Not sure why the morning news bot took a day off, but I’ll check it out when I have the opportunity.
58 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.03.24)”
Thanks Mike, as always!
I was perfectly happy hearing how the Knicks lost to the Clippers every day…
So to hit 54 wins and clinch the over, seems like tonight is sort of a must win. The Pels will be fired up as all western teams seem to be for their only visit to MSG, and a starting lineup of Zion, Herb, Dejounte, Trey Murphy III, and Saddiq can definitely light it up. I’ll be in transit so will miss the game, but hope that we can start off this last stretch against competitive teams with a solid win.
Regarding tonight, Macri has a good warning:
“As for the Pels, don’t let their 25-47 record fool you. Since starting out 10-36, they’re 15-11 in their last 26 and have the 8th best net rating in the NBA over their last 10 games.”
2
Thinking ahead to next season regarding the salary cap. I can see them let Mitch go and try to trade Dadiet. That would free up a chunk. Depending upon what happens in the playoffs you might see 1 of these guys get traded: Towns, Bridges, or maybe even Hart.
I think we’ve learned that we cannot take *anyone* lightly. Witness our game against the very, very, very bad Brooklyn Nets last Friday night that ended up being thisclose to a loss at the end.
Wow, Raven, I didn’t realize the Pels were playing that much better.
That is a descent sample size too.
“…they’re 15-11 in their last 26 and have the 8th best net rating in the NBA over their last 10 games.”
feels like the pels are the best team we’ve played in a couple of weeks, and yeah, that didn’t go so great then…
ugh, the day feels as though it’s moving along excruciatingly slow (normally a daily goal to achieve)…heading back home though tomorrow, and just ready to get to going…short of having to figure out and fuck with some kind of electronic or software stuff – i’m pretty much always ready to get to the next thing…
hmmmmmm, anyone have anything interesting to share…
“…they’re 15-11 in their last 26 and have the 8th best net rating in the NBA over their last 10 games.”
Wow…didn’t realize that Pels have been this good recently. Still, its a home game and just can’t see a team like NYK dropping this game right before hitting the road.
The first road game before going out west is always a must win too otherwise the whole trip goes to shit. That’s why they really need the next two + Boston @ home on 4/09.
I caught a fair amount of flack for my criticism of Bridges.
Then the argument was he has been more efficient. My argument was his efficiency was largely driven by a huge drop off in usage.
But now even his efficiency has dropped off.
I get that it is hard going from a No. 1 option with the Nets to a number four option with the Knicks. That I get. It must be hard for him.
But the Knicks gave up five first rounders for him. That the Knicks gave up that much for a fourth option is an indictment of the Knicks. And he is losing minutes to Shamet.
Hart defending him is not surprising. They are friends. And hart is right that that Bridges is being asked to do less.
But even the coach realizes Bridges is in a big slump, has reduced his minutes further and is making comments that are equal to damning praise.
It’s not Mikal’s fault that Leon gave up so much for him. That is on Leon and only on Leon. The odds of him living up to the cost of that deal were pretty slim from the get-go. It’s a sunk cost, so whatever. I just don’t think it’s fair to have outsized expectations for him based on what was paid for him.
Kind of non sense to me Z Man. You seem to continuously let him off the hook for his poor play.
I’m not sure that Z is actually “letting Bridges off the hook.” He can of course correct me if I am wrong, of course, but I think he is saying something tantamount to “if we had given up only two draft picks for Mikal and he was playing the exact same way, the noise about him would largely disappear.”
Bridges has zero alpha in him and seems just fine being an invisible player on the court . When you can sit him down and see no drop off with vet min players that’s an issue.
Any basketball player on a cold streak will get unfair criticism.
Any player afraid of going to the basket will get much deserved criticism.
1
I’m pretty solidly in line with what Z-Man said. The draft picks are entirely on Leon, it’s not like Mikal said he’d veto the move if it wasn’t for at least that many. If he’s not living up to your ideal of a five-draft-pick player, look to the front office. If it’s “our future is fucked” because of it, look to the front office once again. It’s not Mikal’s fault, even a tiny little bit, outside of his being alive and a professional basketball player.
