Knicks · Your realistic dream starting 5 - 5 moves or less (page 1)

2020 Draft: Draft Haliburton or Devon Vassell with Pick #6. For this mock we will say they take Haliburton. Take salary to move up from the Wolves. James Johnson and #16 for Bobby Portis pick #27. Draft Saddiq Bey or Patrick Williams at pick #16, Draft Nico Mannion at #38

Draft: Tyrese Halliburton, Saddiq Bey, Nico Mannion
Trade: Bobby Portis for James Johnson

2020 FA: Sign Christian Wood 14 mil for 4 years (56 mil) and S&T Randle for Bertans on a 1 + 1 deal (18 Mil), Release Wayne Ellington, Moe Harkless, Elfrid Payton, put out QO's on Dotson and Trier. If a deal is offered do not match. For this exercise, we'll assume offers are made and they leave. Retain Taj Gibson and Bullock. Hire Tom Thibodeau with the understanding he would both play the youth and focus on implementing his defense and offense.

Head Coach
Tom Thibodeau

2020 Roster

Haliburton / Frank / Nico Mannion /DSJ
RJ / Frank
Bertans / Bullock / James Johnson
Wood / Knox / Saddiq
Mitch / Taj /

25 - 30 Win

2021 Draft: So I am going to assume with 30 wins we are pick #10 in the draft. I do believe the knicks will try to move up using that Mavs pick (early 20's), but where is the fun in that let's let the knicks win the lottery! Knicks move up and take Jalen Johnson, and using the Mavs pick they choose Armando Bacot a 6'10 backup center who can defend the paint from bigger Center

2021 FA: The knicks release Bullock and Taj. The Knicks signed Frank to an 8 Mil 3-year extension. trade DSJ for future asset. They also release Bertans but sign him to a long term 14 mil deal (56 Mil), Sign Gordon Hayward for 30 Million. The Celtics can't afford to keep him and Knicks are ok with him using the rest of his prime to be the star here.

Head Coach
Tom Thibodeau

2021 Roster

Haliburton / Frank / Nico Mannion
RJ / Frank
Hayward / Bertans / Saddiq / Jalen
Wood / Knox /Iggy
Mitch / Bacot /

40 - 45 win team

2022 Draft: This is the Double Double Draft! Knicks draft Moses Moody a great SG shooter to keep the space open if needed in the mid 20’s.
2022 FA: Extend Knox and Iggy. Knicks Cap is maxed out

Final Lineup

Head Coach
Tom Thibodeau

2022 Roster

Haliburton / Frank / Nico Mannion
RJ / Frank / Moody
Hayward / Bertans / Jalen
Wood / Knox / Saddiq /Iggy
Mitch / Bacot /

15 players. A reliance on mostly 2-way players and outside shooting from up and down the roster in support of the main scorers Hayward and RJ. We would also have two picks in 2023

Win total (50 - 55 wins)

Westbrook
RJ
Jerami Grant
Randle
Mitch
Thibadeau will play this lineup and its a playoff team and I expect RJ will make that jump.

But a better coach will play Grant at the 4 and have Randle come off the bench as a small ball 5.
Westbrook
RJ
Bullock
Grant
Mitch/Taj
Plus Randle needs to be a place holder for the Greek or Kat(praying hands.)
Knicks should still be under 110 mil .

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

BigDaddyG wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I think you're overpaying Woods, but that plan is reasonable. Seventh is too high for Nesmith, so I'm hoping that us getting him means we traded down and gained a few more assets.

Really really hard to say move back in the nba draft— it’s hardly ever done.
We really don’t need another not very athletic 6-5 pg picked mid lottery — we already have one.
The odds of getting a top 2 pick is not worth talk about if we’re talking realism.
So WHAT do the Knicks need the most? We really need both efficient and quality 3 point shooting. If Nesmith can shoot anywhere near what he did at Vanderbilt those 15 games — he’s a weapon. For me it’s a choice between bey and nesmith. I would live a scenario to get both but these guys will both rise in the draft making it impossible to get both. I think Nesmith is a little more athletic and his shot is smoother. It’s almost like picking Allan Houston or Mike Redd. We have a slasher in Barrett— we need a shooter like Nesmith. Oh and Pritchard is also one helluva shooter. Stanley is not bad either. It would be a nice haul. Get rid of the flash players and bring in the pure shooters. We don’t need Halliburton or Hayes if we believe in Frank. Nesmith would help Frank to— big backcourt

Free agency is all about over paying. I’m fine with paying Wood

BRIGGS wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I think you're overpaying Woods, but that plan is reasonable. Seventh is too high for Nesmith, so I'm hoping that us getting him means we traded down and gained a few more assets.

