Mitch is my favorite Knick but….
I gotta go with iHart. Mitch is a beast when he is locked in and healthy but he has a spotty health track record and while his one dimension is amazing, it is still one dimension.
iHart is much more of a modern center and what you may lose in rim intimidation with him instead of Mitch, you are gaining HUGE on the offensive end while still getting 85%-90% of Mitch on the defensive end
Mitch's contract is front-loaded and team friendly. We can absolutely pay both.
NardDogNation wrote:Mitch's contract is front-loaded and team friendly. We can absolutely pay both.
Not the best with contract minutae. Mitch's contract goes 17, 15, 14, 13. If he plays the way he has been playing, iHart will commant at least that, if not more. Say it is the 17 that Mitch first got. You are investing 31 mil in centers, neither of which is a star, and Mitch, no matter how friendly he and iHart are has already wanted more opportinuty. iHart is playing just as well as Mitch and someone has to be the back up. How does that play out?
You have to go with Hartenstein because of the durability but I want to keep both regardless of cost.
joec32033 wrote:NardDogNation wrote:Mitch's contract is front-loaded and team friendly. We can absolutely pay both.
Not the best with contract minutae. Mitch's contract goes 17, 15, 14, 13. If he plays the way he has been playing, iHart will commant at least that, if not more. Say it is the 17 that Mitch first got. You are investing 31 mil in centers, neither of which is a star, and Mitch, no matter how friendly he and iHart are has already wanted more opportinuty. iHart is playing just as well as Mitch and someone has to be the back up. How does that play out?
Mitch's contact is a steal and he's been playing at all-NBA defense level. We can afford Hartenstein and need to get it done this summer. The Mitch/iHart relationship is as strong as any other on the team, including the Villanova Knicks. I'm not worried about the starter/backup dynamic.
FWIW, Mitch is the starter and will continue to be when he comes back. We had the same debate with Nerlens in 2021.
MaTT4281 wrote:joec32033 wrote:NardDogNation wrote:Mitch's contract is front-loaded and team friendly. We can absolutely pay both.
Not the best with contract minutae. Mitch's contract goes 17, 15, 14, 13. If he plays the way he has been playing, iHart will commant at least that, if not more. Say it is the 17 that Mitch first got. You are investing 31 mil in centers, neither of which is a star, and Mitch, no matter how friendly he and iHart are has already wanted more opportinuty. iHart is playing just as well as Mitch and someone has to be the back up. How does that play out?
Mitch's contact is a steal and he's been playing at all-NBA defense level. We can afford Hartenstein and need to get it done this summer. The Mitch/iHart relationship is as strong as any other on the team, including the Villanova Knicks. I'm not worried about the starter/backup dynamic.
FWIW, Mitch is the starter and will continue to be when he comes back. We had the same debate with Nerlens in 2021.
Nerlens and Mitch were clones. This is a question because iHart is a different type of player.
joec32033 wrote:MaTT4281 wrote:joec32033 wrote:NardDogNation wrote:Mitch's contract is front-loaded and team friendly. We can absolutely pay both.
Not the best with contract minutae. Mitch's contract goes 17, 15, 14, 13. If he plays the way he has been playing, iHart will commant at least that, if not more. Say it is the 17 that Mitch first got. You are investing 31 mil in centers, neither of which is a star, and Mitch, no matter how friendly he and iHart are has already wanted more opportinuty. iHart is playing just as well as Mitch and someone has to be the back up. How does that play out?
Mitch's contact is a steal and he's been playing at all-NBA defense level. We can afford Hartenstein and need to get it done this summer. The Mitch/iHart relationship is as strong as any other on the team, including the Villanova Knicks. I'm not worried about the starter/backup dynamic.
FWIW, Mitch is the starter and will continue to be when he comes back. We had the same debate with Nerlens in 2021.
Nerlens and Mitch were clones. This is a question because iHart is a different type of player.
I get that. iHart's passing unlocks a lot of things for this team. And the drop of with the second unit now that he's starting has been very noticable. Point was simply that we have a history of overlooking what Mitch brings when his backup is playing well and think he's easily replaced. IMO Isiah is a long term piece and needs to be locked up, but there is no reason it has to be at the expense of Mitch.
You have to find a way to keep both. Sims hasn't developed.
Both. This is probably a hot take but I don't think teams are chomping at the bit to give Hartenstein a huge contract. He's still an old school big that teams don't hand out huge contracts to. Mitch and Hart gives us an edge every night. They both get to eat even when healthy and Hart knows at this point he gets plenty of opps to start because Mitch is always hurt. Just resign him to 12-14M. Mitch + Hart making 25-30M combined is fine. Elite centers will get that by themselves.
DLeethal wrote:Both. This is probably a hot take but I don't think teams are chomping at the bit to give Hartenstein a huge contract. He's still an old school big that teams don't hand out huge contracts to. Mitch and Hart gives us an edge every night. They both get to eat even when healthy and Hart knows at this point he gets plenty of opps to start because Mitch is always hurt. Just resign him to 12-14M. Mitch + Hart making 25-30M combined is fine. Elite centers will get that by themselves.
I think he gets a comparable contract to Mitch and probably has a preference to stay in NY.
I would try to sign both. I would bring Mitch off the bench to start the season. Look at what happened with Randle, when he tried to do too much. See how things play out.
Maybe split the minutes more evenly between them. Decides who closes based on who is having the better night. That might get iHart to stay. He's tight with Mitch, so it might work.
Mitch’s contract
23-24 15.6M
24-25 14.3M
25-26 12.9M
Definitely you keep both.
Hart to start, Mitch to beast off da bench.
martin wrote:Hart to start, Mitch to beast off da bench.
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Rookie wrote:martin wrote:Hart to start, Mitch to beast off da bench.
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Yep.
I was getting nervous after Mitch was running track, and Thibs playing him big minutes, and in crunch time.
iHart has deserved more minutes since day 1.
Hope they are both Knicks for a long time.
The front office brought Heart in and I think they will want to keep him. He fits the starting unit better the Mitch. With OG and DDV the floor is stretched, for Jalen to be a three level scorer and for Randal to shoot, post up, or drive down hill, Heart moves around and keeps the lane clear where Mitch needs to close to the rim to do anything on offense. Coming off the bench Mitch can assume the role of dunker and offensive rebounder and anchors the defense with Hart and whoever else we might acquire next season
He’s only 25! That’s a lot of competition.
Spurs and Pistons will likely try to overpay.
Have to keep them both, he’s been awesome. Those two together are a perfect combo.
Rookie wrote:martin wrote:Hart to start, Mitch to beast off da bench.
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Agree completely. And we would essentially be splitting their minutes fairly evenly anyways.
MS wrote:He’s only 25! That’s a lot of competition. Spurs and Pistons will likely try to overpay.
Have to keep them both, he’s been awesome. Those two together are a perfect combo.
I figured the one position either team is set at is center. I do agree I can see Hartenstein playing alongside Wemby, but they have Collins who’s solid.
