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Knicks Morning News (2025.06.27)

  • New York Knicks Draft Pick May Stay Overseas – Sports Illustrated
    06/27/2025 11:00:03
     
  • New York Knicks Get Tough Grade For Draft Pick – Sports Illustrated
    06/27/2025 11:00:02
     
  • Knicks draft Frenchman; Mets blank Braves – 607 News Now
    06/27/2025 09:21:28
     
  • Knicks acquire draft rights to Crvena Zvezda veteran – BasketNews.com
    06/27/2025 09:24:57
     
  • UConn?s Dan Hurley didn?t consider Knicks coaching job – The Guam Daily Post
    06/27/2025 06:47:28
     
  • New York Knicks collect the NBA rights of Luka Mitrovic – Eurohoops
    06/27/2025 06:58:00
     
  • WATCH: Shams Charania’s Hilarious Moment With Knicks Superfan Spike Lee Goes Viral During 2025 NBA Draft – PFSN
    06/27/2025 04:45:36
     
  • Knicks select forward Mohamed Diawara with No. 51 pick in 2025 NBA Draft – SNY
    06/27/2025 04:49:23
     
  • Clippers Make Announcement On Trade With New York Knicks – Sports Illustrated
    06/27/2025 03:55:00
     
  • Knicks pick Mohamed Diawara after second-round 2025 NBA Draft trade – New York Post
    06/27/2025 04:30:53
     
  • Grading New York Knicks’ 2025 NBA Draft – Athlon Sports
    06/27/2025 04:13:10
     
  • Kobe Sanders Traded to Los Angeles Clippers After Being Drafted by Knicks – University of Nevada Athletics
    06/27/2025 04:23:42
     
  • Meet Luka Mitrovic, the 32-year-old 2015 draftee acquired in Knicks? second-round swap – New York Post
    06/27/2025 03:11:00
     
  • Knicks draft Mohamed Diawara, 6-8 forward from France – Newsday
    06/27/2025 02:45:41
     
  • Knicks trade down, leave 2025 NBA Draft with French PF Mohamed Diawara – Audacy
    06/27/2025 03:39:40
     
  • Knicks Draft Mohamed Diawara After Clippers Trade as Fans Applaud 2nd-Round Pick – Bleacher Report
    06/27/2025 03:05:42
     
  • 2025 NBA Draft: Knicks swap pick 50 for 51, select France?s Mohamed Diawara – New York Daily News
    06/27/2025 03:26:44
     
  • Clippers Acquire No. 50 Pick Kobe Sanders From Knicks – Hoops Rumors
    06/27/2025 02:56:00
     
  • TRADE: LA Clippers And New York Knicks Make A Deal – Sports Illustrated
    06/27/2025 03:14:40
     
  • Knicks trade for draft rights to player taken in 2015 who has never played in NBA to complete deal with Clippers – sportingnews.com
    06/27/2025 02:28:38
     
  • 131 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.06.27)”

    Having reviewed a bunch of scouting reports and videos, I actually love this pick. The best things to do at this spot is to either try to find a young player with upside or an older player who has the physical tools to fill a needed role (e.g. Sims, Huk)

    At 20 years old, Diawara has some features I really like. Great length. Good motor. Can finish with both hands. Can dribble, pass and shoot a bit, not totally raw. Possibly fills a position of need. Looks like he might have been a monster had he played in the NCAA.

    As with all prospects, it all depends on whether he develops beyond what he is right now. He looks to have a floor of Precious Achiuwa, which is pretty good for this draft slot. As to ceiling, his physical profile reminds me of a poor man’s Pascal Siakam. Hey, you never know! But at least he’s a kid you can dream on, rather than a totally raw, or undersized, or non-athletic, or non-shooting 24yo.

    2

    Nah. It’s clear we INCINERATED the 50th pick by turning it into the 51st pick! Leon is a horrible GM!!!!

    I can’t sweat the 51st pick. Or the 50th. Chances of him being better than Precious seem quite slim and I know that didn’t feel like a high bar this season. But fun to have another guy to vaguely dream on.

    I’d be shocked if he ever plays for us though.

    that is kind of the bar for me whether he ever gets on the floor for us for even 5-8 minutes at a time if not then no point in taking him or anyone else really

    All seriousness I think taking him at 51 does make sense. The idea that we can find someone who is “NBA ready” at the 50th or 51st spot is ridiculous. So might as well take a swing on a young prospect that might pay off in a few years when our core is getting older.

