[sny.tv] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 15:56:48 GMT
- Knicks Notes: Another center on the radar as New York monitors Mitchell Robinson-Isaiah Hartenstein situation
- NBA trade rumors: Latest on Paul George, Knicks could move Mitchell Robinson, surprising Jazz player on block
- Knicks rumors: Isaiah Hartenstein expected back in New York / News
- Wizards Interested In Mitchell Robinson?
- New York Knicks Starter Reportedly On The Trading Block
[Sports Illustrated] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 07:19:38 GMT
Ex-Knicks Star Carmelo Anthony Reacts To Kristaps Porzingis Instagram Post
[CBS Sports] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 20:42:00 GMT
- NBA trade rumors: Knicks are potential Paul George suitors, talked Mitchell Robinson with Wizards, per reports
- How many years will Paul George get with his next contract?
- Paul George Trade Rumors: Knicks Viewed as Potential Landing Spot for Clippers Star
- New York Knicks Could Reportedly Be Landing Spot For 9x NBA All-Star
- Knicks May Pursue Paul George Trade
[hoopsrumors.com] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 21:14:00 GMT
New York Notes: Nets, Thomas, Claxton, Knicks, Luxury Tax
[Hoops Hype] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 19:07:41 GMT
- Knicks remain strong favorites to re-sign OG Anunoby
- NBA Insider Shares Expected Contract for Former Raptor OG Anunoby
- NBA Rumors: 76ers could hit jackpot with rival’s brewing free agency disaster
- Knicks Rumors: Anunoby, Hartenstein, Thibodeau, Brunson, Bojan, More
- What could the Knicks offer to keep their OG Anunoby in New York?
[Sports Illustrated] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 14:00:00 GMT
NBA Legend: Knicks ‘Built’ to Conquer Celtics
[RealGM.com] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 20:45:00 GMT
Knicks Interested In Signing Goga Bitadze
[Empire Sports Media] – Sun, 23 Jun 2024 19:55:45 GMT
Knicks could re-sign veteran shooting guard to maintain bench depth
184 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.06.24)”
Basketball-wise, you’d obviously prefer to send out Mitch. But Macri is claiming that even though the trade machine suggests Mitch/Bogey/Sims for George is legal, it’s actually not:
The biggest domino of the offseason has fallen
Good that they seem to have upgraded the medical side. Certainly on my off season to-do list. Two instances of surgery/cleared to play/re-injury calls for a change. No idea if he is better medically, but just having more clout makes it a solid hire. And for once no cap space implications to figure out!
There is no world in which I would be interested in trading Julius Randle for 34yo oft-injured Paul George. I would rather include either DDV or Hart in the trade with Mitch and Bojan to make the salaries work. I.m not even sure that Randle is not the better player straight up.
Honestly, I’m not really interested in PG13 at the salary he commands anyway.
Was there a previous VP of sports medicine or did we create a new position?
Posted again because I want Strat to see this.
Putin’s 3 day war has turned into a multi-year genocide campaign where he is forced to randomly attack Ukrainian civilian targets due to Russia’s failed kleptocracy being unable to develop or produce modern weaponry. Russia has kidnapped over 100,000 Ukrainian children in the temporarily occupied territory. It’s children’s minister Maria Lvova-Belova has been declared a war criminals This war will be the downfall of Putin and his brutal kleptocratic regime. The west must not waiver in its support of Ukraine.
I know this isn’t politiblogger, but…….it’s not politiblogger. If it were, I’d much rather discuss why Trump won’t be debating Biden from a prison cell later this week.
Was there a previous VP of sports medicine or did we create a new position?
Sounds like a new position though Jesse Ellis is VP of Player Health.
No politics, guys, please. I am begging you.
Translation: My efforts to provoke as a means of bringing attention to myself and the purity and virtue of my political perspectives failed, and so I’m going to repeat myself in the hopes of garnering such attention.
In instances like this, I like to use the WWITD (what would Isaiah Thomas do) method, and I’m pretty sure he would trade many picks for an over-the-hill George and re-sign him at a ridiculous number, so count me out.
I said would be my last post on the topic. And Strat brought it up first. So you can go and wank yourself right off.
No Strat didn’t “bring it up” he used it as a metaphor for short life expectancy. You then took the ball and ran with it and I knee jerk reacted like a putz and polluted the environment. Mea Culpa.
To be fair, Strat’s “metaphor” was maybe a tad insensitive if you’re Ukrainian, no? And then he proceeded to unload a reddit-style screed against the media, so maybe we can just bury this one.
This.
It shows Knick management “self scouts” and is self aware. The realize in hindsight, their athletic staff made some egregious errors with OG and MR post surgery.
This guy is the person who set up Phoenix’s highly regarded training staff two decades ago. I believe he introduced liquid nitrogen cryotherapy to the NBA which is the standard of care today.
I’ve been trying to figure that out, too. We have a lot of training staff positions. There’s a Head Athletic Trainer, a VP of Health, a VP of Player Health & Performance, etc
Hard to tell if this is the impact change we’ve been waiting for, or we just added a 7th person to the mix.
If the Knicks are indeed shopping Mitch, that has to be good news. It either means they know they are keeping iHart or there is a bigger deal for a 5 in the works. But am I missing another potentially bad news possibility?
Meanwhile, Kevin Connor proposed this Mikal trade, saying it would be enough for Brooklyn:
NY gets: Mikal Bridges
BK gets: Bojan Bogdanovic, Miles McBride, 2024 First-Round Pick (No. 24, Via Dallas), 2024 First-Round Pick (No. 25), 2025 First-Round Pick (Via Milwaukee, Top-4 Protected), 2025 First-Round Pick (Via Washington, Top-10 Protected), 2026 First-Round Pick, 2028 First-Round Pick
That’s 6 firsts (one is the fugazi WAS pick). Do you do it?
