(Friday, June 01, 2018 10:30:17 PM)
Frank Ntilikina came back from France with a new look — new hair, new body. Flashy blonde streaks are colored into Ntilikina’s hair, coupled with a more chiseled physique than exhibited when the gangly rookie finished up his first NBA season in mid-April. After spending five weeks in his native France and working out at…
(Monday, June 04, 2018 2:00:00 AM)
Brenton James, a young New Yorker, received his bachelor’s degree in economics, philosophy and politics from the University of Pennsylvania earlier this month. Like his fellow graduates, Brenton applied his keen intellect and studied hard to earn his diploma.
But unlike most of his U Penn classmates,…
(Monday, June 04, 2018 2:00:00 AM)
For the past 60 years, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade has been a celebration of everything that it means to be Boricua. Each June, we come together to march up Fifth Ave. not only to show the world our pride in our culture and heritage, but to highlight our contributions to the overall success…
(Monday, June 04, 2018 1:10:00 AM)
Nine weeks into the job but who’s counting, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza visited the Daily News Editorial Board last week. We like the way he talks and respectfully note, as a teacher might, that words must be followed by deeds.
His predecessor Carmen Fariña, a spirit animal and educational…
(Monday, June 04, 2018 1:05:00 AM)
The close-Rikers commission led by retired state chief judge Jonathan Lippman was clear as day about where new borough-based jail facilities ought to locate: “city-owned land in civic centers as close as possible to courthouses and public transportation.”
For good reason. The whole point of the…
(Monday, June 04, 2018 1:00:00 AM)
Just as a police car on the shoulder slows speedsters, speed cameras that snap photos make lead-footed drivers hit the brakes. They’re lifesavers, especially at schools.
Flashing warning light: The 140 city schools so protected will lose the safety shields on July 1 unless our political overlords…
(Sunday, June 03, 2018 2:00:00 AM)
As-of-right development — meaning, the freedom to build without any special land-use permission — has been critical to New York City’s success.
Developers, contractors, architects and financiers involved in any project rely on the time-tested process. They know that the zoning rules with which…
(Sunday, June 03, 2018 2:00:00 AM)
Earlier this week, in response to the outcry over a white Starbucks manager calling the police on two black customers who were waiting for a friend to arrive in one of its Philadelphia stores, the coffee behemoth closed 8,000 of its locations across the United States to conduct a four hour “implicit…
(Sunday, June 03, 2018 2:00:00 AM)
Many of us on the Jewish left are apprehensive about what Jewish Voice for Peace might do today to again disrupt the Celebrate Israel parade.
We have no problem with criticizing Israeli policies; we do it frequently. But as I see it, the organization’s disruptions grow out of demonization.
The…
(Saturday, June 02, 2018 2:00:00 PM)
A man said to the universe:
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”
The great journalist, novelist and poet Stephen Crane, a former New Yorker, published that in 1899. One hundred and nineteen years later, we could replace “universe”…
(Saturday, June 02, 2018 4:00:00 AM)
It is better, we hope, that a highly risky summit between a mercurial American President and a brutal totalitarian leader with a nuclear arsenal is back on the calendar, producing the remote possibility of progress on the Korean peninsula. It is better, we hope.
(Saturday, June 02, 2018 2:00:00 AM)
In so many ways, Transit Authority chief Andy Byford’s “Fast Forward” plan, a prescription for our ailing subways and buses, is exactly what we need.
It prioritizes the necessary signal upgrades that will finally result in reliable service. It commits the subway system to a target date for full…
(Saturday, June 02, 2018 1:05:00 AM)
First things first: Friday’s jobs report was bursting with awfully good news: 223,000 new positions, limbo-low unemployment and, at long last, growing wages. All point to an economy that looks healthy, before some provisions of the deficit-busting and skewed-to-the-rich Republican tax cut have…
(Saturday, June 02, 2018 1:00:00 AM)
Godspeed to the newly appointed members of a long-promised commission charged with delivering to Mayor de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson recommendations to repair a deeply damaged system for setting New York City’s all-over-the-place property taxes.
