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Knicks Morning News (2024.01.02)


  • OG Anunoby delivers in debut as Knicks topple Wolves – ESPN
    [ESPN] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:53:00 GMT
    1. OG Anunoby delivers in debut as Knicks topple Wolves
    2. NBA: OG Anunoby inspires New York Knicks to winning return on debut
    3. Wolves vs. Knicks Preview, Starting Time, TV Schedule, Injury Report, Odds
    4. OG Anunoby looks like ‘perfect piece’ for Knicks after just one game
    5. Game Thread: Knicks vs Timberwolves, January 1, 2024


  • Report: RJ Barrett’s Contract Called ‘Toxic Asset’ by NBA Insiders After Knicks Trade – Bleacher Report
    [Bleacher Report] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 22:16:33 GMT

    Report: RJ Barrett’s Contract Called ‘Toxic Asset’ by NBA Insiders After Knicks Trade


  • Precious Achiuwa thrilled to be ‘back home’ playing for Knicks after trade – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Tue, 02 Jan 2024 01:41:00 GMT

    Precious Achiuwa thrilled to be ‘back home’ playing for Knicks after trade


  • Minnesota Timberwolves vs New York Knicks Jan 1, 2024 Box Scores – NBA.com
    [NBA.com] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 19:27:45 GMT

    Minnesota Timberwolves vs New York Knicks Jan 1, 2024 Box Scores


  • OG Anunoby believes he’ll ‘fit right in’ with Knicks after stunning trade – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 18:51:00 GMT
    1. OG Anunoby believes he’ll ‘fit right in’ with Knicks after stunning trade
    2. Knicks acquire Raptors’ OG Anunoby, deal RJ Barrett
    3. RJ Barrett’s Viral Quote After Knicks-Raptors Trade
    4. How the OG Anunoby trade might affect Sixers 2024 NBA trade deadline approach
    5. Evan Fournier making most of rare Knicks chance as he awaits likely trade fate


  • Knicks Waive Two-Way Player Dmytro Skapintsev – hoopsrumors.com
    [hoopsrumors.com] – Tue, 02 Jan 2024 01:25:00 GMT

    Knicks Waive Two-Way Player Dmytro Skapintsev


  • Knicks’ Jalen Brunson overcomes rough shooting with career-best 14 assists: ‘Floor general’ – New York Post
    [New York Post] – Tue, 02 Jan 2024 02:34:00 GMT

    Knicks’ Jalen Brunson overcomes rough shooting with career-best 14 assists: ‘Floor general’


  • NBA Rumors: Knicks Don’t Intend to Make ‘All-Out’ Pursuit of Donovan Mitchell Trade – Bleacher Report
    [Bleacher Report] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 21:47:01 GMT
    1. NBA Rumors: Knicks Don’t Intend to Make ‘All-Out’ Pursuit of Donovan Mitchell Trade
    2. Knicks not expected to aggressively go after Donovan Mitchell
    3. Grade the Trade: Knicks strike again, get Mitchell from Cavaliers in new proposal
    4. Immediate trade for Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell ruled out by the Knicks
    5. Grade the Trade: Knicks send the farm for Donovan Mitchell in new pitch


  • New York Knicks 2024 New Years Resolutions – The Strickland
    [The Strickland] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 19:02:53 GMT
    1. New York Knicks 2024 New Years Resolutions
    2. When will Knicks make a trade? And more questions for 2024
    3. New York Knicks Insider Places Timetable on ‘Big Trade’
    4. Predicting the New York Knicks’ 2024-25 starting lineup
    5. Ranking Knicks’ Top Trade Priorities Entering 2024


  • RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley react to being traded from Knicks – sny.tv
    [sny.tv] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 21:27:04 GMT

    RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley react to being traded from Knicks


  • Quentin Grimes Back, OG Anunoby Debuts vs Minnesota Timberwolves? – New York Knicks Injury Tracker – Sports Illustrated
    [Sports Illustrated] – Mon, 01 Jan 2024 17:00:20 GMT

    Quentin Grimes Back, OG Anunoby Debuts vs Minnesota Timberwolves? – New York Knicks Injury Tracker


  • Julianne Moore flashes her megawatt smile as she catches a Knicks game alongside celebrity friends in NYC – Daily Mail
    [Daily Mail] – Tue, 02 Jan 2024 02:32:00 GMT

    Julianne Moore flashes her megawatt smile as she catches a Knicks game alongside celebrity friends in NYC

  • 179 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.01.02)”

    Yesterday I wrote:
    “So there’s 22 games until the All-Star break, which will bring us to the 55-game mark. seems like we have to go 14-8 to stay on a 48-win pace. A lot depends on how we fare in the 8 games against the Grizz, Pacers and Mavs.”

    Correction: I left out the Magic in those 8 games.

    The first ten games starting on Wednesday look like a real opportunity to go on a nice run, something like 8-2.

    I hope we are aggressive in going after Brogdan. He would lift our wins ceiling into the 50’s. He’d be a merc for sure, but he’s also a better salary to have on the books for a future trade than Fournier. I’d go as high as Fournier plus:
    -Either of our own 2024 pick or DAL’s top-10 protected pick plus a shitty second from the Obi trade
    -The protected 2025 MIL pick plus one of WAS or DET protected picks.

    I would hate to include Grimes, but if the trade could be made with Grimes and Fournier but no firsts of any kind, I’d have to consider it.

    OG reminds me Luol Deng.

    Will make winning defensive plays and convert open dagger type shots.

    My level of optimism pre-trade (on a scale of 1-10) was 1.

    Post trade it’s at 3 because this foundation makes sense. Brunson-DDV-OG-Randle-Mitch/iHart isn’t a contender but it’s coherent and sound. Now I’m at the point where I can see a move or two making a big difference.

    So why is it at 3 and not higher? I need to see Leon take a different approach to draft picks before I believe this can be anything other than a capped out 4 seed with no flexibility.

    I’m really excited about our two first round picks this year. They will most likely be in the 11-20 range barring further moves from us or Dallas. Miami built their non-Jimmy core (Bam, Herro, Jacquez Jr) drafting in that range.

    So if we use our two first round picks this year instead of trading them for high-priced backups, confidence will go up to 5.

    And if we actually nail the two picks it will go up to 7.

    If we make another Josh Hart type trade it will go back down to 2.

    And if we make an all-in trade for Mitchell the scale will be permanently broken.

    That was a really good win yesterday. OG is a great fit on this team. I also think IQ will be great on Toronto. RJ also has the opportunity to carver out a role in Toronto that was not going to be available here as long as Julius is here. This trade really balances out both rosters. At the end of the day the organization went with the vets. Short term that works, we’ll see what happens longer term.

    I stumbled on a KFS podcast last night called “Study Hall”. Evidently, they have a call in show that they rebroadcast as a podcast. The trade was obviously the topic of the day. There were a lot of callers on both sides of the argument, but two really stood out to me. The first was Robert Silverman, who was a big contributor here years ago. He liked the trade, but was compassionate towards the people who were upset about losing IQ and RJ. He compared it to the Oakley trade, where we lose a fan favorite, but it is a necessary step to move the team forward.

    The second was a woman who gave a very passionate, expletive laced anti-trade and anti-Thibs rant. She said she wore a “Fire Thibs” shirt to the garden. Her moniker was “E”. I think it was our very own E. E, am I right? I often wondered why we don’t have any women posters. Maybe I was wrong.

