(Monday, July 02, 2018 3:05:31 PM)
Mario Hezonja’s NBA career hasn’t gone as projected, but that hasn’t dimmed his confidence. According to an NBA source close to Hezonja, the 6-foot-8 combo forward still believes he’s going to make it to an All-Star Game one day. On Sunday night, Hezonja agreed to terms on a one-year, $6.5 million contract with a portion…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 1:39:35 PM)
The Knicks have 16 players under contract for next season — one over the max — but there’s still a chance they are not done in free agency. After inking Mario Hezonja on the first full day of free agency Sunday, the Knicks still could use a rebounding power forward and have inquired about Suns big…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 8:45:26 AM)
Romeo Travis, a former teammate of both LeBron James and Frank Ntilikina, calls himself “an Akron guy, really Akron.” And on the day after “The Decision III,” Travis, James’ longtime buddy and former high school teammate at St. Vincent-St. Mary, said Northeast Ohio “gets it.” Travis, who won the French League championship eight days ago…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 5:02:21 PM)
LeBron James will probably never be on the Knicks, but maybe Kevin Durant will.
(Monday, July 02, 2018 12:24:11 PM)
The Knicks’ newest addition in SF Mario Hezonja could have gone to a contender like the Trail Blazers for next season. Instead, he chose the team he used to root for as a kid.
[NYTimes] DeMarcus Cousins Gives the Warriors a Fifth All-Star (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:56:07 AM)
While the former Pelicans big man is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon, he gives the team the one thing it has lacked: A dominant center.
[NYTimes] Brawl Mars FIBA Qualifier Between the Philippines and Australia (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:08:10 AM)
Some aggressive shoving led to a full-scale brawl with 13 combined ejections and an eventual forfeit by the Philippines.
[NYTimes] When Sports Betting Is Legal, the Value of Game Data Soars (Tuesday, July 03, 2018 12:43:01 AM)
Should the gambling industry be required to use league-approved “official data”? Britain’s data collection experience provides a preview of the battles to come in the United States.
[NYTimes] On Pro Basketball: LeBron James to the Lakers: There’s Much to Unpack Here (Monday, July 02, 2018 8:09:08 PM)
Will the Lakers be a contender? Not with their current roster. Will James tolerate LaVar Ball’s usual antics? Unlikely. Is the West supreme? It is.
[NYTimes] Keeping Score: The Lakers Got Their Man. (That’s What the Lakers Do.) (Monday, July 02, 2018 6:42:52 AM)
LeBron James, like Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal before him, was drawn to Los Angeles. But can he deliver like they did?
[NYTimes] LeBron James Joining Lakers on 4-Year $154 Million Deal (Monday, July 02, 2018 1:05:17 PM)
In a move that was somewhat expected yet still surprising, the 14-time All-Star left the Cleveland Cavaliers, signing a four-year deal with Los Angeles.
(Monday, July 02, 2018 7:39:35 PM)
They may have been crying in Cleveland on Sunday night, but fans of the other 14 teams in the Eastern Conference had cause for celebration.
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 3:00:00 AM)
A Brooklyn man doing 50 years to life for two killings has testified he could not possibly have committed the slayings because he was immobilized — with his own gunshot wound.
Earl Jefferson, who’s already served half of the low end of his sentence, told Justice Miriam Cyrulnik that he was the…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 3:00:00 AM)
A onetime comfort dog handler for Staten Island prosecutors isn’t going to roll over and accept never being paid for the extra hours he spent caring for the pooch.
Kevin Ivany is suing for all the alleged uncompensated TLC he gave to Bronksey, the Staten Island district attorney’s onetime service…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:05:00 AM)
A Tennessee woman celebrating her anniversary in the Bahamas was killed when a boat full of tourists burst into flame.
Maleka Grimes Jackson and her husband Tyran were on a trip after 15 years together when an explosion the vessel off the coast of the southern island of Exuma.
Ten Americans and…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:05:00 AM)
A Tennessee woman celebrating her anniversary in the Bahamas was killed when a boat full of tourists burst into flame.
Maleka Grimes Jackson and her husband Tyran were on a trip after 15 years together when an explosion the vessel off the coast of the southern island of Exuma.
Ten Americans and…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 2:00:00 AM)
When the future looks bleak, the work that most needs doing is to remind the nation of the many past battles that ordinary citizens have chosen to fight on the long road to freedom. That has never been an easy task in the United States of Amnesia, and the quick, flickering pace of modern digital…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 1:10:00 AM)
Riding a wave of voter anger against rigged, cheating elites, crime and institutional corruption (sound familiar?), former Mexico City mayor Andres Manuel López Obrador upended Mexico’s political order with a landslide election win Sunday.
Never mind the polite tweets across the Rio Grande: hopes…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 1:05:00 AM)
The Taxi & Limousine Commission got exactly what it ordered up in a report on earnings for drivers for app-hailing services like Uber and Lyft: confirmation that drivers often earn dismally.
If only what to do about it was close to as clear.
The study by labor economists at the New School and Berkeley…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 1:00:00 AM)
With a third woman bearing witness to sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance heightens the stakes for perversions if proved: an alleged 2006 oral sex attack, combined with two other complaints, amounts to what prosecutors call a pattern of sexual assault, carrying…
(Tuesday, July 03, 2018 12:00:00 AM)
City parks are on the upswing
Manhattan: “Study shows many aging New York City parks have infrastructure problems” (June 26) characterized our city’s parks as a wasteland. On the contrary, New York City’s parks system is a vast, vibrant and historic landscape. Our parks act as our living rooms…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 11:55:00 PM)
A third-grade teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a girl at a Pennsylvania elementary school — and police are investigating whether he tried to hypnotize others.
One victim told police James Mentzer made her repeat the phrase “I will obey you, Master,” as he swung a necklace in front of her…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 11:05:00 PM)
Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt has kept a ‘secret’ calendar of meetings with the heads of industry and lawyers, according to a report.
Internal EPA documents reviewed by CNN showed dozens more meetings on them than Pruitt’s public calendar, and his former deputy chief of staff…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 10:30:00 PM)
Billionaires don’t want to live near homeless people either.
A neighborhood group called the West 58th St. Coalition sued Monday to stop the conversion of the old Park Savoy Hotel at 158 W. 58th St. into a homeless shelter.
Members of the West 58th St. group say the Park Savoy is a “fire trap”…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 10:15:00 PM)
Maybe Marvin Bagley should have been the No. 1 overall pick after all.
The Kings rookie showed off the athleticism that led to some scouts ranking him as the top prospect in this year’s draft class during Sacramento’s Summer League opener on Monday, and ending Lakers rookie Mo Wagner’s career in…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 9:45:00 PM)
A hero 9/11 firefighter and his girlfriend were mourned Monday after they died of carbon monoxide poisoning aboard their boat.
