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[Sports Illustrated] – Sun, 04 Aug 2024 17:00:00 GMT
- New York Knicks Named Contenders After Securing Key Forward
- Latest announcement proves Raptors should have negotiated harder in Anunoby trade
- Knicks Focal Focus: Maximizing OG Anunobys Impact
- OG Anunoby trade was still right move for Knicks even with RJ Barrett surge
[Athlon Sports] – Sun, 04 Aug 2024 22:55:48 GMT
Knicks Star Josh Hart Made His Opinion of Noah Lyles Extremely Clear
[Sports Illustrated] – Sun, 04 Aug 2024 11:44:16 GMT
New York Knicks 2K25 Ratings Revealed
[Posting and Toasting] – Mon, 05 Aug 2024 10:00:00 GMT
Knickslammed: Nate Robinson SLAM No. 95 (Mar. 2006)
[Empire Sports Media] – Sun, 04 Aug 2024 15:35:38 GMT
Knicks star achieves impressive feat despite injury-riddled 2023-24 season
[Basketball Network] – Sun, 04 Aug 2024 13:36:00 GMT
“Patrick was a guy that gave everything he could give”- Pat Riley regrets failing to help Patrick Ewing win a title in New York
69 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2024.08.05)”
If yes, Max, forgive the senior (senor?) moment! And sorry for forgetting about you, iserp!
cyber does strike me as a reckless driver type…:-D
We are thinking about mainly staying in Barcelona for a week with a couple of days on one of the islanes (Menorca?)
My wife is more interested in flying into Barcelona and staying put with lots of beach time, but I would love to spend some time driving through scenic countryside and visit some smaller towns with rich history. We’re looking at 10 days in September or October, meaning 8 full days. Seems like too little time to see both North and South without becoming road weary, so seems like the south Mediterranean sectors are the best bet for road trips.
One option would be to fly into Madrid, rent a car there, and spend a day touring on the way to Barcelona. then another on the way back to Madrid (or to fly out of a different city.)
Thoughts?
On Julius Randle, one of the teams that might be interested in maxing him is the Nets…since they control most of the Knicks’ draft picks, maybe it is in their best interests to sabotage the Knicks. Then a year out they could unload his bloated salary, maybe sacrificing one of the picks to do so…
I will take the other end of any bet on the Brooklyn Nets maxing out Julius Randle
I’d be willing to bet that there’s no way Julius would spurn NY to play in Brooklyn. He’s just recently recovered from the season from hell.
I believe tomorrow is the last day Julius could sign an extension and be eligible to be moved at this year’s deadline. By all accounts, he has no interest in going anywhere else, ever. So at minimum, I wouldn’t expect a deal for a few more days. But beyond that, it’s going to be interesting to see how much he’s willing to sacrifice in order to stay here. OG took most of what he could get (maybe all, depending on whether you believe he had a full max offer out there). Brunson extended at a discount, and reports are that Mikal will do the same. I don’t begrudge any of those guys for making the choices they make. But I do think that Julius can’t get both a monster contract and expect to stay a Knick. So I wonder which he’ll ultimately value more.
I think we know from both Scott Perry commentray on podcasts and beat writers that the Knicks love Randle. That may go double for Dolan. I think we also know that Randle loves NY and wants to stay and play for a championship. All that is documented. I think he will do what is necessary in terms of contract sacrifice to keep us on that path as long as it’s reasonable. Leon and his team will figure out the best approach to keep both sides happy.
The issue is fit and the C position.
1. We still don’t know how well Mitch, Randle, OG, Bridges and Brunson works (spacing) or whether Mitch, OG, Bridges, DDV and Brunson works even better.
2. If the Mitch/Randle lineup is not optimal there are two ways to solve that. You can move either one of them.
3. We still don’t know if Mitch’s health will hold up or force us to make a trade for a starting C.
4. If we have to make a trade, it’s unlikely to be Brunson, Hart or DDV. That means Mitch+ or Randle could be be the only salary asset we can move.
I’d worry way less about Randle’s contract and more about the basketball. Randle can be an annoying basketball player at times, but he’s a good guy and wants to win here. The contract issue will be fine.
Xbox or PlayStation?
If Julius takes a discount now he controls the narrative about sacrificing for the team, etc.. Which is important as it is not clear cut what the discount really is. But the fly in the ointment is the motivation to take a discount is to be able to stay here but if the team is not clicking he is a prime candidate to be moved. And given that Leon is not Morey I have no idea what will happen.
