Knicks Morning News (2019.04.25)

  • [Sports Illustrated] Watch: Enes Kanter Thanks Knicks For Waiving Him After Blazers Win over Thunder
    (Wednesday, April 24, 2019 9:51:09 AM)

    Kanter was waived by the Knicks on Feb. 7 after two seasons in New York. 

  • [NYPost] Knicks’ biggest threat for signing Kevin Durant could be Nets
    (Wednesday, April 24, 2019 11:02:45 PM)

    As Nets coach Kenny Atkinson was battling the 76ers in the playoffs the past two weeks on a national stage, Knicks pilot David Fizdale was conducting his own media tour since his season finale two weeks ago. In interviews with ESPN Radio, the Associated Press, MSG Network and with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on “The Jump,”…

  • 75 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2019.04.25)”

    I follow the Giants semi-closely (though much less so the NFL as a whole) and had really gotten into these past two drafts. The Jones pick is so terrible it’s very difficult to come up with an NBA analogue for those who want to understand it better.

    Knox might be in the ballpark, but he was at least projected to go just a little lower than where he was picked for god knows what reason.

    You’d need to find someone picked in the early lottery with bad numbers, bad tape, and who was projected to go much, much lower (like, probably in a different round). Bonus points if there were still multiple legitimately intriguing options on the board. I’m really at a loss.

    Honestly, I might just have to tune out this team until Gettleman is gone. I’m not capable of doing that with the Knicks or Yankees but I should probably take advantage of my lesser attachment to the Giants.

    From what everyone is saying, I’m really glad I’m not a Giants fan. Sounds brutal. It’s bad enough being a Knicks fan. I cosmically balance that out with the Yankees, but there’s only so much pain I’m willing to take.

    First of all…. my comment didn’t relate to the actual value of the picks which none of us have much idea. It was about your “he ‘s obviously too soft” inane commentary. If you have ever played football imagine playing that sport 20 days after breaking your collar bone and I don’t give a crap how good the surgeons are. He can’t possibly be “obviously soft”.

    Your silly biases spew forward when you also said “he looks like the Covington Kid” (like that kid did anything wrong). I guess that is proof positive he is a pussy no matter what the facts are. Just for the record Eli Manning is the spitting image of Opie Taylor and he hasn’t missed a down in a million NFL seasons so judging a book by its cover generally isn’t a good idea while ignoring the facts.

    These are actually fair criticisms of the portions of my criticism which could be classified as knee jerk and bitter.

    But I’m not ignoring the facts. The facts are what led me to make emotional judgments that I can’t support. Gettelman had a terrible night that will impact the Giants for as long as Phil’s stupidity impacted the Knicks.

    Focusing on the wisecracks made in the midst of bitter disappointment is… I don’t know what it is… picking on low hanging fruit? Missing the big picture by a mile?

    The fact that I don’t like the way he looks *clearly* isn’t the basis for my argument that this was a terrible pick. It’s an obvious expression of disgust over the disappointment of watching a franchise blow itself up. Beating up on a throwaway comment while ignoring the main argument does not let you draw the conclusions that you did.

    It’s wrong that “none of us know the value of these picks”. Prospects get graded have projections. We reached. Far. Twice.

    I defended Gettelman hard on the decision to pass on QBs last year. His performance last night is indefensible.

    Daniel Jones’ passing numbers are worse than Brad Kaaya’s, who played in the same conference during a similar period of time (overlapped for a year). Kaaya was picked in the 6th round as a flyer and is now bouncing around practice squads.

    So, in order to believe Jones is worth even a first rounder (forget being better than Haskins and Allen) you have to believe he’s some kind of game changing runner. That’s patently absurd, and as Tim Tebow demonstrated you’re not doing much as a runner if your passing game isn’t respected anyway.

    Sometimes you really don’t have to wait-and-see.

    And you know what, you’re right, I have a bias: despite the success of Eli and Peyton, I think a QB needs to have a certain appearance in order for an entire team to follow him. If you have the talent, like the Mannings did, people won’t care how you look. But if you’re mediocre or subpar, like Jones was in college and projects to be in the pros (by everyone except Gettelman), and you look like you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, I don’t think that an NFL team is likely to respond well to you.

    You can call me biased for that opinion. I have no problem accepting your criticism.

    I’d bet a damn lot that I’m right, though.

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

    Gettleman::Giants as PJax::Knicks. Dinosaurs who mistakenly believe they’re 10 steps ahead of the game rather than 20 behind, too arrogant to be swayed by logic, and someone holding the franchise hostage until ownership recognizes what a terrible blunder they made.