    Yeah, I came on to complain about getting a poor man’s Precious with that pick, but I can’t really muster the energy. Would have found it more fun to get a poor man’s Novak instead, but whatever. May Z-Man’s rose-tinted glasses prove accurate!

    And speaking of such, in response to Edwards’ latest (and he’s starting to annoy me with his click-bait-y articles), hard no on Shroder (just never liked him, a good backup guard isn’t a bad idea but I would have serious problems rooting for the guy), and sure on Kennard (who is Novak incarnate, although he falls into our historic giant pool of midsized wings at 6’5″). Anyone who averages .438 for his career from three (with two years leading the league) can play for my team.

    it really was not all that long ago that we were all salivating over the idea of maybe getting masai to new york

    Ever since we fleeced Masai by sticking him with RJ I knew his days were numbered. 😉

    I think the goal was to trade picks for players and reverse whatever the hell he was doing since trading OG, Siakam and VanVleet.

    1

    One of my memories of Masai was Dolan vetoing the Shumpert for Lowry deal because he was still pissed about the Bargnani fleecing.

    Would have changed the arc of our franchise.

    If you’re going to take an upside swing, then a 6’9″ ball handling athlete with a wide body isn’t a bad option. NBA.com’s draft profile lists his wingspan at 7’4″ and his standing reach at 9’2″. If he attended the combine, that would tie for 8th biggest wingspan and 8th highest standing reach, tied for the highest standing reach among non Cs and only an inch shorter than 7’1″ Yang.

    Vecenie had him at 79 on his big board, and it probably gets real wishy washy that late in the draft.

    Still, I can’t help but feel we just Rick Brunson’d Pacome Dadiet.

    Maybe they really like Masai’s draft record… or maybe they really hate Alijah Martin

    Now part of Team France and making steady progress, he named the players he watches the most: “I really like Jaden McDaniels and Pascal Siakam. They are really the two players I watch the most.”

    Like them, he knows that his success in the pros will depend on consistency from 3-point range. “My strengths are my shooting, my defense, my ability to play multiple positions, my versatility, but I need to be more consistent with my 3-point shot. That’s the main thing I’m working on right now.”

    I assume we want this kid to go back to France for the year?

    I’ve read this guy listed at everything between 6’7” and 6’10”. Are scouts just really bad at converting centimetres?

    But sure, seems like a fine flier at 50/51. What annoys me is that they it looks like they only researched Dadiet’s friends & family plan for this one… just take BPA!

    1

    He could probably benefit from some burn with the Westchester Knicks, it’d be nice to have him on hand in case he’s less raw than assumed.

    ummmmmmm masai did not trade fred vanvleet houston signed him as a free agent

    ummmmmmm masai did not trade fred vanvleet houston signed him as a free agent

    Allowing him to leave for nothing is even worse.

    we drafted and paid 4 rookies last year.

    Yes and we valued getting cheap players over good players, passing up potential steals like Collier, Filipowski, and Wells so we could get Kolek, Dadiet, and McCullar for less money.

    What we did with the 50th pick is inconsequential but what we’ve done with all our picks from 2020 to last night is the primary reason we are stuck in the second tier instead of being in the top.

    That we still haven’t learned the value of taking a swing after all this time just shows there is no learning taking place. Leon is more rigid than Thibs.

    agree with hubert completely on not kicking the tires on filipowski or collier altho i do think that kolek has a chance to be a decent backup in this league given appropriate development and playing time

    “What annoys me is that they it looks like they only researched Dadiet’s friends & family plan for this one… just take BPA!”

    Ess-dog, not sure if you are being facetious, but the fact that Dadiet knows him is part of why I like the pick. As EB says, ranking picks that low for BPA is pretty wishy washy. Having gone to the French-raw-kid well once again tells me that they like Dadiet and have confidence in whatever scout recommended him.

    I’m assuming Masai has no interest in being Leon Rose’s deputy but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

    I have made the mistake of investing emotionally in late second round picks before and I will not do it again. For a number of obvious reasons, one of them being I didn’t know who he was before we made the pick, it’s not the pick I would’ve made, but at #51, sure, see if a guy who isn’t that good at basketball but has a lot of physical gifts can figure out basketball.

    That said…

    He looks to have a floor of Precious Achiuwa

    This strikes me as incredibly unlikely. Precious Achiuwa was a first-round pick who was great in the NCAA when he was younger than Diawara. I would say his floor is “never plays in the NBA” and Achiuwa is closer to his ceiling.