Peter D’Ancona, 54, and Tina Sgambati, 51, were found dead Sunday afternoon aboard a 35-foot boat docked in Cherry Grove on Fire Island, Suffolk Police said.
Though carbon…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 9:35:00 PM)
FORT LAUDERDALE — The families of the 17 victims killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting will each receive $400,000 from a $10.5 million fund. Eighteen of the injured survivors will receive $1.63 million.
The Broward Education Foundation and a steering committee for the victims…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 9:15:00 PM)
Aaron Judge’s 6-7 frame has helped him haul in many balls destined for the right-field seats at Yankee Stadium, but this time he fell short.
With one on and one out in the 11th inning, Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. drove a ball to the right-center field wall, and as Judge backed up to the scoreboard…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 9:10:00 PM)
The siblings of a Brooklyn man shot dead by an off-duty cop in a road rage incident said they’ll keep fighting to have the officer fired — two years after the fatal confrontation.
Victor Dempsey and Victoria Davis, the brother and sister of Delrawn Small, again called for Mayor de Blasio and NYPD…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 9:05:00 PM)
Enes Kanter is playing with fire.
Shortly after reports broke that DeMarcus Cousins had agreed to a one-year deal with the Warriors, Kanter mocked both the signing and the state of the NBA as a whole on Twitter.
The Knicks big man, like many fans and other players, appeared hilariously frustrated…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 8:55:00 PM)
Blistering guitars, bombastic drums and an ageless, majestic voice: thy name is U2.
The boys from Dublin rocked Madison Square Garden Sunday night with a setlist that sprinkled in two new cuts — “The Blackout” and “American Soul” — with classics like “Desire” and “I Will Follow.”
The energy inside…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 8:30:00 PM)
A generous stranger dropped $1 million at Toys ‘R’ Us in the children’s store’s final few hours.
The anonymous good Samaritan walked into the Raleigh, N.C., store last week and told employees to box everything up, local station CBS 17 reported. The toys are expected to be donated to local children…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 8:15:00 PM)
The first matchup between the two teams with the best records in the American and National Leagues squaring off did not disappoint, and it was the Braves that came out on top in round one.
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a two-run home run off David Robertson in the 11th inning as the Braves beat the Yankees…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 8:00:00 PM)
Call them this year’s version of last year’s Yankees, and with the ahead-of-schedule Braves in the Bronx this week, it makes for quite an intriguing series. Who knows, maybe they’ll even meet again in October.
Certainly the Braves looked up to the task on Monday night, pulling out a 5-3 win in…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 7:55:00 PM)
Eighteen states suing the Trump administration over its contentious “zero tolerance” policy have released dozens of heart-wrenching accounts of distraught migrant parents who lost their children at the border.
More than 400 pages of testimony was provided as the states’ top prosecutors, including…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 6:50:00 PM)
A former federal law enforcement officer traveled from Minnesota to New York City with plans to sexually abuse two girls, prosecutors said.
Ex-Federal Protective Service inspector Jesse Rodriguez was arrested Sunday when he showed up to meet an undercover officer posing as a mother of 8- and 13-year-old…
(Monday, July 02, 2018 6:35:00 PM)
NEWCASTLE, Australia — The most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse has been sentenced in an Australian court to 12 months in detention.
Newcastle Magistrate Robert Stone on Tuesday ordered Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson to serve at least…
154 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2018.07.03)”
Interesting piece by Zach Lowe on the dynamics of Cousins’ signing
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23979341/zach-lowe-demarcus-cousins-golden-state-warriors-nba
Could we possibly make a more superficial assessment?
His WS/48 for the last 5 years: .166, .144 .122, .149, .130
VORP: 3.9, 3.4, 2.6, 5.3, 3.3
He’s a head case and not all that coachable, and he definitely shouldn’t be a #1 or #2 option on a contending team. Prime Melo is a good comparison, and I think he will be okay in his return from injury (big and young enough to adapt to any loss of explosiveness.)
As much as it pains me to say it, if Kyrie and Hayward come back at 100%, and the young guys continue to develop, Boston will be a handful for anyone. They should have a cakewalk to the finals.
Cousins is a Warrior, Trump is president, it’s 150 degrees outside. Maybe I’ll read my horoscope?
Good stuff. As cited in the article, Boogie noted that he specifically had no offers as of Monday. I think everyone just thinks the injury is going to screw him over. They could be wrong and he could be amazing for the Warriors, but just like with Michael Porter, I tend to at least trust NBA teams to understand medical reports, ya know?
That Lakers roster… man. As a Lebron / NBA fan you want to think there’s some 4-D chess going on there with Magic and Pelinka, but I thought the presence of Lebron + LA weather was supposed to make vets want to play there for the minimum. Rondo for $9MM is just ridiculous — you have to think he would’ve gone there for nothing, and if he didn’t want to, then “see you later”. I can’t possibly imagine a player less suited to play with Lebron (Lebron can play with anyone since he’s a good spot up shooter too, but the best Lebron is the Lebron who has the ball in his hands 90% of the time, right?).
KCP is fine, and at least is young/defends, and I get that maybe that was one of the requests Rich Paul had for Lebron signing.
Lance is a head case and is a bad shooter.
Javale McGee? WTF is going on?
You have to hope that the Knicks have learned from that situation, and in fact one of the good beat writers should straight out ask Mills and Perry what they would do if Kawhi/KD/Kyrie all decide not to take their talents to 33rd and 7th. There would still be a ton of bad summer of 2016 contracts out there that we could take on for assets if we strike out hard in the first 24h on 7/1/2019.
As an aside, does anyone else feel that Durant is underrated in the GOAT conversation because of playing in the same era as LeBron? If he collects 3 more rings and another couple of finals MVPs, does he get solidly into the top 10 of all time conversation?
Put it this way: in a tight game 7 for the NBA championship. How many guys in the modern era would you prefer to have on your team than Durant? My list is MJ, LeBron, Kareem, Magic, Bird (no particular order).
@6 – It may be the case that playing with LeBron just isn’t that appealing anymore to some guys precisely because he monopolizes the ball so much. Kyrie certainly didn’t find it to be very fun anymore when he forced his way out.
You’re going to win alot of games, but the only person sacrificing their game to fit in is you, not LeBron. I would guess that’s not the overwhelming reason for the Lakers struggles after signing LeBron but it may be a part of it.
I think Magic may have targeted guys who have real playoff experience if Kawhi trade goes through. That explains Rondo versus Payton and Rondo relieves Bron of burden of being the only ball handler. But VanVleet even for 2 years would have been a better choice than Rondo. And I would think Noel would have been better than Javale. KCP and Lance are fine on 1 year deals.
VanVleet/KCP/Kawhi/Bron/Noel would have been a nice starting lineup.
