Knicks Morning News (2017.12.07)

  • [NY Newsday] Kristaps Porzingis returns, Courtney Lee scores 24 in Knicks’ win
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 11:47:22 PM)

    Kristaps Porzingis declared himself 100 percent healthy before the start of the game, and then went out and proved his right ankle was more than fine.

  • [NY Newsday] Knicks are winners with Kristaps Porzingis back
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 11:32:00 PM)

    Kristaps Porzingis has a slight flair for the dramatic, even when he’s not on the court.

  • [NY Newsday] Kristaps Porzingis on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s leg injury: ‘Not good for us at all’
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 10:29:00 PM)

    Jeff Hornacek couldn’t shed any additional light on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s health. But Kristaps Porzingis sounded a little bit of an alarm about Hardaway being out at least two weeks with a stress injury in his left leg.

  • [NYDN] Knicks come out strong in second half to top Grizzlies, 99-88
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 8:10:55 PM)

    The Garden was in full slumber – and so were the Knicks – before Courtney Lee buried that shot.

  • [NYDN] Veteran leader Lance Thomas anchors Knicks defense in win
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 8:09:36 PM)

    Life without Tim Hardaway Jr. is fluid for coach Jeff Hornacek.

  • [NYDN] Enes Kanter tweets about store misspelling ‘Santa’ as ‘Satan’
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 1:39:46 PM)

    You had one job.

  • [NYDN] James Dolan knew Harvey Weinstein was a predator, new suit claims
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 6:30:03 AM)

    The lawsuit naming Dolan as a defendant was filed by six women.

  • [NYTimes] Knicks 99, Grizzlies 88: Courtney Lee and Kristaps Porzingis Lift Knicks to .500
    (Thursday, December 07, 2017 4:24:10 AM)

    The team is still without Tim Hardaway Jr., but the return of Porzingis helped get the team an easy win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

  • [ESPN] Knicks win first game without Tim Hardaway Jr., but can it last?
    (Thursday, December 07, 2017 2:15:37 AM)

    Whether the Knicks can replace Tim Hardaway Jr.’s offense during his absence — Courtney Lee? more Kristaps? — could set the course of their season.

  • [ESPN] Knicks owner Dolan named in Weinstein suit
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 1:19:07 PM)

    Knicks owner James Dolan has been named as defendant in civil lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein

  • [SNY Knicks] Porzingis returns, Knicks beat Grizzlies, 99-88
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 10:20:32 PM)

    Courtney Lee scored 24 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 18 after a slow start in his return to the lineup, and the New York Knicks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 99-88 on Wednesday night.

  • [SNY Knicks] Porzingis returning against Grizz
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 6:10:00 PM)

    Knicks F Kristaps Porzingis will suit up and play in Wednesday night’s game against the Grizzlies at Madison Square Garden.

  • [SNY Knicks] Tonight’s game: Knicks vs. Grizzlies, 7:30 p.m.
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 5:40:00 PM)

    The New York Knicks might be about to get back the services of one of their prized possessions on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in a matchup with the suddenly spirited Memphis Grizzlies.

  • [SNY Knicks] Lawsuit alleges Dolan knew Weinstein was a sexual predator
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 2:45:28 PM)

    A lawsuit alleges that Knicks owner James Dolan knew that former Weinstein Company head Harvey Weinstein was a sexual predator.

  • [SNY Knicks] Health the main concern for Knicks during at-times exciting season
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 10:45:42 AM)

    I said before the season that this would be somewhere around the fifth-worst team in the NBA. Clearly, I was wrong. The Knicks are better than that. However, a problem that will likely remain with them for the whole season is health.