    I’m assuming Masai has no interest in being Leon Rose’s deputy but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

    And would Rose want to let Ujiri get the touch down on the five yard line? Some teams have a President and a GM, right?

    Still, I can’t help but feel we just Rick Brunson’d Pacome Dadiet.

    Maybe Knick’s management has a higher opinion of Dadiet than the consensus here, or Dadiet, who must have played a lot with Diawara thinks he is a real diamond in the rough.

    I’ve read this guy listed at everything between 6’7” and 6’10”. Are scouts just really bad at converting centimetres?

    Non-combine measurements tend to vary a lot. Shoes vs no shoes sometimes is the difference. Maybe some rounding discrepancies.

    Fwiw, the NBA profile has him at 6’9″ in shoes and 6’8″ out of shoes.

    I’d still give Masai the keys to any of my favorite teams in a second, but I suppose it’s only fair to point out it’s been a while since he did anything particularly impressive. The Bane and Mikal trades make his OG trade look…underwhelming, to say the least.

    He leaves his successor with some intriguing players but a very unclear path forward, though Murray-Boyles is one of my favorite players in this draft. Seems like the bet was on Barnes becoming all-NBA level, which could still happen but thus far has not.

    The penny pinching in the draft last year allowed us to do the KAT trade, i think that’s defensible.

    is it tho because now we are already talking about ways to ship kat out of town

    is it tho because now we are already talking about ways to ship kat out of town

    Wrong. Some fans, who aren’t happy with JUST making the ECF, are talking about this. Fans talk about ways to trade their best players all the time. That doesn’t mean Leon is made he got KAT or it was a bad move to get KAT.

    I guess we should have just kept Randle and Divo and played 2/3 of the season with no starting Center and then have to resign Randle to a max contract this off season. That certainly would have been better than getting an 8 time all star who has been to the conference finals 2 years in a row on 2 different teams.

    if you’ve made mistakes and feel that the justice system didn’t adequately punish you, it’s possible to watch three hours of unedited mohamed diawara video

    https://youtu.be/3FLZMwYvU1Q?si=FRqflsL4eeocOnov

    although i surely see the aesthetic resemblance, i don’t think the homerun scenario is in the siakam archetype, or anyone else who thrives off body control and balance. i would peg it more like a gerald wallace or al farouq aminu type. floor for a 51st pick pretty much has to be guy who doesn’t have a nba career at all a la sekou doumbouya or 100 other guys we’ve never heard of as opposed to a precious type who sticks for thousands of minutes.

    thing that always gets me about watching these guys who aren’t really thought to be prospects is how much shit you can have going for you and still not be a prospect. this guy has the wingspan of greg oden, runs like obi, takes crossover pull-up 3s and throws blind cross court jump passes to the corner out of the post! but it’s still probably not enough.

    Man, I feel terrible for RJ Luis. He should be practicing with the Kansas Jayhawks rn making $3 mil instead of signing a 2-way with Utah for $500k.

    if you’ve made mistakes and feel that the justice system didn’t adequately punish you, it’s possible to watch three hours of unedited mohamed diawara video

    I made it 5 shots in and I need a breather…

    it is still probably not enough to have all of those skills because of who he is playing with and who he is playing against

    the thing that seemed so strange to me about the post kawhi raptors is how masai didn’t seem to really work hard to bring in a reasonable 5 for two and a half years once gasol was done, when the personnel was actually screaming for it. then it seemed like he panicked by paying a shockingly good pick to bring back poeltl when he was about to expire. but price aside, i still thought that would work okay. and they were plus 7 per 100 in the 400 something minutes all four guys managed to play together in 22-23 post trade. and that with what i though were some weird choices by nurse.

    they did blow that play in game against the bulls by imploding in the fourth quarter and shooting 18-36 from the line. but that was the end of their sample together bc fvv was gone in the summer and it was plus 7!

    That we still haven’t learned the value of taking a swing

    Drafting a 20 year old Euro draft and stash with the raw skills but physical tools/measurements of Dadiet and Diawara is THE definition of taking a swing.

    Parfois, je pense que tu es trop investi dans ton propre recit personnel pour voir la verite plus large.

    The Athletic Bounce:
    Maybe the Spurs’ other role players like Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson or Jeremy Sochan now become more tradeable to put a bigger player next to Victor Wembanyama?

