Italian PG who played at USC (Not much of a 3 point shooter so unsure of the fit... 25% this season at Milano)
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Daniel-Hackett-1384/
Begley
This isnt to say that Jacksons offseason has been a failure so far. By and large, he landed quality players (Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, Kyle OQuinn) on reasonable contracts who should help the team take a step forward from the 17-win disaster during the 2014-15 season.
But if anything can be gleaned after the first few days of free agency, its this: The lure of playing in New York -- or in any other big market -- is no longer enough to attract elite talent, so Jackson now needs to build a team that can.
Thats the one way he can hope to sell free agents in the summer of 2016 or 2017.
Other factors that used to give big markets like New York an advantage in free agency no longer exist.
4) all things considered I think the knicks and Phil did a good job with what was attainable... its clear a big splash was not. Next year FA crop is not great- but they again will have flexibility and likely more assets.
Not singling you out because others have said it as well, but I keep seeing next year's FA class being referred to as weak and I disagree.
Yeah it's not on the same level as 2010, but it is much better than the class this year. Next year's class includes a top 5 overall player in the league (Kevin Durant), a top 5 PG (Mike Conley), a top 10 SG (DeMar DeRozan), 2 of the top 5 centers in the league(Al Horford and Dwight Howard) and 2 other top 10 centers (Joakim Noah, Al Jefferson). That's just looking at the "tier 1" guys, there are plenty of other quality guys available.
Porzingis (maybe), Grant, Early, Thanasis, Ledo, Langston Galloway, Labeyrie, Travis Wear, Maurice Ndour, Alex Kirk, Ovidijus Galdikas
Conley- only very good PG-- knicks should focus on him
Derozan- wants huge money- not worth it
D12 and Noah- fragile and play same possie as lopez
al Jeff and Horford (clog Porgs PT)
again its not like there are a ton of easy targets for areas of needed improvement--- PG and wing.
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Knicks would then have those players + a decent surrounding cast with Grant, Quinn, Lopez, and hopefully some other young guys emerge (maybe Hernangomez comes from abroad, etc).
A lot to ask for but I think that would be the best possible outcome.
Some of the young guys really need to step up this year such as Early, Thannis, Galloway, Grant, etc. If half of them can be solid contributes this year, that would set the stage nicely for the future.
I'd like to see Amare back, though I might be thinking more with my heart.
Agree with Phil re a dynamic 2 guard. Maybe next offseason we can swing Porz+ for Paul George. I could see Bird loving Porz, and if they going into a rebuild George may want out. Strip that team of Hibbert, West, and Stevenson and you cant come close to replicating the 5 man unit that took the league by storm in 2013-14.
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The hope is that KP can give you on offense what Gallo used to.
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Fleisher said Ndour is currently contemplating multiple offers from European teams and will spend next season abroad while maintaining connections with the Knicks.
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Sounds good to me. If you aren't going to play then nothing better than getting minutes in Europe. Dleague ball still leaves a lot to be desired... Terrible job by the NBA in converting the D into a minor league system so far
Affalo has played with Lopez and OQuinn already. Sort of interesting. Zinger has already played with Hernangomez but we won't see him this year. I noted this earlier but my brothers best friend is Hernangomez's English tutor
Players can get so much more to play over there. Probably, it would benefit the NBA to put a small amount of the upcoming TV deal into permitting a couple of high salaries per D-League team. Even then, the competition against grown men in Europe is attractive for players seeking experience.
Affalo has played with Lopez and OQuinn already. Sort of interesting. Zinger has already played with Hernangomez but we won't see him this year. I noted this earlier but my brothers best friend is Hernangomez's English tutor
That's correct - OQuinn talked about it in his interview with Kennedy I believe
He looks pretty intriguing to me. 7'2, reasonably fluid. Had a nice season in Europe.