Mikal is definitely struggling a bit right now, but so is Brunson. I’d like them both to get out of their respective funks before the playoffs.
When Mikal hits on most cylinders, he’s one of the best fourth options in the NBA. That’s a really good thing. And regardless he’s still quite good on defense.
That’s not giving him a pass. That’s just a fact. If you’re mad at him for the five draft picks, you’re delusional.
1
I doubt Jalen knew that Mikal was going to dog it this much when he gave up $113M.
Is this so hard?
We paid too much for Mikal and he isn’t playing that great.
If Jokic wins again I am ok with it. Would make up for one he should have.
Complaints about the picks are pointless at this stage, and also way overblown. We didn’t give up any actual players, and so had to compensate with picks, which is why it sounds like a lot. Usually at least one player with potential changes hands. Here, that didn’t happen. Beyond that, MOST of the picks are not worth a lot, as the Knicks have been and will be near the end of the first round for most of them. Last year it was #19 and #26, which so far look like busts. In 2027, 28, and 29, there are two picks and a swap. Do you expect 2027 to be higher than #24? I don’t. Or the Nets to be better than the Knicks in 2028 for a swap? Send extremely unlikely. 2029, now the pick could be something – core players will be in their late 20s/early 30s, maybe we get bounced in the first round, whatever. But most likely we’re still talking in the 20s.
The only seriously valuable pick is in 2031. By then, unless Leon spins straw into gold, we may be in our rebuilding phase. That one hurts. But if we’ve been to the Finals several times, I’ll make that exchange any day.
I recognize that there is opportunity cost in giving up those picks as well, and yes, We’d have more flexibility with them. But are NBA teams looking at those picks as super valuable? Highly doubtful, for the reasons just enumerated.
In short, it sounds terrible to say “we gave up five first round picks for Mikal!” But when you look at the picks…meh. Of course it would be great if he were more consistent, drew more fouls, didn’t disappear. But the idea that the trade killed the franchise is absurd.
I also feel that picks at the end of the first round are almost a trap – would you rather pay $2 mil for a rookie who, by the odds, is unlikely to ever become a net positive player– or a vet minimum, who is a known quantity? Dadier, or Shamet? Obviously, there are always exceptions, late round picks that immediately provide value, but again, the odds say it’s unlikely. And unlike vet minimums, you’re stuck with underperforming rookies for several years. Or longer, if the front office can’t acknowledge a mistake.
The second round – especially early in the second round – is much better, and we’re in good shape on that account. We found Mitch, Deuce, Mo D…even Huk has some value. Seems like Leon is doing ok compensating for not having those picks.
Slow day tidbits:
Salary cap for 2026-2027 to be $1MM less than previously stated. Don’t know how it will impact the Knicks next year.
Breen and Monica in a very cute state farm commercial.
Brock might tend to disagree with you Bo.
Okay, it’s not basketball, but it’s a headline from ESPN. And it leaves so very many questions unanswered…
Quadruple amputee cornhole player fatally shoots man
Sorry… couldn’t edit…meant to include “not a slow day’
rama, can’t a team renounce a first rounder after 2 years?
Raven, he did it while driving! Apparently there were YouTube vids showing him firing rifles and other weapons
I can barely use my turn signal when I’m driving. I don’t think I’ll look for those videos…
The slobbering over the Lakers drives me nuts even tho they lost to Detroit without Cade. The Celtics too. I heard one guy say the only true contenders are OKC Spurs Lakers and Celtics.
I wouldn’t even give many shits about Mikal’s offense if he was just playing lockdown defense… but alas.
Lakers will be a 1st round exit again.
I agree with Rams about the trade for Bridges and I will add one thing. Not only did we not give up any useful players but we got Bridges when his salary was relatively low which gave us cap flexibility for a year or two (until we resigned him). That’s probably worth a late first round pick by itself.
My beef with Mikal is he seems to have made wildly suboptimal changes to his game the second he got here. His first season here was his career low in FTAr…until his second season here.
He has improved his 3PAr, but he’s taking fewer shots overall so his overall volume has barely budged.
Every time I bring this stuff up someone tells me it’s “not his role” or whatever to have high usage, to which I reply that’s all good and well but his efficiency is wildly unimpressive for a mid-usage player, but this never seems to stop the original rejoinder from reappearing in the future.