Here, a mayor who’s devoting his…
(Saturday, June 02, 2018 12:00:00 AM)
Why Samantha Bee’s an atrocity
Rutherford, N.J.: Once again the media gets caught up on a word (“Oh say can you C-word?” June 1). Remember when Jack Ruby shot Oswald and used the word “bastard”? Couldn’t print the word or say it on television (probably still wouldn’t; but the shooting was and has…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 9:50:00 PM)
Two days after Mickey Callaway had insisted a team meeting wouldn’t pull the Mets out of their ongoing malaise, the first-year manager called for one and let his team know about the disturbing signs he witnessed once again during Friday night’s 7-4 loss to the Cubs.
The injury-riddled Mets, once…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 9:30:00 PM)
Johnny Football’s Canadian adventure officially got under way Friday night.
Former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel made his Canadian Football League debut for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a preseason game, completing 9 of 11 passes for 80 yards and rushing twice for 10 yards in Hamilton’s 36-18…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 9:00:00 PM)
Shawn Mendes went to the Governors Ball one year and thought: “Damn, it would be really cool to be onstage.”
On Friday he got his chance. Fans waited two hours to see Mendes — and they weren’t disappointed with the 19-year-old heartthrob’s high-energy set, which was nearly drowned out by a mob…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 8:55:00 PM)
BALTIMORE — Gleyber Torres has been known to swing out of his shoes on occasion.
This time, he ran out of his shoes — and into an out.
After leading off the fifth inning of the Yankees’ 4-1 victory over the Orioles on Friday night by drilling a liner into the left-field corner, Torres elected to…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 7:50:00 PM)
Bill Cosby molested her and tried to drag her name through the mud, but Andrea Constand forgives him.
“He needs help, and he needs to repent for what he did, not only to me but for a lot of women,” Constand told “Dateline” in an interview broadcast Friday night.
“I forgave Bill Cosby for what he…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 7:40:00 PM)
The first game of June was much like the previous excruciating month had been for the Mets.
That is, they lost yet another everyday player to injury and another game because of their bullpen to fall under .500 for the first time this season.
Paul Sewald permitted two inherited runners to score…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 7:10:00 PM)
BALTIMORE — Aaron Boone wanted more length out of his starting pitchers, and he got just that from Sonny Gray.
Gray, a disappointment for much of the year, threw six innings of one-run ball, leading the Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Orioles on Friday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 6:30:00 PM)
White Sox pitcher Danny Farquhar, who doctors have described as a “miracle” since recovering from a brain hemorrhage six weeks ago, returned to the mound in Chicago on Friday to throw out the first pitch.
Members of the medical staff from RUSH University Medical Center that helped keep Farquhar…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 6:20:00 PM)
Federal prosecutors quietly withdrew all charges Friday against one of four upstate developers facing trial this month for an alleged bid-rigging scheme.
Michael Laipple, a former executive at the Buffalo-based LPCiminelli, was charged with participating in a pay-to-play scheme to score lucrative…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 6:00:00 PM)
First, a fire robbed them of their homes; now, a smoky stench and soot make living in a Bronx building a nightmare, according to new court papers.
Hundreds of residents of 1920 Walton Ave., an apartment house near E. 177th St. in Mount Hope, were forced from their homes by a fire Sept. 27.
Now,…
(Friday, June 01, 2018 5:45:00 PM)
The Mets already have 11 players on the disabled list, and they suffered yet another injury after right fielder Jay Bruce left Friday’s loss to the Cubs in the fifth inning with lower back tightness.
Bruce said his back had stiffened during batting practice, but he thought he’d be able to loosen…
[NYTimes] What Was J.R. Smith Thinking on the Last Play of Regulation? (Friday, June 01, 2018 11:45:47 PM)
Game tied. A clutch rebound. Then a dribble to nowhere that will go down as a memorable N.B.A. finals blunder.
[NYTimes] Why Do the Warriors Dominate the 3rd Quarter? Consider Their Halftime Drill (Friday, June 01, 2018 9:17:55 PM)
The Warriors outscored opponents by 130 points in the 3rd quarter this postseason. How they spend intermission may explain why.
[NYTimes] Not at the Game: Over, Easy: A Basketball Aficionado Foresees the Warriors’ Surge Past the Rockets (Saturday, June 02, 2018 10:23:14 AM)
Fabulous Flournoy, a Bronx native, has been a player-coach for a professional team in Britain for the past 17 seasons.
