Knicks Morning News (2026.06.27)

noice KfniNJ…

how’s your weather today?

it was supposed to be about 10 degrees hotter this week than what it actually was…been beautiful out here with all the june gloom…

up around the south bay is sooooooo nice…normally live in a very arid environment where it feels like my skin and sinuses are perpetually dried out…

I’ve noticed, even being in a pretty place with great weather, after about a week or so away from the house, the urge to go home is pretty strong…

stay mitch stay…forget LA…the lakers seem desperate and dumb enough to offer mitch said bag…

the nets have money to spend, and don’t want to be terrible next season…

the kings, are just silly…there are though some nice spots to live around sacramento…

There’s a long way to go before the February trade deadline. The Thunder are very likely to shed salary before then. I’ll believe they stay over the second apron when I see it.

It’s widely expected in Thunderville that Dort and Kenrich are goners. But no worried, OKC will just collect more picks and keep their “continuous soup” simmering.

a team that could have replaced Hartenstein with Jaylin Williams, Thomas Sorber, and Aday Mara just made very clear that going over the second apron is no big deal.

The Thunder can replace any of their secondary players from within, so they don’t need the flexibility. We do, as we saw last year with Yabu turning into Alvie. And our roster is older so injuries are more likely. That said I’d love to see Mitch back even at the cost of flexibility.

From last thread:

Pels declined Kevon Looney’s team option. Brown has a long relationship with Looney. In the increasingly likely event that we lose Mitch, Looney seems like decent Huk insurance. Not a rim protecter but very good rebounder and passer and overall intelligent player with championship DNA who can probably eat minutes without killing the team. Great mentor for Huk. Seems like whatever downgrade there might be from Mitch to Huk/Looney would be worth the price to keep Shamet in the fold if Dolan doesn’t budge.

PG: Brunson, GTA, Kolek
SG: Mikal, Shamet, Deuce
SF: Hart, Dadiet
PF: OG, Mo
C: KAT, Huk, Looney

Use the TPMLE to fill in the 14th roster spot with a vet wing.

Thoughts?

There’s a long way to go before the February trade deadline. The Thunder are very likely to shed salary before then. I’ll believe they stay over the second apron when I see it.

Exactly!

Now use that logic on us.

Even if you don’t want Mitch or Landry, the smart thing to do is to go over the second apron now and trade them (or someone else) later.

The Thunder can replace any of their secondary players from within, so they don’t need the flexibility. We do, as we saw last year with Yabu turning into Alvie.

Except we’d have more flexibility with more assets, a soft cap, tradable salaries, and fewer holes to plug.

This Alvarado thing is a bugaboo. As helpful as that trade was, we didn’t need to make that trade to win the championship, and he wasn’t as important as Mitch and Landry.

I completely disagree with that. Alvarado was a huge reason we went up 3-1 and not tied 2-2. No way Kolek brings in that same energy in that game.

Hubs, sorry gotta disagree with you on Alvie. He played more minutes in the playoffs than Mitch and was pretty important in the finals when we needed two PG’s to take some of the pressure off Brunson.

IMO both him and Mitch are maybe more important than Shamet.

I certainly think it helped, Swifty. I just don’t think the lesson from it is we should throw two important assets overboard in case we ever have to make a trade like again.

It’s just not good logic to say we have to get rid of Mitch and Landry just in case we have another opportunity to make a trade like Alvarado, which we can still make anyway if we’re over the second apron

Trading Mitch and Landry after going over the second apron to sign them doesn’t seem logical to me. First, you would probably have to beat best offers from other teams which might result in inflated contracts for them. Second, you are highly unlikely to replace them with players that are as good as them near the trade deadline, resulting in an even worse situation than we are in right now. Third, we probably don’t have the draft assets to sweeten those deals enough to make much of a difference.

OKC doesn’t have those worries. They have oodles of ways to pivot off of salary that would have minimal impact on their on-court product. Presti has done an incredible job of getting them into this position, and we saw this coming like 5 years ago. They once again picked in the top of the draft despite having the best record in the NBA, and that is going to continue for the next bunch of years. It’s about as apples vs. oranges comparison that can possibly be made. The “schooling” of Dolan and every other owner in the NBA is such an extreme outlier that no team could dream about repeating it, as even if they wanted to, the rules have changed so much that it would be virtually impossible.

From our end, this is where Leon is paying the price for not doing an extended down-to-the-studs rebuild, and opting instead for the hybrid method. To build this roster, he continually either used free agency or sent assets out in trades, while hiring the most win-now coach in the realm right from the start. So of course, there is very little in the draft pick pantry, and no valuable contracts to send out for space and/or picks without harming the on-floor product.

Going into the second apron this year for whatever marginal on-court value you get by retaining Mitch (I hope we can all agree that this is 100% a Mitch thing) is certainly a defensible strategy, and most of us would like to see that. But whatever, it’s either gonna happen or not, and if not, it’s time to move on to discussing replacements for Mitch.

Paying the price? Gee if the price was winning a championship sign me up every time

5

Just because Alvarado was the most important bench piece against the Spurs doesn’t mean he’s the most important bench piece.

He solved a particular problem that the Spurs presented.

Against the Cavs Landry was the one who solved the problem. Against the Sixers it was Mitch. It was also Mitch in 2025 vs the Celtics.

We need them all.

Gotta love that KBer has a “Let’s dump Mitch for no benefit” contingent

And an adamant one, at that.

Please point out who is a member of the “Let’s dump Mitch for no benefit” contingent. Oh wait, there isn’t one!

Hubs we needed them all but that doesn’t mean we can’t win without them.

The team will be different and it will be up to Brown and the coaching staff to figure out the new strengths of the new bench and run schemes that best accentuate those strengths.

Just a small example. We barely beat SA in all the games except game 1 and we barely lost game 3. Would we lost the games we won without Mitch’s defense and rebounding?

Maybe. But we also might have still won bc whoever else was the back up center could have made more free throws and could have played more minutes bc the spurs couldn’t have run hack and Mitch. They also might have provided more scoring than Mitch.

My preference would be to keep Mitch and Shamet but if we have to pick one I’m picking Mitch and I think we can still win without both gone if we find suitable replacements. People say we got lucky with Shamet but he also could have easily been out of the playoffs bc of a shoulder injury. We could find a veteran willing to take the minimum who’s better than Shamet in different ways. A back up center not name him could be better in Mitch in other ways too.

Hubs we needed them all but that doesn’t mean we can’t win without them

Not suggesting we can’t.

Suggesting the Alvarado trade is not a good justification for throwing assets overboard and operating under a hard cap instead of a soft one.

