Knicks Morning News (2018.06.28)

  • [SNY Knicks] Former teammate on LeBron James to Knicks: ‘Best place for the king is in Gotham City’
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 1:36:15 PM)

    Count Ray Allen among those who think LeBron James should take his talents to Madison Square Garden.

  • [SNY Knicks] Knicks’ Enes Kanter tabs apprentice — if he doesn’t opt out
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 12:41:12 PM)

    If Enes Kanter stays a Knick, he knows exactly who he will mentor next season.

  • [SNY Knicks] Enes Kanter says ‘it’s Knicks first’ in deciding where to play next season
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 10:50:07 AM)

    Enes Kanter has until Friday to decide whether or not he wishes to opt out of his deal with the Knicks. But the addition of head coach David Fizdale may entice him to stay.

  • [NYDN] Ghosts in the Queens machine: Rep. Joe Crowley’s profiteering political partners
    (Thursday, June 28, 2018 2:00:00 AM)

    The national implications of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s primary victory over Rep. Joe Crowley are easy to discern. A former organizer with the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, she’s part of a rising tide of progressive millennial activists who are bringing their hopes, values and organizing…

  • [NYDN] Teen convicted for widespread bomb threats at Jewish community centers
    (Thursday, June 28, 2018 1:55:00 AM)

    The American-Israeli hacker who terrorized dozens of Jewish community centers across the United States has been found guilty.

    The defendant, an 18-year-old dual citizen at the time of his arrest last year and unidentified because he was a minor when some of the crimes were committed, was convicted…

  • [NYDN] The two faces of Janus: The Supreme Court overreaches on union politics
    (Thursday, June 28, 2018 1:00:00 AM)

    The Supreme Court’s Janus ruling, which bars compulsory fees to unions from government workers, deals a serious blow to the power of organized labor, period.

    The decision will leave workers and their representatives the poorer by forcing them to forgo funding from those who do not voluntarily choose…

  • [NYDN] Mexican TV host apologizes for racist gesture against Koreans
    (Thursday, June 28, 2018 12:30:00 AM)

    A Mexican television host sullied his country’s joy at progressing to the next round of the World Cup with a racist gesture towards the nation that helped it get there.

    Mexico advanced to the round of 16 in the tournament on Wednesday despite an uninspired 3-0 drubbing by Sweden because South Korea…

  • [NYDN] Readers sound off on the NYPD Trial Room, immigrants and Sandy Alderson
    (Thursday, June 28, 2018 12:00:00 AM)

    Bring justice to NYPD Trial Room

    Purdys, N.Y.: Mary Jo White has a stellar reputation for integrity, as do her colleagues Robert Capers and Barbara Jones, who will all be reviewing the actions in the kangaroo court called the NYPD Trial Room (“3 ex-fed bigs on panel to review NYPD discipline,”…

  • [NYDN] Woman charged with killing 3 young sons fights court order to undergo psychiatric test
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 11:30:00 PM)

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio woman accused of suffocating her three young sons over a 13-month period has appealed a court order that she undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

    At issue is whether a confession made by defendant Brittany Pilkington can be used at her trial.

    The Bellefontaine (behl-FOWN’-tihn)…

  • [NYDN] Naked, unarmed man dies after police officers take him into custody
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 11:15:00 PM)

    McLEAN, Va. — An unarmed, naked man died after an encounter with police in northern Virginia in which the man was trying to hurt himself, authorities said Wednesday.

    Fairfax County Police said Wednesday that 31-year-old Christopher Paul of Alexandria was pronounced dead at a hospital after becoming…

  • [NYDN] U.S., UK crews join Thailand’s search for boys’ soccer team missing inside rain-flooded cave
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 10:55:00 PM)

    MAE SAI, Thailand — A U.S. military team and British cave experts joined the rescue effort in northern Thailand for 12 boys and their soccer coach missing for five days inside a cave being flooded by near-constant rains.

    A Thai army general coordinating the rescue said Thursday morning that overnight…

  • [NYDN] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning victory emboldens left as Democrats eye new identity
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 10:00:00 PM)

    NEW YORK — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez surprised herself. And a lot of other people, too.

    The 28-year-old liberal activist, who worked as a bartender at times last year, knocked off the No. 4 House Democrat Tuesday in New York City. And in so doing, the former Bernie Sanders campaign organizer threw…

  • [NYDN] North Carolina GOP withdraws support for legislative candidate linked to website that says ‘God is a racist white supremacist’
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 9:40:00 PM)

    RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Republican Party has withdrawn support from a legislative nominee after a website connected to him said God is a racist white supremacist and Jews are descended from Satan.

    The News & Observer of Raleigh reported the party announced Tuesday it will not support…

  • [NYDN] Scarlett Johansson trashes ‘demeaning,’ ‘crazy’ claim she auditioned to date Tom Cruise
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 9:40:00 PM)

    Scarlett Johansson made sure her message wasn’t lost in translation.

    The “Avengers” actress didn’t mince words when rebuking a former Scientologist’s claim Wednesday that she auditioned to date Tom Cruise following his split from Nicole Kidman.

    “The very idea of any person auditioning to be in…

  • [NYDN] Matthew Heimbach too busy binging ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ to return to white nationalist activism after jail time
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 9:35:00 PM)

    After spending more than a month in a Kentucky lock-up, white nationalist Matthew Heimbach is too busy binge-watching “The Handmaid’s Tale” to return to politics.

    The ex-Traditionalist Workers Party boss kicked off his first week of freedom by firing up the dystopian series, according to the Southern…

  • [NYDN] Amazon vans may soon be delivering packages to shoppers
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 9:35:00 PM)

    SEATTLE — Your Amazon packages, which usually show up in a UPS truck, an unmarked vehicle or in the hands of a mail carrier, may soon be delivered from an Amazon van.

    The online retailer, wanting more control over how its packages are delivered, is rolling out a program Thursday that lets entrepreneurs…

  • [NYDN] Ackert: Snarky skipper Mickey Callaway should be under the microscope after mismanaging bullpen in awful Mets’ loss
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 9:20:00 PM)

    Maybe the Mets should be managing by committee, too.

    Wednesday night, in the first game under the Mets’ new general manager triumvirate, Mickey Callaway not only mismanaged his bullpen, he then was condescending when explaining just how he blew it.

    Slow to recognize that Jeurys Familia, on the…

  • [NYDN] Benefits of two-way toll on Verrazano Bridge shown in study
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 9:05:00 PM)

    Bumper-to-bumper jams drive people crazy. But more than 200 cars could be taken off traffic-choked Canal St. if congestion pricing and a two-way toll on the Verrazano Bridge were in place, according to a study released Thursday.

    The report from Sam Schwartz Engineering, commissioned by the Hudson…

  • [NYDN] ‘Flip or Flop’ star Christina El Moussa gets her own HGTV series, ‘Christina on the Coast’
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 8:45:00 PM)

    Christina El Moussa has flipped her way into a solo show.

    The “Flip or Flop” star has launched her own design series on HGTV, “Christina on the Coast,” the network announced Wednesday.

    “Design is my favorite part of the house-flipping process, and I can’t wait to be able to now work directly with…

  • [NYDN] SEE IT: Daring squirrel steals doughnut from police
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 8:45:00 PM)

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Police in Anchorage, Alaska, are on the lookout for a squirrel that made off from their parking lot with a doughnut.

