Comments on: Knicks Morning News (2026.01.08)

By: Knick fan not in NJ

Knick fan not in NJ — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 08:21:48 +0000

serious question: are we the only team whether contending or not who has this issue with their two best players being so bad at defense off the top of my head i couldnt think of any but its not like i ran through the entire league in my head either

What about Sabonis and Lavine on the Kings? I don’t know if they are their two best players on the team but they are by far the highest paid

By: Donnie Walsh

Donnie Walsh — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 06:00:56 +0000

Cavs realized better to peak later rather than sooner

By: Z-man

Z-man — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:12:56 +0000

Meanwhile, for all our troubles, Cleveland at 21-18 must be in crisis mode. They were 34-5 at this point last year!

By: ess-dog

ess-dog — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:05:16 +0000

To be fair, KAT got that deal before the new apron rules, but yeah, we knew this was a possibility ever since we brought that idiot Gersson Rosas on board. But still, how did Brock Aller not lobby hard against the KAT trade? Fortunately, as we’ve seen, everything is fixable, and as long as Sacramento has a team, we’ll always have a chance to get better no matter what.

By: hubert

hubert — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:02:39 +0000

That was my question, too. If no one in the NBA was willing to give up anything to get Trae at 46M, I don’t think anyone’s going to be lining up to give us assets for KAT at 61M. Minnesota probably already traded him to the only guy who would.

By: Z-man

Z-man — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 03:01:52 +0000

The killer with KAT’s deal is the $60M player option in 2027-28. He absolutely has to opt in to that, and seriously, who the fuck wants him on their books for that much?

By: Z-man

Z-man — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 02:32:43 +0000

Beyond Randle, I would probably put KAT in the group of starting bigs that includes Sabonis, Vucevic, Nurkic, Markaten…valuable offense-first guys you can definitely win with but who ultimately clog up your cap and keep you from getting the players you need around them to mask their flaws.

By: Z-man

Z-man — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 02:22:31 +0000

There are some similarities, but to me the difference is that there are probably quite a few teams who wouldn’t want Trae on their roster at any price, or at least anything much above a MLE type deal, meaning a guy who you can remove from your rotation if needed without feeling that you are throwing away tons of cap space. Whereas, KAT, by virtue of being a stretch big and top-shelf rebounder, will always have a place in a rotation if he’s in the $20-35M salary range. He’s similar to Julius in that regard…a valuable guy in the right role for the right price, but not anywhere near a “max” player. Also similar to KP in that he retains at least some value due to his size.

I also think the league’s cracking down on flopping and allowing more “marginal” contact has fell more heavily on Trae than others.

By: hubert

hubert — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 02:14:56 +0000

i remember a few years ago someone (hubert?) was idly wondering here if ant had willed kat into a glow-up after a few kick ass playoff performances.

That was me. And then you chimed in and told me what was really going on. And that’s why I’ve always been skeptical of the KAT trade.

By: hubert

hubert — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 02:02:56 +0000

You could get something for KAT now but Trae had value a year and a half ago, too. The sweet spot for trading him is this summer, when he has two years left. The extension is the inflection point. If you give him one, it’s moot. But if you don’t give him one and it’s a signal like it was with Trae, things deteriorate between team and player quickly.