And that the small market Thunder are big boy’ing James Dolan.

oh wait, you mean if mitch and landry sign elsewhere we lose them for nothing (other than saved salary)…

well, that’s not good 😏

wonder if either would be first round kind of pick worthy come early next year…

interesting that you can start the season over on the second apron, just have to finish it below by end of season for second apron penalties to kick in…

Nobody’s going to take Mitchell Robinson into their cap space at next year’s deadline. If they don’t take him into cap space, it doesn’t help the payroll problem (beyond possibly the marginal percentage matching salaries can be off in a trade.) You can’t possibly depend on this as a bailout outlet.

It also didn’t make a lot of sense to put Alvy on the books for two more years just to get a tiny reduction from his option price this year. Money is very tight next year, too.

If we’re not bringing back Mitch, we should re-sign Shamet and Sochan. If we need a better backup C, we could look to acquire one at the deadline.

Deuce and Shamet could be packaged for a C. Deuce is most likely gone next summer and Shamet is the only non-starter salary we can package to get someone decent.

Dadiet’s salary jumps from $3M this season to $5.3M next season, so he’s a goner next year unless he shows something this season or Dolan sells the franchise.

no doubt the mitch deal is waiting for the lebron situation to get figured out…

interesting to see where he ends up landing…as good as he’s been, as good as he still is – nobody wants to pay that dude 50 million to play for them next season…

although, seems a safer bet to depend on him than either KD, steph or harden…

Dadiet’s salary is easier to get off the books next year since it’s just a team option.

Josh Hart’s $22 is a team option as well.

No one is saying dumb Mitch. Get real.

Dadiet’s salary is easier to get off the books next year since it’s just a team option.

Josh Hart’s $22 is a team option as well.

So incinerating value is okay as long as it’s not the draft?

“interesting that you can start the season over on the second apron, just have to finish it below by end of season for second apron penalties to kick in…”

Not completely true, some penalties kick in the minute you go over, e.g. not having access to the TPMLE, not being able to aggregate salaries in a trade.

So incinerating value is okay as long as it’s not the draft?

There was no personnel recommendation of any kind in anything I said.

“Not completely true, some penalties kick in the minute you go over, e.g. not having access to the TPMLE, not being able to aggregate salaries in a trade.”

Realizing that it’s Saturday morning, I had a couple/three last night, and that I’m not fully educated in all the arcana of the CBA … I’m not seeing where there’s *any* material SA penalty you can “defer.”

The second apron doesn’t have anything to do with your tax bill based on the sources I found (covered yesterday) so there’s no tax deferral possible.

Imbedded in this discussion is a referendum on the potential of last year’s non-rotation young draftees. The folks most apoplectic about the specter of Mitch leaving are essentially saying that Huk is not ready to replace him in that role. Same with Mo/Dadiet vs. Shamet. And in a way, keeping Alvarado is suggesting that Kolek is not ready for that role.

The main reason that I am not losing any sleep over Mitch is that I’m more optimistic about Huk than others. I think he is going to surprise folks.

I have no issue with Huk. I have an issue with sacrificing Mitchell Robinson in the name of protecting a billionaire’s bottom line.

If we keep Mitch, we can keep Huk too. We’re debating over whether we want Mitch or a vet minimum player.

I think Huk could surprise too. We also have to realize that Huk and Mo if they’re in the rotation are going to have the entire season to get reps. They don’t have to be “playoff ready” on game one of the regular season.

And if we are under the SA, moves can be made at the deadline.

The main thing you can avoid in getting back under the second apron prior to the trade deadline is the “repeater” penalty.

My understanding is (and please correct me if I’m wrong) is that unlike the tax penalty, repeat offender second apron penalties do not require consecutive years….if you are in the second apron 3 out of 5 years, that triggers the harshest penalties.

One source predicted that the Knicks will likely go into the second apron in 2028-29 and 2029-30 due to Brunson and OG needing to be extended to keep the window open for those two years. Going (and staying) over this year would bring those harshest penalties into play.

Of course, at least one poster seems to think that the second apron won’t be a thing because the NBPA will opt out of the current CBA. Expecting a front office to operate under that assumption seems like a stretch to me.

Right now we can offer ~$9M to Mitch. I don’t think NBA teams will consider that a bag for him.

I don’t either. That’s why I said that if we clear another few million and can offer him more like $12mil per year, we’ll be closer to the 3/$45mil he may receive. Or is likely to receive – I’d pay that, if I were the Lakers.

My understanding is (and please correct me if I’m wrong) is that unlike the tax penalty, repeat offender second apron penalties do not require consecutive years….if you are in the second apron 3 out of 5 years, that triggers the harshest penalties.

The source(s) I read — hopefully correctly — didn’t show any difference in tax rate or bill based on the aprons. You “repeat” and become subject to the higher repeater rate just by exceeding the luxury tax threshold, which is way below either apron, in three of four years.

The Knicks paid taxes in 2025 and 2026 and are in line to do so again next year and would therefore pay at the repeater rate.

That’s my understanding from writeups, not based on actually reading the CBA, which I have no interest in doing at present. *It could be wrong.*

Which means, if this is right, that the second apron really doesn’t mean a thing to Dolan’s pocketbook (beyond the payroll itself) which in turn renders his actual motivations even more mysterious. I was on board with the idea that he doesn’t want to pay into central coffers but he already has, will again next year, and the SA has nothing to do with his obligation to do it. So that can’t be it.

“I have no issue with Huk. I have an issue with sacrificing Mitchell Robinson in the name of protecting a billionaire’s bottom line.”

This assumes that Dolan is doing this solely to avoid the tax. I think that’s a dubious assumption. My guess is that he truly believes that going into the second apron will harm the chances of winning another championship in the Brunson window, and we’re mostly arguing about the logic embedded in that decision.

“If we keep Mitch, we can keep Huk too. We’re debating over whether we want Mitch or a vet minimum player.”

I disagree with the implication that it makes no difference re: Huk. If we keep Mitch at the expense of 2nd apron penalties (which I think are significant regardless of how others are trying to downplay them) it implies that Huk is not going to be in the rotation unless Mitch gets hurt. It is far more likely that it’s Huk’s job to lose if Mitch is allowed to walk.

I don’t love the idea of waiting until the entire starting lineup is at the edge of the age cliff to start exceeding the 2nd Apron. The team is in their prime now and it makes sense to maximize this team now.

One source predicted that the Knicks will likely go into the second apron in 2028-29 and 2029-30 due to Brunson and OG needing to be extended to keep the window open for those two years.

That source doesn’t understand the luxury tax.

If we go into the second apron in 2028-29, extending OG at age 31 is likely to cost $300M/year.

This team will be broken up by then bc the tax bill will likely surpass $1BN if it isn’t.

“I don’t love the idea of waiting until the entire starting lineup is at the edge of the age cliff to start exceeding the 2nd Apron. The team is in their prime now and it makes sense to maximize this team now.”