    And picking Daniel Jones at 6 is his equivalent of giving Melo the mega-max with no trade. It ties the team, for years, to a player who is clearly wrong for them. So when they stink again this year and are in position to draft, say, Tua, they won’t do it because they’ll have their guy in Jones. And starting over with a rookie QB will extend ownership’s already exasperating patience with their executives. We’re stuck with this regime at least another three seasons, I’d wager. Oof.

    I’m not going to get too pissy about the Giants yet. Reese was a fucking drafting disaster his whole tenure besides a couple star picks. It’s why the Giants are where they are currently. If they have good lines and the kid sucks then there’s a problem.

    Knick fan not in NJ who thinks our rookies will lead us to a lousy lottery pick in 2019says:

    I don’t know NFL draftees at all, but I have to say comparing Gettleman to Phil makes Phil’s drafting appear worse than it was. His two big picks were KP and Ntilikina. Both were much more reasonable picks than Gettleman’s seems to be. Frank hasn’t been good so far, but in the NBA draft, a number nine pick is often not a future star, and outside draft rankings put Frank being drafted roughly where he was drafted. Neither is the case for this Jet’s pick.

    Dinosaurs who mistakenly believe they’re 10 steps ahead of the game rather than 20 behind, too arrogant to be swayed by logic, and someone holding the franchise hostage until ownership recognizes what a terrible blunder they made.

    I didn’t agree with you last year, Al, because I love the Barkley pick. But you were right. Even if you love that pick, it seems more like an instance of the broken clock being right twice.

    Gettelman is a disaster and the sooner he’s gone the better. We’ll probably have the #1 pick next year, and he can’t be the man making it. Based on everything we’ve seen from him, he’d probably take the 10th best prospect at #1 and let the franchise QB fall to #2 without even considering trading down.

    The one thing I will say about the Giants, though, if you’re an unequivocal disaster you only get two years (e.g. Ray Handley, Bob McAdoo). Reese was awful but he won a Super Bowl in year 1 and that bought him time. If we have the season everyone knows we’re likely to have, I trust them to fire him before the next draft.

    By the way the Melo and Reddish analogies are ok, but underscore the enormity of this mistake.

    Jones is a borderline top 100 pick who Gettelman fell in love with for reasons that were not logical and spent the #6 pick on.

    For Jowles (or anyone who wants to relate this to the Knicks), what Gettleman did was the equivalent of if Phil was considering giving Melo the mega-max with a no trade, but then decided to offer the same mega max deal to Lance Stephenson instead, because Phil saw something in Lance that no else in the NBA could see, and because his triangle offense would unlock Lance’s full potential.

    That’s how enormous this mistake was.

    As a Raider “fan” I have to say I see a lot of similarities between Jon Gruden and Phil. He charmed the very dumb owner with his successful past, and then set about trying to return the Raiders to 1990’s football. He actually said that, that he wants to bring the NFL back to the 1990’s. Yesterday he drafted a good-but-not-special RB with a late first rounder and he probably thought he was getting a steal. Then he drafted a big-hitting safety with no coverage skills to put alongside his other big-hitting safety with no coverage skills.

    He’s bringing back the 90’s, alright. Not in a good way either. And he still has NINE years on his insane contract.

    I didn’t agree with you last year, Al, because I love the Barkley pick. But you were right. Even if you love that pick, it seems more like an instance of the broken clock being right twice.

    Saquon is awesome. But you can’t take him and then take a developmental quarterback with the sixth pick in the draft the following year. Even if Gettleman is right about Jones, which I very seriously doubt, by the time Jones is a viable above-average NFL starter, Saquon will have a lot of mileage on him and will cost a ton of money.

    The one thing I will say about the Giants, though, if you’re an unequivocal disaster you only get two years (e.g. Ray Handley, Bob McAdoo). Reese was awful but he won a Super Bowl in year 1 and that bought him time. If we have the season everyone knows we’re likely to have, I trust them to fire him before the next draft.

    The Maras are at times quick on the trigger with godawful coaches. Never with executives. George Young (who admittedly saved the franchise and thus got a lot of leeway) was allowed to stick around for multiple years after it was clear the game had passed him by. Reese survived long after he should have because that fluky 2011 SB win (on the heels of the less-fluky 2007 title) tricked the organization into thinking their formula was working. This is an inherently conservative ownership group who hates going outside the family. To replace Reese, they interviewed only one person with no prior ties to the team, and instead gave the job to Gettleman. I figure we’re stuck with at least three more years of the guy:

    2019 season: Gettleman gets a pass because it’s Eli’s final year
    2020 season: Gettleman gets a pass because it’s Jones’ first full year as starter (even if he plays part of this season)
    2021 season: If Jones still stinks, maybe Mara and Tisch start to develop qualms. But that’s the earliest it would happen.

