[New York Post] – Sat, 06 Jul 2024 23:25:00 GMT
- Thunder wooed Isaiah Hartenstein with expanded role Knicks couldn’t offer
- Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein says it was hard to leave Knicks, he and Chet Holmgren can be ‘deadly’ together
- Russell Westbrook Texted OKC Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein Following Signing
- Isaiah Hartenstein admits it was difficult decision to leave Knicks for Thunder in free agency
- Thunder Signs Isaiah Hartenstein to Multi-Year Contract
[The Boston Globe] – Sun, 07 Jul 2024 05:43:07 GMT
- Who’s winning NBA free agency? The Knicks and 76ers seem to be.
- When was last time Knicks, Celtics, 76ers were all this good?
- Here’s why the Knicks rank among early NBA offseason winners
- How Knicks stack up to improved top of East early in 2024 offseason
- Grading Knicks’ Early Moves in NBA Free Agency
[Posting and Toasting] – Sat, 06 Jul 2024 15:36:21 GMT
- Knicks backup center looks sharp in workouts
- As NBA free-agent market dwindles, which center could the Knicks target? – The Athletic
- Report: Knicks Set Sights on Jazz, Team USA Star
- As Knicks search for a center, Mitchell Robinson remains motivated to return healthy
- Knicks interested in Walker Kessler
[New York Post] – Sat, 06 Jul 2024 22:23:00 GMT
Knicks associate coach Johnnie Bryant leaving for Cavaliers
[Sports Illustrated] – Sat, 06 Jul 2024 15:15:54 GMT
- Philadelphia 76ers Cut Big Man; New York Knicks Target?
- PHILADELPHIA 76ERS WAIVE PAUL REED
- NBA Rumors: Paul Reed to Be Waived by 76ers After Paul George, Caleb Martin Contracts
- Report: Sixers to waive Paul Reed
- Paul Reed’s days in Philly look done as Sixers reload at backup center
[Bleacher Report] – Sun, 07 Jul 2024 00:11:15 GMT
- Leon Rose: OG Anunoby ‘Huge Part’ of Knicks Success, ‘Thrilled’ He Signed Contract
- OG Anunoby Re-Signs with New York Knicks
- OG Anunoby Signs Five-Year Contract With Knicks
- Jalen Brunson says OG Anunoby will now buy all Knicks’ team dinners after $212 million contract
- Knicks Get Grade for OG Anunoby Deal
[Sports Illustrated] – Sat, 06 Jul 2024 17:00:01 GMT
WATCH: Knicks Center Working Out with Former Star
[Newsday] – Sun, 07 Jul 2024 05:23:28 GMT
NBA’s complicated CBA frustrating for Knicks players too
[Hardwood Houdini] – Sat, 06 Jul 2024 14:47:13 GMT
Knicks legend on whether Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown could’ve played in the 90s
[Empire Sports Media] – Sat, 06 Jul 2024 22:04:24 GMT
Knicks invite intriguing African guard to Summer League
61 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.07.07)”
So, let’s try to understand the position of the Leon doubters. We know the moves Leon made until now, what would you’ve done differently and what would be your roster and assets now, to compare with our present roster+assets situation?
I think we are right up there with the best of them. Even Boston. We looked amazing without Randle last year. Now we lost iHart but added Randle and Mikal and upgraded the back of the bench. Worried about center depths trade Randle and maybe Deuce for a star. I could not be more excited about this year.
Now you’ve gone and done it, Cyber. You’ve somehow turned June 7 into Festivus, by inviting an official Airing of the Grievances.
I don’t really mind players being redundant as long as they’re astrologically compatible
I think the Knicks would have a better shot at winning the title next year if Leon Rose had gotten me a pony.
It’s sunday, we have time. 😉 I’m curious to know how we could’ve assembled a better team, it’s just that. I can think of variations of this team, we could be worse (no Mikal) with more picks, or we could have a different team if we traded for other players, but would that team be this good? And why do people assume Leon’s good moves as their own, like signing Brunson and DDV, trading for Hart or keeping Randle. I bet there isn’t a single one of us that defended all these moves.