I don’t think there is a single poster here who feels otherwise.

the repeater tax is 3 of the previous 4 season in the tax. it’s prior to the current season, so the nyk can’t be in the tax in 26-27 bc they were only in the tax in the 2 of the previous 4 excluding 26-27. because 26-27 will be the third straight year in the tax, they will be a repeater in 27-28 as long as they are in the tax. the aprons are not themselves relevant.

of course, it’s still very possible to be primarily motivated to save marginal taxes but use the aprons as a scapegoat, since saying you want to save on taxes is unpopular whereas saying an apron that most fans and probably you yourself don’t understand is suicidal sounds better. the aprons don’t coincide with repeater brackets, which are simply every $5 million. but any reason at all for spending less $$ is highly correlated with significantly lower marginal taxes, so perfect alignment is not a required condition to rule out a mainly pecuniary motivation.

4

Since the overwhelming consensus is that we want to keep Mitch and Shamet in the fold even if it means going into the 2nd apron, what the hell are we actually arguing about? I guess the degree to which it is damaging to our prospects this year and beyond? Seems like that is also on the record beyond the need for further debate.

As I said, since we have no control over that decision, my feeling is that it would be much more interesting to discuss options for replacing one or both of Mitch and Shamet. But hey, if folks want to continue belaboring a point we mostly all agree on, or at least have settled on, have at it!

Z-Man, re one of your earlier posts, to me it’s not whether the young-uns can step up and replace what’s lost, it’s about having quality backups across the bench that can step in if someone is off on some particular game or injured. As currently configured, we have a really deep and excellent bench — but that’s easily lost if we start shedding people.

Speaking of such, and apologies for my ignorance, which is deep and wide, but the three players I actually don’t care to see back in uniform next year, Sochan, Clarkson (sorry guy), and Dadiet (not sold on him, it might be Knox PTSD but that’s where I am…) — would any or all of their losses impact our ability to bring back any/all of the core bench pieces?

Since the overwhelming consensus is that we want to keep Mitch and Shamet in the fold even if it means going into the 2nd apron, what the hell are we actually arguing about?

The arc of the Knickerblogger universe is long, but it bends toward argument.

“…it’s about having quality backups across the bench that can step in if someone is off on some particular game or injured.”

Well isn’t Mitch among the least reliable of those quality backups in that regard? Isn’t he among the most likely to get injured himself, or to play 30+ minutes in a string of consecutive games because the starter in front of him gets injured?

“…the three players I actually don’t care to see back in uniform next year, Sochan, Clarkson (sorry guy), and Dadiet (not sold on him, it might be Knox PTSD but that’s where I am…)”

I think all of these guys are expendable, although I’d like to see Dadiet get a real opportunity to win a rotation spot. I see more potential in him than i ever did with Knox, and he won’t turn 21 until the season starts. Begley indicated that the Knicks “place a high value on him.” But he definitely needs to develop, and if the early indications are that he has stalled, he should be moved for whatever tiny bit of salary space he provides.

Although Kolek is making less than the vet’s minimum, he is still earning like $600K more than the rookie minimum. Maybe packaging him and Dadiet for a TPMLE-type makes sense, and then you can replace those two roster spots with the new draftees or a UDFA.

Re: the Thunder, their main difference is that, for now, their big three each make less than OG. That frees up a lot more money, again, for now, to build a great bench.

They also struck on great players via the draft when they were younger while we lured “blood in the soil” vets to nyc. Big difference. The plan always seemed to be, imo, build out a glamorous starting lineup and fill in the bench on the cheap. In that sense, Thibs, who rides his starters, was the perfect coach.

But now with Brown we need a full rotation. But having a guy with a $60 mil contract makes that hard. Don’t get me wrong, I love KAT… I’m just pointing out facts (And pls don’t whine anymore about needing to crack the 2nd apron: it is what it is.)

“(And pls don’t whine anymore about needing to crack the 2nd apron: it is what it is.)”

LOL (Lots of luck) with that!

Dumb Mitch!!!

sorry jollyroger…I have limited access to messing with folks close to me while visiting here…

can’t mess with sis much, has worse nerves than me, which is saying something…plus, she’s going through stuff so just gotta keep things running smooth and be attentive…to stories and such…do my best to clear my mind, remember to smile and nod…focus…focus…

bestest friend to geo likes to joke sometimes…tend to be extra mindful with my words with her though…

daughter is sensitive, getting better, able to be more direct now, in a sensitive way, try at least…youngest son (2.0) is such a trooper, speak your mind, even at times in a loud animated manner, will just look at you the whole time like what else you got for me, hard to stay annoyed with someone like that, thankfully some of his attitude has rubbed off on the other 2…

gotta mind my words with son number 1, like bestest friend to geo, he’ll pick your words apart and use them against you later…

back home, the boys are my go to for messing with folks…some of y’all, maybe too…

about another week in paradise…saw some salt ponds yesterday, took me a couple of hours to understand what I was seeing…always say i’ll head to the ocean when I’m up here, will actually try to make it happen this trip…

all that thunder greatness, and they still may not have an answer for the spurs…

plus, ain’t no other fan base than this fan base can drive nba related sales through the roof…

Zman,

I’ve learned that ultimately this blog is a sort of therapy for many of us. A place where we can go and get in arguments and even name call from time to time, a release valve of sorts so we don’t do that to the people on our real lives.

With so little to argue about for two plus months I think there’s a lot of pent up aggression that we’re finally able to get out bc we finally have something to fight about lol.

Plus often the arguments here really boil down to team optimist and team pessimist. Team optimist in this situation says “hey this might suck losing these guys but we can recover and possibly still win it all” and team pessimist thinks this is the end of the world.

We are arguing because we have a stupid owner (something we all agree on) who won’t do what it takes to keep a championship team together even when his best player and finals mvp took less money in the first place.

With New Orleans declining its team option on Kevon Looney, Stein and Fischer suggest that the veteran big man could be an option for the Knicks, who will likely lose Mitchell Robinson in free agency. Knicks head coach Mike Brown is a former Warriors assistant who overlapped with Looney in Golden State from 2016-22.

Looking at the per 36 numbers from the last 5 seasons:
Mitch – 2P% .700 FT% .466 TRB 13.1 (Off 6.4) AST 1.1 STL 1.4 BLK 2.3 PTS 10.4
Looney – 2P% .580 FT% .610 TRB 13.4 (Off 4.9) AST 3.7 STL 1.1 BLK 1.0 PTS 10.3

Games played in those 5 seasons (and advanced stats):
Mitch – 72 + 59 + 31 + 17 + 60 (BPM 2.3 VORP 1.2)
Looney – 82 + 82 + 74 + 76 + 21 (BPM 1.0 VORP 0.9)

Looney launched 21 3Ps in those seasons, but only made 4. Not a good idea, then. Unless he can get better at it. If Drummond can… 😀

And some more about Looney on the Hoopsrumors article:
Looney rebounded well on a per-minute basis and that was true of his assists as well. He’s long been a strong screen-setter and offensive rebounder. But he’s never been much of a scoring threat.
Looney has been widely lauded for his professionalism over the years and is only 30 years old, so he could draw interest from teams searching for veteran frontcourt depth.