Really really hard to say move back in the nba draft— it’s hardly ever done.
We really don’t need another not very athletic 6-5 pg picked mid lottery — we already have one.
The odds of getting a top 2 pick is not worth talk about if we’re talking realism.
So WHAT do the Knicks need the most? We really need both efficient and quality 3 point shooting. If Nesmith can shoot anywhere near what he did at Vanderbilt those 15 games — he’s a weapon. For me it’s a choice between bey and nesmith. I would live a scenario to get both but these guys will both rise in the draft making it impossible to get both. I think Nesmith is a little more athletic and his shot is smoother. It’s almost like picking Allan Houston or Mike Redd. We have a slasher in Barrett— we need a shooter like Nesmith. Oh and Pritchard is also one helluva shooter. Stanley is not bad either. It would be a nice haul. Get rid of the flash players and bring in the pure shooters. We don’t need Halliburton or Hayes if we believe in Frank. Nesmith would help Frank to— big backcourt

Free agency is all about over paying. I’m fine with paying Wood

CrushAlot wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I think you're overpaying Woods, but that plan is reasonable. Seventh is too high for Nesmith, so I'm hoping that us getting him means we traded down and gained a few more assets.

Really really hard to say move back in the nba draft— it’s hardly ever done.
We really don’t need another not very athletic 6-5 pg picked mid lottery — we already have one.
The odds of getting a top 2 pick is not worth talk about if we’re talking realism.
So WHAT do the Knicks need the most? We really need both efficient and quality 3 point shooting. If Nesmith can shoot anywhere near what he did at Vanderbilt those 15 games — he’s a weapon. For me it’s a choice between bey and nesmith. I would live a scenario to get both but these guys will both rise in the draft making it impossible to get both. I think Nesmith is a little more athletic and his shot is smoother. It’s almost like picking Allan Houston or Mike Redd. We have a slasher in Barrett— we need a shooter like Nesmith. Oh and Pritchard is also one helluva shooter. Stanley is not bad either. It would be a nice haul. Get rid of the flash players and bring in the pure shooters. We don’t need Halliburton or Hayes if we believe in Frank. Nesmith would help Frank to— big backcourt

Free agency is all about over paying. I’m fine with paying Wood

NOt a Nesmith expert but he isn't ranked close to 7th in any of the mocks I have seen. Draftnet has him going to the Knicks with their second first round pick, tankathon has him going 18, Wasserman has him going 14th and the Stepien doesn't have him in their top two tiers (11 players).

Crush look back at nba history.
Shooters per se tend to be dramatically under rated

Both mike Redd abd kris Middletown were 2 Nd round picks
Klay Thompson was an 11 pick. The high quality volume 3 point shooter has more value. This is Allan Houston 2.0. That’s a good 7 pick

Also if Allan Houston has a true voice in this organization he’s gonna push for Nesmith. He knows the value of a true three point shooter next to Barrett. And Houston was an 11 pick from vandy

Draft Picks
#6 Pick: Devin Vassell.
#27 Pick: Daniel Oturu
#38 Pick: Josh Green

Free Agency
Christian Wood (Whatever it takes So Detroit does not match)

Coach
The Great Tom Thibodeau

Explanation

Effect on the Defense

The Strength of the Knicks team is defense. They have two of the best defenders in the NBA Frank and Big Mitch
The best pathway to success is to double down on the defense

