(Monday, May 13, 2019 10:12:38 PM)
The Knicks spent an entire season of losing for this one moment, this jostling of Ping Pong balls inside a Chicago hotel. It will determine whether they were geniuses or idiots.
Successful tanking is largely contingent on dumb luck, and the Knicks haven’t had much since winning the Patrick Ewing…
(Monday, May 13, 2019 10:00:00 PM)
While this year’s lottery holds the promise of drafting Duke’s Zion Williamson at No. 1, it also looms as just another installment of disappointment for Knicks fans.
(Monday, May 13, 2019 12:50:47 PM)
With the NBA Draft Lottery scheduled for Tuesday night, Knicks GM Scott Perry shed some light on the team’s approach in the coming weeks.
(Monday, May 13, 2019 7:07:03 PM)
The Knicks have a lot of cap room and a top-five pick in the NBA draft. Would it be possible for New York to land both Kawhi Leonard and Zion Williamson?
(Monday, May 13, 2019 1:02:18 PM)
With free agency drawing closer and talk about Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard heating up, Knicks GM Scott Perry says the team will “play the hand we’re dealt” in free agency this summer.
(Monday, May 13, 2019 10:38:11 AM)
It seems logical that both New York teams could at least get a meeting with Kawhi Leonard in early July.
(Monday, May 13, 2019 12:03:00 PM)
Celtics star Kyrie Irving can be a free agent after the season, and the idea that he could team up with fellow free agent Kevin Durant on the Knicks this summer has picked up steam since the Kristaps Porzingis trade cleared two max slots for New York. Here are the latest rumors…
(Monday, May 13, 2019 9:55:02 AM)
Former Knick Kristaps Porzingis was bloodied after being involved in an altercation.
[NYTimes] Western Conference Finals Preview: Hungry for Its Own Title, Portland Aims to Dent Golden State’s Dynasty (Tuesday, May 14, 2019 7:00:04 AM)
The Trail Blazers have run into the Warriors’ buzz saw in two of the previous three seasons, but led by Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum they believe they can compete.
[NYTimes] Kawhi vs. Giannis: Tired Raptors Head to Milwaukee for Slugfest (Tuesday, May 14, 2019 7:00:03 AM)
The Raptors, after one of the most memorable games in league history, have to immediately shift gears to take on the juggernaut Milwaukee Bucks. Here’s what to look for.
[NYTimes] In the N.B.A. Lottery, the Knicks Will Take Their 14 Percent Shot at Zion Williamson (Monday, May 13, 2019 11:00:05 PM)
Under the previous lottery system, the Knicks — by finishing with the league’s worst record — would have had a 25 percent chance at getting the Duke star.
[NYTimes] Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Swish! All About Kawhi Leonard’s Buzzer-Beater (Monday, May 13, 2019 6:23:03 PM)
Toronto’s star made one of the most remarkable shots in N.B.A. history to finish off the 76ers. Here’s how it went down.
(Monday, May 13, 2019 10:22:36 PM)
CHICAGO — The Knicks and Patrick Ewing are due. The big night has finally arrived after all the 2018-19 tanking for Zion Williamson. Ewing never had much prosperity in Chicago against Michael Jordan’s Bulls. But now the Knicks’ 7-foot-1 good-luck charm must step up on Tuesday and create a Williamson windfall. Ewing, 34 years after…
(Monday, May 13, 2019 10:04:26 PM)
This is what Tuesday night is all about, what the lottery is all about, when the pingpong balls start to fly and also start to fall, the first domino in what the Knicks — and every other hapless basketball team in the raffle — dream will be a profound pathway to respectability. This is what…
(Monday, May 13, 2019 7:59:46 PM)
OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins won’t necessarily return from injuries in time to play for the Golden State Warriors during the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. Durant is likely to miss at least the first two games of the best-of-seven series beginning Tuesday night at Oracle Arena. Coach Steve…
(Monday, May 13, 2019 7:42:46 PM)
CHICAGO — The reality is the Knicks are more likely to zero in on Virginia’s D’Andre Hunter and Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura than Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and RJ Barrett once the pingpong balls roll. The consensus leading into Tuesday’s lottery is the top three picks will be Williamson, Morant and Barrett. The odds are better…
(Monday, May 13, 2019 4:44:51 PM)
CHICAGO — The drinks will start flowing at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Slattery’s Midtown Pub in Manhattan. Odds are, the tears will start flowing 65 minutes later. Or will they? A mix of Knicks fan blogs/podcasts will host their third fan viewing party of 2018-19 Tuesday night to pray on 14 percent. Those are…
(Monday, May 13, 2019 2:58:33 PM)
On Tuesday night, the Knicks will learn their place in the NBA draft lottery. With a No. 1 pick, they’d get Duke superstar Zion Williamson, as well as a commodity the team’s fans rarely have enjoyed: hope. But these are the Knicks we’re talking about — luck is as rare as a playoff appearance. It’s…
185 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2019.05.14)”
I can’t believe that after months of waiting for this day it managed to sneak up on me.
Yeah, it’s so fucking crazy. Honestly, the fact that KD is almost certainly coming here takes a lot of the pressure out of the lottery, in my view. If he wasn’t coming, I would be a nervous wreck right now, because getting Zion (or at least Ja) would be the boost this team needs. Now? It’d be amazing, of course, but Kevin Durant is coming, so I’m going to be happy even if they fall to #5.
And, remember, they are guaranteed a top five pick for just the third time in 30 years! That’s something to be happy about, as well.
Sunday, May 12, 1985. I went with my dad to Marshalls in Nanuet, NY. Neither of us had any concept of the draft lottery as appointment television. It was Sunday afternoon, clothes shopping time – maybe an OP T-shirt for me and a button down striped shirt for my dad. The electronics store near Marshalls had TV’s facing the sidewalk of the shopping center. That’s where we found out the lottery results walking back to the car.