45 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.06.02)”
I’ve read a few non-official reports of Michael Porter Jr not willing to share his independently-gathered medical records (not done through the combine) with certain teams in a bid to control his draft stock a little.
Is he hiding something and is he worth the risk if he slides?
I think you answered your own question. My guess is that he’s okay and is maneuvering draft position. Good Luck with that MPJr.
To state the obvious, there’s something amiss with the engine that’ selects the story links at the top of each days blog.
It is legitimately possible that Frank grows into a 6’7″ playmaking wing, capable of defending 1-3 at an elite level while holding his own when switched onto 4’s and 5’s.
Michael Porter Jr is trying to go to Dallas, Chicago, or New York. I don’t think he goes as high as Dallas because that top 5 of Ayton, Doncic, Bagley, Jackson Jr, and Bamba would be impossible to crack. I think Orlando doesn’t get granted a workout and they’ll take Trae Young. Chicago is a tough one but Wendell Carter Jr makes a world of sense for them as a pivot man next to Markannen. I don’t think he grants Cleveland a workout either, so New York is where he ends up. The draft should fall this way:
PHO: Ayton
SAC: Doncic
ATL: Jackson Jr
MEM: Bagley
DAL: Bamba
ORL: Young
CHI: Carter Jr
CLE: Bridges/Bridges/Sexton
NYK: Michael Porter Jr
I’ve been searching all morning for pics online of this “New Ntilikina”. If he has gotten taller and added muscle to his listed 6’5″ 190 frame, it’s likely he’s closer to 6’7″ 200 than say maybe 6’6″ 195. IIRC, they were saying he got a little taller and gained a few pounds during the season. I need to see it. Wouldn’t it be crazy if he ends up strong enough to play SF? I need to see! With his measurables and skill set, he should definitely have 3 position flexibility. And if that’s the case, we don’t need him to play PG. Then maybe..just maybe..it would be ok to draft Sexton or Young at 9. My idea would be- if Ntilikina can handle SF- drafting SGA at 9. It’s a reach, I know- but I’m not sure how far down we can safely trade to get him. Once KP returns, can you folks imagine a Knick defense led by KP-Ntilikina-SGA? Hell, I’d even be ok with Beasley as our PF and 3rd option during that run. Of course, if we can trade down to the Clips and land SGA and Knox- grooming him at PF, that can be good also.
I just want to see Frank play in the summer league before I make too many judgments about his ability offensively. Honestly, I think Frank, Dotson, Jarred Vanderbilt, Luke Kornet, and Michael Porter Jr should win the Summer League Finals.
If Frank gets stronger he could guard a lot of wings without getting taller. His wingspan is big enough.
Paxson is on the record as saying Chicago want to Target a wing player. With Markkanen and Portis in place, RoLo a placeholder for a year and Felicio making too much money I think they pass on Carter and take Porter Jr. who has been doing all his workouts in Chicago.
I’m fine with that as it makes it likely Carter and one of the two Bridges fall to us. In order I’d prefer Carter, Miles and then Mikal.
@9 Sir keep your negativity to yourself, please. Michael Porter Jr will be a New York Knick.
Yeah, Porter will land in Dallas or Chicago, and if he doesn’t, it’s because the back is a real issue.
My order of preference at 9 is Young, Carter, Bridges (either). I think either Carter or Young will fall to us though. Someone above us will do something dumb.
If you are a Trae Young fan, you can be pretty sure one of the 3-4 players we are very interested in is going to be available. After that, it’s just a matter of hoping we picked the best one.
This was always part of his projection. Anyone who seriously looked at his frame, wingspan and age could see that he still had growing to do coming out of France. Don’t be surprised if he grows even taller.
If Frank can legitimately get into that 6’7″ range, it would make him quite unique as a defender. We have to be really patient with him on offense. He’s younger than some of the players that are coming out this year. Charlie Rosen called him a “rookie rookie”. If he can become a “plus” player on offense over 2-3 years, his value will be off the charts.
He’s been saying all the right things, that he realizes he has to work on his body and his offensive game, and from the videos we saw it’s clear his handle has been a focal point of those training sessions.