I will give him some credit for impressing more defensively this year. The increase in steals is substantial and has helped the team a lot IMO, and he’s getting a few more rebounds too.
The guy definitely has some valuable skills–the ability to get off a good midrange look at pretty much anytime comes in handy, and when he’s got a workable defensive matchup he’s stout.
But I’ve found the whole experience pretty underwhelming, and the opportunity cost is painful to contemplate. It seems very likely Mikal Bridges is a Knick instead of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Let’s say i am the teacher and i have to give Mikal’s grade, i can’t do it now because the playoffs are worth 80% of the grade.
1
Nice one, cyber. Those final exams can be a bitch.
I do wish he’d stop staring out the window when I’m lecturing, though…
There is a Knicks game currently on, isn’t there?
knickerblogger in silent support of tsa agents everywhere…
this game should be a little more fun than some of our recent matchups…
Clarkson reborn…like Daredevil
1
alright jordan clarkson, show us something good 😊
Clarkson doing everything possible to prove me wrong.
I won’t budge. But he’s fun to watch so far tonight.
alt Clarkson ( neo Clarkson)
There is a Knicks game currently on, isn’t there?
Everyone is speechless because Clarkson is playing well
1
Who is this Clarkson guy?
OMG, am I going to have to like Jordan Clarkson???
42 point 1st quarter – now that’s the way to start the game…
That was a very impressive 1st quarter.
Still trying to get used to rooting for a team that can routinely go on a 15-0 run in less than 3 minutes.
One of the best things about the Knicks being good is how happy it makes Clyde. Nobody deserves it more.
Then they immediately give it almost all back in 3 mins…
Sometimes this unit is not good when Alvarado is running things…brown should give kolek a look
okay, not such a great 2nd quarter so far…
OG off to a really good start, were sort of unbearable when he puts up 25 or so…so go OG…
58 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.03.24)”
Thanks Mike, as always!
I was perfectly happy hearing how the Knicks lost to the Clippers every day…
So to hit 54 wins and clinch the over, seems like tonight is sort of a must win. The Pels will be fired up as all western teams seem to be for their only visit to MSG, and a starting lineup of Zion, Herb, Dejounte, Trey Murphy III, and Saddiq can definitely light it up. I’ll be in transit so will miss the game, but hope that we can start off this last stretch against competitive teams with a solid win.
Regarding tonight, Macri has a good warning:
“As for the Pels, don’t let their 25-47 record fool you. Since starting out 10-36, they’re 15-11 in their last 26 and have the 8th best net rating in the NBA over their last 10 games.”
Thinking ahead to next season regarding the salary cap. I can see them let Mitch go and try to trade Dadiet. That would free up a chunk. Depending upon what happens in the playoffs you might see 1 of these guys get traded: Towns, Bridges, or maybe even Hart.
I think we’ve learned that we cannot take *anyone* lightly. Witness our game against the very, very, very bad Brooklyn Nets last Friday night that ended up being thisclose to a loss at the end.
Wow, Raven, I didn’t realize the Pels were playing that much better.
That is a descent sample size too.
“…they’re 15-11 in their last 26 and have the 8th best net rating in the NBA over their last 10 games.”
feels like the pels are the best team we’ve played in a couple of weeks, and yeah, that didn’t go so great then…
ugh, the day feels as though it’s moving along excruciatingly slow (normally a daily goal to achieve)…heading back home though tomorrow, and just ready to get to going…short of having to figure out and fuck with some kind of electronic or software stuff – i’m pretty much always ready to get to the next thing…
hmmmmmm, anyone have anything interesting to share…
Wow…didn’t realize that Pels have been this good recently. Still, its a home game and just can’t see a team like NYK dropping this game right before hitting the road.
The first road game before going out west is always a must win too otherwise the whole trip goes to shit. That’s why they really need the next two + Boston @ home on 4/09.
Josh Harts comments made it to ESPN https://x.com/FirstTake/status/2036463380018364582
https://x.com/FirstTake/status/2036457555606557020
I caught a fair amount of flack for my criticism of Bridges.