    In a video posted on the department’s Facebook page on Sunday, the squirrel is seen with what appears to be a glazed doughnut clenched in its teeth as it runs…

  • [NYDN] Jeurys Familia implodes in Mets loss one day after blowup at Pirates’ Josh Harrison
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 8:40:00 PM)

    On Tuesday, Jeurys Familia lost his cool. A night later he lost the ballgame.

    A day after he barked at the Pirates’ Josh Harrison for his takeout slide into Asdrubal Cabrera which caused the benches clear, Familia couldn’t get an out Wednesday with a two-run lead, giving up three singles and a…

  • [NYDN] Luis Severino, who’s faced Red Sox twice this season, will start against rivals in Yankee Stadium matchup on Sunday night
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 8:25:00 PM)

    PHILADELPHIA – Luis Severino has said he isn’t scared of any team, and he’ll get another shot against the Red Sox on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

    “I think that’s fair to say that we want him to go against Boston,” Aaron Boone said of Severino, who will be making that start on regular rest. “I’m…

  • [NYDN] Widespread danger of gang violence hits home in the Bronx
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 8:00:00 PM)

    Angel Rosario of West Farms, the Bronx, knows the brutality of gang violence.

    In January 2017, Cindy Diaz, the mother of Rosario’s four children, was an innocent victim, fatally shot by a stray bullet in the middle of a gang dispute.

    “A guy was trying to shoot another guy and missed him and got…

  • [NYDN] Montana woman armed with machete forces terrified ex-boyfriend to have sex
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 7:50:00 PM)

    GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Investigators in Montana say a woman armed with a machete broke into her ex-boyfriend’s home, ordered him to undress and continued to have sex with him even after he tried to get her to stop.

    KFBB-TV reports Samantha Mears is accused of breaking into the man’s Great Falls home…

  • [NYDN] Mets bullpen collapses in ninth, spoils Zack Wheeler’s stellar outing in 5-3 loss to Pirates
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 7:15:00 PM)

    One of Zack Wheeler’s best starts of the season was wasted by Jeurys Familia.

    The Mets closer was downright disastrous in the ninth inning when called upon to shut the door with a two-run lead, giving up three singles and a walk before being pulled with the bases loaded and no outs. Anthony Swarzak,…

  • [NYDN] North Carolina woman tried to poison sons with lighter fluid in their soda: police
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 7:05:00 PM)

    FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina woman has been arrested and is accused of trying to poison her two sons with cream soda laced with lighter fluid.

    The Fayetteville Observer reports 34-year-old Octavia Latosh Robinson of Fayetteville has been charged with two counts each of distributing food…

  • [NYDN] ‘Girls & Boys’ review: Carey Mulligan’s must-see Off-Broadway triumph
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 7:00:00 PM)

    The less said about “Girls & Boys” and its star Carey Mulligan the better — and that’s the opposite of a dis

    One reason for being tight-lipped that this play from London at the Minetta Lane Theatre by Tony winner Dennis Kelly (“Matilda The Musical”) goes to unexpected places. No one should spoil…

  • [NYDN] Trump disses Rep. Joe Crowley, who ‘got his ass kicked by a young woman’ in Democratic primary
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 6:55:00 PM)

    President Trump keeps punching defeated Rep. Joe Crowley while he’s down, this time to supporters at a North Dakota campaign-style rally.

    The gloater-in-chief jabbed the 10-term Bronx-Queens lawmaker for losing the Democratic nomination while bragging that a handful of his endorsed candidates —…

  • [NYTimes] With Business Booming, the N.B.A. Extends Adam Silver’s Contract
    (Thursday, June 28, 2018 2:10:19 AM)

    The league’s commissioner, who secured a huge TV deal and negotiated a labor agreement with the player’s union, was given five more years at the helm.

  • [NYPost] MSG Company may spin off Knicks, Rangers
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 6:32:50 PM)

    The Madison Square Garden Company is exploring a possible spin-off that would create a separately traded public company made up of its sports franchises, including the Knicks and Rangers. The other half of the company would be comprised of a live entertainment business that includes venues, MSG and its Hulu theater, Radio City Music Hall,…

  • [NYPost] Enes Kanter clue: Ready to mentor Knicks ‘athletic’ rookie
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 7:23:18 AM)

    Enes Kanter said he wouldn’t mind being a mentor to new Knicks rookie center Mitchell Robinson, who was drafted Thursday in the second round with the 36th pick. Kanter, who will decide Friday on whether he will opt into the final, $18.6 million year of his Knicks contract, sounded like he’ll eventually be teammates with…

  • [NY Newsday] MSG Company may spin off Knicks, Rangers
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 6:32:50 PM)

    The Madison Square Garden Company is exploring a possible spin-off that would create a separately traded public company made up of its sports franchises, including the Knicks and Rangers. The other half of the company would be comprised of a live entertainment business that includes venues, MSG and its Hulu theater, Radio City Music Hall,…

  • [NY Newsday] Enes Kanter clue: Ready to mentor Knicks ‘athletic’ rookie
    (Wednesday, June 27, 2018 7:23:18 AM)

    Enes Kanter said he wouldn’t mind being a mentor to new Knicks rookie center Mitchell Robinson, who was drafted Thursday in the second round with the 36th pick. Kanter, who will decide Friday on whether he will opt into the final, $18.6 million year of his Knicks contract, sounded like he’ll eventually be teammates with…

  • 125 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.06.28)”

    Sittin here thinkin about the Kawhi sitchew led me to thinking about our KP sitchew- as in would I trade him for Kawhi, and how KP fits in as our top option. To be honest, as much as I love Kawhi, I’m not sure I’d rather have him over KP because KP is such a matchup nightmare. It’s 50-50 for me.

    In today’s game, does KP fit as a PF? Can he be what we need him to be playing there full time? Hell no. We need him to be our best scorer, defender, and rebounder. He can’t do that in today’s league from the PF spot. He’s just not built that way. I don’t want to compare him to AD, but I think what he did at C last season is a decent reference point for KP. This isn’t the era Ewing played in, so KP won’t be physically tested as much. Combine that with the fact that at C, he won’t be chasing small ball 4’s around alot or even guarding players smaller and more mobile than him consistently. I believe there are no full time Centers that can matchup with KP. KAT maybe, but I don’t think he’s good enough defensively to do it. Of course he’ll give KP fits on offense- that goes without a doubt. Chasing guys and guarding the perimeter is not maximizing what KP can do. Sure, he’s not very physical, but where are you gonna find mobile 5’s who rebound and defend and shoot well enough to not clog the offense? Getting them at the price you want is damn near a lost cause. So KP needs to be the 5 or he needs to be traded. We cannot build around him as a PF.

    Man – PG is opting out, making LBJ+PG +/- Kawhi to the Lakers a bit more of a possibility.

    Rumor is that LA is looking for a good 1st round pick to send to the Spurs. Rumor also is that the Spurs have zero interest in Lonzo, and you have to believe that Lebron wants no part of dealing with Lavar Ball.

    Would anyone here trade a, say, top 5 protected 1st for Lonzo?
    It could be something easy like Mudiay + Trey Burke (or other minimum filler)+ 1st for Lonzo.

    Also this story of Becky Hammon becoming the top assistant for the Spurs is really interesting considering Pop is probably going to retire relatively soon. Seems the perfect (and most likely) organization to have the 1st female head coach.

    “Would anyone here trade a, say, top 5 protected 1st for Lonzo?”
    The Lakers should be giving up a 1st, not getting one, for the opportunity to dump Lonzo’s father.