  • [NYPost] Kristaps Porzingis: ‘We’ll find ways to win’ without Hardaway
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 11:22:10 PM)

    Kristaps Porzingis revealed he had a stress fracture when he played in Spain four years ago and remembers only missing “a couple of weeks.’’ So he’s hopeful Tim Hardaway Jr.’s “stress injury’’ won’t derail the season. Back in the lineup Wednesday, Porzingis scored 18 points and made a bigger impact on the defensive end as…

  • [NYPost] Knicks’ one defensive constant is a true leader
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 9:28:53 PM)

    Offense can come and go, game to game, half to half, quarter to quarter. A team that looks like an unstoppable force for one half can suddenly turn in a casting calls for animated lampposts in the next. But defense is reliable. Enter Knicks forward Lance Thomas. “I love getting a stop. I love taking…

  • [NYPost] Two co-captains propel Knicks to key win in Porzingis’ return
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 5:06:39 PM)

    With Tim Hardaway Jr. out for a few weeks, the Knicks needed leadership, and the team’s co-captains didn’t let them down Wednesday. Courtney Lee and Lance Thomas, voted the club’s co-captains before the season, carried the Knicks in a 99-88 victory over the Grizzlies at the Garden. In their first game since it was announced…

  • [NYPost] The unsung rookies who are turning the NBA on its head
    (Wednesday, December 06, 2017 6:15:57 AM)

    At the free throw line with 20 seconds left, putting the finishing touches on a 41-point masterpiece, Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell could no longer contain the joy brewing beneath his cool demeanor. Suddenly, the young phenom looked like a kid on Christmas morning, grinning uncontrollably. It was a reminder that Mitchell is, in fact, a…

  • 69 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2017.12.07)”

    Lance Thomas is a captain of the New York Knicks, y’all. Lance. Thomas. Voted by his peers to be a captain. A guy with the basketball awareness of the kid who gets picked up because you need an extra body and Carmelo Anthony’s old practice dummy is a captain of an NBA basketball team.

    I feel like I’m the only person who has a problem with this.

    I think he’s just, like, a super duper cool guy. Sort of like how everyone loves Jarrett Jack. Thomas is also bizarrely the longest tenured Knick, right? So it makes sense to me, despite how shitty of a player Thomas is. He’s a much cooler guy than he is a player. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got into coaching when his career ends.

    If Lance Thomas made a good coach I would be so surprised. For a guy who went to Duke he just seems to lack basketball awareness and IQ. He hustles but I don’t find he plays a smart brand of basketball. I guess his tenure as a Knick and genuine likability made him a captain, but I find it very bizarre that a guy who probably doesn’t belong on an NBA roster (and probably wouldn’t be if Phil Jackson didn’t give him that idiotic contract) is a team captain.

    I just finished watching the Grizzlies game. Clyde was great, even better than usual. A Grizzlies fan would have enjoyed him. There was a great moment where he pointed out that Kanter had trouble with Gasol because Gasol was so slow he didn’t react to Kanter’s fake and the fake went to waste. Go Clyde!

    Being an instinctively smart player is worlds apart from being an effective deliberate basketball mind. Jason Kidd was a terrifically smart instinctive basketball player and as a coach he is Michael Beasley. I am guessing the game looks really fast to Lance, like watching it at 1.5X with side blinders. His reflexes seem extra slow. He isn’t good at guessing where the ball is going to bounce or when to throw a pass to a guy about to break open. This combined with not a lot of fast twitch makes him pretty ineffective.

    But he isn’t a JR like dumb player when it comes to more deliberate choices. He doesn’t forget the defensive scheme, the scouting report or where to stand when Jack and KP are running PNR. Everyone loves him and it’s not because they idolize him so that probably means something. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he was a good coach though nowadays being a great guy and being reasonably smart isn’t enough to be better than average.

    Have to agree, all these wins on the backs of vets is no different then what has been happening the last 3+ years. The Knicks need to get rid of Lee and stop playing Lance and let him just collect checks to be a locker room leader. I could see this season ending with us finishing something like 10th and having another shitty barely lottery pick in an extremely loaded draft

    No if the Knicks intend on losing playing Lance Thomas is a good idea more nights than not. It’s Courtney Lee who needs to be traded, and Ian Begley reports there is continued interest in Lee around the league.

    There should be. Courtney is balling at the moment. We should trade him as fast as humanly possible.

    I disagree that these wins are meaningless and hurting us. Is courtney lee going to be here in 5 years? No. But he could still be here next year or the year after. Is it inconceivable that we be a pretty good team in 2 seasons that is looking to maybe make it to the ECF? I don’t think so.

