I am really impressed with the play of this rookie, a second rounder who is genuinely showing flashes of being a great player. We saw him against the Magic extend his range and it paid off, he was on fire. He is agile, sets good screens, has great touch and is worthy of some of the Gasol comparisons. If you run Kp with Willy for the future frontcourt you have a nice inside outside game, with either one of them able to play either role. Willy with his J if you want Kristaps' height down low for turnaround shots and hooks etc. Or you go for the more apparent option and have Kristaps knocking down the J's with Willy backin down on the inside. He should not be a trade piece either moving forward, this will be great for keeping Kristaps here when contracts expire just to play with his friend. The three way C combo of Noah, Koq and Willy continue to perform.
Willy is untradable... he reminds me of Kevin McHale, chris gatling... just a man that seems like he has a million moves. Excellent footwork and offensive awareness. He's just got to continue to get better and judging by the 3 point shot, he is. Glad to have him.
his contract is incredible. We have him 3 more years for about $1.5mm a year. Incredible asset.
Love him. Love his game. Old school game with old school effort.
They definitely look like the front court of the future. Willy is showing stretch 4 potential. They both compete and they are friends off the court which increases chemistry. I love this tandem and believe they have the potential to lead us great places.
I hated the way too early M.Gasol comparisons just because of the fact that people were comparing a rookie (for the NBA anyway) to one of the best big men in the game but the more he plays the more i see M.Gasol in him.
completely agree. I said on draft night the fact that we were getting him softened the blow of not having a 1st... but he's even exceeded my expectations. He's a keeper.
fishmike wrote:his contract is incredible. We have him 3 more years for about $1.5mm a year. Incredible asset. Love him. Love his game. Old school game with old school effort.
Yeah, he really needs to fire his agent though!
You could see the talent very early on. He looked really good in Olympic play against some NBA level Centers. He's just got a lot to learn about the NBA but the talent is there. Perhaps more people will have respect for our scouts who have been doing a very good job despite not having a lot to work with in terms of picks.
I hope Willy keeps shooting cuz he looks more and more confident. If he can get that part of his game going to pair with his post play and passing, then he's gonna be a very good player.
I love seeing him play and I want to see him and KP become or starting front court for years to come. But if at any point Phil leaves, Willy will be on the next plane out to complete yet another dumb starfukk. At the end of the day we are the Knicks, still Dolan's team.
meloshouldgo wrote:I love seeing him play and I want to see him and KP become or starting front court for years to come. But if at any point Phil leaves, Willy will be on the next plane out to complete yet another dumb starfukk. At the end of the day we are the Knicks, still Dolan's team.
I actually don't think we have to worry about that!!! Phil isn't doing this alone. The staff has a very big role in what this team looks like. When it comes to the raw talent Phil is not a scout and he has stated he relies on his staff to judge that talent. The guys under him that are learning from him but also have good ideas of their own will be able to keep this going IMO.
I like the job Jeff is doing with him. I know sometimes its thought rookies are "held back" but the fact is they "growing into" the position more often that not. The NBA is so much faster and powerful than the spanish league.
Regarding Marc Gasol, it took a few years for him to really emerge as well. Its also important to not over play these young men as they can break down. Pau had a different body type than Marc and was more wiry, like KP is. Bottom line is the kid has NBA talent and could really help us in the future!
Willy looks like he is going to become the kind of player that gets under the skin of the other team, which is good. I like that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical aspect of the NBA game. Still getting used to the speed, but Willy looks like he will at least be a quality role player, if not a starter down the road.
Would still like to add another big. KOQ has been a pleasant surprise, but he is undersized. In playoff runs, the Knicks need more height off the bench to compete with the benches of elite teams IMO.
GustavBahler wrote:Willy looks like he is going to become the kind of player that gets under the skin of the other team, which is good. I like that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical aspect of the NBA game. Still getting used to the speed, but Willy looks like he will at least be a quality role player, if not a starter down the road. Would still like to add another big. KOQ has been a pleasant surprise, but he is undersized. In playoff runs, the Knicks need more height off the bench to compete with the benches of elite teams IMO.
I think we already have enough if you dress Plumlee. He's more than physical enough for the job.
nixluva wrote:GustavBahler wrote:Willy looks like he is going to become the kind of player that gets under the skin of the other team, which is good. I like that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical aspect of the NBA game. Still getting used to the speed, but Willy looks like he will at least be a quality role player, if not a starter down the road. Would still like to add another big. KOQ has been a pleasant surprise, but he is undersized. In playoff runs, the Knicks need more height off the bench to compete with the benches of elite teams IMO.
I think we already have enough if you dress Plumlee. He's more than physical enough for the job.
I was thinking of a more proven player, someone with playoff experience. We have a lot of young players on this team, which is great, but Noah is the only big with playoff experience that I can think of.
GustavBahler wrote:nixluva wrote:GustavBahler wrote:Willy looks like he is going to become the kind of player that gets under the skin of the other team, which is good. I like that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical aspect of the NBA game. Still getting used to the speed, but Willy looks like he will at least be a quality role player, if not a starter down the road. Would still like to add another big. KOQ has been a pleasant surprise, but he is undersized. In playoff runs, the Knicks need more height off the bench to compete with the benches of elite teams IMO.
I think we already have enough if you dress Plumlee. He's more than physical enough for the job.
