News & Blogs
Three winners and three losers from Knicks’ first two preseason games – Posting & Toasting
Josh Hart not stressed over Knicks tabling extension talks: ‘Everything is going to work out’ – SNY
Knicks’ Towns opens up about grief for World Mental Health Day – ESPN
Josh Hart Says ‘Everything’s Going to Work Out’ After Knicks Table Contract Talks Before NBA Season – BleacherReport
Knicks’ announcement means bad news for everybody, including New York – Posting & Toasting
Knicks pausing all contract extension negotiations until ‘later in the season’ – SNY
Josh Hart says ‘everything will work out’ despite Knicks ending extension talks – The New York Times
ESPN’s Bobby Marks FAVORS James Wiseman for Knicks! – Knicks Fan TV
YT News
86 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2026.10.12)”
I saw Tina Cervasio in a studio bit for the late football game. She looked jacked, like an elite crossfit athlete. I thought she was the best of our sideline folks.
Having now google imaged Tina, I think it’s fair to say I’d rather not get in a fistfight with her…
Apparently Brown is gonna play Eubanks and Bradley tonight. I would guess that one of them has to have a good outing to derail the Wiseman train.
I also read that Mark Bryant had worked with Wiseman in Detroit, which might be a factor in Wiseman’s favor. If he can help rehabilitate this guy, that would be awesome.
I guess the thinking with Wiseman is you give him minutes to start the season and work with him to see if you can build him up and, worst case scenario, if a move to get a real upgrade at back up center is not there and Wiseman is not working out at all, Eubanks is probably still available to pick up later in the season.
I don’t think there’s a big difference between Drew Eubanks and Tony Bradley, and Bradley didn’t even get a camp invite. There’s going to be someone roughly Bradley/Eubanks level available. Possibly someone better who gets bought out after the trade deadline willing to come for a championship run.
Also, it’s still possible someone gets cut when rosters are downsized that we choose to sign over Wiseman.
Oh, definitely. And I don’t think if wiseman wins this last spot to start the season that even means he’s going to be here all season (or even Drummond for that matter). I think we’re going to be exploring upgrade options up until the trade deadline and buy out market.
My lack of optimism about Wiseman is grounded in the fact that he has never been able to play “winning” minutes. His defensive awareness, reactivity, and footwork seem to be the biggest reason why, as well as the fouling that results from him trying to make up for being out of position.
The things that give me some hope:
1. Mark Bryant is a proven big man whisperer. If anyone can get through to Wiseman over time, it’s him.
2. The role he is expected to play here is perfect for a young reclamation project. There will likely be a combination of DNP-CDs, second quarter minutes-eating cameos, garbage time, and extended runs where either KAT or Drummond are unavailable.
3. The physical tools/skills package. Wiseman is the only one on the guys trying to win a roster spot with some “theoretical” upside well beyond “replacement-level scrub.”
4. Since rupturing his achilles tendon back in October 2024, he has only played 58 NBA minutes in 4 games and hasn’t played in any other leagues. Apparently he has spent most of the last year working out 2-3 times a day. He hasn’t seem much NBA action at all since the spring of 2024 when he was 23 years old. Maybe between the working out away from the game and just becoming more mature and humbled after all the hype of being the second overall pick, he’s going to be more coachable.
I still saw some of his fatal flaws in his preseason stints, like getting blown by due to bad footwork and reaching, being a slow, flailing jumper in rebounding and shotblocking situations. But it those flaws weren’t there, he wouldn’t be scrounging around for minimum deals either.
It’s not like he has to work wonders to justify beating out Eubanks and Bradley for that spot. And it’s also not like Leon will not be working the phones for better options no matter which one of the three are picked.So maybe just go with the player that has the most upside to dream on.
Fred Katz sounding the alarm about the fact that the second apron hard cap is wholly self-imposed, and will lead to the breakup of the team soon if Dolan doesn’t backtrack. Glad someone is, can’t wait to read Fred’s book.
The team is going to get broken up whether they go over the second apron or not. It’s just a question of when and how.
I like Fred and trust his reporting. However, this reads like an opinion piece.
More generally, I’m not a big fan of describing KAT’s improved play as grounded in “sacrifice” or that he deserves some kind of medal for being “unselfish.” Those things should be givens for any NBA player.
His contract extension should be based on a long list of criteria, including age, position, cap considerations, etc. But there should be an assumption that if he is extended, he will play however he is asked to play by the coach and management in order to increase the teams chances of winning, meaning that unselfishness is a given. As to the concept of “sacrifice,” to me that is code for “play team basketball.”