    Plus, these wins aren’t just because of Courtney Lee. KP is now the number one option on the team every night. This wasn’t happening last year or his rookie year because of Melo and Rose. So experiencing these games, winning them, even if they are games where he isn’t always playing at his best (like last night), that’s good experience for him. We saw how he was killing it the first 15 games of the season as the first option and now he’s struggling a bit as teams are adjusting for him and doubling him a bit more. But he’s gotta go through this to really be the leader of the team. I’d rather he get this experience while still winning some games. Sometimes you can learn a lot from not playing your best but doing other things to help a team win.

    Also, Frank is getting valuable minutes. Not as a starter but he’s also experiencing wins and losses and competitive games. I think its probably better for his confidence going forward if he plays in games and we win some of those games than going out there, looking bad and losing every night.

    Also, Kanter, Timmy, and McDermott (plus Ron and Dotson). Timmy is hurt now but he is part of the long term future here. Kanter and McDermott might be as well. All three of those guys are playing and contributing to wins.

    To hear you guys talk, you’d think Courtney Lee was carrying this team to wins every single night in the last year of his contract. He’s playing great. He’s older. But he’s not hurting development of our future core.

    All of that being said…I would definitely trade Lee for a first rounder. I just don’t think we need to do that RIGHT NOW. I mean, if he’s balling this year couldn’t he be traded on draft night or in the off season for something? At that point his contract is even more attractive because its only 2 seasons.

    What if we held onto Courtney Lee this year, made the playoffs and then traded him in the off season for something?

    Courtney Lee is having a career year. He has career highs in almost every statistical category: pointz, steals, assists, rebounds, 3pt percentage, eFG%, TS%, WS48…

    I would think he must have some trade value at this point.

    The team obviously won’t trade him with Timmy out but they should sell high before he regresses or gets injured.

    Ian Begley reports there is continued interest in Lee around the league.

    Anyone around the league that needs a high IQ, hard working, floor spacing, 2-way SG that’s also good in the locker room would be nuts to not want him. He’s playing better now than he ever has before on multiple levels and shows no signs of slowing down. He’ll be good for the duration of contract and possibly even another year or two.

    The OKC Thunder offense might look a lot better if they weren’t playing 4 on 5 with Andre Roberson in the lineup and had Lee spacing the floor instead. I’m not sure what they could offer, but they are “all in” now. So they have to be considering making another move.

    The Jazz are playing terrific ball lately. If they happen to think Mitchell can be their PG of the future, how about revisiting Lee for Rubio. Rubio is not fitting in so well over there.

    Is it inconceivable that we be a pretty good team in 2 seasons that is looking to maybe make it to the ECF?

    Few things in sports are inconceivable. It’s certainly highly unlikely, though.

    It’s more conceivable we’re an ECF contender in 2 years if we draft 6th than 12th. If we traded Lee weeks ago we’d have a couple less wins and be closer to a higher pick.

    I still like Rubio a lot, but I think he’d be a poor fit with Frank on offense. Defensively, though, wow, that’d be some shit seeing Rubio and Frank together on defense in the backcourt.

    I’d prefer to just get Utah’s first rounder, though.

    All of that being said…I would definitely trade Lee for a first rounder.

    +1

    I’ll keep saying it. Getting worse to lose more games now and draft higher is not smart. The idea is to trade short term value (Lee is good now ) for less short term value now but greater value long term.

    The result of a smart trade would be that we might lose a few extra games this year, but we will win more games 2-4 years from now totally independent of draft considerations.

    We could do that with a decent pick or younger player with a bit of upside.

    If we give away Lee just to get worse, whatever we gain via the draft is not significant enough to make up for what we are giving away. We should get back fair value for Lee now (or better) AND benefit from the draft. That’s a harder deal to accomplish, but dumping Lee for draft benefits alone is just plain foolish imo.

    Can’t help it, I just like watching NYK win. I like 12-12 and I would like 41-41. I also like Lance Thomas. I think him at the 3 and Lee at the 2 are as good as TH at 2 and Lee at 3. Lay off Lance. My god people. We cry about defense and then when someone plays some we cry that he’s not Dion Waiters. And you want to trade Lee? He’s playing out of his mind right now. What would we get? Someone not as good as Lee? Probably.

