News & Blogs
Saturday’s Posted & Toasted Notes – Posting & Toasting
Yankees’ Cam Schlittler praised by Knicks’ Josh Hart after dominant start – ESPN
Knicks Bulletin: ‘The further we get away from it, the more real it becomes’ – Posting & Toasting
Karl-Anthony Towns reflects on his Victor Wembanyama matchup, sacrificing for Jalen Brunson and the Knicks’ title run – SNY
Jalen Brunson Thanks NY in LinkedIn Post After Knicks’ NBA Title Win, ‘Everything I Ever Dreamed Of’ – BleacherReport
Game Change – The New York Times
Pod Strickland Episode Patreon Preview 604: Brunson and Basketball Immortality – The Strickland
He’s Been Living A Dream For 42 Years! – Knicks Fan TV
YT News
49 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.06.21)”
Happy Father’s Day to all!
So regarding Father Dolan, I continue to speculate that there is not a lot of daylight between how Leon and Dolan feel that the team should move forward in the context of the aprons.
-Both probably think that going into the second apron, even for one year, is not optimal. Leon could probably convince a reluctant Dolan to do so if he felt strongly about it. But he’s at best ambivalent, especially when it comes to Mitch. The hand thing doesn’t sit well with them.
-Neither Dolan nor Leon believe that this is a pure “run it back” kind of rotation because they are skeptical about having so many thing working in their favor again like it did this year. They don’t want to jeopardize flexibility/opportunism in the next year or two just to keep this rotation intact.
-Winning a championship has bought them time to pivot towards developing a crop of younger players to fill out the bench. They may believe that Mo, Ko, and Huk are ready for larger roles.
-They believe in Deuce but won’t extend him unless the number is favorable.
-They will be more likely to trade out of the first round than not, and will use that 31st pick on a plug-and-play type big.
-The upcoming expansion draft is part of their thinking.
-They are not going to extend KAT at anything close to the max.
I do think they will try to extend Mitch but I also tend to agree that the move might be to retool the bench and go in a more youthful direction.
I continue to believe we win a chip bc after almost two seasons together we finally figured out our starting five and having that starting five still together is the biggest factor in favor of us repeating or winning another title in the next two or three years.
This is not to diminish the roles that Shamet, Mitch and Alvarado played during our run. But it’s just acknowledging that replacing their contributions is going to be far easier now that our starting five has figured it out.
A lot of teams make the mistake of running it back and repeating is VERY hard. This is not the same as Dallas not bringing back chandler in 2011, who was a starter.
Now if Leon can bring back these vets in a way that doesn’t put us too far into the SA, I believe he will do it. But if we go in the youth direction with Kolek, Huk, Diawara and picks, we can still get a veteran minimum player or make a move at the deadline. And those young players will have the full season to get reps and be ready for the playoffs.
IMO we should be moving in a youth direction because too many of our starters are close to the tail end of their peak. The idea shoud be to accumulate some young players now. That way they will be ready to slot into starting roles later when those vets are on the downside. That way you can avoid a total tank later and can repeat what we just did – which was roll up picks and young players into better players (Towns, OG, Bridges, Hart) long term.
My only issue is that I don’t think this team can afford to take even a small step backwards and repeat because a LOT of teams already close to us either have young players with upside or enough assets to add a quality player and improve for next year. We won’t have much of a shot if we take even a small step backward and other top teams take a step forward.
Granted, my view on the 2nd apron doesn’t carry a lot of weight because I don’t have a full understanding of the issues, but I’d generally be in favor of going into the 2nd apron for at least one year to see if we can make another run and then shake things up if we disappoint.
If Dolon and Leon insist on not doing that, then we get into the debate about who to let go.
I’m still in favor of it being Mitch. Again, that’s not because I don’t love him or think his value is overrated. It’s because we probably got lucky he was healthy all year to begin with. No guarantee on that repeating. Plus even if he is healthy, there are minutes retrictions when Towns is out, no B2Bs, potential emotional issues, FT issues and finally, he didn’t even have a good finals. We won despite him being subpar with the broken hand. I think he was -36 or close to that while on the floor. Lastly, he’s the most expensive. Dropping him means you have to replace one player not two. I don’t think we would have won without both Alvarado and Shamet.
IMO the goal should be to simultaneously remain a contender and also add some youth. IMO the one player that can clearly be let go is Clarkson because he’s the oldest and least important. Hukporti ‘s development could be key to next year.