    The giants are like the new jets of old or the knicks.

    How can gettleman make that pick ?
    I doubt a single person in the front office had Jones at 60

    And you know what, you’re right, I have a bias: despite the success of Eli and Peyton, I think a QB needs to have a certain appearance in order for an entire team to follow him.

    This is such nonsense….Phil Simms still has a “golly, shucks baby-face” at the age of 60. Eli looks like Opie Taylor. Joe Montana and Fran Tarkenton would never be mistaken as macho men.

    If you can play in sports, people will follow you…. if you can’t a specimen like Ryan Leaf loses credibility immediately.

    I’m not going to get too pissy about the Giants yet. Reese was a fucking drafting disaster his whole tenure besides a couple star picks. It’s why the Giants are where they are currently. If they have good lines and the kid sucks then there’s a problem.

    So much this…..

    The disaster Gettleman inherited was the abject failure of the past half dozen drafts by the previous administration. No one can argue the cupboard was completely bare with the exception of 4 or 5 skill position players.

    His first draft was a huge hit no matter what you may say. Barkley is a GREAT player…. virtually a perfect player. He can run with power, run with speed, is durable and catches the ball like Marcus Allen. He is actually a better version of Marcus Allen. The number 2 pick is a plus, mauling OG good for a 10-14 year career. The two number three picks combined for 9.5 sacks. His draft record is outstanding here.

    I have no idea if the #1 pick can play (and neither do you or Mel Kupier) but if his face looks like a Covington kid really has no bearing on things. If the “experts” (Steve Serby?) were so smart about grading QB’s, how did Brady go in the 6th round and Montana in the 3rd?

    Then he drafted a big-hitting safety with no coverage skills to put alongside his other big-hitting safety with no coverage skills.

    Did he draft Landon Collins …. or just pay him 95 million to not cover people and be a midget linebacker? 🙂

    For Jowles (or anyone who wants to relate this to the Knicks), what Gettleman did was the equivalent of if Phil was considering giving Melo the mega-max with a no trade, but then decided to offer the same mega max deal to Lance Stephenson instead, because Phil saw something in Lance that no else in the NBA could see, and because his triangle offense would unlock Lance’s full potential.

    Such a bad analogy… Lance Stevenson has an 8 season professional record of sub mediocrity…. a better analogy might be Jokic…. an undervalued young player who doesn’t “look the part” who 29 teams didn’t rate as highly as Denver 🙂

    I feel for you Giants fans, but we Jets fans must continue to live with Mike Maccagnan and the Jets’ DL fetish. That’s not even close to a position of need, and the Jets have many areas of need. Year after year, the guy ignores the OL in the draft or as premium free agents to sign, instead using a rare mid to late round pick, but mostly picking up vet garbage discarded by other teams.

    Hey, Quinnen Williams seems like a good kid and may very well be a good player, but we’ve heard all this before. Oh yeah, the proverbial “Best Player in the Draft”(tm) again. Like Leo Williams. Or Sheldon Richardson. Rinse and repeat. Yet the team continues to stink.

    And it is not just about this one pick last night. They just continue to pour draft capital into that position. Last year, after trading away both of their second round picks (and this year’s too) to get Darnold, they took DL in the third and sixth round. So, two of their six picks last year, and now their first one this year.

    Meanwhile, the OL is awful. They need a C right now. They need an OT right now. They have not a single young promising OL who could emerge, and current starters at C, RG, and RT who are garbage. They have a young QB and an expensive new RB who need much better up front.

    Maybe in the third round this year? Two picks: a C (there are 2-3 more good ones left, but will either be around…and if so, will Mac even care), and an OT? Please. They could use a good CB, too, but Mac’s draft record is not encouraging.

    but if his face looks like a Covington kid

    As someone who is from Covington can we please call him a Cov Cath kid? Damn school’s not even in Covington.

    Being a jets fan made it easier to quit watching football. I think what the giants are doing is producing a bad enough football product that y’all can quit with ease too. In a perfect world the jets win a superbowl and i can run off into the sunset, never to witness another devastating brain injury.