    I guess I’m thinking there’s still a chance we improve. Until it’s pretty much proven that we’re 30-35 wins at best I say no deals. One good thing about playing reasonably well is that there are guys on the team who are improving their trade value.

    In my mind there’s one way to get better. You practice basketball, show team concept, keep your team healthy and add positive assets over time. I understand the frustration at being a middling team. Sometimes it seems like the only way to go forward is to go backwards. But a twenty win team doesn’t improve by thirty games with just any top ten pick. ORL had a one percent chance to get Penny after Shaq. PHI had “unfortunate” injuries which got them Simmons, after Embiid, and then Fultz. We need to get better, make good, later 1st round picks, and eventually clear cap for that one more piece who’s excited to be part of a winning culture.

    I’m with everyone, just tired of carping after wins, asking for trades of valuable players, and for us to tank. Let’s enjoy some good basketball.

    I still like Rubio a lot, but I think he’d be a poor fit with Frank on offense.

    Good point.

    If Frank could straighten out his shot though, a combination with Rubio would make me a lot less moody on the forum. 🙂

    What’s better, making a trade to remove a productive player ASAP, or waiting for the most favorable possible trade of the same player while racking up 1-3 extra wins on a team that doesn’t “need” to win?

    @18 I stil like Rubio a lot too. If Frank learns to shoot then it could work. The Knicks would have a big backcourt with 2 ball handlers who are good defenders. It’s not happening, but I wouldn’t be upset. They’d finally have a competent point guard running the show who can play defense.

    Not a big fan of Lance’s , he must be a really cool dude to get all the love he does from his teammates.

    I agree this team is mediocre, unfortunately that seems to be a step up from where they’ve been the last few years. They are certainly more entertaining to watch. I would much rather pick 6th than 12th in this draft though. That will hurt if they’re drafting in the teens.

    “If we give away Lee just to get worse, whatever we gain via the draft is not significant enough to make up for what we are giving away. ”

    I don’t understand how you make this a definitive statement.

    We don’t know if a higher pick is worth the short term loss, but it does improve the odds. I agree that you can’t predict the future, but you can do things to make a better future more likely.

    @ 20 – thank you. This is exactly how I feel! This team could still get better on its own! I can’t think of a single team in the history of basketball except maybe the 08 Celtics who went from lottery to amazing the next year. There is almost always a period of 2 to 4 years where a team goes from being a lottery team to average to decently good to great (um, the warriors?) And yeah yeah yeah you increase your chances of getting a star in the top of the draft. But just draft well and you will improve your team! We’re adding a first rounder and two second rounders this off season to this team! KP and Frank and Timmy and Kanter and McDermott and Dotson and yes even Ron CAN ALL IMPROVE FROM WHERE THEY ARE NOW.

    I don’t understand how you make this a definitive statement.

    We don’t know if a higher pick is worth the short term loss, but it does improve the odds. I agree that you can’t predict the future, but you can do things to make a better future more likely.

    There are probabilities related to the lottery math itself and probabilities related to actually getting a better player if you move up or down just a couple of picks. Between the two things, it’s simply not that big of a deal once you are outside the top lottery area where the potential stars are.

    Let’s say we gave Lee away for an expiring contract and wind up losing a few extra games.

    Would we gain mathematically in the draft via a few extra losses and the potential for a few extra ping pong balls?

    Yes we would, but it would be very small.

    Why do it when Lee has real value?

    You get better by winning trades and not just accepting infinitesimal advantages. I think we should insist on getting something of good value back because that’s what he’s worth.

    (We’d also lose out having our players potentially make the playoffs and gain seasoning or at least battle for a spot longer and be happier. )

    Let’s say we gave Lee away for an expiring contract and wind up losing a few extra games.

    I think most of us are in agreement there, though. It’s not just about dumping Lee, it’s about getting at least a first rounder for him. It’s not just purely “get rid of Lee at all costs,” but get rid of Lee for something useful for the future. They couldn’t get what they wanted last year, but his strong play this year should mean that they should hopefully be able to get a first for him this year. But yes, I agree (and it appears as though so do the Knicks) that it’s not trading Lee for the sake of trading Lee, it’s about trading Lee to get something of future value while also, yes, making the team worse in the short term to help the draft position.