I’m not necessarily so sure that Randle “has no interest in going anywhere else, ever.” He’s from Dallas, so if the Mavs or one of the other Texas teams could swing a deal from him, I doubt that he’d be all that bummed. I also think that there might be some concern that he will be somewhat overshadowed by the ‘Nova clique going forward here, and a bit insulted that the Knicks expect him to pick up the scraps left after locking up OG and Brunson.
If he indeed wants to stay here so badly, maybe the one thing that might make him accept a smaller deal is a full NTC, or at least a substantial trade kicker, but would Leon offer that? It would seem that Randle’s contract would the most rational one to send out after signing if a higher priced player would be needed. This seems to beg the question of why he should care about whether the Knicks go into the second apron to sign him….it might be in Randle’s best interest to cause them to go into the apron to make dealing him in a couple of years that much harder.
Again, if I’m Randle’s agent, I would tell the Knicks that they should either sign him to a Brunson-like extension right now, or that he’s going to opt out and test the market. If they want to stay under the second apron, let them deal someone else like Josh Hart. If keeping the Nova thing intact is that important, then that adds to the feeling that he’s being somewhat marginalized behind lesser players and asked to sacrifice millions to keep them happy.
The larger point is that I don’t think keeping Josh Hart in the fold should be as critical as it now appears to be. Now that he’s no longer a starter, might he be the new 80/20 guy? Theoretically speaking (meaning it’s not gonna happen), could you find a TPMLE guy for $5M that does much of what Hart does? Maybe a guy like Okoro? Or a better wing shooter off the bench at the cost of some rebounding/intangibles/culture?
Or is there an unspoken agreement with Brunson to keep the band together as part of the contract extension he accepted?
Who the hell knows, but it sure is interesting to ponder.
Aside from whatever conversation a Mr. Brunson and company are having with Leon regarding the roster (I’m sure he wants the nova thing to remain intact) it would be a pr nightmare and marketing faux pas to break these guys up before they get a shot at mumm-ra.
This is exactly what I am arguing is unlikely to happen. It couldn’t be any more well documented that the Knicks love him (apparently especially Dolan). It’s also documented how much he wants to play for the Knicks and win a championship here.
Leon will explain the apron issues and what they mean for the Knicks chances at winning a championship eventually. IMO, they will find a compromise that keeps Randle happy enough. In the unlikely event he suddenly wants every penny he can possibly make and the hell with champiosnhip aspirations, he’ll be traded at the deadline.
We paid OG and Brunson a ton, but Brunson took less guaranteed money and could cost himself. OG took less of a hit, but I think he could have gotten maxed elsewhere if he really wanted to go.
Based on comments, even I-Hart was willing to take less to keep the team together, but the gap was so huge and he never got that really big life changing payday. So it was different for him.
One two-way spot to go (presumably for Jacob Toppin), one regular roster spot to go. Hoping McCullar can be healthy for training camp.
The only way they are breaking up the Nova connection is if one of them is very unhappy with his role and quietly asks for a trade. In some remotely possible scenario where some real superstar is available and that’s the only way to make it work, it might be possible. Other than that, they are going to get a couple of years together before anyone contemplates making that change.
Clarence, I’m more talking about 2026-27. One scenario has Randle opting in to his current number for 2025-26 and signing an extension that starts in 2026-27. Katz pointed out that:
This would give the current roster 2 years to play out, and at that point, if they wanted to make moves to stay under the 2nd apron, maybe the shine on the Nova Club will have worn off enough to consider dumping Hart, who by then will be overpaid at $21M and would have a team option, making him an expiring salary in effect. That’s something his agent should point out in these negotiations….that Randle shouldn’t be the one to sacrifice that far out.
That’s good news on McCullar.
” it would be a pr nightmare and marketing faux pas to break these guys up before they get a shot at mumm-ra.”
Refreshingly, I don’t think Leon cares about PR one bit (zero leaks, never correcting rumours). But I do agree that the “shot at mumm-ra” is what it is all about given the assets he has traded over multiple years to assemble the nova squad.
“Xbox or PlayStation?”
Neither one, ever. I’ve literally never used either one of those items.
Hopefully we win a championship this year and we don’t worry about salary.
Ah Gotcha. That seems reasonable.
Leon doesn’t care about PR, but he does care about his reputation around the league. If he gets two of his four best guys to take below-market contracts, in part because of the chance to play with their college teammates, and then he trades away one or more of those teammates, that hurts Leon’s rep both with the players on the current roster and any he might try to acquire in the future. For a guy whose entire management philosophy is built on relationships and trust, that’s hard.
I agree that if we haven’t gotten over the mountain — as in, at least to the Finals — after the next two seasons, he might consider trading Hart or DDV. But he’s not going to do it sooner than that.