    The world is a better place without football. (hopefully this is as political a stance as I will take on this site).

    Hey, Quinnen Williams seems like a good kid and may very well be a good player, but we’ve heard all this before. Oh yeah, the proverbial “Best Player in the Draft”(tm) again. Like Leo Williams. Or Sheldon Richardson. Rinse and repeat. Yet the team continues to stink.

    Quinnen Williams is a straight up baller. Jets just lucked into a sweet spot in the draft to take the best football player there at #3. I can’t say enough about what he can do on a defensive line. He is a 6’3 305 pound manchild who ran a 40 yard dash in 4.87 seconds. That is freak level shit right there. You can play him at 1-Tech, 3-Tech and even some 5-Tech (Big End) depending on the schemes and personnel you run out there. He is a leader in the locker room and real solid guy off the field from all accounts. Tom Brady has to feel a little less safe for the next 5 years knowing that he and Oliver are going to be hunting him during the tail end of his career.

    They just continue to pour draft capital into that position.

    I am not a Jets fan but in fairness to them that is a very important position to shore up. Lots of defenses are investing more and more draft capital in the interior of defensive lines in order to collapse pockets from the inside out. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right guys to make that work, but at least the thought process is right even if the results haven’t always been there. The really elite QBs with great footwork and instincts like Tom Brady are just too good at side stepping edge rushers if they have room in the pocket to step up into. I can pretty much assure Belichick isn’t happy to picked this kid. He’ll knife through guards and centers on the B gaps like they’re hot butter and get right in his QBs face before he has time to set up.

    Stratomatic "I'm tired of the Knicks paying lip service to DEFENSE. Get defenders & two-way players. Then play them!says:

    I wouldn’t have a problem with someone trying to bring back 90s basketball if he had a statistical reason to believe he could exploit today’s style with an inside/outside game instead of the outside/inside game we see today and he also had Shaq or Hakeem as the starting C. 🙂 When everyone is built to play and more importantly defend a certain style, another style might have an advantage for awhile until those other teams catch on and retool.

    It’s trying to force it without the correct personnel or without any statistical backing that’s a problem.

    .Phil Simms still has a “golly, shucks baby-face” at the age of 60. Eli looks like Opie Taylor. Joe Montana and Fran Tarkenton would never be mistaken as macho men.

    If you can play in sports, people will follow you…. if you can’t a specimen like Ryan Leaf loses credibility immediately.

    I agree with this.

    But everyone you listed above can play at a hall of fame level (or close, in Phil’s case). Jones couldn’t crack the All ACC team and he just won life’s lottery last night.

    My admittedly biased opinion is that when you can’t play the position well, and you look like you were handed a position you didn’t earn, an NFL locker room can be a tough place.

    If the kid is Joe Montana, no one will care. But I wouldn’t bet on this kid being an NFL starter for more than two seasons.

    Such a bad analogy… Lance Stevenson has an 8 season professional record of sub mediocrity….

    So does Jones! Now you need to do your research. Daniel Jones couldn’t play QB well enough in high school to earn a college scholarship to any Division 1 school. When he did play at Duke, he didn’t perform well. That absolutely matches up with Lance Stephenson’s record of sub mediocrity. At least Lance was big in high school.

    a better analogy might be Jokic…

    Even if this wild-eyed optimism is correct, Denver took Jokic in the 2nd round, not with the 6th pick in a loaded draft. I wouldn’t have a problem with Jones if we took him where he should have gone.

    it’s that number 3 that keeps getting some of us…just heard gettleman say he knew jones was his guy after watching him for 3 series…

    that, and it’s very important to make sure that eye test is all good – that the gm sees them in person (at some all-star no less)…tape, statistics – not as important…

    damn that dude is one arrogant motherfucker…

    @22
    I wish I could have your optimism. Jets boards are aflame. As I said, it is not just about this one kid and this one pick, but Mac’s entire philosophy of drafting and signing free agents, and a team philosophy that goes back even further. They spend huge amounts of draft capital on the defense (supposedly 15 of their last 18 first round picks!), and particularly along the DL, yet the defense stinks.

    They just keep recycling first round picks on DL. Wilkerson. Richardson. Williams. Another Williams this year. Also, 2/6 picks last year. Oh yeah, and they just resigned Henry Anderson to a fairly big deal. Another DL.

    The #1 priority should be to build around your young QB. Darnold had to run around for his life most of last year and try to catch wayward shotgun snaps from the awful C who was Mac’s prize FA signing the previous offseason (and was cut after one season). WR play is spotty at best.