LOL. 😀 For a moment, i thought you’d be saying a unicorn (KP). 😛
Well, cyber, do you see Jokic, Giannis, Luka or SGA playing for us?
Clearly Leon has horribly failed.
OG is a Cancer and Mikal is a Virgo, so I think we’re all good.
OG with his dreams of offensive grandeur is a locker room cancer, I’m not aware about Mikal’s sexual life…
Leon must bring us a shrubbery.
Also Adonis Arms is not a Knick. Wtf Leeeeeeahn? Ni.
As of now Mitch is the key.
I have no idea what his rehab schedule looks like, but if he comes to camp 100% ready (which means not too muscle bound like one year and perfectly fit unlike other times), I think we’ll be terrific for as long as he lasts. IMO I-Hart was a better fit because he provided better spacing and we had more playmaking options, but a healthy Mitch can be very impactful in other ways. Don’t forget that.
If Mitch breaks down or is struggling, we are still going to be very good, but it will be harder to imagine us beating a few of the elite teams in the NBA. So there will have to be another move.
I think we have to patient and see if Leon pulls off anything interesting now, see what happens during the season, and then if a change has to be made, we’ll do something at the deadline.
All the panic over losing I-Hart is premature.
He is very good, more reliable heath wise (although he has had an ongoing Achilles issue) and was a better fit than Mitch, but I don’t think losing him was some kind of death blow or that he’s irreplaceable.
I’ve been thinking about various future trade scenarios for C and it hit me in a clearer way how limiting have the Nova Knicks together is. Not that I want to trade J-Hart or DDV. I don’t want to. I liked the J-Hart trade from the start. I was down on the DDV move partly because it made me think Quick was out or would have a reduced role. But it all worked out. DDV outperformed my expectations and we got OG. The thing is, when your bench players are almost as untouchable as Brunson, OG, and Mikal, it starts limiting what you can do even if an ideal C is available.
On the flip side, I think some people may be potentially underestimating our trade assets a bit because we used up so many picks in the Mikal trade.
We just drafted some young talent that could be valuable if they look good at Summer League or early in the season.
Of course Leon wants to see if we built Voltron. The only untouchable Knicks are Brunson and OG atm.
There is hardly any panic. That’s just the Circle Jerk Club (DRed, Marechal, Z-Man, et al) doing their customary troll thing.
There is a real problem, though, and you’re overlooking it in your analysis.
Over 50% of Brunson’s scoring plays were from PNR ballhandler and handoffs. We averaged 1.25 PPP when Hartenstein was involved in those sets. For perspective, that’s Jokic/Murray, Maxey/Embiid level.
Isaiah Hartenstein setting a screen for Jalen Brunson was the single most important action in our offense.
As you may recall, this action first started in January when the Knicks took off. Some people like to pretend that all we need is OG Anunoby to be the January Knicks, but there simply is no Supernova without that devastating play.
Mitch can replace the rebounding and the blocking. But when he sets a screen for Brunson he’s just bringing an effective double team with him.
Hartenstein the player had many faults but he prevented teams from trapping Jalen in the PNR, and that was a huge part of what made us so good.
We have to replace rebounding, shot blocking, and elite offensive ability as a screener in one guy. That’s a lot more than just “backup center”
Hubert,
I agree that the offense lost something with the loss of I-Hart and have said so, but it gained something with the addition of Mikal. Despite the “terrible fit between OG and Mikal” (hahaha), imo Mikal can do more on offense than he showed on a loaded Suns team and do it more effectively that he showed on a bad tanking team in Brooklyn as the main option. It’s on Thibs to use those talents effectively and come up with something different than we had last year.
Having DDV on the bench is also a plus for the bench unit.
I don’t think we have a top 5 offense, but the offense should be good enough if the defense is top 3-5.
Why don’t I get to be in the circle jerk club?
Do Randle and Brunson know how to like pnr?