Then the argument was he has been more efficient. My argument was his efficiency was largely driven by a huge drop off in usage.
But now even his efficiency has dropped off.
I get that it is hard going from a No. 1 option with the Nets to a number four option with the Knicks. That I get. It must be hard for him.
But the Knicks gave up five first rounders for him. That the Knicks gave up that much for a fourth option is an indictment of the Knicks. And he is losing minutes to Shamet.
Hart defending him is not surprising. They are friends. And hart is right that that Bridges is being asked to do less.
But even the coach realizes Bridges is in a big slump, has reduced his minutes further and is making comments that are equal to damning praise.
https://nypost.com/2026/03/23/sports/josh-hart-hits-back-at-unfair-criticism-toward-knicks-mikal-bridges/
It’s not Mikal’s fault that Leon gave up so much for him. That is on Leon and only on Leon. The odds of him living up to the cost of that deal were pretty slim from the get-go. It’s a sunk cost, so whatever. I just don’t think it’s fair to have outsized expectations for him based on what was paid for him.
Kind of non sense to me Z Man. You seem to continuously let him off the hook for his poor play.
I’m not sure that Z is actually “letting Bridges off the hook.” He can of course correct me if I am wrong, of course, but I think he is saying something tantamount to “if we had given up only two draft picks for Mikal and he was playing the exact same way, the noise about him would largely disappear.”
Bridges has zero alpha in him and seems just fine being an invisible player on the court . When you can sit him down and see no drop off with vet min players that’s an issue.
enjoy the most boring tracker in nba history
https://www.entropyisrude.com/65-game-tracker.html
Any basketball player on a cold streak will get unfair criticism.
Any player afraid of going to the basket will get much deserved criticism.
I’m pretty solidly in line with what Z-Man said. The draft picks are entirely on Leon, it’s not like Mikal said he’d veto the move if it wasn’t for at least that many. If he’s not living up to your ideal of a five-draft-pick player, look to the front office. If it’s “our future is fucked” because of it, look to the front office once again. It’s not Mikal’s fault, even a tiny little bit, outside of his being alive and a professional basketball player.
Mikal is definitely struggling a bit right now, but so is Brunson. I’d like them both to get out of their respective funks before the playoffs.
When Mikal hits on most cylinders, he’s one of the best fourth options in the NBA. That’s a really good thing. And regardless he’s still quite good on defense.
That’s not giving him a pass. That’s just a fact. If you’re mad at him for the five draft picks, you’re delusional.
I doubt Jalen knew that Mikal was going to dog it this much when he gave up $113M.
Is this so hard?
We paid too much for Mikal and he isn’t playing that great.
If Jokic wins again I am ok with it. Would make up for one he should have.
Complaints about the picks are pointless at this stage, and also way overblown. We didn’t give up any actual players, and so had to compensate with picks, which is why it sounds like a lot. Usually at least one player with potential changes hands. Here, that didn’t happen. Beyond that, MOST of the picks are not worth a lot, as the Knicks have been and will be near the end of the first round for most of them. Last year it was #19 and #26, which so far look like busts. In 2027, 28, and 29, there are two picks and a swap. Do you expect 2027 to be higher than #24? I don’t. Or the Nets to be better than the Knicks in 2028 for a swap? Send extremely unlikely. 2029, now the pick could be something – core players will be in their late 20s/early 30s, maybe we get bounced in the first round, whatever. But most likely we’re still talking in the 20s.
The only seriously valuable pick is in 2031. By then, unless Leon spins straw into gold, we may be in our rebuilding phase. That one hurts. But if we’ve been to the Finals several times, I’ll make that exchange any day.
I recognize that there is opportunity cost in giving up those picks as well, and yes, We’d have more flexibility with them. But are NBA teams looking at those picks as super valuable? Highly doubtful, for the reasons just enumerated.
In short, it sounds terrible to say “we gave up five first round picks for Mikal!” But when you look at the picks…meh. Of course it would be great if he were more consistent, drew more fouls, didn’t disappear. But the idea that the trade killed the franchise is absurd.
