[ESPN] – Wed, 20 Dec 2023 13:00:00 GMT
- NBA Power Rankings: Embiid and the Clippers click, while the Knicks hit their stride
- Power Rankings, Week 9: Clippers rise as Celtics reclaim No. 1 spot
- NBA Power Rankings: Timberwolves Stay at the Top While Clippers Surge Ahead
- NBA Power Rankings: Thunder are contenders; holiday wish list for all 30 teams
- NBA Power Rankings: Celtics back on top; Kawhi Leonard, Clippers catch fire
[New York Post] – Wed, 20 Dec 2023 21:08:00 GMT
- Banged-up Cavaliers not ready to trade Donovan Mitchell with Knicks lurking
- Cavaliers in no hurry to move All-Star Donovan Mitchell
- Cavs vs. Jazz: Live game blog; Sam Merrill, bench step up with Donovan Mitchell out
- Cavaliers unlikely to trade Donovan Mitchell despite injuries to Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, per report
- What are the Cleveland Cavaliers’ options with Donovan Mitchell?
[New York Post] – Wed, 20 Dec 2023 11:30:00 GMT
- Knicks’ center problem exposed during five-game road trip
- Should the Knicks start Isaiah Hartenstein at center or stay with Jericho Sims?
- Basketball Pickups: Okay, now it’s Isaiah Hartenstein time
- Knicks’ Jericho Sims To Miss Time With Ankle Injury
- Assessing the Knicks massive frontcourt depth issue
[hoopsrumors.com] – Thu, 21 Dec 2023 04:19:00 GMT
- Knicks Expect Mitchell Robinson To Miss Rest Of Season
- BREAKING: New York Knicks Player Reportedly Expected To Miss Remainder Of Season
- Report: Knicks center Mitchell Robinson to miss rest of season with ankle injury
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson likely done for season, team applies for Disabled Player Exception
- Bombshell Knicks injury news quickly erases good vibes from win
[USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire] – Wed, 20 Dec 2023 14:40:00 GMT
- New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets odds, picks and predictions
- Julius Randle, Knicks pound Nets, 121-102, as Mikal Bridges’ struggles continue
- NBA Live Thread: New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 PM ET
- New York Knicks vs. Brooklyn Nets Prediction, Preview, and Odds – 12-20-2023
- Knicks 121-102 Nets (Dec 20, 2023) Game Recap
[Posting and Toasting] – Wed, 20 Dec 2023 13:00:00 GMT
It’s time to vote your Knicks into the 2023 All-Star Game!
[Sports Illustrated] – Thu, 21 Dec 2023 10:03:52 GMT
“One of those things you can’t really take for granted” – Portis Jr. looks forward to playing on Christmas Day
101 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2023.12.21)”
Blech. Mitch news terrible to wake up to.
Having iHart mitigates the blow somewhat. The problem is iHart’s backup. I’m just not seeing it at all with Sims. Maybe if he exclusively plays against bench units, there might be something there? But basically, he’s switchable and he can jump really high. That’s it, and that doesn’t seem like nearly enough, even with the bench mob.
So our options are:
1. Hope Taj once again can drink from the Fountain of Middle Age, and provide just enough craftiness and corner 3s to get us through the non-iHart minutes.
2. Trade a couple of 2nds (but not this year’s Detroit 2nd) for a veteran on someone else’s bench. (Macri suggested Mason Plumlee, who should be back next month.)
3. Scour the G-League for someone you think is better than Sims. (Though I assume the Knicks FO thinks Sims is better, unfortunately.)
I suppose I can talk myself into Embiid now.
My guess is that they’ll do nothing about the center position. Thibs prizes continuity above all else, and Rose probably doesnt want to waste assets on a stopgap guy.
Sure, they could sign a vet min guy like Dewayne Dedmon but probably just as insurance. Taj and Sims will likely play all of the backup C and maybe some PF minutes.
I think they are seeking the exception in case there’s a major trade and have to plug some holes afterward.