Pretty much everyone is now. Ian Begley was on KFS saying it, too. And the national guys have been on it for a while. Zach Lowe, in particular, has stated that Dolan “has not gotten nearly enough shit” for his mandate, and Marks was killing him over the weekend, calling it “one of the most damaging statements an owner could have made”.
Didn’t read the article but I think what’s most impressive and implied in the “sacrifice” comments is just how good KAT is at a long list of skills that aren’t often expected from centers. He’s arguably the best passer in the starting lineup, maybe the top rebounder in the league, a top 3pt shooter, has a variety of post moves, and has become a very good man defender. He does a lot out there!
That said, 50 mil per is probably his correct valuation, maybe 52-53 on the top end, so hopefully it will all work out. Either way, I’m looking forward to at least one more season of KAT and the rest of our top 7 guys!
There are separate but related issues at play here:
1. How much is KAT worth and what kind of extension is fair, regardless of the second apron implications.
2. Whether Dolan’s decree, if taken as permanent, will accelerate the breakup and eventual decline of the team.
3. If Dolan’s decree is not permanent, then when is the ideal time to go into the second apron and for whom (since the Mitch situation is moot, it would be pointless in discussing it further, as there are plenty of scenarios that have yet to play out.)
“Didn’t read the article but I think what’s most impressive and implied in the “sacrifice” comments is just how good KAT is at a long list of skills that aren’t often expected from centers. He’s arguably the best passer in the starting lineup, maybe the top rebounder in the league, a top 3pt shooter, has a variety of post moves, and has become a very good man defender. He does a lot out there!”
ess, I agree that he does a lot, but don’t get how anything that he does or doesn’t do can be construed as “sacrifice.”
$50-52M bigs right now are Evan Mobley, Jaren Jackson, Jalen Duren, Pascal Siakim, Lauri Markkanen.
Bam is making $49M, $53M, $57M.
AD and Embiid are at $60-64M. And these contracts are so bad that’s probably why the Knicks don’t want to pay KAT.
But KAT is so much better than the $50M guys.
One thing I don’t get is why we’re offering 4 years. AD and Embiid both happily signed 3 year extensions. I guess we’re doing it bc of the mandate but it seems like we’d be better off and KAT would be happy with 3 years at a higher AAV.
I’d say 3 years, $175M, after declining his player option. That’s the same deal AD signed at about the same age. (Embiid got 3/$192.)
That pays him very close to the max for his age 32, 33, and 34 seasons, and lets him sign one more contract at 34.
Next year, to retain KAT, Deuce, and Hart (although I’d be very careful with Hart). That would give us a 4 year run with Brunson-OG-KAT-Mikal (this year and next being 3rd & 4th). Then you can make a determination if it’s worth keeping together based on how they’re doing.
Deuce would actually be the first guy I extend. He’s 25 years old and we can probably get him at a discount if we offer long term security. Worst case scenario he’s an excellent trade piece.
I know this sounds sacriligeous for me to say as team optimist, but you want to keep this core together for 4 more years?
I don’t know, man. Part of me is like run it back this year, MAYBE next year and then blow it up (and by blow up I mean keep Brunson and OG and get rid of the other starters for youth/picks).
Like you really think this team can compete for a title in 2030?
I was thinking the same thing, Walker. In a sense, I can see why the front office wants to let these contracts play out, even though it’s harsh.
My only reservation is that we have bupkis in terms of good, young players and/or draft picks to transition with. So it sort of makes sense to try to keep this core until 2031-ish.
I think you misunderstood me. I want to keep the team together for two more years, which would give it a four year run. The first two years already happened.
The mandate is actually hurting our flexibility because it’s forcing Leon to offer longer deals to offset the lower AAVs. What we really want is less years, not less AAV.
All these guys are tradable on short deals.
Yeah but they might be a way to bring some young talent back if we did blow it up after next season. Mikal would probably net us some assets. KAT in a sign and trade could net us something too. Hart maybe a little something (although he’ll be older at that time).
I guess it really comes down to do you want a lot of pain in 2 seasons from now or a little pain starting in 3 seasons but that pain lasts longer.
Although knowing Leon he’ll figure out some sort of KG and Paul Pierce type trade to The Nets and get us a shit ton of picks back and that helps us to the next rebuild.
So, about that whole Tampa Bay small market thing from a few says ago: somebody in a suit somewhere in an MLB office thought it was a good business decision to give the Rays-Guardians game the prime time slot and to make the attendance record-setting Dodgers fans quit their jobs and default on their mortgages for this game? As the old adage goes, nothing good happens at 2:00pm on a Monday. Talk about ruining baseball!