I want us to keep Mitch, but if we can’t i agree that Looney would be one of the best options available.

We are arguing because we have a stupid owner (something we all agree on)

Isn’t there another city in need of a Sphere?

This is like the upside down version of the typical KB argument. For an eternity we railed against the team making “win now” moves at a point in the win curve when “rebuild” moves made more sense. Now we have reached the top of the win curve, and we’re not making “win now” moves. The window to win another chip is NOW. If there was ever a time to go full YOLO and push in the last remaining chips, this is the time. So it’s a little crazy making watching this unfold the way it is. The basketball people in the organization seem to want to just go into the second apron, and the ignoramus who owns the team doesn’t, for reasons that seem to be related to “I said this on a podcast and now I’m sticking by it.”

We’re arguing bc for over a week people here have been suggesting that you gain flexibility by giving yourself a hard cap and that staying under the second apron is probably the front office’s idea.

Now that it’s clear that’s all wrong, the same people are backing themselves into the bush like Homer Simpson and acting like they never said it.

LA will land Mitch if we continue to nickle & dime him. He was the series deciding factor vs Philly this year. Boston last year and Cleveland, the year before.

While I don’t believe in efficient markets, banking that this type of playoff needle mover is ONLY worth ~$9m, will not age well next week.

All this draft stuff, locking up Jose and Diawara dirt cheap is fucking briliant. It’s moronically stypid to overpay your taxes and hand hundreds of millions to your competitors, but don’t play with your food either.

Sign both Mitch and Landry to a reasonable good value contracts and don’t overthink things. I would sign them both 2yr, $36m with 2nd year a team option. That gets them paid and actually gives us more flexibility than staying below the apron.

swifty and JR, I agree, but there comes a point where it’s just mindless bickering rather than substantive arguing. Obviously I love the latter as much as anyone!

I suppose there is still merit to debating how much we would miss Mitch if he walks. I’m definitely in the camp of not missing him as much as others. The injury history, the minutes restrictions, the load management, the mysterious broken hand, the inability to dribble, pass, or shoot on anything close to an NBA level, and most of all, the trauma from watching him shoot FTs at 29% in the playoffs are all things I will personally not miss one bit, especially now that we won the championship that will never be exceeded in my adult lifetime. I respect that others are more forgiving of these things because ultimately Mitch more than makes up for it in other areas, and I definitely feel that way as well, only to a lesser degree. But if we lose him, as it looks like we will, putting those things behind us will be a definite silver lining for me.

I wonder if Mamukelishvili would be an affordable option? A backup center who can pass and shoot threes (and free throws) would be nice.

Btw, Looney, Huk, Drummond, or any other back up center in the world…doesn’t even begin to shine Mitch’s shoes when it’s time to defend AND offensive rebound down the stretch in a high intensity playoff game. That’s what moves the needle.

No one cares if Looney types can play in back to backs, – that’s doesn’t matter in the layoffs. There are no back to backs. That value has zero relevance when things actually matter.

“He was the series deciding factor vs Philly this year. Boston last year and Cleveland, the year before.”

I don’t agree with either of the first two. It was an entirely different team 2 years ago. We also lost twice in the playoffs and he had a hand in both of those.

Maybe we should give him credit for not breaking his hand so badly that he couldn’t play at all in the finals, rather than just playing kinda badly.

There can’t be any way that Mamukelishvili could be affordable for us.

No theory is perfect with all the homework done. Being this side of the SA has a miniscule impact on Dolan’s pocketbook, he’s already paid $80 million in taxes, and he shows every sign of being willing to go into repeater territory. So there’s no sense in which this can be said to be primarily about money.

So as pt suggested, his brain apparently has in it the fuzzy, detail-and-nuance-deficient ideas that, “Second apron kinda sorta bad for basketball,” and “taxes kinda sorta go up with payroll” and has taken those two things and turned them into the completely illogical melding of the second apron and the luxury tax into, “I’m going to limit my tax bill to whatever it is at the second apron.” (*)

Sometimes bosses and rich guys just digest things they’re told and then come up with some “solution” in their head that can be easily picked apart with logic, but either the subordinates just live with it or the boss gets stubborn or pissed off at even the subordinates starting the process of reopening the discussion and the silly, illogical idea becomes company policy.

So it appears to be here.

(*) If he really wanted to save a bunch of money, he’d demand that the team get under the luxury tax threshold in ’27–’28. That number dwarfs the extra tax from being $5M over the SA. But Dolan.

Mamukelishvili

Only if Clyde is allowed to call him Mamu! 😀

“…when it’s time to defend the rim AND offensive rebound down the stretch in a high intensity playoff game. That’s what moves the needle.”

Being able to make a FT down the stretch in a high-intensity playoff game and being able to stay in the game when your opponent is in the penalty with more than 2 minutes left in the quarter also moves the needle.

I don’t agree with either of the first two.

lol…go back and watch the games and Embiids body language.

Do you think if KAT’s/ guarding Tatum on last last drive or Wemby on that last play where he bricks the midrange, we win both those games. Not to mention the rebound off Josh Hart’s free throw. We even beat Indiana last year if Thibs is not stubborn thinbs. Josh Hart had to walk into his office and beg him to please start Mitch becuase he wants to win.

Being able to make a FT down the stretch in a high-intensity playoff game and being able to stay in the game when your opponent is in the penalty with more than 2 minutes left in the quarter also moves the needle.

Sure, it does but then you have a $40m+ aav player.

Director, games are 48 minutes long and the position a team is in at the end of games depends on what happened in the prior 47 minutes and what each of the players on the team did or didn’t do. Folks are free to isolate Mitch’s best moments and ignore his worst ones and conclude that he “won” games for us and never “lost ” games or had games where we won in spite of him.

One thing I feel pretty confident in saying is that he came closer to losing these finals for us than winning them.

“Sure, it does but then you have a $40m+ aav player.”

LOL

We got crushed in the Mitch minutes in the Finals because our spacing went into a hole and died. He made a couple of big plays, and was more effective than Huk or a generic vet min big would have been, but Mitch’s extreme lack of offensive ability was a genuine problem.

I’d still prefer having him back, for a couple of reasons: he’s better without a busted hand, he’s still the best offensive rebounder on planet Earth, and he only costs James Dolan’s money.

If he doesn’t return, the best thing to do would be to bring in a stretch big, so you can play something resembling five out any time you feel like it’s necessary. Huk is already a sort of poor man’s Mitch, and I don’t think you need two of those.

There can’t be any way that Mamukelishvili could be affordable for us.

He only made $2.8 mil last year, but yeah, he could move out of our range this year.

In 53 career playoff games, Mitch has a .555 TS% and 0.6 BPM.

In the 2025-26 playoffs, his on-court =/- was 10th on the team, the worst of any rotation player. His on-off was -8.8 per 100 possessions, also the worst of any rotation player.

JK, excellent summary (from earlier, about why we’re arguing).