Serious bummer after a good win. This is why it made sense, a couple years ago, to wait on Mitch’s extension: these kinds of lower extremity injuries tend to recur, limit and/or end careers. (I think Knicks FaninCeltic land could speak with more authority on this.) I was with Z-man at the time in believing caution was appropriate despite the risk in waiting to extend him (though I didn’t agree you could get 80% of Mitch at 20% of the price). There was a chance he wouldn’t be back completely, or that he’d get injured again… as has happened. It’s less likely an issue of weight and more structural. He’s Bill Walton – a great player (not nearly as great as Walton, but still great) who is probably not going to be available every season because of bone issues in his feet/ankles. He likely won’t be playing in his 30s. Makes me sad for him and for us.
That said, we can survive in exactly the way we did last night – with the guards crashing the boards. There’s a reason Brunson, DiVo and Hart’s numbers all jumped the last two games. If that continues, and we find someone to take Sims’ minutes, we’ll make the playoffs. And we weren’t gonna win a championship anyway, so let’s not do anything rash just for this year.
Someone mentioned Capela last night. He’s a very interesting option if available.
Knicks just handled the Lakers and Nets on the boards, they’ll be fine. Sucks Mitch is out and obviously it puts more pressure on iHart to stay healthy but Mitch being out for the season doesn’t change the expectations of getting a 4/5 seed and reaching the 2nd rd of the playoffs again.
We can add something like 7 million in salary if the player is on an expiring contract, so if that’s the route someone like Andre Drummond would probably be ideal. A lot of the good/decent bigs are making pretty good money, so if we want to trade for someone like that we’d have to get Evan moving and we have to think about the future as well. I mentioned Capela last night, because the Hawks are mid, have a younger player at his position and might want to save money, but Capela is owed something like 22 million next year.
Sucks about Mitch, and really sorry for him but I do not think it being confirmed he is out for the season changes much. He was already out for a couple of months with a re-eval then, ie. no likely timetable to return. I think the Sim’s injury, Sim’s pretty poor play prior to the injury, and see what Taj has left (in that order) probably is more relevant to what the FO should do than the new Mitch news.
Mason Plumlee would be great but the Clippers would probably prefer to keep him. Maybe we can get Theis off them when Plumlee comes back.
Yeah, waking up to such news is terrible indeed. We need to find a better replacement, Sims/Taj for 5 or 6 weeks is one thing, for the rest of the season it isn’t a good solution.
Queta is getting more run with the Celts, would they accept two 2RPs for him?
Last 4 games, since Dec 15, he’s playing 18.6 mins per game, and he even had a double-double the game before last, with 10 pts and 10 rebs (6 offensive). It’d be a dream come true for me… do it, Leon!
Cyber, for your own peace of mind I think having Queta on another team is preferable. If he were on the Knicks sooner or later he would be the subject of a 250 post thread. Best to just have the occasional mention of him, for example when he snares a double double.
With the exception, it appears that we can only sign players making up to the full amount and that are expiring. Capela seems like he would be more of a long term move. Not sure why ATL would do that without getting a lot back in return…
Boban Marjanović is wasting away in Houston…
Obviously a stretch big is preferable, but they aren’t just giving those away.
Also, I bet we could get Wiseman if we wanted. He barely plays (which is not a great sign).
Oh and Kai Jones is still out there lol. Give the kid a 2nd chance!
capela seems like a terrible idea. i don’t think he’s easily flippable given $22mm in 24-25. completely hamstrings you this summer. concede that you could instead plan to trade mitch but then you’re giving up $8mm next year, likely selling low on a guy who missed a year, and landing a guy who has looked way worse on defense for the last two seasons. unless you are thinking atlanta will pay something useful to get off him — doubtful.
don’t like plumlee either. his rim defense has really faded from mediocre to shit, so you end up with a back up 5 who can’t really 5 on defense and can’t space on offense.
not a ton of good options. olynyk is maybe possibility if cheap enough. definitely a fake 5 on d but at least gives you a legit stretch option that’s better than randle at the 5. a perk is he can also play some back 4 minutes witht ihart or taj in. but can’t root for it bc i’ve seen too many dirty plays from him, though not recently.
orlando got wc jr back and now have him goga and mo wagner. wagner could like olynyk also give you some back 4 minutes (admittedly be weird for them to trade him) and goga is a decent backup 5 though thibs might hate him.