    Last year’s 3rd rounder should have been on the best OL available. Yet, they wasted it on a reach for an oldish (he was 24 when drafted, I think) small school DL who showed nothing last year. IIRC, Mac has drafted only 2 OL in four years (none in the first three rounds), and signed nothing but junk as FA, even as their last two stalwarts (D’Brick and Mangold) retired.

    The world is a better place without football. (hopefully this is as political a stance as I will take on this site).

    Speaking of which….Clemson and Dabo Swinney agreed today to a 10-year, $93 million contract, the largest coaching deal in college football history, yet the actual players can’t even get enough money to by a suit. College football is a damn scam.

    Stratomatic "I'm tired of the Knicks paying lip service to DEFENSE. Get defenders & two-way players. Then play them!says:

    All this is irrelevant if your target sucks the way people are suggesting.

    I don’t know much about football or the QB being discussed, but sometimes it’s a bit of a dilemma when you like someone in the draft and you are selecting well above where that person is likely to get picked.

    The fantasy is “just trade down, add another asset, and get your player plus another good prospect”.

    I suspect that’s a lot tougher than it seems when you are operating with imperfect knowledge about where your #1 target is going to be selected and have to find someone willing to make that trade in the area that ensures you get him. If you gamble too much you could easily miss him. If you really love the guy and can’t find the right deal to ensure you’ll get him plus another asset, sometimes you just have to make the move and take the heat for selecting him above wherever he would have fallen.

    But again, if the guys sucks, that’s a different matter.

    Being a jets fan made it easier to quit watching football. I think what the giants are doing is producing a bad enough football product that y’all can quit with ease too. In a perfect world the jets win a superbowl and i can run off into the sunset, never to witness another devastating brain injury.

    The world is a better place without football. (hopefully this is as political a stance as I will take on this site).

    I tend to agree with all this, actually. But since there is football, I want the Giants to be good! Even if I don’t intend to watch anything other than Saquon highlights.

    Stratomatic "I'm tired of the Knicks paying lip service to DEFENSE. Get defenders & two-way players. Then play them!says:

    Here’s one of the upsides of being 60 years old.

    I was a young sports fan when the Jets and Knicks were both champions of the world!!

    Here’s another upside.

    I’m retired now and am going to spend the afternoon at Belmont Park. Wish me luck.

    Holy shit, this is damning:

    Gettleman claimed that Jones’s MVP performance in the Senior Bowl ultimately sold him on the passer, telling reporters that after three series he “was in full-bloom love.” It’s always good when a few drives in an all-star game outweigh the 36 starts a quarterback has made in his college career. Gettleman also suggested that Jones could sit behind Manning for as many as three years. Even by recent Giants standards, that seems like a cruel joke.

    I’m listening to Gettleman’s presser now and he just comes across as totally out of touch and incompetent.

    Ratherr than multi quoting people:

    How on earth did the Raiders go from the next team to challenge NE just two to three years ago to this

    If you think college football is a scam what about tuition

    I like the Dl and think the one way to stymie Brady is/was pressure up the middle. That being said I was hoping for a trade to get multiple picks since they really need players at more than just the fantasy Football positions.

    I’m retired now and am going to spend the afternoon at Belmont Park. Wish me luck.

    sounds like a pretty good day…do they still run in the rain though?

    You may be familiar with the NFL draft value chart, assigning points to each pick. Here’s Mac’s apparent record in the last 4 Jets drafts:

    Defensive Tackles: 4050 points (5 picks)
    Quarterbacks: 2678 points (3 picks)
    Safeties: 2110 points (2 picks)
    Inside Linebackers: 850 points (1 pick)
    Wide receivers: 761 points (4 picks)
    Outside Linebackers: 355 points (2 picks)
    Tight Ends: 111 points (2 picks)
    Cornerbacks: 99 points (4 picks)
    Offensive Line: 58 points (2 picks)
    Running backs: 25.2 points (2 picks)
    Defensive End: 18.6 points (1 pick)
    Punter: 1 point (1 pick)

    The #1 priority should be to build around your young QB.

    Yeah, the Jets haven’t always done the right thing, but you should rest assured so far. Maccagnan has to go pick BPA at #3. And the consensus in this draft was that the defensive front talent at DE, DT, LB was as strong as its been in awhile compared to previous drafts. OL and skill positions like RB and WR took a backseat. Jets ended up getting what many think is the best DT talent out of college since Aaron Donald. And now the board is playing right in their hands because there is a bunch of a very competent WR talent that has fallen into the 2nd round. Belichick, always the smartest kid in the classroom, just took advantage of this board by pouncing on N’Keal Harry with his first draft pick and he never prizes WR talent that high on his priority list. Jets will have a legit crack at DK Metcalf, AJ Brown, Parris Campbell, and Hakeem Butler – all of whom would help Darnold out greatly.