I didn’t realize this, but Trae Young is reported to have been opting out of his contract and thus becoming an unrestricted Free Agent. He had a one year player option for next season for $49 million. Apparently the wizards are very interested in keeping him and will be active bidders.
I can’t believe Jalen took less money to give them more flexibility, wins them a title and then he will be happy they aren’t going to spend to keep guys
It’s not just that a different team has won every year for the past eight seasons. 15 different teams have played in the finals during that time. Runner-ups have never even repeated during this post-modern span.
It’s pretty cool the knicks were able to stick their flag in there. Would have been cooler if they did it against the Thunder instead of the Spurs, though. If they want to be really cool, they’ll manage a way back to the finals next year and defeat the parity juggernaut that has subjugated the league for almost a decade.
Donnie that is pretty amazing that half of all teams have been in the finals in the last 8 years!
Correction: 14 teams, GSW and BOS have been there twice.
So only the Warriors repeated in the Finals, losing in 2019 and winning in 2022.
Edit: Yeah, that’s right Z-man, Celtics lost to the Warriors in 2022 and won in 2024.
Of those finalists:
– 7 teams were not top2 in their conference, Knicks being one of them this season (3rd seed).
– Only 4 teams were not top3 in their conference, so maybe let’s try to keep being top3 just in case. 😛
– ALL the 3rd seeds that reached the Finals were CHAMPIONS, so here’s our new goal… let’s try to be the 3rd seed, not above, not below!! LOL
It’s 13, isn’t it? Didn’t the Jimmy Butler Heat make it twice?
Happy Father’s Day, KBers (if you don’t have a kid, get out there and make one.)
Idk maybe there’s a way to actually get better AND stay under the 2nd apron? I’ve got a few targets we could maybe get for cheap:
– Dylan Cardwell. Great per36 numbers in Sacto. Maybe he could step in and take the Mitch minutes? I’d propose a Dadiet swap.
– Keon Ellis. Had a down year which is good for us. Great defender, good shooter, and already knows Brown. Not sure of his open market value, but it’s probably less than Shamet.
– De Larrea. Draft this 6’6” pg with euroleague experience to actually play him off the bench not stash him.
This would be a decent start. We still need a bench scorer, but those get more expensive. What’s Michael Beasley up to???
If they decide to keep only one of Deuce or Shamet who would you prefer to keep?
I don’t have a strong opinion on that.
Deuce will cost more, but is arguably the more impactful player.
Shamet was better in the playoffs and way better in the finals.
We could probably trade Deuce and get a decent asset back.
Why? – Who in the Eastern Coneference got so much better that they scare you or Knicks will be a considerable underdog in a 7 game series. We have seen that once you get to the finals, – anything can happen.
Folks, Jalen Brunson is the best closer and the best leader of men since Kobe Bryant. He’s an exceedingly rare generational type talent. We’re spoiled a little watching him every night. There is no one in the world that was more valuable than him in the playoffs when it matters since he joined the Knicks.
Going into his peak 30yr old season and his game ages like cabarnet sovignon, – there is NO REASON to believe that he won’t dominate again…so Leon has to get him all the help that money can buy.
Deuce, no doubt. Sorry, Landry.
Yeah, i need more coffee, i had that feeling looked at the list and still didn’t see it. They were finalists in 2020 (5th seed) and 2023 (8th seed!!).
Very similar players. Thought Landry had a better regular season and better playoffs but Deuce is home grown plus a fan favorite. I love when Knick fans scream Deuce everytime he takes a three on the road…but I think Mike Brown & perhaps even Leon may prefer Landry.
Since they’re pretty much duplicates of each other, – it makes sense to sign and trade one of them.
Deuce will be cheaper than Landry next year once Landry gets paid and before Deuce becomes an RFA. It’s a tough choice. I guess you stick with Deuce and his $3.9 mil as he’s also younger than Shamet. I also don’t think it’s crazy to keep both if the cards fall right.
The 70s are known as the decade of parity in the NBA with 10 different finalists and 8 different Champions (only Knicks and Celtics repeated).
But the 2020s in 7 seasons have 12 different finalists (only Celtics and Heat repeated) and 7 different Champions.
Let’s be the first ones to repeat this decade! 🧡💙
This hits different…doesn’t it?
https://x.com/nyknicks/status/2068414247072116873
So Jordan Goodwin just signed a 3 year, 19 mil contract with the Suns, and I would grade him as a better asset than Alvarado, so maybe Alvie won’t want much more than his opt in? Something like $5-5.5 mil per would probably work.
