man, life is just so full of twists and turns…

will warren dealing bellinger belting

Thank God the Twinkies are in town, the Yankees version of the Washington Generals.

Yankees are 130-53 vs the Twinkies in the 21st Century.

Begley:

“Knicks are hiring T.J. Saint as an assistant coach on Mike Brown’s staff, league sources told SNY. Saint, head coach of the Pelicans G League team, will aid NYK on the offensive end. He’s viewed in NBA circles as a bright offensive mind; Squadron had G League’s top offense in 23-24 reg season. In addition to coaching with Pelicans, Saint has coached at the University of Georgia, with the Detroit Pistons, at Butler University and at Belmont University.”

This is the kind of move I wanted across the coaching staff.

I don’t want recycled coachs and assistants. I don’t know anything about this guy, but he’s young (35) has a reputation for having a good mind for offense and has had some success at a lower level. IMO, we should have gambled a little more like this hoping to strike gold.

Yabu being a solid defender and adding more wins than I currently having him penciled in for and some solid development from the young players. Without that, I’m not expecting much unless there is another move before the deadline. This is not the year without some upside surprises.

How confident are you that the Knicks will be the No. 1 seed in the East next year?

I’m not. Cavs are probably still better.

“Did you agree with the firing of Tom Thibodeau?”

Yes. We needed a change, but I don’t think we made the right one.

Did you like the hiring of Mike Brown?

I don’t hate it, but he was not my top choice.

Did you like the process the front office took in firing and hiring a new head coach?

No. They embarrased themselves around the league.

“A year later, do you like the trade for Mikal Bridges?”

They overpaid, but they got a two way player that’s good enough to be a starter and important part of a championship team. I’m more suspect of the Towns trade because the fit with Brunson is a much bigger issue/ question mark than the price we paid for Bridges

A year later, do you like the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns?

I still like the value, but the fit with Brunson was a question mark coming into the season and became more of a question mark as the season went on and the defense was not good enough.

“What should be the starting lineup next season?”

Brunson-Bridges-Anunoby-Towns and either Hart/Mitch/Hart. 😉

It’s still not clear. We need more evidence. That was one of my biggest complaints about Thibs. He didn’t figure that out in the regular season last year.

“How many seasons will you give this iteration Knicks to win a championship before you panic?”

I think we have about 3 years, 4 tops, but I expect more changes.

“Do you still have faith that Jalen Brunson can be the best player on a championship team?”

I think he can be a #1 option, but he has to dribble less, move the ball more and try to find ways to be less of a liability on defense or it will be tough to find the right combinations.

EVEN ODDS that he will be a Knick?! Fuck the heck!?

I’m not a CBA expert and have zero interest in becoming one since the effort required would be significant, add nothing to what I do and all the rules change every few years. That said, I read think the Knicks did the deal with Mikal in a way that will allow them to trade to use Bridges as part of a trade for Giannis. So start with Bridges and figure out what else it would take for them to have any chance if he decided he WANTED NY.

Win the NBA championship. This is possibly our last, best chance. Anything less will feel like a major disappointment to me.

How confident are you that the Knicks will be the No. 1 seed in the East next year?

Cautiously optimistic. If we’re not close to as good as the Cavs, then we ain’t winning a championship anyway. I think we are at least on the same level.

“Did you agree with the firing of Tom Thibodeau?”

Yes, he should have been fired. He had a good run but it was time to move on.

Did you like the hiring of Mike Brown?

I’m not sure yet. But I would probably say that I didn’t dislike it compared to some other options.

“Did you like the process the front office took in firing and hiring a new head coach?”

Yes, they did their due diligence. They shopped around and after a reasonably thorough process, they hired who they thought was the best guy for the job, and who very well may have been. I don’t get why anyone would call any part of it, including the Kidd stuff, “an embarrassing distraction” unless one feels that media-driven narratives are meaningful. They asked permission to talk to Kidd and other guys who were under contract with other organizations, and were denied that permission. Then they moved on. Seemed like a nothingburger to me.

“A year later, do you like the trade for Mikal Bridges?”

No, they gave up too many assets. I felt that way at the time because I felt that Leon pulled a Mills and bid against himself. Maybe bonafide all-star level play (like his first few months in Brooklyn) would have changed my mind, but that didn’t happen. And again, it wasn’t just the price, it was that there weren’t any unprotected picks left after the trade. Still hoping Mikal plays better and gets closer to validating at least most of the cost.

A year later, do you like the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns?

I’m still not sure. To review, I don’t like KAT as a sidekick for Brunson, and don’t like him on his contract. I don’t think he made us any better than we would have been had the trade not been made. But I do think he had more trade value than Randle, DDV and the pick did at the time of the trade. That gap has narrowed because of Randle’s contract and the unexpected conveyance of the pick.

“What should be the starting lineup next season?”

Brunson-Bridges-Anunoby-Towns-Robinson. The East is big!. But in truth, I don’t care that much.

“How many seasons will you give this iteration Knicks to win a championship before you panic?”

Panic? More like think the window is likely closed. That would be one year. But “this iteration” is not a useful term, since there will almost certainly be another iteration next year. In other words, I think there will be at least 3 and probably 4 changes to our 9-man stock rotation next year no matter what, and would be surprised if both of Mitch and Hart are still here by trade deadline 2027. KAT, Mikal, or OG could be moved as well if Giannis frees up.

“Do you still have faith that Jalen Brunson can be the best player on a championship team?”

I’m still not sure. But that’s more because the definition of “best player” is murky. I definitely think that Brunson can be the most important player because of his leadership and clutchness.