Shit, I just remembered that #4 down, they might seriously take Cam fucking Reddish. So never mind, I’m still really nervous.
” If the Knicks are serious about a potential trade for Davis, some reports suggest it may take Williamson (making Tuesday’s lottery all the more important), Kevin Knox, and Mitchell Robinson to get a deal done.” Oh sure, definitely, league sources. They’ll get right on that.
Bwah Ha Ha! The Rockets owner is now willing to go over the luxury tax for next season! What a maroon. Can you imagine how much better the Rockets would have been defensively against Golden State had they been allowed to go over the luxury cap to bring back Ariza? But nooooo, now that it’s too late, now he’ll go over the cap. What a dick.
If the Knicks are slotted 4th or 5th then Hachimura becomes an intriguing possibility. He has touch around the basket, can shoot and has an ability to intercept passes defensively. Rebounding is coming along, but he’s still only 20 years old. The Suns may scoop him up if they are 3rd or 4th and we end up in 5th. We would be able to pair him with Mitch, keep Trier and Dotson, and sign 2 max free agents. Knox’s development would not be under the same scrutiny in year 2.
Well, the Knicks don’t deserve Zion, but here’s to hoping they get him. It would be great for the city and the league. I would for sure not trade him for Davis or anyone really.
The reason I don’t think we take Cam is because this team desperately needs effective guards, because primary ball-handling & 3-point-shooting guards are crucial these days. Plus, I think they still believe in Knox as a shooter at the 3/4 spots.
But I’ve been wrong before! And the FO seems to love length/athleticism. I’d be fine with Barrett as a consolation and sort of ok with Culver. Garland seems like a decent reach. I’m intrigued by Sekou but doubt that happens. I don’t think they’ll take Clarke either.
Besides the Cavs, obviously, who do you NOT want to get Zion?
Philadelphia (they have the slimmest of chances).
I’m assuming you meant the Mavs; and I obviously agree. Also, even though the rivalry has been dead for 20 years, I still don’t want to see the Bulls get him.
On the flip side, I could stomach Memphis and New Orleans most easily.
I have been, as well. I think. I’ve been invited to something at MSG that’s supposed to have Scott Perry present, so I assume that’s the same thing.
I kinda want to go, but I don’t trust myself not to corner him and make him listen to all the plans for talent acquisition I’ve put together on my spreadsheets. “Scott, listen, did you know there’s a way to get KD, AD, and Kyrie without giving up Mitch or Knox? What’s your email? I’ll send it to you.”
Still reeling from the disappointment of GOT. Well prepared for tonight.
I’ve decided to watch the season finale of Flash with my son. Can’t handle the anxiety of waiting for the ping pong balls to tell me what we’ll be arguing about in the years to come.
Happy Tuesday. The most consequential day for the Knicks in a quarter century begins.
I will probably watch the Yankees tonight instead of ping pong balls.
But I was told definitively on this website that a contending team would never make a bad roster decision based on money.
This is funny. The Lakers best offer is expected to be Ball, Kuzma, and their 2019 pick. Boston is expected to try to hold on to Tatum. But the Knicks are going to have to give up a God, a Titan, and… I guess Knox is Patroclus. Seems relatively steep.
As long as Dallas stays out of the top 5, I’m not going to get upset. You can kind of see where they are going with the Cam interest. Imagine Cam, Knox, Durant and Mitch switching everything with a ton of length and athleticism on defense. It would help if Knox could play defense and either Knox or Cam could score, but hey, I didn’t say it was a good vision, but does have some logical consistency with what they have said.
The Rockets weren’t going to beat the Warriors this year even if they kept the same team together. Both CP3 and Ariza declined a bit since last year. Luc Mbah a Moute hardly played this year.
Their window shut last year, but I’m not so sure they know it yet. Morey is going to have to be an evil genius to figure out a way to improve his old, declining, and mentally weaker club enough to beat the Warriors next year without Durant, let alone if he stays. That doesn’t even count all the younger improving teams.
We really don’t have to keep doing this! We’ll see if Paul Millsap is made available at a decent price this offseason. It’ll get resolved one way or another. My position continues to be that he will not be available at a price that would allow for picking up him AND another piece that, together, would outweigh Kyrie’s production. Yours is that him, and another such player, will be available at such a price. We shall see!
Just out of curiosity, what would be the projected record for a team with KD/Kyrie/AD surrounded by replacement level players?
I really should know how to calculate this, sigh.
I’m not that excited about the lottery tonight. My opinion on these college players can’t possibly be as good as my opinion on pros that I have seen play dozens of times against a variety of matchups and styles. Some of these kids are still growing. Some are more filled out physically and will be ready sooner, but that says nothing about 5 years from now. It’s a crap shoot.
If we pick in the top 3, I feel good about all 3 players having a chance to become a very good player.
If we drop to 4th, I feel good about D’Andre Hunter becoming a very very good two-way role player.
After that it gets sketchier for me. I lost some of my enthusiasm (or more accurately hope for Culver) after others spoke so highly of him, but there are still some intriguing players. Most of it may not matter though. It’s all about the 3 on 3.
Teams I’d be OK with getting Zion, in order of preference:
MEM (who cares!)
NOP (preempts a dumb AD trade by our FO?)
SAC (is it even possible?)
PHX (changing of guard?)
MIN (changing of guard?)
CHO (preempts a dumb Kemba signing?)
CLE (they’ll still suck)
Teams I’d rather not have get him but not worst-case scenario:
CHI
WAS
ATL
Teams I’d be really pissed if they got him:
LAL
MIA
Teams I’d lose my shit if they got him:
DAL
BOS (via some stupid trade)
You’re right. Especially today. Couldn’t help myself. My bad.
