News & Blogs
Knicks NBA trade deadline guide: What I’m hearing, most likely to get moved, more – The New York Times
Knicks Week Preview: Feb. 1-7, 2026 – Posting & Toasting
Why Feb. 1 looms as an important date in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes – CBS Sports
Game Preview: Knicks vs Lakers, February 1, 2026 – Posting & Toasting
The Run.down Knicks vs Lakers Postgame Show – The Strickland
EXTENDED: LAKERS at KNICKS | FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS | February 1, 2026 – NBA
Knicks vs Lakers – Recap & Reaction | POSTGAME SHOW | Knicks Film School – Knicks Film School
Knicks Win 6 In A Row w/ Impressive 2nd Half Over The Lakers | Post Game Show | EP 689 – Knicks Fan TV
YT News
92 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.02.02)”
Good morning, guys.
“Rest JB, OG and Mitch on Tuesday.”
Respectfully, Director, F that. I’m finally getting a chance to take my girlfriend to the game on Tuesday night after my car was plowed under by snow for 5 days, and it would suck if some of her (and my) favorite players (JB, Shamet, and Kolek for her; Josh and Mitch for me) weren’t on the floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mitch sat, and that by itself would suck enough.
Begley on recent defensive improvements
https://sny.tv/articles/knicks-staggering-defensive-improvement-212026
That was a really great second half.
What the fuck is so funny, Luka? Guy is annoying.
Yeah, I’m a big fan of guys who smile, but Luka smirks. A thing one wants to wipe off with one’s forearm.
Interesting postgame comments from JJ Redick…
zman i’m going to lobby for a thumbs down button if you post any more shallow ai fakes
I swear it is authentic. Dare you to ask JJ in private.
Even GF hated Luka’s smirky/smarmy/winky routine (she’d never seen him before), and she likes pretty much everyone.
We should all point out how big it has been having Shamet back. We replaced Clarkson with a better shooter and defender and that has been extremely important.
Aha!
(If she ever finds out about your smirky/smarmy/winky routine here, she may get back on Bumble, so be safe and don’t share your passwords!)
Giannis needs to instruct his agent to immediately demand a trade otherwise he just wasted his age 31 season trying to be a nice guy and worrying what Milwakee fans and media are going to think.
Facts. Addition by subtraction but Leon and the front office deserve a lot of credit for their patience and doubling down by sticking with Shamet through both his injuries and Thibs benching.
Wish Leon now Deuced him with a 3yr – $5m aav extension + a team option on last year.
LOL Neither of us have ever been on Bumble. Speaking for myself, I know almost nothing about it, and am only familiar with it at all in a contextual sense.
Yeah, I admit that I was not a proponent of keeping Shamet around, but I was majorly incorrect on that front. Actually couldn’t have possibly been more wrong.
Shamet has been a revelation. I remember him being pretty dynamic at times last year, but I dunno, maybe all the rehab has made him stronger and more consistent. There really isn’t a comparison between him and Clarkson, who I hoped would have some juice but seems totally washed. Landry seems like one of the best bench players in the NBA right now.
Of course, the shoulder continues to worry me every time he barrels through a screen, but if he can stay healthy, that’s a major plus for our championship hopes.
What Shamet also does is allow us to have a reliable closer if Mikal, OG, or Hart don’t have it that night. He’s been surprisingly involved in a lot of clutch games this year. Brown and teammates trust him
The bulk of Shamet’s value this season comes from him being an absolute sniper, but he’s also sneakily getting to the line and rebounding career high rates. I’m definitely not the only one who’s been impressed with how well he holds up defensively against quicker guards too.
He’s the guy on the team I’m most excited to see open, but he’s a bit more than Small Novak. We’ll see how sustainable it is but right now he’s looking like one of the best minimum signings in the league.
I haven’t been this excited about a Landry in years!
From The Athletic: Why LeBron James should start thinking about joining next year’s Knicks
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7014976/2026/02/02/lebron-james-knicks-lakers-nba-future/?campaign=16725855&source=athletic_targeted_email&userId=10333007
We do need a backup 4
He should, but he won’t, take a back seat or backup job to anyone even though winning a championship here would solidify his legacy. I think this is very, very, very unlikely.
I don’t think it’s completely out of the realm of possibility that he would do that.
Saw a nice clip of Mitch getting an offensive rebound, pitching it out to Landry, and walking back to play defense without even watching the shot. Gotta feel good to see that confidence your teammates have in you.
I wish I had spent my age 31 season being nice to 2,000,000 people. Instead I wasted it yelling at Larry Brown from the 4th row.
“I don’t think it’s completely out of the realm of possibility that he would do that.”
Nope, definitely not completely out of the realm of possibility, for sure. But seems more likely that he’d so something like close things out much closer to home in Cleveland. It would definitely be more “on brand” for him.