    I’ve shifted my position somewhat in regards to talent. The nba is such a top talent driven league that your only hope is getting a superstar. By superstar I mean a statistically-proven superstar. Does Cleveland without LeBron, or GSW without Durant+Curry, the Rockets without Harden+CP3 make it that far without their superstars? No. Yes you need the great value contracts that overproduce, but if you have five starters that are value contracts, you end up with Toronto.

    Maybe this isn’t a world-beating revelation to anyone else, actually. But to me it means a teams job is to keep swinging for the fences with drafts, trades, pickups. You need a top ten player or two to make it anywhere. Luck, smarts, opportunity cost. So maybe it would make sense as a GM to give up almost anyone for a top pick, to send away anyone with a low ceiling for Lonzo who may end up more than he was, to give up the farm for certain players not named Melo. Maybe that Melo trade was a good one if it was for anyone but Melo in his “tier.” I mean, imagine it was for Paul George, and then we signed someone like DeAndre Jordan not Amare. Right?

    I’ll take Lonzo for a top 3 protected any day of the week. He was #2 pick and did not disappoint in his rookie year.

    Feel bad for Kanter cause I really like him as a Knick. Plays hurt and truly cares about winning. It’s just the timing is bad.

    Like that really nice boyfriend you meet in your freshman year of college, has his shit together, good character, protects family, tough, sweet and your family loves him….but you’re just not ready for him.

    Lonzo is the next Jason Kidd. Him, Frank and KP would be a hell of a core to build around.

    Stratomatic "Porzingis, Ntilikina, and Knox are going to lead us to the promised land"says:

    Yes you need the great value contracts that overproduce, but if you have five starters that are value contracts, you end up with Toronto.

    The question is how do you get those superstars you need to win a title?

    1. You can get one real star in the draft fairly easily by tanking far enough, but then it gets more difficult. Once you have the first one and start accumulating other assets, the team starts getting better quickly. So unless there are injuries that allow you stay REALLY bad for a longer period of time (like the 76ers, Spurs to get Duncan), it gets tougher to get that 2nd one.

    2. Another possibility is getting a little lucky in the draft and getting a real star outside the top few picks or being part of a really deep draft that offers several right after you got the first one . You want to be good at recognizing underrated talent in the draft, but good fortune is not really a strategy.

    3. Another possibility accumulating value contracts and/or picks and then trading them to a team with an unhappy star that wants to leave or that wants to team up with another star (Rockets, Heat, Celtics and others).

    To me, option #3 is the best way to go, but only after you’ve successfully executed option #1. You should probably tank and get that first star in the draft, then hope you get lucky and get another one as you start adding pieces and improving, and then slowly accumulate assets and undervalued contracts hoping for an opportunity to roll them up into another star (celtics, rockets).

    That’s sort of what we did. We tanked into KP & are currently adding quality pieces while trying to get better. We screwed up some of the details along the way & overpaid here or there, but in “general” we are on the right path. We have to hope to ether get lucky with one of our drafts (Knox/Frank) or ultimately as we accumulate more assets we are going use them to get another star.

    That’s sort of what we did.

    That’s the problem right there. They only sort of tanked, when they should have outright tanked. Right back at the time of Mega Max Melo. Had they done so then, the team would be in so much better shape now.

    The damage done then was significant enough that even if Perry is competent, it’s going to take a whole lot of luck for this to work out any time soon.

    This is decent young talent for Fizdale to grow, develop and get in the 2020 playoffs. Then we strong young core with at least one All-Star player and become a very attractive situation to sign a top 10 player when we actually have plenty of cap space and LBJ, Durant etc..are slowly sun-setting.

    Lonzo, Trey Burke
    Frank/Timmy/Dotson
    Lee/Knox/ Timmy/Dotson
    KP/Knox/Lance
    Kanter/Noah/Robinson/KP

    I love the instant offense Burke and Timmy would bring off the bench playing against reserve players.

    If Kanter opts out we’ll get our first real glimpse of what Perry is all about. Will he use the cap space to sign a 3rd tier “star”? Will he use it to acquire picks?

    If we have cap space, I don’t think it would be ridiculous to use it in this year when there are very few teams with real space, and even the full MLE might not be that available due to luxury tax concerns. In addition, giving the room exception out, which is not that big a contract, might be a reasonable thing to do too.

    For instance, I wonder whether Marcus Smart will get any offer greater than the MLE-level contract. I think he’s a great player that is about 3-4% away from being a good enough 3 point shooter that he needs to be respected, and who has gone 25->28->30% the last 3 seasons from 3. If you could get him on a $10MM AAV contract I think that would be a steal, and given Boston’s impending $ crunch might be something they don’t match. Seriously, a Smart/Ntilikina/KP defensive core could be extremely fun (it might also never score, but whatever).

    But yeah, they should definitely not be giving a $15MM contract to someone like Jabari Parker, who doesn’t play defense and is a walking injury risk.

    Generally speaking, I agree with Frank’s point above. We should be preserving cap space and thinking long term. But if there were an opportunity now to get someone who could be a bargain down the road and he fit into our timeline, that’s something we ought to consider.

    Along those lines… what do you think about Noel? The kid is still 24 years old and even playing garbage minutes last year he still put up 12.8 rebounds, 2.4 steals, and 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes. If we’re taking swings on young guys, he’s arguably as good or better a bet as our last two lottery picks. And he’s got a much higher probability (i.e. greater than zero) of coming good than Mudiay .

    Let’s say we offered him two years at the full mid-level ($8mm/year) with a team option for year 3. Would that be too risky? Not enough?

    If Kanter cared about winning he’d learn to stop a damn pick and roll. He needs to leave so we can go get RJ Barrett.

    #6 nice summary of Enes. The guy really is terrific as a person. He’s someone you root for, especially in this political climate. He speaks truth to power. He’s an outspoken exile from Erdogan’s Turkey. It’s a shame he can’t guard anyone. Offensively he’s very good. Imagine him on GSW in Zaza’s role. Walk away and don’t look back, Enes…don’t look back.

    Meanwhile, we have worse problems. He’s a giant expiring deal. That’s not a problem. That’s the opposite of a problem, as long as we don’t flip him for an actual problem.

    I think the Knicks are more or less on track right now. Even if they keep the vets and play them there’s every chance that it won’t equate to the always feared “meaningless win”. Without KP the Knicks really can’t beat anyone. I don’t think there’s any team against whom we’d be favored with a starting 5 of Burke, TH2, Lee, Kanter, O’Quinn. I know those last two are 5’s…Who’s our 4 when we go to a ‘veteran lineup”? Then again, two of them are 2’s as well…So, yeah, they may seem “good” but almost every other team can beat that.

    So, yeah, prudent at this juncture to just sit out FA and let the tankathon begin. Let KP come back 100% even if it takes all season. Plan on KP + high 2019 pick + whatever we presently have becoming the core of a decent team. As contracts sunset, spend wisely on FA’s. No home run moves until 2020. I can wait. I’ve been waiting and two whole fucking seasons seems reasonable considering I’ve been waiting since Chris Childs was traded away for Mark Jackson’s second tenure.

    Meanwhile, I always feel this way at the end of June. Then the team makes some kind of “splash” which sets us back yet again.

    Julius Randle averaged 22/11/3.5 per 36 a with .606 TS% on 25% usage. He doesn’t shoot 3s effectively and has very poor block and steal numbers; I have no idea how he is defensively other than that. He’s still only 23. He’s the type of player I’d target in this market. He’s a restricted FA – LA offered him a 5.5 mil QO.