Classic Strat.
I would definitely trade either Zion or Mitchell for Davis, but not both. When you have a player like Zion or Mitchell, you are hoping and praying that one of them someday turns into what Anthony Davis already is, but you shouldn’t actually expect it to happen. More likely is that they turn out to be very very good, not all around “great” like Davis.
To seal that deal, I would gladly throw in some limited combination of Dallas’s 2 first rounders, one of our other young players or picks if that’s what it took to get it done.
You don’t get many chances to sign a young elite two-way superstar.
The Cavs are fully gonna win this ish
I’m more excited that I have the Raptors and Bucks in the conference finals. That means I’m getting to the finals against the Warriors in a position to let it ride or hedge to a profit. The only way it could be better is if the Warriors got upset.
This seems really inconsistent with your position on value signings. Three years of Mitch giving 80% of AD’s production at 5% of the cost seems like value, no? Isn’t it easier to build a team around that contract than AD’s?
Anybody based in the DC area that wants to watch the lottery tonight? I don’t know any Knick fans down here.
Bwah Ha Ha! The Rockets owner is now willing to go over the luxury tax for next season! What a maroon. Can you imagine how much better the Rockets would have been defensively against Golden State had they been allowed to go over the luxury cap to bring back Ariza? But nooooo, now that it’s too late, now he’ll go over the cap. What a dick.
This is the same thing that Bennett did with the Thunder. He refused to pay to keep Durant, Harden, Westbrook, and Ibaka together, which almost certainly cost OKC at least one championship. Then he backs down, agrees to go deep into the luxury tax, and locks the franchise into non-contender status for years.
So the Knicks are gonna “play the hand we’re dealt” in free agency. Um, have they ever heard about folding? You can do that if KD is not coming. You can fold/punt and rent the cap space.
NBC Sports (fwiw) has the Knicks “keeping an eye on” Rozier and Morris from the Celtics in free agency. Uh oh.
Crossing fingers tonight.
I’m not totally sold on our current management team’s merits, but I do think they work hard at evaluating prospects. They don’t just focus on the top prospects. I expect they are keeping tabs on the availability of almost every free agent. So I don’t draw conclusions about their preferences from a brief note that they are keeping tabs on a particular player.
It is not. The Kings’ pick goes to the Celtics if it is anything but #1 overall and it goes to Philly if it is #1.
So let us hope that the Kings don’t land in the top five!
we better not trade zion… AD is tempting but having zion on a rookie deal is very valuable… and theres something to be said about having a cornerstone player potentially play their whole career here…
especially someone who has the motor and toughness of zion…. and it seems that he has his head on straight… coupled that with all the talent he has… i will roll with that kind of guy vs a collection of mercenaries…
I agree with your point 100%. There are scenarios where we could get two other stars and keep Mitchell that would be better than making a trade, but in isolation Davis is a prize that’s hard to pass up on.
I’m value oriented, but to win a championship, you need 2-3 offensive stars depending on each’s quality. Right now we have exactly zero. I love Mitchell Robinson and can’t believe we were either lucky or smart enough to get him where we did, but all he can do on offense is dunk on lobs and put back OREBs. That makes him more of a 3rd option or extremely valuable role player. He might eventually expand his game, but I’ll take a bird in the hand over one in the bush.
As much as I love Mitch and think he’s an amazing value, he doesn’t give you even close to 80% of AD’s production. AD is literally one of the 5 best players in the league and will go down as one of the top 15 or so of all time. AD scores 28 points per 36 at a TS of 60 and a usage rate of 30, averaged 4.2 assists per 36 to boot. He is a true offensive centerpiece. On defense, he is already what Mitch could be at the the peak of his career.
That said, I’m not sure I would trade Mitch for AD either if KD and Kyrie are coming. That offensive centerpiece thing is less useful with two primary scorers already on the team, and all that extra $$ saved with Mitch’s contract could be used on defense and shooting around KD/Kyrie.
The tough question is what to do if KD/Kyrie coming is contingent on getting AD.
It’s a little different. Those guys were all young and had a very long widow. Ariza was on the wrong side of 30 and went “oh for 9” from 3 and “oh for 12 overall” in a game 7 after having a bad game 6.
Praying that this off-season yields a (dream scenario) Pat Bev/Rubio – Kawhi – KD – Zion -Mitch starting five
That’s actually not happening, but I’d “settle” (as in jump for joy) for this starting five as well:
Kyrie – Pat Bev/Satoransky – KD – Zion – Mitch
Which seems eminently possible, depending on the Pat Bev/Satoransky numbers. Of course, given Dolan’s Razor, we’ll probably end up with:
Kemba – Cam Reddish – KD – Knox – Mitch Rob
KD is so good that even the worst case scenario is a respectable enough team.
May the ghost of Dave DeBusschere be at Ewing’s right hand tonight.
Yeah I keep Mitch if we get Kyrie and KD. Of course AD would be awesome but it makes the team top heavy for sure. All 3 have injury concerns, so if one goes down, the team is really hurting and if 2 go down, you’re screwed. I think the “Big Three” thing is way overrated. Two superstars and an amazing supporting cast that makes for a balanced team is the way to go in my opinion.
@39
It’s a testament to Perry and to KD’s total inability to not care about what others think of him that this really does appear to be the Dolan’s Razor scenario (along with Philadelphia winning Zion and whooping our ass for the duration of Durant’s contract)
It seems they’re again doing the weird format where they announce the #1 pick first by reading out the ping pong ball number combinations, then the #2 pick, etc. It’s weird because as a fan you don’t know what any of the ball numbers represent, so there’s nothing to take away from any of the readouts. I liked it better when they went in reverse order, announcing the #14 pick first and then counting down.