    Gettleman claimed that Jones’s MVP performance in the Senior Bowl ultimately sold him on the passer, telling reporters that after three series he “was in full-bloom love.”

    i’m not sure on this but is this a step up from 3on3s?

    If you think college football is a scam what about tuition

    Well, that’s just straight robbery, a dual action by the universities who hike up the student tuition to pay for their bloated administrative salaries and the banks who make a heist on student loans.

    @36

    And now the board is playing right in their hands because there is a bunch of a very competent WR talent that has fallen into the 2nd round.

    Yeah, except the Jets don’t have a second round pick at this time. They traded that, and both of the their second rounders last year, to move up for Darnold. Plus, C and OT are much more serious needs than WR.

    The Jets needed to trade back. If QW is so awesome, why couldn’t they find a team to trade back? I’d love to know what Buffalo (picking at 9, and supposedly coveted QW) would have been willing to do.

    Oh, BTW, the reports now that new Jets coach Gase is already not happy. He’s nowhere to be seen at this time, and supposedly the Jets are the only NFL team not having a press conference with their shiny new first round pick today. More fun in Jetland.

    That being said I was hoping for a trade to get multiple picks since they really need players at more than just the fantasy Football positions.

    I wonder if the Raiders were willing to trade up one spot and give you guys their #4 and one of their other late first round picks to get Williams. I might’ve done that deal and just taken Oliver. By the looks of how far they reached for a DE there I am willing to bet they were all about replacing Khalil Mack at the edge one way or the other.

    If QW is so awesome, why couldn’t they find a team to trade back?

    Probably because the draft was so deep in DL talent other GMs weren’t willing to part with their draft capital to make the deal. But the flip side to that is the fact that there will be good talent moving down when you guys pick again.

    Yeah, except the Jets don’t have a second round pick at this time. They traded that, and both of the their second rounders last year, to move up for Darnold. Plus, C and OT are much more serious needs than WR.

    Either a legit 2nd round WR or interior OL will fall to you guys when you pick in the early 3rd.

    Oh, BTW, the reports now that new Jets coach Gase is already not happy.

    Well, I can’t find a silver lining there. Hiring that guy was a mistake. His hire has all sorts of disaster written all over it. Bad word of mouth follows him everywhere he’s coached and his great success as a coordinator was when Payton Manning was running his system as a second coordinator on the field.

    I’m listening to Gettleman’s presser now and he just comes across as totally out of touch and incompetent.

    He’s revealed his entire thought process. Being a QB in NY is different than being a QB in general, according to Gettelman. So he underweighted things like statistical production, arm strength, accuracy, and everything that’s useful. Maturity, he says, is the most important attribute to being a successful QB in NY, according to his gut.

    I never thought I’d discover a thought process more deficient than “he crushed a 3-on-3”, but there it is, in all its glory.

    How on earth did the Raiders go from the next team to challenge NE just two to three years ago to this

    That 12-4 team was a bit of a mirage, but they did have an elite offensive line, a DPOY, a competent QB and some decent weapons on offense. The next year Some of the OL guys started to decline, Amari Cooper started playing like a bust and Reggie McKenzie started whiffing on every draft pick. Then they brought in Gruden who absolutely set everything on fire, just pissed value away at every turn.

    He traded down in last year’s draft and got an extra third round pick, then used the third round pick to trade for Martavis Bryant, who then got cut, and then re-signed because nobody wanted him. He’s not very good to begin with. They used the traded-down first round pick to take Kolton Miller, a right tackle in college and a major reach where they picked him. You don’t draft right tackles in the first round. But anyway, Chucky played him at LEFT tackle, where he was one of the worst players in the NFL. This year Chucky egregiously overspent on an overrated left tackle in free agency, and they’re moving Miller back to right tackle.

    It’s just stuff like that over and over. They traded Khalil Mack for essentially one first round pick. The second first rounder they “acquired” was actually a pick swap in which they send the Bears a 2RP. They used the Khalil Mack pick this year on a running back who looks like an okay player but the kind of guy you can probably find in the third or fourth round.