I hope this recent stretch of basketball garners a full buy-in from KAT and shows him that he doesn’t need to score 25 to positively affect winning. Right now he’s finding ways to effect the game regardless of if he has his shot going. He’s too good a shooter for his shot to not revert to the norm, and when it does- we will see the best version of KAT if he maintains his current grind. That happens, our Knicks should absolutely be Finals-bound. When KAT got those 22 bounds against Toronto, I thought he was supposed to do that. But the truth is, during this 6 game streak- he really has been playing big regardless of who is guarding him. Kinda looks like he’s developing a mean streak in the paint, compared to his previous mentality on the floor.
Keep going KAT!
If I were LeBron chasing the GOAT legacy, no way do I join the Knicks. If we win Jalen gets the accolades with LeBron sort of getting the Durant/GS treatment of downplaying the ring as they would have won anyway–ie, 4.5 rings versus MJ’s 6. And if we lose in the finals, another disaster for him. If we lose at any point, we were stupid to sign a 42 year old as the missing piece and he gets the blame (even if the reason was he was injured). And if we lose 9 of 11 (not unheard of) during the season– 100% implosion as there will be 2 camps. Retire or join a team where it is clear your presence will make them overachieve.
I know it’s just mostly an involuntary reflex, just like the look of constant consternation that I wear, but yeah, not a big fan of folks whom reflexively smile…
what the fuck is so funny, eh? stop standing there grinning at me like a fucking idiot please, don’t you understand just how serious this life stuff is?
just kidding, slightly…
Got an ESPN click bait notifcation where Windhurst says Milawkee countered Knicks initial offer for Giannis. If true, that’s serious business.
Hard to see Lebron leaving Brentwood….
Disagree. Yes, Jalen would get the most “credit” but we’re talking about a franchise that hasn’t won a title in 50 years.
Let’s say we get to the finals this year but don’t win and James then signs on with a vet minimum deal to be our back up PF/6th man. Then we win a title the next year. IMO, the narrative would be that Lebron sacrificied and took a cheap deal to help push the Knicks over the top.
Golden State had already won a title and had just lost a second title in historic 7 games series after winning the most regular season games ever. Plus. Durant LOST to that same warriors team in the ECF (also 7 games) before joining them. that is why he got so much shit.
Joining a contender that’s good but hasn’t won a title is different than joining a team like the 2016 Warriors that you had just lost to.
Swifty, I am not saying I don’t want LeBron (and I don’t think you are implying that in your answer) but the risk-reward seems skewed against him. If we win yes it enhances his legacy, but anything short of that is at best neutral and likely tarnishes it a bit. And the likelihood we win a title in the next year or two is certainly less than 33%.
Let’s not forget his son. He leaves, that’s probably the last Bronny sees of an NBA floor. Unless Bronny comes with, of course.
While a backup PF with his skill set even at this age would be tempting, I just shudder at the thought of the endless LeBron stories. They annoy the hell out of me now when he’s 3,000 miles away.
Yeah, I don’t think it would. He’s already lost in the finals enough for haters to hate on his legacy.
This would be more like a cool final chapter/addendum on his career. That time Lebron took less and played a back up role to help the most storied franchise ever win a title.
The endless articles would be annoying but, again, I’m looking at this more from a “hey, fuck it, I’m joining the Knicks to help them finally win a title” not a “I need more rings for my legacy” type narrative.
In 20 years, if Lebron wins with us, fans will see 5 rings on his ledger. They’ll see Brunson’s name on the Knicks and vaguely remember their dad ranting about clutch shooting a couple times.
if i had a vote – would like to see lebron’s basketball story end in believeland…
He’s not coming to the Knicks
proud of our new york knickerbockers for being able to right the ship…
to see better team play out on the court, everyone fitting in and running back to defend…
reduce our turnovers and we got a shot to win most games just with our rebounding and balanced play…
Not sure how meanigful or helpful it is to speculate about Lebron James coming to warm the bench for OG on a minimum salary this summer and what that does to his legacy during the NBA trade deadline week where Giannis is being moved.
I’m pretty sure the foot of snow on the east coast convinced him to come to NY. LA just can’t compete with having 4 seasons
Giannis ain’t coming here and if he does end up here, he’s gonna need a back up, no?
also very happy to see KAT in the all-star game…
funny to think how much better we play when those two offensive stars dial back on their offense…
was cool to see clarkson and yabu both towards the end of the game happy on the bench and staying close with their teammates…
knicks post-game, courtesy of sny…
I am sooooo there for the landry shamet story, starring landry shamet, as soon as it gets made…
from now on, just let landry, mikal, deuce and mitch do all the post game talk…
Still crazy to think that Landry Shamet played a total of 83 minutes across 18 playoff games last season. He had 7 DNP-CDs!
And he shot 46% from deep in those minutes.