[edited to add: I suppose there may be a few librarians free this afternoon, what with this being Indigenous Peoples Day here in CA. Possibly even more than there are Rays fans, so there’s that)
[edited further to add: and it starts at 6:00am in Japan. N entire nation sets its alarm clock)
As long as Brunson is around the Knicks are not gonna rebuild so there’s no way they’ll trade guys like Bridges or KAT for future picks.
Donnie, the league that plays the LCS first always plays the early game the next day so each league gets its first game in prime time.
I feel like whichever network draws the Tampa Bay – Cleveland game should take the L and let the rest of the world enjoy baseball.
rays and brewers, coming soon…
Since the inertia of this situation suggests that Dolan is not going to relent, the question sort of devolves into what do you want to pay KAT assuming that the second apron is a hard cap indefinitely?
I see the comparisons to players a bit differently in that light.
AD and Embiid are examples of players that are better than KAT when healthy and deserve their contracts in a vacuum, but are never healthy enough to justify them. KAT has been very much more reliable in terms of availability, but he will be 31 next month and will be 33 when his extension kicks in. And in my opinion, his ceiling is well below the hoped-for versions of AD and Embiid that signed their current deals. They were paid to be the most important players on their respective teams, and before the second apron was a thing.
KAT is not the most important player on our team, and I personally think he’s not even the second most important. I don’t think you can pay anything close to the max to arguably the third most important player when that player is 33 years old, and by that time the first and second most important are going to want a raise. This is even more true when your #4 and #5 guys (Mikal and Josh) are making $54M combined. The math just doesn’t work. And if someone has to go, my guess is that KAT will be the odd man out, especially if the reports that Dolan is annoyed at him are accurate.
Tabling the discussion until later in the season was a good strategic move on the FO’s part. The closer it gets to when Brunson and OG become extension eligible, the more obvious it will be that all three of them can’t get raises while keeping the team both competitive and under the second apron. Then the ball is in KAT’s court to either actually “sacrifice” or choose to move on to a team that will pay him what he wants. And it may very well come down to KAT being traded for (or otherwise replaced by) a guy at the level of a JJJ or a Markkanen or a Duren or a Sabonis or a Kessler. The alternative would be ditching both of Mikal and Hart and replacing them with mid-level guys, but I just don’t see that happening. I could see Josh taking less to stick around, but it seems like going to come down to KAT vs. Mikal.
Speaking of sacrifice, we know for a fact that Wemby just sacrificed tens of millions to help the Spurs build a dynastic team around him.
I’m with BBA, I don’t see any way a “hard rebuild” is gonna take place while Brunson is in his prime.
I don’t think a hard rebuild will happen with Brunson either but I don’t think its unrealistic to think Leon doesn’t want to keep all of this starting 5 together for the next 4 years either. Regardless of the 2nd apron, there is an argument to be made for not offering KAT more than what is on the table now and if he wants to go elsewhere, so be it. We pivot away from this starting 5 and repivot around Brunson and OG.
That would most likely not be a championship team but would probably still be a pretty fun one to root for.
Both Embiid and Davis signed their extensions after the aprons were announced, and Davis was definitely the second banana to LeBron at that point, much like KAT is to Jalen.
I don’t think there’s much daylight between KAT now and AD then. AD is better defensively, KAT is better offensively, and KAT’s much more available.
AD’s probably the closest comp to KAT there is, and he’s definitely closer than the Duren/Mobley/JJJ crowd we’re trying to pay KAT like.
Like, you can have a serious conversation about KAT vs AD. AD was probably a little better but it’s close.
I think it’s very hard to argue in favor of Jaren Jackson or Evan Mobley or Jalen Duren. KAT eats those guys for lunch.
In fact the more I look at the guys who are paid at the level we’re offering KAT, the more I feel disrespected vicariously.
KAT’s playoff run really changes the equation. He was prime uninjured Embiid level for those games. I’m sure that’s part of Dolan’s reasoning behind the delay: to get some “just good” play padding between his “really good” championship-level play and a new contract.
God forbid you pay an employee at his apex.
It’s cute to watch ourselves trying to convince each other that having a team that is going to be clearly inferior to last year’s team is still going to be “fun.”
It’s hard going backwards.
FWIW Joel Embiid has looked extremely decrepit in his preseason minutes so far. Like “can’t jump over a credit card” level decrepit.
Maybe he’s taking the preseason off and saving his legs or something, but he looks utterly washed out there.