    Also the team, for me, just entered into a grace period. If we lose a game because Miles McBride and Precious Achiuwa were minus 15 in 12 minutes, so be it. I know Thibs won’t see it this way, but those are lumps we can afford to take. We don’t have to go out and fix that because we have no window this year, especially with Mitch out. Just let the cake bake.

    “I hope we are aggressive in going after Brogdan.”

    Do you mean “Bogdan” or do you mean “Brogdon”? We’ve been discussing both of them, and what you wrote is some kind of hybrid of the two of them, so I’m not sure who you’re writing about here.

    Yea Z..
    I like Grimes too. Unfortunately he’s in a weird spot. Thibs can’t swap he and DDV now because DDV has been so good with that starting lineup. He’s not aggressive enough to be that scorer on the 2nd unit. And let’s not forgot Deuce got extended. So IMO, the only thing to do is move Grimes in a deal that upgrades the starting SG spot. Brogdan would be ideal for our 2nd unit, even if it means Deuce won’t get an extended look with his extended deal. Hart has been much better as a SG/SF than a PF this season, so I would imagine using him primarily at those spots and Achiuwa(if we keep him) as the bench PF/C with some Sims sprinkled in is ideal for Thibs. Where does this now leave Grimes who hasn’t been what he was last season on offense? I dunno..I’m definitely out on using Grimes in a Brogdon deal, but like you said Z, if Portland would take Grimes and Fourner straight up for Brogdon, you have to consider it. But I prefer to use Grimes to upgrade the starting SG spot, which is why I’d gamble on Murray here. He’s shooting well enough to play alongside Brunson, then run the show when Brunson’s resting- and it would help Thibs stagger his firepower between both units if you’re worried about consistent scoring with DDV and Hart leading the 2nd unit.

    Or, maybe you send Fournier and a decent first for Brogdon while using Grimes in a separate deal if there’s one to upgrade at C or PF. Honestly, at this point I don’t want to see Randle moved because he has been great this season for us. But! If there’s a Randle for Zion trade to be had with the rumblings out of NO and with Zion being mostly available so far, I’d look into it now that we have OG. We’d have to find a smart way to load manage Zion, OG, and Mitch to keep them as close to their peak availability in that scenario though. And I think that means investing in bringing Hartenstein back. But that’s a very good team on paper with Zion and Brogdon. Scary health though. But at some point you gotta look at the market and take your shot- especially if you’re not sold on Donovan on this team.

    damn am i going to miss quick.

    if we are considering intermediate options who add some shot creation, i wonder if the other bogdanovic is possible. atl doesn’t seem pressed to deal him, but he’s a 31 yr old coming off the bench for a floundering team supposedly in rethink mode. his contract is highly flippable, so some of the cost might be recouped if the white whale ever does make an appearance. despite not being a conventional playmaker, he has the bonus feature of both adding legit second unit shot creation and fitting well with closing lineups and not being a huge defensive liability. still comes down to cost, of course, which is tough to guess, but presumably cheaper than murray with less fit uncertainty.

    side note: precious has long been one of my least favorite players and i don’t like him as a backup 5 almost as much as i don’t like taj/jericho. i acknowledge the versatile skill set but the decision making is a spectacle as is his timing and positioning as a rim protector. i think of him as kenneth faried waking up every morning convinced he is allen iverson.

    I’m with Hubert…the right move is to take a chill pill for the rest of the season and draft two players.

    However, I doubt Leon can be patient, – if he can send Fournier, Dallas pick and one other protected that’s unlikely to convert anytime soon, to land him IQ replacement in Malcolm Brogdon.

    One thing you have to give Leon and his team is confiendtiality when it comes to trades. No one saw this coming in December. Trade must have been on the table for a while…no peeps.

    Malcolm Brogdon is going to be a very expensive piece. There’s chatter that Philadelphia might make Brogdon & Grant their all in move. This is not the aisle we should be shopping in.

    DDB, I meant Malcolm Brogdon from the Blazers, which should have been clear from yesterday’s thread. I don’t like either Bojan of DET or Bogdan of ATL anywhere near as much as trade options.

    As to draft picks, I’m not in the cherry-picking business. I love having iHart, JHart, DDV and OG, plus all of our future firsts, plus four surplus protected picks. Get me a massive upgrade over Deuce/Malachi and I’ll be very happy to part with a pick or two. Brogdon fits the bill.

    I never thought about the stand pat option because of my excitement over Leon making a big move(for this roster) while holding on to firsts. But standing pat and drafting with our firsts in the draft is a smart idea, considering the possible Hartenstein retention and the need to keep OG and Brunson around.

    Question is- if Brogdon is too expensive picks-wise, how do we get better shot creation on the second unit. I’ve seen people bring up Clarkson, but I’m a solid no on him. Nice player, but not a good enough shooter. Detroit’s Bogdanovic or even Burks? Peyton Pritchard?

    I’m not in favor of adding Brogdon, Bogdon, Bojan, or Boban. Neither of them will put us over the top this year, so why waste assets. I’m pretty convinced a Murray deal will happen after Jan. 15, which may or may not put us over the top, put will preserve matching salary for our next big deal. I’m afraid Grimes and probably Fournier and a pick or two will be on the way out.

    I’d be okay with DJM but less so, he probably wants to be a starter and have a significant on-ball role. What better way is there to replace the runner-up 6MoY than with the actual winner?

    I think it was our very own E. E, am I right?

    You picked the wrong day to ask this. She/he/they doesn’t come here after good wins.

    I’m also fine with waiting and with keeping and making the picks. I love that both options are supportable.

    Nice bounce back game from iHart yesterday. 3 blocks, 3 steals and neutralized Gobert.

    It’s safe two say That Leon had the best free agency July 2022 in history of the franchise.

    July 2023 with DDV is looking pretty good too. Paying $11M for a 26 year old two-way starting shooting guard hitting ~45% from three on decent volume is nothing to sneeze at either.

    I’m against a Murray deal because 1. It will be too expensive and 2. We shouldn’t waste multiple draft picks on what is essentially a role player, and maybe not even a great one at this point.

    I’d much rather get Malcolm née Brogdon, the reigning 6th man oty, for one pick and Fournier. Murray would cost at least two 1sts or one and Grimes.

    And whilst I agree with Hubert about draft picks, I think Leon will gladly fork over one of our two firsts to help fortify our playoff team.

    She/he/they doesn’t come here after good wins.

    Especially wins that are largely a credit to the play of our starting power forward.

    Nice that we beat an excellent team and we beat them our way, by smashing them on the glass.

    The Knicks haven’t even had a practice yet, let’s see how the team evolves before insisting we need x or y.

    We’ll need to run some different sets and let guys figure out how to generate offense with only 1 of Randle and Brunson on the court for long stretches.

    Nice bounce back game from iHart yesterday. 3 blocks, 3 steals and neutralized Gobert.

    iHart is now leading the league in defensive EPM. He has 10 steals in our last 3 games.

    Standing pat is fine, except that we need to do something with the Fournier salary slot. I just can’t see them keeping him in moth balls for another year. I’m rethinking my position on Malcolm Brogdan. He’s not as old as I thought and definitely has the skill set. I’m sure Grimes and Fournier would have to go out plus a pick, so the price tag wouldn’t be much different than Murray. Murray has also removed any sign of the Hawks from his social media, so something is definitely going on.

    The second was a woman who gave a very passionate, expletive laced anti-trade and anti-Thibs rant. She said she wore a “Fire Thibs” shirt to the garden. Her moniker was “E”. I think it was our very own E. E, am I right? I often wondered why we don’t have any women posters. Maybe I was wrong.