The three moves gets the Knicks to that elite level defensively

Devin Vassell: He is the best defender in the draft and in my opinion it is not even close imagine
He is long 6'7" with 6'10" wingspan a good on ball defender and and a beast of a team defender
Imagine him and Frank in the back court call them the Bellevue boys because they'd put opponents in straight jackets
This also helps the defense by pushing RJ Barrett to the small forward position where he does not have to chase around these jackrabbit guards on the wing

Christian Wood: Not a great defender but light years better than Randle defense improves additional by subtraction

Tom Thibodeau: Best Defensive coach in the NBA. No more needs to be said

Effect on Offense

Biggest Weakness on offense is lack of 3pt shooting.
Devin Vassell: He is one of the best shooters in the draft Nesmith and Saddiq Bey maybe better but it is close Vassell however is the best defender among the three and it is not even close though Bey is a solid defender in his own right

Christian Wood: Perfect stretch power forward to put next to Mitch He has a nice 3pt shot but his offensive game is much more than that which really help the offense

Daniel Oturu and Josh Green

Daniel Oturu: The Knicks need some depth at the backup center position. Oturu is perfect he is a solid defender with a developing offensive game

Josh Green: Another Defender who can defend 1 - 4 We know how important having versatile defenders is in today's NBA

There you have it. Improved shooting combined with potential elite defense

2018-2019 OFFSEASON
If so, I would've made the decision to trade Kristaps then instead of waiting until the middle of the season. The Dallas trade in principal was fine to me but needed a bit more fine-tuning. I would've added Frank Ntilikina in order to dump Joakim Noah and required Harrison Barnes, Seth Curry (sign and trade, 3yr/$16 million), the second round pick that became Jalen Brunson, Salem Mejri and a 2022 first round pick swap in exchange. I also would've needed three second rounders from them: their own 2019 second, the Warriors 2020 second and the Heat's 2023.

Instead of taking Knox 9th, I would have picked Mikal Bridges since it's become evident that this franchise has no apetite for developing projects. While Bridges has a much lower ceiling than Knox, his floor is significantly higher and offers a premium on shooting. If the plan was to always target two stars in 2019, it made no sense to draft a project in the lottery. Mitchell Robinson turned out to be a pretty good pick at 36 though, so I see no reason to change it.

Once the dust cleared after the draft, I would've targeted Aaron Gordon in a sign-and-trade. He was amendable to signing a front-loaded contract which would allow us to maintain cap flexibility into the future and he'd be young enough (21) to be part of our core. The Magic badly needed a PG and shooters, so I could have seen them being amendable to taking Dennis Smith Jr (before we cratered his trade value) and Harrison Barnes for the trouble.

I'd still sign Mario Hezonja to a 1+1 contract to the MLE in the offseason. He was worth the gamble and I actually thought he got shafted out of real opportunity to succeed due to a lack of role/playing time.

STARTERS: Emmanuel Mudiay[PG], Seth Curry[G], Mario Hezonja[F], Aaron Gordon[F], Enes Kanter [C]
ROTATION: Jalen Brunson[PG], Damyean Dotson[G/F], Mikal Bridges[G/F], Lance Thomas[F], Mitchell Robinson[C]
BENCH: Jameer Nelson[PG], Jamal Crawford[G], Ron Baker[G], Mindaugas Kuzminskas[F], Salem Mejri[C]

2019-2020 OFFSEASON
We'd still probably be just as bad, which would give us the 3rd pick in the draft. I'd take RJ Barrett with it, Bol Bol with that Mavs second in the revised Porzingis and would still buy the pick to get Ignas Brezdeikis.

With the $66 million we'd have in cap space, I'd do the follow:

1.) Acquire BOTH Andre Igoudala and Shaun Livingston [$25.5M total], along with their Top-4 protected 2024 first round pick (unprotected in 2026) for Damyean Dotson and $24M in cap savings. The Warriors needed to move money to facilitate the D'Angelo Russell sign-and-trade, which we could've incentivized further by taking Shaun Livingston's $7.3M in exchange for a useful role player (Dotson) and trade exception. I would've tried to coax Livingston into playing one more season, even though he clearly wanted to retired. He'd have quite a few pearls of wisdom to offer RJ Barrett as far as being an efficient mid-range shooter and facilitator. We'd have $39M left.