The only way I’d be on board with trading Randle at this moment would be one-for-one for an above average starting center. Does anyone here think that such a trade might exist? We’ve discussed Duren, Ayton, and the like, and I would much prefer Duren.
The Pistons would have to give us a million draft picks, and/or one of their other more promising young prospects, in addition to Duren, for me to even consider moving Julius there.
But also, Leon is not going to send Randle to one of the worst teams in the league. When he has to trade key guys, he sends them to good situations for them. Again, relationships.
Happy 62nd birthday, Patrick Ewing!
Hahaha, you got me! 😉 😛 😀
The reason i am a Knicks fan… Happy B’Day to Big Pat! 🍾🥂🥳🎉🎉🎉
I guess it depends on how you define “monster.” Randle’s already made some good money, and if he “settles” for around $160 million, he should be set for generations. Ultimately, I’m guessing he’ll get an AAV somewhere between the OG and Brunson contracts.
Exactly, and that’s why the Julius Randle extension can be made without any worry about the next two years. If the team accomplishes what it set out to accomplish by mortgaging its future to get Mikal and overpay OG, then who cares whether you go over the second apron? Boston, Milwaukee, and Denver all have titles in the last 4 years, so the second apron stuff means less to them now.
The only concern is if by 2026 they haven’t made the finals, then what? Is Randle going to be hard to unload with 3-4 years at $43-50+M per year coming to him? If yes, then who is the most likely to go? By then, you HAVE to consider breaking up the Nova thing, or trading OG, or something else really unpalatable to ponder at this current moment. If you don’t because you don’t want to piss off Brunson or Mikal, then you are clearly prioritizing other things than winning a championship, aren’t you?
Happy bday Patrick. He-man made me gay. Sailor moon made me wanna be a princess. Patrick made me wanna be a warrior.
If they trade Randle in a 1-for-1 deal, we better be getting a near all-star level player back. Above average doesn’t exactly cut it.
Okoro is restricted and I’d guess he makes more money than that
If he didn’t have 82 year old knees, the big fella at 62 might have solved our back-up C issue!
“Okoro is restricted and I’d guess he makes more money than that”
Again, I was talking theoretically about 2026. But even now, Okoro is not being offered a contract by Cleveland, nor is anyone offering him a deal to be matched. Seems like he’s headed for the QO.
Barcelona is great, of course. I have never been to Menorca, but I have been to Mallorca and I absolutely love the little small stone beaches for snorkeling, and I know Menorca has plenty of those. You will get more nature in Menorca, and a beautiful city in Mallorca. You usually get good weather in the first half of october, but I would pay attention to the report, as in those dates (late september, early october) we get very strong storms in the mediterranean.
About starting from Madrid, I dont know. Madrid is also very good, specially if you like museums (i love El Prado). You get nearby medieval towns (Segovia, Toledo, not on the way to Barcelona), and a University town (Alcalá de Henares, on the way), which are very beautiful. I wouldnt call the drive from Madrid to Barcelona scenic, but i did not try to stray from the highway.
“If he didn’t have 82 year old knees, the big fella at 62 might have solved our back-up C issue!”
Maybe The Dream still has a couple of shakes left in him!
We don’t need a backup center—we need one who is of starting caliber, someone in the iHart mode…….will never be an All-Star, but who fits well with what we need (and can stay relatively healthy).
His QO is over double the taxpayer MLE
“His QO is over double the taxpayer MLE”
Whose is? Randle’s? Duren? Ayton’s? Ewing’s? Olajuwon’s? We’ve mentioned a few players on this thread, so this is unclear to me.
Thanks, iserp! Any towns near (i.e. within a couple of hours) from Barcelona that you would recommend?
The only one whose QO we’re talking about
“His QO is over double the taxpayer MLE”
And is a little more than half of what Hart will be making. What will Okoro be making in 2 years when this discussion actually might be relevant? Might his $11M QO be the high water mark for him? Will he go the way of many high lottery picks who subsequently sign deals for a fraction of their lottery salary?
Even at the time of the Hart extension, it was argued that he was getting paid starter money for a reserve role. Won’t that be a concern in 2026, when he has good value in an outgoing scenario as an expiring?
The larger point is that the second apron in 2026-27 isn’t something that Randle should be bothered with, and nor should the Knicks if they valued Hart purely as a role player off the bench who doesn’t shoot particularly well. Your core would be Brunson, OG, Randle and Mikal, and all the rest would be role players. Currently, only DDV and Deuce are on what I would call “value” contracts…Mitch too but his will expire after 2025-26. Everyone else should be considered expendable.