    I also listened and noted the same thing with some amusement, but think it’s a coincidence. Fairly certain our person has alluded to being a guy. Silverman was characteristically thoughtful.

    Fournier’s predicament is kind of funny. On one hand, you might think he’d be furious if we pick up his option just to keep his salary for another year for the obvious reason that he wants to play.

    On the other, it’d be a $19M donation to a guy otherwise looking at the minimum.

    The best case scenario for everyone involved if we don’t flip him at the deadline is we pick up the option, but trade him somewhere willing to either waive or play him before the season. Hope whatever we do works out for him.

    My only real issue with Brogdon is the only time he’s really been healthy in the NBA is when he wasn’t a starter. And those injuries have taken a toll on him because he hasn’t really been completely healthy as a 6th man since. I know I floated Zion back out there, but at least he is the type of player you can gamble on his upside. Brogdon is what he is at this point. So if we trade for him, I’d be ok with it being Fourner, Flynn, and the Milwaukee pick or something

    I understand Jeremy Cohen’s logic of picking up Murray as a way of keeping the Fournier contract slot on the books for longer, but I think he’s underestimating how much the Hawks might want asset wise given how much they gave up for Murray.

    Meeting a high price under the assumption we’ll be able to recoup it in a future trade seems like a dangerous game for a guy with RJ-ian efficiency numbers and whose defense seems to have fallen off a cliff. He’s decidedly better than RJ, but having just experienced the relief of getting off that contract painlessly I don’t really want to jump right back into the onerous contract risky business.

    Murray’s fit with the current team is…unclear at best IMO. I guess he does provide some shot creation which we badly need, but again, it’s a lot more shot “creation” than shot “making.”

    So he seems like a pass for me. Explore the market for all the Bogdanoviches, Brogdon, and maybe Scary Terry. I know Bill Simmons is hot on the Clarkson idea, but I’m not sure I’d take him for free. I vastly prefer Burks as a bargain bin shot creation option. Sexton wouldn’t be a bad fit but Ainge will somehow ask for 3 unprotected firsts for him, so that’s probably a no-go.

    Hubert mentioned Delon Wright in the last thread, and he might be a cheaper alternative to Brogdon. Brogdon would be ideal, but price and health are question marks.

    I have always liked Bogdan, and he is a very good ball handler and 3pt shooter. The only worry is that he might be expensive as he is having a really fine season.

    Someone mentioned Dejounte Murray having a bad character, and that scares me a bit. Our team has good character but is also very emotional, and I would worry about messing the chemistry.

    Also, happy Isaiah Hartenstein Currently Leads the NBA in Defensive EPM Day to all who celebrate!

    The appeal of Dejounte is that you could be buying low on a very talented two way player. I’m curious what they could possibly get for him at this point.

    I think we should all give McBride a bit of time. He’s been out of the rotation all season except for a few garbage time minutes here and there and maybe one game where we were short on players.

    Let him settle into the rotation for a few weeks before we decide he can’t get it done. He had a bad game yesterday but it happens. I think he can do just fine.

    I’d rather we not spend more picks. I’m kind of with Hubs on it’s time to draft again this upcoming draft unless a BIG move can be made.

    I’d like to see who shakes loose on the waiver wire after the trade deadline.

    And I keep saying it. If we want to grab someone, we should look to grab Alex Burkes! He can take on back up PG duties if needed. He can definitely give us scoring off the bench. He’s a decent defender! He’s played here before!

    It’s safe two say That Leon had the best free agency July 2022 in history of the franchise.

    Yes but it’s also safe to say that he had the worst free agency period in the history of the franchise the year before.

    The total cost to unwinding the Burks, Noel, and Kemba signings was one first round pick, six second round picks, and we had to trade out of a stacked lottery because we couldn’t afford to add the salary. Not to mention the opportunity cost of spending $35mm on two guys (Rose and Fournier) who gave us nothing.

    That’s kind of Leon’s deal. He blew the Obi pick then he drafted IQ. He incinerated the 19th pick then he made a brilliant trade with the 21st. He had the worst free agency, then he had the best.

    Hard to tell if this is part of a learning process or if he’s just a mixed bag. Time will tell, but as one of his biggest critics, I’m more than willing to say he’s doing enough to earn some patience.

    Fournier’s predicament is kind of funny. On one hand, you might think he’d be furious if we pick up his option just to keep his salary for another year for the obvious reason that he wants to play.

    On the other, it’d be a $19M donation to a guy otherwise looking at the minimum.

    You know what’s even funnier? It would greatly aid our ability to trade for a superstar if we declined his $20mm option and signed him to a one-year $45mm deal.

    I’ve liked Delon Wright for a long time but I’m not sure he’s the guy, he’s more of a steady hand that can initiate the offense when there’s other more capable scorers. He’s a pretty decent defender but he doesn’t solve the usage issue.

    Terry Rozier definitely would, but I have no idea why the Hornets would trade him for a late first and Fournier’s contract, which would be totally useless for them. And if they ask for Grimes, I’d rather just keep him and hope McBride and him can progress.

    Yes but it’s also safe to say that he had the worst free agency period in the history of the franchise the year before.

    I am pretty sure this franchise has a long record of worse FA periods than that one. That FA period was more in the “disappointing” camp than in the “crippling” one.

    I am pretty sure this franchise has a long record of worse FA periods than that one.

    We don’t.

    You can think about it for hours and you won’t come up with one.

    The guy spent nearly $80mm on players who were either perma-benched or traded away with draft capital within one year.

    You’d actually be hard pressed to find any GM in modern history who had a worse FA period.

    Bad trades have been our MO, not bad free agency periods.

    I’ve never met a woman who liked Talladega Nights before. But then again, I’ve never met a lawyer with so much free time on their hands either, so I’m not quite how to interpret E outside of his opinion on the Mez.

    Regarding last night’s game, Macri points this out about the win:

    “That they did it despite being outshot overall (47.4 percent to 43.8 percent) and from downtown (39.3 percent on 28 attempts to 35.3 percent on 34 attempts) while giving up 23 points on 15 turnovers.
    The key to victory – besides a virtuoso Randle 4th quarter – was destroying the Wolves on the boards, 49-34, and specifically on the offensive glass, where they bested Minnesota 16-4.”

    He also points out OG has a “73 percent hit rate around the rim (a tad higher than RJ’s 57 percent)” — which matches with the number of dunks he had (I think of his made shots, three were 3-pters and four were dunks — take that, Morey!).

    “And I keep saying it. If we want to grab someone, we should look to grab Alex Burkes!”

    Please for the love of G-d stop saying that. But if you *do* keep saying it, please spell his name correctly.

    …and speaking of free time, just box-score watching and two bizarro facts popped out:

    Indiana shot 14% from three (5-35) — and won! Against the Bucks!

    Obi played 29 minutes and scored 11 points — and somehow was +35!

    Hubs,

    No way that free agency was the worst of all time. Did you forget the summer Phil signed Noah in free agency?

    The 2021 free agency set us back but it didn’t fuck us royally. Noah fucked us up for years.

    You can think about it for hours and you won’t come up with one.

    Phil Jackson signed Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee, and Lance Thomas to multi-year NBA contracts in the same offseason

    You’re talking about a franchise that signed Noah and Eddie Curry in free agency. No way 2021 was worse than either of those signings.

    “Downtown, why you don’t like Alec Burks?”