@8 – I sort of get that, but giving out these bad contracts to meh players in the first 48h of free agency just seems weird. There isn’t that much cap space / MLE$ to go around right now, and you’d think if they’re not going to get good players for reasonable $ now, they could easily get the same bad players for much less $ if they just wait a couple days. I mean there is no Ron Baker-level contract disaster on their books since everything they’ve signed outside LBJ is 1-year type stuff, but still…
Meanwhile I read somehwere that Baker might be a waiver possibility if there’s a roster crunch. Man was that just the stupidest contract Mills ever handed out. Way worse than Timmy’s contract from just a brainpower perspective.
Maybe LeBron is putting an emphasis on having a couple of other ball handlers / initiators on hand so he can relax some on offense.
I hope we’re trying to get ball.
@7 — Durant may be a little underrated in the GOAT conversation but I think that he has no one to blame for that but himself. A lot of people aren’t particularly impressed with his two rings because the Warriors were one of the best teams of all time before he got there. It may or may not be fair but, to a lot of people, it feels like he took the easiest route possible to try to get a ring. It’s not like he carried a cast of misfits on his back and led them to the promised land.
I’m really disappointed no media member ever got Mills on record / tape as to what he was thinking with this contract. A guy that prob would be out of the league or at most would be a minimum or 2-way player, given the full room exception with a player option and a de facto no trade clause at midnight on July 1. I mean, that could seriously go down as the most inexplicable zero-upside move in FA history, and I’m not even exaggerating. Ron freaking Baker is making $800K less than Demarcus Cousins this year.
This is the type of move my 8 year old wouldn’t even make in NBA2K, and he doesn’t even understand anything about the cap.
#7 olajuwon, David Robinson and Duncan come to mind
+1 and it’s not clear he’s the best player on that team. KD appears to me to be the type who is concerned about how he is perceived. When he was described as soft and not a real leader early in his career, the # of technical fouls soared. He didn’t take end-of-quarter heaves to protect his stats. I get that he wanted a ring and worried he’d never get one if he stayed in OKC. But now that he’s got that, it doesn’t seem *that* far-fetched that he would team up with Kyrie and KP where he would be the best player on the team. The path to the Finals would not be that tough in the East (compared to Houston/OKC/Lakers) and winning a title in NYC would elevate his status in history way more than winning a couple of more titles at GSW.
I was thinking yesterday about the chances of waiving Baker, he’s an “old regime” guy (Hornacek was his strongest supporter), coming off an injury and probably has the lowest upside (?) of the youngsters… including Mudiay 🙂
From a ”process” standpoint His contract must be one of the 5-10 most irrational and indefensible FO moves in the history of the league, didn’t make any sense.
The Knicks should waive Lance/Mudiay/Enes before they think about waiving Baker. I don’t think NYK will keep Noah away from the team for 3 years so a waive-and-stretch appears imminent in September. But if NYK waive Enes, that would free up more time for Noah even if Knicks re-sign KOQ to 1 year deal. Hez/THJ/Knox/Burke/Enes would be a nightmare on defense.
Sorry, I totally disagree, you’re talking about waiving 18,6 Milions, you would do that with your money?
And Kanter is not in the same situation of Noah, he’s happy to be here, he has some skills ad if he plays well, could be an asset at the trade deadline.
Who cares if defense is a nightmare? We all want to tank, aren’t we all? 😉
It’s Dolan’s money and he’s gonna have to spend it whether Enes is on roster or waived.
Nobody’s taking Enes at the deadline; if they do, it’s because they would want the salary relief which means we’d have to take longer-term contracts in exchange which front office has made clear it won’t do.
It’s nice to have different opinions 🙂
And yes, is Dolan’s money, that’s why you’re so eager to give it away 😀
I don’t know who is making the personnel decisions in LA, but I’ve been reading Magic’s Twitter feed and listening to his commentary on TV for years. I don’t think he’s a particularly good judge of basketball talent and player value even if he’s on the short list of all time great players.
LA has to be the luckiest franchise ever. In just the last few years the ping pong balls fell their way. They got lucky in the draft. Now Lebron trusts them even though there is no 2nd or 3rd star there. With all those advantages, they came up with McGee, Stephenson, and Rondo. Why? It makes no sense at all.
Windhorst said that LBJ respects Rondo a lot and want “intelligent players”… so why Lance and JaVale?
I’m thinking the Mudiay, Hardaway, Knox, Hezonja, and Kanter lineup should be good for about 150 points a night for the other team.
More on Ron and why we should waive Lance/Mudiay/Enes before him:
(1) He was overall a plus player in terms of raw +/-.
(2) He had a DRPM of PLUS .83
(3) He could improve his shot on offense.
We must have a gentlemen’s agreement for next season: only KBloggers that are tank averse have the right to complain about defense.
🙂
@24 At the moment I’m not in favor of waiving Baker, my previous comments are more about the fact that the rumors about it do not sound “strange” to me (and that his contract is unbelievable today just as it was unbelievable last year).
I’d rather like to trade Lee and keep Baker, but it takes two to tango and I don’t know which team could be interested.
Ron is much better than Mudiay because he actually has valur defensively and while he similarly sucks offensively he plays within himself which limits any damage he does while Mudiay is a high usage disaster who nukes everything in sight when he’s on the floor. I would waive Lance and Mudiay for sure before Ron, which isn’t high praise, it’s just that those two are total garbage.
I hope that Fizdale is either a miracle worker or quickly realizes there is no miracle recovery to be had with Mudiay and cuts bait quick. For better or worse I do think Perry and Mills value his opinion a lot and if he tells them Mudiay is irredeemable trash they’d listen.
With so many young players (Baker included) it’ll be very interesting to watch Fizdale’s playing time distribution and the staff’s ability to develop the kids.
Next season will be fun, a lot of losses but many things to keep it interesting.
It’s worth going back a year to recall that everyone in the basketball media was predicting that this would be a buyer’s market for teams. And yet we felt the opportunity to waste $22mm of future cap space on Tim Hardaway and Ron Baker was too good to pass up.
What is this team going to do next year when Durant and Kawhi spurn us? We’ll probably be the team that signs Cousins for 4 year, $120mm after he wins a chip. I’m not going to believe in Knicks management until one time I see them not burn money just because they have it.
The problem with the Baker and Hardaway contracts is that we paid for theoretical improvement that may not occur. I believe Mills even said something along those lines. You are not supposed to pay a premium for productivity increases that may or may not occur.
@30 – the main problem with the Baker / Hardaway contracts is just a complete misreading of the market for Baker, and lack of long-term thinking with THJ. I mean, Ron Baker undoubtedly had ZERO market above the minimum salary, and certainly would never in a million years gotten a player option on 2nd year from any other team. The decision in and of itself to go after Timmy isn’t nearly as bad as he’s already shown that at worst he’s a rotation player even on a good team, and if you believe in his upside and are trying to get him as a RFA, you’re going to have to overpay a little. But–if Mills had given any sort of thought as to how the next few offseasons might go and any master plan for 2019 or 2020 FA splash, the contract itself is a real problem in years and $.