    @13

    I would totally offer Noel that contract. He’s still 24 and was showing some level of real improvement and production before all the shitstorm started, and a 2 year contract would expire together with Lance, Lee and Noah to keep cap space for the 2020-21 season. I have no idea if he would accept it or what his perceived value is though, but I would be on board with this gamble if he’s healthy and mentally willing to do it.

    But this is all based on Kanter opting out, which he isn’t going to do, right?

    For me, there is a couple of players I’d target this year.
    I’d sign one of:
    Randle – up to 3 years $40m
    Hezonja – up to 3 years 15m
    Noel – up to 3 years – 30m

    They are all young and after signing them we could still open up a max contract next year if we move Lee and stretch Noah so it doesn’t shut the door on a splashy move next summer.

    @5 & @8 Re: Team Building, we do have one major advantage. Any star would want to come here IF they see we’ve got it together.

    So for us, I think lining up quality cost controlled talent is absolutely the way to go. Build the cake, leave cap enough cap room for the icing, and we’ll get it. Because unlike Toronto, players want to be here. They just don’t want to be here when we’re shit. Our problem is we always go straight for the icing when there’s no cake to put it on top of! “We’ll build the cake later” is not a sales pitch that works for us.

    This is why nailing that #9 pick was so crucial, and why I’d have rather gone with the guy most likely to be good (Bridges) than the guy with the higher ceiling in Knox.

    And it’s also why KP’s contract extension is huge. He’s not a super max player. We have to pay him like a strong #2. If he’s our 2, and Frank, Knox, and our 2019 pick develop into a solid 3, 4, and 5 on rookie deals, it will be easy to attract whoever the superstar free agent du jour is in 2020 or 2021, whether it’s Anthony Davis, Giannis, Harden. We can’t go blowing our max spot on fake #1s like Kyrie. That’s the mistake we made with Melo.

    Oh yeah, that has always been a major advantage that the Knicks have had (the ability to get good players to sign here to play for a good Knicks team), an advantage that they’ve squandered for…hmmm…22 years or so? Allan Houston coming to the New York was the last time I think they got a notable player to come to the Knicks based on the whole “Come to New York to play on a good Knick team” approach.

    And Allan Houston wasn’t even that good. Ugh.

    The sky opens up if Kanter opts out. The extra 18.5 in cap space allows the prospect of renting it for the cost of an unprotected 1st and dumping Noah.

    Between the cap space and Noah minus the unprotected 1st runs about 37-40 MM in expiring contracts the team can take back. The trade might need to be a 3-way, but there are plenty of playoff teams in the 5th to 16th best range that are looking to improve via free agency that it could work.

    I too like Kanter, but if he opts out, the found-money that is the Melo deal becomes even more so.

    That said, if he opts in, I’m curious if Fizdale can build an effective defense WITH a Kanter that also hits 3’s. Cuz a Kanter that D’s and hits 3’s could well be with his contract.

    I really really hope Perry has the foresight to hold off on the big FA splash(es) until 2020. The books will be much cleaner then without needing to stretch anyone, we’ll have a better picks, and we will also have the ability to take on bad salary to get another couple assets. I guess if Kyrie is healthy and wants to come here that that would be worth doing, but I’d hate to see a repeat of 2010 when we struck out with LBJ and the rest, ending up with Amare and Felton.

    re KP’s extension – I would be very happy if we signed him to a Giannis / Gobert-type contract – ie. 4 years $100MM but I guess that’s not likely. Even if we just started him at $25MM rather than $27MM that would be significant savings across the life of the extension.

    I like the Knicks’ current plan to not compromise 2019 cap space, and I’d probably do whatever it took to get rid of Joakim Noah, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Courtney Lee without taking back salary.

    I wonder if Cleveland would trade us George Hill for TH2. He’s young and half decent and Cleveland has Sexton to man the point guard position. We need that Hill contract so we can decline his team option.

    Stratomatic "Porzingis, Ntilikina, and Knox are going to lead us to the promised land"says:

    That’s the problem right there. They only sort of tanked, when they should have outright tanked. Right back at the time of Mega Max Melo. Had they done so then, the team would be in so much better shape now.

    We did outright tank in the way I am describing. We traded virtually everyone away and Melo sat out much of the season. That’s how we got Porzingis. Maybe we could have done a slightly better job of tanking in the last few games and gotten Towns or made better long term trades, but we also could have wound up with Okafor or Russell instead. They have been huge disappointments so far.

    Fortunately we probably got the 2nd best player in that draft.

    Had we missed though, then we would have stunk again. But we didn’t have our own pick for 2016 anyway. So tanking would not have helped. At best we could have gotten some assets and a weaker pick for Melo, which again starts making you better and taking you out of the superstar part of the lottery.

    Improving is a process no matter what you do. The only real way to short circuit that process is to get unlucky (or lucky depending on how you see it) with injuries and stay in the high end of the lottery longer than you should have, get lucky with a lower pick, or simply win a lot of trades and accumulate very good assets faster.

    We clearly made some strategic errors. We have to execute better. But we are not positioned poorly.

    @19

    I like Randle a lot but I think he’ll make a lot more money than this, it just takes one big offer.

    The Nets are interested in Hezonja it seems, their plan is just to collect every 2015 high draft pick and see what happens? We should offer them Mudiay so they get closer to completing the collection (and then KP for 3 first rounders).

    Jokes aside, depending on the price Hezonja is a good gamble, he improved a lot last season and he played for the franchise that probably has the worst young player development in the entire league, so there might be something there.

    This is all what I am talking about. DON’T go for the George Hills of the world. Sure, swing with a Randle, Hezonja, etc., type young player. Because until you have those statistical superstars, you’re fucked. I mean, what’s George Hill gonna get you?

    Also, when was the last time the Knicks signed or traded for a top-tier real superstar in free agency? Bernard King 36 years ago?? Earl Monroe 47 years ago??

    I would have to consider a Lonzo for top 3 protected 2019 pick trade. We could also sign/trade an opted in Kanter so SA could have his expiring. Maybe LA could take Lance too for our trouble?

    There’d be 0 protections on any pick going to LA in exchange for Lonzo. Dude put up a terrific rookie season on both ends and is looking like the reincarnation of Jason Kidd. Unless we were literally the only team who could make Kawhi to LA a reality, which we aren’t.

    There’d be 0 protections on any pick going to LA in exchange for Lonzo. Dude put up a terrific rookie season on both ends and is looking like the reincarnation of Jason Kidd. Unless we were literally the only team who could make Kawhi to LA a reality, which we aren’t.

    yeah, except the Lakers may be over a barrel trying to get Kawhi so we would have leverage, and in order for us to feel pressured to make the pick totally unprotected, there would have to be another team with a pick that is likely to be as bad as ours who is willing to make the trade who also needs a point guard. Not that easy to find that team.

    Brooklyn might do it, except they finally will have their own pick next year, hard to know if they would trade it away.

    Atlanta just drafted Trae Young.

    Boston (who owns Sac’s pick) isn’t going to faciliatate the Lakers making a Kawhi trade

    Phoenix woudl be a definite possibility

    I guess Orlando also.

    Had we missed though, then we would have stunk again. But we didn’t have our own pick for 2016 anyway. So tanking would not have helped. At best we could have gotten some assets and a weaker pick for Melo, which again starts making you better and taking you out of the superstar part of the lottery.

