Knicks · Early end of season assessment of our Knicks (page 1)

Coach Kurt Rambis

Starting 5:
Pf: Kristaps Porzingis
Sf: Carmelo Anthony
C : Robin Lopez
Pg:
Sg:

Bench:
1: Langston Galloway
2: Cleananthony Early
3: Jose Calderón
4: Sasha Vujacic
5: Kyle O'Quinn
6: Jerian Grant
7:

Ir:
1: Lance Thomas
2: Tony Wroten
3:

We have to expect Derrick Williams and Afflalo do not opt in to their contacts. Neither seem to be in the plans of what we are ultimately trying to do.

We will not waive or buyout Calderón. As a back up he will be a vital asset to organize the second unit and provide leadership on and off the court. Lance and Sasha well provide more of the same in a bench role.

Cleananthony will be expected to contribute as a backup swingman. Jerian Grant as well. Both players should be able to out play Calderón and Lance Thomas at this stage of their careers.

Galloway is on the bubble. He's an extra in the grand scheme of things. Especially if the Knicks sign upgrades at the guard spot.

Kyle O'Quinn is basically untradeable. He's the back up 5 by default. He can contribute or really stink from play to play.

Tony Wroten is our wild card. He will be signed eventually. He had the talent to outright own the starting point guard spot. He also could simply disappear into obscurity. We need a positive outcome with this kid because we're not going to be able to upgrade any other way.

I personally have targeted 5 players to upgrade our shooting guard spot. The wet dream would be Derozen. Nicholas Batum would be great for us too. Then there's Fournier bUT he's restricted... I also really like Eric Gordon and Marcus Thornton. Both guys will come at a bargain bringing consistent shooting and driving ability to the position. With 18-32 million to spend, we have a great shot at least 1of the 4. Truthfully that is the only position we can't upgrade in house.

Hernangomez is coming over next year. We still have Louis Labeyrie's rights too. Our dleague is stacked as well with Trice, Jimmer, Darian Atkins, Thanasis and JORDAN BACHYNSKI.

I'm also a believer in Kurt Rambis. I think he's been doing great as coach. We've been seeing professional substitutions and adjustments. He's defensive oriented and he's holding guys accountable as far as working hard on both ends. That's what we all want in a coach.

I'm just glad the Jimmer's not on any one of your lists...

our wild card is wroten. we're fuhucked.

no DWill?

fishmike wrote:no DWill?

why is it I think this guys got great talent/athleticism, things we need, and yet, to me, our team hasn't gotten the most out of him?

We need better perimeter defense to go with our tall and long front court. As well as a playmaker/consistent scorer. Jose and Affalo are shooters off the bench.

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:no DWill?

why is it I think this guys got great talent/athleticism, things we need, and yet, to me, our team hasn't gotten the most out of him?

guard play. Our guards don't create anything. DWill is a very good finisher and pretty solid albeit streaky shooter. I would think he would benefit from improved guard play. Our guards this year created nothing. Its cute that Melo leads the team in both assists/game and total assists on the season but that's really really a telling stat on how bad our guard play has been

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:no DWill?

why is it I think this guys got great talent/athleticism, things we need, and yet, to me, our team hasn't gotten the most out of him?

Because he's still the same inconsistent player he was before we got him. When he shows up to the game ready to give all of his effort he's a good show to watch but he doesn't always show up with all his effort which is the same way he was before we got him. He would have good games with all the highlight dunks with the other teams he played on as well but he would also have the games where he doesn't do much of anything. Now i will say that it seems like we do get more of the good DWill then the other teams would get but he's still only gonna give us showtime dunks with his great athleticism and getting to the basket and foul line which is all good but his outside shot is horrible and his defense is horrible. I wouldn't mind having him back but he isn't worth more than the $5 mil he's getting now.

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:no DWill?

why is it I think this guys got great talent/athleticism, things we need, and yet, to me, our team hasn't gotten the most out of him?

guard play. Our guards don't create anything. DWill is a very good finisher and pretty solid albeit streaky shooter. I would think he would benefit from improved guard play. Our guards this year created nothing. Its cute that Melo leads the team in both assists/game and total assists on the season but that's really really a telling stat on how bad our guard play has been

His FG% in in the low 40's and his 3 point% is in the 20's......he's not a good shooter but if we had a point guard that could get him the ball he would be much more of a help in fast breaks and much more help overall. There's been a couple of games lately that Jose was making some good ally oop passes to him that make me ask why they don't do it more and shows how much better he'll be with a better PG. A better PG is gonna help this team in so many ways.

