Knicks · Willy an KP "worth building around" (page 1)

To be clear, Jennings didn't call out Anthony or any specific player. He was speaking in general terms about New York's selfish play. But Jennings was clear about who the Knicks should focus on moving forward - young big men Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez.
"That's who they should build a team around, those two," Jennings said." That's just my personal opinion because they're very young, they're very good. I mean, Willy, in a couple years, he's going to be probably one of the best big men. He reminds me of Marc Gasol."

Again, willy played only 15 games and avg 11 minutes at real madrid last year.
To see his progress this year one can only be excited about his future.
PHil had a nice tandem with Bynum and Pau. A high and low post scenario.
Pop has had nice results with his bigs. Duncan and Robinson, Timmy and Splitter also worked well.
If pop wanted in NYC, would any of you reject Popl because his system is "antiquated"?

Kobe was drafted 13th, so it was not universally accepted he'd be a star. If he was, he needed time.
Jordan was taken 3rd in the draft. It was n0t universally thought that he'd be GOAT at that time.
IN hindsight we know what we know.
We don't know the ceiling of KP, but if anyone is can't handle his uncertainty then I wish you all the best. Part of sports is failing, falling down and making changes. Sometimes its big changes, sometimes they are incremental. Sometimes changes are not "improvement".
Maybe the triangle never works, and maybe KP blows out his knee brushing his teeth on vacation.
Things happen. Sometimes good things too!!!

I don't know about "build around" - but certainly "build with".

We need a dynamic, attacking small/wing player. Hopefully we land them in this draft.

I don't think it's greedy to hope we land the top pick.

Fortune owes Knicks' fans that much and more.

KP is a true building block. Willy is still unknown. We know he is already a good role player, but we will see if he ends up being more than that. Defense with him will be a concern, but he will improve.

franco12 wrote:I don't know about "build around" - but certainly "build with".

We need a dynamic, attacking small/wing player. Hopefully we land them in this draft.

I don't think it's greedy to hope we land the top pick.

Fortune owes Knicks' fans that much and more.

Why? Knick fans would cry about Fultz defense and poor shot selection. Or when Isiah Thomas, Steph Curry and James Harden all light up Fultz we would be getting tons of Brigg's threads saying "Fultz is getting destroyed by NBA competition" or when Fultz shot isnt falling you guys will blame Phil and say "he THOUGHT this guy would be good" or we will see threads of some other rookie with better numbers or threads saying Fultz cant play in the triangle.

Sorry, Knick fans dont deserve anything but a bib and pacifier.

Knixkik wrote:KP is a true building block. Willy is still unknown. We know he is already a good role player, but we will see if he ends up being more than that. Defense with him will be a concern, but he will improve.

Well Jennings the guy that practiced with him said he going to be one of the best bigs in the league. Just one player's 2c

Jennings got it as a Knick
Take your scoring and personal stats aside
Move the ball

Shame it didn't work out

And he is a great unbiased party here
He is not invested in KPs or Willy like Phil is

That's the gospel truth by BJ

Knicks need to rebuild and it looks like they are

fishmike wrote:

Knixkik wrote:KP is a true building block. Willy is still unknown. We know he is already a good role player, but we will see if he ends up being more than that. Defense with him will be a concern, but he will improve.

Well Jennings the guy that practiced with him said he going to be one of the best bigs in the league. Just one player's 2c

He's spot on
Knicks players are on the downside of their careers
Melo
Rose
Noah
Lee

All best years behind them or in a steady decline

KP
Willy

Are on the rise

The team needs vets but vets like Thomas, Lee, Jennings, OQuinn. Guys looking to help younger guys going. We will add a quality pick from 2017 draft to add to KP and Willy. Need the right vets around them.

The problem is Willy and Kp are probably at their best both as Centers. If the both end up as very good players, one should be moved when that happens to fill other holes.

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:I don't know about "build around" - but certainly "build with".

We need a dynamic, attacking small/wing player. Hopefully we land them in this draft.

I don't think it's greedy to hope we land the top pick.

Fortune owes Knicks' fans that much and more.

Why? Knick fans would cry about Fultz defense and poor shot selection. Or when Isiah Thomas, Steph Curry and James Harden all light up Fultz we would be getting tons of Brigg's threads saying "Fultz is getting destroyed by NBA competition" or when Fultz shot isnt falling you guys will blame Phil and say "he THOUGHT this guy would be good" or we will see threads of some other rookie with better numbers or threads saying Fultz cant play in the triangle.

Sorry, Knick fans dont deserve anything but a bib and pacifier.

A typical NYK fan!

nykshaknbake wrote:The problem is Willy and Kp are probably at their best both as Centers. If the both end up as very good players, one should be moved when that happens to fill other holes.

Bynum and Gasol worked well together and I think KP and Willy can do well. They need more time to work on their games and learn how to work off each other. I wouldn't extrapolate too much from the 7 starts they've had together this year.

Jennings is absolutely right.....

The two of them are very reminiscent of the Bynum/Gasol Duo that Phil won chips with. They both just need to physically get stronger.

With that said the roster is still a ways off of being triangle ready

We should keep running them out there together. I dont care if they get destroyed on D. Let them figure it out.

