Otis Birdsong Through The Years
Mar 29, 2015 22:28:01 GMT -6
Berlin, San Francisco, and 1 more like this
Post by New York on Mar 29, 2015 22:28:01 GMT -6
Over the years the New York Knicks have had multiple All-Stars on their roster from Dolph Schayes, Bill Sharman, and Guy Rodgers to Zoran Slavnic, Adrian Dantley, and Dan Issel but in my eyes there has been two GREAT players that have been synonymous with the New York Knicks. The first is obviously Darrall Imhoff who for his career as a Knick averaged 26.8 PPG | 12.2 RPG | 4.3 BPG | 1.3 SPG. But even he only played a fraction of his career in New York. The second player is Otis Birdsong who outside of his rookie season has played his entire career as a member of the New York Knicks. During his time as a Knick he has transformed from a good Point Guard to an All-Star Combo Guard.
With him recently re-signing with the New York Knicks which will make him one of the few players to play 10+ seasons with a single team, I wanted to take some time and look back at the development of Otis Birdsong through the years.
With him recently re-signing with the New York Knicks which will make him one of the few players to play 10+ seasons with a single team, I wanted to take some time and look back at the development of Otis Birdsong through the years.
Year Zero/Pre-Draft Otis Birdsong
Coming into the draft Otis Birdsong looked like an athletic bench guard due to not excelling in any one area but being solid in quite a few. Bs through out his offensive ratings which is good but not great. B potential in passing sounds like a starting caliber guard but C Handling would limit him. Similarly his B STL potential was interesting but with a C PRD rating he would not be a good defender.
These solid but unspectacular ratings would see him fall to 17th in the draft behind such greats as Luis Miguel Santillan, Marques Johnson, Darryl Dawkins, and David Thompson
. But really this draft contained a lot of great prospects like Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, Bernard King, Alex English, David Thompson, Jack Sikma, Darryl Dawkins and Vinko Jelovac so it is understandable why Birdsong slid in this draft. Birdsong panned out better than most of those in this draft but it was clear he was starting lower on the totem poll than a lot of his draft mates which allowed Berlin ALBA to scoop him up late in the draft.
Coming into the draft Otis Birdsong looked like an athletic bench guard due to not excelling in any one area but being solid in quite a few. Bs through out his offensive ratings which is good but not great. B potential in passing sounds like a starting caliber guard but C Handling would limit him. Similarly his B STL potential was interesting but with a C PRD rating he would not be a good defender.
These solid but unspectacular ratings would see him fall to 17th in the draft behind such greats as Luis Miguel Santillan, Marques Johnson, Darryl Dawkins, and David Thompson
. But really this draft contained a lot of great prospects like Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, Bernard King, Alex English, David Thompson, Jack Sikma, Darryl Dawkins and Vinko Jelovac so it is understandable why Birdsong slid in this draft. Birdsong panned out better than most of those in this draft but it was clear he was starting lower on the totem poll than a lot of his draft mates which allowed Berlin ALBA to scoop him up late in the draft. 
Year One/Rookie Season Otis Birdsong
Key Teammates: Gus Williams (Rookie), Bob Lanier, Vladimir Pistelak
Coming off of a 29 win season the Berlin ALBA came into the season with a youngish group of Bob Lanier (24), Mel Daniels (26), Cazzie Russell (25), Vladimir Pistelak (25), Gus Williams (22) so there was a lot of youth in front of Birdsong who at this point still looked like a 6th man despite the clear increases to his PRD and 3PS ratings. Gus Williams was the lottery pick and looked clearly better so there is no surprise he didnt get minutes over him and Vlad was still young and coming off of a 18.7 PPG | 3.5 APG | 3.7 RPG | 2.2 SPG season so no surprise that he got minutes too. This resulted in Birdsong averaging just 18 MPG in the first 40 games and putting up 7.3 PPG | 2.6 APG | 1.6 RPG | 1.0 SPG. But towards the middle of the year the Berlin ALBA GM made quite a few trades which opened up the starting SG spot for Birdsong for the last 42 games. He proceeded to average 16.5 PPG | 4.8 APG | 2.7 RPG | 1.3 SPG next to fellow rookie Gus Williams. However at this point in the league, 6'3 SGs were not in style so it wasn't clear if he had done enough to earn the permanent starting spot but he had definitely caught the eye of the New York Knicks GM.
