Knicks Morning News (2018.09.18)

  • [SNY Knicks] From Porzingis to picks, Knicks won’t do ‘anything that jeopardizes the future’
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 8:34:35 PM)

    Knicks president Steve Mills is focused on rebuilding the franchise, and that means being cautious with All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis and their draft picks from this year and the future.

  • [NY Newsday] Knicks to work out plan for Porzingis’ return
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 10:24:35 PM)

    The Knicks will convene for training camp officially next Monday, but a week ahead of it the team outlined the plans for Kristaps Porzingis.

  • [ESPN] Mills says perception of Knicks on the rise
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 12:13:54 AM)

    Knicks team president Steve Mills said Monday night that there has been a change in how NBA players perceive the club, and that it bodes well for attracting free agents to New York next summer.

  • [NYDN] Score 1998 prices at Grand Central’s trendy food and booze shops for one day
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 3:00:00 AM)

    Next stop: a trip back in time to 1998.

    Grand Central Terminal is rolling back prices to late ‘90s levels for trendy food and drinks on Oct. 1 to celebrate 20 years as a retail destination.

    Retailers at the Midtown commuter railroad hub — including The Campbell, Grand Central Oyster Bar, Doughnut…

  • [NYDN] ‘They are resilient like the people’: Meet the four-legged survivors of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 3:00:00 AM)

    SAN JUAN — Their fur is matted, their teeth are missing and their hips are fractured. They have tumors, neck abrasions and their skin is falling off.

    These are the stray dogs of Puerto Rico — a population that has nearly doubled in size since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the island nearly a…

  • [NYDN] Inspiring Bronx educator named 2019 New York State Teacher of the Year
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 3:00:00 AM)

    For the first time in 23 years, a city teacher has been recognized with the state’s top educational honor.

    Inspiring Bronx teacher Alhassan Susso, who overcame a debilitating eye disease and a difficult childhood in West Africa to help immigrant teens achieve their college dreams, has been named…

  • [NYDN] Immigrant group fined $34,950 for selling cards claiming to offer deportation protection
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 3:00:00 AM)

    An immigrant’s rights organization must pay a $34,950 civil penalty for selling cards that claimed to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation, an Administrative Law Judge ruled Monday.

    A New Beginning for Immigrants Rights also failed to provide five clients with a written contract and…

  • [NYDN] Clarence Thomas hearings, the sequel: What will we learn from Christine Blasey Ford’s charge against Brett Kavanaugh?
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 2:00:00 AM)

    At 53, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is old enough to remember the ugly national spectacle of the 1991 Senate hearings for the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court — a drama he is now fated to re-enact in the starring role of The Accused.

    Back in 1991, as Thomas was speeding toward a lifetime…

  • [NYDN] Unsafe at any speed: Schools Chancellor Carranza must take the wheel on broken-down school bus system
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 1:05:00 AM)

    Parents, please thank an honest detective for blowing the whistle on city education officials who’ve put thousands of kids’ safety in the back seat, at the mercy of yellow school bus drivers with records of drunk driving, sexual sleazery and domestic violence that should by any standard be disqualifying.

  • [NYDN] EXCLUSIVE: Molinaro calls on Cuomo to dump former top aide from MTA board after dirty tricks political mailer
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 1:00:00 AM)

    ALBANY — GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro wants Gov. Cuomo to dump his former top aide from the MTA board.

    Molinaro cited various conflicts involving Larry Schwartz, who until 2015 was the powerful secretary to the governor.

    Since leaving the administration, Schwartz was appointed by Cuomo…

  • [NYDN] Run, Mike, run: Bloomberg for President? Why not
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 1:00:00 AM)

    Mike Bloomberg is said to be eyeing a run for President as a Democrat in 2020.

    A party that’s lurching ever further left is unlikely to welcome a man who hugs big banks, stands by stop-and-frisk policing and questions the wisdom of the #MeToo movement. Still, we like the guy, so let him try.

    To…

  • [NYDN] EXCLUSIVE: Kaplan Twins kick off national youth vote effort by new group for the mid term elections
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 12:55:00 AM)

    ALBANY — The Instagram famous Kaplan Twins have cut a digital video for a new group aimed at getting traditional non-voters and young people to show up to the polls in key congressional districts nationally in November, the Daily News has learned.

