(Saturday, May 12, 2018 1:10:57 PM)
It is beautiful, but too bright outside, and Helen Hamilton refuses to look up until she gets her sunglasses. She puts them on, turns around, and is surprised, and thrilled, staring at a massive picture of her son, David Fizdale, on the marquee outside Madison Square Garden. Hamilton scrambles to retrieve her phone from her…
(Saturday, May 12, 2018 8:14:44 AM)
When David Fizdale took the podium at Tuesday’s Garden press conference, point guards Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Burke sat in the front row. Frank Ntilikina? He was 3,600 miles away — in Paris. Ntilikina was amid a series of workouts at INSEP, France’s premier performance academy. Working with him was one of the Knicks’ trainers….
22 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.05.13)”
Berman made it sound like Mills still views Frank as untouchable and it’s Perry that’s skeptical and wanted to bring in Mudiay. Frank better come back a better player or Perry may be tempted to trade him to fill another need long before we know what we have (and I suspect he’s going to VERY good). That goes double if we happen to draft a pure PG because of the way things fall in the draft. It’s not comfortable thinking we are depending on Mills to be the smart one. At least it sounds like Fizdale likes him.
How do you look at Frank (who is already a terrific defender and may soon be elite) and say “we need Mudiay”?
I don’t how you say “we need Mudiay” at all, with or without Frank
Mills also said Willy was untouchable but Frank fits the defensive culture they want to build.
There is no question or problem to which trading for Mudiay is the correct response.
I think there’s a lot of speculation in that article. Mudiay was just a flier that Perry took. It would be absurd for him to gamble on Mudiay at 21 but bail on Frank at 19. Between those two projects and a healthy Burke, idk how you draft another pg, despite what Wally says (eye roll). They need good-shooting wings, closeout defenders, post defenders, and maybe another driver. Pretty sure that means a Bridges. Honestly Miles makes the most sense if he seems like a plus 3-pt shooter. He’s the better rebounder/passer, and we already have a lockdown wing defender (Frank). Don’t get me wrong, I’d be happy with Mikal and for sure Carter Jr., but if we drop to 10, Miles might not be so bad.
The thing is that Ntilikina isn’t viewed as a rough rider and guys like Wally have shown that they respect more that about players than other sorts of contribution. He used to keep praising Derrick Rose in the most annoying ways because of this even when it was clear he was a net negative. Just your typical ex-player bs if you ask me.
It scares me a bit that Fizdale’s comments seem to come from the same type of narrative, but well, I’m hoping it’s just to fill offseason narratives like let’s be tough and work hard etc.
If a PG is the BPA when we draft then we should pick a PG. Mudiay is trash and will almost certainly never amount to anything in the NBA. Ntilikina was great defensively but atrocious on offense and has no handle; he might never pan out as a PG. Burke is fine but his mid-range shooting is obviously unsustainable and I don’t know how good he’ll be once it crashes back to earth.
Also, this team is as talent-poor as any roster in the league. There is no position on this team that we can claim is filled for either the short or long term.
Agreed but there’s no way Sexton is BPA at 9 or 10. Maybe (very maybe) at 16. I’d certainly take Gilgeous-Alexander before him.
Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?
The knicks gave up little in return for a potential big payoff. It was a good deal, even if Mudiay gets waived. And chances are, you can get back what you gave for him.
Maybe.
And at what cost? Is he going to be a drag on the team for five years? And when he finally gets good, the knicks are going to have to pay him.
Maybe not.
Frank is in project phase. He’s got to learn to shoot. And he’s got to get aggressive at getting to the hole. You can’t be a starting PG on defense alone.
I like Frank and think he’ll be good, but he’s nowhere near where he has to be, to be considered a legitimate starting PG. If I’m the knicks GM, the PG position is keeping me awake at nights. They got a solid back-up in Burke. That’s it.
Mudiay
I don’t think he’s going to make it. He’s got talent and size, and in doses, plays great on the offensive side of the ball. But, obviously, he a flawed player. And his defense. It’s not that he just can’t cover well, he’s not gritty.
I’m as curious to see how he comes back as I am Frank. Mudiay, obviously on a much shorter string, but Frank needs to become a man if he wants to play with the big boys.
If I’m Perry/Mills, I’m not proposing to Frank, yet.