It seems like there’s an opportunity to make the event more exciting by explaining the ping pong ball numbering better and having some sort of live updating of odds based on the balls drawn so far. Someone on P&T was actually saying you can reverse engineer it, and worked out that the Knicks have like a 50% chance at drafting #1 overall if a 1 ball is drawn first.
If anyone is interested in seeing how it’s going to work, here is last year’s drawing. Go to 6:40 in the video and try to make heads or tails of what all the number combinations mean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wFlQRdOo9U
There’s no reason to take Cam Reddish. It’s not like he’s the fifth most enticing prospect in the draft or something. There are 20 guys I’d take over him (or Nas Little I have to say, even as a UNC fan). Doesn’t mean our FO won’t take him of course, but we can get a much better prospect at #5.
That’s the literal lottery itself. That’s not what is aired on TV. That’s done so that there is proof that Team X got Pick #3. Each team sends a representative down there, as well, but they can’t communicate with anyone. So that’s why the order was done differently, because it was not televised. I didn’t know it was recorded, but it makes sense (for conspiracy theorists).
The televised lottery still does the countdown from #14 down.
Yeah, man, I am so fucking happy that KD is so damaged. His damage is the best thing that has happened to the Knicks in many years.
I would not entertain the idea of trading Mitch for AD.
I would build a package around Morant or Barrett, possibly even Zion, for the opportunity to build a KD-AD-Mitch frontline. But no Mitch.
I thought about doing some sort of singing post as a good luck bearing stuff, but alas, I was less inspired than Benioff and Weiss these days so I’m sticking to biting my nails while probably losing sleep watching the process unfold live at 2:30 AM.
If we pick #4 or #5 I guess my partner will ask for pre-emptive divorce, given that she’ll be certainly sleeping before going to work at 4:30 AM and I will wake up even the devils in the deepest areas of hell.
So, Gods of Basketball, don’t ruin my marriage to be, please.
Ah ok. Well good! Was wondering why they’d have such a non-viewer friendly format. So then, the order we want to hear I believe is:
#14: SAC / BOS
#13: Miami
#12: Charlotte
#11: Lakers
#10: Minn
#9: Dallas
#8: Memphis
#7: New Orleans
#6: Washington
#5: Atlanta
#4: Chicago
#3: Phoenix
#2: Cleveland
Any deviation from that means a precipitous fall in the chance we are drafting #1 or #1-4.
Also, can we please stop Cronin-cursing the KD-to-Knicks stuff? I’ve seen this movie before :/
(Just kidding. But honestly, Dolan’s razor is too damn real to be optimist about anything)
I’m probably crazy, but I think I’d rather have Mitch than Zion also (yeah, I’m definitely crazy).
Zion is close to 100% to be far the best rookie next year because he’s physically ready to play at the NBA level and his skills translate easier. But his greatness at the college level is partly the result of his athletic advantage and physical dominance over other college players. He’s not a supremely skilled ball handler, play maker, shot maker etc.. piling up stats.
When he comes to the NBA, he’ll be more than strong and athletic enough to hold his own on both ends, but the gap will narrow. There are going to be nights where he’s undersized playing against a taller, longer, athletic big that’s also very strong. He’ll be productive, but he’s got a long way to go to be assured of becoming a superstar.
There could easily be a couple of players in this draft that will start out way behind him that will eventually pass him if he doesn’t expand his game. Expanding his game is no more a lock for him than Mitchell even though he’s ahead of Mitchell in some in some skills while Mitchell has the size and length.
My concern is some outlets are now talking as if the choice is to keep Zion or trade him for AD using cap space to balance the deal… I.e. as one of two max players alongside KD. That’s the worst idea ever. I’m pretty against trading Zion at all if we’re fortunate enough to get him, but if you do it you only do it after getting KD and another max player. Otherwise you’re blowing your depth, your trade assets AND your cap space and only emerging with two guys to build around.
Please someone tell me there is no way we’d be that dumb?!
Can a Ja/Kyrie backcourt work out? I dunno but I’d love to see it happen.
@53
Ja is pretty ball dominant but if his 3 pt shooting from his sophomore season is for real maybe he can play secondary ball handler and rebound the hell out of the ball. he’s really tough to handle on cuts which might make SG doable for him in the short term.
Or he’d just be our lead guard off the bench, which wouldn’t be a bad outcome either.
Seriously. I’m the guy touting The Secret here, but when Brian said this it made me cringe:
I’d be thrilled with Ja Morant because I don’t like Dennis Smith Jr and would rather add someone other than Kyrie with space anyway.
You take Zion over Mitch in a vaccuum. But you can make a salary-based case for wanting to trade Zion more than Mitch.
You can’t get AD, Kyrie, and KD with Zion. It’s a mathematical impossibility. You can get Kyrie-KD-AD-Mitch.
@52
The idea for Davis would be to include Zion and some LIMITED combination of Dallas’s picks, a future 1st rounder of ours, and maybe 1 other young player like Frank or Knox. If you are forced to do a Melo type deal, you have to walk away.
A main reason not to trade Zion is that you’d have to trade almost all the other young pieces just to make the salaries work. I certainly would not include draft picks in a trade for AD if Zion is involved — Zion is/will be the most valuable trade asset in the entire league because of his potential and also how many years he’ll be under team control under a (presumably) below-market contract.
Essentially, if I were trading Zion (+Frank+Knox+DSJ+Trier), I could argue that the Knicks are the ones who should be getting draft picks back.