I also feel that picks at the end of the first round are almost a trap – would you rather pay $2 mil for a rookie who, by the odds, is unlikely to ever become a net positive player– or a vet minimum, who is a known quantity? Dadier, or Shamet? Obviously, there are always exceptions, late round picks that immediately provide value, but again, the odds say it’s unlikely. And unlike vet minimums, you’re stuck with underperforming rookies for several years. Or longer, if the front office can’t acknowledge a mistake.
The second round – especially early in the second round – is much better, and we’re in good shape on that account. We found Mitch, Deuce, Mo D…even Huk has some value. Seems like Leon is doing ok compensating for not having those picks.
Slow day tidbits:
Salary cap for 2026-2027 to be $1MM less than previously stated. Don’t know how it will impact the Knicks next year.
Breen and Monica in a very cute state farm commercial.
Brock might tend to disagree with you Bo.
Okay, it’s not basketball, but it’s a headline from ESPN. And it leaves so very many questions unanswered…
Quadruple amputee cornhole player fatally shoots man
Sorry… couldn’t edit…meant to include “not a slow day’
rama, can’t a team renounce a first rounder after 2 years?
Raven, he did it while driving! Apparently there were YouTube vids showing him firing rifles and other weapons
I can barely use my turn signal when I’m driving. I don’t think I’ll look for those videos…
The slobbering over the Lakers drives me nuts even tho they lost to Detroit without Cade. The Celtics too. I heard one guy say the only true contenders are OKC Spurs Lakers and Celtics.
I wouldn’t even give many shits about Mikal’s offense if he was just playing lockdown defense… but alas.
Lakers will be a 1st round exit again.
I agree with Rams about the trade for Bridges and I will add one thing. Not only did we not give up any useful players but we got Bridges when his salary was relatively low which gave us cap flexibility for a year or two (until we resigned him). That’s probably worth a late first round pick by itself.
My beef with Mikal is he seems to have made wildly suboptimal changes to his game the second he got here. His first season here was his career low in FTAr…until his second season here.
He has improved his 3PAr, but he’s taking fewer shots overall so his overall volume has barely budged.
Every time I bring this stuff up someone tells me it’s “not his role” or whatever to have high usage, to which I reply that’s all good and well but his efficiency is wildly unimpressive for a mid-usage player, but this never seems to stop the original rejoinder from reappearing in the future.
I will give him some credit for impressing more defensively this year. The increase in steals is substantial and has helped the team a lot IMO, and he’s getting a few more rebounds too.
The guy definitely has some valuable skills–the ability to get off a good midrange look at pretty much anytime comes in handy, and when he’s got a workable defensive matchup he’s stout.
But I’ve found the whole experience pretty underwhelming, and the opportunity cost is painful to contemplate. It seems very likely Mikal Bridges is a Knick instead of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Let’s say i am the teacher and i have to give Mikal’s grade, i can’t do it now because the playoffs are worth 80% of the grade.
Nice one, cyber. Those final exams can be a bitch.
I do wish he’d stop staring out the window when I’m lecturing, though…
There is a Knicks game currently on, isn’t there?
knickerblogger in silent support of tsa agents everywhere…
this game should be a little more fun than some of our recent matchups…
Clarkson reborn…like Daredevil
alright jordan clarkson, show us something good 😊
Clarkson doing everything possible to prove me wrong.
I won’t budge. But he’s fun to watch so far tonight.
alt Clarkson ( neo Clarkson)
Everyone is speechless because Clarkson is playing well
Who is this Clarkson guy?
OMG, am I going to have to like Jordan Clarkson???
42 point 1st quarter – now that’s the way to start the game…
That was a very impressive 1st quarter.
Still trying to get used to rooting for a team that can routinely go on a 15-0 run in less than 3 minutes.
One of the best things about the Knicks being good is how happy it makes Clyde. Nobody deserves it more.
Then they immediately give it almost all back in 3 mins…
Sometimes this unit is not good when Alvarado is running things…brown should give kolek a look
okay, not such a great 2nd quarter so far…
OG off to a really good start, were sort of unbearable when he puts up 25 or so…so go OG…
Towns makes the easy stuff too hard…
Hope that was unbeatable, geo…
Sorry guys, traveling.
Will post a thread
New thread is up
Now no one is posting on either thread. LOL
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