    There were big boards last year that had Kolek, Dadiet, and McCullar going ahead of where we drafted them. It wasn’t some cockamamie scheme to draft Hansen Yang 35 picks early.

    il est faux daffirmer que quiconque ici a une histoire personnelle cest une blague bien sur

    1

    My sister went to FAU so I have watched amounts of Vlad Goldin basketball that would make a normal person shudder. He’s enormous and fun, but not worth shedding tears over.

    less about goldin specifically and more about not kicking tires on available free agents who could see the floor watch goldin become another nikola jovic for spo tho

    I loved Masai but he’s been mediocre for a long time. Trading for RJ was crazy.

    Drafting a 20 year old Euro draft and stash with the raw skills but physical tools/measurements of Dadiet and Diawara is THE definition of taking a swing.

    No, it is not. It is the definition of wasting your pick on someone you don’t have to pay and will never have on your roster. See: Rokas Jokubaitis.

    No, it is not. It is the definition of wasting your pick on someone you don’t have to pay and will never have on your roster. See: Rokas Jokubaitis.

    So if Diawara takes a big step forward in the euro league next year and now looks like a legit NBA player, Leon’s just going to shrug his shoulders and not bring him over?

    So what about the dude we got from the KAT trade who is going to play in summer league? All a ruse by Leon? He’s never going to give him a chance?

    Did Dadiet take up a roster spot last year or nah?

    Just say you don’t like the pick, man.

    And btw you’ll never guess the one news outlet that reported the Knicks were interested in Diawara before the draft. It was the Strickland. Because that’s how you reward media who publishes your self-written propaganda.

    And btw you’ll never guess the one news outlet that reported the Knicks were interested in Diawara before the draft. It was the Strickland. Because that’s how you reward media who publishes your self-written propaganda.

    Who give a shit? Leon is the only GM in the league who has contacts in the sports media world that can sometimes push their message. OH THE HORRORS!

    Just say you don’t like the pick, man.

    I don’t like 5 years of incompetent work with draft picks.

    And I especially don’t like the philosophy that every pick and trade reveals: “we don’t expect to be able to succeed making this selection, so we’re either going to trade it for lesser value or minimize the cap consequence of our incompetence.”

    If Leon can’t corral a bigger outlet than Strickland to publish his puff pieces, we should probably fire him on those grounds

    1

    Masai really dropped the ball. It turns out GMing is much harder when not trading with the Knicks or having the Spurs gift you the best player in the association.

    CAA has major clients at national media outlets, Leon is not planting stories in the fucking Strickland. Come on man. He’s getting Ramona Shelbourne to put his Thibs firing spin on the front of ESPN, not some obscure blog nobody reads

    If Leon can’t corral a bigger outlet than Strickland to publish his puff pieces, we should probably fire him on those grounds

    Oh he’s put his stuff on ESPN, too. He’s been very busy this summer. That’s what happens when people begin to see your incompetence. You gotta spin, spin, spin. Flood the airwaves with PR. Don’t want them talking about how embarrassing your coaching search has been or about the bind you find yourself in now after you panic traded the whole farm last summer for the wrong guys.

    I just don’t see this level of draft incompetence that you see.

    IQ, Grimes, McBride, Huk l, Sims and Kolek were all decent to good picks for where they were picked.

    Obi was a clear whiff. Then he punted a few picks/kicked them down the road to make space for Brunson and IHart.

    The Mikal trade, IMO, isn’t really indicative to draft incompetence. Everyone knew the plan was to go “all in” on a trade with our surplus of picks to get a great player. It’s just that Leon miscalculated on the player. Though Mikal could still surprise us this season.

    2

    Hubie, please don’t leave your tin foil hat on all summer, especially if you’re going to be in Florida. We’re going to have some very hot days coming up, and it will dehydrate you very quickly.

    I just don’t see this level of draft incompetence that you see.

    And I like that about you. Genuinely. I wish I could look at our draft picks and see genuine attempts of a good process to find players that could play for the Knicks.

    Leon planting astroturfed puff pieces in The Strickland but not Knicks Film School is so interesting. I didn’t know you could take sides in the Knicks fan media ecosystem.

    Leon if you’re reading this I will run interference for Mohamed Diawara on here in exchange for future input on draft picks.

    I understand why some people don’t think Thibs should have been fired, but I don’t get all the criticism related to how the Knicks are handling it.

    When were they supposed to do it?

    They watched the season.

    They watched the playoffs.

    They interviewed the key players.

    The decision was made quickly.

    Even if they were leaning in that direction for 2-3 months as the offense sputtered, they weren’t going to fire him mid season. They also couldn’t exactly start interviewing candidates until they made the final decision.