Seven letters… PG or KAT
Yes, and it’s the most likely one:
We’re about to pay OG so much money that we have to cut salary to afford him.
One of the options on the table would be trading Mitch and replacing him with a rookie, so it makes sense we’re testing his market.
I don’t think it’s that complicated. They are going to be close to the apron or above it and may think Mitch’s salary is in the way of fiscal things.
Edit: Hubert’s post crossed with mine. We seem to agree.
That seems like an insane amount of picks to give up for Mikal Bridges
Yeah, I would love to have Mikal on our team as much as anyone, but certainly not at that price. If the Nets can get anything like that for him (and I mostly doubt that), then more power to them.
I don’t think it’s that complicated. They are going to be close to the apron or above it and may think Mitch’s salary is in the way of fiscal things.
But it means they have the 5 covered–either with iHart or someone of at least equal ability. That has to be a good thing development.
It’s a good thing development, but nothing is guaranteed at this point. They may think at this moment that they have the 5 covered, but they could very well end up being incorrect about that.
He is a good player who is coming off a horrid year when he was basically healthy. Negative BPM last year and a career ws/48= .113…. not worth 6 picks, especially 26 and 28
That seems like an insane amount of picks to give up for Mikal Bridges
2 of the picks are Wednesday’s 24th and 25th, 1 is the fugazy pick, so it is not as terrible as the headline number. But I agree that is too much going out.
“not worth 6 picks, especially 26 and 28”
I thought that we have picks 24, 25, and 38. I also thought that Washington has pick #26 and that Denver has pick #28. What am I missing?
What am I missing?
2026,2028
He means our own 2026 and 2028 picks.
Right, but you have to overpay for that last piece if you believe it’s the right one. I’m not worried about Mikal: he will improve playing with his old buddies and in the right role. And having OG + Mikal to defend Boston would be huge. If you could take out the 2028 first, I’d do it.
Leon reads Knickerblogger. Make your draft picks, gents.
no fucking way
Leon Rose has done a pretty good job of avoiding The Fatal Blunder up to this point, so I’m fairly confident he’s not going to do something like trade six first rounders for Mikal Bridges or blow up the team to fit the 34 year old $50M version of Paul George onto the roster. Avoiding dumb shit like that is kind of like his calling card.
“BernieErniesays:
June 24, 2024 at 09:59
What am I missing?
2026,2028
ess-dogsays:
June 24, 2024 at 10:00
What am I missing?
He means our own 2026 and 2028 picks.”
Thanks much to both of you.
That’s an insane amount of picks. To return to a discussion point I brought up a week or two ago, yes, Mikal is better than DDV overall, but is he that much better that we should be moving heaven and earth to have him take Donte’s spot with the starters?
That’s only the type of trade you make if Jalen Brunson is telling you he’s signing with Boston if you don’t make it
I’d make that trade. Most of those picks are shit and we need to get better.
Mikal is like OG but better. The demand for him is incredibly high.
I don’t understand why you’d be eager to set a new market high for 0.1 BPM players with OG but want to haggle over a couple draft picks we’re likely to incinerate with Mikal.
Our two picks in this draft are not good value. The Bucks pick is earmarked for the 20s. The Wizards pick is going to be two second rounders. We’re talking about 4 nickels here, and this trade values them at a quarter.
I haven’t been checking KB lately but I have to say that, with some distance, it is really impressive. If it goes off topic so be it. Whether it’s pizza, music or politics. I always get the real scoop on NYK or anything because no one has an ulterior motive here. Just a lot of advanced degrees and people interested in life. If a topic bores you, move on. But let the big people talk.
Did JK47 ever report on his Greenpoint eats? I’m curious.
Re: Mitch, Begley and Katz have both implied that it isn’t that we’re making calls on Mitch, but that we’re taking calls, which we may not have in the past.
Re: Mitch, Begley and Katz have both implied that it isn’t that we’re making calls on Mitch, but that we’re taking calls, which we may not have in the past.
Ouch. That puts a huge hole in my sounds like iHart is in the fold argument.
Strat unambiguously brought up the Russian invasion of Ukraine first, as part of an extremely pained metaphor about OG Anunoby’s free agency. I ignored it and advise everyone else to do the same, despite its factual inaccuracies and insensitivities, but let’s not pile on GC for responding.
He didn’t “bring up” anything. He made a lame joke multiple layers removed from anything substantive.
“but let’s not pile on GC for responding.”
He didn’t just “respond.” He responded, didn’t get an endorphin hit or people to otherwise hit the bait, and then repeated his response literally verbatim.
Mikal Bridges’ peak EPM came in 2021 when he ranked 51st. Since then he’s finished 81st, 64th, and 97th in respective seasons. He’s a very nice player I would love to have, but based on some of the trade proposals you see floated he might just have the best PR team in the game.
I will be ignoring any and all exhortations about how AIO metrics aren’t an end-all-be-all because I’m well-aware, thank you. Thing is, it’s not like Mikal ranks super well by a more granular statistical breakdown either. In fact, an impact based metric like EPM should be favorable to him than most (see Anunoby, OG).
He’s a hard pass at anything close to the trade packages I’ve seen.
If you actually read that post and then proceeded to say, presumably with a straight face, that Strat did not “bring up” the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that’s the worst argument you’ve ever made on here, including those that admonished Tom Thibodeau for not seeing Cam Reddish’s greatness.
New espn mock has dunn and filipkowski gone by time we draft…now it’s collier from usc and the guy who just avoided the sexual assault conviction
If you actually read that post and then proceeded to say, presumably with a straight face, that Strat did not “bring up” the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that’s the worst argument you’ve ever made on here, including those that admonished Tom Thibodeau for not seeing Cam Reddish’s greatness.