Dylan Cardwell shot 50% from three!
Of course that was 2-4.
He also shot 51% from the foul line.
Better than Mitch…?
Happy Father’s Day to everyone!
My little guy just came up to NY for the summer this weekend and we usually do movie nights together on Saturdays. Last night he said “daddy can we watch the Knicks highlights instead of movie night?” Oh yes we can. All summer!
Shamet by a mile.
I love Deuce but there’s only so much impact a 6’0” guard can have with Jalen Brunson on the team. Landry has no such limit. He’s much bigger, a better defender, a better ball handler, attacks closeouts better, and has a remarkable ability to make shots on the move. He’s a tremendous asset, arguably as critical as Mitch.
You bring back Mitch & Landry and all you ever need is a backup PG and your 8 man playoff rotation is completely set. They’re most important players on the team after the 5 starters.
I don’t think it was fully understood, by pundits, fans and even Knickerbloggers (including myself) just HOW good the Knicks were on defense. The Knicks were the #1 defense in the playoffs and that was no fluke. By the end of the season they were rolling out a ten man rotation in which every player was playing at the top of their ability as a defender. We were every bit as good as San Antonio, Detroit or OKC on the defensive end.
The starting five will return, so when it comes to the bench, what I really want to see is guys who are going to buy in on defense. If Diawara returns I think he’d have a good chance of developing into a playoff rotation player, and that would lessen the need for keeping all of the Deuce/Shamet/Alvarado trio. Use Shamet and Alvie as the main PG and SG backups, with Diawara slotting in and giving you another big wing backup. Maybe you can bring in a vet min ring chaser to do a little more 3&D.
It turns out we actually did have the personnel to play great defense, and I think that should be replicable next season.
We were BETTER THAN San Antonio, Detroit or OKC on the defensive end.
Fixed it for you. That’s what being the #1 defense means.
cj is a nice piece to have for 21 million…
did not know they have hydration breaks in soccer now…that’s sort of civilized…
Dude. We won the championship 7 days ago.
This is the most slam dunk decision of all time. You don’t sacrifice a championship team for “flexibility.”You sacrifice flexibility for a championship team.
And you postpone the youth movement until someone actually beats you. You don’t assume someone’s going to beat you.
I’d be very okay with doing away with the offsides penalty in soccer…
goal hanging isn’t that effective a strategy…offsides slows the game and reduces scoring…
And did so with the most dominant playoff run of all-time
It’s amazing how many slam dunk decisions Leon didn’t make on his way to building a championship team.
We’re clearly talking about Dolan here. He’s the one who said the second apron is suicidal. If we duck under it
when anyone with a lick of common sense can see one year over it is no big deal, Leon’s not getting the blame.
Little Raven just asked, if the US wins the World Cup, do they have to start calling it soccer?
And geo, I believe those are called ad breaks…
not a big fan of a tie/draw in an athletic competition…
sort of kills the whole winner/loser vibe…like why even bother playing…
very dissatisfying…very…
We’re hosting, we should already be making them call it soccer — FISA World Cup
Many yrs ago i used to torture some instruments jamming with a good friend of mine.
Many times i came close to post something here but always postponed it.
Said to myself that only if the Knicks get the chip I’d do it!
I guess I’ve got no excuse now!
If anyone’s interested I’ll post something
very interested KYN…
Ok geo!
I hope you enjoy it!
https://youtu.be/xsha5aW3SjE?is=iIjRwcI3mFDcOQAw
First trade! Aaron Wiggins to the Hawks for 2nd rounders…
K Y K ,,,,enjoyed that piece ,the ending part most ..I also play in a improvisation band for many years now ,we get similar textures ,,so much fun to create
Glad you enjoyed it mr Jackson!
We weren’t Exactly Mozarts but we had a hell of a time jamming & creating back then
Liked and Subscribed…that was freaking awesome KYN…
thanks for sharing 😊
Glad you liked it geo!
We have just one more .. ideally for the small hours
https://youtu.be/7eQXE7EjcY8?is=4xVzvb4V1JeVO3xk
Thanks for sharing, Knew Your Knicks. Very cinematic!
Videos were done with the most ‘primitive’ YouTube tools back in the days and believe it or not they took many hours to somehow fit the sounds.
First one with some DIY photos mostly around the Acropolis area and the second one with some internet free stock pics.
Theo Angelopoulos’ spirit possessed us!!!
😆
Very cool tracks, Knew Your Knicks!
Thank you my friend!
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