Any thoughts on the DeRozan deal? If nothing else, San Antonio picking up Harrison Barnes for free is pretty slick. Wemby, CP3, Barnes, and a bunch of kids should make for a team that others will not enjoy playing.
We had the 7th-best offensive rating last year, which was amazing, and a lot of that was thanks to iHart. But guess what: In 22-23 we had the 4th-best offensive rating with Mitch starting 58 games.
Despite the narrative, Thibs adjusts to his personnel fairly well. If we can stay mostly healthy, I think we’ll be ok.
Randles gonna be like a singularity weapon. Having mikal and Og and some combo of deuce Brunson and double D is gonna be pretty intense for him. If he can read the double he’s gonna have a career year.
Yeah, Hubert is not wrong but he’s also not right, either. iHart was certainly more than just a tall dude with a pretty partner, but at the same time, last year we played without Randle, Bridges, and not a lot of OG either (not to mention little in the way of Mitch).
Barring more catastrophic injuries, that’s a pretty radically different team, and arguably one that’ll be a lot better than what Thibs pieced together with scotch tape and baling wire there toward the end. We lost a good pnr and oreb rim protector with a floater, but we’re (hopefully) gaining full seasons of an All-NBA star who can score on anyone at any time, two DPOY candidates, and a prototypical wing. I like our chances.
I’ve never been a huge fan of DeRozan or Barnes. I’m not sure how much the Kings added there. The Spurs will be interesting to watch.
“Any thoughts on the DeRozan deal?”
I’ve not been paying super close attention to all the movement, but my main thought, probably wrong, is it feels like almost EVERYONE is getting better (not saying that concerns me about the Knicks, just a weird thing across the board).
I mean, outside of the Pistons and Bulls (and I guess the Blazers, are they still in the league?) has anyone gotten worse, or even just stayed even? Oh right, I guess the Wizards. And Brooklyn.
I personally am not. I think Deuce + Pacome + the Detroit 2nd + the two Washington 2nds + the Brooklyn 2nd is enough to make one more move.
What we lack now is an expendable salary for matching purposes, i.e. another Fournier, another Bojan.
Too inept to look it up, but the Randle/Brunson pick and roll, and the inverted version were both highly effective. That would be my go-to play especially in clutch time.
Reading the threads after ihart went to okc gives you the impression that he lost the MVP award by one vote only!
It’s not as fun as it seems, Clarence. You have to spend an ungodly amount of your available weekend time scrolling through old Hubert posts so you can repost them out of context in a manner that adds no value to the current conversation. And then when I say something relatively benign like “predicament” you have to spend your whole day online acting like I said the sky is falling. It’s really tedious work. But some seem to love it.
In whatever context, that’s not really necessary, is it? To paraphrase Marlon Brando from “The Freshman” (I think)…” That is an ugly word!”
The price is reasonable, but I think you could classify this as an awkward fit. What DeRozan gives as a guy who can get a shot toward the end of the shot clock, he takes away space from Fox due to his weak shooting from distance.
And, by the way Clarence… I stopped by The Apollo place an hour ago to try it out but about 75 mooks were in the queue and I thought I can get a bialy with Nova another time….
I think you mean Morlocks. Yeah Sunday lines are probably daunting. I’m at Cafe Mado eating brunch so I can reward myself with their green blueberry clafouti.
Maybe Eloi.
Almost anytime you see a line like that in the city it’s tiktoks fault
Well, it’s the offseason, every year it seems like this, but then injuries happen, old players fall off in terms of production, situations get weird and teams blow up, rookies bust, etc etc.
There’s a lot of talent in the league right now, but a lot of uncertainty too. Outside of Boston and probably OKC, it feels like anything can happen. I think we’re around the top 5 in this situation and I’m very happy with it.
In Milan for a weeklong Umarell apprenticeship. Any food/drink tips?
KBA, I’m trying to send you some places, but my posts went into moderation… 🙁
I’ll wait a bit and will eventually try again.