What’s funny to me is once Burke became the revelation that he was, folks started acting like he was dominating. Yes, we should all expect some type of regression, but I’m not sure it will be as big a regression as some expect. Let’s not forget that once Hornacek finally gave him extended minutes after film was out on him, he still played very well. I expect that if Van Exel comes aboard, we should see some improvement consistency-wise with Burke. They are kind of similar. The challenge is gonna be finding Mudiay’s value. He gets in the lane and is a willing passer, so hopefully that’s something Van Exel can build upon. Now with Ntilikina, that’s an entirely different animal. He’s a PG in game, but if he comes back from France bigger & stronger, then I have no problem with him at SG. However, if the team does view him as a combo guard, then the question will be what happens with THJ? We can’t go another season with him at SF. It also means the team will need to draft a guy who can score. And that probably narrows it down to Young, Sexton, and Porter- depending on where we pick.
Personally, I think we will be fine with Burke, Ntilikina, and Mudiay at PG. I just hope we don’t reach wherever we pick.
The Knicks do not have to commit to Ntilikina or anything, he’s on a cheap 3 year deal. All they have to do is to not do anything and give him time to develop.
There’s no reason at all to go for another young PG who isn’t a top prospect when you have him + Burke on mega cheap deals plus Mudiay to be there and soak up minutes. If Young is available at 9th then yes, there’s a good opportunity, but there’s no logic to reach hard on Sexton when he’s not even a top 10 prospect.
That’s it.
@11 completely agree. If you’re ranking Sexton head-and-shoulders above anyone else at 9 or 10, then go for it, but I hope you aren’t.
You could maybe argue that he’s equal to the Bridges’ in value, but certainly not better. You could also easily argue that he’s worse than Zhaire Smith or Robert Williams.
Forgot about SGA. He’s another guy I wouldn’t mind taking at 9.
So the Celtics could be heading to the Finals without 2 of their best players. They have a bonafide star in Tatum, another developing star in Brown, Rozier playing out of his mind and one of the smartest coaches in the league. And if they beat the Cavs, there’s a good chance LeBron goes west and they can dominate the East for years. Oh, and just watch the Lakers move up to 2nd in the lottery and the Celtics grab that pick also.
I hate Boston with all my being, but they are so set up for the next 5 years it’s ridiculous.
California is awesome but I wouldn’t want to be in the same division as Durant and Harden. Lebron is the King but if he cares about winning another title one destination seems to stand above the rest. He may not, which is fine. But I don’t know if I see him and Lonzo hoisting the trophy.
That’s what I will tell him when he calls me to ask for advice.
I think the Lakers thing is just typical Lakers media / fan delusion. It makes zero sense as long as Golden State exists in its current form (and Klay reportedly is ready to leave a lot of money on the table to keep the core together, so…).
The craziest thing would be if those LeBron + Kawhi to Philly rumours actually happened. Imagining a Simmons / Redick / Leonard / LeBron / Embiid line up hurts my brain.
Embiid’s contract extension kicks in next season, which means even if Philly doesn’t resign Redick, Bellineli, Ersan, and Amir they would still probably need to trade another one or two guys to give LeBron a full max deal. Which means Redick would have to take a vet minimum or one of the exception salaries.
And I can’t see the Spurs trading Kawhi for Fultz, Saric, and Covington.
Mike
I wouldn’t be surprised if LeBron stays in Cleveland one more year and decides to join his buddy Fizdale on the Knicks to help him “rebuild a culture around the Knicks’ young group.” Do not underestimate the power of New York and our all black brain trust. Mills, Perry, Robinson, Fizdale, and LeBron.
@18
The Sixers are projected to have about 32 to 35 million in cap space just by not re-signing those guys and declining McConnell and Holmes’ team options, so in theory they could just outright sign LeBron to a max depending on where the cap actually ends.
Kawhi makes 18 a year, which means Covington + Fultz is enough to meet his salary. Saric would only be added if necessary plus whatever picks (they could add this year’s 10th too). It’s not as impossible as it seems, it pretty much depends on what San Antonio wants to do with Kawhi. If the situation is indeed beyond repair I have big doubts they could get a significantly better offer than Fultz, Saric and Covington plus a pick.
Then if I’m Redick in this case, after getting the money this year, why wouldn’t I compromise on my salary this year for a clear chance at least for two finals?
The Lebron to the Lakers stuff makes sense if Lebron is prioritizing his family over his chance to win a title. Apparently his wife and his mom didn’t want him to go back to Cleveland, they live in LA in the offseason, and his kids are getting old enough to have a say in what the family does. Maybe he just wants to live in LA.
Yeah, if he just wants to live in LA with his family year round, I get it. He’s done enough.
Although you can just hear the wags on ESPN down the road. “You think Jordan would have ever chosen his family over winning three more titles?”