Impressive Stat Lines
vs. ATH: 25 PPG | 8 APG | 6 RPG | 1 BPG
vs. NYK: 17 PPG | 5 AST | 3 REB | 5 STL
vs. HAR: 18 PTS | 10 AST | 4 REB | 2 STL (1st double double)
vs. TEH: 22 PTS | 6 AST | 5 REB
vs. MIL: 28 PTS | 3 AST | 3 REB | 1 STL
Key Teammates: Gus Williams (Rookie), Bob Lanier, Vladimir Pistelak
Coming off of a 29 win season the Berlin ALBA came into the season with a youngish group of Bob Lanier (24), Mel Daniels (26), Cazzie Russell (25), Vladimir Pistelak (25), Gus Williams (22) so there was a lot of youth in front of Birdsong who at this point still looked like a 6th man despite the clear increases to his PRD and 3PS ratings. Gus Williams was the lottery pick and looked clearly better so there is no surprise he didnt get minutes over him and Vlad was still young and coming off of a 18.7 PPG | 3.5 APG | 3.7 RPG | 2.2 SPG season so no surprise that he got minutes too. This resulted in Birdsong averaging just 18 MPG in the first 40 games and putting up 7.3 PPG | 2.6 APG | 1.6 RPG | 1.0 SPG. But towards the middle of the year the Berlin ALBA GM made quite a few trades which opened up the starting SG spot for Birdsong for the last 42 games. He proceeded to average 16.5 PPG | 4.8 APG | 2.7 RPG | 1.3 SPG next to fellow rookie Gus Williams. However at this point in the league, 6'3 SGs were not in style so it wasn't clear if he had done enough to earn the permanent starting spot but he had definitely caught the eye of the New York Knicks GM.
Impressive Stat Lines
vs. ATH: 25 PPG | 8 APG | 6 RPG | 1 BPG
vs. NYK: 17 PPG | 5 AST | 3 REB | 5 STL
vs. HAR: 18 PTS | 10 AST | 4 REB | 2 STL (1st double double)
vs. TEH: 22 PTS | 6 AST | 5 REB
vs. MIL: 28 PTS | 3 AST | 3 REB | 1 STL
THE TRADE
In the off-season, Berlin ALBA made it clear that Otis Birdsong's spot on the team would remain a backup SG/PG by drafting Clyde Drexler. The Berlin ALBA GM said "I hate giving up is Birdsong, who I had (and have) high hopes for, but with Drexler and Gus as the face of Berlin for the foreseeable future, I needed a reliable upgrade at SF more than a backup SG/PG". Which is completely reasonable but the NY GM didn't have their backcourt of the future set so they brought in Otis Birdsong to either play with Jean-Pierre Staelens or take his spot in the starting lineup.
In the off-season, Berlin ALBA made it clear that Otis Birdsong's spot on the team would remain a backup SG/PG by drafting Clyde Drexler. The Berlin ALBA GM said "I hate giving up is Birdsong, who I had (and have) high hopes for, but with Drexler and Gus as the face of Berlin for the foreseeable future, I needed a reliable upgrade at SF more than a backup SG/PG". Which is completely reasonable but the NY GM didn't have their backcourt of the future set so they brought in Otis Birdsong to either play with Jean-Pierre Staelens or take his spot in the starting lineup.
Year Two/NY Debut Otis Birdsong
Key Teammates: Darrall Imhoff, Dan Issel, Ivan Bisson, Joe Caldwell, Jean-Pierre Staelens, Dolph Schayes
As you can see from the image, Otis Birdsong took some big steps forward in the training camp after joining the New York Knicks. He grew in HND potential, PAS potential, PSD potential, STL potential and became a better Jump shooter. Otis Birdsong was a big off-season acquisition for the team along with Joe Caldwell (and yes he was a big acquisiton, he was going to be Terry Furlow but better before his TC drop).
