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23 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.07.09)”
Any predictions for our starting summer league lineup? Maybe Kolek, Dadiet, McCullar, Hukporti and another guard?
I’d be shocked if 4 of the 5 starters weren’t last year’s draft picks. Maybe MarJon Beauchamp or Anton Watson as the other starter? Though they, like Dadiet and McCullar, seem more like forwards than guards.
I saw that the Knicks G-League team signed Romeo Langford. Always thought he would pan out but the shot just never came around. He last played in the league at age 24 and is now 25, so maybe the overseas play did him some good.
I would love to see Diawara in that 5th starter spot. Throw the kid out there and let’s see what he has. Then sub Nnaji in quickly for Huk. Beauchamp doesn’t really belong in summer league and Watson looked terrible in his cameos. I suppose guys like that could help win the SL chip, but who really cares?
Last I checked, Ayton played on a team that went to the NBA finals. Were they also focused on development?
I actually like Ayton’s ability, if he can get his head screwed on straight he will massively help the Lakers. He indicated that Luka is “ripped” so there’s that. Could that team actually threaten in the West? Seems so, if LeBron doesn’t fuck it up.
Watson is supposed to be a very good defender and very switchable. You just need him out there practicing his shot.
I’d put Marjon with the starters for some more offense. None of last year’s picks project as scorers. Marjon can probably shoulder a higher usage in SL.
Another “best shape” ever July quote. Isn’t it sort of incumbent on a guy who makes 50 M/year in athletics to actually be “in shape”?
LeBron, for once in his life, has very little leverage.
They will almost certainly have a top offense if not the best in the league, but defense will be an issue and the loss of DFS doesn’t help.
Both Noble and Z-Man have made some good points. I’m not buying some of the hyperbole from Z-Man (stuff like “his floor is Cam’s ceiling” and “I expect at least what Derrick Rose gave us”) but I am persuaded by his general proposition that this will be better than I anticipate.
Since we were just coming off a deep playoff series, though, I was looking for guys who could play in those games. You may think that’s too much to expect from the vet minimum, but I don’t. The Nuggets picked up Bruce Brown for the same price and that’s a guy who can give you plus minutes at 3 positions deep in the playoffs.
I cannot anticipate ever wanting Clarkson to take the court for a single minute deep in the playoffs. Between his defense, his brain, his lack of athleticism, his shot selection, he will be the most exploitable player in an ECF or NBA finals.
I’d rather have a guy who I trust for 6 minutes in the deep playoffs than a guy who might be productive in 82 games but becomes extremely exploitable in the playoffs. And that’s why I still see the signing as a waste.
But if I adjust my expectations down to the NBA equivalent of a 5th starter who does a job, eats innings, and goes away by the time we get deep (much like Cam did), I can be persuaded by the merits of the signing.
This version of the Thunder is eventually going to become very expensive.
Here’s a more interesting way to frame it:
Last year we had Cam Payne and Delon Wright.
Cam was productive for 82 games and one playoff series, but then (unsurprisingly) became unplayable at the deeper level and had to be benched.
Wright gave us close to nothing in the regular season, but he could give us 8 minutes of solid play off the bench against the Pacers.
What role do you think is more valuable to a team trying to win a title?
I think Wright’s is, so to me it’s a mistake to use a scarce asset trying to upgrade the regular season guy instead of the playoffs guy.
Re Brown’s media platitudes, one interesting bit:
“the only semi-revealing tidbit coming in response to a question about Jalen Brunson where Brown’s answer began with “I like to play fast.”
From his lips to Jalen’s ears…
Do they still limit the number of maximums to two?
More to the point: did they just choose to pay Chet over Jalen?
Clarkson has been overhyped for virtually his entire career.
6th men of the year are typically scorers. One thing Clarkson can do is create shots and score, but he’s not particularly efficient and doesn’t play defense. IMO he’s a low basketball IQ gunner that’s going to have impactful nights in BOTH directions.
Is he better than Payne?
IMO they are cut from the same cloth in that they can both shoot you into and out of games. Clarkson can create shots in more ways than Payne. That’s what we need. I’m just not sure I want HIM to do it. IMO both are negative defenders, but Payne is midly negative, better than Clarkson defensively and has more PG skills. For the record, the Knicks were better with Payne on the floor last year. Noisy stat and lineup related, but he was a positive contributor.
Ths bottom line is that we absolutely needed scoring off the bench. They went with Clarkson because he was the best player available for what we had to offer. But the idea that going from Payne to Clarkson is going to add noticeable wins is probably lunacy.
It wasn’t long ago we had Quickley in that role – just to give you an idea of what a real 6th man of the year and plus player adding wins looks like.
We desperately need scoring off the bench, but if we already had enough, Wright would be a no brainer for me.