Basically, Mills should be nowhere near any contract negotiations going forward. I literally would lock him in a room with no way of communicating with the outside world until all the contracts are done. The contracts Perry has handed out (granted they were with his hands tied by the cap situation) have been FAR more reasonable. But I have fear about next summer.
@7
Durant’s not even in my top 15 imo. He’s had a one or two all time seasons but other than that has performed “merely” like a top 25 all time player rather than a top 5. My top 10 is:
1. Lebron
2. Kareem
3. Jordan
4. Russell
5. Shaq
6. Hakeem
7. Duncan
8. KG
9. Magic
10. Bird
(Wilt is my 11 but I think he’s overrated relative to his rep)
The Timmy contract is way dumber than the Baker deal.
But only if you really feel like you “had” to get him as an RFA, which you shouldn’t have.
Hicks gets our other two-way contract. Roster is full for now.
Man, if I was a Lakers fan I’d be apoplectic right now. They had an opportunity to basically erase 5+ years of Knicks-level stupidity and it sure seems like they’re going to squander it.
LeBron alone likely makes them a playoff team, but letting a 23 year old, highly durable, 61% TS on high usage guy in Randle walk for absolutely nothing is straight out of the Steve Mills Asset Management Handbook.
Locking up McGee, KCP, Rondo, and Lance with Noel, Tyreke Evans, FVV, etc. all ostensibly available for less money is an awful look too. I know they’re all one-year deals and the Lakers still have tons of flexibility but it sure doesn’t bode well for their evaluation abilities. I’m sure Lakers fans are still riding a LeBron-high, and rightfully so, but this has serious shit show potential.
The hyperbole over the Baker contract is a joke. It was a gross overpay but there have been a million more irrational (yes, process-wise) and more costly personnel moves made by the Knicks and other teams over the years. Baker is a good NBA-level defensive guard, and while he was terrible on offense, he played to a .504 TS at a 10% usage, which is hardly consequential. He turns the ball over way too much. Overall, the team played better with him on the floor. He’s a solid minimum salary guy, and his salary is hardly the albatross it’s being made out to be. The Lance Thomas contract is an easy example of a much dumber “process” move.
The point of what the Lakers are doing is to keep options open for 2019.
If I had to guess, they’re doing two things: one, hedging against the possibility that the Spurs won’t trade them Kawhi now. In this case, they keep max cap for next season with these deals and pick him up as a free agent. Two, if they do indeed trade for Kawhi, they have space to pursue a third star in 2019 with the cap space.
It might be possible also that James and Magic / Pelinka realize they won’t beat the Warriors right away and are building whatever they can this year without compromising any flexibility, and that’s why James signed a 4 year deal instead of the expected 1+1.
I wonder if LeBron is going to hammer the front office to sell off future assets for win-now pieces after they start the season 20-20 or whatever.
I just don’t understand his choice to go there at all. Makes no sense from a basketball perspective.
How old are you?
@38
I’m a Rondo fan. I think he used to be excellent and is still very good when he’s giving 100%. But I don’t think he’s such a great fit with Lebron given he likes to have the ball in his hands all the time. I also don’t think it should have cost 9M to get him if the team disagrees with me.
One of the reasons to get veterans is that they are experienced, more stable, and less likely to fall apart under pressure or when things are going poorly.
So you come up with McGee and Stephenson?
@37
Yes, an hyperbole for sure, but in the Baker case you’re not trying to get a RFA from another team, or steal a “popular” UFA from crowded competition, you’re playing against yourself for an undrafted rookie, a college senior that nobody wanted before and after, you’re giving him 4/5 times the yearly minimum and you’re signing him for 2 years… with the second being A PLAYER OPTION!
They could have signed him with the same contract as Burke or Troy (minimum contract, 1+1 with the second year not guaranteed) and everyone including Baker would cheer.
For me this is worst from a process standpoint then overpaying for THJr (and yes, Mills vastly overpaid for THJr), but as I’ve already said, it’s nice to have different opinions, in a fantasy league we’ll manage our rosters in different ways… 🙂
The lakers moves are baffling;
Where is Luke Walton in all this?
How much more sense would it have made to pursue tyreke than lance and rondo!
He can’t be happy they lost randle for the same price they signed crap and now lost out in cousins for the same reason!
Methinks that LeBron’s choice of L.A. was more about positioning himself for life after basketball than it was about collecting more ringzz.
Positioning themselves to wait another year before filling in around LeBron is fairly ludicrous considering he’s 33. He doesn’t have years to waste at this point.
This.
The practical damage of the Baker contract is that some of the money could have been given to Dot up front to get him to sign a 4-year deal (last 2 not guaranteed) versus a 3-year deal.
The practical damage of the THJ signing is way worse:
– Created a logjam at the 2 (THJ, Courtney, Dot, Frank, Baker)
– Hurt the tank this past season and maybe this season
– Could have used his cap early on toward better strategies for a rebuilding team
– Might have to give up (versus future swap) our 2019 pick to move Timmy to free cap for 2 stars
– Make decisions which might not be optimal presuming THJ is here to stay
The timing of the signing more than the contract itself made no sense.
@42 not disagreeing with anything but labeling it one of the top 5-10 most irrational moves is in itself irrational. As I said, who were we competing against for Lance’s services? Lance didn’t even have any upside, he was well established as a terrible player.
And Fizdale compared him to Draymond Green? Yikes!
LeBron’s wife and kids want to be in LA, and LeBron wants to be a Hollywood mogul. If the Lakers manage to win a title or two while he’s there, great, but this was clearly a business/lifestyle decision for him, and not an attempt to catch/pass MJ’s ring total. If that was the goal, he’d have gone to Boston or Philly.
LOL
I totally forgot Fiz’s comparison, I want a lot of everything he was smoking…
Well, both of those contracts were dumb, and most all of us here called them such at the time.
THJ’s was for a lot more money, so it derailed any chance of renting some cap space for picks or such. A combined $22m or so for both…and the team stunk again anyways, and likely will again this year.
But, if we have to split a hair here, I’ll go with THJ as worse just because of the sheer $ amount and length. I wonder too if Atlanta had resigned him to a 4/$48 type of deal if they’d be eager to dump him somewhere just for salary relief right about now?
Even if the Lakers trade for Kawhi, they have locked themselves into non-contender status with these weird signings. McGee-LeBron-Kawhi (coming off injury)-KCP-Ball, with Rondo-Lance-Hart off the bench (assuming Ingram and Kuzma are dealt for Kawhi), is not close to challenging the Warriors. It’s barely better than the 2018 Cavs.
