NFT: NY Knicks Draft Recap

In comment 14479384 nygiants16 said:

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nets are frontrunners for durant...

Where did you see them say that?

go figure

Bruce Arthur
✔
@bruce_arthur
Chauncey Billups just seriously compared R.J. Barrett to Chicago Jalen Rose AND said R.J. is a two-way player. In the same sentence!

Um, no Chauncey. He's not at all like that guy - ( New Window )

In comment 14479407 slickwilly said:

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In comment 14479384 nygiants16 said: Quote: nets are frontrunners for durant... Where did you see them say that?

the jump

was pure speculation if that was what you are referring to. These guys have no clue at this point and change what their sources are telling them every other day.

In comment 14479415 slickwilly said:

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was pure speculation if that was what you are referring to. These guys have no clue at this point and change what their sources are telling them every other day.

you realize kendricknperkins is one of durants good friends, if he is saying it probably true

In comment 14479416 nygiants16 said:

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In comment 14479415 slickwilly said: Quote: was pure speculation if that was what you are referring to. These guys have no clue at this point and change what their sources are telling them every other day. you realize kendricknperkins is one of durants good friends, if he is saying it probably true

He's paid to say stuff.

What's probably more true is that Kevin Durant just had his life upended and is more focused on getting that full leg cast off. He's going to meet with teams and make a decision. Nobody knows what's going to happen.

Why would anybody want to play for a team with no fans?

In comment 14479418 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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In comment 14479416 nygiants16 said: Quote: In comment 14479415 slickwilly said: Quote: was pure speculation if that was what you are referring to. These guys have no clue at this point and change what their sources are telling them every other day. you realize kendricknperkins is one of durants good friends, if he is saying it probably true He's paid to say stuff. What's probably more true is that Kevin Durant just had his life upended and is more focused on getting that full leg cast off. He's going to meet with teams and make a decision. Nobody knows what's going to happen.

durant has said multiple times he is not taking meetings

In comment 14479416 nygiants16 said:

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In comment 14479415 slickwilly said: Quote: was pure speculation if that was what you are referring to. These guys have no clue at this point and change what their sources are telling them every other day. you realize kendricknperkins is one of durants good friends, if he is saying it probably true

In the last month Perkins has said the Knicks, Clippers and Nets were all the favorites for Durant at different times. I'm not sure he knows much. This morning Jay Williams once again who is also very close to KD hinted that the Knicks would get KD or at least had a very good chance.

My sense though is that since the injury, KD has been mum on his intentions and no one really knows much aside from his inner inner circle. It's also quite possible KD has no idea yet what he's going to do which is the direction I lean towards.

without talking to representatives from that team.

In comment 14479432 Ten Ton Hammer said:

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without talking to representatives from that team.

just going by what he has said

No reason to be too concerned. There's been a lot of bullshit put out in the past two days.

per Griffin? I guess that's just an odd GM speak...

it's nothing but CLEAR no one knows. But some like to insist there's only one answer, yet change their own minds w/ every new report every time. It's comical (Tiki/Eli reference!) to me, but to each their own. Might as well be confident even if you're wrong!

if for no other reason then the fact that it shows players still dont want to play for the knicks. Whether its the losing, FO, owner, culture, pressure, whatever. Because there is zero chance they would be choosing BKN cause they think the current roster is that much better. Im not trying to knock the roster but its not why those guys would choose BKN.

Tommy Beer
✔
@TommyBeer
· 5h
GM Scott Perry mentioned that Knicks analytics guys were very high on Ignas Brazdeikis.

Here's why:
At UM, Brazdeikis scored 1.19 points per Spot Up possession [92nd percentile], scored .93 PPP in pick-and-roll action [84th percentile] and ranked in 89th percentile as a cutter.


Tommy Beer
✔
@TommyBeer
Brazdeikis graded out better defensively than I expected, especially on the perimeter.

According to Synergy data, Iggy allowed just 0.65 points per Isolation possession [69th percentile].

His tenacity and effort on the defensive end made up for some of his physical shortcomings

I thought it was illuminating that the Knicks made it a point to get the top 3 guys here. RJ is a coincidence I'm sure but the other two definitely are not.