I’ve never been impressed with Kevin Looney over the years. He’s undersized for a C (6’9″). Not very different from Precious in my book. Neither are terrible creatures to have on one’s bench, but neither serve as much of an ‘answer’ for anything other than minutes.

I view Mitch as something akin to early career Kyle Korver. Very limited in what he can do, but spectacular at the thing(s) he can do. And those things can change and win games, even in limited minutes.

4

With so little to argue about for two plus months I think there’s a lot of pent up aggression that we’re finally able to get out bc we finally have something to fight about lol.

I don’t expect everyone to feel this way, but for me, the season isn’t over yet. This is the coda. Brunson and the players did their part. Now it’s ownership’s turn to do theirs before I turn the page.

Part of winning a championship is defending it. Part of it is raising the banner with the team that won it. It matters to me if Mitch and Landry aren’t there. And it matters that we do everything in our power to give this group the best chance to defend their title.

They don’t have to repeat. They have to defend with dignity. If we lose to the Pacers in the second round next year because we couldn’t replace the players Dolan forced us to throw overboard, that’s not something I will take lightly.

History remembers the 2011 Mavericks as much for their senseless mistakes after winning as it does for the title itself. Ever since Dolan opened his fat mouth, I’ve been concerned that could happen to us.

In terms Alan & other tv watchers might appreciate, beating the Spurs was Ozymandias. Getting this offseason right is the series finale. You can fuck up a lot of good work if you don’t land the plane.

I don’t expect everyone to care about this as much as I do. And
I respect everyone who gives no fucks now that the title’s been won. But this is how I genuinely feel, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

History remembers the 2011 Mavericks as much for their senseless mistakes after winning as it does for the title itself.

That is nonsense…unless you mean the Luka trade.

Well, the Alvy signing certainly changed the calculus.

I was convinced (or had convinced myself) that Mitch was the priority signing and that all of the team’s moves were geared toward clearing enough cap space to make him an acceptable offer without breaching the 2A. The draft day deals + letting Landry & Jose walk probably could have gotten ‘er done but now that ship has sailed. Mitch is likely gone.

Which has me wondering: how long has Leon & Co. seen the writing on the wall. Dolan issued his royal decree well before the draft. Blindsided or not, Leon had to have been well aware come draft day that Jimmy wasn’t playin’, that his decree could make Mitch unaffordable, and yet the FO proceeded as if getting cost-controlled bench help at the 5 was no biggie. Shit, they even had an if-you-squint-hard-enough Mitch replacement in hand for 5 hot minutes before trading him away for some dude named C. Considerations.

On its face, hard to see what the plan here is. But hasn’t that been Leon’s M.O. throughout his tenure in NY? Little moves here and there that don’t seem to move the needle much or even make any sense at all but are building blocks of a long term plan that may not be readily apparent. Maybe the braintrust is much higher on Huk than the hoi polloi. Maybe there is a cheap big out there who they know is about to shake loose. No clue what the plan might be but I’m confident that there is a plan. I suspect that contingencies for a possible Mitch departure have been in place for some time but we might have to wait awhile to see just what they are. Until then, it’s In Leon I trust.

Watching OKC move off of good players like Wiggins and Joe and moving onto players like Mitchell and McCain to not only save money but also get better just underlines the fact that the best way to save money and stay good is not to eschew the draft but instead embrace it.

The last couple years the Knicks have really taken a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach. Guaranteeing we need to pay to keep players like Jose, Landry, and Mitch instead of developing the next generation of players and taking advantage of the rookie scale.

The very small amounts of money we saved on contracts by moving out of the first rounds each year pales in comparison to the cost of not having good players on rookie deals filling out the end of our rotation.

De Larrea, Carr, or Evans will be cheaper than Jose and Landry and could be better or at least as good in a year or two.

Landry and Jose were great in the playoffs and are Knick legends but both fell out of the rotation at various times last season and are hardly locks to be plus bench pieces moving forward.

It is true that if you told me before the playoffs that we’d win the championship by going through the teams we went through, I’d primarily think you were lying, but on the off chance that you were telling me the truth, I’d assume Mitch had a way bigger part in it than he actually did.

I actually think this obscures his importance, though, as weird as that sounds. It happened that way because KAT turned into one of the best players in the NBA for an extended, important period of time such that we truly only wanted him off the floor for rest or foul trouble purposes.

I’m old enough to remember 2-3 months ago when that was decidedly not the case, and there were plenty of reasons (e.g. defense, matchups, general KAT malaise) we at times outright preferred Mitch to KAT in plenty of situations.

Consider that in the regular season, the Mitch on, KAT off lineups were actually better than the reverse (+9 vs +7.1 net rating, with the Mitch lineups being better on both ends).

I am obviously not saying Mitch is better than KAT, there’s plenty of noise in these stats, blah blah blah. But the idea that there were times we preferred Mitch out there (and times we liked having them both out there) is hardly controversial right?

All this to say, letting Mitch walk for nothing because he didn’t loom large in the playoffs strikes me as an enormous bet on the idea that KAT can simply become the 9.4 BPM version whenever he wants. If that’s not true, all of the sudden we’re looking at a hell of a lot of crucial Ariel Hukporti minutes.

Which has me wondering: how long has Leon & Co. seen the writing on the wall. Dolan issued his royal decree well before the draft. Blindsided or not, Leon had to have been well aware come draft day that Jimmy wasn’t playin’, that his decree could make Mitch unaffordable, and yet the FO proceeded as if getting cost-controlled bench help at the 5 was no biggie.

Careful, Gondo — that question’s become the third rail around here and touching it might get you electrocuted.

What we do know is that Dolan went from carrying a payroll that cost him zero in tax in Leon’s first four years here to a payroll that made Dolan a big taxpayer in each of the last two years — $80 million in total. That development went, as best I can remember, entirely unremarked upon on KB, the NYC tabloids, and the internet.

There had to have been some discussion about it — no one spends $80 million and counting of the company’s money without running it by the boss — and obviously Dolan said ok. It’s hard to miss the fact that the tax started when the “all-in” roster had been established and Leon had made his big move for Mikal, so it’s likely that the two things went together. (Of course, it could just be pure coincidence, too.)

That change in payroll had a much bigger impact on Dolan’s pocketbook than anything about the SA would. But there’s no real indication of any pushback whatsoever from Dolan about running a payroll that made him a taxpayer.

Maybe the SA “idea”/discussion came up then.

https://youtu.be/el5c51_p7fg?is=-aHhQ_Qlmi-lXcbx

Jack Kayil:

Played through calf strain.

Had poor shooting numbers only because teammates kept throwing him grenades.

Could’ve been a lottery pick next year if he went to college.

We’re not repeating as champs if the synergy the 2026 Knicks discovered in the playoffs is not replicable. Either the five starters will be able to repeat their brilliance from this year’s playoffs, or somebody else is winning the chip.