I’ve been thinking about how Mike Brown can maximize Anunoby and Bridges on defense. I’d have no issues with inking GP2 or Delon Wright and actually starting them next to Brunson as the POA defender. Now- it would rely on our young bigs and wings to make a little of a leap, but i’m ok with that whether Mitch starts or not. I would love for Deuce to start, but it’s a really small backcourt even though Deuce has a plus-wingspan for his height. It would also rely on either GP2 or Wright to take and make open shots. Hopefully they’d be able to capitalize on open looks.
I wouldn’t say it’s clear Wright is more valuable in a playoff setting than Clarkson, who actually has a very impressive, albeit dated, high-usage playoff record.
Obviously, the degree to which Clarkson’s playoff performances from a few years back are still relevant is very much TBD. But if he can be a bench scorer who can get off a semi-decent xPPS look when defenses are at their tightest, that’s more valuable than the Wright role.
Also we still have a vet-min slot we can, and I think given the Marcus Smart rumors, will, use on a “microwave defender.”
I don’t think Clarkson is a “sixth man” anymore… he’s a tenth man. He’s a guy you bring in for a heat check when absolutely no one else is able to get buckets and you’re desperate. We used to have a guy by the name of Ajax Bjorcks who basically held that position.
I’m also not against bringing Wright back. He does many different things as an eleventh man that could be helpful (defense, ball handling). But in an ideal world, you’re only giving those guys spot minutes at most.
If Marcus Smart gets bought out, I’d much rather get him and start him next to Brunson if he’ll take the vet minimum
“I’m not buying some of the hyperbole from Z-Man (stuff like “his floor is Cam’s ceiling” and “I expect at least what Derrick Rose gave us”) but I am persuaded by his general proposition that this will be better than I anticipate.”
I don’t think it’s hyperbole at all. Cam Payne’s ceiling was “completely unplayable in the playoffs”. He was marginally playable during the regular season…but every bit of a “vet’s minimum” player. He shot 36% from 3 and 45% from 2 and rarely got to the line. He couldn’t defend a lick. He’s at best prime Ish Smith.
Your statement about Derrick Rose’s main value being his 3pt shooting is wrong. I assume you understand that because you actually watched the games and saw him break down defenses and get to the rim on a regular basis. That’s exactly what a healthy Clarkson brings. I don’t think at his age you can fully bank on him being healthy, but it’s a very, very good bet at the vet’s minimum. Clarkson is the kind of player who can take over games on a regular basis, like any legit 6MoY candidate.
“I cannot anticipate ever wanting Clarkson to take the court for a single minute deep in the playoffs. Between his defense, his brain, his lack of athleticism, his shot selection, he will be the most exploitable player in an ECF or NBA finals.”
I think you are underrating Clarkson and overrating Brown. I like Bruce Brown, but he would be entirely redundant on this team and has a knee issue that may have sapped his athleticism. He has done nothing since that Denver series, and even that might have been an outlier performance.
Meanwhile, Clarkson definitely has flaws (he would not have been available at the minimum if he didn’t and it surprising he was available at that price anyway), but “lack of athleticism” is not one of them. He had plantar fascia surgery after trying to play through it. But he still gets excellent lift and can dunk with ease. He’s definitely more athletic than Rose was in his last stint with us, and much more likely to stay healthy.
“I’d rather have a guy who I trust for 6 minutes in the deep playoffs than a guy who might be productive in 82 games but becomes extremely exploitable in the playoffs. And that’s why I still see the signing as a waste.”
It is possible that Clarkson becomes unplayable deep in the playoffs, but no more likely than it would be for Brown, or Cam, or Delon, or Shamet. All of these guys are deeply flawed and can play themselves out of a rotation vs. a given opponent.
But only one of them is capable of singlehandedly winning you a critical playoff game when Brunson’s offense goes into the shitter like it did in game 6 vs. Indiana. I would rather have a guy like that on the minimum 7 days a week and twice on Sundays.
Hart will be our sixth man.
“…but he could give us 8 minutes of solid play off the bench against the Pacers”
In game 6 of the IND series, Delon played 11:44 and went 0-2 with 0 assists and 1 rebound and had a BPM of -10.9. The game before that he was 0-4 for 0 points with a BPM of -2.5. For the series he had a TS% of .354 on a 10% usage.
You can pick up a Delon Wright on the vet’s minimum any time. There is absolutely no value in having his take up a roster spot at the expense of a guy like Clarkson, who are usually getting payed somewhere in the MLE range. If anything, the roster spot occupied by Kolek is the wasted one. Swapping him out for Delon or Shamet or Payne would probably help the team this year. But Clarkson is almost certainly going to be better than any of them, and that goes double for the playoffs.
Isn’t Marcus Smart now just a poor man’s Miles McBride?
Seems redundant and now a downgrade.
Set free the Deuce!
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