The former has signed a few big money, one-year deals (AKA the very definition of a player who would win you some games you want to lose and do nothing for you long-term). The latter has been traded for an unprotected first round pick, and then four second round picks.

I’m mostly talking about his block numbers. 2.8 blocks per game is stellar, but still significantly lower than the insane 4.4 per 36 he’s averaging on the season. It’s still amazing, but maybe not as franchise-changing as people initially believed.

ultimately the block #s will come down because people will stop challenging him when he’s in the middle. Remember when Dwight was considered one of the best rim protectors because not only did opposing players have a low shooting percentage when he was in the paint, but also the opponents’ shot distribution also changed.

Oh sure, but come on, draft pick protections are a fairly specific deal, ya know? It’s hard to plan around draft pick protections. You’d be making sweeping policy decisions based on year-to-year events.

The league can get rid of protections altogether. They overly complicate things, and they are bad for the league too. (Remember when the knicks gave up the Gordon Hayward pick seven years after trading it for Marbury? There were Knick fans that didn’t even know who Marbury was when Hayward was drafted.)

In his last 9 games he’s averaging almost exactly 30 MPG and putting up 12-11-2.8-1.2 with a .736 TS%. His individual DRtg is 108 while the team’s is 118. Respectfully, what are you talking about?

I’m mostly talking about his block numbers. 2.8 blocks per game is stellar, but still significantly lower than the insane 4.4 per 36 he’s averaging on the season. It’s still amazing, but maybe not as franchise-changing as people initially believed.

Really bad teams shouldn’t be trying to win games, whatever the draft odds, especially towards the end of the season

Actually, this is a good point. I’d much rather see Knox (as bad as he is), Ntilikina, Mitch, DSJr., etc. play instead of seeing a veteran lineup try and win a few games to help out the draft standings. Rooks>Vets for end of season play. There’s absolutely no way I’d tune in to see a group of vets try and outplay someone despite failing all season to do so.

Also, the playoff competitive wins against the worse tanking teams are largely irrelevant since they’d likely win anyway and the teams on the borders of the playoffs are not going to lose in the first round anyway. Overall, the playoff seeding will always be partially arbitrary based on schedule.

Yes, they have been. But this year, a 19-year-old led the team in MP. After that, the ages were 24, 23, 22, 26, 23, 20, 23,26, 20 and finally Lance Thomas gets in there at 30.

This team is well-aware that it sucks, and didn’t try to plug the holes with true veteran players. I hate to sound like an optimist here, but the Knicks unloaded the Porzingis risk, maintained cap flexibility to be (IIRC) one of two teams that can sign a pair of max FAs, and have the best chance at a top-5 pick with all future firsts still in the pocket. This is the best position the Knicks have been in since the summer of 2010 (if not better), and they have a francise-potential player under contract for 3 more seasons.

You know, they actually have had their best season, in terms of front office transactions, since early Walsh, probably even better.
They took a superteam of Rose, Lee, Melo, KP, and Noah, to Mudiay/Lee/Hardaway/KP/Kanter, to (at the end of this season, who knows who we have next season) Dennis Smith/Dotson/Knox/Hezonja/Robinson.

As they should have (!), they took fliers on shitty, shitty young players like Mudiay, Hezonja, and Vonleh – and ended up probably gaining a Vonleh. They tried out guys like Kadeem Allen, who I like, and John Jenkins, who I also like.

They got rid of KP, Hardaway, Lee, Burke, Kanter, Baker and Melo. They gained Mitch, Trier, Dotson, Vonleh, Allen, Jenkins, Hezonja, Kornet AND PICKS by nothing less than good front office skill.

They did EXCELLENTLY. Not good, great. It’s a probability game, so they may strike out in FA, draft (knox), and with young guys they bring up, but they hit more than they lost.

IF they end up running Dennis Smith Jr, Dotson, PICK, Mitch, with Trier, Knox, Frank, Hezonja, and Allen backing them up, and add a few more pieces (good vets if adding Kyrie/Durant, prospects if not), then I can’t wait for next year.

So after a completely pointless year of Afflalo and Williams, they came off the books and Phil went out and got… more mediocre-to-terrible veterans. Terrible contract to Joakim Noah, bad contract to Courtney Lee, terrible trade for Derrick Rose. It was a veteran team that was headed to nowhere. Other than Porzingis, all the top guys in terms of minutes were 27 or older. It was a bad and unwatchable team, and the reward for that unwatchable season was the #8 pick, who ended up being the French guy who is terrified of the basketball.

Instead of all that Jose Calderon, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Arron Afflalo, Robin Lopez, Courtney Lee, Joakim Noah “let’s get some veterans and teach them the triangle” bullshit, we should have gotten young players with upside. Some of them might have even still been here!

Instead we had to start from scratch. That’s what happens when you let Wavy Gravy run your team for three seasons.

The reason the Knicks are still in this position is not because they are finally being smart. It’s because they have been managed poorly since the 17-65 year.

Yes, they have been. But this year, a 19-year-old led the team in MP. After that, the ages were 24, 23, 22, 26, 23, 20, 23,26, 20 and finally Lance Thomas gets in there at 30.

This team is well-aware that it sucks, and didn’t try to plug the holes with true veteran players. Almost every player above Thomas is on his first contract: Hardaway and Kanter were the only ones who weren’t, and they’re gone now.

So yes, the team has been poorly-managed. But there are no signs that it attempted to shoot itself in the foot by signing a bunch of .050 WS48 veterans who would win games and minimize draft position for a bunch of meaningless, feel-good victories and an inexplicable landing around 25-57.

I hate to sound like an optimist here, but the Knicks unloaded the Porzingis risk, maintained cap flexibility to be (IIRC) one of two teams that can sign a pair of max FAs, and have the best chance at a top-5 pick with all future firsts still in the pocket.

This is the best position the Knicks have been in since the summer of 2010 (if not better), and they have a francise-potential player under contract for 3 more seasons.