    This idea that they needed a plan is silly beyond having a list of other very qualified people they would want to interview.

    The Knicks job is one of the best in the NBA. It’s a major city. The new coach is going to get paid well and it comes with an already made contender that only needs some minor work. A lot of excellent coaches want that job. What they have to do is pick the right one and imo that’s Taylor Jenkins.

    Though Mikal could still surprise us this season.

    He would definitely surprise some people if he was traded to a team that used him correctly on both sides and limited his minutes.

    Hubie, please don’t leave your tin foil hat on all summer, especially if you’re going to be in Florida. We’re going to have some very hot days coming up, and it will dehydrate you very quickly.

    Nah…. a tin foil hat is very useful in South Florida as it reflects the Sun’s rays and keeps you cool while also giving you direct connections to “The Mystic Barber” and his friends….

    I don’t get all the criticism related to how the Knicks are handling it.

    When were they supposed to do it?

    They watched the season.

    They watched the playoffs.

    They interviewed the key players.

    The decision was made quickly.

    The biggest flaw in the process was conducting the exit interviews within a day of the season ending. They should have waited 1-2 weeks for emotions to settle. That also would have given them time to discreetly survey the job market.

    But as I’ve said before: what did Thibs do wrong this year that he didn’t do wrong last year? Nothing.

    So how does the same level of performance end up with a contract extension one year and a termination notice the next?

    knicksfeed

    BREAKING: Knicks have signed former G-League Ignite product Dink Pate to an Exhibit 10 contract as an undrafted free agent.

    NEWS: Mexico City Capitanes guard Dink Pate has agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks, a source told ESPN.The 19-year-old former G League Ignite product has significant long-term upside to grow into at 6-foot-7. pic.twitter.com/uSJnm6di7u— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 27, 2025

    Pate was a 5-star recruit and kinda, sorta held his own as an 18 year-old in the G League, though not nearly to the extent that would make you think he has a substantial NBA future (hence him going undrafted).

    Still, if we took him at #51 I would’ve been satisfied with the upside play. He’s 6’6″ with a 6’10” wingspan and unlike Diawara there are some intriguing numbers (e.g. 37.5% on catch-and-shoot 3s).

    The most likely outcome is he amounts to nothing, but there’s a good chance he snags us another dunk content championship.

    why is that if some of you would have been happy taking pate at 51 why not happy that you got both pate and diawara with the same singular pick

    I know it’s killing Doogie to not be able to call me out for that “dunk content” blunder, it’s a bad one! Not necessarily clear what I meant. For the record I was going for “dunk contest.”

    and by the way calling diawara diarrhea is totally infantile not to mention just plain mean what did he ever do to you he is just a young man trying to find a way to make a living playing basketball

    1

    Hubert, I’m going to pretend you ask your Thibs question sincerely and without agenda, which I know is foolish and naive on my part, but what the hell it’s better than my current task at hand.

    Last year (year before) one could argue that the Knicks exceeded expectations, especially with all the injuries. Coaches tend to get credit for exceeding expectations, and the team doing so masked a lot of irksome qualities that Thibs has (while he clearly pushed a bunch of buttons correctly).

    This year, Thibs failed so solve the riddle of having, on paper at least, an even better squad, and in fact things fell apart and he never made any useful adjustments (until well into the playoffs). We went a bit further, all the way to the ‘second tier’ of being one of the last four professional NBA teams standing in the playoffs (pretty excellent second tier, don’t you think?), but it almost felt like the team did it despite the coach, and there were grumblings of losing the lockerroom.

    So yeah, he was pretty close to exactly the same coach both years, but this past year we desperately needed something different, and we didn’t get it.

    2

    The most likely outcome is he amounts to nothing, but there’s a good chance he snags us another dunk content championship.

    He only jumped 24 1/2 inches from a standstill at the combine and a 32.5 inch max vertical.

    The combine isn’t as illustrative as in-game performance, but those aren’t great numbers.

    Welp..I’m kinda expecting a big move after drafting a stash player..again.

    Panic signing Dink Pate is another classic Leon blunder

    Look, I thought we had a deal:

    You guys let me lose my shit every year after the draft like I’m BBA in a game thread after the Knicks’ give up a 9-2 run…

    And I don’t remind you every day that trading the opportunity to draft Jalen Johnson for a future 2nd round pick* was one of the dumbest and most consequential mistakes any Knicks GM has ever made.

    * it just officially became a 2nd

    1

    I’m just mad that Dink Pate isn’t a skinny, clumsy 7’1″ center.