The perfect scenario is him getting quicker and stronger with a better handle, but those workout videos always look great so it’s still pretty much a wait and see thing. We knew the kid was a hard worker anyway, let’s hope a full offseason on a NBA programme yields some good results.
Frank growing to 6’7-8 is why I’m against pigeonholing him into the PG position. A play making wing is much rarer than a play making guard and all good teams need multiple plus ball handlers these days.
I can only hope that Trae falls to us at 9.
Yeah, Frank’s growth is likely why his shot has been off this past year. Changes in height/length f–k with your shooting. I wonder if they’ll pass on Mikal with Frank growing? They can clearly run a 3-guard set with Trey/TH2/Frank now if they want. What they need more is a legit oversized 3 or 4 (or 5 if they want KP at the 4). But most of all they need to go BPA.
I don’t know, it sure seems like Ntilikina would have to improve his handle A LOT for it to be even passable at the PG position at the NBA level. I mean that is one fugly looking handle. I cringe every time the guy handles the rock. I don’t know how you teach a guy to dribble at age 20, that seems like something that’s kind of an innate skill. It’s like trying to take a guy who is terrible at tracking groundballs and insisting that he play shortstop. It’s possible I guess, but doesn’t seem like it has much of a chance of succeeding. If you can’t dribble and handle the rock by the time you’re age 20, it miiiight not be happening.
I can see what Phil was thinking, that he could make Ntilikina into a Ron Harper-style triangle point guard, but this is 2018 and there is no triangle, and therefore there are no Ron Harper-style triangle point guards anymore. I fear that the FO is trying to jam a square peg into a round hole here. The guy looks miles away from being able to play point guard in the NBA. I’d love to be wrong here but I’m probably not gonna be wrong.
Well, having THJ and Lee as wing players on the team really really shouldn’t be a deterrent to grabbing Mikal or another wing if the guy is the best prospect available.
I really hope Mills and Perry realize that. THJ for me has a ceiling of adequate sixth man at most and Lee shouldn’t be on the team anyway.
I would be excited about Burke / Frank / Mikal starting next year, I don’t think it will be good, but it would be the first time in years we’re actually focusing on giving real chances to a young core. Suck hard until the all star break, have Porzingis come back very slowly to see where he stands post injury and see what happens.
The truth is that such terminology like “PG” vs. “PF” is a matter of semantics in today’s game anyways when you have a player who can guard wings and play the point on offense. Does it matter if you call Simmons, Giannis, or even Lebron one thing vs. the other?
Chris Paul has talked about his extensive dribbling drills as a youth player, and it reminds me of practicing guitar licks, piano scales or drum rudiments from an early age — when I see adults trying to pick up a musical instrument, I see a significant disadvantage in both muscle-memory adaptation and time. Paul probably practiced dribbling for thousands of hours before he even stepped on the floor for Wake Forest. I just don’t see it feasible to expect him to catch up with the other guys — and that’s assuming that he did not work on his handling as much as the rest of the NBA’s guards. It’s just as likely, to my mind, that he just has a lower ceiling than the league’s best.
Well, if you’re thinking about a future without Kanter (and KP as he has been) you need to at least think about finding some more rebounding. That’s generally up to the bigs, and it would be nice if that person was also a decent post defender. But sure, three-point shooting and three-point defense both seem pretty important these days. Therefore, we should probably be happy to have either Mikal or Carter fall to us.
That being said, I don’t think anyone’s happy with KP or Burke as the primary scorer/distributor, so why not swing for the fences on a player who has that kind of upside like Porter or Young?
What I’m basically saying is that I have no idea what they should do in this draft lol.
I know it’s sloppy to compare Giannis with Frank. I do, however, believe that the former provides a model for how the forward can move forward as a “point forward” type player. He has a terribly high and loose handle but uses his wingspan and long stride to great effect.
Teaching a guy how to dribble (who has always been a guard so dribbling is a part of his DNA) has always been possible. It’s why KP has a crossover that he didn’t have coming into the league. You probably can’t turn a guy into an elite dribbler, but working on your handle is a thing people do. I think the best course of action with Frank Ntilikina is to play him at the 2 but in two point guard sets with a lot of ball movement. He’s a more athletic version of the 2013 Jason Kidd, and from all accounts he has the vision and IQ to do it. Get wings in the draft this year and then target Darius Garland in the 2019 NBA Draft to play with Frank for the next decade.