    Ooo, me! Me! (Waves hand wildly)

    First, he spells the name wrong each time.
    Second, he’s another mid-sized shooting guard, of which we have a suitcase-full.
    Third, he’s not a point guard, he was forced to play that due to how badly we sucked back then (let’s all take a pause and remember how badly we sucked back then).

    Joakim Noah was the last “OH MY GOD YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME” move that a Knick GM has made. The kind of move that’s a clear, obvious calamity from the moment it is announced. Andrea Bargnani fits in this category. Emptying the cupboard for Eddy Curry.

    Leon’s bad moves have been more like head scratchers, where I’m like “I can’t even really tell what he’s going for with this.”

    Burks is roughly the same size and shape as RJ. He’s not big per se, but he’s bigger than Donte or Grimes.

    He shouldn’t play PG, but we need usage soakers too and Burks does that. He can play point in a pinch if needed.

    Burks is a nice budget option. He’s been very good the last few years and might be again this season as he gets further away from his most recent injury.

    If we get outbid or don’t want to pony up for Brog/Bog/Boj or Murray, then Burks is a solid get.

    I’d rather try to get a Sam Merrill from the Cavs, Norman Powell from the Clips, or Jaden Hardy from the Mavs. Pretty cheap (especially Merrill!), and IMO pretty good options for us at the present time.

    We’d be asking Alexe Burques to handle BACKUP PG duties, not start. Huge difference. And McBride can also still play.

    Plus Alekcqe Berkues would have built in chemistry for a lot of the team and the coach.

    My concern with Deuce is that even on nights when his shot is falling, he’s not really a point guard. He’s just a very short wing. When he’s played well for us in the past, it’s been in situations where he got to play alongside Quickley (mostly) or Brunson (occasionally). Unless his pick and roll orchestration has advanced far more than he was able to demonstrate yesterday, he’s a guy who can be helpful to the team, but not someone who can specifically fulfill the same role that IQ was playing for us.

    And the 2005 offseason was far more calamitous than Leon’s second summer in charge. It’s splitting hairs to say that Curry shouldn’t count because we traded picks(*) for him, since we also gave him a ridiculous new contract not long after giving Jerome James a ridiculous contract.

    (*) Which became LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah.

    I really liked Alux Burka when he played for us, and was greatly appreciative of his skill set that allowed him to do a passable imitation of a point guard despite being the closest thing I’ve seen to the NBA version of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. But I don’t think we need a usage soaker that puts us in the position of once again whining that there are not enough minutes to go around (sort of the problem with Brogdon, too). We need a decent passing point guard backup who can play well for 15 minutes a game and hit some threes. Not another shooting guard, not a B version of RJ (arguably an A version?).

    Deuce was actually pulling that off this year, but I think the sample size was so small that it’s as indicative of his play as the quite bad stats he’s had in previous years (in other words, he’s not as bad as it looked, but I fear it’s not as good as it looks now).

    I agree with some that we give him 10 games to see if the butterfly has emerged from his chrysalis.

    Didn’t we sign Melo as a free agent to MMM with a no trade clause one gloomy summer night?

    You know who’d be great for the role? Jose Alvarado. He’s from Queens, a sparkplug, admittedly a tad petite but total fun.

    Funny…I brought up last two summers for Leon for discussion to see if they’r eindeed the best and somehow we flipped it into a debate/discussion about all time worst things that happened to this team via free agency.

    For me, the Ron Baker affair deserves honorable mention in any discussion of our worst FA blunders. Not much money and not a big move by any means, but the sheer irrationality of it all just takes your breath away.

    The 2021 free agency set us back but it didn’t fuck us royally. Noah fucked us up for years.

    We passed on Jalen Williams and gave up 7 picks to unload the contracts. Just bc we’re not in the shitter doesn’t mean it didn’t fuck us royally.

    We passed on Jalen Williams and gave up 7 picks to unload the contracts. Just bc we’re not in the shitter doesn’t mean it didn’t fuck us royally.

    Since you insist, I’ll once again point out that’s not what happened and leave it there.

    Also, Joakim Noah was on the books for that season and made a salary worth roughly $2M more than Jalen Williams.

    And the 2005 offseason was far more calamitous than Leon’s second summer in charge. It’s splitting hairs to say that Curry shouldn’t count because we traded picks(*) for him

    If you say the Sopranos is the best TV show and I say “no, it’s Good Fellas”, would you be splitting hairs to say that’s a movie?

    The conversation was specifically about the worst periods of free agent activity. Not the worst offseason.

    Phil’s Noah/Lee summer was pretty bad but those two guys made around 20% of the cap. Leon used almost 2/3 of the cap in one day and every single signing was terrible.

    Phil’s Noah/Lee summer was pretty bad but those two guys made around 20% of the cap. Leon used almost 2/3 of the cap in one day and every single signing was terrible.

    Both of these figures are inaccurate.

    I think the non-cooked version of Alek Burx (which, very much TBD if that exists) would be pretty solid, at least as far as the cheap options go. It looks like the plan is to play Brunson with the bench units more now that RJ is gone, and we’re really overburdening him in that role if we don’t throw him another guy who gets most of his FGs unassisted.

    Alen Bursts can also be kind of a fake backup point guard without Brunson in lineups with decent playmakers in DDV and Hart.

    I’d rather try to get a Sam Merrill from the Cavs, Norman Powell from the Clips, or Jaden Hardy from the Mavs. Pretty cheap (especially Merrill!), and IMO pretty good options for us at the present time.

    Why would any of these teams that are trying to win trade with us?

    One thing that immediately stood out to me about OG was his size, he legitimately looks big and obviously has the wing span to boot. Playing against OG, Randle and Mitch would be like playing against an old school 90’s front line but just much more athletic.

    Any chance we actually discuss the best free agency summers instead of detailed nuances of the worst…future has been this bright in at least a decade.

    I had the same thought BBA, that is a very physically imposing front line… I also like the OG comparison to Deng. No wonder he got 35 minutes right away… I hope the knee holds up

    The thing that jumped out about OG to me is basketball IQ. He makes good decisions both with and without the ball, sees the court well, has fast reaction time.

    Any chance we actually discuss the best free agency summers instead of detailed nuances of the worst…future has been this bright in at least a decade.

    There’s a lot less to discuss in this category than its opposite, but I’d nominate the 1996 offseason:

    Allan Houston, Larry Johnson, and Chris Childs all brought in at reasonable rates for the tail end of Ewing’s viability.

    Result: 57-25 (though significantly overperforming our SRS). I still believe we could have challenged the invincible Bulls if not for the stupid bullshit with Ewing getting suspended for standing around at midcourt during the brawl with Miami initiated by PJ Brown’s ridiculous cheap shot.

    The ridiculously uneven penalties for that brawl (5 suspensions for us, 1 for them) are still pretty high up in my personal Knicks fan PTSD hierarchy. Sorry, just realized that I was supposed be to recounting a success story, but like all positive things in our history, this one only exists to set up a crushing disappointment down the line…

    Edit: forgot that LJ was traded for Anthony Mason, but still pretty good signings on those guards. But we also signed Buck Williams! He was a serviceable big who we could probably use right now 🙂

    It remains to be seen who got the best of this deal in terms of value. That primarily depends on how Quickley does in a starting role over the next couple of years and if RJ develops into a legitimate starter.

    What’s less debatable is whether Rose got the right player back. I think it’s obvious that OG is exactly what this team needed on both sides of the ball to replace RJ.

    IMO Rose showed excellent patience by not just making a trade that makes us better. He waited for a fastball down the middle and then swung.

