Folks, Knicks are favorites to win the Eastern Conference going into next season. This is very rare and Leon needs to be cherished, celebrated and appreciated.

Easy there with the “cherished” big fella.

I’m not exactly sure how the Knicks are favs against the team that beat them by 13 games in the standings last season, and they are only rated over IND and Boston due to some slick Achilles voodoo by Leon.

Seriously, I’m not sure why anyone is here except for that debate. (Other than games, when we celebrate and curse the team with the best of them.) It’s fair to ask whether each move was a good move (KAT better than Julius and DDV? Mikal worth those picks? OG worth that contract?) ) It’s fair to wonder if we can build a decent bench, and what the focus of that bench should be. It’s fair to wonder whether Thibs topped out at conference Finals. The only ones who wonder these things disingenuously are a couple of trolls you can just ignore. So yeah, it’s nice not to have to deal with the total incompetence we’ve seen for two decades, but it’s completely reasonable to think Leon may have made mistakes that will keep us from genuine championship contention…and reasonable to debate what mistakes those might be, and to discuss the alternatives.

A lot of what got us here was hiring Thibs and stealing Brunson. You could maybe add picking Mitch. Beyond that, though, you can make a good counterpoint to almost every other move. Personally I’m pretty happy with the team, but there are problems that are hard to work around. Can a more flexible coach than Thibs do so? I hope so, but that’s what it’s gonna take at this point… That, or another roster move we can all question…

He secured 8 proven NBA level players on the roster that everyone can agree on. Knicks have the best closer in the conference, the best PG and the best Center, the best 3rd and 4th bananas, the best offensive rebounder, the best all around swiss army knife (triple double machine) and the most durable player in the conference who never misses games.

However, we @ Knickerblogger are not impressed and have reservations, concerns and some are even very skeptical about the 9th and 10th spots.

Folks, Knicks are favorites to win the Eastern Conference going into next season. This is very rare and Leon needs to be cherished, celebrated and appreciated.

How did Knicks fans become so entitled to winning that they demand absolute perfection from management in every single aspect of their job?

On the other side, here are five more names who are in sink/swim territory and looking for the lifejackets:

Pacôme Dadiet, Knicks
Kobe Brown, Clippers
Tyler Smith, Bucks
Jordan Walsh, Celtics
Rayan Rupert, Trail Blazers

I think Dadiet’s first game was a hint that he is swimming. Showing that he can score could keep him around another year.

Ariel Hukporti, Knicks

Welcome to the most provisional roster spot in the league. Hukporti has a non-guaranteed deal worth $1.98 million, but at the moment has total roster security because keeping the 2024 late second-rounder is the only way the Knicks can stay below the second apron.

Alas, that job security is only for a few months. Take a closer look at Guerschon Yabusele’s deal for just south of the taxpayer midlevel exception: It left the Knicks enough wiggle room to not only sign a veteran into their 14th roster spot but also to waive Hukporti before his guarantee date in January and sign a veteran for the second half of the season.

If New York cuts him in January, waits the maximum 14 days to fill the roster spot and signs a vet for the rest of the season, I have the Knicks clearing the bar with enough room to also sign a veteran to their 15th roster spot on the last day of the season. (Alternatively, the Knicks could also send cash to another team to take Hukporti off their hands and then backfill the roster spot with a veteran, something they can do as early as December.)

Anyway, the best way for Hukporti to avert this outcome is to show out in summer league. No pressure.

This is from:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6483920/2025/07/10/nba-summer-league-vegas-bronny-james-nikola-topic/

31 points on 21 shots isn’t outstanding, but is it really bust-worthy? I think he’ll be fine.

he only got 4 rebounds he’s a bum