Cam is still only 24…
Yes, because if you get Mikal you not only upgrade a little bit at the SG spot (Mikal over DDV) but then you also REALLY upgrade the bench by moving DDV to the bench.
Plus, you could run some SCARY good offensive lineups that would also be great defensively.
Imagine a “small ball” line up with Randle at the Brunson, DDV, Mikal, OG and Randle at the 5. Or the same line up but iHart.
OG is a 3 who can guard the 2 and 4. Mikal is a 2 who can guard the 1 and 3. You basically have ultimate versatility with both of those dudes in your rotation.
I don’t think Mikal is a star but he’s another elite role player like OG. 2 way wings are the most valuable players in the league and we’d have 2 of the best on our team.
Plus I’ve said this before. The one player we could get that would move DDV back to the bench and DDV would be more than fine with it would be Mikal because of the NOVA connection.
Does the move mean we can beat Boston? Hard to say. But I think it gives us our best shot.
Other than to those without sufficient impulse control to refrain from just simply *having* to display their virtue on the internet, this in no serious substantive sense “brings up” the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Still haven’t made my trip yet! And it turns out I’m staying at the Hoxton, which is in Williamsburg. Studio where I’m working is nearby in Greenpoint.
Mikal’s BKN usages are 30.3 and 24.3.
He’s not a “role player.”
This is so embarrassing man. You can just admit you didn’t realize Strat brought it up first! Here’s the full post:
Yeah, sure, no mention whatsoever of Russia/Ukraine! Also, up is down, black is white, and cats are dogs.
Like that’s what I said. (Or for that matter what you said.)
Can you read?
You do not upgrade the bench with the proposed trade because even though the bench now has DDV, it loses Bogdanovic and Deuce. In addition. the proposal also gives the Nets both of this year’s picks so there are no new young guys with potential. And while I agree the Wizards picks isn’t worth much, the Bucks pick could easily be in the teens instead of the twenties. They were 23rd in draft order this year and they are an old team getting older next year, so they will probably be worse while other teams improve. And they are probably one serious injury away from playin status. Don’t get me wrong, if Giannis is healthy they are definitely a good team, but a little slippage is possible even without injuries, and that would be a reasonable first round pick.
Cavs hired Kenny Atkinson as their head coach. I look forward to them gradually bringing in all the pre-Durant Nets to team up with him, Allen, and Levert, like the NBA version of Johnny Cash’s “One Piece at a Time.”
Mikal’s defense doesn’t show up in the AIOs the way OG’s does. Mikal peaked as a defender in his early years according to DARKO. There’s a number of different causal factors that may change his AIO defensive scores if he comes to the Knicks, e.g., less offensive demand and better teammates, but I can’t justify that price tag based on a defensive reputation instead of defensive results.
If somebody has watched a lot of Mikal Bridges the last few years and have something to add, then sure, but absent that information I’ll go with the AIOs. Still, that’s more a price you’d pay for Paul George 5 years ago than for Mikal Bridges.
NBA University
@NBA_University
Most Offensive Fouls Drawn 2023-2024
1. Jalen Brunson—75
2. Lu Dort—56
3. Coby White—50
4. Alex Caruso—42
5. Brandin Podziemski—42
6. Aaron Nesmith—41
7. Garrison Matthews—38
8. TJ McConnell—36
T9. Jalen Suggs—35
T9. Trae Young—35
T9. THJ—35
T9. Tre Jones—35
Stealing Possessions
Mikal’s a better player than OG, pretty easily. I’d S&T OG for Mikal without blinking an eye and raise a glass in celebration afterwards.
Mikal can actually do the things and take the offensive role that for whatever somewhat odd reason(s) OG has convinced himself he should be doing and taking.
“Imagine a “small ball” line up with Randle at the Brunson, DDV, Mikal, OG and Randle at the 5.”
I don’t know what this means, especially the “Randle at the Brunson” part. And if Randle is at the Brunson, how can he also be at the 5 at the same time?
I said he was an “elite role player” not a “role player.” Leaving out an adjective so you can play “gotcha” is lame.
Also, The Nets suck. That’s why he’s not a “role player” on that team. On this team, he would be much closer to a “role player” than a “star.”
But sure, let’s get hung up on semantics with terms that mean different things to different people in different contexts.
Laser Wolf on the rooftop of the Hoxton is great, but always booked in advance. You could try to get a seat at the bar as a walkie. Otherwise grab some pastries at K’Far in the lobby.
There’s a great Thai around the corder, called KRU. Just avoid the tourist traps around that area, there are a few of those…
I’ll let Doogie handle the pedantry and semantics more generally, but to be an elite role player, you have to be a role player. Not much real argument there.
I would minus Deuce and the Milwakee pick. Five picks + Bojan’s $20m salary relief is plenty.
My only prediction is that next week at this time there will be a lot to talk about. Too many variables at play for nothing to happen.
Any trade that overpays for Mikal would have to have him in mind as the final piece to the puzzle. I can squint and see that, maybe not six picks worth, but it’s not illogical. Not to mention that it would be the most fun Knicks team to root for since Willis and Clyde.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5585405/2024/06/24/knicks-nba-draft-prospects/?source=emp_shared_article
Good Katz piece where he gets an exec from another Eastern Conference team to answer questions about a bunch of draft prospects who might be in play for us. Includes takes on Ryan Dunn, Missi, Mogbo, and other guys we’ve talked about over the last few weeks. Some good stuff there.
Mikal doesn’t make us a championship team in my opinion. And that would be probably the final move that spends all of the admittedly underwhelming asset pile.
Winning a chip is hard. Shrug emoticon.
That post was from six days ago. Do you fellas actually keep and enemies list to bring these sorts of things up? Really? Who remembers a random post on a hoops message board 6 days later?
From Yesterday:
Bringing up a post from six days ago (I didn’t even realize it was that long ago because it didn’t matter) in this context is extremely lame form. Laughably lame.