    IMO, we need one more star caliber starter. That can be at either SG or C.

    I include C because even though I like Mitch, he’s very limited on offense, can’t make free throws and could become liability down the stretch of playoffs games, and he’s often hurt. If Mitch is your starting C, you need a very good backup. He’s hurt too often to be messing around with scrub backups. We’ll have to pay to keep I-Hart. Of course, if they like what they see from I-Hart the rest of the way, they could stay with him use Mitch in a trade.

    Either way, I can see Rose making a small move or two from here, but I expect him to remain patient on another big move. The clock was ticking on doing something, but imo he has until summer or the next trade deadline for the next big move.

    Since I’ve been following the Knicks it’s probably between the year we signed Randle/Marcus Morris/Bullock and the year we signed Brunson/Hartenstein. Or do we look favorably on signing Amare (technically a S&T) to setup the Melo acquisition?

    This might be more depressing…

    I don’t think we should be wasting any of our pick ammo on any old has-beens. We could use a backup PG that can score a bit so we don’t have to split up Brunson/Randle so much and put one in 2nd unit. But I don’t think we need to waste anything beyond a 2nd rounder for anything we add unless the player is young enough to be around awhile and part of the core team. This team is still one significant player away. I’m not paying for a short term rental when I have my eyes on the prize long term. I want to make sure I have enough ammo to land him if there’s a bidding contest.

    Can Pablo still play? He’s the kind of backup they need. Maybe the Wolves would be willing to give us their assistant coach.

    For sure JK, it was actually the times OG cut and got his dunks where I noticed just how long and athletic he is.

    The Randle/Morris offseason aging so well is hilarious considering how dumb it all looked at the time. It still was dumb, we just stumbled into multiple good outcomes resulting from it–I’m old enough to recall the arguments we used to have on here about whether we should trade Marcus Morris at the deadline or extend him…happy the real front office came to its senses on that one, though I think it required Steve Mills finally being fired.

    Hard to go with anything other than the Brunson offseason at the end of the day. Nothing we talk about here matters without that guy. Hartenstein is obviously essential too and I’m looking forward to him trying to take on a larger role.

    DDV is going to scratch and claw his way into an honorable mention here if he keeps this up. RedunDonte has totally saved our skin this year.

    2011 is probably the runner up for best free agent period. We signed Tyson Chandler, Jeremy Lin, and Steve Novak.

    2012 isn’t a contender but we signed Jason Kidd, Pablo Prigioni, Chris Copeland, and Rasheed Wallace. We also traded for Ray Felton and Marcus Camby. I mention it only because after those two offseasons Glen Grunwald should have received a lifetime contract but instead of doing that he got demoted and we gave his job to Steve Mills.

    It still was dumb, we just stumbled into multiple good outcomes resulting from it

    We just stumbled into every single signing being good?

    Come on, we got that one wrong. All of us, myself as much as anyone. Perry’s Plan B turned out to be awesome.

    Even the small moves that year, like Bullock and Ellington, turned out well. And the move we all hated the most (Bobby Portis) was probably one of the best signings we made.

    The problem was the idiot coach we hired the year before. All those contracts were good players at good value.

    Hard, when you’re good, to get better. I really like our top 7 right now. Who do you want demoted? Grimes? So, you want to give up multiple picks for your second guy off the bench? Past #7 on the depth chart and you might as well play Deuce and Precious. Hold on to your cards, Leon. If you want cost controlled help with upside, consider taking a player out of college with a draft pick.

    I mean, Portis is a good player but we didn’t get anything from the signing. He walked for nothing because before Leon Rose got here we had no conception of asset management whatsoever (Rose is far from perfect, but at least understands the idea). Ellington played a handful of minutes and walked for nothing too. Taj re-signed…for the minimum, after we gave him $10M for no reason.

    We could’ve signed Randle and Morris and still had the cap space leftover to absorb Iguodala’s salary dump from the Warriors, which netted the Grizzlies’ the Warriors’ top-4 protected 2024 pick.

    We could’ve signed Randle and Morris and still had the cap space leftover to absorb Iguodala’s salary dump from the Warriors, which netted the Grizzlies’ the Warriors’ top-4 protected 2024 pick.

    Above and beyond all the other blunders, this is the kind of thing that just kills me about this team: The one unassailable advantage we have is infinite money, and we’ve never even contemplated using it for moves like this, which are the most direct possible way to turn money into elite talent. Instead, Dolan’s wealth has been a curse locking us into the Noahs and Mega Max Melos and Allan Houstons for years on end.

    wow… there’s a lot of ‘we have already arrived’ energy here when we’re barely in the playoff picture and this trade probably not actually moving the needle much and probably a net negative…

    are folks willing to go on the record for win total projections?

    He walked for nothing because before Leon Rose got here we had no conception of asset management whatsoever (Rose is far from perfect, but at least understands the idea).

    He walked for nothing because after Leon Rose got here, Leon Rose declined to pick up the team option.

    wow… there’s a lot of ‘we have already arrived’ energy here when we’re barely in the playoff picture and this trade probably not actually moving the needle much and probably a net negative…

    are folks willing to go on the record for win total projections

    As a certified “troll” I’m aligned with you and I don’t think we’re better relative to the competition than we were last season. 45 wins over an 82-game season.

    we’re barely in the playoff picture

    aren’t we like a game or two back of the 4 seed? can we be realistic for a day?

    Anyone know OG’s character much. I don’t think I’ve heard him speak yet.

    Is he considered a good teammate? Beyond the fact that he’s already accepting the hardest defensive assignment.

    We seem to have a solid locker room, where there seems to be an unwritten team rule that no one can act crazier than julius, which is a useful team rule to have.

    I wonder whom he may get along well with on the team.

    I like the anecdote about how OG decided that until he has a better sense of the offense, he’s just going to keep cutting as much as he possibly can. Very good things came from that. DDV and Hart are also great cutters, and iHart has a gift for passing to cutters. Could be something fun?

    And the offense definitely does better with motion than when everyone stands around to watch Julius or Jalen do their thing.

    aren’t we like a game or two back of the 4 seed? can we be realistic for a day?

    We are currently tied for 7th, making us a play-in team that is indeed barely in the playoff picture.

    I’m amused that your idea of realistic is focusing on where we’d be if our record was better than it, you know, actually is. In reality.

    He walked for nothing because after Leon Rose got here, Leon Rose declined to pick up the team option.

    Because Bobby Portis is not worth the absurd $16M the option was for. MIL signed with the Bucks for $3.5M/yr.

    We complain about smaller salaries for better players this year despite the cap being significantly higher.

    Okay, so OG’s a really sharp young guy with a British accent (been in the states since he was a kid though).

    His dad, family probably have strong accents.

    Looks like a super smart family.

    OG should fit in really well with the knicks.

    Can’t wait to hear him getting interviewed by Rebecca at the end of a game at the garden.

    Need to listen to him speak some more, seems very resevered though.

    aren’t we like a game or two back of the 4 seed? can we be realistic for a day?

    and we are 3.5 away from 10..

    with that in mind who do you think is not being realistic? is pointing that out trolling to you?

    Most of us are pretty clearly saying we need another star or at least a high-usage scorer till a star comes available

    We are currently tied for 7th, making us a play-in team that is indeed barely in the playoff picture.

    I’m amused that your idea of realistic is focusing on where we’d be if our record was better than it, you know, actually is. In reality.

    “Barely in the playoffs picture” implies we’re a longshot to even make the playoffs. Atlanta and Toronto are barely in the playoffs picture. What you’re saying is that we are not currently in the playoffs.