    Or the ultimate yuppie spread.

    1

    Here are the notable names picked 50 or later from the last 10 drafts.

    2024: Quinten Post

    2023: Jalen Wilson, Toumani Camara

    2022: Jabari Walker?

    2021: Aaron Wiggins

    2020: Paul Reed

    2019: Jalen McDaniels?

    2018: OAKAAK Shake Milton

    2017: Monte Morris

    2016: Georges Niang

    2015: Branden Dawson, the only player in the last 12 picks in that draft to play even a single minute in the NBA; he played 29.

    Here’s how many players are out of the league since being drafted.

    2024: 8/9 (Phoenix and Philly forfeited picks this year)

    2023: 6/9 (Chicago and Philly forfeited picks this year)

    2022: 6/9 (Miami and Milwaukee forfeited picks this year)

    2021: 5/11

    2020: 8/11

    2019: 10/11

    2018: 10/11

    2017: 10/11

    2016: 10/11

    2015: 11/11 and, like I said above, only one player in the bottom 11 picks ever even played in the NBA.

    By my count, that’s 8 players out of 104 selected in the last 10 years who’ve had any sort of impact in the NBA and that’s being really loose with the definition of impact. On the other hand, 84/104 are no longer in the league. So, what the fuck are we talking about again?

    2024: 8/9 (Phoenix and Philly forfeited picks this year)

    We had two last 5 guys in that draft and they’re both in the NBA, or are we not counting 2-ways? But Huk is on a big league deal.

    Also Bronny

    Dudes, we signed Dink Pate?

    Hell yeah! I don’t know anything about him other than that his name is Dink Pate and I’m totally pumped. That’s an 80 grade name

    1

    Sorry but Immanuel Quickley is one of the coolest names for a basketball player ever.

    So how does the same level of performance end up with a contract extension one year and a termination notice the next?

    It wasn’t the level of performance that got him fired. It was the poor fit with the personnel, namely KAT, that got him fired. Easier to change the coach than the players.

    We had a more Thibs-friendly roster the year before. With this roster, he was a poor fit. Can’t play drop coverage most of the time with KAT, it just doesn’t work. Rock/hard place and all that.

    1

    I plugged Dink Pate into the anagram solver and all I came up with was:

    taped ink
    kinda pet
    adept kin

    Nothing too interesting, unless he has a relative who hoops

    So how does the same level of performance end up with a contract extension one year and a termination notice the next?

    If your department’s budget doubled in one year but you came back with only marginal improvements, you, too, could get fired. Especially if management had very specific things they wanted you to work on and you ignored it and your co-workers reported that they found it frustrating to work with you.

    It wasn’t the level of performance that got him fired. It was the poor fit with the personnel, namely KAT, that got him fired. Easier to change the coach than the players.

    We had a more Thibs-friendly roster the year before. With this roster, he was a poor fit. Can’t play drop coverage most of the time with KAT, it just doesn’t work. Rock/hard place and all that.

    Then we should have done what Denver did. It’s not like we needed the Pacers series to learn this.

    I’m sorry, did the anagram finder miss “Pink Date” and “Naked Pit”?

    Sup wit yall folk…

    I was about to come on here and needle Hubie for his shit-stirring but he just admitted to the bit 🤣. Carry on with the “doom and gloom”.

    I’m in the process on moving from LA into the IE, just inside San Bernardino County. Nice size single-story house, large, enclosed backyard for my lil man that we don’t have to share with anyone. Multiple bathrooms (omg I can’t even begin to tell you what a gamechanger THAT is with two adult women in the house). Better schools, a LOT closer to family that have asked to be more active in my son’s caretaking (15 min away from his godmother and grandmother, 45 min from his godfather). I’m nervous about his starting a new daycare next week because we’re totally going to have to change and tighten up our morning routine with him. But it’s a Montessouri daycare and has a school-like structure, which will be a good way for him to transition into eventual pre-K (or whatever letter-K they call it now). We’ll finally be closer to better quality food spots and supermarkets. Just gotta get through this move…

    If your department’s budget doubled in one year but you came back with only marginal improvements, you, too, could get fired.

    Yes, Swifty! Yes!!

    You’ the logic. Now think it through.

    Who do you fire if you spend a fortune and don’t see improvement? The guy who blew the fortune.

    Especially if it’s the second time he’s done it. (The first was in 2021.)

    if you are in sb county and you do not hang out with geo there is something very wrong

    1

    Who do you fire if you spend a fortune and don’t see improvement? The guy who blew the fortune.