There’s something most Americans can’t seem to comprehend.
Putin can be a horrible human being guilty of many crimes, but also have had rational reasons for invading. He was clearly provoked by sociopaths in the west (NeoCons) that want control over Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, farmland, and to put NATO bases, troops, missiles and bio-labs on his doorstep. This, all after the CIA helped Ukrainian nationalists (that were killing ethnic Russians in the east that wanted to keep ties to Russia) to overthrow the government and install a more west friendly clown like Zelensky with the ultimate goal of overthrowing Putin, breaking up Russia, and taking control of their natural resources also.
Ukraine is a corrupt puppet regime of the US that has closed media outlets and churches that were unfriendly to Zelensky, that won’t have elections to see what the public thinks now, and that’s padding private bank accounts around the globe with US taxpayer money. It has sections of its military that are closer to having Nazi beliefs towards the ethnic Russian areas than democratic ones.
There are no good guys in this war. We are debating degrees of corruption, greed, willingness to impose your will on others and outright evil in what was a totally avoidable conflict.
I think he could but it’s a huge bet on Julius Randle.
If you’re committed to Randle, you make this Bridges trade.
If your plan is to trade Randle for a bigger star, you do not make this trade.
Can we please take the political discussion somewhere else before it’s too late?
I thought Ke’lel Ware was a possibility. Is he no longer being mocked in our range? He played for Woodson at IU, so we should have some pretty good intel.
Please accept my apology.
I’m done.
Draft is 2 days away with all the roster manoeuvres that may occur. But let’s talk about something else on this Knicks blog….
Edit: Apology accepted, Strat.
My mezzanine post was from the summer of 2022.
I enjoyed your well thought out post goldclub…
I think I remember going to this strip club in Atlanta way way long ago that was called the goldclub…it was a cool place…
ha, terrible people on all sides, okay, oh man, reality is such a slippery thing…
although, yes, there definitely does seem to be some correlation between resources and conflict…
I’d be very tempted to do it, especially if you can keep McBride out of it and retain everyone else. A healthy rotation of
iHart / Mitch
Randle
OG
Mikal
Brunson
Hart
DDV
Deuce
Alexis
Precious or someone like him
Is a top 2-3 contender. You cannot ask for more.
“Please accept my apology.
I’m done.”
Definitely bookmarking this puppy. And keeping it around for a few weeks…
He’s still being kicked in our range at times.
I don’t love him. His shooting seems illusionary due to a poor ft% and few attempts. Although his stroke looks good. He supposedly has motor issues. I haven’t done a deep dive into film but I’d say he’s ranked in the 1st round because he’s tall and not necessarily for anything on the court.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d still love to get Mikal. He could absolutely be the missing piece, I think the A iOS will like him a lot more after a year on the Knicks. I’m just not willing to pay a superstar price for a player that isn’t a superstar.
I want the flexibility to make another move and don’t want to treat him like the superstar he most certainly isn’t.
I co-sign on all this, except I doubt Thibs would run that small-ball lineup. We should 100% emulate the Celtics by trying to maximize every rotation spot, meaning we put an above-average player in every slot we can.
I know 6 firsts is an overpay (even if they are crappy firsts), but, at his salary, Mikal would be an excellent addition and he would be over the moon to play with his friends (which equals more friendly extension discounts). With Mitch, DDV, and Hart coming off the bench, that’s a legit 8-deep group, and we can add more cheap vets/2nd-round picks to round it out.
That said, I am pretty worried about Randle coming back from the shoulder injury, and OG is still an injury risk. But if we don’t build this team out now, we might as well just forget about Brunson’s playoff window altogether.
I basically proposed this same trade back in January, minus one pick, so I’ll stick to my guns and say Yes (again, minus one pick). We are going to be picking in the 20s the next few years, the Washington pick probably won’t convey, the Bucks pick is interesting but probably still teens at best… It isn’t as amazing a platter of picks as it was. Which is also why I think it’s unlikely we have any other trade moves left after our next move – we basically became too good, and shortly we’ll have cap issues. It’s now or never, and Bridges fits perfectly for a lot of reasons. Wouldn’t need a second-unit creator, the bench is same or better (Divo better than Deuce, Bojan old and slow on D), our switchable D would be ferocious…I think we’d be close to the Celtics, and assuming the usually KP injury risk, could beat them.
What can I say, I’m a passionate guy. I was hoping to live long enough to see us win the championship. I think our chances are declining and it has nothing to do with basketball or health. I hope jokes don’t count in that moratorium. 😉
I’d also say that the OG trade, which I proposed 18 months ago, worked out even better than I expected. It was obvious he was the missing piece, with the D and outside shooting the starting lineup needed. Divo is good, but not totally consistent and not switchable on D. Bridges is an upgrade without a doubt and will have a similar effect on both O and D efficiency as OG had – but to a lesser degree.
We’re basically in the land of diminishing returns at this point. The team is good, and the question is whether those marginal improvements are enough, or whether we hope for a star trade or to get lucky in the draft. A) if we don’t make a star trade this summer, it probably isn’t happening in this window, and B) while we could get lucky in the draft, and we’ve shown we can pull value with low picks, the certain if marginal improvement now seems worth it to me.
I won’t whine if we don’t make that trade, and I’ll be as excited as anyone else to see the picks this year, but the odds are in favor of the trade.
Mikal and OG are tailor made duo to beat Boston.
Having Mikal tasked to go back and be am elite 3&D wing will turn his clock back to 2021. When you add the Nova culture, winning, recent experience, learning curve, and having fun again, – he may be even a more valuable elite role player than he ever was with the Suns.
I think that the general sentiment is that although Mikal is no one’s “superstar,” he might be *exactly* the player that we need right now……..much the same thing that people are posting about OG.
