA center (any day now, seriously), it's Sunday night.

It's pretty easy to feel bad for the city of Cleveland. None of their sports teams can manage to win anything, and everyone seems to believe that LeBron James is headed to New York in 2010. So that's why, when he debuts a new line of Nike shoes called the "LeBron VI Big Apple" on the night the Cavs play the Knicks, you kind of have to chuckle at the general paranoid aura floating out of the city that rocks! (Via Nike Press Release)

The Zoom LeBron VI performance basketball shoe represents the essence of LeBron James: team, toughness, passion and vision. James worked with Nike designer Ken Link to create a shoe that meets his performance needs and the needs of players with a powerful, dynamic style of play.

[...]The shoe's collar has been engineered with a wider opening so it's easier to slip on and wear while maintaining a full-length fit feel. On the collar, graffiti art highlights LeBron's mantras-passion, family, winning, fearless and vision.

So, yeah, pride. Family. Passion. New York!

So at long last, Al Harrington is on a proverbial train to New York City to join Mike D'Antoni's gonzo attack. Is it a good deal for the 'Bockers? Well, that depends on the source. Newsday reports Jamal Crawford, the best Knick guard, is the return piece for Golden State. The New York Post's Peter Vescey, on the other hand, has sources who indicate the Warriors have accepted only Malik Rose, a bench-warming expiring contract, in return. (Mutoni reminds us of the last Vescey-reported trade, which never happened.)

But really, it's a strong deal for the Knicks regardless of the piece. Jetting away Rose is better news for this year's win-loss tally -- without Crawford, D'Antoni might really have to play Stephon Marbury! -- but losing Crawford helps in the summer of 2010. Some have suggested Jam might opt out of his final two years and $19.3 million when his early termination option arrives this summer. Fat flippin' chance. If Ben Gordon can't make $10-12 million in this market, Jam Crawford ain't doing it.

A Harrington-Crawford swap gets Donnie Walsh theoretically within reach of a 2010 max contract for a player with 7-8 years of experience (that covers LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Amare). That doesn't account for New York's next two years worth of draft picks or David Lee, so clearly there's a bit more paring left. But if this is indeed the deal, there's no overwhelming need to cut Zach Randolph free any longer. The Knicks can be 2010 players with him.

UPDATE: Rarely wrong Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that it's Crawford.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Washington Wizards Blog, via Bullets Forever. The Zards are installing a new camera on the baskets at the Verizon Center ... because the current basket cams are too low to capture JaVale McGee in flight! JaVale Cam!

2. NBC Chicago. A tremendous Q&A with two of FreeDarko's writers. The book is out today! (Robo)Cop that!

3. Tim Kawakami. Al Harrington's broken heart bad back has him in bed for two weeks. The Warriors are so weird.

4. Orlando Sentinel. Magic GM Otis Smith on Kings GM Geoff Petrie's eternal quest for Hedo Turkoglu: "Smith said the Kings have been in touch with Orlando since the Magic signed him as a free agent in 2004. He said it has been a while since the Kings made some offers for Turkoglu, and added, laughing, 'They wanted to give us their trash.'" That's bad pool, Otis. Team pride forces me to now blurt out the following: FRAN VASQUEZ JJ REDICK RASHARD LEWIS FOR $200 BILLION. Whew, that felt good.

5. Riverside Press-Enterprise. Phil Jackson on Trevor Ariza: "He's like a ghost out there. Like a shadow. Just all of a sudden he shows on a screen and he's gone. He's a blip and he's away. He runs the court like that."

6. Both Teams Played Hard. It's the 61st edition of the Carnival of the NBA.

One odd repercussion of the blockbuster Allen Iverson-Chauncey Billups trade is that Denver will no longer need the long-rumored services of Indiana exile Jamaal Tinsley.

A month ago, a spate of reports insisted Tinsley-to-Denver was awaiting the right moment, a sure-thing trade in the pipeline. Things never materialized, and Tinsley has spent the latent period working out in Atlanta while the Pacers rode T.J. Ford (and friends) into an upset of the World Champions.

With Denver out of the equation, how many teams still have a desperate need for a middling, high-priced (relative to the market) point guard signed through 2010-11?