2.) I'd redirect Andre Igoudala and another $14 million of our cap space to the Heat for James Johnson, Ryan Andersen and their top-14 protected 2024 first round pick (unprotected in 2026). Again, we needed to be accruing as many picks as possible and could use no-nonsense veterans of Heat culture in our lockerroom. The Heat needed to dump salary to get Jimmy Butler and clearly valued Igoudala, so this trade should've been obvious to us. $25M left.

3.) I'd acquire Andre Roberson and cash from the above-the-luxury-tax Thunder for $11M of our cap space; re-directing both to the Mavericks for Courtney Lee. Lee has been in and out of the rotation with the Mavs, so I don't think they'd be averse to essentially dumping him in a deal. He still has utility despite being overpaid and I personally would have prefered to have him back instead of Wayne Ellington if all things were equal. $13M left.

4.) The Suns got Kyle Korver and immediately dumped him after the Josh Jackson deal. He's still useful IMO as a sage veteran and shooter, so I would've acquired him by leveraging cap space, minor cash incentives and a faux second round pick that never conveys. He'd probably want to leave to a contender mid-season, which I'd accomodate. $6M left.

5.) I'd still sign Taj Gibson but re-structure his contract to be a 2yr/$12M deal, with the second year being partially gauranteed for $3M. In effect, he'd still get the $9 million for the calendar year that we gave him without the immediate cap hit. We'd be at the $109M cap threshold at this point.

6.) With the lower mid-level exception ($4.9 M), I'd sign Reggie Bullock to the two year deal he got with us. Again, good locker room guy, good shooter as with the other veterans. He'd be injuried to start the year but would be available to replace Kyle Korver, if/when Korver seeks a buyout midseason.

STARTERS: Seth Curry[G], RJ Barrett[G/F], Mikal Bridges[G/F], Aaron Gordon[F], Mitchell Robinson[C]
ROTATION: Jalen Brunson[G], Courtney Lee[G/F], Kyle Korver[G/F], James Johnson[F], Taj Gibson[C]
BENCH: Shaun Livingston[G], Reggie Bullock[G/F], Ignas Brezdeikis[F], Ryan Andersen[F/C], Bol Bol[C]
ASSETS:
'20 CHA and GSW Second Round Picks
'21 DAL First Round Pick; '21 CHA Second Round Pick
'23 MIA First and Second Round Picks; '21 DAL First Round Pick
'24 GSW First Round Pick

2020-2021 OFFSEASON
We wouldn't have the LAC first round pick like we currently do. I'd try to get a second first by packaging those CHA and GSW second round picks, Reggie Bullock and $20 million of our cap space to the Bulls for their first round pick and Otto Porter's now albatross of a contract. With that pick, I'd take Siddiq Bey who BRIGGS has put me on to. With our own first, I'd also try to target Tyrese Halliburton who can hopefully supplant Seth Curry moving into the future.

I'd also use part of cap space to get Joe Harris.

G: Seth Curry/Tyrese Haliburton/Jalen Brunson
G/F: RJ Barrett/Mikal Bridges/Joe Harris/Siddiq Bey
F: Aaron Gordon/Otto Porter/Ignas Brezdeikis
C: Mitchell Robinson/Taj Gibson/Bol Bol

BRIGGS wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I think you're overpaying Woods, but that plan is reasonable. Seventh is too high for Nesmith, so I'm hoping that us getting him means we traded down and gained a few more assets.

Really really hard to say move back in the nba draft— it’s hardly ever done.
We really don’t need another not very athletic 6-5 pg picked mid lottery — we already have one.
The odds of getting a top 2 pick is not worth talk about if we’re talking realism.
So WHAT do the Knicks need the most? We really need both efficient and quality 3 point shooting. If Nesmith can shoot anywhere near what he did at Vanderbilt those 15 games — he’s a weapon. For me it’s a choice between bey and nesmith. I would live a scenario to get both but these guys will both rise in the draft making it impossible to get both. I think Nesmith is a little more athletic and his shot is smoother. It’s almost like picking Allan Houston or Mike Redd. We have a slasher in Barrett— we need a shooter like Nesmith. Oh and Pritchard is also one helluva shooter. Stanley is not bad either. It would be a nice haul. Get rid of the flash players and bring in the pure shooters. We don’t need Halliburton or Hayes if we believe in Frank. Nesmith would help Frank to— big backcourt