I think there’s a very good chance it IS replicable. None of these guys were on some sort of unsustainable heater except maybe OG. It wasn’t some sort of fluke of 3pt variance that made this team so good. It was the two way play, connectivity, and attention to detail that made the starting five so deadly in the playoffs.

If they can’t replicate that, they’re not going to win a title with or without Mitch.

In the 2025-26 playoffs, his on-court =/- was 10th on the team, the worst of any rotation player. His on-off was -8.8 per 100 possessions, also the worst of any rotation player.

The Knicks beat opponents by nearly 10pts/100 when Mitch was on the court in the playoffs. He just happened to be backing up the best player in the playoffs.

OG had a -4.1 on-off. Should we make a case for him not being valuable?

This is what happens when you’re part of the most dominant playoff run in NBA history. On-off numbers are going to look wonky because blowing out your opponent isn’t enough when everyone else was blowing them out by even more.

In the 2025-26 playoffs, his on-court =/- was 10th on the team, the worst of any rotation player. His on-off was -8.8 per 100 possessions, also the worst of any rotation player.

My last post today. Don’t mean to beat a dead horse here.

All the analytics you can think of stop mattering in the final 2-3 minutes of the game. Every tough playoff series, will have at least three games where it comes down to who wins the clutch minutes. You either make winning basketball plays or you don’t.

My point is that Mitch is a closer without scoring.

Regardless of what happened in the first 45 minutes. You can bet that he makes the defensive play and grabs the dagger offensive rebound when the intensity is the highest.

Think of games where Brunson is offensively mediocre during three and a half quarters but it doesn’t matter at all if the game is close at the end because he’s the best best shot maker in the world when stakes are the highest.

When winners and losers are separated, – Mitchel Robinson is our only center that makes opponents tap out. KAT is not that dude.

Watching OKC move off of good players like Wiggins and Joe and moving onto players like Mitchell and McCain to not only save money but also get better just underlines the fact that the best way to save money and stay good is not to eschew the draft but instead embrace it.

OKC hasn’t even been a taxpayer either of the last two years and hasn’t come close to sniffing either apron. They’ve paid J-Dub $11.2 million combined the last two years. They’ll wind up under the SA even with Hartenstein’s new deal and the massive raises to Chet and J-Dub and have at least one premium-drafted player coming in next year.

I want to keep Mitch and it’s great you think he’s indisputable. But you are really not giving KAT credit if that’s what you think.

You still need to play quarters 1-3 and Knicks don’t win this without his play. And if you want stats didn’t he have highest on/off

If Mitch is gone, as the media is saying, will we be able to keep Shamet? And if yes, after Shamet, what money will we have to replace Mitch?

Something like this?
Brunson + GTA (Kolek)
Mikal + Deuce
Hart + Shamet (Dadiet)
OG + vet min (Mo)
KAT + ? (Huk)

And the rookies will be on 2-way contracts?

“But the idea that there were times we preferred Mitch out there (and times we liked having them both out there) is hardly controversial right?”

Well there were times (specifically late game defensive situations) that we preferred one of Deuce or Landry out there instead of Brunson. That doesn’t make either of Deuce or Brunson worth north of $15M a year.

“All this to say, letting Mitch walk for nothing because he didn’t loom large in the playoffs strikes me as an enormous bet on the idea that KAT can simply become the 9.4 BPM version whenever he wants. If that’s not true, all of the sudden we’re looking at a hell of a lot of crucial Ariel Hukporti minutes.”

I mean, this is the crux of the argument. I agree that it’s never great to let an asset walk for nothing, whether it’s Mitch, Shamet, Mo, Alvarado, etc. No one is arguing that the Knicks actually should do that. We are arguing about how valuable Mitch actually is anc how detrimental letting him walk is to our chances of repeating, given the alternatives that would keep the team under the second apron.

I, for one, think that $15+M is a lot of money to invest in a guy who can only give you 20mpg at most in the playoffs, and who has all of the indisputable liabilities I mentioned above…apron or no apron. It’s probably not an extreme overpay, but hardly a bargain. As I had mentioned, the only bench player i found on a contender that is getting paid that much for limited minutes is Alex Caruso, who I think is more valuable than Mitch. I respect that others think that Mitch is indispensable/irreplaceable with the constraints in place, but I don’t feel that way. I think the drop-off is marginal at most, and can be made up for in other ways.

In any case, it’s out of our hands. One of three outcomes is gonna happen: Dolan relents (unlikely), Mitch signs for significantly less but at the cost of retaining Shamet (also unlikely) or he walks (most likely.)

BTW, count me among those who would never let what happens now in any way detract from what happened in the 2025-26 season, which for me ended when the final buzzer sounded in Game 5. I guess some folks (well, at least one) feel otherwise, but frankly, I don’t get it.

Folks negging Mitch’s contribution to the finals are just trolling.

His defense on Wemby won us game 2. Everything everyone did for 47.5 minutes would have been for naught if we didn’t have a guy who could force him to chicken out and take two low percentage jumpers. He literally won us an NBA Finals game in 30 seconds.

His rebound in game 5 sealed the championship. Without that play the Spurs have the ball down 2 with time, and there’s a good chance we’re playing game 6.

I’ll take that over playing back to back in the regular season.

Hitting free throws doesn’t move the needle. A million guys can hit free throws. Only one dude can do what Mitch does.

Free throws don’t win games? We won three of the games by 1 point. So you’re saying if Brunson and OG only shot 70 percent from the line we still would have won?

Put it another way. If OG hits that second free throw does Mitch still get an offensive rebound to “seal the win.”

How many times have you watched an NBA game and screamed at the tv when the Knicks missed free throws and we lost the game.

0

cyber, I think the answer to that is yes. I am anticipating that Shamet will not be offered much more than the TPMLE, and that he would sign for that if we offered it to him. If not, then I guess we might lose him as well.

And if that happens, we are in the following situation:
Starters: Brunson, KAT, OG, Mikal, Hart
Bench (rotation): Deuce, Alvarado, Mo
Bench (situational): Kolek, Dadiet

That’s 10 locked in. RFA Huk is likely to be retained at something close to the vet’s minimum, so that would make 11.

If we lose one of Mitch and Shamet but keep the other, that makes 12

Depending on how much second apron space is left, they will fill the final two roster spots with either vet’s minimum guys or one or both of the rookies on the lower rookie-scale deal that Mo signed last season.

I’m guessing that either Looney or one of the other available C’s are brought in. That would make 13.

So we are really talking about one open roster spot, likely for either Kayil or Nickel, but not both (I’m guessing Kayil). The other guy will be on a 2-way.

For all intents and purposes, the $15M figure wouldn’t really matter. It’s a binary yes/no question. It’s “bring back Mitch” or “dip into the vet min pile.” I don’t really see the difference between $10M or $15M.

At this stage of the win curve you just go ahead and do the overpay. YOLO.