Nerlens
Noel
We have to find a stop gap that’s better than Sims but without giving away anything significant or tying up money. That may be easier said than done, but you don’t start screwing up your position for a backup in a year you aren’t a very serious contender to begin with.
If a guy like Nerlens Noel is in shape and can still play, maybe that makes sense, but if not that’s the kind of thing we are looking for. This is not some kind of team building or long term trade move. This is a get us to the end of the season move.
Let’s see – Butter Stumps or one of my most hated players in the NBA (Olynyk)
Next….
Ugh. Hope against hope the big fella can come back better than ever, but getting screws inserted doesn’t sound good. Glad he got paid before this happened. The next time the Knicks are normal about a serious injury will be the first.
Drummond is probably the best we can do for scraps. At least he usually has a good DEPM, which as Jeremy Cohen pointed out seems to be a point of emphasis for Leon Rose. Chicago has been a bit frisky without LaVine and they might stupidly view us as competitors though.
Snagging any of the Orlando guys would be great, but it’s hard for me to see them obliging unless we overpaid. We’re separated by half a game in the standings, so it’s not in their interests to help us out.
Jock Landale mostly collects dust for the Rockets behind Sengun, which is weird considering they gave him a 4/$32M deal. That money probably scares us off.
So uh, how excited are we about Khem Birch?!
really gotta wonder why mitch was out there supposedly hurt already…
there’s some ok options out there… but nothing great… events like this requires some out of the box thinking which i dont think anyone is really capable of… will need to lean on Randle playing some center minutes occasionally….
spurs have some interesting centers that they don’t necessarily need.. zach collins and charles bassey are definitely capable of playing rotation minutes… so wouldn’t hurt to give them a call…
and joel embiid is certainly on one this season…. could possibly be one of the all-timers with what he’s doing on both ends…
sixers are exhibit A in the coaching matters case study…
Mitch was out there despite being injured because we treat every game like it’s Game 7 of the Finals. Thibs doesn’t do load management, he’s out to beat the New Orleans Pelicans in December by any means necessary.
Maybe Robinson would have been lost for the season anyway, but… y’know. This is the Thibs way. How many times do we scream at the TV because all the starters are in with three minutes left in a 20+ point blowout? It happens constantly.
Bassey came to mind for me too. Unfortunately he is out for the season with a torn ACL and I don’t think the Spurs would trade Collins.
Christian Koloko has apparently been dealing with some kind of nasty respiratory infection for a while, but when he gets back maybe we could snag him? Toronto has a lot of centers. Who the hell knows what Masai would want though.
zach collins cannot be traded
well that’s too bad… the bad teams are really where we need to be shopping.. they probably have no need for their backup or even starting big… and so some future 2nd rd pick would probably get it done…
maybe gafford wouldn’t be a bad get… would be a good replacement for ihart next year..
What’s brutal is all the teams with someone to trade have us over a barrel. How much should we be willing to trade for a rental who will play 18-20 minutes per game? I for one don’t have a clear answer, it depends on how much of this season you think is salvageable, Mitch’s long-term prognosis, our plans re: iHart, etc.
The Pistons’ second seems like too good of an asset to spend on someone like this, but maybe we can get someone decent for the Utah second? That wouldn’t strike me as a horrible way to use that pick given there’s no way we’re making 4 picks in this draft anyway (and that’s not a shot at Leon despite my well-documented qualms with his draft strategy–very few teams would make 4 picks in one draft).
we incinerated the last good 2nd rd pick we had and we traded out of a lottery pick to grab our current backup big so i am pretty sure that detroit second is getting shopped as we speak….
It’s so shitty that they sent him out to play a half of basketball with a broken foot. It would be unbelievable if it hadn’t happened so many times before.
I feel for Mitch and am also happy he got paid.