The little bit I’ve seen of him, and what I’ve read of his strengths/weaknesses, he reminds me of Joe Ingles. Very similar measirables as well.

I haven’t seen much of him though so I could be way off, but that’s the first person I thought of when watching him.

I like the Iggy pick

Hopefully he can make the team and bring some intensity and role playing mentality. I like his off the ball movement.

In comment 14479726 Ira said:

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Quote: “I think we’re asking them to continue to be patient,” Knicks president Steve Mills said. “We laid out a plan when Scott came on board and then David [Fizdale] joined us, that we were going to build this team the right way. We’re going to draft well and we’re gonna be diligent about how we make this team and not take any shortcuts and follow a path.’’

I'd love for us to land Kawhi. Every pundit would have to eat crow. And we'd be instant contenders.

Knox has the kind of musculature that will get spectacularly stronger over time, enhancing his shooting, moves to the rim, rebounding and defense.

It really astonishes me that people consider a 6'9" 19-y-o who was still getting taller as a a rookie to be close to his physical peak in basketball skills, aside from the fact that he only switched to BB as his primary sport 4 years ago. Add 15-20 pounds of solid muscle to that body, and THEN lets see what he can accomplish. And, of course he will get a lot of that just this summer. But by 2020-21, at age 21, he will be an entirely different athlete.

I am really intrigued to see what he looks like in summer league, where he will STILL be one of the younger players in the league. He's 10 whole months older than Barrett, who is a baby age-wise.

@TommyBeer
15h15 hours ago
Players named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year:

2014-15: D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State
2016-17: Miles Bridges, Michigan State
2017-18: Jaren Jackson Jr. Michigan State
2018-19: Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan

We'll see how he compares at the next level, but fair enough...

@TommyBeer
17h17 hours ago

-Also, Barrett is just the fourth freshman over the last 25 years to score more than 850 points.
-The other three: Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley & Trae Young.
-Oh, and dating back to the start of his senior season in high school, Barrett is 67-5 in the last 72 games he's played in.

@TommyBeer
18h18 hours ago

Last season, RJ Barrett averaged more assists per game than PG's:
Coby White, Darius Garland Carsen Edwards.

Barrett also averaged 7.6 rebounds. That's a higher rebound average than bigs:
No. 4 overall pick De'Andre Hunter, No. 8 pick Jaxson Hayes and No. 12 pick PJ Washington.

I believe he was top 10 in rebounds & assists

stats and numbers are one aspect but when I look at players the feet are where I go first. Beginning with some very limited internet video his gait or length of stride had my attention. Unlike, to use as a comparison "Dollar" Bill Bradley and his short or abbreviated gait Brazdeikis stride was elongated, meaning he's on the plus side as a athlete.

A like comparison would be John Stockton. To stay with this comparison, Stocktons' nick name was "stock" but at some point you would think that someone would've changed that to "bulldog", because that was who Stockton was and that's what his game was predicated on. So watching the video on Brazdeikis it appears he has that same type of approach to the game. Not predicting that the Knicks have the next John Stockton on their team, rather that he has those qualities.

After that I took a look at the other additions...King Hinton and Wilkes. The only one I would have any questions on would be Hinton. My thinking is they also want to see who he actually is. He reminds me of a Michael Beasley type. And for that the Knicks want to see if he can defend and or facilitate. And I didn't see anything in those videos that were vision related...like was he a 9 man vision guy or a 3 man vision guy. He was spending the most time at setting up the opposition with his one on one stuff.

Mike Riordan.

It's the biggest thing that could limit his ability to become an impactful NBA player.

In comment 14479876 Phil in LA said:

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Mike Riordan.

There's a blast from the past. There was no 3 point shot in those days, though, so hard to compare.

another try-hard white guy. I like the little attitude he seems to play with, maybe the extremely poor man's Doncic without the passing?

Claxton could be a steal for the Nets though.

like him as a prospect. He's got some talent and he's got the edge that guys need to get the most out of their talent. I won't try to guess how good an nba player he'll be, but I think he'll be a useful player. Trading up to get him with just cash was a smart move.

people forget that:
1) He was Eastern Conference ROY in December.
2) He hit the Rookie wall hard in January.
3) He actually had three strong periods: The summer league, December, and the 6 games in April. For 6 games in April, he averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds.
4) For 14 games in March, his 3 pointer was at 43.1%. I expect that his three point average for the year (35.3%) would be 3-5 points higher if he had star scorers on the team to open up the court for him. He was rushing a lot because he had to.