Wow. Almost 20 more charges than the next guy. Just don’t get (any more) hurt, Jalen.
Again, I don’t think there is any single trade that can make us better than Boston. Boston is an all time great team. What we want to do is close the gap to the point that we have a legitimate upset chance or can beat them if they have any significant injury.
I think Bridges is enough of an upgrade defensively over DDV (DDV goes to bench and gives it needed scoring punch) to make that move even if it involves a bit of an overpay. He also fits well. Bridges and OG on the perimeter is a nice thing to contemplate.
IMO, George is also enough of an upgrade over Randle (defensively and basketball IQ) to consider, but it would give us a narrower window and incremental injury risk over just OG.
I’m not sure if either is actually available no matter what we offer. I’m not sure who else they might be considering. But I think we should probably not be thinking in terms of leapfrogging Boston. We should be thinking about closing the gap to the point we have a good chance to beat them in an upset.
“1. Jalen Brunson—75 — 2. Lu Dort—56
Wow. Almost 20 more charges than the next guy. Just don’t get (any more) hurt, Jalen.”
It’s 0.0275 charges per minute for Jalen and 0.0249 charges per minute for Dort. I don’t think that’s a huge gap.
It seems like there’s a lot of momentum behind Dunn, and I wouldn’t hate the pick because he really does project to be outlier good defensively. I wouldn’t love it, though, because I still struggle to see how he’ll stay on the floor offensively.
I won’t say there’s nothing there–he actually finished a high volume of attempts at the rim at a 68% clip. He can finish in the PNR and has a little floater. But at 6’6″ he can only handle so many (i.e. not that many) center minutes, so I’m inclined to think it’s “learn to shoot or bust,” and am further inclined to think the latter is more likely (especially since it’s possible his shooting issues are related to an elbow injury that apparently ended his baseball career).
I’d rather draft Anton Watson in the second round or sign him as a UDFA. He has similar measurements to Dunn, similarly good stock numbers, and actually can do some stuff offensively. He’s also older, less athletic, and played against worse competition, but those are worthwhile tradeoffs when it comes to not using a first-rounder on a wing who made 7 threes all year IMO.
Laser wolf is well worth it. If you’re staying at the Hoxton you shouldn’t have a problem getting in. I usually just tip the host downstairs to leverage a spot open. Go to Radio Bakery in Greenpoint. They’re goodgoodgoood. Same people who do Rolos in Ridgewood and they’re goooddooodgooood. Get over to Ops in Bushwick for great neapolitan. That’s a hard seat. Bar when they open.
until 10 seconds, I for real would have thought “laser wolf” was a made up name…
did go see inside out 2 last night, not quite as weird as the first one, both are really good movies though…
The problem with Mikail is he’s been a “star” one year in his career, two years ago. And even then he was more of a mezzanine sized tentpole.
Mikal has never put up a better full year OBPM than Donte did this past season.
DARKO gives him a -0.41 defensive rating.
Are either of these reflective of Mikal Bridges? No. But for a price that might’ve fetched a younger PG sans Kawhi demand, I don’t see how this trade makes any sense.
We can compare this to the OG trade all we want, but IQ & RJ Barrett are not 5 first rd picks.
OMG, Putin has also invaded KB, we’re one letter away from calling Mikal as Mikhail !! 🤭 😀
“we’re one letter away from calling Mikhail to Mikal”
Isn’t that actually two letters away (the “h” and the “i”)? 🙂
It’s just a joke, but check DRed’s comment just 2 comments before mine.
Yep. I was aware that it is a joke. LOL
And did you check DRed’s comment?
I became suspicious of Mikal when I saw the Nets – the Nets! – close a few games with him on the bench.
Every draft season, as rumors circulate and trades get consummated, I am reminded of how unnecessarily convoluted this league is for its casual fans (and even its most ardent bloggers) to follow. I’d like to see the league make a few changes for the fans’ sake:
1) get rid of the Stepien Rule.
2) get rid of pick protections.
3) lower the distant future picks cap from 7 years out to 3 years out.
The Stepien Rule is outdated and cheesy, pick protections are beyond convoluted and encourage tanking, and buying now but paying later saddles a team with debt from GMs who are often long gone, leaving fans with no one to take their ire out on except each other.
Yep. I saw that he mistakenly got it one letter closer on his own. Unfortunately, he wasn’t joking. 🙂
True. Fair point, but we still got the ball back 19 more times than his team did from his work. Good for us.
Thinking that way: Wonder who got more charges per minute than Jalen. Prolly lotsa folks but I’m too lazy to go look. 😉
I don’t know what laser wolf is, but it reminds me of the butcher from Fiddler on the Roof, who I believe had that name.
This feels like the wrong way to look at this stat.
Except it was Lazar, but yes pronounced Laser.
(Getting this in before Doogie does.)
To me, it reminded me of Mr Wolf, but then i remembered his first name was Winston.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9eH8ZKK6kE
I would take Mikal for that price (if we keep iHart and OG), I would try to keep McBride but I would do it anyway.. Two reasons:
– It is going to be very difficult to improve the team without creating a hole somewhere else. This trade allows us to keep the rest of the team as it is. Specifically, trading Mitch would make us very thin at the C position.
– I don’t think this is Paul George to Clippers package, where LAC picks went farther into the future, and traded a very young and promising SGA.
Strat, this was pure gold. This may be the most uncessary war of my life time. At least on same level as the Iraq inavsion.
Exactly. You get Mikal is you think Brunson & Randle are your Tatum and Brown. Then OG & Mikal are your White & Holiday.
If you don’t believe Brunson & Randle are enough of a 1-2, then pass on Mikal.
Is today the last day for OG to officially opt out and hit free agency?
OG is a more impactful defensive player than Mikal Bridges.
And if this is the case, it’s probably a teardown.
Principle: If you look around the league and your response to acquiring any of the truly available players is, “getting that TAP wouldn’t really make them a real contender, pass” then we’re nearing teardown territory.
Sure, but Mikal isn’t half the player PG is
Or you just don’t overpay for Mikal Bridges so you have enough ammo to flip Randle for a better player
Wonder if OG would be amenable to a S/T to the Clippers for PG? Or if another team could get involved and make it a three-way.
Everyone’s assuming that the George rumors are in addition to, rather than in lieu of, signing OG, but I’m not exactly sure why. They play essentially the same position, the only difference being that PG plays it way better than OG. Nor does the money make sense if it’s both of them.
The better scenario would have been not to have made the trade and waited it out for PG, but what’s done is done. Maybe just go JB/PG/JR for two to three years and see what happens. Assuming good health, that’s a very good team. Not optimally handled, but I could probably support it.
I played lazer wolf in our summer camp play when I was a wee lad…had one line…
I was listening to an older Lowe Post earlier and apparenlty OKC moved on from Giddey because they told him he was going to be coming off the bench next year and he demanded a trade.
With the very minor caveat that the former came in 923 silly season minutes, and the latter came with a 97 TS+.
Donte trounced Mikal offensively this past season and he’s not in OG’s league defensively, so while he’s a very nice player who could slot into any lineup, it doesn’t make any sense to trade 5 picks for a guy who presumably wouldn’t even be in all of our closing lineups.
Mikal got some reputation inflation from the aforementioned 923 minutes, and good for him! But there’s no reason we have to let ourselves get had by that.
Uh-huh, sure.
I don’t support the proposed trade for Mikal, just noting that he’s more than a “role player.”
I’m surprised to see all the love for Laser Wolf given it’s a Philly Jawn.
It’s a bit into East Williamsburg but for me the best food in the city is at Otis. Menu is always changing but always on point.
The Four Horsemen is also a cool spot, owned by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, if you’re into natural wine it’s really a must hit.
For Pizza you can’t really go wrong with Paulie Gee’s, L’Industrie, Best Pizza, Ops, or Roberta’s. Different styles but all have something to offer. Fette Sau is great BBQ and Bourbon, Win Son has cool Taiwanese food/ baked stuff and if you want a great tasting menu for reasonable $$ go to Traif.
Wow Caruso is going to fit amazingly in OKC
would also add that Leo is another pizzeria/italian place owned by the Ops people and it’s a 15 minute walk from JK’s hotel.
no way, false facts…wasn’t fiddler on the roof a late 60’s movies about some stuff from like 1930 or so…
i’m just sayin’ – no way in the world is some butcher person coming up with some gangster name like: Laser Wolf way back when…
lasers are like a 50’s thing…
your timelines are simply not connecting sir…
Scottie Barnes really better be good if Toronto wants to do anything in the near term
Sorry, geo, it was set around 1905, in Russia. Play came out in ’64, movie in ’71. Go rent it.
Still wondering what the one line is, as Lazar gets a bunch of them in spots…
This feels like the wrong way to look at this stat.
that’s because you weren’t in beijing in 08 for that magical feeling of seeing all nine guys run the 100m in ~10 seconds.
Is today the last day for OG to officially opt out and hit free agency?
it’s the last day for him to opt-in. free agency is the default.
You guys are simultaneously shitting on Bridges (“presumably wouldn’t be in our closing lineup” is a real laugher) and elevating some real shitty draft picks.
Houston reportedly wants to give up the 3rd pick (and more) for Mikal Bridges.
Do you think we could package 24, 25, the Milwaukee pick, and the Washington pick to move up to 3? Hell no.
So 4 of our picks aren’t worth one of theirs. You kinda gotta factor that into the whole “6 picks” bit. These ain’t the picks people want.
1) yes Mikhail, but I think 5 picks should do it, I’d keep the 2028 because by then we will be shit again
2) I think Mikal puts is over the top if we have OV, iHart and Randle back
3) Lil’Penny, wtf. Yes, I posted it twice, but once was the last post of last night, so I figured I would role it over to today. I literally made the two posts one right after the other when I realized the first post was on yesterday’s thread
4) thanks geo, much love
5) I didn’t even realize Strat posted on the subject 6 days ago, but clearly if that is the case it was an intentional slander of Ukrainians that are being genocided
6) per minute is the wrong way to look at an infrequently accumulated stat. Per game makes more sense
So you want to let OG walk?
What I actually said was “presumably wouldn’t even be in all of our closing lineups,” which seems damn near indisputable, unless you think we would never, ever want to close with, say, Brunson-DDV-OG-Randle-iHart…you know, the lineup that was +17.1 this season.
I think you know the difference between “overpaying” someone in terms of dollars when you’re already over the cap, which is kind of a purely theoretical “overpay,” and “overpaying” for a player via trade, which is rarely ever a good idea.
Just noting that it’s official now, since it came up earlier. Not a surprise at all.
The top of the draft sucks this year. Vecenie rates his top prospect (Sarr) as a normal draft’s 6-10 pick value.
We’re also paying an additional 2 picks and Deuce in the proposed scenario.
You can pay $42M for OG or get nothing.
If you don’t trade for Mikal, you still have 6 draft picks.
Mmmmmm it kind of worked with the Gobert trade, did it not?
“You can pay $42M for OG or get nothing. If you don’t trade for Mikal, you still have 6 draft picks.”
Lol, kind of a harsh diss on RJ and IQ.
In a capped and aproned league, overpaying a player in salary is now only a “theoretical” problem. Even when quality assets were traded for the overpaid player a mere five months ago.
Got it. Interesting perspective, it must be admitted.
Yes, but I don’t see the value of penny pinching in one arena over the other. We’re never going to use all these picks. They’re not particularly valuable. Hoarding them is as useful as saving money when you’re over the cap.