Im ok with Rambis. Should Phil interview others to make Melo happy?
Is Melo just setting the table to request a trade? Is this part of his branding maintenance that he look like he is in control?
For all we know Knicks might be the ones that want to trade him but Melo holds the keys to how he leaves.
I think its all been prenegotiated for some time if a trade goes down and how it would look. Im good either way.
Rambis might be a puppet of Phil, but for now that's ok. PHil wants more involvement with the team Rambis is a good pick if he can't get Luke Walton.
If Rambis has worked with KP and Rolo most of the year he has done some fine work.

As for the back court, that's another chapter that need to be written.

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:no DWill?

why is it I think this guys got great talent/athleticism, things we need, and yet, to me, our team hasn't gotten the most out of him?

guard play. Our guards don't create anything. DWill is a very good finisher and pretty solid albeit streaky shooter. I would think he would benefit from improved guard play. Our guards this year created nothing. Its cute that Melo leads the team in both assists/game and total assists on the season but that's really really a telling stat on how bad our guard play has been

If we had better guards, everyone would be better. The Knicks can't make D Will or Afflalo leave. I just think D Will and Afflalo will look to find a place where they can start and get more minutes. Also its about that money. If they both wanted longer contacts from the Knicks that ain't happening.

mreinman wrote:our wild card is wroten. we're fuhucked.

Not fucked. Wroten averaged 16/5/5 before he tore his acl. Guys want to throw money at Brandon Jennings but he's looks slow coming off his achilles injury. His shooting percentage and turnovers are almost as bad as Wroten.

Conley is just not worth throwing max money at. Rondo is too crazy for us. Jeremy Lin would just be awkward. Not much else going on. We're not going to make a trade. That's just a fact of life. Nobody is gong to help Phil succeed.

If Wroten can get to the basket 10 times a game like his stats say and drop close to 16/5/5, I'd say that we certainly won't be fucked. We're fucked if the Knicks determines he's not healthy enough to play.

jrodmc wrote:I'm just glad the Jimmer's not on any one of your lists...

I actually did mention Jimmer as part of our dleague prospects. He still has a chance to contribute. He knows what the Knicks need from him to stock on the roster. He has the inside track. Between summer league and training call you never know if he might pop up again.

Starting 5 of:

Kristaps
Melo
Rolo
Wroten
Eric Gordon/Thorton/Fournier

9 man rotation:
Grant
Galloway/Sasha
O'Quinn
CCleananthony

if they all improve and live up to potential. They should win. If the Knicks maintain cap flexibility, 2017 is going to be the big year to attract and secure a big free agent.

Knicks are going to max out a 2guard... Batum or Derozan, than hope to get a defender Ron Harper type to play PG. Hard to envision anything else.

fishmike wrote:Knicks are going to max out a 2guard... Batum or Derozan, than hope to get a defender Ron Harper type to play PG. Hard to envision anything else.

I hope so. I also hope Wroten can be that point guard.

I think Derozen likes playing with Lowry. He's the man in Toronto on a good team that can get better if they make the right move. Our only shining light would be we can get him more exposure by leaps and bounds. He would be our Kobe. The way he's been scoring this season he would be a close imitation.

Batum might be interested because he's European. We play system basketball and that might attract him. Then there's the dream alot of Europeans have to play in ny in msg. Playing under Phil Jackson. Then again he seems to enjoy Charlotte. Country life. College town. Easy living.

EnySpree wrote:Starting 5 of:

Kristaps
Melo
Rolo
Wroten
Eric Gordon/Thorton/Fournier

9 man rotation:
Grant
Galloway/Sasha
O'Quinn
CCleananthony

if they all improve and live up to potential. They should win. If the Knicks maintain cap flexibility, 2017 is going to be the big year to attract and secure a big free agent.

When really looking at the options to improve the team it's clear that there is no quick fix situation this summer. We can make some improvements for sure but this could be another gradual improvement summer.

The guard crop this summer isn't terrible. What about the idea of P.J. Hairston?