Whose is?
And the only one that is a possibility. So up your game or give it up.
Although i was one of the voices advocating to trade Randle in 2022, i’ve since then changed my opinion to exact opposite… i don’t know if i’m the only one, but i want to win WITH RANDLE! I think he deserves it!
Jesus Christ Doogie there is something called ‘context’ which competent speakers of a language routinely use to disambiguate sentences!
Toledo has a natural beauty that is outstanding, i loved it. And i went there for work, my company was a member of a EU project that involved some universities around europe, namely University of Porto and University of Castilla–La Mancha.
Just to project out, assuming that Mikal and Randle add up to $80M going into 2026-27, the salaries for Brunson, OG, Randle, Mikal, DDV and Deuce would add up to a little more than the projected salary cap of around $170M. There would then be another $40M to the first apron and $53M to the second apron. I believe we would have Mitch’s full bird rights.
At that point, beyond Mitch who you could extend after addressing everything else, you’d have to figure out what to do with the roster spots currently occupied by Hart, Precious, Sims, Kolek, Dadiet, Payne, and Bates-Diop within that budget.
“Toledo has a natural beauty that is outstanding, i loved it. And i went there for work, my company was a member of a EU project that involved some universities around europe, namely University of Porto and University of Castilla–La Mancha.”
Thanks, cyber. Seems beautiful….now I need to figure out how strongarm my Sicilian wife to including it in a way that doesn’t result in me sleeping with the fishes.
If you can go to only one place…. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&sca_esv=d2a4c35c63dffda7&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ADLYWII3pQY9QtqSyyhZoTUAfpY4g-buKQ:1722883057238&q=granada+song+in+spanish&tbm=vid&source=lnms&fbs=AEQNm0DzinMFLCeqQs_J6bMti2ao9DE73y_8shzprnOrc_FfyKvHDOcXRiIRjDOLlfDRUOpZemInLakSH6Zqte2EVSfgQUEYQHmAD6pOaQ2ydedh8rgDHitw7-FmeWdFZuYnRyMm8Q4wMmE2Ebx4g_BTaIw_4xKBDebD1tiAUzzMxkWZtg0Titlnlec5yvD_kXx1Ps9welw81mFt29pL1AjGce1VHMSxCg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEyfbEv96HAxWLFVkFHS47HQ4Q0pQJegQIERAB&biw=1366&bih=615&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:b2242404,vid:nR6CIYgEJbE,st:0
Granada…. tu tierra esta llena de lindas mujeres y sangre y sol!
Totally agree.
For me it’s all about health with Randle and the current squad. I want to see them all together for a large sample size.
Could we have another center? Sure. But the fantasy is that Mitch has a great season and Precious gives us the best version of what he’s shown, thus far.
Add in some Thibs small ball razzmatazz and prepare the Canyon of Heroes. 😉
I remember asking some Spanish friends for a beach town near Barcelona that was worth visiting. They strongly recommended a town called Sitges.
Which is how I and my 6-7 college roommate ended up on a Catalonian beach smack in the middle of a Pride convention.
Very interesting three days!!! 🙂
It’s a nice spot but probably not worth going out of your way for.
The place I have always wanted to go is north of Barcelona in the Pyrenees. Supposed to be very beautiful there.
Thanks, Owen and Bob, the more research I do, the more I want to see everything! Spain just seems like an amazing country with so much to see and experience..as is true for all Euro destination countries I guess! Maybe one year coming up we do a more extensive visit (like a month plus) to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco (my homeland) and see much more. But for this trip, we are limited to 10 days (really 8 days with travel considered) and the wife insists on at least 5 of those days in Barcelona and 2-3 on a nearby island like Menorca.
The trains in Europe are great, so we might be able to do a day trip to somewhere like Toledo even without involving Madrid. But Granada, Malaga, Seville, Bilbao, etc. all are too far out of the way to make the cut.
I don’t think he’s going to sacrifice anything just to stay here. He already did what Brunson did in 2021.
If he wants an extension now, he’ll have to make a sacrifice. But that’s just the nature of locking in early.
If he plays this season out and has a strong year, he should get paid something like Siakim (4/189).
We’ll either have to accept being a second apron team or we’ll have to trade someone to stay under it (Josh Hart being the most likely candidate).
OG didn’t take a hit at all. He raped and pillaged us.