At the end of the day, this team needs to make a decision on Randle now. If he is our #2, then we start building a Celtics model with elite role players, and both OG and Mikal fit the bill.
If he isn’t, stop wasting time, because paying OG is going to hurt your ability to move Randle for the star you want.
No half measures this summer.
That’s not the decision at hand.
If we do jump backwards in time, consider RJ & IQ are likely making a combined $45-50M this upcoming season.
“No half measures this summer.”
Half measures premised on meaningless, SSS raw on-off numbers and a one-off January hot streak.
I don’t really understand what your argument is here. We’ll use them one way or another eventually, either as trade fodder or as draft picks to draft young, cost-controlled players.
Hubert’s analysis is spot-on and if I had to answer the “Is Randle a 2 question,” I’d probably say no. That said, I could support taking a shot at a Brunson/Randle/George nucleus for two-three years and then starting over if it doesn’t work out. Give Julius one shot at being completely healthy in the playoffs, with an excellent supporting cast, see what happens.
Both the Randle question and the “Is Brunson a tentpole?” question are very close calls. But the analysis is right — you can’t wishcast or role player or “But muh January” your way out of the dilemma.
The easy part — moving from inherited Randle, inherited clean cap sheet, inherited extra 1s but shit, to good — is over. The next part is far tougher and we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking just “staying good” means anything of real value.
No way I remember that line…it was 51 years ago…my Hebrew name is lazar…it was destiny…
This is correct, but once again, a Randle injury has kind of made the decision for us.
We will not get max value for Randle this summer after a shoulder dislocation. If he proves to be healthy, we might be able to trade him and parts for a star at the deadline, which is why we need to avoid becoming taxpayers. It will be interesting to see what Leon does to hedge his bets in the meantime.
What dilemma? People are trying to offer five 1sts, Deuce, Bojan, and two 2nds for a player who played worse last year than the guy they want him to replace. This is the opposite of a dilemma.
Mikal is great, but he looks a lot like a 3rd option at best and hasn’t played the elite defense people attribute to him in years.
The “dilemma” of what to do this summer to try to move the needle from good to true contender.
Again, if this crop isn’t good enough even if it adds a Truly Available Really Good Player this summer then it’s probably a teardown. That’s a dilemma, under any definition of the term.
If it’s true the Nets are turning down better offers for Bridges this whole convo is pointless. The Nets can’t tank, they have no reason to move Mikal for a bunch of good but probably not great picks.
https://images.app.goo.gl/hvzqBCezhebxd4w46
I think the best spots to upgrade if we can manage to bring iHart back are either PF or SG. Donte is on a great contract if he can keep producing like he did last year, so that leaves trading Randle
The new ESPN Draft Simulator seems to think swingmen Dunn, Shannon Jr, Scheierman, and Jaylon Tyson will all be there at our picks: which do you prefer and why?
Exactly. So if we can’t use half the Bridges package to trade into the top of this draft, how can you honestly say we’d be giving up too much?
Our pick stash sucks balls. 6 of ours is like 3 of someone else’s.
It also seems like one of the bigs in this range — Ware, Filipowski, or Missi — is almost always available.
Scheierman > Tyson > Dunn > Shannon Jr.
It is very, very close between Scheierman and Tyson for me, in fact I literally have them ranked back-to-back at the moment. At the end of the day I buy Scheierman’s shooting as a bankable NBA skill while Tyson risks falling into jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none-territory, but I think Tyson also has higher upside and may well switch this ranking by draft night.
I generally think Tyson is being a bit undervalued. The competition wasn’t great, he was on the older side, and the jumper doesn’t look great…and yet here he is as a 6’6″ wing who averaged 22/7/4 per-40 and often took the toughest defensive assignment. That all counts for something.
I mentioned Shannon Jr. around these parts literally 4 years ago IIRC, but I don’t find his progression since then all that impressive. He dominated as a super-senior, but not in a way that led me to see any clear NBA skills. He’ll probably have a long-ish career as a wing who can shoot a bit, and I think his floor is definitely higher than Dunn’s.
But Dunn’s “if he just learns to shoot” upside, while remote, is a lot more intriguing than TSJ’s middling finished product.
It’s kind of weird to debate whether we should trade 5 picks or whatever for Bridges when no one is willing to say “our starting lineup would definitely be better with Bridges.”
No one should be willing to say that because it’s not clearly true, but it’s something you definitely want to be true about a guy you trade 5 picks for IMO.
Our starting lineup would definitely be better with Mikal Bridges.
If this is how good you think our starting lineup actually is, then we don’t need to trade for anyone. Just run it back and we’ll win 65 games like the Celtics did.
Perhaps it’s because I’m not a big EPM guy but I believe Mikal would be the 3rd best player on the Knicks as soon as he got here, and it’s possible he could improve to the 2nd.
I think Bridges, in the DDV role, could essentially be DDV with better defense, while the actual DDV moves to the bench. Mikal is being asked to create his own shot a lot in Brooklyn, and like most players he’s not amazing at it. His best seasons came when he had high assisted basket percentages.
I’d rather have another shot creator than just about anything else. Shot creator or stretch four, those are the two things I covet most. Switchable wing who is a good spot up shooter is also nice, but I’d rather upgrade with another shot creator or a stretch big.
That’s Paul George.
The Knick starting lineup would be better with Mikal Bridges. No question.
Paul George hasn’t had a good playoff run since 2017. I want 16 game players, this is big tent time.
Some random responses to points made here:
-I think we would definitely be better with Mikal as our starting 2, and probably significantly better. Mikal is like the perfect complementary player to high usage guys like Brunson and Randle, just as much so as OG and maybe better. Plus he is literally always available, like “ironman of the league” so. That said, 5-6 picks is not chump change. Still, I’d rather blow the picks on him than on Spida or PG13 or KAT.
