At worst, Bamba projects to be Dikembe Motombo with a bit more offense, and that’s an unbelievably high floor. He has multiple DPOYs written all over him. He will be worth multiple #1 picks in the trade market for a long, long time. If he and KP seem redundant, you could trade either one and get a stud at a different position or a couple of lottery picks. So while I’d be thrilled if we trade up and snag Doncic, or wound up with Bagley (I really, really don’t like JJJ!) I would definitely be a bit more nervous about him being the real deal than if we pick Bamba.

I just don’t know why Atlanta would pass on Doncic to make this even a viable thing, ya know?

Fournier is better than Timmy, but not by miles and his contract is equally bad. And I’d argue a package of Courtney, Thomas and Burke is MUCH better for Memphis than Fournier. More salary flex, at least two very usable pieces… maybe this actually is doable?

Is Bamba really going to shoot the three well enough to keep the spacing on offense intact? Is JJJ’s release so slow that guys will be able to cheat off of him without getting burned? I don’t know but if the cost is THJ (or Lee/Lance) plus the 36th pick I’d take the risk.

The other argument would be that nobody was offering anything worthwhile. He’s a good player but it’s not like his position is tremendously valued around the league.

But what’s worthwhile for a guy who was going to be a free agent this year no matter what? It’s not like having his Bird Rights should help the Knicks any. So even if it was just a shitty second rounder, that’s one more shitty second rounder than they would have that they didn’t have before.

1) chasing 4s has lowered KP’s rebound rates a bit, and if he’s playing the 5 (and bulks up, as it seems he has been doing), he could be adequate there. Much more certain is that

2) he becomes an efficient scorer; he has shown that he can be, in spurts, and that he understands what efficient scoring is all about, based on the adjustments he said he was making and then did make during the season. As well, he is an above-average 3-point-shooter, and with a modern offense and a GM who doesn’t ask how it’s goink, that will significantly improve his efficiency.

His rim protection is already elite…but I doubt he’ll ever be able to set a good screen. The muscle should help him rebound, but he’s just too tall and skinny to be a great screener. That didn’t keep Kareem from being an all-time great, though, right?

Porzingis does one of the four. He doesn’t really do some of the key things you need your center to do, which is why I believe in the long run for him to be a truly useful player he’ll need a “caddy” to take care of some of that stuff for him.