    If they had traded Chandler, Shumpert and Melo for picks when they should have, they still would have been bad in 2014-15, leading to them being right where they ended up being anyways (only on purpose rather than deciding to tank after losing 35 of their first 40 games. That was a bold move there. “I think we’re going to tank, now that we’re 5-35”), then they wouldn’t have made dumb free agent signings and used their cap space to get more picks, so they would still have been bad in 2015-16 and 2016-17 to where they would have ended up with a high pick in 2017 and then, this past season, they would have had a young team already with a bunch of age appropriate players and been roughly five steps ahead of where this current team is last year, with tons and tons of cap space. They could have added a star last year. Hell, they might have had the assets to get Kyrie Irving!

    The key to tanking is simply to get rid of all veterans (you can keep one or two cheap ones for “leadership” if really want, but that’s probably not necessary). The Knicks didn’t do that. The Thunder had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and still drafted #3, because a team of young players, even future Hall of Famers, are still going to be bad for a couple of years. Without their 2016 pick, the Knicks could have easily been really bad in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Just like they were anyways, only with a point.

    There’d be 0 protections on any pick going to LA in exchange for Lonzo.

    Almost certainly not. So the question is, is the guarantee of Lonzo more valuable than the hypothetical of getting RJ Barrett? Is the guarantee of Lonzo worth that unprotected pick plus anything else of value?

    A Lonzo/Frank backcourt would be amazing in terms of defense and court vision, a work in progress in terms of shooting.

    Lonzo is a better prospect than anyone in next year’s draft imo. You do the trade.

    Seeing as the Knicks will probably fail at tanking again next season by overutilizing veterans and the usual shit we know it’s bound to happen, I would probably just take Lonzo. Lavar would be a major pain to deal with but it’s improbable we’ll get a top 3 pick next season and then there should be nobody more promising than Lonzo available after that.

    He made a TON of mistakes. He thought he could do a half rebuild/half compete thing and was so arrogant thinking he could change Melo with the Triangle.

    I can’t say I agree with this. First, it makes it sound as if jacksons purpose was to fix melo. Second, he did fix melo incorrectly, but that fell by the wayside. Anyway Rui Hachimura is interesting.

    The knicks shouldn’t be tanking, that’s not the purpose of the game. The purpose is to win.

    The knicks shouldn’t be tanking, that’s not the purpose of the game. The purpose is to win.

    Please mark your posts with “/s” so we know when you’re being facetious.

    @36 This
    Between not tanking and Lady Luck not falling the Knicks way since oh about 1985, I agree it’s highly unlikely they’ll pick in the top 5 next year. So maybe they should consider that trade for Lonzo even though trading first round picks is a big part of why they’ve sucked for 2o years or so.

    Maybe they can stipulate that Lonzo comes with a restraining order preventing his father from coming east of the Mississippi.

    @Cock Jowles

    We have to let Fizdale cook before we know what this team is.

    If they want Timmy, next year’s pick, and any vet I’m all for the trade. No Frank or KP, Knox instead of the pick would be awesome, and if we can give them a 2020 pick instead, better. Lonzo is a sophomore who didn’t suck last year with great potential- take him.

    There’s this page on YouTube, xBGFx Films, that recently started posting Frank Ntilikina footage from the season against other rookie/all star guards. If you have some time to appreciate high IQ basketball (and really notice just how bad the rest of the team was in terms of IQ and defense), I suggest you give it a look. Here’s one link of Frank vs Rozier/Irving:

    https://youtu.be/2itbGdzaadc

    Z-Man…don’t sigh. Kanter opting in is a good thing ultimately.

    1. He’s immediately an expiring contract and not an unuseful one either. A playoff team could be looking for a bench big that can get buckets and rebounds. And who knows, maybe Fiz coaches him up a bit on D and ups his value before the deadline. And he’s gone next year for sure.

    2. We actually are thin up front. KQ may not be back. Noah I believe will be limited even if he does make a comeback which is slim. Robinson will not be ready to start. KP ain’t back till December at the earliest and he will be limited at first too. Hopefully KP is out longer than that. No need to rush him back.

    3. The mentor comment about Robinson. I mean actually the offensive game is probably where Robinson needs the most work. If some of his interior moves can rub off on Robinson while he’s here, that’s fine.

    4. I don’t believe Fiz will play him too many minutes at expense of the younger players.

    5. We aren’t tempted to overpay for a free agent this year. Maybe going after Randle would have been nice but really we need to chill on that front for a year.

    We have to let Fizdale cook before we know what this team is.

    Nevermind that he’s simmering a shit stew. Let the man cook!

    @46: Yeah, Kanter opting in is arguably better for this season than if he’d opted out, for all the reasons you enumerated. Plus, this: in a season when we likely (and hopefully) going to be awful, he’s both a fun player to watch on the court and a likable guy to have on the team.

    Nevermind that he’s simmering a shit stew. Let the man cook!

    Never seen a shit stew. How do you season it?

    Let’s hurry up and trade Lee with Kanter to Dallas so we can get the losing started.

    There’d be 0 protections on any pick going to LA in exchange for Lonzo.

    Why not?? I like Lonzo, but I wouldn’t give up an unprotected #1 for him.

    The whole reason LA is considering this move is that San Antonio doesn’t want Lonzo, so it’s not like he’s a slam dunk. There are real concerns about him. He still can’t shoot straight. His father is a problem that can’t be ignored. There’s no reason you can’t get some protection on that pick. I would make it top 6 protected in 2019, top 3 in 2020, unprotected in 2021.

    am i the only one who misses ‘ol reub 🙂

    always fun to have folks around whom purposely enjoy swimming against the current…

    oh well, at least this year hopefully we won’t win a ton of meaningless games before january, when we normally begin our annual dive to the bottom of the standings…

    pretty sure i’m opting out of the nba league pass this year…knox doesn’t quite motivate me enough to wanna watch a lot of losing basketball…

    although if we do stick with the young guys (a little scary hearing fizdale talk about “open” competition and having to “earn” minutes…which seems to read: lot’s of lee and kanter court time) – this team should be fun to watch at times…

    burke, williams, dotson, our boy frank, occasionally TH2, and, even kanter will be an enjoyable group to root for…can’t imagine though we’ll have more than 6 or so nationally televised games (including nba tv) throughout the season…

    1. He’s immediately an expiring contract and not an unuseful one either. A playoff team could be looking for a bench big that can get buckets and rebounds. And who knows, maybe Fiz coaches him up a bit on D and ups his value before the deadline. And he’s gone next year for sure.

    I’d rather he opted out so that we could a) use the cap space to absorb a contract and a pick/young promising player and b) find an undrafted FA or G-League call-up that would eat up minutes and either represent great value or more losses.

    2. We actually are thin up front. KQ may not be back. Noah I believe will be limited even if he does make a comeback which is slim. Robinson will not be ready to start. KP ain’t back till December at the earliest and he will be limited at first too. Hopefully KP is out longer than that. No need to rush him back.

    I’d rather give all of KP’s minutes to guys like Robinson and Hicks, plus whatever we can find on the waiver wire/G-League. There’s no positive to having Kanter on the floor at this time.

    3. The mentor comment about Robinson. I mean actually the offensive game is probably where Robinson needs the most work. If some of his interior moves can rub off on Robinson while he’s here, that’s fine.

    The way I see it, Robinson should be mentoring Kanter on D.

    4. I don’t believe Fiz will play him too many minutes at expense of the younger players

    Wanna bet?

    5. We aren’t tempted to overpay for a free agent this year. Maybe going after Randle would have been nice but really we need to chill on that front for a year.

    Sorta agree, but if cap space can that easily burn a hole in Perry’s pocket, he’s gonna f up the rebuild anyway. You never know when an actually good FA move will come along (even low $ moves) so it’s always good to have space.