Remember Andrew Wiggins (who was highly touted as a #1 pick) was traded straight up for Kevin Love, who was very highly thought of at the time — not AD-level but still an upper echelon player. Trading Zion +the kids literally is sending the that same #1 pick plus 4 additional first round picks.
btw it could be a 1 for 1 trade Zion for AD – it would just mean we would have a lot less cap space.
this is pretty much my expectation for the off-season and tonight (pick 4 or 5)…who knows, maybe things will work out more favorably, but, at the moment – i’m thinking of a 25 win 2019-2020 season…probably get the 8th pick next year…
at least we have one another 🙂
that’s so funny…
seriously though – how in the heck can something so smooth sounding cause so much devastation:
the curse of cronin…that sounds straight out of hyboria…
Mitch improved so radically through the season, I’m gonna say you can’t move him.
He has all the tools, and he seems to have the smarts, to be a great player.
I wasn’t even thinking that far ahead. I don’t know who else is coming and I’m not going to try spin my wheels too much. Mills and Perry won’t listen to me anyway. 🙂
All I know is that out of all the free agents and players available, imo, Anthony Davis is far and away the greatest prize. He’s an all time great player that imo hasn’t even reached his peak yet and he’s young enough to be here for 2 contracts. As great as Durant is, this is the tail end of his peak. He’s likely to start declining while on his next contract.
I believe they can trade for Davis into space.
You might have reasons to think that’s not a good idea, but I don’t think we have to match salaries. I think there may be some rule about waiting 30 days or something if we trade Zion. I don’t know the specifics. However, I don’t think Zion is enough. Someone will add enough sweetener to whatever players they send to require more than Zion (and imo rightfully so)
i think the fact that AD was only able to lead his team to better than a .500 record two out of his 7 seasons is a huge red flag…
he can’t drag a less than optimum team along with him, same as kyrie…KD and kawhi probably can, i think there’s a good chance zion will be able to…
There is actually a way to do this. It’s not easy, though, because it involves asking people to take less money. It’s tab #41 on my Knicks offseason spreadsheet.
Long story short:
– decline Trier’s option
– keep Lance Thomes
– trade Dennis Smith or Frank for a pick
– sing Kyrie and Durant for $1.1 million less than their combined maxes in year 1 (maybe get each of them to take a $550k paycut, or do a 1+1 with Kyrie for slightly under max)
– trade Zion, Lance Thomas, Frank or Smith, and picks for AD (New Orleans can waive Lance immediately for $1mm).
– use the room to bring Trier back.
– round out roster with vet minimum guys.
– end up with:
Kyrie
Dotson & Trier
Durant
Davis
Mitch
6th Knox
I’m really not sure that the Morris and Rozier rumors are anything but noise. But, in a different article, Perry is quoted as saying
It sounds like he is switching to win now mode. If we don’t get Durant, I don’t think that is a good idea; and if we do get him, why is he interested other veterans who are not stars?
I am not trading Mitch, Knox and Zion for AD. Hell no. Do we even have cap space for him? It’s $25M isn’t it? Forget about it.
We can trade for him next February when the Pelicans are desperate to get something rather than nothing and signed FA’s can be traded. We can trade future picks and may have better ways of matchign salaries.
Let’s say we do that, how can the Knicks sign him to a $200M contract? Can we exceed the cap in a sign-and-trade?
@ 67 who other Mitch Rob would be considered part of a “good young core”? maybe Trier? Knox b/c unlike Frank he has not been around enough to move on from yet? Are these vets who have been through the wars guys like Lance? I just hope it is patter to fill up some questioners page as a professional courtesy. Assuming the deus ex machina of Durant fails to materialize, we better get the 1 or 2 pick and keep moving forward.
I think if you can end up with KD, AD, Kyrie, Mitch or Zion you make it happen. We know Dolan doesn’t give a shit about luxury tax. That team is going to do some damage. Let Dolan go half bankrupt and let’s win a chip.
I’ve no idea what they’ll do but I think maybe that’s kind of the idea? Earlier this year they essentially said they wouldn’t use space on mediocrity. I’m hoping they are just keeping options open and keeping other FOs guessing. I mean, technically talented/committed/veteran players would include folks like Durant, you know?
@54
I’d be down with that. But I dunno about our defense in the backcourt.
First there was TDDWTDD
Next there must be TRPHTRP
Beam him up, Scottie!
Shams:
You guys do realize that there’s a 6 in 7 chance that Zion is not coming here
You should be hanged for that comment…
@75
Yes, but until that 15% chance is eliminated tonight at around 845, I’m with Hubert on practicing the Law of Attraction. After 8:45 I’m going back to griping about Dolan’s Razor and our future draft pick Cam Reddish.
Really hope if we do luck out we don’t trade Zion (or Mitch). I don’t think I’d be able to take him dominating the league for 15 years even if we do win a championship off the back of an AD trade.
JK just rotated the handle on the aforementioned vise 1/2 turn…
I’m not saying Lenny Bruce is fearless but..
This is pretty disturbing. Why does getting AD have anything to do with Zion? Sounds like they’re prepping for a Zion/Mitch/picks godfather offer. So maybe would should downgrade the Knicks chances of having Zion actually play for them to 1 in 10 or worse…
geo would just like to co-sign that TRPHTRP is not a bad player for a team to have…geo is just not sure what kind of deal TRPHTRP will be getting this off-season, at 8 to 10 million a year, maybe not so bad, above that, geo doesn’t really think TRPHTRP is that great…
@69. I agree with you. “Good young core” was Perry’s statement, not mine. I assume he is referring to Knox and Trier along with Robinson, but he could easily be referring Mudiay or DSJ too. I doubt he’s referring to Frank though. I think Frank will be a useful player someday, but not with the Knicks. I would be surprised if he even makes it to next season.