PLAYER (56)       POS.  AGE     YOE     FROM    TO      2015 CAP HIT  STATUS
Bradley Beal	  SG	22	3	WAS	TBD	$5,694,674	RFA
Sergey Karasev	  SG	22	2	BKN	TBD	$1,599,840	RFA
Tyler Johnson	  SG	22	1	MIA	TBD	$845,059	RFA
Tony Wroten Jr.	  SG	22	3	PHI	TBD	-	        UFA
Evan Fournier	  SG	23	3	ORL	TBD	$2,288,204	RFA
P.J. Hairston	  SG	23	1	MEM	TBD	$1,201,440	UFA
Jordan Clarkson	  PG	23	1	LAL	TBD	$845,059	RFA
Dion Waiters	  SG	24	3	OKC	TBD	$5,138,430	RFA
Ian Clark	  SG	24	2	GSW	TBD	$947,276	RFA
Troy Daniels	  SG	24	2	CHA	TBD	$947,276	RFA
Isaiah Canaan	  PG	24	2	PHI	TBD	$947,276	RFA
Markel Brown	  SG	24	1	BKN	TBD	$845,059	RFA
Langston Galloway PG	24	1	NYK	TBD	$845,059	RFA
Brandon Jennings  PG	26	6	ORL	TBD	$8,344,497	UFA
Kent Bazemore	  SG	26	3	ATL	TBD	$2,000,000	UFA
Eric Gordon	  SG	27	7	NOP	TBD	$15,514,031	UFA
Norris Cole	  PG	27	4	NOP	TBD	$3,036,927	UFA
Jerryd Bayless	  PG	27	7	MIL	TBD	$3,000,000	UFA
E'Twaun Moore	  SG	27	4	CHI	TBD	$1,015,421	UFA
Ishmael Smith	  PG	27	5	PHI	TBD	$947,276	UFA
Jorge Gutierrez	  PG	27	2	CHA	TBD	$189,455	RFA
Mike Conley	  PG	28	8	MEM	TBD	$9,588,426	UFA

For me one of the biggest improvements that can be made is probably a defensive one. The big thing about Wroten isn't so much his offensive impact even tho I think he will help, but his defensive impact. Wroten is better than any of our current guards defensively. I think he can get even better with the right coaching.

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:no DWill?

why is it I think this guys got great talent/athleticism, things we need, and yet, to me, our team hasn't gotten the most out of him?

guard play. Our guards don't create anything. DWill is a very good finisher and pretty solid albeit streaky shooter. I would think he would benefit from improved guard play. Our guards this year created nothing. Its cute that Melo leads the team in both assists/game and total assists on the season but that's really really a telling stat on how bad our guard play has been

But it's also the story of DWill's career. He's left people frustrated by the potential he flashes but can't consistently harness wherever he goes.

fishmike wrote:Knicks are going to max out a 2guard... Batum or Derozan, than hope to get a defender Ron Harper type to play PG. Hard to envision anything else.

Phil may need to actually coach the homes games next yr and convince Derozan that he could be Jordan, Kobe in the tri and sign with us. Hopefully Toronto has an ugly playoff exit.

Looking at Free Agents are great and the list is small and restrictive. SO, I think when playing "GM" you also need to look at possible trades that would be available. You must also look at the payers who were recently releases and signed to one year deals too:

Lawson
Johnson
Martin
Stephenson

Some guards on the trade block maybe:

Collinson
McLemore
Oladipo
Watson
Lou Williams
Danny Green

There maybe another guard who will become a free agent, Shaun Livingston, but that is only if he is cut by GSW to free up space. His deal is only partially guaranteed.

Delladova is another cheap option FA.

EnySpree wrote:Starting 5 of:

Kristaps
Melo
Rolo
Wroten
Eric Gordon/Thorton/Fournier

9 man rotation:
Grant
Galloway/Sasha
O'Quinn
CCleananthony

if they all improve and live up to potential. They should win. If the Knicks maintain cap flexibility, 2017 is going to be the big year to attract and secure a big free agent.

If that is our roster, why do I think we'll be staring at another lost season? An older Melo is just as likely next year to tweak an ankle/knee as he was this season. 35 wins- lousy draft pick and a another off season of disappointment to look forward to - especially as I bet Dolan is impatient and forces PJ out. Isiah 2.0!