Free agency is all about over paying. I’m fine with paying Wood

NOt a Nesmith expert but he isn't ranked close to 7th in any of the mocks I have seen. Draftnet has him going to the Knicks with their second first round pick, tankathon has him going 18, Wasserman has him going 14th and the Stepien doesn't have him in their top two tiers (11 players).

Crush look back at nba history.
Shooters per se tend to be dramatically under rated

Both mike Redd abd kris Middletown were 2 Nd round picks
Klay Thompson was an 11 pick. The high quality volume 3 point shooter has more value. This is Allan Houston 2.0. That’s a good 7 pick

Also if Allan Houston has a true voice in this organization he’s gonna push for Nesmith. He knows the value of a true three point shooter next to Barrett. And Houston was an 11 pick from vandy

I’m on board with the above. My only concerns would be back up PGs. Specifically playmaking. Although I expect to see RJ initiate the offence in stages next season.

I think Simmons can be an incredible small-ball 5 and roughly 90% of what Giannis is as a player. Bradley Beal likely to be on the market and is someone that I think would greatly interest the Sixers. If we flesh out a trade that sends Beal to Philly and our youth to Washington, I think we'd have the principals of a deal.

The Wizards would most likely require John Wall be dumped in the trade, which I'd be willing to oblige. Hopefully we could attach those Mavericks picks and our first rounder to unload him. There was a rumor a few days ago that the Raptors were very interested in LaMelo Ball and would be willing to sacrifice Kyle Lowry to get him. If they'd take that John Wall contract, Ball and those two picks for Lowry, I'd make that deal in a second. Hopefully we'd be able to expand the deal because I think this would make more sense for all teams involved and should work in the offseason once we have our cap space and once Ben Simmons' extension kicks in.

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tra...

STARTERS
G: Tyler Johnson (minimum)
G/F: Josh Richardson
G/F: Norm Powell
F/C: Ben Simmons
F/C: Al Horford

ROTATION
G: Patty Mills (contract dump; Spurs no longer have minutes for him)
G: Dion Waiters (minimum)
F: Otto Porter (for Julius Randle and cash)
F: Mike Scott
C: Aaron Baynes (cap mid-level exception)

NardDogNation wrote:I think the Sixers are bound to split Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. I'd be comfortable ponying up assets for either. The smart money would be for them to keep Simmons and trade Embiid but I think that Brand's affinity for bigs would have him more willing to keep Embiid.

I think Simmons can be an incredible small-ball 5 and roughly 90% of what Giannis is as a player. Bradley Beal likely to be on the market and is someone that I think would greatly interest the Sixers. If we flesh out a trade that sends Beal to Philly and our youth to Washington, I think we'd have the principals of a deal.

The Wizards would most likely require John Wall be dumped in the trade, which I'd be willing to oblige. Hopefully we could attach those Mavericks picks and our first rounder to unload him. There was a rumor a few days ago that the Raptors were very interested in LaMelo Ball and would be willing to sacrifice Kyle Lowry to get him. If they'd take that John Wall contract, Ball and those two picks for Lowry, I'd make that deal in a second. Hopefully we'd be able to expand the deal because I think this would make more sense for all teams involved and should work in the offseason once we have our cap space and once Ben Simmons' extension kicks in.

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tra...

STARTERS
G: Tyler Johnson (minimum)
G/F: Josh Richardson
G/F: Norm Powell
F/C: Ben Simmons
F/C: Al Horford

ROTATION
G: Patty Mills (contract dump; Spurs no longer have minutes for him)
G: Dion Waiters (minimum)
F: Otto Porter (for Julius Randle and cash)
F: Mike Scott
C: Aaron Baynes (cap mid-level exception)

Like your investigation here but I wouldn’t be comfortable with this. Not moving the needle enough. The amount that we have to sacrifice here, for that starting 5? Horford in massive decline, Simmons wants to play PG ( despite no perimeter offence ) Powell and Tyler sub par rotation pieces. Richardson decent yet inconsistent.

