Do you guys realize that since Ewing in 1985 we’ve never moved up in the draft lottery?

Can we get another frozen envelope this year Adam Silver?

Yeah, AD was as blue chip as they have ever come. I’d want to be a Laker if I were him.

I was thinking about the Knicks lottery luck recently and back to that AD draft. Man Charlotte got completely hosed having one of the worst ever NBA records and still couldn’t win the lottery. We talk about the Knicks losing out in the draft, but to go 7-59 and still miss out on AD is pretty bad. Especially when the consolation prize is MKG. Our draft bad luck is mostly our own doing (i.e. those damn late season wins).

I totally get what you’re saying. The thing is, though, that to me you have evidence of someone being a superstar if high production lasts at least one full season (or a significant fraction of it if there’s a serious injury occurring).

A stretch of good play, even a month or two, is not proof of anything, especially if it happens in the first 20-something games of that player’s season. Teams adopt countermeasures after a while, and you have a superstar only if that guy is able to play at high level after those measures are implemented.

Now I don’t know for sure what’s the issue with KP (stamina? low basketball IQ on offense? a combo of those two factors?) but for three consecutive seasons his production dipped in a significant way after a great stretch. That’s not what superstars are made of.

There’s definitely a chance that KP will end up being a top 20 player in the league, but it’s not a good one as of now.

By the same logic Jeremy Lin would have been a top 10 PG by now. He’s just a serviceable player. If we go by available data, healthy KP’s most likely scenario is third fiddle on a playoff contender. Nothing to scoff at there, but definitely not the identikit of a max player for a terrible team. Give KP to the Rockets and you’d have a great situation for him. Give KP to the Bulls and they’ll win maybe four games more.

No way KP plays 30 games this year- he’d have to come back in early February for that to happen. Given that there’s still no timetable for his return so I’d be shocked if he’s back before the all-star break. I’d put the over/under at around 16 (March 10th return).

I have no idea what’s going on. Heck, a few weeks back even the coach didn’t know he was already running. He may be jumping and taking light contact by now. They are keeping everying under wraps because they don’t want the press being a pain in the ass. It’s complicated by the fact that the Knicks don’t necessarily want to win games and KP doesn’t necessarily want to risk an injury without the extension.

Yeah, if they assemble Kyrie, Tatum, and AD, I’m taking a basketball break for 8 years.

I’m pretty sure there’s some rule in place where they won’t be able to keep Kyrie and get AD, so at least there’s that.

That’s why some of us would like to see him play 20-30 games this year

No way KP plays 30 games this year- he’d have to come back in early February for that to happen. Given that there’s still no timetable for his return so I’d be shocked if he’s back before the all-star break. I’d put the over/under at around 16 (March 10th return).

Here’s his entire current inventory:

– Gordon Hayward coming off a brutal injury with an AAV of $33mm
– Al Horford, who I love, but is not interesting to a rebuilding team
– Marcus Smart on a 4 year, $48mm deal
– Jaylen Brown, who isn’t good.
– Terry Rozier, who may be good but is about to be overpaid
– Robert Williams and Semi Ojileye, who are bit players
– Picks from Sacramento, LAC, and Memphis in a weak draft, with all those teams looking like they’ll be either in the playoffs or the low end of the lottery

That’s a shit load of nickels and dimes, and it’s hard to turn that into a dollar.

more than anything though, i do not wish to seem him in green…anything but green…

Yeah, if they assemble Kyrie, Tatum, and AD, I’m taking a basketball break for 8 years.