In terms Alan & other tv watchers might appreciate, beating the Spurs was Ozymandias. Getting this offseason right is the series finale. You can fuck up a lot of good work if you don’t land the plane.

No! Absolutely not. The NBA CHAMPIONSHIP is the series finale! Not the offseason after winning the NBA Championship. This is so ass-fucking-backwards. You don’t have to live like this. You don’t have to steal your own joy.

When winners and losers are separated, – Mitchel Robinson is our only center that makes opponents tap out. KAT is not that dude.

KAT made the Hawks tap out in 3 straight games to clinch the series with his passing. We don’t win Game 2 of the Finals without him carrying the offense in the first half. We don’t win a ring without his defense on Wemby and his gravity pulling Wemby out of the paint. This is like saying a shutdown reliever is more valuable than Cy Young starter. Let’s not get carried away here.

I love Mitch as our homegrown guy and am in awe of Mitch’s offensive rebounding as much as anyone. He was a warrior battling through a broken hand to compete. But if his postseason contributions this year come down to individual moments first — the putback slam on Embiid, guarding Wemby on the final shot in Game 2, and the o-board/kickout in Game 5 — and not his actual statistical output, what we have is a sentimental case and not a rational one. You could also say if we had a backup big that could make his free throws and didn’t have his conditioning affected by getting surgery, we wouldn’t need those clutch moments in the Finals.

Mitch is well worth the money as a singular weapon off the bench that can swing games. I want to bring him back. At the same time, his performance in the playoffs this year was not worth that money. If we pay him, we are paying him for what he can potentially do in the playoffs next season, not for what he actually did.

Free throws don’t win games?

🙄

Not remotely what I said

“Folks negging Mitch’s contribution to the finals are just trolling.”

Hey asshole, STFU about trolling. The fact that you just admitted that you don’t think last season was “complete” because Dolan is not doing what you want him to do (shocker!) reveals how fucking weird you truly are. Like how you imprinted your asinine take on the 4 Mavs fans who ever thought that their only NBA championship was somehow watered down because Cuban let Tyson (aka Hibbert’s Bitch) walk.

At the very least, don’t patronize the blog by saying shit like “I respect everyone who gives no fucks now that the title’s been won” when it couldn’t be more clear that you don’t.

No! Absolutely not. The NBA CHAMPIONSHIP is the series finale! Not the offseason after winning the NBA Championship. This is so ass-fucking-backwards. You don’t have to live like this. You don’t have to steal your own joy.

I feel how I feel.

Every day before James Dolan opened his dumb fat mouth felt glorious. Every day since has made me anxious. When it’s all over I’ll either relax or accept-and-move-on.

When is lent again?

You said free throws don’t move the needle.

Move the needle towards what then if not winning the game?

Hmm… I guess I did write my statement poorly, so my apologies, Swifty. I’ll articulate the point better…

It was suggested that “being able to make a FT down the stretch in a high-intensity playoff game and being able to stay in the game when your opponent is in the penalty with more than 2 minutes left in the quarter also moves the needle.”

How many guys on the Knicks can do that? 10? 12? It’s an important trait, but it’s not needle moving like what Mitch does. We don’t close with Jordan Clarkson bc he can hit free throws. We close with Mitch bc he does Mitch shit.

Magic just waived Jonathan Isaac. Between injuries and the extracurricular stuff, I have less than zero interest in him. Just curious what his market will be.

We very often don’t close with Mitch.

That’s just it though. Vince Gilligan didn’t follow up Ozymandias with Ozymandias — he followed it up with something else.(*) And then he made Better Caul Saul, a whole new sequel with a bunch of new characters and new storylines that was really good and really interesting.

A repeat champion, one might say.

(*) If Leon can put half as much applied ingenuity to next year’s roster that Walter White put into The Revolving Gun, things will be just fine around here.

“When is lent again?”

There’s far too long between now and then, including for you the Yankees likely playoff run when some blowhard “fan” who claims to not have watched a single regular season game out of protest of ownership/management not doing what he wants them to do won’t have the decency to let actual fans like you enjoy the ride without him incessantly posting during the playoffs.

“Magic just waived Jonathan Isaac. Between injuries and the extracurricular stuff, I have less than zero interest in him. Just curious what his market will be.”

Yeah, he’s kinda toxic. But some team will probably give him a look at the right price, I’m guessing something close to the minimum.

If Mitch does leave, we could always call up Ben Simmons (ducks for cover).

Four of the five Knick starters were acquired in trades in which the Knicks aggregated salaries.

Just sayin’

Geo, sorry for the late reply. Travel and time zones have messed up my blog reading I travelled to a conference and there it was rainy. Now I am back and the sun is shining. But it is definitely not as nice as where you are.

“If Mitch does leave, we could always call up Ben Simmons (ducks for cover).”

I wonder what he’s up to. Didn’t we discuss him as a serious possibility last year?

Hornets just traded for Naz and drafted Steinbach so maybe Diabate would be available

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZnQnlOjtsU/?igsh=MW4xZmo1cGt0NGdjOQ==

I like Diabate a lot but not sure what the Hornets would want for him. Would a bunch of seconds do it? Or maybe Dadiet or Kolek?

I’d be down to keep Sochan. I think he has more potential to be helpful than Huk. I’m okay with both and Huk could still end up being good but Sochan is already a plus defender and is a much better matchup against Wemby which is probably important if we make it back to the finals. Plus he’s younger.

I like Huk waaaaaaay better than Sochan. He’s a legit C, whereas Sochan is more of a positionless energy guy. This team needs C depth, and if we lose Mitch, Sochan doesn’t really give you that.

The only guy whose NYK tenure I didn’t immediately remember was Roger Mason. Still don’t, to be honest.

By the way, something in the security protocols is still blocking me from Knickerblogger when I am in VPN. There are one or two VPN locations that work sporadically so I’m pretty sure this is a case of certain web locations being black listed by a security filter that knows they are from VPNs. It just doesn’t know every VPN web location. Can someone please ask whatever the service it is that does this for Knickerblogger to turn this off?

That’s just it though. Vince Gilligan didn’t follow up Ozymandias with Ozymandias — he followed it up with something else.

Percy Bysshe Shelley will always be my most valuable bench piece.

When winners and losers are separated, – Mitchel Robinson is our only center that makes opponents tap out. KAT is not that dude.

If you’re going to distill a player’s importance down to singular clutch moments like this, how can you possibly justify not giving KAT credit for blocking the final inbound pass on what was going to be a WIDE OPEN game-winning layup in game 4?

I don’t really know what to make of Sochan, who just turned 23 and who had a strange developmental period in San Antonio where they bizarrely tried to turn him into a point guard. I’d love to keep him around as a switchable defender and slasher who can chip in with some occasional minutes, but clearly he’s not a true backup big.