    The breezy two-minute video by 25-year-old New…

  • [NYDN] Readers sound off on high school tests, immigration and #MeToo charges
    (Tuesday, September 18, 2018 12:00:00 AM)

    Go beyond the test for school admissions

    Manhattan: Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza makes the valid point that a single test score on the Specialized High School Admission Test should not be the sole criterion to use for admission to the city’s eight elite, specialized public high schools (“Time…

  • [NYDN] NY actors get political on Emmys red carpet with John Leguizamo leading way, calling on Mark Burnett to be a ‘patriot’ and release alleged Trump tapes
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 10:40:00 PM)

    New York actors didn’t shy away from politics on the Emmys red carpet.

    Actor John Leguizamo, nominated for his role as an FBI agent in “Waco,” voiced support for Tom Arnold Monday after the fellow comedian got in a dust-up with “Apprentice” producer Mark Burnett Sunday night.

    Arnold confronted…

  • [NYDN] Regina King was so sure she wouldn’t win her Emmy, she was reaching for phone shortly before her name was called
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:55:00 PM)

    Regina King was seconds away from her Emmy win Monday when the “universe” told her to get off her phone.

    The “Seven Seconds” actress, who won the award for outstanding leading actress in a limited series or movie, said backstage she was reaching for her phone to “Google something” when her lipstick…

  • [NYDN] New York prepares for heavy rain from Florence remnants
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:50:00 PM)

    ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state’s Division of Homeland Security and Office of Emergency Management are activating to monitor the impacts of the remnants of Hurricane Florence as it moves into the state.

    Widespread heavy rain is expected through Tuesday in the southern half of the state, especially…

  • [NYDN] Mehta: Sam Darnold made some sparkling plays Sunday, but he should have taken more consistent shots downfield
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:20:00 PM)

    Sam Darnold will sit in his rocking chair many years from now and tell his grandchildren about all the cool, annoying and ultimately rewarding stuff that happened in his first career game in front of an electric home crowd.

    The Jets rookie quarterback’s performance on Sunday was a blend of brilliance…

  • [NYDN] Giants center Jon Halapio out for season with broken ankle
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:20:00 PM)

    Jon Halapio’s season is over, and John Greco seemingly is the Giants’ new starting center heading into Week 3.

    Halapio, 27, just two games into his first season as a full-time starter, sustained fractures in both his lower right leg and his right ankle in the third quarter of Sunday night’s 20-13…

  • [NYDN] Michael Conforto’s six RBI lead Mets past Phillies, and it looks like the lefty has his stroke back
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:20:00 PM)

    Michael Conforto has found his stroke again, that sweet lefty swing the Mets had glimpses of before a devastating shoulder injury set him back.

    But that appears to be in the past now, with Conforto finally looking fully comfortable at the plate again and enjoying some consistency. He had three…

  • [NYDN] Leonard: Giants only have themselves to blame for foolishly believing Eli Manning still has it, and now they’ll pay the consequences
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:20:00 PM)

    ARLINGTON, Tex. — The image of Dave Gettleman not making or taking a phone call while on the clock with April’s No. 2 pick should be commissioned as an oil painting and hung around the neck of this dismal Giants season.

    It can go up in a display case right next to the cleats Eli Manning wore in…

  • [NYDN] Tiffany Haddish wore eye-catching dress honoring her Eritrean heritage and took the high road when asked about Katt Williams
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:05:00 PM)

    Tiffany Haddish was a class-act at the Emmys, from her gorgeous gown to her backstage comments on fellow comic and recent critic Katt Williams.

    The “Night School” actress won an Emmy for guest-hosting “Saturday Night Live” and presented at the 70th annual Emmy Awards Monday night in a custom dress…

  • [NYDN] Deputy killed, second wounded in gunfight with shooter at California auto shop
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:00:00 PM)

    RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. — One Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy was killed Monday and another wounded after exchanging gunfire with a suspect at an auto shop just outside of the capital city.

    A man, whose identity has not released, shot and killed 27-year-old Deputy Mark Stasyuk and injured Deputy…

  • [NYDN] Daily Horoscope — September 18, 2018
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 9:00:00 PM)

    Via Tarot Astrologers

    General Horoscope for September 18, 2018

    Assuming that anything can happen doesn’t mean that everything we think will automatically manifest. Nevertheless, an irrepressible Mars-Uranus square is the third one in a series that began in May, manifesting stress, but also releasing…

  • [NYDN] ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ wins big at an Emmys show that tries too hard to do it all
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 8:00:00 PM)

    The Marvelous Mrs. Sherman-Palladino.