I was thinking of a more proven player, someone with playoff experience. We have a lot of young players on this team, which is great, but Noah is the only big with playoff experience that I can think of.
Between KP, Noah, Willy, and KOQ, we barely have enough time for them as it is. Would be tough to add another big man to the mix. We need to keep developing these guys, Noah provides all of the leadership up front we need. KOQ brings plenty of toughness too. KP and Willy will continue to grow. We shouldn't make any changes up front for a long time.
Knixkik wrote:GustavBahler wrote:nixluva wrote:GustavBahler wrote:Willy looks like he is going to become the kind of player that gets under the skin of the other team, which is good. I like that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical aspect of the NBA game. Still getting used to the speed, but Willy looks like he will at least be a quality role player, if not a starter down the road. Would still like to add another big. KOQ has been a pleasant surprise, but he is undersized. In playoff runs, the Knicks need more height off the bench to compete with the benches of elite teams IMO.
I think we already have enough if you dress Plumlee. He's more than physical enough for the job.
I was thinking of a more proven player, someone with playoff experience. We have a lot of young players on this team, which is great, but Noah is the only big with playoff experience that I can think of.
Between KP, Noah, Willy, and KOQ, we barely have enough time for them as it is. Would be tough to add another big man to the mix. We need to keep developing these guys, Noah provides all of the leadership up front we need. KOQ brings plenty of toughness too. KP and Willy will continue to grow. We shouldn't make any changes up front for a long time.
I was all for going the development route before Rose, Noah, and Lee, were brought in. These players were added to win now while Melo still can ball.
Players get hurt (Noah, cough, cough) if we're going to make a legit playoff run(s) over the next couple of seasons, we need more experience on the bench. Cant think of anyone right off the bat, but Im sure some players will become available, just cant overpay.
GustavBahler wrote:Knixkik wrote:GustavBahler wrote:nixluva wrote:GustavBahler wrote:Willy looks like he is going to become the kind of player that gets under the skin of the other team, which is good. I like that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical aspect of the NBA game. Still getting used to the speed, but Willy looks like he will at least be a quality role player, if not a starter down the road. Would still like to add another big. KOQ has been a pleasant surprise, but he is undersized. In playoff runs, the Knicks need more height off the bench to compete with the benches of elite teams IMO.
I think we already have enough if you dress Plumlee. He's more than physical enough for the job.
I was thinking of a more proven player, someone with playoff experience. We have a lot of young players on this team, which is great, but Noah is the only big with playoff experience that I can think of.
Between KP, Noah, Willy, and KOQ, we barely have enough time for them as it is. Would be tough to add another big man to the mix. We need to keep developing these guys, Noah provides all of the leadership up front we need. KOQ brings plenty of toughness too. KP and Willy will continue to grow. We shouldn't make any changes up front for a long time.
I was all for going the development route before Rose, Noah, and Lee, were brought in. These players were added to win now while Melo still can ball.
Players get hurt (Noah, cough, cough) if we're going to make a legit playoff run(s) over the next couple of seasons, we need more experience on the bench. Cant think of anyone right off the bat, but Im sure some players will become available, just cant overpay.
We should only need spot minutes and I think by the time the playoffs come around Plumlee may be capable of filling in for spot duty. All he will need to do is be a big body to bang, rebound and defend. I can't imagine that anyone significantly better defensively will be available. The one thing Plumlee can most certainly do is defend and rebound.
fishmike wrote:his contract is incredible. We have him 3 more years for about $1.5mm a year. Incredible asset. Love him. Love his game. Old school game with old school effort.
I know I'm thinking a number of years ahead, but also remember that he and KP are best friends...down the road that might make a difference when we have to resign each of them...might save us some cap space.
GustavBahler wrote:Willy looks like he is going to become the kind of player that gets under the skin of the other team, which is good. I like that he hasn't been intimidated by the physical aspect of the NBA game. Still getting used to the speed, but Willy looks like he will at least be a quality role player, if not a starter down the road. Would still like to add another big. KOQ has been a pleasant surprise, but he is undersized. In playoff runs, the Knicks need more height off the bench to compete with the benches of elite teams IMO.
Having 4 players above 6'10"...5 if you want to add Plumlee, gives us some pretty good size and flexibility.
I'm not going to research it, but I don't think many teams have anything that much better than the group we have, especially when they are all playing well.
WaltLongmire wrote:fishmike wrote:his contract is incredible. We have him 3 more years for about $1.5mm a year. Incredible asset. Love him. Love his game. Old school game with old school effort.
I know I'm thinking a number of years ahead, but also remember that he and KP are best friends...down the road that might make a difference when we have to resign each of them...might save us some cap space.
Yeah, have to think that Willy and KP being so close might have helped the chemistry here. Lots of great competitors who all seem like good dudes - they look like they have the potential to become more than the sum of their parts. I think that, along with drafting KP, have been the two best things Phil has done here. The coach, the roster, all seem to be on the same page and genuinely like one another. That's pretty rare in the NBA these days. Props to Phil on that accomplishment. It was a bit of a bumpy ride to get to this point and there's plenty of uncertainty about Rose and Jennings next summer... but for right now this a nice team. Willy and Kuz were great, affordable bench additions who don't complain if they get 4min or a DNP, but can provide great stretches against the right matchup.