If we had let him test the market instead of bidding against ourselves, all his imaginary leverage would have evaporated the second Paul George chose Philadelphia.
lindas mujeres? Count me in! 😀
*it’s nice that Lady Cyber doesn’t read KB! LOL
my vote for a Spanish spot to visit: Antequera…
some 6,000 year old dolmens located nearby…
part of ma’s family story is a couple of brothers from Granada which headed over to the new world…I wouldn’t mind a trip there myself…
I really don’t think Leon can entertain the extension before he sees this team play 40-50 games. He needs to maintain the ability to trade Randle this year.
Because of that, Randle is likely to reach free agency next summer. And by making him wait, we’ll be forced to pay market rate in order to keep him.
I have not travelled too much around Barcelona. I have been to Tarragona, where there are nice Roman ruins, and to Cadaqués, which is a picturesque small fishermen village where Dali took inspiration for some of his works. My brother concurs sbout Sitges, and there is a cinema festival (fantastic and horror movies) at the beginning of october if you like. I’ve heard good things about Peñiscola, too.
I love the Pyrenees, and in Monte Perdido there are some of my favorite hikes (cola de caballo, cañón del Añisclo) and beautiful villages. It is more like a 3 hour drive, though.
Granada and the Alahambra is amazing, it is very far from Barcelona though. Valencia is closer (3.5 hours) and has a curious mix of traditional and new, you will have the best Paella there (especially if you visit the nearby villages of the Albufera, such as El Palmar). And since we are talking about Spain, I have to mention my hometown, Salamanca, which is an absolutely lovely university town with a golden colour, which I am sure any of you will like (also quite far from Barcelona, but a two hour drive from Madrid)
“I really don’t think Leon can entertain the extension before he sees this team play 40-50 games. He needs to maintain the ability to trade Randle this year.
Because of that, Randle is likely to reach free agency next summer. And by making him wait, we’ll be forced to pay market rate in order to keep him.”
I pretty much see it the same way. That said, Hubert (and the rest of the gang), what do you think Randle’s market rate will be next Summer if :
1) He stays healthy all year,
2) He plays at a similar level to the last two years (which includes a few bad stretches between mostly all-star level play), and
3) He has an “okay” playoffs where he helps more than he hurts and never looks lost the way he has in the past?
Mortimer, probably something like 4/200. One possibility is if a team decides not to go full rebuild or wants to emerge from one and thinks that that version of Randle can help them, they might be able to work out some kind of a trade that brings in Randle in exchange for taking on a bad contract or two and throwing in a pick to a team with cap space. I could see the Nets facilitating such a deal.
Oh, you’re a lot closer to me than i thought. 😉 🙂
Edit: I’ve been to Salamanca twice, and found it very beautiful, but i was only passing by, so one of these days i must go there to really know the city.
Pretty high. I referred to Siakim as his benchmark earlier. With cap inflation that would make it around 4/200.
Re Barcelona:
1. Strongly recommend doing a day of wine-tasting. You can get a minivan and driver to take you around to 2-3 wineries, where you’ll have good wine and spectacular food.
2. I’ve never been (was over-served from wine-tasting when they went), but friends recommend Bagdad Club for adult entertainment
Katz and Hollinger chatting Knicks today in The Athletic. It reads like your basic Knickerblogger thread (minus Doogie, Clarence, and Spain), so nothing earth shattering. But if you’re bored:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5680645/2024/08/05/knicks-elite-julius-randle-future/
I did like this quote:
“I realize some of those Anunoby minutes likely will come at the four, but finding genuinely good wing players as opposed to just guys you ask to hang out in the corner, is arguably the biggest roster-building challenge for an NBA team. Via three trades and the use of the midlevel exception, the Knicks have aced this test.”
Yeah, I was a little disappointed by the Katz/Hollinger article earlier, it reads more like a primer for non-Knick fans than for die hards like us.
Don’t think the missus would approve…and never really my thing even aside from that, but thanks anyway!
I suppose he could have meant bars that serve hard alcohol with stand-up comics that swear.
hookah bar with belly dancers???..not really sure how they “partay” in Bagdad…
I did research before responding…it wasn’t belly dancing or swearing stand-up comics. We’re talking Fredo Corleone-Johnny Ola in Cuba stuff…
I loved with a Basque family for a month when in high school. They had an apartment in Gijon, but we went to the Pyrenees on the weekends. I’ll never forget two things from those visits: the ethereal beauty of those mountain lakes, so pristine they looked like renderings, not the real thing, and the utter terror of the drive as my host’s father turned to talk to me in the back seat while poised on the precipice of a mountain path. Perhaps my appreciation of the beauty of that place was enhanced by the near-death experience getting there, I don’t know…but I’ve seen few places as beautiful in all the years since.