    Amy Sherman-Palladino’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” dominated the Emmys Monday night as the Amazon series took home awards for best comedy, outstanding lead actress in a comedy (Rachel Brosnahan), outstanding supporting actress (Alex Borstein), directing and…

  • [NYDN] Ryan Murphy dedicates ‘Versace’ Emmy to LGBTQ community
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 7:55:00 PM)

    Ryan Murphy used the lessons of his award-winning “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” as a real-life call for change at the Emmys Monday night.

    The director, who won for best limited series as well as several other awards throughout the evening, spoke of the meaning behind…

  • [NYDN] Julie Chen will reportedly leave ‘The Talk’ after resignation of husband Les Moonves from CBS
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 7:25:00 PM)

    One week after skipping out on the season premiere of “The Talk,” Julie Chen is reportedly leaving for good.

    Chen, whose husband Les Moonves was ousted last week as CBS CEO amid allegations of sexual assault, will leave the morning talk show effective immediately, according to CNN.

    The host said…

  • [NYDN] Henry Winkler wins first Emmy for role in HBO dark comedy ‘Barry,’ jokes backstage he wore ‘rubber pants’ due to nerves
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 7:10:00 PM)

    Nearly half a century after he shot to superstardom playing Fonzie on “Happy Days,” Henry Winkler finally has his Emmy.

    The beloved actor won best supporting actor in a comedy series for his role as temperamental acting coach Gene Cousineau on the HBO dark comedy “Barry.”

    “I was 27 when I started…

  • [NYDN] SpaceX will fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa as the first ever private tourist to the moon
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 7:05:00 PM)

    Controversial billionaire Elon Musk announced Monday night that Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa has signed with SpaceX to fly around the moon — and he will invite six to eight artists on the journey.

    Maezawa, the founder of ZOZO, one of Japan’s largest online clothing retailers, will launch…

  • [NYPost] Knicks’ new regime sells plan as Kristaps Porzingis questions loom
    (Monday, September 17, 2018 4:41:32 PM)

    Kristaps Porzingis is back in New York, arriving from Latvia on Sunday, and ready to undergo further testing this week to give Knicks management a clearer picture on when he might make his season debut. Porzingis left for Europe in mid-April to continue his rehab from knee surgery, and president Steve Mills had said the…

  • 17 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.09.18)”

    OK so what’s the most anyone here would give up for Jimmy Butler in a deadline-type deal?

    Pros for trading for Jimmy – great two way player. Hard worker. Wants out / expiring so perhaps the cost would not be that much. We could not sign him outright (as a 2nd “max-type” player without making many other deals).

    Cons – seems that he doesn’t get along with others. Will be 30 at start of his next contract. Not a great shooter (although TS has been 58-59 last 2 seasons).

    He actually doesn’t have that much mileage on him — ~3100 college minutes + ~16600 pro minutes = ~20,000 minutes total. By comparison Durant has played 34000+ minutes, Kyrie has played ~17000 minutes, Kawhi has played about 17500 minutes. Never mind Lebron who has played 54000+ minutes. On a 4 year deal even the last year might not be that bad.

    I think I’d go as far as Timmy, Lance, and a top-10 protected 2020 pick (I know Mills just said we would not trade picks). That trade would net us another $4+MM in 2019 cap space. Minny would get the pick, and also 2 guys that can contribute right away (and Timmy is signed long-term and is sort of young).

    A lineup of Kyrie, Frank, Butler, Knox, and KP might be kinda fun and maybe kinda good?

    Why trade for Jimmy Butler? He is just a very expensive way for the Knicks to jump from bad with a future to mediocre without a future.

    Knicks need to establish a core before thinking of big free agency contracts.

    Good question Frank. Here are the pros of a deadline Butler trade as I see them:

    1. If we traded THJ or Noah as the matching salary, we’d be getting rid of a bad contract. If we traded Lee, we’d be getting rid of a mediocre contract.
    2. It would give us a leg up on re-signing Butler in the offseason.
    3. It would give us the cap space to sign another max FA in the offseason.
    4. It would turn NY into an attractive destination for a max FA.

    Here are the cons:
    1. We’d be locking ourselves in to going all-in on winning next season.
    2. If no other superstar signed with us in the offseason, we’d be stuck in mediocrity with a 30+ star.
    3. We would win too much this season, hurting our lottery odds.