    Never seen a shit stew. How do you season it?

    With the 2000-2018 New York Knicks’ seasons.

    “Never seen a shit stew. How do you season it?”

    “With the 2000-2018 New York Knicks’ seasons.”

    Not completely sure, but I think you add a giant dollop of Curry at some point…

    Oh yeah, that has always been a major advantage that the Knicks have had (the ability to get good players to sign here to play for a good Knicks team), an advantage that they’ve squandered for…hmmm…22 years or so? Allan Houston coming to the New York was the last time I think they got a notable player to come to the Knicks based on the whole “Come to New York to play on a good Knick team” approach.

    Yeah, and that was the summer of ‘96 when Shaq, Jordan, and Reggie Miller were all free agents. And the Knicks ended up with Allan Houston, who was two years removed from one of the worst rookie seasons in NBA history.

    @ 33 – its the past. let it go. focus on now!

    See, the point is that the past does matter, and the Knicks have continuously bet that the “allure” of NY is going to lure superstars, and they will probably make that bet again. It’s not a safe bet, even if the Knicks do make themselves attractive with talent (which is also not a very safe bet to make).

    “Never seen a shit stew. How do you season it?”

    “With the 2000-2018 New York Knicks’ seasons.”

    Not completely sure, but I think you add a giant dollop of Curry at some point…

    Chef JR Smith says make sure to add a generous amount of herb

    “Never seen a shit stew. How do you season it?”

    “With the 2000-2018 New York Knicks’ seasons.”

    Not completely sure, but I think you add a giant dollop of Curry at some point…”

    You people are the best

    Noel would be the perfect guy to pair up with KP at the 4. He rebounds, can defend the perimeter, blocks shots, forces turnovers, has great defensive versatility and doesn’t need the ball in his hands all that much.

    Noel would be the perfect guy to pair up with KP at the 4. He rebounds, can defend the perimeter, blocks shots, forces turnovers, has great defensive versatility and doesn’t need the ball in his hands all that much.

    In theory Noel is the perfect guy. But why did Philly trade him for virtually nothing, and then why did Dallas not play him much? (This is a serious question, not a snarky rhetorical one:)

    I’m definitely Noel curious, but the man is injured a lot. We could probably get him for cheap tho.

    Stratomatic "Porzingis, Ntilikina, and Knox are going to lead us to the promised land"says:

    The key to tanking is simply to get rid of all veterans (you can keep one or two cheap ones for “leadership” if really want, but that’s probably not necessary). The Knicks didn’t do that.

    This is NOT about Phil, his lack of assets, or the mistakes he made. We’ve debated that. Phil took over at the end of 13/14. He made some suspect moves for 14/15 and then realized he had a team full of pinheads and malcontents. He cleaned house and came away with Porzingis.

    IMO, the key to tanking is getting that first potential “star”. It’s not easy.

    After that, it’s hard to stay horrible long enough to pile up multiple “superstars” via draft. As soon as you get one you get better and even if you do stay horrible a little longer it’s still hard to select the second one. The way most teams rebuild successfully after the first one is by continuing to accumulate later lottery assets and either getting lucky (like with Frank or Knox) or after accumulating enough of them making a trade for the 2nd and 3rd star.

    You can always find exceptions like OKC, but this is about probabilities.

    If we had executed much better from 2013-2014 forward, we’d be further along now than we are, but we wouldn’t have gotten Frank or Knox because we would have been better.

    You can even say that about Knox and Bridges. If Knox stinks and Bridges turns out to be a very good player, then we screwed up again! However, we’ll get a better pick next year and have a shot at adding a better player than if we took Bridges. The system is quite efficient. It’s difficult to short circuit without luck, injuries, or winning trades.

    Well Z-Man…I tried.

    Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal either way, so long as we don’t sign him long term. I also like that Kanter, despite being a terrible defender, will mix it up when one of his boys gets dissed. I just think that the best outcome is for him to opt out.

    I hope Kanter opts in. The Knicks don’t need to spend any more than MLE money (if even that) on anyone this offseason.

    Kanter can “mentor” the draft picks best by just working hard, playing hard, being physical, etc. Both of the young bigs could profit just from seeing his work ethic. And, he might be an asset at the trade deadline. At worst, just let him play it out.

    As for seasoning a shit stew, not matter WHAT you season it with, it is still gonna taste like shit.

    The key to tanking is acquiring draft picks. If somebody other than the stupid mustachioed hippie had come in here and correctly said, “this team is bullshit, I’m completely dismantling it” and then tried to convert everything of value on the roster into future draft picks, we’d be better off. Instead that fuckwit decided he needed Jose Calderon and Arron Afflalo and Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Williams and Sam Dalembert and Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah to prove to the world how awesome the triangle offense is. So now we’re trying to rebuild with one #9 pick every year and it’s slow as shit and irritating. The end.

    Dear North Koreans,

    You’ve been whining about your starvation and torture for years. What does it matter that my father and grandfather made your lives miserable? That’s in the past! FOCUS ON THE FUTURE.

    Your beloved leader who bears no resemblance whatsoever to the leaders of the past,
    Kim Jong-un

    Assuming Kanter opts in, which is and always was the only sensible thing to do, I hope we buy him out as soon as the season goes south.

    @72.

    Why would we buy him out? His D is so bad, I don’t think he adds wins.

    Lonzo is a better prospect than anyone in next year’s draft imo. You do the trade.

    I’ve thought about it, and I agree. Especially with the flattening of the lottery odds, nothing is guaranteed next year despite how much we are likely to lose. And it does sound like a week draft class… Though that always seems to change once the draft gets closer.

    Either way, though, Frank, Lonzo, and Trey would make me pretty happy about our guards. We would need KP to come back healthy, and Knox to be something, but that would be a good start to a young core.

    And yes, Noel would seem perfect in that lineup.

    Here is a unicorn scenario:

    – Kanter opts out tonight at 8:00 PM.
    – By 10:00 PM we unload Noah, Lance and Lee to Dallas for an unprotected 2019 1st rounder and top three protected 2020 first rounder. Everyone goes nuts.
    – At 11:00 AM tomorrow, WOJ tweets both Durant and LBJ are coming to NY to play with KP, Frank and Timmy. The internet brakes and entire worlds goes dark for 24 hours.
    – By 6:00 PM we sign Kanter back with the full midlevel exception.

    – Dan Gilbert, Joe Lacob and Jeannie Buss claim collusion and petition to Silver to hire Thomas Mueller to conduct a thorough investigation. Magic Johnson immediate resigns and Lakers hire Phil Jackson.

    Fast forward to next June and NY defeats Houston in 5 games and wins a trophy.

    I’m sold on both the Lonzo and Noel scenarios. That’s a roster I would an actual interest in watching for once.
    I’d insist on top 1 protected though.

    Yeah, you for sure try to negotiate protection–or a non-2018 first rounder (since we’re guaranteed to be horrible next year)–I’m just not optimistic that LA would budge unless we were the only way they could get Kawhi.

    my guess is a crappy team with poor attendance wouldn’t mind the ball show and would do better than a top 6 protected. Hawks? Charlotte?

    or a non-2018 first rounder

    I’m all for trading our 2018 first round pick, if we can get them to go for it. 😉

    You don’t eat one of the shittiest contracts in the league in order to pave the way for the Lakers to sign their big 3 and vault themselves into contention without getting protection on the pick. I like Ball alot, but his dad IS an actual thing which factors into his value and everybody knows it.