See this as a poor play off team.

Knickfury11 wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:I think the Sixers are bound to split Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. I'd be comfortable ponying up assets for either. The smart money would be for them to keep Simmons and trade Embiid but I think that Brand's affinity for bigs would have him more willing to keep Embiid.

I think Simmons can be an incredible small-ball 5 and roughly 90% of what Giannis is as a player. Bradley Beal likely to be on the market and is someone that I think would greatly interest the Sixers. If we flesh out a trade that sends Beal to Philly and our youth to Washington, I think we'd have the principals of a deal.

The Wizards would most likely require John Wall be dumped in the trade, which I'd be willing to oblige. Hopefully we could attach those Mavericks picks and our first rounder to unload him. There was a rumor a few days ago that the Raptors were very interested in LaMelo Ball and would be willing to sacrifice Kyle Lowry to get him. If they'd take that John Wall contract, Ball and those two picks for Lowry, I'd make that deal in a second. Hopefully we'd be able to expand the deal because I think this would make more sense for all teams involved and should work in the offseason once we have our cap space and once Ben Simmons' extension kicks in.

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tra...

STARTERS
G: Tyler Johnson (minimum)
G/F: Josh Richardson
G/F: Norm Powell
F/C: Ben Simmons
F/C: Al Horford

ROTATION
G: Patty Mills (contract dump; Spurs no longer have minutes for him)
G: Dion Waiters (minimum)
F: Otto Porter (for Julius Randle and cash)
F: Mike Scott
C: Aaron Baynes (cap mid-level exception)

Like your investigation here but I wouldn’t be comfortable with this. Not moving the needle enough. The amount that we have to sacrifice here, for that starting 5? Horford in massive decline, Simmons wants to play PG ( despite no perimeter offence ) Powell and Tyler sub par rotation pieces. Richardson decent yet inconsistent.

See this as a poor play off team.

We'd have cap space in subsequent seasons to sign role players. With the versatility of Ben Simmons, all we need are 3&D players to be among the better teams in the East. As a matter of fact, I think we could probably sign Jeff Teague on a minimum contract to be our starting PG instead of Tyler Johnson. That squad would at least be as good as the Pacers. The year after I'd probably look to lockup Gordon Hayward to be our starting 3.

NardDogNation wrote:

Knickfury11 wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:I think the Sixers are bound to split Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. I'd be comfortable ponying up assets for either. The smart money would be for them to keep Simmons and trade Embiid but I think that Brand's affinity for bigs would have him more willing to keep Embiid.

I think Simmons can be an incredible small-ball 5 and roughly 90% of what Giannis is as a player. Bradley Beal likely to be on the market and is someone that I think would greatly interest the Sixers. If we flesh out a trade that sends Beal to Philly and our youth to Washington, I think we'd have the principals of a deal.

The Wizards would most likely require John Wall be dumped in the trade, which I'd be willing to oblige. Hopefully we could attach those Mavericks picks and our first rounder to unload him. There was a rumor a few days ago that the Raptors were very interested in LaMelo Ball and would be willing to sacrifice Kyle Lowry to get him. If they'd take that John Wall contract, Ball and those two picks for Lowry, I'd make that deal in a second. Hopefully we'd be able to expand the deal because I think this would make more sense for all teams involved and should work in the offseason once we have our cap space and once Ben Simmons' extension kicks in.

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tra...

STARTERS
G: Tyler Johnson (minimum)
G/F: Josh Richardson
G/F: Norm Powell
F/C: Ben Simmons
F/C: Al Horford

ROTATION
G: Patty Mills (contract dump; Spurs no longer have minutes for him)
G: Dion Waiters (minimum)
F: Otto Porter (for Julius Randle and cash)
F: Mike Scott
C: Aaron Baynes (cap mid-level exception)

Like your investigation here but I wouldn’t be comfortable with this. Not moving the needle enough. The amount that we have to sacrifice here, for that starting 5? Horford in massive decline, Simmons wants to play PG ( despite no perimeter offence ) Powell and Tyler sub par rotation pieces. Richardson decent yet inconsistent.