Looking more and more like this is the roster we’re going to carry into the playoffs, aside from a minimum 15th we can squeeze in under the cap in April or whatever. Sounds like the Knicks are (wisely?) choosing to not squander that quite valuable WAS first/2 seconds on salary-dumping Yabu. If Leon can’t find a taker for less than that, just keep him around and use him as outgoing salary in a minor trade this offseason, or at worst, wait until those two seconds convey so you can give up only one and keep one for some other purpose.
Can any of you imagine a world where either Yabu or Clarkson become useful and add those roles to the team we’ve been seeing for a couple of weeks now? (Probably not, but very exciting to consider or think about.)
By the way, did anyone else notice Yabu and Clarkson on the sidelines with their teammates as we completed the task of dismantling the Lakers? No sulky looks; just laughing and clowning around and enjoying the win with the other guys. It was nice to see that professionalism after both being “Siberia’d.”
Brunson seems to have really been stepping up on D, not just taking charges but other “little guy” stuff that good small defenders (e.g. Kyle Lowry, FVV, Chris Paul) like chesting up bigger guys and keeping them in front, hedging on screens, flashing into passing lanes, blitzing and getting but not over-helping, etc.
It’s quite possible that both he and KAT are focusing so much on D and on facilitating for others that their O is a bit uncomfortable right now. There’s probably bad habits that have to be broken down and changed.
I don’t know whether Yabu and Clarkson are necessarily permanently out of the rotation. With the trade deadline coming up, it’s possible that Leon told Brown to not risking them getting injured until after it passes.
Or not. We’ll see!
Seems clear that 2 things came out of those player only meetings:
1) Shortning of the rotation (Yabu, Clarkson and Kolek = DNPs)
2) KAT and JB defensive effort with + focusing rebounding and assists.
Glad we’re on the other side of this now and a much better team becuase of it. Deuce taking a week off is clearly a blessing too. Kolek may be one the best back up old school PGs in the league.
Nastradamous of the win streak.
Yours trully,
Director NYC
Sounds like Deuce had a high ankle sprain and he was either rushed back or re-aggravated it, or the soreness wouldn’t resolve. Not an injury to mess around with, maybe he needs to rest untll after the ASB…
Don’t think I really want Alvarado or Missi for the record. I’m pretty sure Kolek and Huk are at least as good if not a bit better overall.
I think Kolek might become better than Alvarado with enough reps but he’s not there yet…maybe not even close.
Missi has more upside than Huk but it’s probably a toss-up for this year, with Huk maybe having the edge in maturity.
It seems like right now everybody is accepting (if not embracing, and yes, sometimes even embracing) their current roles in the system, even if those roles are new or unexpected to them. I am now firmly in the “let’s not mess with it” camp, which is not something I would have probably said a week ago.
I don’t know. If Kolek starts playing with this level of swagger and hits 3’s like he did the last 2 games on the regular along with his usual playmaking and passing, he might end up being pretty damn good. I’d be very wary of trading him right now and if I was Leon, I’d be looking to lock him up with a Deuce style deal for the next few years.
Fun Tyler facts: In the last 5 games (although five ago was only 3 minutes, but what the hell), he’s
– Shot 46% from the field
– Shot 50% from three
– Was 3/1 in assists/turnovers
– Averaged 9.96 assists per 36
– Was on average a +8.4
deuce is out tomorrow so he’s officially ineligible for an all defense spot
Given a choice between winning a title with Lebron and not winning a title, I’m going to take not winning the title every time. Signing him would be going out with some formerly really hot woman you were in love with many years ago that rejected you multiple times. She comes to you now when her ass and breasts are sagging and she looks like a prune from all the vacations in the sun with hot guys. I’m weak when it comes to pxxsy, but not that weak.
Wow. Didn’t see that one coming. Thanks, Strat. LOL
It’s more encouraging that the Knicks can point to specific adjustments they’ve made to account for their improved defense than just random noise or effort. The test will be will they hold up when teams adjust to our adjustments.
I have very little interest in seeing 42yo LeBron in a Knicks uniform, nor entertaining the stale backwash of the “will he or won’t he drama”from The Decision. Let him go to Cleveland as a “savior” after they crap out again in the playoffs, only to turn it into an ill-fated circus that ends up badly for them.
jalen, josh, deuce, tyler make for a really nice backcourt rotation…
last year never was sold on mikal at small forward, OG at power forward and KAT playing center…thought they were being used out of position…
been super impressed with OG at the four…he looked too heavy and slow last season…this season it looks like he’s moving around much easier and his strength still looks exceptional…
mikal fits in better at the 3 for our team, he’s just not a great backcourt fit with jalen…although, tyler and him back there look sort of interesting together…
every time mo hits the court now I keep thinking I wanna tell him to stand up straight, be tall and stop slouching…
The funny thing about Strat’s comment is that he leaves out the part about what he looked like to her after all those years…and that even if he gave in she would probably pull the football away a la Lucy at the last minute just to fuck with him one last time.