    Given that I think the front office is going to go all-in next offseason whether we like it or not, I probably would make the trade you proposed. If Minnesota insisted on Kanter’s expiring deal instead of THJ, I would say no.

    I think trading for Butler doesn’t make sense for either the Knicks or for Butler. But if he demands a trade and the Knicks are on his short short list, then that is a great sign because a) he is terrific and terrific players are hard to come by, and b) it means players want to play in New York again.

    But there are teams that Butler could make very good right now. Obviously the Lakers, but there’s the salary issue. The Celtics kind of have that same problem matching salaries too (though Matt Morris makes it a bit more feasible). But Toronto has a lot of ways to make it work, and that would be fascinating. Same with New Orleans.

    I’d love to see Butler work out with Towns in Minnesota, but if that isn’t going to happen, a big three of Lowry, Leonard, and Butler or Davis, Holliday, and Butler would be a lot of fun to watch put an 82 game season together.

    “Hey guys, how does the roster look?”

    “Well, we’re clearly one of the worst teams in the NBA”

    “Let’s make some win-now trades then!”

    “Ok!”

    I wonder how bad we will actually be. So much depends on whether/how much the young guys develop and gel.

    But I wouldn’t trade for Butler under any feasible circumstances. Why derail the train when it has just gotten back on the right track? We should just commit fully to the young guys this season. No short cuts, no gimmicks.

    Because he’s 7’3?, can be a high usage scoring option, hits 3’s at a high clip and is an elite defensive player who lifted a garbage team of defenders to 15th in DRtg when he was healthy last season.

    Regarding KP and the max.

    To that I would add:

    1. He’s physically immature compared to some of the players he’s routinely compared to and was expected to take longer to develop right from the start.

    2. He’s been used poorly since he’s been on the team.

    He’s 7’3″, long, and athletic enough to slam back offensive rebounds or catch alley oops, yet he gets fewer dunks than a lot of players with half that much going for them. We’ve had him taking mid range shots off the dribble and other such nonsense when he should be shooting 3s and getting more attempts inside. His shot distribution is not ideal.

    3. Some of his problem has been decision making, but there’s no indication it’s an intellectual thing. He’s incapable of learning. He was inexperienced as the #1 option and didn’t have much help for awhile.

    All these things suggest there’s a lot more untapped potential there. He has the talent and work ethic. He needs the coaching and help (and to stay healthy).

    The best player I’d give up for Butler is Hardaway and only because his contract isn’t any good anyway. Other than that I’d wait out the year, see what we can do with Lee, Thomas, and Noah and worry about guys like Butler and Kyrie next year. There’s not much of a justification for incorporating into this team at his age to begin with. So there’s no reason to give up any good asset.

    We are on a longer glide path now they we were previously. Previously, for better or worse, we were trying to both get better “now” by adding experienced players while also adding young pieces to develop long term. Now we are are “all in” on all young players. Someone Butler’s age makes much less sense to us now than before. He makes sense to teams that are closer to their destination or that tend to look around and try to get better every year from wherever they can find value (like Miami, San Antonio, Houston etc..) If we were on a different glide path and were still trying to build a team with a combination of value adding moves, I’d be more inclined to trade for him because he’s very good & is probably going to be pretty good for the duration of his next contract. It would be more a matter of price.

    The only reason a Jimmy Butler trade would kind of make sense is if KP is healing at a rate that has him on pace to play before New Years. If KP plays more than half a season it’s hard to see a situation where we’re a bottom 3 team, so having Butler and KP along with Trey Burke and Courtney Lee from January down would make us a 7 or 8 seed with max salary space and developing players like Ntilikina and Knox.

    If KP has no chance of returning before Valentine’s Day, you don’t make that trade.

    I just don’t think there’s a possible trade that fulfills both a) we don’t give up a pick or 1 or 2 young guys b) makes sense for Minnesota.

    Butler was their win-now move, their young players, mainly KAT, are ready to compete and the rest of the roster is either ancient and bad or just bad. Unless the Knicks are offering good picks, why the hell would the Wolves want THJ, so they can play two slightly different versions of Andrew Wiggins at the same time? And it doesn’t make sense for them to want Knox or Ntilikina either because they’re not ready to be playoff contributors which is obviously a priority, considering KAT’s pending extension.

