"Here are three trades that might make sense for both teams:
1. Sixers send three 2016 first-round picks (Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder) to Knicks for No. 4 overall.
For the Knicks, this deal knocks them out of the first-round this year, but it does set the up to be major players next year. The Knicks, like the Sixers do now, would own potentially as many as four first-round picks in the 2016 NBA Draft, and would also have a ton of cap space to spend on free agents. Not getting a player this year would sting, but in the long run, this deal would set the Knicks up to re-build quickly.
2. Knicks send Jose Calderon (3 years, $7 million per) and No. 4 overall to Sixers for Henry Sims (1 year, $900,000), and two future-first round draft picks
If the Knicks want to spend big on free agents this year, getting bad money off the books is key. Signing Calderon has proven to be a mistake, and his contract is the worst on the Knicks payroll (unless you want to count Carmelo Anthony's deal). The Sixers would essentially be buying the pick, as well as giving up two future assets.
3. Knicks send Andre Bargnani (1 year, $11 million) and No. 4 overall to Sixers for Henry Sims (1 year, $900,000) and two future first-round picks
This deal is similar to the previous one, only it opens up more cap space this year for the Knicks. There are a number of marque free agents expected to be available, including Cleveland Cavalier forward Kevin Love. The Knicks would free up $11 million in cap space and collect two future first-round picks. The Sixers would get to pick at No. 3 and No. 4, and would likely buyout Bargnani."
Link - (
New Window )
Extremely high-athleticism, superior jumping young players (e.g., 19) very often can't shoot, for the simple reason that when they played high school, AAU and street ball, they hardly ever played against anyone they couldn't beat to the basket. The very last thing they wanted to do, or were encouraged to do by their coaches, was take a high volume of outside shots, so that was also one of the last and least things they practiced. And, in Mudiay's case, from a young age he was being encouraged to learn outside-in pg skills, another reason not to take many jumpers. Finally, of course, when you play a lot of street ball on rims with no net, every jump shot is a low-percentage shot, so it makes more sense to take the ball to the hole--which you are better at, anyway.
Unless you have a godawful stroke, which no scout says that Mudiay has, shooting skills come, but they come later.
I really expect that if the first three picks go according to form, the Knicks are either trading down a fair amount for added value and a pick they believe is undervalued (unlikely) or taking Mudiay when their turn comes.
Lopes1984 : 6/23/2015 8:18 pm : link : reply
the phone with Philly and see what it would take to move up to 3. I have a feeling that a lot of the talks linking Russell and Philly over the past few days have been meant to entice that exact move. It sucks to have to give up a guy or a pick to do it, but if Jackson feels that strongly about Russell compared to the other options that would be available then you just have to pull the trigger on a move up.
Agreed. If you feel like it's a special player to turn the team around then you have to do it. I'm sure they are still kicking themselves about Curry. I did have a dream 3 mos ago that we fell to 4 or 5 in the draft before we had the balls drop and both Oak and Towns both fell but that's not happening. Zenmaster needs to work the phone NOT mills. Go up and get the player you need and fanagle like a Gypsy!
I'm not worried about his strength assuming he has a work ethic (which he reportedly does), there aren't many (any?) jacked 19 year olds with 7'6" wingspans. He can only fill out going forward. I'm not worried about any of the stupid European stereotypes that everyone should be well past in the year 2015, they are as diverse as any other set of players. The only thing that gives me pause is just the shear unknown of having never seen him play beyond highlights. But it just seems to me that if we are to project both Porzingis and Mudiay to their ultimate ceiling, The payoff just seems way bigger with Porzingis on both ends of the floor
To be honest, I definitely have Euro-phobia when it comes to these lottery projects especially "stretch 4s" since there have been so many "Fake Dirks" over the years.
But Porzingis definitely has a unique feel to him because of how agile and athletic he is. His combination of length and agility and shooting really is something crazy.
I think he has the highest ceiling in this draft but I also think he has one of the higher bust-rates in the top 10. He's actually really impressed me from a mental point of view. I really want KP to become a star because this league really needs someone to replace Dirk.
Cousins is a beast, and on both ends of the floor. He's a way better pro than I expected him to be coming out, and he's probably the most underrated defensive player in the entire league. He is a legitimate anchor, but due to Sacramento being so far off the radar he is sadly defined on that end by a few vines that went viral showing effort lapses. He can be a hot head but he's the best Center in the league right now and there isn't a close 2nd.
I don't mean this in an insulting way, but it's a bit lazy to just look at Cousins and the Kings W/L record and write him off as an empty numbers guy. There are several useful and telling ways at our disposal today to accurately assess individual impact independent of team circumstances, and everything we have SCREAMS Cousins is a monster impact guy who performed a minor miracle in leading a dogshit Sacramento team to a positive point differential with him on the floor in a loaded West. With all the time he missed this season, we got a very healthy 2,000 minute sample of the Kings without him on the floor, and what we saw in his absence was the worst team in the NBA by leaps and bounds. Worse than Minnesota, worse than Philly, worse than the shell of a squad the Knicks were putting out there post Melo issue. Defensively they were one of the worst teams in history when Cousins wasn't on the floor. The whole situation is toxic there from the owner on down, and in the West that's a huge hill to overcome
The knock on his fg% is a bit misguided. First off fg% is a pretty crappy way to judge scoring efficiency in the first place, but even so 47% is fine for a volume scorer. Of course fg% doesn't account for how often he gets to the line, and the fact that he is an above average ft shooter when he gets there (elite for a big). His true shooting % (which accounts for his ft shooting) is a tick above league average, which is very respectable for a volume scorer, not sparkling but highly respectable, and can certainly be improved with superior shot selection that would likely come if he was immersed in a structure that wasn't a complete mess like Sacramento
He's a beast. If he is available you do everything in your power to get him. He would definitely be in my top 5 of players of build around for the next 8 years