I like the signing of Jerome James. I would have preferred Hunter or Swift, but James is a good signing. Unlike in Seattle, due to our current situation upfront, James can log significant minutes. He’s an excellent shot blocker and is 5th in the league in blocks per 48 minutes. If we give him about 25 minutes a game, don’t be surprised if he averages about 2 blocks.
Offensively Jerome is decent, but with Crawford, Marbury, and Q around, the Knicks won’t need another scorer to put points on the board. Anyway, we signed him for size and shot blocking to jumpstart our defense. Also at 7-1, 270 pounds, he should be able to hold his own against the bigger centers in the league.
I’m a bit worried about what people say about him. Usually lazy, underachieving, and silly shenanigans are associated with his name and we already had all of those incidents last season distracting us from our main goal – winning. He did show a lot of promise in the playoffs, but could it have been one of those contract years kind of thing?
Either way this was a great signing on our part. We now have a more than legit shot blocking center which was our main priority this summer. Though most of us would want a younger, more athletic center, at least we get a solid veteran to help us now. He is a bit overpaid, but who isn’t around this time?