I think LeBron wanted to get paid and to go to LA. That’s all. No more titles for him.
Seems like a counterintuitive reaction to signing LeBron James! I know the peripheral moves are bad and they won’t compete with the Warriors, but this is a shit team that got the possible GOAT for no justifiable reason. I’d be feeling blessed.
THJ got $71m when his true market value was about $48m, which is a 48% overpay.
Baker got $9m when his true market value was about $3m, which is a 200% overpay.
Lance got $28m when his true market value was about $18m, which is a 55% overpay.
So Ron’s was by far the biggest overpay by percentage while THJ’s was by far the biggest by raw dollars. This analysis also doesn’t take into account the fact that Lance never should have gotten a 4-year deal coming off the first kinda-OK half-season of his career, or that THJ and Ron never should have gotten player options.
the lakers move was definitely a lifestyle choice… basketball wise there weren’t many places he could go if he wanted to seriously challenge goldenstate… he has plenty of time anyway if he decides to chase rings towards the backend of his career… he could probably play for 10 more years if he doesn’t suffer a major injury….
Yeah, Lebron’s decision was clearly not based on rings and the only way the 4 year deal + the recent Lakers moves make sense is if you see if from that perspective.
They are not building a championship roster, even if Leonard comes over. Rondo / KCP / Lebron / Leonard / McGee cannot beat the Warriors in a 7 game series.
Ron Baker is making 2 mil more a year than Seth Curry, a player I’ve been pining for for four years. (very cool, grammatically correct sentence, if I don’t say so myself).
It’s not the most catastrophic contract, just the dumbest.
The damage of the Timmy contract is much worse. But from a sheer stupidity standpoint? I don’t know. The Baker contract may not have hurt in any way whatsoever, but it’s one of the dumbest contracts I’ve ever seen handed out. I think it’s worse than the Fields blunder. There’s a strong chance Baker assumed someone accidentally added a 0 to his 540,000 offer and didn’t believe it.
Need help from a CBA expert 🙂
If we don’t sign Robinson now, for how many years we have his NBA rights?
I don’t recall if, him being an “early entry” (drafted before is “standard” college age availability) it’s a 3 year period or less.
I ask because right now, barring (inevitable?) trades or stretches, the roster is full including the 2-way contracts.
Thanks in advance
Career 3-pt percentages of some of LeBron’s new teammates:
Lance — 30%
Rondo — 31% (although he’s been better in recent years, on low volume)
Ball — 30%
Ingram — 33%
McGee — 0%
Hart and Kuzma had good rookie years (40% and 37% respectively) and KCP is about average (35%). After playing with Korver, Love, JR, Hill, Osman, and Calderon last year, LeBron is going to get mighty frustrated when his kick-outs result in brick after brick.
I’d love to be in auction fantasy league with Z-Man!
Z-Man: I bid $5 on Ron Baker, so what, whatever, who cares, que sera sera
2for18: I’ll bid $1 on Frank Mason
As someone who has been a staunch and consistent defender of dumb decisions (including the Bargnani trade), I have to admit that, even though I like Baker, even I can’t come up with an argument why it wasn’t a monumentally dumb contract. The length and value were bad enough to rank it pretty highly on the all-time bad decision listbut but the rush to get it done at 12:01 added style points that may have pushed it to #1.
It’s a bit more complicated than that, IMO.
I truly believe that LeBron has come to relish the image of himself as Savior of Woebegone Franchises. After all, what was the biggest story of the last NBA postseason? The Warriors winning a title that had been universally conceded to them last September? Or: LBJ improbably lugging a motley crew of has-beens and never-wases nearly to the finish line, all by his lonesome? Even though he fell short in the end, LeBron’s postseason heroics proved a much more compelling storyline than another ho-hum GS championship.
Now LeBron has positioned himself to return a once-proud Lakers franchise to relevancy after five years of being Knicks-level bad. He knows he doesn’t need to win it all. A trip to the WCF should assure him God-like status in a city in which he hopes to burnish his brand and establish himself as a serious player in the entertainment industry.
Oakman, yes indeed. In fact it seems like Cavs west. LA was a rebuilding team with youth and cap space. Now they lost youth and acquired over the hill veterans. And what’s Lonzo going to do with Rondo and Lebron hogging the ball?
If he took the Knicks to the ECF, he’d be a hero in NY. Remember how everyone was holding Carmelo’s pocket because “he” got the Knicks into the Semis? He was rewarded with one of the league’s biggest contracts, a NTC and the social currency to demand a trade out of his hometown even after receiving a contract of that type and size.
Lakers fans don’t care about anything but titles. Since he’s never going to win one there, he’ll never be in their pantheon. I think he’ll finish his career there (he sure as hell isn’t going to Minnesota or Memphis at age 37 — he’d probably just retire instead) and the Lakers will do a ceremony where they have to show off all of his pre-Lakers achievements and maybe some highlight-reel dunks he puts together before he can’t jump anymore.
It’s all about the post-career life to LeBron. And probably his stupid kids wanting to be rich and famous in LA instead of in Philly or Boston.
Cute, but dumb. I’ve never said that the Baker contract was smart, in fact, I’ve consistently agreed that it was a bad decision. I’ve also consistently said that it was relatively inconsequential, which it is. The Lance deal is much more moronic and consequential.
Who the f cares what the percentage overpay was?? If I owe you $2 but only pay you 1$, and another guy owes you $100 but only pays you $80, which transaction is worse for you? It’s really asinine to put the Ron Baker overpay in the same league as either of the two others. Does it matter at all that it was a worse percentage overpay than the Joakim Noah contract? Sheesh!
Btw, Lance Thomas never played better statistically than a minimum salary player for an entire season, ever. So in my book, he was a greater than 300% overpay. Does it make it feel any better that there may have been more demand for Lance by some almost-as-stupid GMs out there?
The new NBA – one Harlem Globetrotter team and 29 Washington Generals.
Let the fun and laughs begin
Part of Lance’s contract is not fully guaranteed.
What does anyone see in Isiah Hicks that I don’t see?
Unless the Knicks know there’s some kind of 2 for 1 trade coming down the pike that opens a roster spot for Robinson, I don’t understand why Hicks has a contract.
I agree about Hicks, and I think the Knicks are in a box with roster spots. I don’t know how they will resolve it because even if thry have players who are worth domething, like Lee, other teams don’t have space to take him in.
I am surprised people are talking about anything else. Lebron will be scooping Jock up for the Lakers quite soon I expect.
I don’t know how many of you are hockey fans, but this reminds me of when Wayne Gretzky joined the Rangers in 1997.