-The more I think about PG13, the more queasy I get.
-I am literally room temperature about Mitch staying or going out.
-I’d be very happy with picking Dunn at #24 or 25. But I’d rather trade up for Edey.
-I really want Shead at #38. He sounds like a bigger and better passer than Davion Mitchelll, who was kind of a bust where he was drafted but would have been a nice gamble at #38.
-The world is all fucked up right now.
In any Bridges trade scenario, you’re banking on Randle being that guy.
And that’s one thing I like about it. Emotionally, I want to Randle be part of the best version of this team. Let’s be honest, we’re not going to have a 3-star system with Randle in the Bosh role. He’d be shit at that.
The only way to build this team around Randle and Brunson, IMO, is to pay superstar prices for elite role players like OG and Bridges.
How weird, a Z-Man and a Hubert post I agree with. In a row.
Except being lukewarm on losing Mitch. I still feel that’d be a bigger mistake than most of us recognize.
I think a starting lineup of Randle, iHart, OG, Mikal and Brunson, with Hart and DDV playing 25+ minutes, and decent vets and a couple of rookies filling out the rotation would scare any team in the NBA.
Sadly, I just don’t see it happening.
We can’t get any rookies if we trade all our picks to get Bridges
If you are throwing those 6 picks at Mikal, just throw the at Markkaken instead. It’s a better fit.
“If you are throwing those 6 picks at Mikal, just throw the at Markkaken instead. It’s a better fit.”
I disagree. But neither is likely to happen, so whatever!
I read the anonymous executive comments article linked to above. It seemed to assume that the Knicks will draft for mentality and culture over talent and skills. The executive’s description of first five made me not want any of them and only lukewarm on the last two. Take Dunn, for example. No matter how good you are on offense you won’t see the floor in the NBA if you can’t do anything on offense. If this what is available at 24 and 25, it’s better to trade both picks for one in the teens and get someone with two way potential.
Jake Fischer now saying:
1. We keep checking in with the Nets about Mikal and
2. We are using our two later picks to try and move “into the teens”
I am kind of amazed how many randoms have texted me to ask how i feel about a PG13 trade. It’s strange. Like four different people.
I wonder what Clippers Plan B is if they trade PG
Vecenie on Edey:
Thibs will kill Leon if we don’t get this guy
Nothing would be more Knicksy than sending six picks and two rotation players for a guy we could have just drafted. But I think we’re not that organization anymore. Stay strong, Leon
People are undervaluing our picks but we’ve consistently gotten better players in the twenties and in the second round than we have in the lottery. Nothing to brag about of course but Quickly, Deuce, Mitch, Grimes have all played really well for us. These picks are not without value. Also, none of those guys were mentioned in any pre draft thread I remember. Conclusion, they will get at least one good player who will get minutes and who none of us anticipated. PS. Deuce was better at SF than RJ. This is not your slightly older uncle’s Knicks. Great teams have a hard time getting better. We have every possible avenue for growth available despite now being arguably a top 4 team in the league. Just get OG and Ihart back, Leon.
It is just so hard to get excited about draft night given what has happened in recent years. I’m really hoping that we come away with three (or more) players, like we did in 2021. I’m also sensing that there might be some really nice prospects available as UDFA’s.
I asked this before but no one responded: Does anyone feel like the prospect of the league expanding in the next two years might provide an opportunity to get some cap relief? If teams leave players with bloated (but not albatross-type) contracts unprotected, might they be scooped up by teams looking to be at least somewhat relevant right away? Like a Zach LaVine-type contract?
I haven’t followed the nuances of this thread terribly closely, but I am assuming this is said in the satiric voice, yes?
Paul George is 34. Can’t get excited about that.
This (above) is the thing. This draft may suck, but Leon already traded for his guy in OG. He’s gonna sign him. No need to trade for PG or Mikal.
Assuming health, the entire fan base is okay with running back the January squad at least until the All Star Break. It’s now time for the Knick brass to hunker down and find the best players available in this draft. If that means a trade to consolidate picks and move up, so be it. It if means finding the next Quickley and Mitchell Robinson, even better.
Also a thousand times this:
The bigger news was signing the new medical guy. Can’t wait for Thibs to get detailed graphs of when his players are peaking and when they need to sit. And for us to argue about same 😉
I get that. But as of now George is still a very good two-way player, and in 2021 (not 2017) he averaged 29pts, 10rebs, and 5+assists a game while carrying the Clippers to the WCF after Leonard’s body failed him once again.
He played 2500 minutes this year over 74 games. He has a decent amount if good basketball left in him, I would guess.
Great Stanley Cup Final. Both teams deserved to win, only one could.
“I get that. But as of now George is still a very good two-way player, and in 2021 (not 2017) he averaged 29pts, 10rebs, and 5+assists a game while carrying the Clippers to the WCF after Leonard’s body failed him once again.”
It’s about the price, though. Give me PG13 at DDVs salary, or even Brunson’s, and I’d be thrilled. Give me PG13 as a cap-killing, oft-injured, end-of-prime faux-superstar on a $50M flyer with a bloated extension looming and I’d be mortified. 2021 will be 4 playoffs ago.
I get that most of that, too. But 33 year old PG13 wasn’t oft-injured, and played extremely well.
I’d be mortified but with the caveat that I’d also be intrigued. A healthy Paul George is a top-10 player in the NBA, and he would fit perfectly WITH Randle. But it would need to be both for me to get really excited. And it seems like it wouldn’t work unless Randle is included.
My preference would be to not make that deal. If it happens, so be it, I will come around on it when the games start. But I think we’d be getting an aging player who is likely to be what he was in his other 4 Clips seasons or worse, and then that contract becomes an albatross.
Give me Iron Man Bridges any day of the week and twice on Sundays.