See this as a poor play off team.

We'd have cap space in subsequent seasons to sign role players. With the versatility of Ben Simmons, all we need are 3&D players to be among the better teams in the East. As a matter of fact, I think we could probably sign Jeff Teague on a minimum contract to be our starting PG instead of Tyler Johnson. That squad would at least be as good as the Pacers. The year after I'd probably look to lockup Gordon Hayward to be our starting 3.

Like the idea of cap space, like the idea of the addition of 3&D type players. Teague far superior to Tyler. Hayward the jury’s out, interesting to monitor his performance following that injury, he deserves massive credit though.

Draft: Nesmith in the first round (long-term wing fit alongside Barrett)
Tyrell Terry in the later first round (PG prospect with deep shooting ability)
Nick Richards in the second round (can be a complimentary backup to Mitch)

I'm trading for Chris Paul because i think he can help us make steps to improve. It's not a quick fix, it's a culture change that boosts the rebuild and would do wonders for Barrett like he did for SGA in okc.
I'll absorb the contract and send Knox and Dennis Smith for him. I want to get rid of additional salary to sign...

Christian Wood. He has good upside and would fit as a long-term 4 i think. Hoping for 4 years 60 mil.

Buyout Randle's final year (unless we can move him for free)

Sign Harry Giles for cheap (Perry drafted him so should have inside track)

Sign Melo for the minimum because why not?

Pick up Bullock's option and resign Gibson for less. Resign Dotson for a year. Let go of everyone else on non-guaranteed deals.

C Robinson/ Gibson/ Richards
PF Wood/ Melo/ Giles
SF Nesmith/ Bullock/ Brazdeikis
SG Barrett/ Dotson/ minimum vet or UFA
PG Paul/ Ntilikina/ Terry

A good mix of youth and some vet leadership. I think it's a step in the right direction

My one alternative is to not sign Melo but move Randle to 6th man, however i don't think he will be happy moving to that role on this team.

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I like your's. Mine is somewhat similar, except i don't think Ntilikina is quite ready to be a starter, but i love him backing up Chris Paul.

Knixkik wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I like your's. Mine is somewhat similar, except i don't think Ntilikina is quite ready to be a starter, but i love him backing up Chris Paul.

I like the possibility of getting an Allan Houston type player. You’re exactly right. If he played the rest of the season he’d be a top 10 pick anyway. You cannot go wrong with great shooting

I have a whole different scenario if we get a top 3 which includes drafting wiseman keeping Robinson and adding Bertans instead of Woods. Three premium front court players. Develop what we have and go for green next year

CrushAlot wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I think you're overpaying Woods, but that plan is reasonable. Seventh is too high for Nesmith, so I'm hoping that us getting him means we traded down and gained a few more assets.

Really really hard to say move back in the nba draft— it’s hardly ever done.
We really don’t need another not very athletic 6-5 pg picked mid lottery — we already have one.
The odds of getting a top 2 pick is not worth talk about if we’re talking realism.
So WHAT do the Knicks need the most? We really need both efficient and quality 3 point shooting. If Nesmith can shoot anywhere near what he did at Vanderbilt those 15 games — he’s a weapon. For me it’s a choice between bey and nesmith. I would live a scenario to get both but these guys will both rise in the draft making it impossible to get both. I think Nesmith is a little more athletic and his shot is smoother. It’s almost like picking Allan Houston or Mike Redd. We have a slasher in Barrett— we need a shooter like Nesmith. Oh and Pritchard is also one helluva shooter. Stanley is not bad either. It would be a nice haul. Get rid of the flash players and bring in the pure shooters. We don’t need Halliburton or Hayes if we believe in Frank. Nesmith would help Frank to— big backcourt

Free agency is all about over paying. I’m fine with paying Wood

NOt a Nesmith expert but he isn't ranked close to 7th in any of the mocks I have seen. Draftnet has him going to the Knicks with their second first round pick, tankathon has him going 18, Wasserman has him going 14th and the Stepien doesn't have him in their top two tiers (11 players).