Tabling the discussion until later in the season was a good strategic move on the FO’s part. The closer it gets to when Brunson and OG become extension eligible, the more obvious it will be that all three of them can’t get raises while keeping the team both competitive and under the second apron. Then the ball is in KAT’s court to either actually “sacrifice” or choose to move on to a team that will pay him what he wants.
not sure i’m following the logic here. og and jalen are eligible to extend in july 2027. that will not be any more obvious in january than it is today. i don’t think the front office is exploiting an arcane version of bargaining strategy that relies on kat’s agent only knowing how to look six months out on his google calendar. i think they were in the middle of a hard decision and negotiation and then the petty and vindicative owner had a fit.
E STFU. No one wants to hear your bullshit negativity anymore. You lost.
I’ve thought Embiid was cooked last year. He can probably occasionally have a good night but relying on him to be healthy and anywhere close to what he was even two seasons ago is fool’s gold. Philly is going to be a slow moving train wreck.
I’m not a big fan of the “poster X was wrong about Y” kind of comments because we have all made some comments here that haven’t panned out.
But really E, your bad takes are in a special class of their own, sort of like in the elite pantheon of shitty takes, so much so that you should probably be granted some sort of lifetime achievement award.
Clyde is especially pumped for a preseason game…hes still basking in the title run…
Honestly, I see no comment from E.
I think it’s very hard to argue in favor of Jaren Jackson or Evan Mobley or Jalen Duren. KAT eats those guys for lunch.
brother, should probabaly be counscious of our biases as we tend to overvalue our players. Also, I don’t know how to do fancy analytics but when you take out the fluff playoff games in which they blew out the opponent and won by 20+ – here is how KAT performed when the games got tight and shit got real.
Date Opp Result FG PF PTS
13-Jun @ SAS W 94-90 1-7 (.143) 6 2
8-May @ PHI W 108-94 3-8 (.375) 5 8
8-Jun vs SAS L 111-115 4-10 (.400) 4 11
19-May vs CLE W 115-104 6-14 (.429) 4 13
23-May @ CLE W 121-108 4-9 (.444) 4 13
10-Jun vs SAS W 107-106 4-5 (.800) 4 13
20-Apr vs ATL L 106-107 8-12 (.667) 4 18
3-Jun @ SAS W 105-95 7-15 (.467) 4 18
6-May vs PHI W 108-102 6-8 (.750) 4 20
5-Jun @ SAS W 105-104 8-12 (.667) 5 21
18-Apr vs ATL W 113-102 6-13 (.462) 5 25
He clearly had more bad games than good and ZERO domination games with 30+ or 20+ rebounds. He didnt dominate a single game, lead a single comeback, hit a timely shots in a row or a game saving play.
KAT averaged 14.7 points in close playoffgames and had at least 4 fouls in every game. God we gonna miss Mitch.
Think we all love KAT at $40 like OG and most still like him at $50m.
The convergence is is at $60m. Some don’t care for him at that opportunity cost while others are willing to hold their nose and hope for the best.
We already lost Mitch this season because he’s overpaid at $57. @ $60m next year it would mean we lose Mikal too.
jalen getting called for flopping in a preseason game is cv gold
That was a fucked up call…the refs are in mid-season form…
a little behind on the broadcast…just listened to alan hahn say the wolves considered themselves a “moody” team while julius played there…
yikes, that tracks…
Ant is gooooooood.
“i think they were in the middle of a hard decision and negotiation and then the petty and vindicative owner had a fit.”
I not only agree, I kinda called it. But the two things can be true at the same time. Aren’t they sort of forcing KAT to make a decision on his player option? And isn’t the onus on KAT and his agent now?
Swifty comes from the future and he’s commenting a post E hasn’t done yet. LOL
Showcasing dadiet ce soir….
“I think it’s very hard to argue in favor of Jaren Jackson or Evan Mobley or Jalen Duren. KAT eats those guys for lunch.”
Not arguing in favor of them, only pointing out that if KAT decides that he won’t accept anything less than $65+M AAV, there has to be a plan B, and those are examples of pretty good plan B guys.
Is there hope for Dadiet?
GTA in action
not only agree, I kinda called it. But the two things can be true at the same time. Aren’t they sort of forcing KAT to make a decision on his player option? And isn’t the onus on KAT and his agent now?.
i don’t think they’re forcing anything useful. waiting until the season starts takes away a degree of freedom from both sides,
not kat in particular, to extend after the option year. it may well be that they weren’t going to agree anyway, but that doesn’t make our petulant owner a good strategist.
Kolek discombobulated
Good question Cybersoze. As for Drummond, I confess he’s kind of growing on me.