    We are 1.5 games back of the 4th seed. That’s literally where Dred said we are.

    On the Lowe Post podcast discussing the trade, Lowe & Pelton mentioned the Wizards can’t find someone to give them a 1st for Tyus Jones.

    I would give them their fugazi first for him. Might even be willing to add the Utah second.

    What are your odds on the Knicks making the playoffs this year?

    What’s your projected win total?

    Just listened to OG’s post game. Wow, talk about a low key individual. His resting pulse rate is like 35.

    I can not wait to see how he reacts to tough situations out on the court.

    Edit: Tyus Jones would be absolutely perfect on our team.

    Editing again: yeah 35 is probably about what his next annual average contract salary number will begin with.

    What is a normal resting pulse rate? I have no experience with such things.

    “Barely in the playoffs picture” implies we’re a longshot to even make the playoffs

    I’m sorry what?

    “Barely in the playoffs picture” implies we’re a longshot to even make the playoffs. Atlanta and Toronto are barely in the playoffs picture. What you’re saying is that we are not currently in the playoffs.

    This is a pretty fanciful interpretation. A more reasonable view is that teams that wouldn’t even be in the play-in if the playoffs started today are not in the playoff picture at all, barely or otherwise.

    Tyus Jones would be absolutely perfect on our team

    Right!?

    I was pleased to hear them say the price for him is less than a first.

    Maybe Evan, Washington’s protected 1st, Utah’s second for Tyus Jones and Danilo Gallinari?

    (I know Gallo won’t play, but I’d re-sign him anyway bc unlike Evan he’d be happy making $12mm to just sit around and wait to be traded.)

    Were half a game back of the sixth seed with like 50 fucking games left. I know it sucks that we won yesterday but some of you need to get a grip

    I think my favorite part of this thread is that with so many choices, I have no idea what Doogie thinks is ignorant.

    On the other hand, trying to decide if I’m pleased and impressed that Pagliacci recognizes his troll-hood, or concerned that he does and clearly doesn’t care…

    Now please continue with your parsing of “barely…”

    Sure, whatever. What are the odds the Knicks make the playoffs?

    If by making the playoffs you mean being a top 6 seed, about 35%. If we are including getting in via play-in, 45-50%.

    Were half a game back of the sixth seed with like 50 fucking games left. I know it sucks that we won yesterday but some of you need to get a grip

    Ok but we have trended down heavily over the last month or so — not just by record but also by SRS — since a decent start that leaned heavily on the defensive contributions of a guy who is now out for the season.

    Why is it unreasonable to think we’ll continue more or less on that course after a trade that was talent-neutral for us at best by consensus?

    On the other hand, trying to decide if I’m pleased and impressed that Pagliacci recognizes his troll-hood, or concerned that he does and clearly doesn’t care…

    I don’t recognize my troll-hood, only the perception thereof. There is a natural human tendency to be biased towards optimism, and for realism to be perceived as pessimism. Perhaps as a coping mechanism, it’s fairly common on this board despite mountains of historical evidence to support pessimism on many aspects of this franchise.

    Knicks started the season 2-4 and Pags was talking about the Knicks winning 35 games but now he’s saying the Knicks had a decent start.

    The Knicks last Wednesday were tied for the 4th seed, they had a rough 3 game road trip but bounced back with a win at home against the team with the best record in the West. Seriously WTF are we even talking about the Knicks being barely in the playoff picture…

    Talent neutral only if you think roster construction doesn’t matter at all.

    It’s so dumb to look at seeding either way right now. There’s a few truly elite teams then a bunch of good ones who are all bunched together within a few games. It was like this last year.

    FanDuel has the Knicks in the playoffs at an implied 81% after you remove the vig

    DraftKings is a little more optimistic at 84%

    Is Vegas being optimistic or realistic? I suggest you bet big if they’re being optimistic because that’s a lot of money coming your way.

    In biased towards optîmism bc it’s actually the riskier and braver choice to make in sports (and in life).

    Being optimistic means finding things you like and laying down reasons why you think those things can continue and we can build upon them. Being pessimistic (or realistic) means just baysaying and coming up with every possible reason why something won’t work. It’s important to not go into things blind but pessimism allows you to never have to care and you can always move the goalposts. Unless we were the run away one seed and sweeping teams in the playoffs on to the finals you can always move the goalposts and remain pessimistic. We saw it so clearly last spring when everyone said getting into the playoffs and winning a series would mean we were successful but then when we lost to Miami so many people loved that goalposts – ie, the mezzanine phrase popped up out of nowhere.

    guys we are currently the 7th seed and 3.5 games out of 10th… this barely out of the playoff picture is not some outlandish thing you guys think it is…

    it is actual reality…. seriously look at the standings… it is not a whatever thing… it is a ‘now’ thing…

    i’m not a troll for pointing that out… you guys have lost your grip is what this is about… some true heretics out here that i’m some sort of crazy guy frothing at the mouth for something that is as true as the sky is blue….

    and pretty telling how emotional you guys get over this… wow… just wow…

    Knicks started the season 2-4 and Pags was talking about the Knicks winning 35 games but now he’s saying the Knicks had a decent start.

    We have exceeded my low expectations so far, and the trade does help us mainly by removing RJ’s horrendous minutes from our rotation. OG is no superstar but there’s a lot of value in a player that doesn’t constantly do dumb shit. My 45-win expectation is a more optimistic take than I had previously. I never said the trade doesn’t make us better here and now, my issue is that it’s not enough to make us a contender and leaves us without enough ammo to realistically ever get there.

    Talent neutral only if you think roster construction doesn’t matter at all.

    Talent is a separate question from fit and roster construction. The trade does help our roster construction here and now for what it’s worth, hence why I believe we’re now a 45 win team.

    Is Vegas being optimistic or realistic?

    Vegas is likely reflecting the opinions of overall fanbase, which will tend to be a little too optimistic when it comes to popular/high profile teams. How has the trade affected those numbers?

    Being pessimistic (or realistic) means just baysaying and coming up with every possible reason why something won’t work. It’s important to not go into things blind but pessimism allows you to never have to care and you can always move the goalposts.

    i could’ve sworn this came from our former president….

    For the record I don’t think anyone except maybe E is a troll. I appreciate different perspectives.

    You can bet “No” at +500, implied odds of 16% chance to occur.

    If that were so inaccurate, the pros would hammer it into oblivion. If you truly think that’s way off, you should bet a lot of money on it.

    Swifty, I came up with the mezzanine analogy after Leon’s first season in 2021.

    And it was you who tried to move the goalposts and you just did again:

    everyone said getting into the playoffs and winning a series would mean we were successful

    Nope. Everyone did not say that. It takes more than a single playoff series to be successful.

    There’s 3 teams in the playoff picture, 9 teams barely in the playoff picture, and 3 teams out of the playoffs.

    lol I could make the argument that your acting like our former president is acting now.

    Biden took over a country in complete shambles after trump and covid. He hasn’t been perfect and there’s been mistakes along the way but the economy hasn’t crashed, unemployment is low, inflation has gone down and he’s had some big pieces of legislation passed. There’s nothing super exciting about Biden but he’s getting the job done.

    Meanwhile trump is his followers are acting like bc everything isn’t perfect, that Biden is a failure and they refuse to acknowledge how bad it was before Biden took over.