Huk is already a passable defensive C who gives you some rim protection, but in general seems like a third center and not a guy who you really want to be playing a ton of minutes. The risk of him getting exposed if he’s asked to be a regular rotation player seems very high.

hey KfniNj, cool you made it there and back (I’m always thankful for making it from A to B and back again, never feels like a given)…

hopefully your conference was productive and/or enjoyable…

you are not kidding, this area is much much nicer than mine, and I don’t even think mine is that bad…

don’t really see it in my area, but super obvious around here just how much of the available homes investment companies are buying up…it is most definitely a thing around here…

most of the time parcels up here start close to 2 million, get bought, old home tore down, some type of multi-family structure replaces it…rinse and repeat up and down just about every street…rents often still start around 4k…

regarding the VPN stuff, wonder if you’re running in to some kind of localized barrier/restrictions…

I am reasonably confident that Huk will be better next year than he was this past year. He’s at the age and experience level where players make some kind of leap…even if a small one. I think he can be a decent 2A or 2B to KAT’s 34-ish mpg. He’s gotta learn how not to foul as much and to take care of the ball a bit better. But the rebounding and shot-blocking seem real and he has some offensive polish that can be coached up.

That’s why if we lose Mitch I’d be fine with bringing an experienced guy the Brown trusts like Looney to eat minutes depending on how Huk develops. .

Geo, those are expensive homes. It is no wonder big money is moving in.

And the conference was excellent.

https://x.com/OldManAndThree/status/2070977474104643678?s=20

I’m 100% ok to keep Huk. I think he is a serviceable 3rd string big. I don’t think he is ready to be Town’s primary backup though.

I don’t think Sochan is ready to get consistent rotation minutes but his truly elite switchable defense has value.

If I was forced to play someone 20 minutes a game I’d choose Huk but I’d only use him if I was forced due to injury or foul trouble.

Sochan on the other hand has value as a tool to bring out when you need a stop or want to bring some defensively toughness I on the game.

awwwwe, that is soooooo cool you liked your conference…

was it in a nice area? get to run in to some old acquaintances? did you do any presenting?

worked at a bunch of conferences, which I really enjoyed…ha, leaned that after a few days of endless faces – hard to keep that smile going…

did get to go to this postal service conference in san fran once…gorgeous old building architecture all around…

biggest takeaway though was just how many homeless folks were living in the area…maybe 10 years ago now, it was kind of shocking at the time…

to many and more enjoyable conferences in your future sir 😊

if you need some class, grace and a 3 point shot added in to your locker room – landry seems like a very safe bet…

so far career earnings close to 35 million…hope he picks up another 20 million guaranteed off his next contract…sadly, most likely not happening here…

Ok after hearing Shamet say that about the locker room and bench now I think man Dolan needs to just pay the fuck yo and bring these dudes back. Even if we were able to find replicas of Shamet and Mitch are they gonna vibe the same way with the rest of the team? The vibes and aura of the team was a big reason why they did what they did.

geo that’s the shit that gets me pissed the hell off. My mother in law is a real estate agent here in the IE and even she said that a lot of properties are being bought by corporations/RE companies. The solution to the housing crisis isn’t simply to make everything a nation of renters. It’s to fucking build decent and affordable SFHs and stop land/material hoarding.

I really feel like the fix is in.

I’m watching a replay of game 5 on NBA TV. It’s really beyond belief how good Jalen Brunson was in this game.

I was going to post that, too, Pepper.

I think that stuff is incredibly valuable. You can replace production. You can’t easily replace chemistry, trust, or selflessness.

It would be a shame to throw that away. Sure you can replace the numbers but that’s always felt like Daryl Morey basketball to me.

And Hubie… I feel your concern. But think of it this way:
We won a fucking title with James Dolan still as owner

I mean, really think about that. Wasn’t that long ago we all thought that would’ve been a virtual impossibility. Of course I’d love it for this team to repeat. But I mean, I just got to see the one thing i dreamed off since I was 15.

Folks are perfectly fine to be mad at Dolan being a Dolan again. All I’m saying is, we finally got one. Maybe five years from now, I’ll look back and say, “fucking Dolan kept us from going back to back”.* But right now? It’s gravy on nacho cheese on asada fries for me.

*I’ll take two titles in 5 years too. See my previous posts on my beliefs in the strength of the system this front office has built

The conference was in a small Japanese city called Himeji that is famous for a picturesque old castle. It rained all the time, but the food in the town was good. I did give a talk snd it was well received and I saw some people I knew, which was very nice.

This is the thread from the day after the Jalen Brunson signing was announced, 4 years ago this coming Wednesday. My, how things have changed!

man, I’ve been falling to pieces and leaning heavily on you all here for quite some time…

what would I do without you all…don’t wanna know…

I don’t even want two, CDiggy. I just want to continue watching the team that won us one — the entire team.

I’m a sentimental person and I am emotionally attached to everyone on the team. I don’t want to see Mitch come to town to get his ring in a Kings uniform or Landry playing on the fucking Pistons. Hell I even want Jordan Clarkson back! These guys deserve to go out on their shields.

I don’t doubt that the starting 5 will still be good or that the front office can do something within these constraints. In fact now that I understand the CBA better I can see them pulling off a sign-and-trade to generate a trade exception. But I do doubt we’ll ever be able to rebuild the chemistry of this team, and that’s something important.

Rest assured if Mitch does come to town to get his ring, I’ll be the one shouting fuck james Dolan, and he will hear me.

What’s going on geo?

Looney is old and his usefulness is waning, but for his career he is basically an 80/20 guy for Robinson (except that he is closer to 90/40 but that math is uglier cause nothing good adds up to 130). (He’s also beloved by his teammates and coaches, for whatever that is worth).

Fuck it. We should double down on the injury-plagued supersub and sign Robert Williams III on a minimum.

I like Sochan. He’s young and has a nice toolkit. He passes. He rebounds. The defense is at a high-level and very switchable. The free throw shooting numbers aren’t bad, so developing a 3pt shot isn’t out of the question. Plus he gives us optionality in the playoffs. He was guarding Wemby for the final play of game 5.

Timelord won’t be playing on a minimum. He balled out last year, played 1000 minutes of genuinely ass-kicking basketball.

He’s probably gonna end up going back to Boston, which is actually kind of an ominous development.

Damn, didn’t even bother looking it up. Just figured he played his usual 200min

If you believe John Hollinger’s BORD$ figures are anywhere near reasonable, Alvarado’s new deal is a steal. Three years for less than $15M versus an estimated yearly value of over $10M is quite a good deal.

Here’s the text from https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7376646/2026/06/26/nba-free-agency-point-guards-harden-marcus-smart-kevin-porter/

11. Jose Alvarado, New York (PO): $10,549,738

The newly minted NBA champ has a player option for just $4.5 million that he seems likely to decline, even if it’s just to sign a longer deal to stay with the Knicks. New York will have full Bird rights on him, so for the Knicks, it’s more a question of where his contract fits in their tax-apron strategy. He’s one of the best backup point guards on the market, so New York will have competition.