I would like to know what happened between 8-10 weeks and the rest of the season
The trade is Bol Bol. Throw him in the mix to avoid Hartenstein playing 35 minutes a night and Taj playing 15 or more minutes a night for the rest of the season. And he doesn’t cost anything. Then when Sims is healthy, we’ll have a nice mixture at the 5 while Mitch is out between Hartenstein, Sims, Bol, And Taj. Or..if Leon is gonna go the safe route, then he might as well see what Noel has left in the tank because he knows the system. Unless we can trade for Olynyk for cheap
boo bol could be 8 foot 3 and he still wouldn’t be a 5. getting thibs bol bol for christmas and telling him ‘it’s a 5!’ would be like getting geo eat shoots & leaves and telling him he’s a doogie.
Completely unrelated to the Mitch problem, but this is very interesting: the last three years of Zion’s deal are no longer guaranteed.
https://theathletic.com/4913537/2023/12/21/zion-williamson-contract-guarantees/
Hollinger goes into even more detail on this, while pointing out the likelihood of NOLA ever actually waiving Zion is a lot slimmer than Zion himself is: https://theathletic.com/5134937/2023/12/21/zion-williamson-waive-contract-pelicans/
We all need to accept that Taj is our backup C
Goga is not gogaing anywhere.
Who is the best “available” C in the G-league?
I know it’s not sexy but I’d grab Noel. He knows the system and is familiar with the coach and a bunch of the players. When healthy he’s a very good defender. And he won’t cost us anything.
Keep that injury exception in the back pocket.
Yup. He might even be our starting C. Gotta play half your best players on the second unit.
You work too hard Milo. You truly need to hurry along and put the work stuff behind you.
That way you can have more time to sit around, reminiscence about your past, and share stories with me.
I think Noel’s total inability to grasp the basketball will be a dealbreaker this time around. It was less of a problem when our offense amounted to “let Julius Randle cook in empty gyms” but now we try to do more stuff than that.
Begley says we might bring up a guy named Dmytro Skapintsev from the G-League. I vaguely recall him getting some unremarkable summer league minutes. Nothing to really get excited about in his numbers, but he is Ukrainian so take that Putin!
Yeah Noel is Mr. Butterfingers for sure.
I’m betting they do nothing for now. If the team does well without Mitch it might make them believe they can move on from him in the offseason. So committing any picks even second rounders to get another back up might be a no go. Sims is only out a few weeks. But if iHart gets injured we’re screwed.
First I have heard of Dmytro Skapintsev, admittedly.
LOL
Bringing in Noel is the default non-creative Leon Rose solution to the problem. So it’s just a matter of time before he’s back.
Welcome back, Nerlens! Let’s hope a guard doesn’t get hurt so we don’t have to live through another iteration of Derrick Rose.
He will be back, alright! Back on the injury list about 15 minutes after he signs. 😂😂😂
Hey Max, can Edy Tavares from Real Madrid be a good solution to our C problem? He was Euroleague’s Final Four MVP last season. I think we can bring him in with a contract structured to have the money he’d have to pay Real Madrid for the buyout, just like we did with… sorry, Alan… Vildoza! What do you think of Edy? And are there any other players that we should target in europe?
I remember Skapy, he had a few nice passes in summer league. Might add another dimension but will probably just rot on the bench while Taj does his thing.
It’s kinda funny that there are centers who only have a job when we have a need. Taj, Noel, even Sims… these guys are either playing for the Knicks or not in the league.
Dmytro Skapintsev is best described as a lumbering stiff.
i was just watching something on espn called the G League showcase…one team had a 10 point lead with a minute to go and it evaporated..the announcer said “they fell apart”…I then realized that team’s point guard name on his jersey was “Payton”…nuff said….
The Bulls would probably trade us Vucevic for Fournier, because Fournier is an expiring and Vooch’s contract runs for two more seasons after this one. Still, nah.
Drummond seems like the play. He’s on a tiny expiring contract, the Bulls stink and don’t nobody else want him. Go get that guy
Clyde says please pass on this guy. And don’t trade for Markaten either
Guys who can do 80% of Mitch can be harvested like apples in fall so we should just be able to find one in the next couple of days. It’s easy guys.
Drummond would be decent as a back up. We certainly would keep our good rebounding at least.