    Chucky is magically stupid, and his contract runs forever and he’s like the owner’s little buddy. They’re going to be so bad for so long. Watching the train wreck unfold in slow motion is pretty fascinating.

    My brother is a diehard Jets fan and somehow stays optimistic, but he was crushed when they hired Gase. He knows the next couple of years are just a waste of time.

    @42

    This is a dumber version of when the Yankees used to draft for “makeup”, and picked Dante Bichette Jr. and Cito Culver in the first round.

    I’ve convinced myself that Gase is a good coach who just happened to make a few meme worthy facial expressions. Though it’s the Jets so all I have to do is sit tight for two to three years and there will be another.

    Gase is probably a good OC ill-suited to be a head coach.

    I’m trying to be optimistic tonight. Mac tends to go for safe BPA in his first round picks, but he tends to reach and whiff after that. Hackenberg is the most spectacular example of that. That 2nd round pick was just lit on fire.

    speaking of gm’s and the whole BPA thing…pre-draft gettleman specifically said he’d pick the BPA and not “reach” for a need pick…

    ugh, we should have picked allen or bush…supposedly he was worried denver would pick jones at 10 (denver ended up swapping picks with pittsburgh), so, he ummmmm reached at number 6 to get a guy who could handle new york…

    It’s pretty funny there’s a game 6 tonight where the road team is a ten point favorite.

    Stratomatic "I'm tired of the Knicks paying lip service to DEFENSE. Get defenders & two-way players. Then play them!says:

    sounds like a pretty good day…do they still run in the rain though?

    Yes, unless it’s unsafe for the horses or riders.

    I left after the 6th race. It was bit too nasty out even for me. I wound up winning enough to pay for the clam chowder I needed to keep me warm. lol

    It’s easier to find street parking in Manhattan than it is to find an NBA executive, player or coach who doesn’t think Durant is going to sign with the Knicks in July.

    Some of Durant’s former teammates think it’s going to happen, per ESPN sources. Several of his current teammates have told friends that they think it’s going to happen, sources said. Opposing agents believe it’s a fait accompli: “Just a matter of putting pen to paper,” is how one agent of another top free agent in the 2019 free-agent class put it.

    […]

    Multiple executives doing their homework on the free-agent class, though, fully expect Durant to sign with the Knicks and Irving to join him.

    https://deadspin.com/report-pretty-much-everyone-is-sure-kevin-durant-is-he-1834336028

    Stratomatic "I'm tired of the Knicks paying lip service to DEFENSE. Get defenders & two-way players. Then play them!says:

    He’s revealed his entire thought process. Being a QB in NY is different than being a QB in general, according to Gettelman. So he underweighted things like statistical production, arm strength, accuracy, and everything that’s useful. Maturity, he says, is the most important attribute to being a successful QB in NY, according to his gut.

    I don’t mind using things like that as a tiebreaker.

    The problem is that even when you come up with potentially valid insights like that, you can easily overweight them relative to more important things and that extra insight will get you into trouble.

    It would be like me noticing that a certain horse has a hoof that looks more suited to grass racing instead of dirt racing. Sure, that’s a valid insight and I may be right that he’s going to be better on grass. But if he’s a very slow horse compared to the competition, it’s probably not going to help him enough to win today on grass so I better be getting a huge price. Good insight, bad weighting.

    @52 despite the weather, sounds like a very good day…

    although it seems at times i’d be interested in watching two kids pitching pennies – i never really followed horse racing that closely…

    this santa anita stuff is interesting though – i had no idea what some of these horses were going through in terms of drugs and dealing with tough racing conditions and training…

    sounds like the rules around horse racing may be getting dragged in to the 21st century soon…

    it’s funny, for the most part, the regrets i might have in life involve things i didn’t do, and wish i had done…

    one of those being going inside the monmouth racetrack…i remember when i lived in that area for a bit i walked by that racetrack a few times and it looked absolutely magnificent from the outside…like something from a whole different time…

    If Durant actually does sign with the Knicks he might be even weirder than he appears.

    That being said I’d gladly take him and Flat Earther Kyrie just to have some competitive hoops in New York for the first time in a very long time.

    Stratomatic "I'm tired of the Knicks paying lip service to DEFENSE. Get defenders & two-way players. Then play them!says:

    @55

    If you want to experience the racetrack, I would strongly suggest a trip to Saratoga Springs NY on any racing weekend (though Travers weekend might a little too much given the huge crowd) during the meet in July/August. It’s a nice town with plenty of entertainment and good food at night and the track has a throwback country fair feel to it with the best racing in the US.