    If no one will give them a first for Lee, then sure, just hold on to him.

    Yeah, this is the absolute best possible moment to trade Lee. Honestly I don’t think it’ll happen, cause Mills, Perry et al would rather be the 9th team in the east than the 13th.

    If we want even a late first rounder for Lee we’ll have to accept a crap player together, and I really dont think they’ll do it. Its stupid and pointless but sometimes that’s the Knicks way.

    They’ll talk about how he’s a consummate professional and a leader and how important it is to have veteran leadership and so on. The only way I see it changing is if this next easy stretch of games (Bulls, Hawks and Lakers) is somehow a disaster, but that seems incredibly unlikely. The Knicks will go at least 2-1, then Hardaway will be about to come back and it will get harder and harder to reach a good lottery spot.

    i’m not sure how many viable trade partners there are for lee… the two that pop out are new orleans and detroit….

    the pelicans will almost certainly want to dump asik and it’ll be tough to make it work numbers wise without him…. having noah and asik on the books for that long is a tough ask.. even for a first rder….

    with detroit it’s going to be hard to make the math work… boban + stanley johnson works but i don’t think they’ll include a first in that scenario and johnson is kind of bad… boban + kennard works and i think i might do that straight up….

    I don’t agree this is the best time to trade Lee. I think closer to the break is the time to do it, when teams are in win now mode, dealing w/ injuries, etc.

    Trade

    Courtney
    KOQ
    Jack or Sessions

    Tyus Jones
    Justin Patton
    Cole Contract
    Ask for the OKC first but accept the Charlotte 19 2nd.

    This is a big improvement for Minny who are terrible on defense and playing terrible guys like Crawford a lot of bench minutes despite a win now team.

    @31, Funny, I literally just logged in to suggest that Minny could probably use some shooting but then saw your comment. And Thibs seems to be in win-now mode.

    Yeah, it’s basically a first or bust with Lee. I think Lee’s a little old for Minnesota and they look like they’ll make the playoffs without him. Maybe if they think gets them past the first round? OKC might bite if they’re playing well enough by the trade deadline to go all in. I think it’s probably just as likely they’ll be looking to trade PG and admit that their “big 3” just didn’t work out. He’s probably help Boston this year but they’d basically have to trade most of their bench to make the salaries work. Unless we’d take back Shump or JR I can’t see Cleveland trading a first for him. GS, SA, and Houston don’t have much of a need for him. Maybe there’ll be injuries at the trade deadline but right now I’d say it’s pretty likely he remains a Knick.

    Washington is another team that could use Lee to bolster their bench and provide them with more flexibility with their line-ups.

    They couldn’t get what they wanted last year, but his strong play this year should mean that they should hopefully be able to get a first for him this year.

    Then we all mostly agree.

    I’ll try to make this the last time I post on this subject so we don’t continue having the same conversation. I’ll just ignore the topic and agree to disagree. 🙂

    This is what I was told.

    Lee became a Knick for the 2016-17 season and ended the season on good terms with Phil and the organization.

    There was speculation after the season ended that the Knicks were looking to clear cap space to try to add a veteran PG . Those rumors were mostly a combination of the Knicks needing a veteran PG, the team needing cap space to bring in a high quality guy, and other teams expressing an interest in Lee. The Knicks may have listened to what other teams were offering (doing typical due diligence), but it wasn’t the Knicks looking to move Lee. Other teams were calling NY. NY was not calling.

    Then the Knicks signed Hardaway and the speculation in the media hit a higher note because now they had two players that played the same position. I recall right after Hardaway deal was announced coming to this forum before I had heard or read anything in thee press. I said “Lee must be gone” (or something like that). Again, I was later told, “They love Lee and he’s not on the block”. I was told all the speculation, including mine, was wrong. That’s the speculation that Lee himself confirmed recently as wrong.

    When I get a chance, I’ll ask that same source what the status is as of now given that he’s playing a lot better and his market may be more attractive . But again, I think we are playing GM speculating on what we would do. That’s not necessarily what the Knicks are thinking. I’ll let you know if I find anything out.