I guess we really are gonna test Zman’s 80 percent production theory now.
Isaiah Jackson of the Pacers is a guy I was interested in drafting as a potential Mitch replacement when it looked like the actual Mitch might not return. He doesn’t get a ton of minutes for Indy. Might be worth kicking the tires on him.
They need another big man on the roster immediately as iHart insurance. It doesn’t have to be the long term answer. But if iHart gets injured in the first quarter you’re suddenly asking Old Man Gibson to play 35 minutes. Which, y’know, not gonna happen.
“Guys who can do 80% of Mitch can be harvested like apples in fall so we should just be able to find one in the next couple of days. It’s easy guys.”
Funny seems like we already have a guy doing 90+% of what Mitch does (and thankfully a lot that he doesn’t) at 60% of the cost. The hard thing will be finding a guy that does 80% of what Hartenstein does at 20% of the cost.
If Andre Drummond is available for something like a second rounder, that problem is more than solved.
“Isaiah Jackson of the Pacers is a guy I was interested in drafting as a potential Mitch replacement when it looked like the actual Mitch might not return. He doesn’t get a ton of minutes for Indy. Might be worth kicking the tires on him.”
You’re just trying to fan the flames of the “guys we passed on in the 2021 draft” debate…
most importantly, i think he consistently waxes his backhair these days. that used to be a pretty darn sight there for a while.
too funny, for those of you with young boys – what to do when they start asking about shaving – their body…
life is hard…
Mitch injury clouded a nice win over Brooklyn and could have a big impact on our season, he covered (and will cover in the future) for a lot of mistakes made by the 3-Lefties.
I-Hart is very good but our 2-headed monster at C has lost the main one and it’s not easy to replace.
Honestly, I’d rather give minutes to OG Taj than Jericho, who to me right now is good for 6 fouls, some offensive boards and not much more.
As for the alternatives…
Drummond’s a great rebounder and a disinterested defender, I’d go with him if the price is right, I don’t know where Nerlens is, Skapintsev’s kind of a (very very very) light version of I-Hart (passing is his best skill)…
Cyber, Tavares is good and an intimidator, but he’s a star in europe, has been All-EuroLeague in the last 3 season and a 3-times winner of EL Best Defender (including last year), I don’t think he’d come here to ride the pine, plus Real Madrid is 15-1 in EL and the Tavares-Poirier centers combo is one of the keys.
I don’t think it’s a good moment to scour Europe for players, it’s too early for buyouts, too many teams in the running for playoffs spots both in “Cups” and domestic leagues.
But my italian team is cutting Cauley-Stein if we’re interested 😉
(great talent but he was terrible, he’s one of the laziest players I ever saw).
“…can Edy Tavares from Real Madrid be a good solution to our C problem?”
When he checks in for the first time at MSG can they play this?
I’ve been often absent in the last few days so I’d like to extend my best wishes to all the KBloggers who are (or have been) sick in the last couple of weeks.
Hope you’re all okay and get healthy soon.
I thought Swifty said Draymond not Drummond.
Now I’m thinking… Golden State really does seem like they want to move on… if it’s a straight salary dump, i.e. Evan for Green… probably too big a risk… we’d end up with a center glut when Mitch returns and Draymond might be unmovable…
Not gonna lie, though… Draymond at the 5 here would be fun.
“But my italian team is cutting Cauley-Stein if we’re interested 😉
(great talent but he was terrible, he’s one of the laziest players I ever saw).”
There’s actually video of the press conference where WCS gets cut…
I meant Andre Drummond but honestly this would be the moment to get Draymond Greene.
LOL … he totally deserved it! 😀
I’d be all for taking James Wiseman off the Piston’s hands…
“…honestly this would be the moment to get Draymond Green.”
Almost as much as it is the moment to get a 3-year case of ulcerating jock itch…
It would be so fun this year but he’s got three more years and I don’t know if we could trade him again.
You’re on fire with the videos, Z-Man. 😉
Fair enough, Max. I agree it’d be kind of crazy to let go of stardom in europe to be just the 11th or 12th guy on the Knicks.