I have no idea why you wouldn’t want KD is you managed to draft Zion.
who really knows what perry and mills will do…they’ve done some surprising (KP) moves, and, they done some very predictable stuff (knox)…
sounds like they might like to add AD if in fact they do get KD and kyrie…
KD, kyrie, AD means you have an excellent chance to win now, maybe even make the conference finals (what a huge leap in win total that would be)…
i’d just really like to see zion or ja wear a knick uni, and, enjoy watching mitch learn and grow as a knick…i’ve never been a big fan of mercenary teams…reminds me too much of those 1980’s yankee teams…
I feel like Dolan’s Razor doesn’t apply to tonight. It should be reserved for when unlikely things happen to screw the Knicks. Tonight, we are more likely to get the 5th pick than any other, so when it happens, it’s just what it is. Now, if Dallas gets a top 5 (~26% chance), pushing back our 1st round compensation, and maybe screwing us out of the back end 1st rounder of the KP trade, then that would definitely be Dolan’s Razor.
This is set up to be a truly epic slow burn cut of the Razor.
Stink but don’t stink that bad: end result is Frank Ntilikina
Stink but don’t stink that bad again: end result is Kevin Knox
Interlude: NBA institutes rules that create less benefit for teams that stink
Stink very bad (finally)
Get 5th pick in draft, select Cam Reddish to go along with Ntilikina and Knox
It’s the very epitome of Dolan’s Razor: the most irritating outcome will be the actual outcome. I too will be indulging the Zion dream for the next five hours but the Razor is telling us way in advance what is coming.
Remember guys: the Knicks are best appreciated as comic farce. Mr. Roper is about to mis-hear an innocuous conversation as something with sexual overtones and Jack Tripper is about to walk into a door. It is written in the stars.
I cannot watch tonight. Decided I am going to watch another show at halftime for an hour, turn off my phone and then gently log into Knickerblogger later after it’s all over. Good luck, compadres.
i can’t even focus today.
No, that is not correct. Many of the unkind cuts of Dolan’s Razor are due to incompetence, not mere bad fortune. I invented Dolan’s Razor so I shall be the arbiter of when it applies.
Dolan’s Razor: the most irritating possible outcome will be the actual outcome
Mitch and Zion can’t both go in an AD trade. I’m OK with either one being the centerpiece of a package that includes lesser assets. But selling out everything of value for AD is not a good move.
@89 I see where you’re coming from, I just think it’s silly to get uspset tonight when we get the 5th pick, since it is by far the most likely pick we get.
Kyrie, Trier, Durant, Zion and Mitch would compete for a Conference Finals appearance next year. That’s why it’ll never happen.
Ergo, Dallas gets #1, Knicks get #5
Now, having said that, if we use the 5th pick to draft Reddish, then yeah, Dolan’s Razor, right? I think I get it.
Kevin, it’s more likely that we get 1-4 than 5, right? Instead of thinking of individual outcomes, think of the 1-4 as a single outcome. It’s getting me through today.
Yeah, 47.9% chance of getting #5, though. Higher chance of 5 than any individual other pick, but slightly higher chance of getting a cumulative better than 5 pick.
http://www.tankathon.com/pick_odds
@95
Only barely. It’s near 50-50 that we draft #5 or we get one of the #1-4 picks.
Based on the evaluations I don’t think there’s really a ton of value to be lost moving between #3 to #5. Seems like Morant is the clear consensus at #2, and maybe you give some bump to Barrett, but there’s a cluster of potentially valuable guys. The main value I can see of picking #3 is there are probably a couple organizations that overvalue Barrett, so you can get a lot in a trade down. I don’t expect our FO to extract that trade down value though, but I’m open to being surprised…
Amazon Prime said that the ball-peen hammer is en route…
A moment of silence for the great Tim Conway.
If it wasn’t for this blog I probably wouldn’t follow this team. Thanks to all you guys for the many years of gallows humor. We deserve better than the Knicks, but in the words of Snoop Pearson, “deserve ain’t got nothin’ to do with it.”
I believe that Will Munny in Unforgiven…
Snoop
There’s really almost a zero chance when you think about it, because we’re almost definitely going to trade the pick if Durant wants to come here.
But I’m still going to be excited when we win.
Conflicting timelines can compromise the short term and the long term.
“Deserve’s got nothing to do with it,” was Munny’s.
I don’t know if I can carry you guys much longer.
This post : me :: 2007 Spurs : Young LeBron.
A couple of years ago I had a dream that Charles Oakley represented the Knicks at the draft lottery, and the Knicks landed the #2 pick.
I’m convinced that the Knicks cannot “win” a draft lottery unless Dolan at least makes up with Oak, which, of course, will not happen. So, I figure the pick will be 3 or later. That’s somewhere between Zion/Ja and Dolan’s Razor.
I hope we don’t have to play this after the lottery tonight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kjYk2CrQF8
“Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.”
the key is to avoid watching the first 9 picks. any team that jumps into the top 4 will feel like a dagger, and there’s only an ~8.8% chance no team has jumped before the 5th pick is revealed. And even that miracle wouldn’t be much of a boost when it comes to Zion, only raising our odds to 21.5%.
What would be worst?
1) Getting #1 and picking Barrett over Zion.
2) Getting #3 and picking Reddish over whoever’s left of Barrett/Morant.
3) Getting #1 and trading Zion and the Dallas pick for Davis.
If you get Zion just keep Zion and build around him and his many controllable years for the love of fucks sake
as far as the whole living life thing – ain’t that a bitch though…bad things happen to both good and bad people…bad things happen to some more than others – bad things happen to us, a lot…
oh shit – i just had this crazy thought that this is only about basketball and some team i like to root for…i need to wipe that crazy thought out of my mind…
I can understand that, but you have to give up stuff for Davis, and probably give up quite a lot, and you have to pay him too. With KD, you only have to pay him.