    If we were to do this what would be nice about Frank and Lonzo together is the defensive versatility you’d have. I would be surprised if the Knicks weren’t a top 10 defensive unit at least when KP got back with those 2 in the mix. That said, I’m very skeptical this would happen.

    This is NOT about Phil, his lack of assets, or the mistakes he made. We’ve debated that. Phil took over at the end of 13/14. He made some suspect moves for 14/15 and then realized he had a team full of pinheads and malcontents. He cleaned house and came away with Porzingis.

    Phil Jackson was so sick of pinheads and malcontents he proceeded to use significant capital on noted non-pinhead Derrick Rose and noted “constantly content guy” Joakim Noah.

    Anyway, I think your premise is wrong and especially wrong as it relates to the Knicks. For the sake of argument, let’s say the Knicks landed their “star” in Porzingis in the 2015 draft. We didn’t have a pick in 2016 so while Jackson’s moves that summer were hilariously stupid for many reasons (opportunity cost), they didn’t effect us as it relates to the draft.

    Fast forward to 2017. For the first time since, I dunno, the Ford administration we have all our picks going forward. We have one highly intriguing young player and just about jackshit else besides a melting Carmelo Anthony. It was pretty much the ideal time to tank. If not for Lee, KOQ, Jennings, and to some extent Melo (Lee and Jennings were signed that offseason, KOQ easily could’ve been moved, and Melo could’ve either trudged along with a shitty team or accepted a trade) that team absolutely could have competed for a top 3 pick despite the fact that, in your framing, it had already landed its star.

    This is because in the Knicks case, Porzingis hadn’t developed to the extent that he was winning a lot of games by himself, and more generally speaking, one home run pick in the high lottery will rarely do so in his second season.

    Lakers reportedly trying to find a front office or coaching role for Kurt Rambis in their organisation. This is bigger news than anything Kawhi-related if you ask me.

    I might trade an unprotected future first for Ball but I’d have to think long and hard about it. Obviously he has to improve his shooting- if you were to play he and Frank together that might be the worst shooting backcourt in NBA history. Also- while his defensive stats were good, in games I watched L.A. tended put him on the worst player they could. Ingram and KCP played on the ball more than Ball did. Still a terrific rebounded and passer but J. Kidd without all-NBA defense isn’t J. Kidd. A lottery protected pick would be a no brainer, top five protected probably, unprotected I don’t know.

    I would trade an unprotected first for ball in a second. if it was #1 that would suck but that’s 14pct at most. The expected pick is 3.7 if you’re the worst team in the league next year, admittedly a reasonable life goal for us. But ball is better than 3.7 even with the circus.

    It was only December when a lot of people here thought kanter was gonna get minimum 25/100 and now we have a fake decision on his 99pct opt in for $18m. Thad Young just opted in for $13m.

    I would ask for a top-4 protection for any 1st I trade for Ball, but I would let that go for top-2 protected. I’d love to see Ball as the first competent Knicks’ PG since Chauncey, but I’d much rather have Barrett or Williamson, the latter of whom looks so much like Charles Barkley that I’d weep if we missed him because of an owed pick.

    Odds are (as noted above) that the Knicks will pick outside of the top 2 even if they’re the worst team in the league, only because we know that the Knicks will never actually tank, so they could have a worse team at “full strength” but eke out meaningless wins in March and April, per usual, as the smart teams bench their good players and return to the lottery to steal future All-NBAers while the Knicks draft project players with shitty college stats. Because, haha, Knicks.

    I think maybe the NY sports media would handle Lavar well enough. But what’s the actual trade here? How would we facilitate this madness? Do we have anything the spurs want that we’d be okay dumping?

    LaVar in NYC will be a disaster. Mark my words. Though Ball and Ntilikina together is so enticing and would be the best guard combo in NYK history since Houston/Spreewell with a possibility to rival Frasier/Monroe IF Lonzo fixes his stroke and Frank drastically improves his handle.

    I’d rather draft Darius Garland or Romeo Langford than mortgage the future on Lonzo Ball’s jumpshot and father.

    Jesus, I hate that this Ball trade idea has been planted into my brain. My draft crush feelings are coming back. With Ntilikina and Ball we wouldn’t need big time rebounders up front, just have our front court bigs box out, and let our 6’6 PG and 6’7 SG grab the rebounds ready to push the ball up the court. My god. Why did you people do this to me? You’re giving me hope, and that’s very cruel.

    Of course, Mikal Bridges would’ve made a whole lot more sense at the 3 in a lineup with KP, Noel, Frank and Lonzo. He’s the perfect 3-D wing who can run the floor fast with explosiveness to the basket that you’d want with such a complimentary lineup so again…now I am pissed we drafted Knox.

    In my humble opinion we shouldn’t have to give the Lakers a pick for Ball if they’re shedding Deng to build a super team of Lebron, PG and Kawhi. THat’s the price for trying to build a superteam and get an instantchampionship. We take on one of the worst contracts in the league when we still have Noah (and Kanter) on the books? Yeah, we’ll take Lonzo and you’ll like it. If we HAVE To give them a pick, make it the 2020 one and make it top 8 protected or GTFOH.

    I get that Lonzo is an amazing prospect to have. But again, we’re doing them a favor by taking on Deng. A favor that would give them a superteam. And while Ball is a great, his DAD in NYC is a legit concern from a media circus perspective.

    I would insist on top 3 protection for Ball.

    I don’t know how bad we’ll be but a top pick is possible. We tanked very well down the stretch this year, worst record in the NBA from Feb-end of the season. There was nothing more we could have done to lose more games short of straight-up cheating. I have faith if we suck next year we’ll tank well enough to get a shot at a top pick.

    Trade for Ball, sign Noel, develop defensive culture. Sign me up.

    I am very intrigued with Zion Williamson. He does remind me of Barkley. (Duke is going to be ridiculous this year with him, RJ and a couple of other blue chippers.) But for some reason Zion isn’t getting much buzz on thestepien re: next year’s draft.

    If the Lakers are trying to put together a LeBron, Kawhi, PG superteam, I would think Ingram would be the odd man out, not Ball. So how about a top 5 protected #1 for him? Frank, Ingram, KP, Mitchell Robinson defense anybody?

    Trade for Ball, sign Noel, develop defensive culture. Sign me up.

    This team has been 26th, 23rd, 18th, 28th and 24th in defense since 2012. You expect me to believe we can undo a perennially-terrible defensive culture by simply replacing the coach and all of the players on the team????????

    Nasir Little looks like a pretty good prospect, he’s playing at UNC next season. Nasty, athletic defender who attacks the rim, shot is still a work in progress but the rest of his offensive game looks pretty tight. I have my eye on him.

    Zion Williamson is like a 6’6″ Russell Westbrook. I think he might actually be a guard and the weight concerns probably have him lower on the list than he should be, but hopefully his motor and defense at Duke allow teams to see him as the top 5 pick he actually deserves to be. And even as awesome as Zion Williamson is, he isn’t even half as good as RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish is a better player than him. Duke might actually end up with 3 players taken in the top 5 of the 2019 NBA Draft.

    2FOR the problem is the Lakers can’t put together that super team without trading something of value to San Antonio

    It’s nice to debate the Ball trade but why bother? Why would Magic do that? It would be colossally stupid.

    Not only that, LeBron has got to know that there is no permutation of the Lakers that can compete with the Warriors in the next couple of years. Even with Kawhi and Paul George, they are still not as good as the Dubs.

    It’s just not happening.

    If the idea is for LeBron to beat the Warriors, he has some pretty limited options. I guess it’s Houston or Philly or bust?

