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Has Fields Hit the Rookie Wall?

All things considered, the Knicks are very fortunate to have gotten so much out of second-round pick Landry Fields. The rookie from Stanford averaged 9.7 PPG, made 39.3% of his 3-point attempts, and was tied for first among shooting guards with 6.4 RPG during the regular season.

But there is no denying that Fields’ production has suffered since the team acquired Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. Over his last nine games Fields scored in double figures only twice while making just three of 14 3-point attempts along the way. 

It’s easy to pinpoint Anthony’s arrival as the turning point for Fields (his minutes, rebounding numbers and field goal attempts dipped in March), but that doesn’t make the Knicks newest star the culprit—or at least not directly. Fields believes a strategic shift in the offense may have thrown him off.

"I’m just trying to find out how to be successful in this new offense," Fields told HOOPSWORLD. "It kind of changed since the trade. I’m just trying to pick and choose my spots and understand where I can be successful with this group."

But Mike D’Antoni doesn’t buy that. The Knicks coach thinks Fields grew timid when Anthony arrived and that may have been the beginning of the slump.

"I think he took a step back and watched a little bit and then he got out of his rhythm," D’Antoni said on WFAN’s Boomer and Carton radio show. "And now in the last couple of weeks, I think he’s thinking too much.

"I think he’s just got to get back to his game and play and understand that it’s a little bit of an excuse to say, ‘Well I’m playing bad because the system’s changed,’" D’Antoni continued. "No, it hasn’t changed. He’s getting as much touches. He’s doing the exact same thing. He’s got to rebound, he’s got to defend, he’s got to run the floor, he’s got to pick his spots."

D’Antoni and his rookie can debate whether or not the offense has changed, but they are in agreement on one thing: Fields is totally capable of playing at a high level again.

"Not really, just because I’ve been doing it all year," Fields said when asked if he’s nervous about returning to form for the playoffs. "I understand playoff intensity. I’m just going out there and taking it as it comes. It’s just kind of going out there, being a glue guy, hustling and making plays."

But Fields isn’t going to be some peripheral player in the Celtics-Knicks first-round series, he’s going to have to guard future Hall of Famers Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

"Phenomenal players," he said. "You’re going to take away as much as you can. Beware of their third and fourth options. Seeing them a few times this year already is definitely going to help me.

"He’s so good especially with that step-back-right fadeaway," Fields said of Pierce. "He’s tough."

Fields may or may not be back to his early season form against the Celtics. He did score 16 points in Boston in the final regular season game, but he essentially did that against Sasha Pavlovic. In the end it really doesn’t matter though. As long as he’s handling his defensive and rebounding responsibilities, Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire can handle the scoring load.

Owners Step to the Table

Commissioner David Stern gave a press conference after the Board of Governors meeting and said the league is prepared to submit a revised collective bargaining agreement proposal to the players’ union within the next few weeks. Stern, who was joined by deputy commissioner Adam Silver, said that the league will lose around $300 million this season, one year after losing $340 million.

Perhaps the purpose of the press conference was to squelch fears of an impending lockout because, as Silver put it, fears of a work stoppage are "beginning to have an impact on our business."

"There are other ways to reach the same goal, and that is a system in which all 30 teams can compete, and, if they are well managed, to make a profit," Silver went on to say. "We have never suggested to the union that there’s only one way to accomplish that end. And so, we have gone back to ownership."

"We need a new system," Silver continued, "and the current system is broken and is unsustainable."

Silver went on to say that about 22 teams lose money this season.

"If players are taking 57% of the gross, it’s mathematically impossible to move to a profitable position without a new system."

(Information from the Associated Press was used to file this report)

{AUTHOR_BOX}Bob Myers is on Deck in Oakland

Not only did former player agent Bob Myers land the assistant general manager position with the Warriors, but he’s apparently slated to take over as GM some day.

"Bob Myers is somebody Danny Ainge introduced me to quite some time ago," Warriors owner Joe Lacob told Tim Kawakami of The Mercury News. "I was very impressed with him and kept him in the back of my mind.

"[GM] Larry [Riley] has made it clear he wants to retire in a few years and I’m not going to define ‘few; because we don’t really know what that is… Bob would be expected to ascend to the general manager role."

And why does Lacob think the 35-year-old Myers is the right man to succeed Riley?

"I think it’s very obvious that he has dealt with many NBA players," Lacob continued. "He has negotiated a lot of contracts, knows the in and outs of free agent system as it currently exists… Bob is still a basketball guy too."

Lacob was referring to Myers’ college days when he played 28 games at UCLA.

Sacramento to Share Seattle’s Fate?

The NBA has extended the Sacramento Kings’ deadline to formally submit an application to relocate to Anaheim until May 2, reported Lance Pugmire of The Los Angeles Times. And as if that wasn’t enough of a sign that the league is in favor of the move, it turns out that Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett is the head of the NBA Board of Governors’ relocation committee.

Bennett will forever be remembered as the man who bought the SuperSonics and, after failing to get the city of Seattle to build a $500 million arena, moved the team to Oklahoma City. The Thunder have obviously thrived in their new setting, but Bennett helped set a disturbing precedent in small markets: Fan support alone won’t save your team.

As Steve Kyler wrote in the NBA AM, Sacramento Mayor and NBA legend Kevin Johnson was permitted to address the committee to present the city’s argument for keeping the Kings, but one has to assume that the wheels are already in motion for a move to Anaheim. The Maloof brothers wouldn’t be going through all of this if they thought they’d be prevented from transplanting the franchise.

On a related note, it’s never too late to buy season tickets for the Sacramento River Cats. 

On an actual related note, Bennett paid Seattle $45 million for the rights to move the team and will owe another $30 million in 2013 if the city hasn’t landed another NBA franchise.  

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