For eating as masturbation, Apollo is pretty worthy of its line. The bagel is kinda like a left handed tug, it’s just a different enough bake and presentation. I have yet to find a bagel in town which goes toe to toe with Exodus up in Roslindale Mass. Those little shits are like Montreal meets New York and it’s a good thing.
Ugh, half my family is from Montreal and I regularly find myself at odds with them over my intense dislike of the Montreal bagel, which is really just a bagel-shaped sweet pastry.
Nope… I meant precisely what I said…. IMO standing in a block long line on a hot. humid day for a piece of baked bread isn’t too bright, no matter how good the bagel is.
Block long lines are stupid. The people in them might be there because their partner dragged them along or a whole other number of reasons that speak nothing of their intelligence. The exodus thing mitigates the sweetness and nails the structure. It’s a remarkable bagel.
Sorry KBA, I did try to send you the Google Maps positions, but I failed miserably…
Let me try again, you should be able to find the places using the names in bold.
I start with food places, wine/cocktails spots will follow. 🙂
If you are fond of Michelin stars try to book a table here (usually there’s a long waiting list):
D’O
Piazza della Chiesa 14 – San Pietro all’Olmo, Cornaredo
If you’d like to try traditional lombard cuisine give a try to this one:
Al Garghet
Via Selvanesco 36 – Milano
If you don’t have problems with queues, when you go visit Il Duomo (because you’re going to visit Il Duomo right?) you can’t miss Luini’s panzerotti:
Panzerotti Luini
Via Santa Radegonda 16 – Milano
If you like fish:
Ristorante La Rosa dei venti
Via Piero della Francesca 34 – Milano
A good mix for both fish lovers and pizza aficionados:
La Tradizionale
Via Bergognone 16 – Milano
Strictly pizza:
Modus la pizza secondo Paolo De Simone
Via Andrea Maffei 12 – Milano
Nice place with good relaxed atmoshere:
Mater Bistrot
Via Sottocorno 1 – Milano
Food markets with many eating spots:
Eataly
Piazza XXV Aprile 10 – Milano
Mercato Centrale Milano
Via Sammartini 2 (Inside Milano Centrale Train Station)
In a not so serious analysis, our currently rostered backup C is Jericho Sims, who also figures to play major minutes during the season if he’s 3rd string & Mitch gets hurt.
Sims -5.2 EPM
Hartenstein +4.7 EPM
Jokic +7.0 EPM
The drop-off from Hartenstein to Sims is a 40% greater value loss than going from the reigning MVP to a net neutral player.
If we re-sign Achiuwa & his -1.7 EPM it’s 91% of an MVP.
Blah, blah, blah caveats about EPM which I shouldn’t have to state every time I bring it up
The drinking spots now…
Before Luini’s panzerotti (see previous post) you can go here, open since 1867:
Camparino In Galleria
Piazza del Duomo 21 – Milano
A good wine shop:
Bottiglieria Bulloni
Via Lipari 2 – Milano
Stilish cocktails place where you can also eat:
Mandarin Garden
Via Andegari 9 – Milano
Drink, food and a dance floor with live music:
Spirit de Milan
Via Bovisasca 57/59 – Milano
Good cocktails place:
Tripstillery
Piazza Alvar Aalto – Milano
If you like to just stroll around into chaos, the movida districts are mainly Brera, the Navigli and City Life.
I’m not so sure Barnes worries anyone anymore.
DeRozan seems like a ready to fall off a cliff to me. Even if he’s good, it’s a move away from what made them great in 2023. They were very middle of the road last year, so maybe it’s worth it anyway.
Denver made some big bench improvements, but KCP was probably more important.
Jrue & Horford get a year older for Boston. Not a big downgrade, but there should be one.
Milwaukee added Delon Wright, who they desperately needed, but age might be a bigger offsetting factor for them too.
Butler gets a year older and the Heat lose Highsmith, Martin, & Wright who gave them rotation minutes.
Philly is only better for as long as PG stays healthy.
I can’t think of anything Cleveland has done to improve but they’re young enough to improve internally.
