Even by Isiah’s logic, this makes no sense! If the league’s guard play is currently off the charts, that means the supply of quality guards is extremely high, which means they are easier and cheaper to get and you DON’T overpay for one at the tail end of his career.
This seemed to be the most sound logic for why the Knicks went out and paid for a defensive big to help protect Amare in the first place. Going forward, you’ll be able to get a quality guard for the midlevel exception, but you won’t be able to get anyone decent to play center. Considering Kwame Brown, considered a well-below average Center by almost any metric, is currently fetching 1.5x the midlevel amount on the open market, and someone like Jamal Crawford, considered by most to be an above average guard, was barely able to get the midlevel, this seems about right.
Now, if you want to argue that the Knicks went too far in ignoring their backcourt, that’s at least a debate, but I find it hard to believe a 30-something guard on a one year contract was the end-all solution, and I’m not sure what a better alternative would be.