It made no sense from a competitive standpoint. He had one run where he got to the ECF before getting decimated by a younger Flyers team. It was really fun, but he never became a NY legend. No Rangers fans really remember “the Gretzky era”. The team was horribly mismanaged during his time here. He played out the final two years of his career on non-playoff teams. The Rangers were blamed for squandering a national treasure. Then he retired rather suddenly before the final two games of a season.
Mike Francesa compared the three years Gretzky was a Ranger to having the Mona Lisa on display at your house. He was never really ours, but it was cool to have him. And Gretzky said it was the most fun he’d ever had, that he always just wanted to play for the Rangers.
That’s what LeBron to the Lakers feels like to me.
Knicks roster is at 17 if you include Robinson and the 2 ways, so they don’t have to do anything, although moving Lee would be great.
Funny, I don’t even remember Gretzky being on the Rangers. He must have been pretty washed up by then.
-Devils fan who hates Matteau and Richter
Knicks get Deng and Ball
Lakers get Kawhi and Kanter
Spurs get Ingram, Timmy and Lakers 2021 #1
Who says no?
http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=y92532l9
Like Lebron, Gretzky was still dominating at the time that he left, but Lebron is dominating a lot more than Gretzky was when he left. But yes, in that sense, they are somewhat similar, but Gretzky was coming to a veteran Rangers team, while Lebron is going to a young Lakers team. I agree that the main motivation for both guys is not to win a title, since they had each proven they could win titles already, but I think Lebron’s situation is a lot rosier than the Rangers was when Gretzky joined them.
“All-Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler reportedly has “no intentions” of signing a contract extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves, due to issues with his teammates.
According to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Butler is “all but fed up with the nonchalant attitude of his younger teammates,” specifically center Karl-Anthony Towns.”
Kyrie and Butler to NY?
Porzingis, Knox, Frank, Butler, and Irving + 2019 1st round pick, Dotson, Robinson, Burke, Hardaway etc.. off the bench
75
We say no; replace Noah with kanter and they have a deal; lonzos dad is a headache, they have to pay us to take him.
MCW to Houston.
Good reminder that none of us understand anything at all, I guess.
It would cost us $400 million+ over four years to get maybe 10 or 15 total games with Kyrie, KP and Butler all healthy and playing at their peak and honestly it would be worth it
I would love to take Luol Deng for Lonzo Ball. That is what we should be doing instead of signing kyrie and butler next year, guys who have serious injury questions. Keep our powder dry for 2020 and hopefully Durant as the final piece to a playoff team.
I have mixed feelings about all the possible free agent scenarios.
On the one hand I think it’s going to be very difficult and time consuming to get 2 real stars out of the draft and try to build entirely that way. On the flip side, I’m not so sure I want to team KP with anyone less that a true star (especially if there are injury issues).
If guess if we wind up with a top 3 pick next year I might feel differently than if we wind up with an 8-10 pick. How Frank, Knox and KP look might also sway my thinking.
From a basketball POV I understand trading for Lonzo but…
As a (bad) human being and fan:
1. I hate the Lakers’ arrogance and I wouldn’t do anything to help them
2. The Ball family and Lavar in particular are a wonderful demonstration of some of the things that I most despise in the world, so I’ll take a leave of absence from my fandom until Lonzo leaves town…
Kyrie and Butler are a scary proposition, I still feel the scars of the Stoudamire signing… could you put a big chunk of your money on two oft injured players?
So even the smart teams are dumb.
There’s really no reason the Knicks should be planning around any particular upcoming free agent. Whether it’s Kyrie or Durant or Butler or whoever, it would be dumb to do anything differently to try to impress them or whatever.
Good things happen to rebuilding teams that follow a few simple principles:
1) Stay far away from the free agent market outside of extraordinary exceptions (e.g. LeBron to the Heat/Cavs/Lakers) and one-year deals to fill out your roster (and only give the latter to somewhat intriguing young players who could become assets)
2) Trade productive players who are unlikely to be on your next good team for assets
3) Take on other teams’ bad contracts for worthwhile assets
4) Do not, for any reason, trade away picks
Obviously there’s more to it than that but if the Knicks were ever to just follow those four simple rules for a number of years, opportunities to get true superstars would present themselves. Maybe via the draft, maybe via trade, maybe via free agency but we’ve seen this pattern a million times before.
The problem is just in the last year or so we’ve violated all of them, so we have to keep pretending the next big free agent just desperately wants to be a New York Knick for no clear reason.
I feel like Butler is a Thibs guy and they’d be more likely to move KAT, crazy though that may seem. It certainly would be sell-high move.
I’d have thought that Wiggins was the main culprit in Minnesota, rather than KAT.
@88 The report is that it’s mostly KAT he’s mad at.
I get the concerns and consternation with Butler.
But he would solve a LOT of problems on our team.
I remember seeing KAT at MSG against KP when they were rookies. He did an amazing job on KP. He was good defensively inside and on the perimeter. Now people talk about his defense.
MCW is a very good defensive guard who gives you some playmaking and decent rebounding but can’t put the ball in the basket to save his life. Sounds like someone a lot of people on this board could get behind. (I’d add a winking emoji here because I’m clearly trolling but I’m an old and don’t know how)
This is what I was referring to. Not sure who is right.
@IanBegley
Since the Knicks are expected to use both of their two-way contracts (Isaiah Hicks & Allonzo Trier), they will have to waive or trade a player currently under contract if they want to sign 2nd round pick Mitchell Robinson to a traditional NBA deal.
@36 “The Steve Mills Asset Management Handbook”
Hahahahahahahaha! That made me laugh right upon reading it. 🙂
re: Butler, have we not learned our lesson about acquiring 30 year olds with injury histories who used to play for Thibs?
They lose KOQ, Beas and Jack, signed SuperMario, Kornet to the main roster and will sign Knox.
3 in 3 out, plus Trier and Hicks as 2-way. Begley is right.
This left out Robinson and the rumors about Alan Williams (?)
They’re probably going to be stretching Noah, yes? Am I right in thinking you don’t have to be at 15 (plus 2 ways) until just before the season starts?
Yes (in september maybe) and yes 🙂
@75
I think that trade idea is a non-starter
Lakers say no – does Lebron really want Kanter as a teammate?
Spurs say no – Timmy not unselfish enough for Pop
Noah is going to wind up being a productive C for 20 minutes a game for someone. The entire thing was a debacle for both parties.
@99
Rudy Gay has a career USG% of 24.8 and AST% of 11.1.
Timmy has a career USG% of 21.8% and AST% of 11.3.
Obviously it’s not going to happen, but if you think this is the reason, it ain’t it.
The Sixers are trading for… Wilson Chandler?
Sixers probably getting a future 2nd as well.
Unless Noah is a lot healthier than he was in his first season here, and that is not likely, he is not going to be helping anybody. He can still rebound but that’s about it. He’s so slow and lumbering that he’s not really an effective defender anymore, and he’s obviously no kind of threat on the offensive end. He’s been bad for quite a while now. I’ll be surprised if he’s even an effective role player for a bad team.