    Even if the Knicks were willing to part with the young players I don’t see why the Wolves would be interested in it, there’s no way they don’t get better offers in terms of players. If the Knicks are giving up picks then of course that changes, but Mills was adamant he wasn’t going to do that just yesterday.

    @11

    I agree.

    I love Butler’s game, but it’s very unlikely and doesn’t make a lot of sense for NY unless we are stealing. This is kind of what Mills was talking about yesterday. If Butler is interested in coming to NY as a FA next year with Kyrie, we should consider it then based on everything else we know at that time. I think you can argue that a big 3 of KP, Kyrie, and Butler would be very competitive in the east for years while Knox, Frank, Robinson and others continue to develop.

    Just not trading for him already takes away the worst possible scenario, which would be giving up assets for him, then striking out on free agency and him leaving for nothing next season. That is enough reason to not do a deal unless it’s really for absolute peanuts, which is incredibly unlikely.

    I don’t want the team to plan one year ahead on the possibility that Kyrie Irving will really want to come as a free agent. If these guys want to play for the Knicks they can come as free agents and then we see what can be done with the cap / assets etc, then you can deal away Hardaway with a protected pick for example if it guarantees you’ll get both while keeping everyone else, etc.

    Doing prospective deals one season ahead based on unlikely possibilities is an automatic no for me.

    Strat you wrote:

    He’s incapable of learning.

    Did you mean “He’s capable of learning”? That makes more sense with the rest of the post.

    “Hey guys, how does the roster look?”

    “Well, we’re clearly one of the worst teams in the NBA”

    “Let’s make some win-now trades then!”

    “Ok!”

    well that’s a little disingenous. If we had a healthy KP, I’m not sure anyone would say that we would be one of the worst teams in the NBA right now. The major issue for this team this year is going to be defense, and that’s because we will be missing one of the best mistake-erasers in the league for much of the year.

    By the time the trade deadline rolls around, I think we will have a reasonable idea of a few important things – 1) how healthy KP is; 2) what kind of difference Fizdale does or doesn’t make; 3) whether Kevin Knox is real; 4) what year 3 looks like for Frank.

    If KP isn’t healthy or looks like he’ll never return to being what we thought he could be, obviously that changes the long-term calculus for the team. If Fizdale stinks and there’s a player revolt, obviously that changes things. If Kevin Knox looks like Kentucky Knox and not summer league Knox, that changes things. And if Frank looks no different than last year except bigger, that changes things.

    That said – it’s plausible that KP looks really good (it’s possibly LIKELY, given what has been written about his injury/surgery/rehab), Fizdale actually connects with the players and runs a modern system, Knox looks promising, and Frank plays his usual great defense and shoots 35% from 3 and actually gets to the cup every now and again.

    If that’s the case, you’re saying you wouldn’t trade Tim Hardaway, Lance, + a lottery protected first for Jimmy Butler if it also meant being able to recruit/sign a (presumably healthy) Kyrie Irving? Or Kevin Durant? Remember, there is basically no chance of signing 2 significant players without also sending out assets to move other contracts.

    This is mostly a useless exercise given Minny will prob get better offers anyway, but still.

    The important difference here (as opposed to previous Knicks moves) is that Jimmy Butler is really really good – a legit 2 way big 6’7″-6’8″ wing who is one of the best individual and team defenders in the league, that checks all the boxes other than not being a knockdown 3 point shooter (still not bad at ~35.2% from 3 over the last 4 seasons). Every advanced stat loves him– he’s the best SG in the league by RPM (he and Oladipo are head/shoulders above the rest of the group), averaged >0.200 WS/48 and a BPM of +5.2 over the last 4 years. For pete’s sake even WoW loves him with the second best WP48 for a SG in the league.

    He will be 30 at the start of his 1st free agent year which obviously is not ideal, but as i wrote in the previous post, he has a lot less mileage on him than a lot of other players his age / skill.

    This is not trading for a 1-way player, a big name who is otherwise washed, etc., and I’m not talking about trading any of our best assets or an unprotected pick. I don’t think it’s unreasonable if the price is right.

    Did you mean “He’s capable of learning”? That makes more sense with the rest of the post.

    Yes.

    I saw that and was going to add another post to correct it, but figured everyone would figure out what I meant. I do stuff like that all the time on message boards. I write a sentence, don’t like it, fix part of it, and then screw up the meaning or make a grammar error because I didn’t read it again. I’m not sure if it’s laziness or that I’m at work and do a lot of this while looking over my shoulder. 🙂

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