Who Will He Be?

In recent interviews, Rashad McCants has said he would like to return to the league as a sixth man. While it's impossible to tell if this is the modest ambition of a humbled man, or, if Rashad is snake-charming us again, the possibilities of Rashad-as-bench-scoring-dynamo seem to match up with the best scraps of hope we have left for the man and his game.

He is, at times, a preternaturally gifted scorer. He can defend, when motivated. A bench role with the right coach, in the right system, with the right veteran leadership, could channel his particular brand of intensity into a dynamic weapon. But where? And, more importantly, if he did come back, who would he be?

Over the next few days, I’ll weigh some options for Rashad…

OPTION ONE: NEW YORK KNICKS
The Roger Mason signing complicates this a bit because it gives the Knicks two shooters at the off-guard position. (Azubuike is the other) Still, assuming that he would come back into the league as a role player, the Knicks seem like an ideal fit. His offensive game would flourish in D’Antoni’s system, he would be reunited with Ray Felton (who knows if that’s a good thing, though) and he would have Anthony Randolph around as a foil in temperament.

There’s an argument to be made that Rashad shouldn’t be in New York, but let’s remember, the man has never been in trouble with the law or been at the center of any sort of off-court controversy. Also, the Marshawn Lynch theory that pro athletes are more prone to get into trouble in boring towns keeps proving itself over and over again.

Most importantly, playing in the Garden would allow Rashad to channel the man he was in a past life.



John muthafuckin’ Starks, baby!

Could any of us hope for anything better than Rashad going to New York, honing all that volatility into competitiveness and becoming the second coming of #3? He and Starks are almost the same height and build. They play at a similar speed. McCants is a better shooter than Starks ever was. Starks had more bounce. The real thing that separates them is that Starks had an entire lifetime of being overlooked to burn off as motivation. McCants, in the terms of the basketball world, had everything given to him: freshman starter at Carolina, National Championship, first round draft pick. Now that the months out of the league have dragged out into years, could he dig deep and find that Starks-intensity? Could he build himself back up from fallen Carolina blue-blood (sorry) into Starks 2, self-made man?