The plan was to go into the season with Jean-Pierre Staelens - Otis Birdsong - Joe Caldwell - Dan Issel - Darrall Imhoff (w/ Ivan Bisson as the 6th man) but with Caldwell and Jean-Pierre Staelens dying off the plans were changed. Otis Birdsong was moved to Point Guard with Ivan Bisson replacing Jean-Pierre Staelens in the starting lineup. Birdsong responded to this change by averaging a solid 15.0 PPG | 7.2 APG | 3.3 RPG | 1.8 SPG but shot only 42.3% from the field so he clearly needed to grow some more. The team definitely struggled trying to integrate him into the offense (as well as compensate for the multiple TC drops) as they dropped to 49 wins after winning 59 the previous year. But the New York Knicks GM wouldn't stop telling anyone who would listen that they had a special player here.
Impressive Stat Lines
vs. BRA: 31 PTS | 10 AST | 7 REB | 3 STL
vs. DET: 30 PTS | 12 AST | 3 REB | 6 STL
vs. CHI: 37 PTS | 7 AST | 4 REB
vs. PHI: 22 PTS | 13 AST | 4 REB | 3 STL
vs. PHI: 20 PTS | 8 AST | 9 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
Key Teammates: Darrall Imhoff, Dan Issel, Ivan Bisson, Joe Caldwell, Jean-Pierre Staelens, Dolph Schayes
As you can see from the image, Otis Birdsong took some big steps forward in the training camp after joining the New York Knicks. He grew in HND potential, PAS potential, PSD potential, STL potential and became a better Jump shooter. Otis Birdsong was a big off-season acquisition for the team along with Joe Caldwell (and yes he was a big acquisiton, he was going to be Terry Furlow but better before his TC drop).
The plan was to go into the season with Jean-Pierre Staelens - Otis Birdsong - Joe Caldwell - Dan Issel - Darrall Imhoff (w/ Ivan Bisson as the 6th man) but with Caldwell and Jean-Pierre Staelens dying off the plans were changed. Otis Birdsong was moved to Point Guard with Ivan Bisson replacing Jean-Pierre Staelens in the starting lineup. Birdsong responded to this change by averaging a solid 15.0 PPG | 7.2 APG | 3.3 RPG | 1.8 SPG but shot only 42.3% from the field so he clearly needed to grow some more. The team definitely struggled trying to integrate him into the offense (as well as compensate for the multiple TC drops) as they dropped to 49 wins after winning 59 the previous year. But the New York Knicks GM wouldn't stop telling anyone who would listen that they had a special player here.
Impressive Stat Lines
vs. BRA: 31 PTS | 10 AST | 7 REB | 3 STL
vs. DET: 30 PTS | 12 AST | 3 REB | 6 STL
vs. CHI: 37 PTS | 7 AST | 4 REB
vs. PHI: 22 PTS | 13 AST | 4 REB | 3 STL
vs. PHI: 20 PTS | 8 AST | 9 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
Year Three/Stepping Up Otis Birdsong
Key Teammates: Zoran Slavnic, Robert Parish, Billy Cunningham
This was very much a transition year for the New York Knicks as they traded away every player on the roster outside of Otis Birdsong. This includes cornerstones Darrall Imhoff, Dan Issel (death by TC) along with other starters such as Ivan Bisson and Joe Caldwell. His current backcourt mate Zoran Slavnic was brought in in between these seasons and was his backup for most of the season. The writing on the wall was that Zoran Slavnic would become the starting PG in the near future so Birdsong would have to start showing he was more of a scorer to play with the (then) mostly defensive PG. Birdsong didn't necessarily breakout here but he got some GMs talking by putting up 17.6 PPG | 7.3 APG | 1.8 SPG on 45.5% shooting and 38.5% from long range. Following this season the Sydney Kings GM wrote an article highlighting players he felt were underrated and had this to say:
Otis Birdsong – I have to say, the NYK GM has always raved about this guy but I just didn't think he had the ability to turn himself into a championship caliber PG. Boy, was I wrong. He’s improved every year since coming into the league and last season we saw his shooting go up which lead to more points and his ball handling improve which lead to more assists and less turnovers. NYK thinks there’s even more upside to this guy and I’m going to run with it. If he keeps improving, it’s possible he can become a 20/9 point guard and join the upper echelon of PG in ABCA.