I like that line-up.
. . . but injuries are big concern.
Kanter is a pretty similar player to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whom LeBron seemed to love having on the court with him back in the day (…the day of not winning titles, that is).
3,000 miles away, and LaVar is still too close.
I’d be delighted to take Ball off the Lakers’ hands. Lavar is a small price to pay. Perhaps irrationally, I believe Fizdale will be adept at handling those kinds of issues.
Lonzo would be worth the risk, because a Lonzo/Frank backcourt has some nice potential. That could potentially be a handsy backcourt with good length that could generate lots of turnovers. I think Frank’s best role is as the secondary PG in a two-PG attack. Deng for Kanter with Lonzo as a sweetener plus whatever flotsam and jetsam could make some sense for the Lakers– Kanter’s contract is shorter than Deng’s and that frees up cap space for them when they’ll really want it in summer 2019.
It won’t happen, because nothing like that ever really happens to NYK.
Ball and Frank backcourt would be the worst shooting backcourt in NBA history.
I, for one, am glad the Knicks didn’t draft a certain rat-faced, undersized guard.
Atlanta did us a gigantic favor.
It would be a terrible shooting backcourt right now, that’s for sure, but if Frank is ever going to stick in this league he has to at minimum become a decent spot-up shooter. If Frank doesn’t improve his shooting by a lot he’s not going to be an NBA player, but the good news is that his form looks pretty good and he seems to have a good work ethic.
I’m still trying to figure out how Lonzo managed to shoot .551 from the field and .412 from 3PT at UCLA with those horrible mechanics. He shot a ridiculously bad .451 from the free throw line last year. He can’t possibly be THAT bad. It was a bad but not ridiculous .673 at UCLA. The other thing about Lonzo is that yes, his shot sucks, but his shot CHART looks really good. He’s looking for shots at the basket or from 3PT. That’s where 90% of his shots come from. Granted a good shot chart doesn’t help much if you shoot .300 from 3PT, but I would think he’ll eventually get that 3PT% up to at least passable levels.
Cool article on what factors correlate most with DWS, DBPM, and DPIPM
https://fansided.com/2018/07/03/nylon-calculus-wingspan-defense/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
Short version: defensive miles covered is p highly correlated across all positions, wingspan differential and height less important than you’d think.
It sure seems like LAL are going to trade Ball. I mean, how many facilitators who don’t shoot well can you have? Does Pop want Ball? How bad is the knee injury?
If they want Kawhi, they have to dangle some package of Lonzo, Kuzma, Ingram + picks.
Getting Rondo seems like a clear sign that Ball is available.
Let’s strike while the iron is hot…KAT for KP straight deal!
I hate that deal; maybe we should back up the trucks for butler!
Is there any chance Minnesota would do that? If Butler is adamant about KAT being too lackadaisical, he can’t be the only one that feels that way. Thibs must dislike him too. That opens the door a little, right?
We need to strike now before Thibs gets fired in 2 years!!!
I searched for rookies (18-21) in the last 20 years who have had a USG% >15, eFG% <.450 and who played in at least 1,000 minutes.
http://bkref.com/tiny/WT20v
Not quite a Who's Who list, but some good players in there, including LeBron, Carmelo, Ariza, Billups, Wall, Westbrook, and some others. (Note I said "good" when referring to Carmelo, not "deserves a max contract or the gutting of your team.")
Unsurprisingly, Mudiay and Frank are near the bottom of the list with such winners as Austin Rivers, Rodney Stuckey, TJ Ford, Corey Brewer, Nik Tskitishvili, Dejuan Wagner, and Sebastian Telfair.
Not a great sign for Frank, although being 19 certainly helps the case that he could improve. Didn't seem to work out for Mudiay.
I know Lonzo does some things really well, but if that shooting doesn’t improve then he’s not even a long term starter. The FT % is a bad bad sign.
And the LaVar drama would be 10x worse here. The NY sports media would interview him every damn day, then run to Player X and go “Lonzos dad says you suck. What’s your response?”
Just gonna keep saying it.
1) even with all the moves Zanzibar bar outlined yesterday, we don’t have a path to a 30% and a 35% max deal next summer. It’s not a thing. We maybe, just maybe can eke out two 7-9 year maxes (30% each) but even that is a huge reach.
2) one of those moves was to use the 2019 first as an incentive for a team to take THj which, I mean, I can’t talk about that as an idea.
We have to stop this 2 max FA thing. It’s not a thing. And if we try to make it one… all the stuff others have said about how rarely max FA deals actually work out unless for a top 5-type player.
Just no.
You only do that if you have an agreement that Kyrie and KD are ready to join the team. And then you do it and thank your lucky stars!
My Capulator stuff showed about 65m available free cap. That would mean starting 35m for KD and 30m for Kyrie. We shouldn’t waive-stretch Noah in September. If Kyrie says he won’t join for less than 35m, you offer some team our 2021 pick to take Noah for a year.
There’s just no way not to be psyched about the following in exchange for two #1 picks:
1: Kyrie, Burke
2: Frank, Dot
3: Knox, Troy, Dot
4: KD, KP, Knox
5: KP, Kornet, Mitch
And if we offer KOQ a large 1 year deal, you might be able to renounce him in 2019 and then sign him to what will be 5.7m/yr room exception next summer. He might find playing for that hometown team very enticing.
All I see there is a team with no bench, 2 fewer first round picks, and an ECF exit
There is virtually nothing the Knicks can do to finish better than 3rd in the Atlantic over the next 5 or 6 years.
If I were a rookie GM and my first ever move was to trade Luka Doncic, I’d really prefer it if the guy I dealt him for didn’t start off 1-19.
Also Derrick White didn’t have much of a rookie year but he is definitely an NBA player.
Sadly, you’re probably right. And the “process” that led to here started several years ago when the Nets traded their picks to the Celts and the 76’ers began the tank.
From last thread:
THCJ, may I introduce you to the fine upstate NY city of Syracuse. .
Oh and by the way, not only do you get to have days upon days of wintery grey skies, you get the added bonus of long stretches of 20-degree (or way, way less) weather, especially in February.
And as an added bonus: snow. Lots of snow.
No more crap trades.
I really think if we can actually just clear the cap – for once – two legit stars would come here. Maybe Kyrie and Kawhi? I don’t know who, but this technique is better than gutting your team of long-term potential pieces in a trade for one guy (seriously, how bad does the original Melo trade look right now?)
I think that’s the plan and what they’re telling KP, and I’m ok with that.
The fallback is just to stick with your team of young, hungry players, some of whom may become pretty good. I’m fine with that too.
And hey, if you screw up your draft picks, you just get HIGHER draft picks from sucking, so it’s all good.