    Yeah, it’s basically a first or bust with Lee. I think Lee’s a little old for Minnesota and they look like they’ll make the playoffs without him. Maybe if they think gets them past the first round? OKC might bite if they’re playing well enough by the trade deadline to go all in. I think it’s probably just as likely they’ll be looking to trade PG and admit that their “big 3? just didn’t work out. He’s probably help Boston this year but they’d basically have to trade most of their bench to make the salaries work. Unless we’d take back Shump or JR I can’t see Cleveland trading a first for him. GS, SA, and Houston don’t have much of a need for him. Maybe there’ll be injuries at the trade deadline but right now I’d say it’s pretty likely he remains a Knick.

    Let’s say OKC trades PG-13, is there any way that Melo opts out after this season?

    Yeah, a Lee trade won’t happen until the deadline, and only for an expiring plus a 2018 first round pick.

    If you can do a first and expiring for Lee you have to do it depending on the pick. I think we’d all be a little sad to see him go but I can’t see us resigning him in the future. Or if we do resign him it will probably be a regret unless he gives us a discount on the next contract.

    @36

    I would say 100% no, he wouldn’t be crazy to leave this much money on the table, but the only option I see is Lebron leaving Cleveland and building something, and Melo accepting way less money to join him, let’s say Lebron moves to the Lakers and Melo comes on a smaller 2 year contract. Still very unlikely.

    All the LT hate on here… but he really sets the tone on defense by sticking with his man over and under screens appropriately, avoiding having the rest of the team switch. Not sure where all the hate is coming from…

    well to be fair the tone he sets in his admittedly proper positioning is more bumper pool table in Westport than no man’s land on the western front.

    I figure if we trade Lee now we probably end up picking around 10th. We’re not getting a top pick unless we get super lucky with the ping pong balls. The gain is not so great that tanking should be a concern, it’s all about what we can get back instead. No reason to not wait till the deadline and hope someone else’s desperation pays off for us.

    All the LT hate on here… but he really sets the tone on defense by sticking with his man over and under screens appropriately, avoiding having the rest of the team switch. Not sure where all the hate is coming from…

    That’s Lance Thomas to a tee. We’re so used to players half-assing it that Thomas actually putting in effort makes it look like he’s a great defender, when he really isn’t all that good on defense. He just actually gives a shit. He’s not a bad defender, but nor is he really much more than adequate on defense, but when everyone else flat out sucks, adequate looks amazing.

    In my mind, I picture the coaching staff sees (a player like) Lance Thomas and (a player like) Michael Beasley as 2 sides of a coin. On one, you have a player who, despite enormous physical talents, can’t seemingly put the effort or court smarts together to maximize said talent. And on the other, you have a player who through sheer will and effort forces the coaching staff to play him despite limited (by NBA standards) physical talent.

    Let’s say OKC trades PG-13, is there any way that Melo opts out after this season?

    Doubtful unless as Bruno said above he can tag along with LBJ somewhere where there’s a solid shot at a title. Then again, some players do completely overestimate their market value and Melo just might be deluded enough to think that there’s a 3 yr/40-50m dollar contract out there waiting for him.

    Courtney Lee on Lance Thomas, who started at small forward against Memphis with Tim Hardaway Jr. out and keyed the Knicks on defense: “He’s a true professional man. Knows every play. He’s in practice doing his work early. He’s a dude that you can hold accountable and he holds everybody accountable. When he gets in, he makes the most of his opportunity and that’s just going out there and playing hard. I’ll take effort over talent any time man. He’s one of the soldiers in here that I like to ride with.”

    hahahahaha…guess it’s no secret even in the locker room…

    Courtney Lee is almost certainly outplaying his talent at this point, but he’s been one of the 5-6 best 2 guards in the league this season so I think he’d be very attractive. He’s a good player at the leagues worst position. (You can make the argument that James Harden is the only really good 2-guard in the NBA)

    As long as KP is healthy and we are around .500 I think we should try to win as much as possible. Sure trade Lee or anyone not named KP if the return is great but no need to push for trades. There are only 4 or 5 teams in the East that are definitively better than us and a whole bunch in the same mediocre boat. Why not push for the playoffs? With a healthy KP we’re not picking worse than 9 or 10 anyway, Lee trade or not.