Nerlens Noel has been mentioned several times. Are we even sure he’s able to play? He’s had a lot of injuries, which is part of why he didn’t play much in NY his last season here. I haven’t seen anything since then to suggest he’s capable of playing, let alone playing better than Taj or Sims. I think he’s more or less done.
Is there a chance to get Wiseman on the cheap?
Where’s Cole Aldrich? 😉
Sam Dalembert? 😉
Joakim Noah? 😉
mitch and knicks topic of discussion on nba today…say sims will be back in a week, ihart is a good starter, probably no significant replacement move…
too funny, becky hammond: they don’t have a dude
perk: jalen is that dude
Becky: “He’s too small”
Chiney: “Didn’t they say that about you? And you’re a hall of famer!”
Hilarious! 😀
Wiseman is legitimately one of the worst defensive players in the sport. We’re not going to get him and we shouldn’t.
‘Not gonna lie, though… Draymond at the 5 here would be fun.’
Over/under on when he would punch RJ?
Weird I’ve heard so much about Cleveland trading Mitchell bc they’re going nowhere but I just saw the standings and they’re 1/2 game behind us.
Has anyone brought up Goga Bitadze? What would it take to get him and do you think he could fill the Mitch sized hole in our roster
Goga isn’t being traded. Wiseman sucks. Drummond is limited, but maybe? Detroit would love to have that pick back.
I continue to think Swift’s idea about Draymond is a good one. If he were ever to be traded, now is the time. I also think in Thibs’s disciplined group, led by Jalen, he’d be fine…at least for a year or so. While he wouldn’t be ready to trade, his contact isn’t onerous, and he would really be a big addition to the team. If we offloaded RJ for him (Fournier is a pipe dream), it would give more time to our better wings. We’d still be a piece away, but close enough that the right piece actually WOULD make us a contender. And we’d have enough ammo left to make that trade.
People aren’t talking about Mitchell because the Cavs are bad. They’re talking about him because he didn’t engage the Cavs about an extension this past offseason and is almost certainly bolting as a free agent in 2025 if he’s not traded. The Cavs figured they had three seasons to try to impress him, but one was ended at our hands and it looks like the second will be more or less lost to injury. So they have to at least think about it before he’s expiring and has all the leverage he needs to dictate his destination.
Jock Landale: 40%/50%
Draymond: 150%/180%
Gafford: 100%/10%
Noel: 60%/20%
Wiseman: 50%/50%
Dmytro Skapintsev: ?%/5%
Drummond: 80%/20%
The only guy that fits the criteria is Drummond. That’s my vote.
Yes, that’s the story I keep hearing. But they’re nearly dead even with us having played nearly the entire season incredibly shorthanded. Garland and Mobley should both be back around the all star break.
If we lose to the Bucks Saturday we’ll have the identical 16-12 mark Cleveland has. Should we trade Julius Randle because the season’s lost?
No, because we have no reason to believe Julius Randle will be bolting at the earliest opportunity. If we did, then yeah trading him would probably be a good idea.
Sure but it still remains quite a stretch to define the Cavs season as lost when they’re right on our heels. Is our season lost, too?
I mean, the Cavs are all-in on this team. Utah controls their draft picks from 2025 through 2029, and they traded Markaten on top of all that. A “lost season” for them is different than it is for us. It’s championship or bust after a trade like that.
Are you sure Fournier for Green isn’t Golden State’s pipe dream? They owe the guy a ton of money. You probably have to attach a first round pick or two to move that contract.
Here’s a more positive take on Wiseman…watch the video.
Seems like Ja Morant is helping Memphis…
Fournier for Greene.
Sometimes a crisis presents an opportunity. GSW is done. They owe Greene a ton of money. We just lost Mitch. Greene is a competitor who needs a shake up and change of scenery.
Look, I get why people scoff at his idea. It I think we all agree. We’re a good, fun team but we’re not contenders and we probably aren’t the level below contender either.
Leon has built a fun squad mainly bc Randle became an all star and Leon got him to resign on a great contract and then he stole Brunson on a great contract too.