Birdsong was on his way with these big improvements, he looked like an elite offensive player in the making and a good defensive player as well. The question now was could he do it at the SG spot?
Impressive Statlines
vs. SYD: 36 PTS | 10 AST | 3 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
vs. TEL: 28 PTS | 13 AST | 5 REB | 2 STL
vs. PHI: 29 PTS | 15 AST | 2 STL | 1 REB
vs. BOS: 34 PTS | 6 AST | 8 REB | 3 STL
vs. BRA: 26 PTS | 9 AST | 4 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
Key Teammates: Zoran Slavnic, Robert Parish, Billy Cunningham
This was very much a transition year for the New York Knicks as they traded away every player on the roster outside of Otis Birdsong. This includes cornerstones Darrall Imhoff, Dan Issel (death by TC) along with other starters such as Ivan Bisson and Joe Caldwell. His current backcourt mate Zoran Slavnic was brought in in between these seasons and was his backup for most of the season. The writing on the wall was that Zoran Slavnic would become the starting PG in the near future so Birdsong would have to start showing he was more of a scorer to play with the (then) mostly defensive PG. Birdsong didn't necessarily breakout here but he got some GMs talking by putting up 17.6 PPG | 7.3 APG | 1.8 SPG on 45.5% shooting and 38.5% from long range. Following this season the Sydney Kings GM wrote an article highlighting players he felt were underrated and had this to say:
Otis Birdsong – I have to say, the NYK GM has always raved about this guy but I just didn't think he had the ability to turn himself into a championship caliber PG. Boy, was I wrong. He’s improved every year since coming into the league and last season we saw his shooting go up which lead to more points and his ball handling improve which lead to more assists and less turnovers. NYK thinks there’s even more upside to this guy and I’m going to run with it. If he keeps improving, it’s possible he can become a 20/9 point guard and join the upper echelon of PG in ABCA.
Birdsong was on his way with these big improvements, he looked like an elite offensive player in the making and a good defensive player as well. The question now was could he do it at the SG spot?
Impressive Statlines
vs. SYD: 36 PTS | 10 AST | 3 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
vs. TEL: 28 PTS | 13 AST | 5 REB | 2 STL
vs. PHI: 29 PTS | 15 AST | 2 STL | 1 REB
vs. BOS: 34 PTS | 6 AST | 8 REB | 3 STL
vs. BRA: 26 PTS | 9 AST | 4 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
Year Four/Breakout Year Otis Birdsong
Key Teammates: John Havlicek, Artis Gilmore, Zoran Slavnic
Leading into this season the Knicks continued to revamp their lineup bringing in All-Stars Artis Gilmore and John Havlicek. It looked like another season where Birdsong could be one of the pieces but not THE piece for the Knicks. But with him moving to SG due to Zoran Slavnic moving into the starting lineup as the PG, Birdsong would go on to have his first all-star season in ABCA. He made a huge leap in PPG to 23.0 per game along with 7.9 APG | 3.9 RPG | 2.5 SPG and officially broke out of the pack to look like the best SG in the American Conference that season. But the feel good story would not last as he would sit out the final stretch of the season with a plantar fasciitis injury that he received right after All-Star break. But despite this the Knicks were happy to see that their patience paid off with Birdsong and they gave him a 3 year extension during the season.