    With Lee, we’re probably picking between 12-16, without probably between 10-14. I don’t really see the upside of tank first trades. KP alone makes us better than the bottom 5-8 teams in the NBA. We’re not getting one of the top 5 players without real ping pong ball luck and after that the draft really levels out over the next 10 or so picks.

    Surely Klay Thompson counts as a good SG? Oladipo has also had a fantastic year though his sustainability of this level of play is somewhat doubtful.

    Thats a wild trade. Okafor, Stauskas and a pick for Trevor Booker???

    Also Lee was referring to Thomas like he was his coach lmao.

    I wonder if we could replace Rambis with one of the older vets in the future. I’d much rather have Jack as our assistant coach than Rambis, though tbf virtually anyone/anything is better than Rambis.

    That’s an interesting trade for Okafor. Philly already pretty stacked at the PF position, so not sure Booker is a great addition from a basketball perspective, but his $9 million salary comes off the books at the end of the year I think. The Nets also get our 2nd round pick, so they have done well to net the pick and a young player.

    I also don’t have a problem with the wins. A higher draft pick would be good, but the team is playing the right way and there seems to be a real shift in culture when you hear the players and coaches speak. Are they playing perfect; absolutely not, but I don’t think we can discount wins this year and what impact that has on a developing team. I think many here have said in the past that ideally you have a few good vets on a young team. I say throw the KO’s, Lances and Lees names out on the table, but let others come knocking.

    It is amazing that the Nets have now picked up both the #2 and the #3 picks in the 2015 draft! The annoying thing for Okafor is that the Nets are also a bad fit for his style of play, although at least he can probably play center in Brooklyn.

    By the way, Sean Kilpatrick would be an interesting addition for the Knicks. He’s a 2 more than a 1, but hey, he’s still sort of young. Maybe if they cut Sessions.

    Nets now have the same C logjam we do. the solution: Courtney Lee to the nets for every 1st round pick ever

    If only Billy King were still around. We could probably get at least 2 picks for Lee and the corpse of Noah.

    Is Kilpatrick a better option than cutting Session to promote Trey Burke, Brian?

    Neither Kilpatrick and Burke have shown much in the NBA so far, so sure, I guess Burke still makes more sense. He’s at least a couple of years younger than Kilpatrick.

    If Denver made it lottery protected rather than top 20 protected, I’d probably be willing to bite on that deal. Beasley’s young and hasn’t shown zero promise.

    Yeah, Beasley is not the young three that the Knicks really need, though he’s young and reportedly a good guy and hard worker. He’s more of a two, and Timmy and Dotson are already here. Make the pick just top 10 or 12 protected…

    That would give the Knicks two Beasleys!

    Wonder how screwed up the younger Ball kids are going to end up with all the nonsense going on with them playing overseas?

    Wonder how screwed up the younger Ball kids are going to end up with all the nonsense going on with them playing overseas?

    Lol Euro teams don’t want them by the sounds of it. At least not the premier leagues. If I am not mistaken Euro teams only get about 6 or 7 visas to hand out and have to pay about 10,000 euros to register players. If they are going to make that commitment, they want their imports to perform. No one has even seen these two play yet, and by the sounds of it, the middle Ball would have been a bench warmer at UCLA. If either of them were likely to go in the lottery, then a team might take a flyer on them given they get a bonus if a player is drafted in the lottery. No NBA GM’s even have them on their scout list apparently.

    I like Booker, I think he’s a useful player. He’s a good rebounder and defender who began to try to shoot too much from the outside and should really stop that immediately, but he has value. He’s basically the same player as Amir Johnson, who has been terrible so far, so its probably a slight improvement for getting rid of Okafor.

    Philly had like 3 second rounders this year, so the pick is mostly inconsequential I guess. Brooklyn is doing well in those trades, if you ain’t going nowhere anyway, try to recover other people’s busts. They should go for Hezonja next for maximum potential comedy value.

    @67
    5/20 now… Adams bailing the Thunder out really hard.

    Edit: welp he just missed 2 free throws.

    Spencer Dinwiddie driving past his girlfriend’s brother to pretty much put it away was pretty funny. Caris LeVert was really good on Russ down the stretch. I know he’s been trash this year but I think he’s got some talent

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