    9 teams barely in the playoff picture,

    ok! so we’re in agreement then that we’re part of the 9 teams ‘barely in the playoff picture’….

    so does that mean my previous statement was accurate? what has the current beef migrated to now then?

    you can choose to answer in a passive aggressive way by pretending to answer another imaginary question again….

    swifty… i knew i would have to try to spell it out so i regret what i said.. i’m just poking fun at the word salad that was .. to put it kindly.. tough to follow..

    not political at all…

    You can bet “No” at +500, implied odds of 16% chance to occur.

    If that were so inaccurate, the pros would hammer it into oblivion. If you truly think that’s way off, you should bet a lot of money on it.

    The “pros,” such as they exist in sports betting, may in fact be doing so without being able to move the line heavily as sports gambling in America is now a pastime for the masses.

    As a former professional gambler I’m duty-bound to explain that even if I think a bet is +EV, that’s far from the end of the analysis as to whether I should take it. In poker I always found that a player’s long-term success was better predicted by their bankroll discipline and game selection than their pure playing ability.

    Constitutionally, I don’t bet on sports for those reasons, and because I trust the integrity of the league and its officials far less than I trusted the RNG that determined the shuffle of the deck on Pokerstars.

    Knicks won 47 games 2 of the last 3 seasons (41 wins in 72 game season projects to 47 wins) and that’s what they are expected to win season.

    Saying the Knicks should win in the high 40’s and finish in the 4/5 seed is not being optimistic, it’s being realistic.

    I appreciate different perspectives.

    i keep seeing this a lot from at least a handful of people… but i don’t actually think you guys know what this actually means…. or you don’t act like it…

    appreciating different perspectives means actually engaging with it… or at least not solely engaging with hostility… accusing others of being purely negative… that they have a bias implying none of it is based in fact… that’s not appreciating different perspectives.. or a fucking poor way of showing it…

    guys.. this is fucking basketball… what do you think is actually happening here that you’re getting so mad about?

    What the hell is “baysaying”? If I said that I went to Red Lobster and got biscuits from Cheddar Bay, is that what it is?

    In biased towards optîmism bc it’s actually the riskier and braver choice to make in sports (and in life). Being optimistic means finding things you like and laying down reasons why you think those things can continue and we can build upon them.

    I’m glad to hear you admit to this bias as most people deny its existence. However, I disagree that this is braver than simply seeing things as they are. Looking for things you like while disregarding things you don’t will just end up giving you a distorted picture, setting you up for disappointment when you must reckon with the truth.

    Being pessimistic (or realistic) means just baysaying and coming up with every possible reason why something won’t work. It’s important to not go into things blind but pessimism allows you to never have to care and you can always move the goalposts.

    It’s telling that you conflate pessimism and realism, as though any view other than undue optimism is invalid. Regardless, I dispute that these views enable one not to care. You may disagree with my opinions, but if I didn’t care about the Knicks, why would I read and post here?

    Unless we were the run away one seed and sweeping teams in the playoffs on to the finals you can always move the goalposts and remain pessimistic.

    Sorry but this is a classic straw man. In fact, there are very many scenarios other than this where I’d be ecstatic about the future of this team. Obviously I envy a team like OKC, but even if we swapped situations with the likes of HOU, ORL, or SAS I’d be thrilled. I just value future championship equity more highly than gunning for bottom 4 playoff seeds.

    We saw it so clearly last spring when everyone said getting into the playoffs and winning a series would mean we were successful but then when we lost to Miami so many people loved that goalposts – ie, the mezzanine phrase popped up out of nowhere.

    For me personally, beating the Cavs was great. For a tantalizing moment, the ECF looked likely as we had homecourt in the 2nd round against a weak team that wasn’t at full strength. The ironclad corollary of Knicksiness in my lifetime, however, has been that every good thing that happens is only there to set up a greater future disappointment.

    I appreciate your thoughtful reply, and in a way I envy those who can embrace the optimism bias, much in the way I envy on some level those who are amenable to religious faith, even as I find myself completely unable to agree with them on fundamental truths.

    While barely in the playoff picture is a bit hyperbolic (they certainly look like at least a play-in team which at this point in the season leaves them very much in the picture) they’re certainly not a lock to get there. We’re in that group with Indiana, Orlando, Cleveland and
    Miami and we’re going to have to pass two of those teams to get to 6. Certainly possible but by no means a lock. I think Orlando slips in the second half but the other three? Are we better than those teams? A lot is going to depend on health going forward- whoever stays the healthiest is going to have the inside track.

    Howdy Doogie, good to see you know how to rise above some of the poop slinging that goes down…

    It always reminds me of monkeys throwing crap at each other. And you know what Doogie – it would seem as though I’m more than okay with that around me…

    I find it amusing actually 😄

    Oh yeah, so a normal resting heart rate is around 70 beats a minute while sitting. Standing up your heart rate goes up a bit.

    I think like 10 points or so. I used to use my heart rate to monitor my anxiety. At times I would just be sitting and doing my work with my heart rate around 90 or so.

    That’s not good. Thankfully while my nerves are weak, my heart seems to be pretty okay.

    An athlete where endurance is a part of the game – 50’s are normal.

    For someone like doc Bob (endurance running), it’s probably in the 40’s.

    Some folks do naturally beat faster or slower.

    I don’t recognize my troll-hood, only the perception thereof. There is a natural human tendency to be biased towards optimism, and for realism to be perceived as pessimism. Perhaps as a coping mechanism, it’s fairly common on this board despite mountains of historical evidence to support pessimism on many aspects of this franchise.

    TL;DR =
    Misery Loves Company

    not to say you are not happy pags…

    more to the point, who even needs or desires to be happy…

    happiness/joy, much like julius – is way overrated…

    yep…

    DJ I don’t accuse you of anything. Your posts are almos always negative. You call it realism but I can’t remember ever reading a post by you where you said things were heading in the right direction. We’ve never made a move you’ve liked. Maybe in hindsight after it works out you like it but when shit goes down you always (at least as far as I can remember) emphasize what’s wrong about it or how it’s going to go wrong. That’s not me accusing you of anything. That you being you.

    And yeah I’m goin’ at you hard in this post bc I literally just tried to throw you an olive branch and you responded with negativity.

    wow… there’s a lot of ‘we have already arrived’ energy here

    What are you talking about? This is a thread primarily dedicated to brainstorming ideas as to how to address the team’s flaws via trade, and one of the main sentiments being expressed is that we shouldn’t give up too much for a minor upgrade because we’re not one minor upgrade away from contention.

    That’s, like, the opposite of “we’ve arrived energy.”

    Speaking for myself, the fact that you’re on the pessimistic side of things doesn’t bother me one bit. Differing perspectives are what has kept this place alive against all odds for 20 years and lord knows I’ve been one of the foremost pessimists at many times myself.

    What I do find annoying is you saying, without any real evidence, that everyone is more optimistic than you so you can be the Only Guy Viewing Things Rationally, and it ain’t the first time you’ve done it.

    If someone says something you disagree with, just address this kind of thing to that person.

    As far as win predictions go, I said 47 before the season and I’m fine sticking with that. As I said on the day of the trade, I don’t think it makes us much better immediately. I think it positions us for the the future better than the status quo did because the wing went from a dire weakness to a relative strength.

    That makes the team better able to accommodate an incoming star, but I haven’t seen anyone, not even swift, say we don’t in fact need that star.

    DJ I don’t accuse you of anything.

    And yeah I’m goin’ at you hard in this post bc I literally just tried to throw you an olive branch and you responded with negativity.

    oh was this the olive branch?