Impressive Statlines
vs. LAL: 33 PTS | 8 AST | 6 REB | 3 STL
vs. SEA: 35 PTS | 9 AST | 4 REB | 3 STL | 1 BLK
vs. SAS: 33 PTS | 9 AST | 6 REB | 4 STL | 1 BLK
vs. CHI: 29 PTS | 11 AST | 6 REB | 3 STL
vs. IST: 37 PTS | 4 AST | 2 REB | 5 STL
Key Teammates: John Havlicek, Artis Gilmore, Zoran Slavnic
Leading into this season the Knicks continued to revamp their lineup bringing in All-Stars Artis Gilmore and John Havlicek. It looked like another season where Birdsong could be one of the pieces but not THE piece for the Knicks. But with him moving to SG due to Zoran Slavnic moving into the starting lineup as the PG, Birdsong would go on to have his first all-star season in ABCA. He made a huge leap in PPG to 23.0 per game along with 7.9 APG | 3.9 RPG | 2.5 SPG and officially broke out of the pack to look like the best SG in the American Conference that season. But the feel good story would not last as he would sit out the final stretch of the season with a plantar fasciitis injury that he received right after All-Star break. But despite this the Knicks were happy to see that their patience paid off with Birdsong and they gave him a 3 year extension during the season.
Impressive Statlines
vs. LAL: 33 PTS | 8 AST | 6 REB | 3 STL
vs. SEA: 35 PTS | 9 AST | 4 REB | 3 STL | 1 BLK
vs. SAS: 33 PTS | 9 AST | 6 REB | 4 STL | 1 BLK
vs. CHI: 29 PTS | 11 AST | 6 REB | 3 STL
vs. IST: 37 PTS | 4 AST | 2 REB | 5 STL
Year Five/Fully Healthy Otis Birdsong
Key Teammates: Tom Meschery, Zoran Slavnic, Artis Gilmore
Now officially off of his rookie contract, Otis Birdsong had to come out and prove that he was a prime time player and that's what he did in Year Five. Moving back to PG to allow Zoran Slavnic to focus on hitting the 3 and defending, Birdsong showed how effective he could be as the primary on ball player. I say that because this is the first time Birdsong played PG since fully entering his prime. He would be the clear cut star of the team this year, especially after the team traded away John Havlicek. He put up 21.9 PPG which is slightly below his career best but also put up career highs of 9.2 APG and 4.7 RPG. Again this shows what Birdsong could do as the PG and fuels some of the rumors that he may return to that position this year. He would make his second straight all-star appearance but would take it a step further by making All-League 2nd Team for the first time.
Impressive Statlines
vs. PHI: 35 PTS | 12 AST | 8 REB | 5 STL
vs. WAS: 38 PTS | 9 AST | 5 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
vs. ATH: 31 PTS | 13 AST | 7 REB | 6 STL
vs. SYD: 31 PTS | 14 AST | 5 REB | 6 STL
vs. WAS: 37 PTS | 10 AST | 3 REB | 3 STL
Key Teammates: Tom Meschery, Zoran Slavnic, Artis Gilmore
Now officially off of his rookie contract, Otis Birdsong had to come out and prove that he was a prime time player and that's what he did in Year Five. Moving back to PG to allow Zoran Slavnic to focus on hitting the 3 and defending, Birdsong showed how effective he could be as the primary on ball player. I say that because this is the first time Birdsong played PG since fully entering his prime. He would be the clear cut star of the team this year, especially after the team traded away John Havlicek. He put up 21.9 PPG which is slightly below his career best but also put up career highs of 9.2 APG and 4.7 RPG. Again this shows what Birdsong could do as the PG and fuels some of the rumors that he may return to that position this year. He would make his second straight all-star appearance but would take it a step further by making All-League 2nd Team for the first time.