I’m wondering is this supposed interest of top players in NYC – which may of course be bogus, but for the sake of argument we’ll say is real – is a side effect of KP’s injury. The Knicks were a good team when he started the season hot, then there were some struggles, but when he went out, we were absolutely terrible. Pretty much the worst team in the league.
So maybe top players look at how bad we were without him and say, huh, imagine what he could do without the worst teammates in the league around him? Like if I go there, and they get another player like me, we could be great!
It seems possible that KP’s absence made some players think/realize he’s really good, or could be really good.
It’s also possible that the all African-American leadership has a salutary effect. While I’m worried Perry is at best mediocre, and we all agree that the way they seem to be valuing players is concerning, some players look at it and just say, that’s cool, I want to be part of that.
In other words, maybe we won’t be in hell forever….?
Spelman looks really good.
Trae is super quick but man, do his arms look short. If he bulks up, I see a possible Isaiah Thomas type of player, which is fine, but do you pass up Doncic for that?
No.
I went to school at Syracuse. Worst weather humanly imaginable.
The major city with the best weather in the USA is easily San Diego.
With everyone on 3 and 4 year deals, and the best players on 1+1 deals, there’s going to be a bumper crop of stars available pretty much every year.
I would not give up assets to clear room to go all in on a Butler Kyrie duo. I hope we can be patient til at least 2020.
Having a front office players like and respect can definitely make a difference. Look at Minnesota. Apparently Jimmy Butler wants no part of the team going forward. If he trusted the front office and the coach and liked them, he might be more happy about staying.
I went to school in buffalo. Way worse than Syracuse re weather, plus cuse had hotter girls.
I attended a small college in the middle of NY State. In 1977 they held the NCAA golf tournament there in July. It rained all 4 days. They never came back. It also snowed 8 inches on May 9th.
But NYC is actually pretty nice from April to October. And I prefer frigid days with blue skies to raw, gray, misty shit for weeks on end.
Isaiah Thomas to the Magic makes a ton of sense. I hope he goes there and kills it. Orlando and Indiana could make a little noise next year… we are behind both of them with this “rebuild” thing.
Trae was the one guy in the draft I did not want to fall to NY. He may eventually be very good on offense, but it was pretty obvious he was going to have REALLY tough time being efficient early in his career. As a non defender who needs him. I think Trey is going to have better year than Trae this year.
Yeah just watched the Hawks highlights. Trae looked extremely pedestrian. Hard for him to even get floaters up over longer defenders. Yikes.
don’t get fooled by summer league…. efficiency doesn’t matter at all there for whatever reason…. volume does sort of matter tho….
curry wasn’t all that different to what trae is showing… he’s not bad enough to be overreacting to it….
I’d put the under over on Trae’s TS% at 50% this year and would bet the under. I think Frank can get to that level this year but he comes with high level defense. Trae is a liability.
@139 I agree in principle, but Trae is not Steph, never will be. Despite what measurements are out there, he’s significantly smaller.
I’d like to see some of the Sacramento kids pan out. Justin Jackson is likable, and Harry Giles would be a great comeback story. Fox and Bagley are pieces and WCS is not a complete stiff.
yea but he’s got a cleverness and shiftiness to his game that’s similar to curry and cp3…. he just needs to stop launching ridiculous 3s until he can establish he can hit the nba 3 consistently….
i’m not too worried about trae…. there are plenty of ppl his size who came in with way less talent that have been successful…..
Probably the prettiest college campus I’ve seen, right there with Williams College. (My high school girlfriend went to Williams and I [at first] went to Fordham at Rose Hill. She made a much better choice than I did.)
The NBA has such a stampede mentality towards free agents that every season is either boom or bust, with nothing in between. Two years ago everyone was spending money like water and this year everyone is saving it for next year. But the free agent values will probably be much worse next year. I’d like to see the Knicks get off this treadmill by not spending every last dollar next season. Then they would have dollars to spend the following season when things will probably be tighter after next summer’s league spending binge. But I just can’t imagine them doing that. They just don’t seem either smart enough or patient enough for that.
THJ+C.Lee for Lonzo+Deng
That is too good a deal for the Lakers in player value. They get two very usable players in return for one usable player. Lee and Baker for Deng and picks works money wise, and gives the Lakers about $5M extra in cap space next year, but they would have to give us something else to make up for taking on Deng. I would consider their 2020 first or their 2021 first, or maybe two second rounders if one of them was the year one and done ends. We could then waive Deng or buy him out and have two roster spots, which would be very helpful. I don’t know if they want more guards, so maybe we could do Deng and Hart for Baker and Lee. That saves them over $6M in space next summer and gives us one more roster spot after we waive Deng.
I would do any of these trades for Ball in an instant.
Essdog- the point I’m trying to make is that you can’t get to two max slots WITHOUT trades. And personally, I would not want to do the sort of trades it might take – I.e. trade a way a possible top 5 pick to move THJ, and another first to trade away Noah. Even with commitments frpm Kyrie and KD, especially when KD is already past 30 at that point. I think – though go correct me if I’m wrong Zanzibar, this is what is being suggested.
I can see the argument I just don’t personally like it. If we can organically get to a single max cap slot in 2019, or a max slot plus some decent additional space in 2020 – I.e without trading future assets – I’m all for using that to try to attract a star. But trading away all future assets for a win now strategy has killed us at least twice in recent years and I just want no part of it.
It’s a fantasy to think we are just going to buy our way to a great team next summer in what will surely be a seller’s market by hiring two max guys. Max guys tend to stay where they are and the few that are willing to move or want to move will have their pick of a number of teams. It’s much better to plan on having a good KP, a reasonable team with promise around him, a management and coaching structure and personnel that is respected around the league; and then getting one more star to go with that. That means not trading away young guys and keeping cap space for a good opportunity, even if that means waiting an extra year to get a great free agent.
Ntilakilla, you could persuade me that Ball is worth THJ and Lee, but taking on Deng is a big add. LA is going to have to cough up a reasonably good first round pick to get rid of him, at least, and the teams with space for Deng (I think only Atlanta and Chicago at this point) may not want him. Remember, you get his dad as part of the package. That’s why I proposed the trades I did.
THJ is a negative asset. His terrible contract runs for another three years.
I would think if anything the Lakers might want Kanter. They have no viable bigs other than McGee, who is best suited to come off the bench. And Kanter’s deal runs only one more year, then his contract comes off the books. They really want 2019 cap space.
Kanter and Lance for Ball and Deng would be a good deal for us. Not sure if LAL would be interested in that though.
It is hard to blame them too much when “Don’t worry, we will be good when star free agent X gets here” is the same approach Phil used and it got him through three shitty seasons and if he had just been a normal level of asshole, at least two more. I agree that it is not a good plan, but it is one that is easy to sell to the masses.