Frank is going to be 7’1″ and the best dribbling PG in the league with the highest FG%. That was the plan all along.
A few notable guys who improved their handles since coming into the league include Beal, Derozan, Griffin, Oladipo, Gary Harris and Mccollum.
He won’t be CP3 or Kyrie with his handles but those guys are the top tier in the history of the league.
We should draft the best player available at #9. Now if we only knew who that was. 🙂
Leonard and Paul George are two more that come to mind. I’d even put Curry on the list but hos handles were. Good to begin with but he went from good to elite.
Frank needs to get his handle to a level similar to a guy like Iguodala, if that happens it should be fine. In fact, if he becomes a Iguodala type player, NOT BECOMES IGUODALA OK Z-MAN, it would be a pretty good scenario.
I doubt he’ll ever be strong as Iggy is, but he’s the same size, has a similar wingspan and projects at least to be a bit better of a 3pt shooter. If that happens he’s a pretty valuable player on a good team.
The problem with drafting guys like Frank who are so young is that they just don’t have the reps they need yet. And when you get a guy like Horny who won’t just give a kid on a crap team tons of minutes, their growth kind of gets stunted (or slowed at best.)
Z-Man was right about one thing: Frank probably would’ve been better off starting in the GLeague and playing 30-plus minutes a game, just soaking up knowledge.
I kind of like that Iggy comparison. He’s probably not going to become a super high usage scorer, but I could see him becoming an Iggy caliber scorer with a better 3 point shot and with similar play making and defensive ability. I would take that all day every day. He has to get stronger.
@30
I’m not sure how much of his minute allocation was related to his standing on the team with Hornacek vs. knee issues early in the season and just wanting to increase his minutes slowly so it didn’t put too much strain on his body and wear him down. I’m not sure how much of it was true, but he was supposedly wearing down from the travel and minutes as they started increasing.
Frank is still younger than most first rounders coming in. Patience with him can not be stressed enough.
The best thing about guys like Iggy is that they always get underpaid since they don’t put up a ton of points.
LOL so Colangelo’s wife is now taking the fall for his tweets? Oh boy.
I still like the Ron Harper comp, which I think I made a while back also. And I still think he will be a premier perimeter defender in years to come. No one will be excited to be defended by him. I think he figures out how to be adequate on offense too. We shall see. It tKes a lot of guys his age 3 years to figure things out.
I don’t think Iggy has been underpaid considering his 1st deal was under the old cap and his current deal is fair given his age.
In those videos Frank’s handle is still not good. He’s at least two years away.
That said, the shooting form still looks very good to me. And he was draining 3s in a row, no cuts to the video, so it seems legit – and matches what we heard about him before last season.
So he won’t be there as a PG yet, but I bet his TS% will be significantly higher.
I can see the similarities between Frank and Iggy on defense but on the offensive side they are two completely different players.
Iggy spent his whole career exploding to the rim and dunking on everybody. I just can’t see this in Frank. Like ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpL3I-Ru9O8
Oh, for sure, young Iguodala was a much more explosive player. I was thinking mostly of his Golden State years, where he became this secondary handler who always draws the toughest assignment 1 through 3 on defense. Iggy is 6’6″ with a 6’11” wingspan which is Frank’s size if he did grow an inch.
I mean, he should be at least as good as Dejounte Murray, who everyone seems to love at age 21. Hopefully, he can be better.
Phil was many things but a guy who’d go low ceiling like Old Man Ron Harpers with the 8th overall pick is not what I believe would have been his aim. IMO, whether right, wrong or completely misguided, he thought Frank had Pippen potential. Given the stuff about his growth and that his frame seems able and willing to take on added muscle, I think it’s very likely that was his aim. That so many on the board here so Iggy as a stylistic comparison speaks to that.
He was never brought in to become decrepit Ron Harper.
More fuel for the LBJ MJ fire
https://twitter.com/ElGee35/status/1003089443773820928?s=19
Yeah, but PEDs