Yeah I’m not really liking this trade Zion if we get the number one pick for AD news. I REALLY want the Knicks to have at least one homegrown star and getting Zion means that you can potentially continue to be a good to great team after Kyrie and KD are too old to be elite. With all the draft picks we have over the next 4 years we can continue to add youth.
BUT, if they are bent on trading ZION for AD…Zion better be it. Throw in dudes like Knox and Frank to match salaries but damn, Zion should be enough of a centerpiece to get AD. If we throw in Mitch and picks on top of Zion…I’m going to fucking furious!
We can debate the best way to proceed with the #1 pick tomorrow.
I ended up passing on the MSG event. I’ve decided that watching the endless bullshit of tonight’s production will just agitate me. I went with an 7:30pm dinner reservation instead. Hopefully I get caught up in the company until my phone starts blowing up after we win.
…or another turn of a strategically employed vise handle…already have this piping through my headphones…
Knicks fans, take your seats!
@110
1) Getting #1 and picking Barrett over Zion.
2) Getting #3 and picking Reddish over whoever’s left of Barrett/Morant.
3) Getting #1 and trading Zion and the Dallas pick for Davis.
#1 is by far the worst (like capital offense bad) then #2 (ja>>>>>>rj so it depends, but colossally dumb in either case), then #3 )I wouldn’t make that trade but would be at least somewhat ambivalent on that one…frankly, I am skeptical that Zion will ever be as good as AD, but even if he is, it’s not a god-awful trade.)
The more I think about it, the #2 or #3 pick is actually be the best possible outcome if Perry is hell bent on trading the pick to win now with Durant.
Morant or Barrett can still headline the best trade for AD, and we wouldn’t live with a decade of regret for trading Zion.
If it weren’t for knickerblogger I would be a much worse nervous wreck all day. Thanks for the group therapy session guys.
Home from work now, getting drinks and dinner ready. Will drown my sorrows with the expected outcome of a #5 pick at 8:30.
fine strategy indeed, hmmmm, this coupled with z-man’s vise device should complete the evening…
Manu Ginobli off the bench hitting 3s in my face.
Well, at the very least I just had a great pizza. I didn’t waste this night.
“Sunday, May 12, 1985. I went with my dad to Marshalls in Nanuet, NY. Neither of us had any concept of the draft lottery as appointment television. It was Sunday afternoon, clothes shopping time – maybe an OP T-shirt for me and a button down striped shirt for my dad. The electronics store near Marshalls had TV’s facing the sidewalk of the shopping center. That’s where we found out the lottery results walking back to the car”
I still remember that day and it was must see TV for me as Georgetown/Knicks fan. Little 2for18 was jumping up and down in excitement when they got the #1.
Lauryn and Bob told me Zion Is coming….no way we don’t get him.This time, math,reason , razors got nothing on us.
We get to Zion and he stays.
I was gonna get some Korean fried chicken from the awesome place on the corner but I realized it’s Tuesday and they’re closed
Bad omen
I’m going to skip being on here once the lottery starts. I’ve already alerted my fiancee and coworkers to NOT spoil the results to me. I’m also avoiding all social media until I’m emotionally ready to find out the results.
All the Laker fans (i.e. my fiancee and supervisor) are all like “GO LAKERS! #LOLKNICKS” while I’m like, “FUCK OFF YOU SPOILED BRATS! YOU WERE ALL ALIVE WHEN YOUR SQUAD LAST WON THE TITLE. YOU DON’T NEED ZION! LET (aging) LEBRON LEAD YOU BACK TO PROMINENCE!!!”
Sunday May 12 1985. My two buddies and I are shooting hoops in the driveway. We go inside to watch the lottery, Knicks get #1, we call MSG and get 2 season tickets , $12 each.
Had em ever since.
EDIT: I did not actually tell my future wife nor my supervisor to actually “Fuck off”. I’m a Knicks’ fan, I’m not stupid. lol
Any of you assholes in Philly? Yeah I moved down here.
Those Laker fans have all their suffering ahead of them.
I enjoy the ‘85 lottery stories
I was not yet realized in this world
This whole thing is simple if we win the lottery and get Zion….Sign Durant and Kawhi and go to the ECF.
not so sure those two items are mutually exclusive…stupid knicks fan seems to kind of go together a bit…
This is just sports and some dumb team I root for.
So why does it feel like I’m about to find out if I’m going to Vietnam?
i’ve had some recent challenges/unresolved conflict which i’ve been dealing with lately…kind of stressful… finally had to view it from the perspective of “what’s the very worst thing that can happen”…
once you get to that place, and make yourself a bit familiar with the worse possible outcome…shit ain’t really that bad, or, at the very least you’re a little better equipped to deal with it…
I don’t know why you’re all so down on Cam Reddish. He was coached by David Cutliffe dont ya know.
” “what’s the very worst thing that can happen”…”
My coping mechanism…….. after a lifetime of worrying about shit, it’s almost always something you didn’t anticipate that gets you. So the worrying is useless.
The media is already putting out stories about the Knicks trading Zion for AD but man if you read Knick fans comments on those tweets and especially on the IG post the Knicks put up today with Ewing and Allan Houston at the Lottery the Knicks will get killed by their fans if they trade Zion even for AD.
I’ll be honest if they win the lottery and trade Zion I’ll be beyond pissed, even if it means a Big 3 of AD, KD and Kyrie. There’s no possible way they can trade Zion if they win the lottery.
@134 lol. I feel you, but being a Knicks fan involves a level of passion, love (and arguably some degree of emotional sports masochism, lol) that many people out this way simply don’t understand. Also, in listening to you guys over the years it’s clear many of yall are very intelligent. It’d be easy to rationally say, “Why do we do this to ourselves? Let’s just find a new team”. This team captured my heart in the early 90’s at a time that was very personal and somewhat difficult for me. How could I ever turn my back on Ewing, Oakley, Mase, Starks, et al? I can’t do it. Won’t do it. I love this team too much, and I know the day they win the NBA Title will be a nirvana that myself – along with the city of New York, my home forever – will enjoy unlike any other. And I consider myself pretty intelligent.
@137 I see what you did there… lmao
@132 Yo honestly – before last week, I had you pegged as prolly in your late 50’s. Now I find out you were born after ’85? #mindblown lol
I just woke up from an afternoon nap.
Did we trade Zion for Davis yet?
@143 If it’s coming from Colin Cowherd it must be true. 🙂
Colin Cowherd is NEVER wrong!
…
…
…
Cowherd got Daniel Jones right. And I’m still sick over it.
Well NY already has one overrated Dookie! Let’s not draft another!
The only thing that should stop that trade is Dolan wanting to make more money. He’ll make more money with the Zion hype train than with Davis.
The chances that Zion actually winds up being better than Davis have to be less than 50-50. Davis is already probably a top 15-20 player of all time and he hasn’t even peaked or been on a good enough team to cement his greatness on the biggest stages yet. People are forgetting how incredible Davis is.
If you want to assume Zion will be as effective as an undersized PF in the NBA as he was being Godzilla against college kids, I’m not going to argue too much. But then he still has to get a lot better to be in the conversation with Davis. By the time he becomes that player (if he does), we would have already extended him, he won’t be cheaper, and Davis will probably be still better.
that’s just a mean thing to tell others…man, i love naps now…naps and gardening…holy fuck am i getting old…
If we get the first pick is it a wise move to trade that pick to AD?
Im really not liking that move. it will get as the cap space and AD is good but injury prone. I know Zion could be a question mark but i would love to have Zion for the rookie deal and take chance on him ( he could be a better player). With or without KD.
Not sure if same logic could be apply if we get 2 or 3 (that’s barret or reddish).
it’s 752 pm. allan knows.
I have 2 words for you.
Woodford Reserve.
After all this hype, how are we all going to feel when we draft Cam Reddish because he locked down Kevin Knox in 3 on 3?
We landed the 1st pick. pick Zio. then traded him. Please no. Lets get zion pls
You guys are just going to have to reconcile yourselves to the fact that KD is coming. I know that years of being a Knicks fan have beaten all of us down, but there is more smoke around this thing than in the Los Angeles area during California wildfire season.
@157
I won’t believe it until rumors start swirling that it’s actually Durant’s achilles that’s strained.
so it was 30 years since we have a chance for number 1?
Thats funny in a way because our team sucks for more than a decade.
A bad team means we should be in a lottery but i think we are worst.
Never had that young draft pick to change our fortune and no wins.
Mediocre.
Hope this year is a change in direction. Hope we all learned in our mistakes before.
It’s currently 10:13am Wednesday morning over here, and I can confirm I am the least productive and most twitchy person in the office waiting for our fate. Suffice to say it is going to be an unproductive morning.
It is somewhat surreal that even if we don’t win the lottery, there are still multiple good outcomes for the Knicks if the KD murmurings are on point.
what ime is the draft? will it start in 10 min?
It’s supposed to start at 830 but knowing ESPN they’ll probably have a bunch of bullshit first and it won’t start until at least 845.
Why does it feel like finals game 7 tonight?
God, I just realized how nervous I am about lottery. I don’t think I’ve ever been as into a project as I am with Zion. If we win the lottery I hope we keep him, I don’t care who’s available in a trade. I didn’t think the Knicks could make me feel anything other than sadness, anger, and misery anymore… that’s good good Zion is.
It will be hilarious when the Pels win this thing.
I have my on “work clothes (i.e. college athletics t-shirt and jeans)” with a Knicks beanie. Glad to see I’m not the only one nervous here.
Sidebar: If one more person out here in LA tells me something along the lines of, “You can’t be a Knick fan. You’re out here now”….
okay, time to sign off for a while…i’ve made a command decision while sitting here still at work – i’m gonna need a couple of glasses of wine and some smoke before checking out this lottery stuff…
who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky…and, then trade zion away…
@164 – Amen.
Amen to not trading Zion if we land him.
Amen about the nervous anxiety too. I need a drink or something.
preparing for the worst….
@165 That’d be so ridiculous and funny that I couldn’t even be mad at that. Like, “Word, Adam Silver? New Orleans? Word?”
Woj reporing that if the Knicks land Zion, he will be staying at MSG. That is promising on one front, but probably means Mitch is likely gone if a deal for AD is done.
I was in a panic for the last hour. I couldn’t find my lucky Knicks hat. I sat down and posted here a couple of times. Rachel Nichols said we’re going on a break. I tore the house apart. I FOUND THE HAT!!!
if we land the 5th if we land the 5th if we land the 5th
So strange that Zion is in the room….
This shit is crazy
Is this thing on ESPN or something? I need updates…
All I know is we made it past 5. Knicks film school put up a shot of the bars reaction.
We top 4!
Wow wow wow wow
2 crazy rich franchises and 2 destitute ones…
Well, fuck. Better than 5.
Omg
Considering how likely we were to get 5, 3 isn’t too bad. Looks like we will have Ja or RJ to choose from. It’s not Zion though…..
Is Zion enough for AD to stay in NO? I doubt it, but that is a heck of a starting 5 with those 2 alone.
Welcome RJ BARRET.
THought RJ BARRET IS CONSIDERED FIRST BEFORE THE NCAA TOURNEY
Also, fuck LA. 11th worst record and they land in the top 4. Fuck the Lakers and their charmed life.