I’m sure some will bemoan the now-realistically potential loss of a 1RP this June, and to be sure, I’d rather have the pick than not. That said, I think you have to survey the current and near-future NBA landscape and judge it against the progress of the team this year. Other than maybe the Bucks, who’s the surefire NBA Finals favorite this season? Taking it a step further, I think the league is in a transitional phase where there’s no super teams now (nor likely in the immediate future). Thus the barrier to “contender” is lower than what it usually is.

We’ve been saying for a little while that we’re a SF away from getting to that next level. Normally I’d feel that level would be “consistent playoff 2nd round/maybe ECF” which normally I wouldn’t quite consider title contender-ship. But as I said, the barrier to title contention right now is lower than normal: I don’t think the gap between where the Knicks are now and “legitimate” title contender is as wide as it would be in most other years. So this summer, I think the Knicks should take a hard look at cashing in most their assets for the right SF. Obviously, that should be a pretty short list.

Kawhi would be at the top: quirkiness and all, that’s the one guy that I believe absolutely makes this team a surefire Finals contender next season.

Bam is out tonight yet Dallas still allows the Heat to score 44 pts in the 1st quarter

BBA, as I recall almost every move Dallas has made recently replaced defense with offense. So in a way, this is an expected result.

How does Kidd not get fired after this season?

I think this is more on the GM, honestly. But yes, I’d probably bring in a new coach anyways to make Kidd a scapegoat.