    Not necessarily. The Board won’t fire a CEO just because they hired a CFO that did a pretty good job but then hit a wall and stop getting better or getting better results. They would let the CEO fire the CFO first.

    Now if the CEO then hires ANOTHER CFO who does just as poor of a job, the board might then fire the CEO.

    “The biggest flaw in the process was conducting the exit interviews within a day of the season ending. They should have waited 1-2 weeks for emotions to settle. That also would have given them time to discreetly survey the job market.”

    “Then we should have done what Denver did. It’s not like we needed the Pacers series to learn this.”

    So we fired Thibs too early…no wait…too late.

    None of those things are relevant, because Leon wasn’t the one that fired Thibs. It wasn’t a decision premised on basketball rationality.

    As to Masai Ujiri, he over-relied and was let down by the nucleus of OG, Siakim, FVV, and Barnes. To a degree, Barnes was his pet project — and was drafted in large measure because the defense tanked after Gasol left — and while he’s shown signs, he wasn’t and isn’t all that.

    Most likely, OG’s constant whining about his offensive role, which he carried over to NYK, was a factor as was his overall defense, which really in no sense measures up to his superficial ability to occasionally guard a man and area well. Modern rotational and screen-roll defense is far more complicated than that narrow niche.

    Like NYK (so far), TO wasn’t really able to build a strong defense around OG. If you’re objective about things, you look to OG. If you aren’t, you hold to the notion that OG has been failed and let down by like ten very significant and accomplished NBA players by this point.

    Plus there’s a new non-basketball guy in TO at the corporate ownership level, who chatter holds never really took a shine to Masai. Looks like the rest of Masai’s FO will continue intact.

    So we fired Thibs too early…no wait…too late.

    For the record I do think we fired him too late. I wanted to fire him after he got his pants pulled down in the Heat series in ‘23, and I maintain that was the correct time.

    But that has nothing to do with the stupidity of conducting exit interviews when emotions are at their highest. You conduct postmortems after things have settled bc most of the information you get when emotions are raw is useless. But I wouldn’t expect a poorly run organization to know that.

    It takes leven less than an opponent’s 9-2 run to get me going during game threads…

    Masai was fired because of OG Anunoby’s shortcomings a year and a half after OG was traded for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

    Weird, because you would think that trading a shitty player like OG Anunoby for two dynamic and awesomely skilled players like RJ and IQ might bode well for your long term employment. But no, apparently! Even a masterstroke trade such as that one wasn’t enough to overcome OG Anunoby destroying the hopes of the Toronto basketball franchise forever.

    1

    That’s the most bonkers E post of all time

    I’m trying to help you guys build up natural immunity and antibodies, because it should be clear by now that I’m not buying the “eye test” re OG, in light of the years of contrary evidence (and to a degree my own eyes).

    I would note here that there are roughly 100 defensive possessions in an NBA game. “Wrecking” one or two, even assuming that happens,” is a miniscule thing in context.

    Honestly, it’s a bit surprising that they haven’t yet built up. Still hoping!

    In terms of the broader TO questions, there’s no doubt that nucleus underachieved and no doubt it helped usher Masai out the door. Plus he was too committed to the idea of Barnes. Again, he was likely shocked by the defense’s decline just because of the loss of an aging Marc Gasol — and drafted accordingly.

    Masai was fired because of OG Anunoby’s shortcomings

    The underachievement of that nucleus was by far the biggest factor in his firing. It wasn’t going to be fixed in a year, so that couldn’t have been why he was fired.

    If the idea is that OG has no shortcomings, I mean that doesn’t even pass the laugh test and is more “bonkers” than the most “bonkers” thing I’ve ever thought or written.

    Were RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley part of the underachievement of that nucleus or no? Just the guy who was traded away a year and a half prior and whatever other players fit your whackadoodle narrative, right?

    Were RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley part of the underachievement of that nucleus or no?

    They weren’t part of it. They were part of the effort to retool and rebuild from it. (*)

    The underachieving nucleus — and they were that, beyond question — was OG, FVV, Siakam, and Barnes.

    (*) Had Ujiri not gotten more than fire sale retail prices for OG, the effort would be even further behind.

    OG sucks, which is why Masai Ujiri lost his job for trading OG for a real stud like RJ Barrett.

    It takes a powerful mind to comprehend this and it’s not surprising only E truly gets it.

    They weren’t part of it. They were part of the effort to retool and rebuild from it.