KBA, I totally quote every Max advice and I’d add one more:
Traditional but with a contemporary spirit:
Trippa
Via Vasari 1
This is the first joint who started the “Trattoria Contemporanea” movement in Italy, which is basically haute cuisine chefs rejecting the fine dining model to give way to applying top-level techniques to traditional dishes.
Also, if you want to have a Bologna tour (just an hour by train from Milan) just hit me up and I’ll be glad to be your guide!
Max, Farfa. You continue to be the best. Will check them out. Thx!
Good call Farfa! I love Trippa (both the dish and the place) 😀
Frank will probably get hurt during the opening ceremonies on the walk into the stadium. smh
If he’s in the rotation at all, he should get some TV minutes given there should be a lot of TV coverage of Wembanyama.
People keep saying we should take France seriously at basketball, but if you can’t find 12 better players than Frank in your country…
Going off what our european correspondants have said I guess I’m not that optimistic about Rokas but I’m glad we’ll get to have a look at him in SL anyhow
Maybe playing in Serbia will be good for Frank.
Can the Knicks be involved in a 7 team trade: I think this works in the trade machine
Knicks get cash
Portland get cash
Grizzles get cash
Rockets get cash
Detroit get cash
Wizards get cash
Jazz get insults directed towards Danny Ainge
I’m more excited to watch Knicks Summer League than I am the rest of this Yankees season.
Cashman must have something on Hal…
To respond to Cyber’s first post today….
Nothing. Leon is a mastermind. I’m sure he knew, even before the playoffs, that Hartenstein was gone. His minor moves, like Shake Milton, were forgotten until, like Houdini, he pulled a rabbit from a hat.
It’s not over. He’s going to sign or trade for another big. But he has chips on the table and isn’t hamstrung. Any players still out there are looking at a lot of capped out and fully rostered teams. Now he can wait to see if there are cuts coming and will has a number of ways to fill any gaps.
Max and Farfa, I’m bookmarking this page for when I travel to Italy again!
As soon as I saw the DeRozan-Barnes trade come through I thought to myself that those were two teams trying to sell a player before they crashed to earth.
I hope Rokas plays. It would be nice to see whether he’s a legit backup PG or not. Plus we’ll get to compare him to Kolek who looks like he might take that job anyway.
Many potentially good NBA players are derailed by constant injuries.
Serbia won’t do a thing for him if he can’t stay healthy enough to spend the summer working on his game because he’s always rehabbing and then is out for half the regular season too.
There’s no telling where Mitch would be now if it wasn’t for all the constant injuries. I’m hoping he’s back in training a couple of months before the start of the season. We need him in more than top shape. We need him working on his game.
KP a didn’t start breaking out until he finally had a fully healthy off season to get it all together. He’s going to miss this one. So don’t be shocked if he struggles a bit in Boston next year. He’s going to miss the summer, camp, and the start of the season. I’m expecting a slow start and maybe a down season. Boston will be lucky if he slowly rounds back to form by the 2nd half and that assumes he doesn’t get hurt again.
IMO, being healthy in the summer is a huge part of player development.
Alan, thanks for the Rokas update. He finally had a good game statistically, but his team also lost. That is not heart warming.
Frank stunk from the moment he stepped on an NBA court, never showed even a flash of talent or promise, then just continued to stink until he was predictably exiled to Serbia where he will probably also stink. It just seems so much easier to say “wow, that guy sure sucked” than it is to attempt to maintain the illusion that he was ever going to be good.
There’s this classic Mr. Show sketch about a band that all has disabilities. The drummer’s disability is that he has no arms. They fire him from the band, and he complains that he was fired because he has no arms. They tell him that no, they’re firing him because he’s just a shitty drummer. Having no arms doesn’t help, but even WITH arms he’d be a shitty drummer.
That’s Frank. Sure, the injuries didn’t help. Even WITHOUT the injuries he’d still be a shitty drummer. Uh, I mean basketball player.
https://youtu.be/uvVte_OH4Dk?si=tuFdU9sgTPCcisor
From Begley via Twitter: