Elton Brand is the latest free agent to enter the New York Knicks radar. Rumors have it, that the Knicks are prepared to offer Brand a deal. The amount is undisclosed. But why does the 34-year-old big man draw such strong interest from the Knicks?
Brand's better years are behind him, that's clear. However, he can do the little things for the Knicks that they lacked throughout the season and in the playoffs: rebounding. The Knicks were the sixth worst rebounding team in the league averaging 40.6 boards per game. To no surprise, one of the key battles the Knicks lost against the Indiana Pacers was rebounding. The Pacers, led by Roy Hibbert and David West, have the bodies in the paint to grab the boards. Tyson Chandler was nowhere to be found in the playoffs and the Knicks didn't have anybody else around the basket to pull down the boards.
The Knicks feel that Brand could be an answer. He would also provide insurance in case Amar'e Stoudemire can't play during the regular season, which is very likely being that the power forward can't remain healthy. Last season, Brand played with the Dallas Mavericks and his numbers might not impress Knicks fans. Brand averaged 7.2 points, six rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. The blocks averaged is pretty impressive, but as seen in his stats, Brand will provide little help on offense, which will allow him to focus solely on rebound.
His minutes in the last two years have dropped and his offensive stats have suffered in return. People might look at his career numbers as a reason to explain why the Knicks want Brand, but the truth is that he is no longer a 15 points, nine rebounds per game kind of player. There is no point in focusing on career numbers, when Brand won't be a double-double guy off the bench, unless he comes back rejuvenated.
This is a dangerous move for the Knicks. The team continues to chase aging stars, who eventually get injured and can't play when the team needs them the most. Brand has been extremely active as of late, but he's nowhere near the same player who started for the Los Angeles Clippers in the early 2000's. From 2007-2009, Brand only played 37 games and he was never the same player again.
New York obviously needs to fill out their roster, but they have to make smart moves. Carmelo Anthony doesn't look like he will win a championship in New York if the organization keeps surrounding him with players who are beyond their prime and won't help him on the scoring end.