    Really into Nas Little, and not just because I’m a UNC alum. Lots of good wings in this draft and not much else seemingly.

    Even with Kawhi and Paul George, they are still not as good as the Dubs.

    Really? Idk if they’d win, but guys would flock to sign with that type of star power in LA and HOU was a Paul hammy away from knocking off the Dubs. They’re great, but not unbeatable.

    Something tells me Lebron is just content to finish off his career in a place he and his family finds attractive to live. If he was all about beating Golden State he’d go to the Rockets in a heartbeat. But he’s already mentioned how the city of Houston doesn’t appeal to him so much. It’s basically LA for him at this point.

    The Lakers are reportedly desperate, that’s why they would do it, specially since the Spurs can really just hold them as hostages for how long they want. If Lebron decides he’s only going to LA with Kawhi, the Spurs can simply threaten to keep Kawhi past Lebron’s presumed deadline next week, since they apparently have gotten offers from at least Boston and Philly for him.

    Any smart GM is probably calling the Lakers non-stop right now.

    Zion Williamson is like a 6’6? Russell Westbrook. I think he might actually be a guard and the weight concerns probably have him lower on the list than he should be, but hopefully his motor and defense at Duke allow teams to see him as the top 5 pick he actually deserves to be. And even as awesome as Zion Williamson is, he isn’t even half as good as RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish is a better player than him. Duke might actually end up with 3 players taken in the top 5 of the 2019 NBA Draft.

    He’s as much a guard as the 6’5.75″ Draymond Green is a guard. You really have to be married to traditional position height to think this man will be a ball-handler in the NBA.

    Since his sophomore year, he’s scored 2715 points in 2220 minutes on .774 TS%. Only 129 shot attempts of ~1500 came from 3PA. He also rarely passes the ball, which is okay when you score ~2 PPS. And now he’s posting videos of himself casually dunking from the FT line.

    Also, “weight concerns” never stopped Barkley or Shaq. Until they got old, at least. If this dude can dunk from the foul line at 270+ lbs., please, please, please tank for the #2. Tank. Please.

    Magic knows that if he gets LeBron, George and Kawhi, and they lose, he can pin it on team chemistry just like OKC did. If he gets nothing in FA, he has to rely on a bunch of young players (none without major warts) to gradually come to relevance in a stacked Western Conference.

    This is a special opportunity, so I understand opening the checkbook for Kawhi and LeBron (and even George, if you get the other two first), but I suspect they’ll have a two-year window (before LeBron becomes simply a good player, rather than an MVP candidate) and then fall back into the long cycle of lottery busts and veteran overpays.

    I literally could not believe how big Williamson is when I first saw his highlights. He is built like a freaking truck but moves very fluidly with some pretty damn impressive ball skills.

    I’m pretty hyped about the 2019 class, but I just can’t trust the Knicks to be sensible and tank for a top 3 pick so yeah, I guess it’s always Dolan’s Razor and JK47 was right all along.

    Draymond Green isn’t the athlete or ball handler that Zion Williamson is. It’s not just his height that makes me think he could be a guard, it’s his skill level. Zion Williamson handles it like a guard and most of his attacking style happens for him off the dribble.

    He’s still not better than RJ Barrett.

    The Lakers are reportedly desperate, that’s why they would do it, specially since the Spurs can really just hold them as hostages for how long they want.

    We know for sure that the Spurs are desperate. It would be foolish for the Lakers to trade their future for a win-now team. Not to mention that George is overrated.

    The Spurs are desperate but they are the ones holding the options as long as there are other good offers for Leonard. I agree George is overrated but as a third piece with two legit superstars he is about as good as you can get.

    If Leonard is 100% healthy this is a core that can challenge GSW with some other pieces, we really shouldn’t underestimate Lebron. If I’m a Lakers fan I’m not crazy about mortgaging the future for a team that might last 2 years at most, but it’s the Lakers and swinging for superstars is what they do.

    Maybe I’m wrong, but I kind of doubt that Magic Johnson is going to be the kind of GM that is going to patiently build with young players. I live in LA, and Laker culture is all about the starzz, the big names, Showtime and all that.

    They have some decent young pieces there. Brandon Ingram was one guy who looked like complete shit to me as a rookie, but he was a lot better this past year, to the point where I think he might be a pretty useful player in this league. He can do some things. He’s a Jarred Jeffries type defensive player and I mean that as a compliment.

    I agree that the Lakers are starstruck by definition, but this would be pretty extreme. Does Lebron slow down? Is Kawhi healthy? Are they redundant? It’s an immense gamble, all for the sake of a less than even chance of a title. I still think Lebron is too smart to go there. He wants titles, not glitz.

    I think the Lakers and Spurs are just terrible trade partners for one another. If you trade Ingram, Kuzma, and Randle to Gregg Poppovich they’re going to kill you in 5 years. If you trade Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers he’s going to kill you tomorrow, and both teams have hopes of competing today and tomorrow.

    I think it’s obvious; the Spurs have no choice but to trade Kawhi Leonard to the Knicks.

    The smartest move Lebron could make would be to go to Houston on a minimum salary. D’Antoni would hate some aspects of it, but would be happy to hoist a trophy and take full credit. Lebron would never miss the money and could win 2 more titles and call it a day.

    As long as the spurs have pop and/or his system and culture they are not desperate. They still made the playoffs last year with Leonard not playing the whole year and if they decided to finally do a rebuild after almost 20 years of dominance and 6 titles, I believe their fans would 100 percent get behind it bc they probably trust their front office can mpletely at this point.

    Ingram is interesting because I didn’t think he was as good of a prospect in college as the hype made him out to be, but he looks like he might be putting it together. If he could just learn to shoot free throws

    Serious question: would we actually want Kawhi? Isn’t his injury what destroyed Danny Granger’s career? Do we know enough to be sure that the same thing wouldn’t happen to Kawhi?

    I don’t think we have a genuine chance of getting him; I’m just wondering if people think it would be a good idea (assuming that the Spurs will want a king’s ransom for him). He’s a top 5 player, maybe top 3, but….I could see a year of many missed games and then retirement.

    I don’t think the Knicks have the assets to even entertain the Spurs in a trade if the rumored packages are true (I read the Spurs are expecting something like Ingram, Kuzma + 2 firsts) so yeah, we don’t have the pieces either way.

    The Celtics are reported to be holding off on improving their offer because of health concerns.

    The one guy on the Lakers I wish the Knicks could end up with is Josh Hart, he was pretty good last year.

    pass on kawhi…. there’s a good chance the next good knick team doesn’t involve anyone on this roster… so there’s no point in endangering the future….

    I wouldn’t sign Kawhi to a max deal, much less trade the farm for him now. Athletes are not of static value or risk.

    The Spurs might end up winning the trade no matter what they get in return. Knowing Buford and Pop, they’ll get a championship core out of it and turn Ingram into Giannis.

    Pass. Too expensive, even for him. We’re not in any kind of position to take advantage of him anyway. Philly or Boston could give up assets and still field great teams, we can’t. LA has the cap space to add enough guys to field a strong team, we don’t.

    Even though I live in San Diego and am a huge fan of Kawhi, I have to agree the Knicks should pass. Far too much risk related to his injury to pay the high price necessary to acquire him.

    It’s all academic, the Knicks have no shot at acquiring him any way.

    How sad is it that ESPN made Woj do an Uncle Drew ad about how teams are targeting signing Uncle Drew? At least they let him throw an ad hashtag in there.

    Comments are closed.