    It’s so dumb to look at seeding either way right now.

    was this before or after you called it dumb? if that’s what you call an olive branch… you do not need to give any more…

    and with that swifty will ghost out of another thread completely….

    “appreciating different perspectives means actually engaging with it”

    Love this one. Pretty sure that “appreciating” does not actually mean “engaging.” They’re, um, two different words, with different meanings.

    Also, dj, you’re conflating some people who say some things with other people who say other things.

    But you do you. I do appreciate it, and will now disengage with it.

    Bulls being demolished by the Sixers, for those who care about basketball (and our next game).

    I only care because Embiid is going to come out of the game early if this 27-point blowout persists, and he is my Main Dude on FanDuel tonight. I’d much prefer a close game, and a game that goes to overtime even moreso. Probably not in the cards.

    Pretty sure that “appreciating” does not actually mean “engaging.”

    well it certainly does not mean.. your only engagement with it being hostility… because appreciation means actually showing appreciation maybe sometimes? once in awhile? ever?

    or no.. that must be completely crazy to expect people who say they appreciate different perspectives to ever show appreciation for it… is it like saying you have a black friend right?

    like how do you guys even function out in the real world.. i do not know…

    Honestly everything between 5th and 9th is the same to me. 44 wins, 48 wins… whatever.

    We’re a noncontender missing a key player. The way this ends is obvious.

    The rest of the year is about watching the team gel, enjoying the wins, not sweating the losses.

    Jeezus. Embiid 22/8/6 in the first half. Too bad he’ll likely play only one more quarter before heading to the showers.

    Honestly everything between 5th and 9th is the same to me. 44 wins, 48 wins… whatever.

    3 of the last 4 NBA finals featured a team that won between 44-46 games and one of them won a Championship. So basically all we need is some luck and to trade for Giannis

    I mean I literally said I appreciate your posts and appreciate your perspective. Do I need to every time I read something by you I appreciate quote it in my own post and then say I appreciate it?

    What the fuck do you want from us? To say you’re right?

    What I do find annoying is you saying, without any real evidence, that everyone is more optimistic than you so you can be the Only Guy Viewing Things Rationally, and it ain’t the first time you’ve done it.

    the reason i am The Only Guy Viewing Things Rationally because no one seems to want to engage things on the merits… why do you think i have to write very long and very detailed and be very careful in how i pose very ‘controversial’ takes here…

    because i know no matter what i will be accused of being a nazi or whatever…. no matter what…. and so i have to bring the receipts…. and instead of engaging on the merits… i am still being accused of being a nazi…

    there were 3 very obvious things wrong that came with the trade.. you can disagree on the degrees of which it impacts the team… i’m not gonna fight you to the death… but if i’m gonna be accused of being a negative nancy.. and then it being painfull clear to the point that it’s now accepted fact that oh yea.. mcbride fucking sucks…

    yes i am now happy that people can discuss that one aspect now without jumping down people’s throats… but yes… when i bring it up and people engage with it in the most negative way..

    then yes i am The Only Only Guy Viewing This Rationally…. because for whatever reason… nobody even mentioned any of these things until i did… whether it was because people were afraid to bring it up… or didn’t want to ruin the vibe… or yes people Who Think They are Viewing it Rationally would accuse these dudes of being nazis….

    3 of the last 4 NBA finals featured a team that won between 44-46 games and one of them won a Championship.

    Yeah that’s cuz two of the last four seasons were 72 games long.

    By winning % the ‘20 Heat were a 50 win team and the ‘21 Bucks were 52.

    I don’t want to cross streams with the other argument, but I don’t think I’m being too negative when I say I am certain that with Mitch out this team cannot do what Miami did last year.

    What the fuck do you want from us? To say you’re right?

    this might blow your mind… but you could start by not calling people or their ideas dumb….

    i mean some people can get away with it if you can also demonstrate why it’s dumb… but with you that’s a risky endeavor… so let’s start with step 1….

    Hubert I’m joking, I don’t think this team is going to the NBA finals, much less winning.

    We’ve played 13 home games, 20 road games.

    That means we have 28 home games and 21 road games remaining. If we go 10-11 in the road games and play .600 ball in the home games that comes out to something like 45 wins.

    Seems about right to me. Injuries could derail us, but a hot streak where we win a bunch of games wouldn’t surprise me either.

    It’s my personal belief that RJ Barrett was a rather large detriment to this team and the worst player in the rotation. Addition by subtraction. I’m not gonna miss the moxie or the weak layup attempts that get blocked into the eighth row.

    I almost don’t care if we’re actually better, I’m just happy to no longer have to watch that slow non-shooting lug do his Kirkland brand Kobe Bryant impression anymore.

    I almost don’t care if we’re actually better,

    I definitely do not care. This team (largely bc Mitch is out) will probably win less games than last year, probably not win a playoff round.

    I still like it much more, and feel much better about the future.

    Just listened to the Lowe podcast, he and Pelton both offered interesting, and rather sober perspectives on the trade. Refreshing.

    “It’s my personal belief that RJ Barrett was a rather large detriment to this team and the worst player in the rotation. Addition by subtraction. I’m not gonna miss the moxie or the weak layup attempts that get blocked into the eighth row.

    I almost don’t care if we’re actually better, I’m just happy to no longer have to watch that slow non-shooting lug do his Kirkland brand Kobe Bryant impression anymore.”

    Harsh, but I agree that it was refreshing to see OG looking comfortable out there instead of RJ trying so hard but just not cutting it more games than not.

    IQ definitely left a shot-creation void…they better fix it before Brunson gets run into the ground.

    Cam Thonas, Royce O’Neale, and Spencer Dinwiddie were a combined 0 for 23 from the field for 0 points…

    i don’t actually think you guys know what this actually means….

    I wish I were smart enough to understand you. But such dum dum.

    KP was such the perfect piece for Boston. Bums me out. But the question is always whether he’ll still be playing in April….

    Nice coming of age win for OKC…They hung on despite enormous pressure. That team is for real.

    I almost don’t care if we’re actually better, I’m just happy to no longer have to watch that slow non-shooting lug do his Kirkland brand Kobe Bryant impression anymore.

    Costco out here catching strays.

    Clippers really fucked up trading for Paul George, is not something I thought I’d say a couple years ago but here we are

    I’d much prefer a close game, and a game that goes to overtime even moreso.

    Wow, Doogie went with the informal and generally unacceptable “moreso” over the universally correct “more so”… didn’t see that coming. SEE HOW FUCKING ANNOYING THAT IS?

    I don’t find it annoying at all, even though I’m not even doing anything wrong by using the one-word version: “The one-word phrase, moreso, is an alternative spelling that is being used more and more frequently.”

    And if I *had* actually been wrong, I would find it even less annoying…….which would be difficult, since I wasn’t annoyed by it in the first place. LOL 🙂

    Also, yes…….I do know that it is actually incorrect to use “one-word phrase,” since one word is generally not considered to be a phrase, almost by definition. But that usage was a direct quote from an Internet source, and as such, it would have been incorrect to change it. I could have used “[sic]” (“used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands in the original”), but it would have been inappropriate for this particular circumstance.

    I’d nominate the 1996 offseason:

    Shaq, Reggie, and Michael Jordan were all free agents that summer. Knicks ended up with Houston and Childs. The allure of MSG took a major hit that year. (Allan Houston was an all-time bad rookie and wasn’t very good in Detroit or for his first few years in NY. But… if you want an RJ comp for somebody who got a lot of playing time and money to do it badly, but eventually turned into somebody useful to winning given the right system, Allan Houston’s a guy).

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