Postcard from Vacation

Time to load up the family truckster and get some family time. There is still some Knicks news to be made -- mainly on the David Lee/Nate Robinson fronts -- and I'll have my Blackberry along for the ride and promise to update when appropriate. Until then, here are some recent tidbits and thoughts to keep you up to date: * - According to another Greek-based sports website, Nate Robinson, who has spent some time in Europe this summer working basketball camps and vacationing, is apparently going to make a stop in Athens to check out the scene. Olympiakos, as we told you last week, is offering KryptoNate a two-year deal for about $10M total. (One thing to keep in mind about European teams is that contracts are not guaranteed and many times players have experienced issues with getting paid. Josh Childress, who just agreed to return to Greece for a second stint, did not have such issues in his first season, so it's not fair to assume Olympiakos deals in that sort of business. We're still skeptical that he goes to Greece, but we're even more skeptical that he will be a Knick come training camp. * - Not that he was ever on the radar, but former Knick rental Chris Wilcox is expected to sign with the Detroit Pistons. The Bad Boys are really loading up, aren't they? The word was they had been targeting Glen "Big Baby" Davis, but Wilcox fit the bill. With the logjam in the Knicks frontcourt, there was no place for Wilcox as it is. Plus, he reportedly will get two years at $6M total, which is more than the Knicks would be willing to offer for him right now. * - I did a column for Sunday's Newsday about the State of the Knicks. With the window now officially open for the Cavs to sign LeBron to a contract extension (today is the three-year anniversary of his deal), I analyzed where the Knicks are in the effort to land the biggest free agent we'll see on the market in 2010. One correction from my previous 2010 Outlook blog is that I mistakenly calculated some of LeBron's extension numbers by eliminating his $17.1M salary in 2010-11. Obviously whatever the Cavs offer this summer (three years, $65M is the max) would go beyond 2010-11, unless he decides to opt-out of his deal to become a free agent in 2010. Then it would be a new deal. My bad. * - I'll be curious to see what the results will be of David Kahn's visit to Spain this week to meet with officials from DKV Joventut and try to negotiate a lower buyout for Ricky Rubio. The reports of a $6M buyout are inaccurate, I'm told by a European scout. It's quite less, but still substantial and way more than the NBA-restricted $500K max an NBA team can offer. For anyone who thinks Kahn is doing this as a means to make Rubio more tradeable, think again. If Kahn somehow can work this out and bring Rubio to Minnesota this season, No. 6 pick Jonny Flynn (17 points, 7.5 assists per game in the NBA Summer League) would hit the trading block. * - As far as the MLE that is burning a hole in the pocket of some Fixers, let's review the available free agents: Ramon Sessions' agent is really trying to push the Knicks angle with the Bucks showing little haste in signing their RFA. It's similar to the David Lee scenario, with no competition for his services, Milwaukee knows they are negotiating against themselves. They also know they can (and will) match any offer made at this point (no one has cap space). As for sign-and-trade possibilities? The Bucks have to agree to the trade. I was told there was some interest in Sessions and likely an inquiry was made from the Knicks early in the free agent period. But nothing is hot at the moment. Andre Miller remains an option if he wants the full MLE for one year. Miller won't jump at that, however, until all other options (Portland or a sign-and-trade for more money) are exhausted. Lamar Odom won't even pick up the phone. Unless he wants to use the Knicks as leverage to get what he wants. But the reports are he's already trying to get back in the good graces of Jerry Buss after snubbing the Lakers owner's $9M per offer. Allen Iverson? Forget it. Seriously, let it go. * - The Carlos Boozer thing remains interesting from a Knicks perspective only because we know the Jazz would be moving him strictly to keep from going over the luxury tax threshold after they officially match the Portland offersheet for Paul Millsap. So for them to make a contract-for-contract trade makes no sense. Someone has to get creative. For instance, if you had a player in an expiring year who had to retire because of a heart ailment and after 41 games his $9.5M salary is paid up to 80 percent by insurance . . . Hmmmm . . . Would you really let the fact that you own a team's 2010 unprotected first round pick get in the way of saving luxury tax payments? * - Remember, you can follow me on twitter (twitter.com/alanhahn) all summer for any up-to-the-minute information that comes my way, musings on the Knicks moves and strategies and, for anyone who cares, updates from my progress in the P90X program. (Week 4 starts Monday...yes, even on vacation). Photo credit (National Lampoon's Vacation): EW.com