    Santa Anita was a debacle. I don’t think anyone knows exactly what happened, but my guess would be the heavy rains changed the track. The maintenance crew in California is so unused to getting that much rain and having to seal and unseal the track, something was probably going on in the base that made it less safe. The good news is that even though the drug Lasix is getting all the headlines and almost certainly had nothing to do with it, the bad publicity is helping make changes I am all for.

    Stratomatic "I'm tired of the Knicks paying lip service to DEFENSE. Get defenders & two-way players. Then play them!says:

    I just wanted to add something about racing.

    Some animal lovers hate racing. I get why.

    However, it has been a big part of my life in one capacity or another for a long time. I can assure you that most owners, trainers, grooms, riders, vets, etc.. absolutely love these animals. They are typically given better care than is given to most people in this country (which is a sad statement for another day).

    However, there are exceptions.

    That’s why a group like PETA can serve a useful purpose in helping bring about positive change. The problem will be keeping their better instincts under control so they don’t start lying and creating havoc trying to outlaw it. PETA has been good on this Santa Anita case, but they were terribly wrong and deceitful in another case. Hopefully they’ve learned that truth, cooperation, and moderation work better.

    visiting a racetrack is on my bucket of things to do list…it seems like a pretty cool environment to chill at…with some very interesting participants (i don’t know, maybe that’s just some perception from watching tv and movies)…

    considering the level of intelligence, and, what seems like a competitive spirit the horses have – i have no doubt they’re loved by many if not most…

    i’m not really sure what kind of conditions exist for the care of racing horses and dogs…pretty sure they’re better off than cows, chickens and pigs…heck, that and probably most zoo animals also…

    probably one of the saddest sights i’ve ever seen was visiting the oakland zoo years ago…it seemed a lot of the enclosures at the time where sitting on regular ol’ asphalt…it was a pretty grim place…

    If Durant actually does sign with the Knicks he might be even weirder than he appears.

    That being said I’d gladly take him and Flat Earther Kyrie just to have some competitive hoops in New York for the first time in a very long time.

    Exactly. I am personally thrilled that KD’s damage might make him come here. Thrilled.

    Awesome comment on that Deadspin article, “Listen, I get all the reports and stuff, but just wait until the Knicks get a look at Daniel Jones and decide to go all in on him.”

    @49 – Yep. Speaking of sensationalism: would this be “the greatest playoff upset of all-time?”

    2007: Mavs, 67-15 and a 7.28 SRS get beat in 6 by the 42-win Warriors with a 0.00 SRS.

    The Warriors have the brand recognition but they aren’t the same basketball machine that went 16-1 in 2017 or 73-9 in 2016.

    if you go by betting lines nuggets/sonics ’94 was a bigger upset than warriors/mavs. and by that measure clips this year would be the biggest upset by a country mile, not even close.

    Someone tell me who won the Josh Rosen trade

    Whichever team traded away Josh Rosen

    @64

    Miami won and it’s not even close. Josh Rosen was considered one of the best QB prospects last season (I desperately wanted the Giants to take him). Getting him for a late 2nd, at best a coin flip to become a good player, and a 5th, basically worthless, is a steal. It would kind of be like if the Lakers traded Lonzo Ball for a future 2nd rounder.

    KD is making some ridiculous shots there are like 3 dudes in the league who can guard him

    I don’t expect many people to agree with me on Klay Thompson being one of the most overrated players in the league

    but also I’m not wrong

    At least if Durant comes to the Knicks we don’t have to worry too much that he’s washed up. What a performance.

    KD is the single most talented basketball player ever and he knows it. If he comes to New York and wins multiple rings he’ll have a top 5ish legacy to go along with all the accolades and stats. Once he wins a ring without the Warriors he’ll place himself on basketball’s Mount Rushmore with Kareem, LeBron, and MJ.

    so if kd is on the clips instead of the dubs – the clips win…

    not in love with the rockets, but, ready to see the warriors go home…

    I wonder if the g-men will be able to trade jones for a 4th rnd pick in a couple of years…

    @74

    Yeah, it puts into perspective just how good Durant is, if you put him on the Clippers they not only win this game but very probably the series.

    The scary thing is that Draymond is playing really well, and while I agree Thompson is overrated and hasn’t played well at all, he can still go off in one game. I can see the Rockets beating them but they can’t possibly guard Durant if he plays like this.

    I guess maybe the words “decline phase” and Kevin Durant can be disassociated for a few minutes now?

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