Brown went two bigs for a decent stretch yesterday. Hope that continues!
We are the Knicks. That means we were very successful in business since the rejections, got rid of a few extra pounds and matured nicely into a much better catch. 😉
strat doing shooters and taking random pot shots at old flames, while reminiscing between delusion and dream…
hmmmmm wonder what body part(s) might sag the most on you these days…
so much to chose from maybe…
Edit: just read what you wrote strat – go ahead sexy old guy, work that money maker…
Do I have something better going on that night? Because right now the Knicks have a second date with Yabusele on the calendar
I thought misogynistic analogies were my thing!
I would be totally fine with winning a championship with LeBron.
Not winning a title, with LeBron, I would hate.
It’s crazy that autocorrect knows how to spell his name right.
I’m not a misogynist in general. Let’s just say I took more than my fair share of lumps from a certain type of woman before meeting my current sweetheart. I’ve been with her for 40 years. Before her, my “stat” sheet had a few significantly negative RAPMs for females I was involved with or interested in among the many females that were only good friends that were a huge net plus. 😉
I would be totally fine with winning a championship with LeBron if we traded Yabu for him.
Doing the math and it seems you don’t want to win a championship with Yabu at any costs.
And I respect that.
I may be the last man on Yabu island. Still like him.
I’m still doing my best to like him. He hasn’t *totally* lost me yet.
That’s like being the last man on Bikini Atoll before Castle Bravo… It isn’t going to end well.
Interesting, Charlotte has won 7 straight games. Might be a tough out if they make the playoffs.
Yabu was good in his last real stint. Looked like an NBA player.
I’m with Strat and Z-man on the “No to Lebron”. There was a time for him to come here, he opted to go elsewhere. We should keep working to make the team better, and try to win that way. It’ll be ten times more rewarding, than if we start adding old stars to the team. Who’s next? AD?
Yabu may have been passable in his last real stint, but at no time has he looked like an NBA player. It’s pretty funny, watching him actually makes me angry. He’s too short and can’t jump up onto a sheet of paper so he can’t get rebounds. All he can do is hoist three-point shots. It takes him a three-count to get his enormous ass into gear, at which point the opposing player is laying the ball in behind him.
I’m sure he’s the nicest guy, but he’s a professional pill bug, not an NBA player. He makes my eyes bleed.
Hey Alan, lovely piece on Catherine O’Hara in The Ringer. Thanks for that.
Ditto. Brought a tear to my eye. What a fucking loss.
Yep, great stuff!
That’s why I subscribed!!! Alsep is the best!
Although this deserved a platform
cam spencer is very quietly having an all time great point guard year. 17 and 8 with 7 3pa per 36 and almost 50/40/90 (66% ts) and 2.2 tov? all time great sounds crazy but it’s rarified air.
Thanks, guys!
I had no idea who Cam Spencer was…
The lax bro’s bro.
That is crazy
I want to like Yabu, but there’s been nothing to like
Assuming Leon and the Knicks are being truthful when they say they’re not going after Giannis. Is there a way to get involved with one of the teams that is going for Giannis and be the facilitator that brings something nice back our way.
In thinking specifically is there any way to package Yabu and possibly Clarkson plus some of our youngsters (specifically McCullar and Dadiet), maybe even a second round pick or two…to get a good player back who is a clear upgrade for the bench (a wing or a true PF or another center).
I’d also be ok with keeping Clarkson if he’s being a good soldier and teammate. He’s not the worst break in case of emergency guy to have.
But wondering if teams like Minny, Lakers, Warriors, Heat, etc…who are going after Giannis…have any guys we could pluck off while helping facilitate a Giannis trade.
Best would be to deal with warriors or Minny since they’re both out west and trading Gianni’s to one of would potentially make life hard for OKC or Denver in the playoffs.
Or is there a way to help Memphis unload Ja in exchange for a good player.
I’m cool not going after Giannis and not trading KAT and just running with this team. But I do think a bench upgrade over Yabu/Clarkson would be nice. I don’t want to see Leon stay completely quiet!
“cam spencer is very quietly having an all time great point guard year. 17 and 8 with 7 3pa per 36 and almost 50/40/90 (66% ts) and 2.2 tov? all time great sounds crazy but it’s rarified air.”
Very solid indeed. Here’s a relatively recent article about him. Seems like it’s not a fluke, the kid can really shoot, and has been able to since college.
Sixers beating up on the Clippers in L.A.
harden for garland would be a shock
Trying to figure out if it would make the Cavs worse.
Probably could’ve made some money if this Sixers/Cavs game had been closer. Ah, well.
There’s gambling in this establishment?
Your winnings, sir
I’m shocked
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