Impressive Statlines
vs. PHI: 35 PTS | 12 AST | 8 REB | 5 STL
vs. WAS: 38 PTS | 9 AST | 5 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK
vs. ATH: 31 PTS | 13 AST | 7 REB | 6 STL
vs. SYD: 31 PTS | 14 AST | 5 REB | 6 STL
vs. WAS: 37 PTS | 10 AST | 3 REB | 3 STL
Year Six/Back to SG Otis Birdsong
Key Teammates: Rodney McCray, Artis Gilmore, Zoran Slavnic, Terry Furlow
This was an interesting year for the Knicks. Otis Birdsong struggled to stay healthy through the season but looked amazing when he was. Combine that with the emergence of Terry Furlow, Rodney McCray, and Zoran Slavnic and like I said this was a very interesting season for New York. Birdsong would make his third all-star appearance this time as the starter, solidifying himself as a top 3 SG in the league at the time despite breaking his foot earlier in the season. However during the All-Star game he would be sidelined for the rest of the regular season with a torn ligament. He'd come back in the playoffs for an impressive run but this was pretty much a lost year for Birdsong that had many in New York writing him off. In fact this was the point that saw Birdsong most likely to be shipped out with multiple teams approaching the Knicks GM about taking him on. But in the end, the Knicks decided to hang on to them and give him another season to prove that he belonged with the Knicks.
Impressive Statlines
vs. BAY: 38 PTS | 9 REB | 3 AST | 5 STL | 1 BLK
vs. IST: 31 PTS | 11 AST | 5 REB | 1 STL | 1 BLK
vs. SEA: 26 PTS | 10 AST | 6 REB | 2 STL
vs. MEX: 34 PTS | 10 AST | 4 REB | 2 STL
vs. CHI: 30 PTS | 10 AST | 4 REB | 6 STL | 1 BLK
Key Teammates: Rodney McCray, Artis Gilmore, Zoran Slavnic, Terry Furlow
This was an interesting year for the Knicks. Otis Birdsong struggled to stay healthy through the season but looked amazing when he was. Combine that with the emergence of Terry Furlow, Rodney McCray, and Zoran Slavnic and like I said this was a very interesting season for New York. Birdsong would make his third all-star appearance this time as the starter, solidifying himself as a top 3 SG in the league at the time despite breaking his foot earlier in the season. However during the All-Star game he would be sidelined for the rest of the regular season with a torn ligament. He'd come back in the playoffs for an impressive run but this was pretty much a lost year for Birdsong that had many in New York writing him off. In fact this was the point that saw Birdsong most likely to be shipped out with multiple teams approaching the Knicks GM about taking him on. But in the end, the Knicks decided to hang on to them and give him another season to prove that he belonged with the Knicks.
Impressive Statlines
vs. BAY: 38 PTS | 9 REB | 3 AST | 5 STL | 1 BLK
vs. IST: 31 PTS | 11 AST | 5 REB | 1 STL | 1 BLK
vs. SEA: 26 PTS | 10 AST | 6 REB | 2 STL
vs. MEX: 34 PTS | 10 AST | 4 REB | 2 STL
vs. CHI: 30 PTS | 10 AST | 4 REB | 6 STL | 1 BLK
Year Seven Otis Birdsong
Key Teammates: Adrian Dantley, Zoran Slavnic, Artis Gilmore, Bobby Jones, Terry Furlow
Coming into this season, Otis Birdsong had to have a big season. The Knicks had brought in a new primary scorer in Adrian Dantley, Birdsong was coming off of an injury plagued season, and he was headed into free agency. If he had a poor year there was a good chance he would just be allowed to walk or shopped. Him being shopped was a guarantee with a poor showing and the proof is in the pudding as we saw him, shopped early on but due to a slow start he remained in NY. But the slow start didn't last and he would go on to average nearly 21 PPG | 5 RPG while averaging over 8.1 & 2.4 SPG on 48.8% shooting in the second part of the year. He even had three near triple doubles during the season (missed each by either a rebound or an assist) so it was clear he hadn't declined like some had assumed. His slow start caused him to miss the all-league and all-star teams but it was enough to give the Knicks interest in keeping him around as part of their big 4 (and to move some pieces to ensure he stuck around). He showed he was still the best passing Shooting Guard in the league (via A/T ratio), an elite shooter and a upper echelon defender. Birdsong still has some quality basketball left to play.