    I thought the OG Anunoby trade was an unmitigated steal for the Toronto Raptors according to you. Masai converted stinky smelly old OG Anunoby into two basketball gods.

    Not enough to save his job though, I guess. Maybe, juuuuuust maybe, it was the fact that RJ and IQ really aren’t worth a quarter of a billion dollars of combined contracts that was seen as a problem by the owners in Toronto. Maybe Masai’s superiors saw that as a poor investment.

    Just spitballing here

    It takes leven less than an opponent’s 9-2 run to get me going during game threads…

    And that’s ok, Al. All I want is the same freedom! No one tries to reason with you in a game thread. When I’m on a Leon bender, just let me cook.

    I’m triggered bc every draft is the anniversary of Leon making an unspeakably stupid decision that probably cost us a championship. In fact he’s done it so many times that it’s actually the three-year, four-year, and five-year anniversary of it!

    Of course the 50th pick doesn’t matter. But for fucks sake could you please just watch ESPN and pick the highest ranked player for once? Please! You’re not good at this. Following that very simple process would have netted us Tyrese Halliburton, Desmond Bane, Jalen Johnson, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski. You took the 81st guy in a 60 player draft so Pacaome Dadiet could have someone to talk French with this summer!!! Come on!! I can’t deal with this guy any more.

    The biggest flaw in the process was conducting the exit interviews within a day of the season ending. They should have waited 1-2 weeks for emotions to settle. That also would have given them time to discreetly survey the job market.

    That’s a reasonable request.

    The only counter is that free agency is coming up and they probably were hoping to get this wrapped up before they make any deals.

    But as I’ve said before: what did Thibs do wrong this year that he didn’t do wrong last year? Nothing.

    I think his failure to use Towns and Towns/Brunson together in the 2nd half of the season and playoffs hurt him a lot as did Mikal probably complaining about minutes and how he and OG were used.

    He traded Jalen Williams for $9 million in cap space. Put Jalen Williams on this team on draft night 2022, make the KAT trade, and there’s a ticker tape parade down Broadway this week.

    With five more ones still in the hopper.

    I learned this from the RAB days and I always thought it applied to this blog too, just like going to Vegas whatever is said in game threads stays in game threads.

    Hijacking regular daily threads though with the same tired comments over and over again day after day is a different matter…

    calling diawara diarrhea is totally infantile not to mention just plain mean

    Sorry, man. But I did give you guys six straight weeks of top-level free content here that I am hoping Mike K will aggregate and submit to the Pulitzer Board in time for awards season, so forgive me for the occasional infantile late-night off-season free content.

    Hijacking regular daily threads though with the same tired comments over and over again day after day is a different matter…

    OG Anunoby is the best defensive wing in NBA history, and Leon Rose is second only to Red Auerbach as an NBA personnel executive.

    That work?

    NBA teams always do exit interviews immediately after their season ends. Players have no incentive to stick around after their last game and aren’t going to pause their vacation for a fucking exit interview.

    They weren’t really “exit interviews,” anyway.

    James Dolan has been biding his time for 5 years. Just holding his breath, unable to contain himself…”I’ll just wait till we make the Eastern Conference Finals, then I’ll come back with a vengence and destroy everything! BWAH BWAH BWAH BWAH!!!!”

    Hey, guys, come to MSG in 2 weeks so we can talk about Thibs.

    Um, I’ll be in the Bahamas. Thanks, no thanks. This is my time off.

    He traded Jalen Williams for $9 million in cap space.

    He didn’t. The Knicks traded Ousmane Dieng to OKC.

    But yes, it would obviously be better if we had a GM with perfect foresight running the team and he made the best draft pick available every time.

    This OG blame is getting more belly laughs out of me than Rodney at his peak on the Tonight Show. 😉

    But yes, it would obviously be better if we had a GM with perfect foresight running the team and he made the best draft pick available every time.

    He traded out of the lottery for $9 million in cap space. No matter how it’s sliced or shilled for, that was dumb af.

    Since the move was already predetermined, jury’s still out on whether he even knew who Jalen Williams was. Probably not.

    would really like to have a coach in place before free agency officially begins late monday anyone think it has a chance of happening tor

    It would be interesting to know if the Knicks had taken the consensus big board best player available at 11 (which was not Ousmane or J-Will) what OKC would have done.

    if you are in sb county and you do not hang out with geo there is something very wrong

    Haha geo, I didn’t forget. Let me circle back once we’re all settled in.

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