We got lots of picks and some young players. But I think we all see how an all in star move while it could make us better may not be enough especially if we have to deplete the cabinet of young players and picks to get that guy.
Greene potentially allows us to add another high level player for nothing. Yes he’s older. Yes he’s volatile. But he’s also still a hell of a defender, rebounder and playmaker. If we got him for next to nothing then we’d still be able to make that big move later.
Of course there’s be risks. But thibs is a culture guy above all else. And maybe this suspension has set him right. I mean as far as I know he hasn’t done anything off the court that makes me think he’s a bad person.
“And maybe this suspension has set him right.”
You’re kidding, right?
PS: Golden State is not done quite yet.
Saturday begins a stretch of 10 games in 15 days, including 2 b2b’s, Christmas, and New Years Day. We really need to take one of these two against the Bucks.
When Draymond maims somebody for life by sucker punching them in the brain stem I would rather it be in something other than a Knick uniform.
I am somewhat scoffing yes
Let’s not forget that he’s also quit a few times in the past when things weren’t going well. He might go all Harden on us after a trade. It’s a locker room with some intense characters, Randle, Brunson, Hart, so maybe he responds positively, but it could also go south almost immediately.
No thanks.
I think it’s going to have to go south for the Warriors before they make a trade to send Draymond somewhere else. They still have a chance to do well this season and actually just beat the Celtics.
Draymond Green is one of the very few basketball players that have brought me true joy to watch day in and day out. I feel loyal to him in that regard, and will always appreciate him for it.
That said, objectively, the Knicks really shouldn’t be looking at him as a solution to their hole at center, even if he was made available to them. And it isn’t because of his burgeoning homicidal tendencies. It’s because he’s lost the physical edge that used to allow him to dominate as an undersized center, and that’s not coming back.
I really love him as a player. Truly transformative and every bit as important to those championships as Steph. He is an all time great. But I think his declining physical abilities are making him act out in frustration and desperation. The tail end of his contract is not where you want to spend your resources.
At the end of the day this is entertainment. I know sports is a zero sum game and the idea is to win, and that in and of itself is entertaining. And I know that off the court, Draymond hasn’t gotten into trouble. Well, unless you consider a practice session “off the court.” But I digress.
I don’t find Draymond to be entertaining, even at his best. I find him to be an insufferable asshole, and even worse, a cheap shot artist. A coward. Throws punches and tries to make it look like he’s not throwing punches. Punches people when they’re not looking. Ruins games with the cheap shottery.
He’d come here, and we still probably wouldn’t seriously contend, but we WOULD be the ones holding the bag for his bullshit behavior. Donnie, I get it that you find him, or at least found him, to be entertaining. He’s not my thing. I always found myself rooting for him to fail. Different strokes for different folks and shooby dooby dooby.
He was a key piece of championship teams, nobody can deny that. But his decline phase is absolutely not worth the headache. He could change into the Knick laundry and honestly I’d still root for him to fail.
I noted at the time that when you hear “8-10 weeks before he is reevaluated,” then that is a very scary thing to hear, indeed.
Obviously, someone told them, “Yeah, nah, we know the answer now, we don’t have to wait. He’s fucked.”
As for Mitch’s future, it’s this weird thing with screws in your ankle/foot, in that it really is just a case-by-case thing. Some dudes fully recover, some dudes don’t. I don’t think there’s any real definitive answer either way.
What bugs me is that in the C’s game he apparently had x-rays at half time and they were ‘negative”. I know that stress fractures are not as readily visible on x-ray as other types of fractures but they also tend to be symptomatic prior to diagnosis.
In any case, it sounds to me like this is an extreme, preventative approach, The screws are bothersome, but it’s possible that they are the removable kind, or that because of the placement, they don’t cause any issues going forward.
In any case, that’s two season-ending lower leg fractures for Mitch as well as hand injury that had him out for a long while. Seems we’re sort of out of the freak bad luck realm and in serious concerns about injury-prone-ness, a la Timelord, Nerlens, etc. He has only had one completely *relatively* healthy season.
At least in Mitch’s case it isn’t his knees, so if he makes a full recovery he should be good as new. And the descending contract helps.