Best stint by Dadiet in a bit…
Beringer just got OG’d.
Computer guy is ready! 😀
KAT deep 3… pay the man!! 😀
The most entertaining part the KAT discussion for me is remembering how anxious some people were to dump him not so long ago.
The second most entertaining part is at this time last year I was suggesting he looked overweight and needed to lose a few pounds to improve his quickness, especially on D. It looks like he took my suggestion, just a year later.
I think people are making too much of the broken down extension talks. I think the discussions were going nowhere and once Towns started making his frustration public, Dolan and Leon decided focusing on basketball was more important than giving the media a story about the dispute that would spill over into the season. That story now has no legs and will be dealt with privately again. We are back to basketball. In the end a deal will be made when Leon has more information on how Drummond looks, whether Deuce will be traded and so in.
KAT is a smart guy, I don’t understand why he thought it was a good idea to vent in public about the negotiations, especially with a known a-hole like Dolan on the other side. I mean, the POBO never says a word in public about anything, which is probably the thing Dolan likes most about him!
Meanwhile, how bout those Brewers?
Ant doesn’t know it’s a damn show, he thinks it’s a damn fight!
It’s so odd the Knicks are going to play a back to back in preseason
I’m thinking that’s why the starters are playing so many minutes tonight. They’ll probably rest tomorrow.
The second unit is getting killed on the boards.
Has a team ever won a championship after going winless in preseason?
thanks for letting me know there was a game. these last 5 minutes have been a strange punishment indeed
“Has a team ever won a championship after going winless in preseason?”
FIRE EVERYBODY!!!
Just finished my fantasy basketball draft only Knick on my team is OG who’s not a great fantasy player. Did get former Knicks legend Julius Randle who I assume will be putting up plenty of 20 and 10 nights in BK.
Clyde praised Clarkson’s interior D.
Now do Jalen Duren & Evan Mobley.
I agree we’ll miss Mitch but that’s not a good reason to screw KAT up, too.
I think people are underestimating KAT’s position. He doesn’t need to tiptoe around Dolan’s fragile ego to get his money. If Dolan wants to shoot himself in the foot with a bazooka, KAT can simply opt out and get paid by someone else next year. He’ll still be a legend in NY even if he doesn’t retire here.
I hope during his HOF induction speech KAT gives a shout out to Director.
clyde said it… FIASCO
hehe
Bradley may have edged ahead of Eubanks in the scrubathon….
our team doesn’t look that in to playing basketball right now…
understandable i guess…this may be a painful first 20 games or so…
The vibes are not immaculate.
Pre-season means absolutely nothing. That said, watching OG and KAT hit the floor 10 times in a game like this is insane.
just noticed – the tampa bay rays seem to be one of the few (not sure which/if any others do similar) mlb clubs that don’t display the stadium name in plain view during the broadcast…
poor tropicana field…
I don’t think Dolan cares one way or the other whether losing KAT to free agency will hurt the team. He cares about 100% loyalty and obedience. How many episodes of him acting purely out of petty spite at the expense of his reputation or the team do we need to confirm that?
KAT surely is his own man and doesn’t have to tiptoe around anyone, including Dolan. And I agree that he can get paid elsewhere. But if he truly wants to play for Dolan’s team, choosing not to tiptoe around him is not a smart tactic. I wouldn’t put it past Dolan to tell Leon “I want that asshole off my team by the trade deadline. I don’t care how you do it, just figure out a way to trade him.”
Like pretty much everyone else here, I think Dolan is a small-minded malignant narcissist, just like his special guest that ruined Game 3 of the finals for me. Those kinds of folks don’t give a shit about what anyone thinks about how they deal with people who piss them off.
“our team doesn’t look that in to playing basketball right now…”
Pretty predictable, actually. I’ve seen quite a few teams develop a sort of antipathy towards the regular season after a series of long playoff runs and a championship. Nothing to worry about, though. They just need a kick in the ass. Hopefully it won’t come on opening night, or in Boston in the following game. Would be very nice to win those!
whoa, hello cleveland…
I’m not a believer that preseason means absolutely nothing and this game worried me. It doesn’t mean much if you win or lose but the way you play gives some indications. Like in this game, not a single Knick had a positive plus minus. Our starters played about as many minutes as theirs did. And our bench, something we hope to be a strength, looked worse than theirs. There were some bench players that looked ok, but overall the different second units didn’t play well together.
The hungry teams always seem to have an advantage in preseason. Minny is as hungry as any team. If they stay healthy, they will not be an easy out.
The Spurs and OKC are also 0:3 so far.
At least we are in good company
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