Impressive Stat lines
vs. BCZ: 26 PTS | 12 AST | 9 REB | 2 STL
vs. BRA: 23 PTS | 14 AST | 9 REB | 8 STL
vs. ATH: 25 PTS | 10 REB | 9 AST | 2 STL
vs. TOR: 28 PTS | 14 AST | 8 REB | 3 STL
vs. WAS: 40 PTS | 5 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK
Key Teammates: Adrian Dantley, Zoran Slavnic, Artis Gilmore, Bobby Jones, Terry Furlow
Coming into this season, Otis Birdsong had to have a big season. The Knicks had brought in a new primary scorer in Adrian Dantley, Birdsong was coming off of an injury plagued season, and he was headed into free agency. If he had a poor year there was a good chance he would just be allowed to walk or shopped. Him being shopped was a guarantee with a poor showing and the proof is in the pudding as we saw him, shopped early on but due to a slow start he remained in NY. But the slow start didn't last and he would go on to average nearly 21 PPG | 5 RPG while averaging over 8.1 & 2.4 SPG on 48.8% shooting in the second part of the year. He even had three near triple doubles during the season (missed each by either a rebound or an assist) so it was clear he hadn't declined like some had assumed. His slow start caused him to miss the all-league and all-star teams but it was enough to give the Knicks interest in keeping him around as part of their big 4 (and to move some pieces to ensure he stuck around). He showed he was still the best passing Shooting Guard in the league (via A/T ratio), an elite shooter and a upper echelon defender. Birdsong still has some quality basketball left to play.
Impressive Stat lines
vs. BCZ: 26 PTS | 12 AST | 9 REB | 2 STL
vs. BRA: 23 PTS | 14 AST | 9 REB | 8 STL
vs. ATH: 25 PTS | 10 REB | 9 AST | 2 STL
vs. TOR: 28 PTS | 14 AST | 8 REB | 3 STL
vs. WAS: 40 PTS | 5 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK
The Future?
With a fully healthy season and Birdsong fitting in nicely with Adrian Dantley, the Knicks decided to commit to Birdsong moving forward at what they felt was a reasonable price. Being that his max from the Knicks was 103,500,000 (20,700,000 per) and his max from other teams was 76,860,000 (19,215,000 per) the fact that he took what is really 70,400,000 over 4 (17,600,000 per) he took a sizable discount to stay with the "home team". The Knicks for all intent and purposes plan to make Birdsong a Knicks "lifer" but things could always change. For now Birdsong will fit into the role of a 20 & 8 guy for them with Zoran, Dantley, and Hayes also picking up big responsibilities for this team. His prime years in NY have seen him average 21.5 PPG | 4.2 RPG | 8.2 APG | 2.4 SPG and I suspect he will continue to put up similar numbers. Birdsong has definitely come a long way from a player that looked like he'd be a good but not great bench piece on a playoff team.
With a fully healthy season and Birdsong fitting in nicely with Adrian Dantley, the Knicks decided to commit to Birdsong moving forward at what they felt was a reasonable price. Being that his max from the Knicks was 103,500,000 (20,700,000 per) and his max from other teams was 76,860,000 (19,215,000 per) the fact that he took what is really 70,400,000 over 4 (17,600,000 per) he took a sizable discount to stay with the "home team". The Knicks for all intent and purposes plan to make Birdsong a Knicks "lifer" but things could always change. For now Birdsong will fit into the role of a 20 & 8 guy for them with Zoran, Dantley, and Hayes also picking up big responsibilities for this team. His prime years in NY have seen him average 21.5 PPG | 4.2 RPG | 8.2 APG | 2.4 SPG and I suspect he will continue to put up similar numbers. Birdsong has definitely come a long way from a player that looked like he'd be a good but not great bench piece on a playoff team.