The new yahoo mock has Nesmith going 7th. Most I’m seeing now have him firmly in the second half of the lottery 7-14 range. I think he ends up being 6-10. With this being a weak draft at the top I think finding a high level wing shooter is worth it for a team not thrilled about the lack of upside in this draft. I love Nesmith and Haliburton in this draft because I see their skill sets translating to quality high level role players. Nesmith has some buddy Hield upside and the floor is probably still a joe Harris type or close to it.

Knixkik wrote:

CrushAlot wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

BigDaddyG wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:I’m gonna Keep this as realistic as possible without any major crazy happenings that usually don’t occur.
First off I’m giving us pick 7

I’m
Pick 7 Aaron Nesmith
I took him between the choices of Saddiq bey and Nesmith. I have 0 interest in an alpha point guard in Cole Anthony of another tall developmental pg. It came down to this— he’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s like picking Allan Houston again abd Allan Houston in today’s nba is a weapon. He automatically makes Barrett better abd spaces the floor out for everyone. He’s our new Klay Thompson
No brainer my pick slits to starting 2 guard

If I can pull off anything in the draft including trading 27 38 and Knox for a pick for bey I’d do it but I don’t think it’s Realistic Pick 27 Payton Pritchard He’s my sleeper pick. He’s a future solid nba player. I think he has more nba upside than people think. He weighs 200 but he’s still athletic for the size. Great shooter great passer sturdy defender incredible handle
Pick 38 Cassius Stanley best athlete in draft nice ceiling pick at 38

Out of the draft for the G league

6-9 245 Yoli Childs Pf
6-1 180 Cassius Winston Pg

Free agency
Christian woods 4 years 80 mm
Goran Dragic 1 year 15 mm
Jalen Adams 1 year min with team option the next two years

Line up

C- Robinson
F- Woods
F- Barrett
G- Nesmith
G. Ntlikina

6 th man
Randle C
Knox Moved to pf
Iggy
Dragic
Pritchard
Adams

G league Stanley childs winston

I think you're overpaying Woods, but that plan is reasonable. Seventh is too high for Nesmith, so I'm hoping that us getting him means we traded down and gained a few more assets.

Really really hard to say move back in the nba draft— it’s hardly ever done.
We really don’t need another not very athletic 6-5 pg picked mid lottery — we already have one.
The odds of getting a top 2 pick is not worth talk about if we’re talking realism.
So WHAT do the Knicks need the most? We really need both efficient and quality 3 point shooting. If Nesmith can shoot anywhere near what he did at Vanderbilt those 15 games — he’s a weapon. For me it’s a choice between bey and nesmith. I would live a scenario to get both but these guys will both rise in the draft making it impossible to get both. I think Nesmith is a little more athletic and his shot is smoother. It’s almost like picking Allan Houston or Mike Redd. We have a slasher in Barrett— we need a shooter like Nesmith. Oh and Pritchard is also one helluva shooter. Stanley is not bad either. It would be a nice haul. Get rid of the flash players and bring in the pure shooters. We don’t need Halliburton or Hayes if we believe in Frank. Nesmith would help Frank to— big backcourt

Free agency is all about over paying. I’m fine with paying Wood

NOt a Nesmith expert but he isn't ranked close to 7th in any of the mocks I have seen. Draftnet has him going to the Knicks with their second first round pick, tankathon has him going 18, Wasserman has him going 14th and the Stepien doesn't have him in their top two tiers (11 players).

The new yahoo mock has Nesmith going 7th. Most I’m seeing now have him firmly in the second half of the lottery 7-14 range. I think he ends up being 6-10. With this being a weak draft at the top I think finding a high level wing shooter is worth it for a team not thrilled about the lack of upside in this draft. I love Nesmith and Haliburton in this draft because I see their skill sets translating to quality high level role players. Nesmith has some buddy Hield upside and the floor is probably still a joe Harris type or close to it.

If we pick 6-7-8 and Wiseman is gone— I’m 100% on Naismith. Great body perfect skill and fit for our team