The Senegalese Tease

I knew this deal was on the horizon, but yesterday afternoon the Knicks signed 7-1 Senegalese center Cheikh Samb, a former second round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, to a 10-day contract. The addition of Samb gives the Knicks their first marginal-to-potentially good shot-blocking presence at center since Dikembe Mutombo, in 2004, believe it or not. Mind you, this says more about the so-called centers various Knicks teams have featured at the 5, though, than it does about Samb, who isn't exactly the second coming of Bill Russell, or even Samuel Dalmbert, for that matter. 

In fact, I doubt Samb'll even see extended minutes on the court, because, in 20 career games, his statistics have about as much bounce as a University of Delaware seismic station: 0.1 assists; 0.2 steals; 1.1 points; 1.5 rebounds. He also shot an embarrassingly horrendous 27 percent from the field, presumably, from about two feet away from the basket. 

So why am I even writing about his signing? With three open roster spots, it's in the Knicks' best interest to see if Samb, who did put up some promising numbers in the NBA's D-League, is up to snuff. And, as the Lakers, Pistons, Nuggets and Clippers figured before the Knicks, Samb's freakishly long arms should run into some shots, which, in turn, should turn into some easy baskets in transition. Who knows, if he shows D'Antoni and his staff something in practice, he might just be able to fit into the team's plans going forward, without screwing the pooch for 2010 and beyond. Although this is more than a little troubling. But that kind of thing happened to Patrick quite often. 

Knickerblogger sees it pretty much the same way, I think:

This is a good low risk-medium reward deal for the Knicks. It’s something that the team has been weak at considering the Roberson/Von Wafer mistake over the summer. If Samb can join the legion of NBDLers who have become solid NBA players he will give New York another cheap player to help the team win now. Additionally players like Samb could help New York field a competitive roster for 2011 without hurting them fiscally.

Worse case scenario, Samb is terrible, and is released before St. Patrick's Day. No harm, no foul.