According to reports, the Knicks have been watching him for over 3 years, and Knicks' president visited iauliai during the 2012-13 season to meet with Galdikas and watch him play, however, Galdikas was injured at the time[3]). In August 2013, the New York Knicks again showed interest in Galdikas, describing him as a 'diamond in the rough' and the 'third best Lithuanian center after Jonas Valančiūnas and Donatas Motiejūnas.[4]
During the 2014-2015 season he was scoring 11.2 points (74% FG), grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking 2.6 shots, while representing Asseco Gdynia club in Poland. Following it, he decided to participate in NBA Summer League to seek his dream of representing NBA club.[5] He will represent New York Knicks in the summer league.[6]
he had the major knee injury that cost him a season and change, but other than that what other injury problems has he had since leaving NY? He struggled early last year but really came on strong at the end of the season as he got back to 100%. It's certainly possible his best years are still ahead of him.
Affalo has played with Lopez and OQuinn already.
+ Melo. Not sure what sort of a guy he is, but there is a huge opportunity for him to take on a big leadership/uniter role.
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but I think that ship has sailed. He'd help, but he's hurt so much, and he deserves more money than they can afford to spend.
he had the major knee injury that cost him a season and change, but other than that what other injury problems has he had since leaving NY? He struggled early last year but really came on strong at the end of the season as he got back to 100%. It's certainly possible his best years are still ahead of him.
Maybe I'm misrepresenting his history of injury. Apparently the first time he had the knee, the surgery was botched. They had to go in a second time to repair it.
seems as if he's average to below average at nearly every skill required of an NBA player.
I dont disagree. But Im not sure you turn down a Porz-George trade unless Porz really blows you away this year.
Enzo: I have reservations about the Williams deal. I dont like the player option (robs us of the upside) and I worry that he's just too low BBIQ. But it's fairly low risk if you consider the fact that for 2016-17, 5 million is going to feel a lot like $3 million in 2014-15. Jerome James this is not.
Im neither a Williams expert nor a Triangle expert, but my understanding is that he's not good at ball movement. Kind of a black hole.
What makes you think his breakout chance is positively effected by the Triangle?
Not a huge fan but not going to rip it either. The player option next year was a bit much but who knows what other teams were offering + it should be pretty movable I would hope next year when cap goes up a lot. But all in all not a huge fan.
I do think he'll be in a better position to succeed this year than in year's past.
agreed. If somehow this guy turns the corner, he's likely gone for more money elsewhere. And while the contract is short and not for a ton of money, it sure seems like an overpay based on what he's done in the league so far.
I guess if he can improve his rebounding a 3 pt shooting a bit, all of a sudden you have a 4 who can shoot 3's and spread the floor - a valuable asset.
Knicks will certainly have to hope that he's young and hungry enough to still improve in a few key areas.
In a somewhat similar vein, Williams is probably looking to get a big contract. He'll have opportunity to show that he can be a player. If he does, then great. If he doesn't, the worst case is he's out of here after his second year.
If Williams struggles and opts in at 5 million, that's another poor contract to deal with, which sucks despite the low cost. The 5 million could potentially be the difference between a max and a 2nd tier player. I guess they're always ways to free up a few million here and there but that's a risk the Knicks are taking on for a meh player.
Hopefully it doesn't get to the point where 12 million of the Knicks salaries are devoted to poor players.
Now it will be Knicks fans turn.
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I'd be cautiously optimistic at best on what he can bring to the table. What are his strengths as a player?
So you're adding a 6'8" 245 pound guy who can move without the ball, set picks, and score down low, when we don't have a starting C who'll be a great scorer.
His threes have gotten better, as Melo's did, and could continue to, as if the Triangle is working correctly he'll get a bunch of wide open corner threes.
except Extra E shot 44% on corner threes during his one season in NY.
Interesting well that would help. Yea it's tough to judge him too much because 1- he's still very young 2- he's been in pretty shitty spots with Minnesota and Sacramento.
Good point about the team defense. Knicks were 7th in defensive efficiency in 2010 actually despite pretty subpar defenders around the court. But Shumpert + Tyson + a pretty hard working unit helped with that.
Reminds me of how BBI talks about the offensive line at times and how cohesiveness often helps overcome a lack of individual talent at times.
I do. I would have been ok with it if it was a team option. I don't understand making it a player option at all.