I would also like to see them play with Lance and Lee at the 2/3 which would improve the defense behind them and simplify their assignments a bit. The thing that really jumps out in these highlights is Willy's high BB IQ. This isnt a guy who is overwhelming guys. His instincts are excellent and he's got the quickness to execute at this level. Those floats are unstoppable and he can hit those (very tough shots to master) he will be an elite offensive player in this league. It means anytime he's 7 feet away and he catches the ball you have to fly to him and as we have seen from his passing he is a guy who can really make you pay for doing that.

Both players have excellent range and complimentary skills. Making broad sweeping judgement about their defensive futures at this point is silly. This is a process. If we lose games while these two guys take their lumps and sort through how to do this that is called rebuilding. KP and Willy are very hard working players. They will get better in every facet that they can. Having Noah and Plumlee behind them are perfect blue collar guys as well. Obviously Noah's contract is terrible but he's off the books when its time to pay Willy, and he's got he game you want these guys to mimic.

fishmike wrote:

We should keep running them out there together. I dont care if they get destroyed on D. Let them figure it out.

I would also like to see them play with Lance and Lee at the 2/3 which would improve the defense behind them and simplify their assignments a bit. The thing that really jumps out in these highlights is Willy's high BB IQ. This isnt a guy who is overwhelming guys. His instincts are excellent and he's got the quickness to execute at this level. Those floats are unstoppable and he can hit those (very tough shots to master) he will be an elite offensive player in this league. It means anytime he's 7 feet away and he catches the ball you have to fly to him and as we have seen from his passing he is a guy who can really make you pay for doing that.

Both players have excellent range and complimentary skills. Making broad sweeping judgement about their defensive futures at this point is silly. This is a process. If we lose games while these two guys take their lumps and sort through how to do this that is called rebuilding. KP and Willy are very hard working players. They will get better in every facet that they can. Having Noah and Plumlee behind them are perfect blue collar guys as well. Obviously Noah's contract is terrible but he's off the books when its time to pay Willy, and he's got he game you want these guys to mimic.

Lance and Lee at the 2 and 3 with their defense and shooting are necessary if starting KP and Willy. Add a legit PG and we are onto something.

The thing to remember is that KP and Willy are not only just 21 and 22 yrs old but that they have only 8 NBA starts together. As a tandem they both have much to learn about how to play together on this level. Their chemistry on both ends will only get better as they play more and watch film of their mistakes. This is a process and too often people seem to forget that.
The signs are actually there that they can improve and become better defensive and offensive players.

I think the Knicks should shut Melo down for the year. There really isn't much of a compelling reason to play Melo at this point with so few games left.

nixluva wrote:The thing to remember is that KP and Willy are not only just 21 and 22 yrs old but that they have only 8 NBA starts together. As a tandem they both have much to learn about how to play together on this level. Their chemistry on both ends will only get better as they play more and watch film of their mistakes. This is a process and too often people seem to forget that.
The signs are actually there that they can improve and become better defensive and offensive players.

I think the Knicks should shut Melo down for the year. There really isn't much of a compelling reason to play Melo at this point with so few games left.

Shutting down guys is interesting. It doesn't seem like it should be allowed but the Lakers did it with Deng and Moz. Still, if you buy tickets to see the stars you root for, it doesn't seem like teams should be holding them out.

That's his opinion but right now my answer would be no. However, I think you build with them but I am not sold on them being the focal point of a team. You can't run an offense through them and neither one can stabilise a defense so how can you build around them?

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:I don't know about "build around" - but certainly "build with".

We need a dynamic, attacking small/wing player. Hopefully we land them in this draft.

I don't think it's greedy to hope we land the top pick.

Fortune owes Knicks' fans that much and more.

Why? Knick fans would cry about Fultz defense and poor shot selection. Or when Isiah Thomas, Steph Curry and James Harden all light up Fultz we would be getting tons of Brigg's threads saying "Fultz is getting destroyed by NBA competition" or when Fultz shot isnt falling you guys will blame Phil and say "he THOUGHT this guy would be good" or we will see threads of some other rookie with better numbers or threads saying Fultz cant play in the triangle.

Sorry, Knick fans dont deserve anything but a bib and pacifier.

And a box of tissues.

yellowboy90 wrote:That's his opinion but right now my answer would be no. However, I think you build with them but I am not sold on them being the focal point of a team. You can't run an offense through them and neither one can stabilise a defense so how can you build around them?

All of your comments seem premature! You are talking about two very young bigs. One of which is a rookie. So while they may not yet have the ability to anchor a winning team they have shown flashes of the talent needed to develop into legit starters for this team.

Also will help to upgrade the defensive talent around them. This is a process that needs time. Also this doesn't preclude the Knicks from looking to upgrade at PF/C if there is a better young player available. I think you never stop looking to upgrade your team.

nixluva wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:That's his opinion but right now my answer would be no. However, I think you build with them but I am not sold on them being the focal point of a team. You can't run an offense through them and neither one can stabilise a defense so how can you build around them?

All of your comments seem premature! You are talking about two very young bigs. One of which is a rookie. So while they may not yet have the ability to anchor a winning team they have shown flashes of the talent needed to develop into legit starters for this team.

Also will help to upgrade the defensive talent around them. This is a process that needs time. Also this doesn't preclude the Knicks from looking to upgrade at PF/C if there is a better young player available. I think you never stop looking to upgrade your team.

So It's premature to not be sure but it's not premature to already be certain of two players who have not done the things people think they can do?

That doesn't make any sense.

Willy might be worth a nice return in a trade. If the roster is crowded at one position, we can perhaps trade for what we lack.
What do starting centers, 22 years old fetch these days with upside?