And this was as the second youngest player in the league. Consider the upcoming year as a traditional rookie year, and let's see what he looks like.

343 from three and .387 from two. That percent from two,flat out sucks. I also know he is young and will improve.

In comment 14480069 XBRONX said:

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343 from three and .387 from two. That percent from two,flat out sucks. I also know he is young and will improve.

He has problems finishing his drives. He needs to work on that.

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Phil in LA : 10:06 am : link Mike Riordan.

with Bill Hoskett length!

until finally giving up. Knox has skills, unlike Frank, but he just seems oddly nonchalant out there. The fact that the Knicks brought in 3 players at his position might indicate something.

Anybody knows how Michael Porter’s rehab is going?

knox "has skills unlike Frank" would be a pretty good reason to give him more time. Kind of a big deal. He also had a much better rookie year then Frank did. The idea that he was an awful basketball player all of his rookie year is just not fact.

Barrett is a guard and i dont think it means anything that our 2nd rd pick and an undrafted guy could play SF.

depending on who the knicks sign in free agency as well..

I would assume kadeem allen would play summer league right?

It seems like his injury makes his fit in NYK make even more sense. His injury legitimizes his GSW exit. The Knicks can offer him a 4 year max contract which gives him security despite his injury. His injury timeline would seem to work well with the Knicks core of players, who will get another year of experience and development. Even if we end up tanking, we could add another big piece in the draft. Not to mention, we'd still have another max space in case someone decides 2020-21 is the Knicks time with a core of:

KD/Second max/RJB/Mitch/2020 1st

Knox/DSJ/Trier/Dotson/Iggy/Frank

Is there any way GSW offers KD that 5 year deal? That would seem to be the move that would preempt any discussion of KD moving on. I don't see how he couldn't stay in GS for a quarter billion dollars. But, at that level, maybe the money is more negotiable than it seems...

the whole thing could work well if we just go with 1-year deals. Our best kids will be approaching maturity by fall 2020, we add another high draft pick in summer 2020, and have two first round picks in 2021, our's and Denver's. Add a second max just as Durant is healing, and have a lot of cheap, young talent in addition.

It seems this FO is doing it right for once. Not holding their breaths for any single outcome, but ready & positioned for the right FAs / opportunities when available

Chase only those FAs, hit the jackpot & get 2-3 great, if you get 1 you can spend a year developing that group. Don't have to spend cap just because you have it. If no one comes down, it's all youth. And maybe in a few offseasons that opportunity comes up after you've built a few decent players (whether stars or rotation pieces to keep, or trade chips).

It IS the Knicks so we'll see. But it sure feels like the team is on the right track w/ this FO

Mitch, Knox, Trier and RJ are all on board, though Mitch will only play a couple of games. I’m looking forward to watching the undrafted guys too, especially Amir Hinton. Hey, maybe we’ll get some good free agent news to add to the excitement.

Hahn is doing a show next sunday 6 to 9..

In comment 14480454 adamg said:

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It seems like his injury makes his fit in NYK make even more sense. His injury legitimizes his GSW exit. The Knicks can offer him a 4 year max contract which gives him security despite his injury. His injury timeline would seem to work well with the Knicks core of players, who will get another year of experience and development. Even if we end up tanking, we could add another big piece in the draft. Not to mention, we'd still have another max space in case someone decides 2020-21 is the Knicks time with a core of: KD/Second max/RJB/Mitch/2020 1st Knox/DSJ/Trier/Dotson/Iggy/Frank Is there any way GSW offers KD that 5 year deal? That would seem to be the move that would preempt any discussion of KD moving on. I don't see how he couldn't stay in GS for a quarter billion dollars. But, at that level, maybe the money is more negotiable than it seems...

By all accounts GS is almost certainly going to offer him the 5 year max. I know people are skeptical that given the tax bill they’ll actually do it but nothing reported has indicated anything else thus far.

As far as KD to NYK goes, I’m not sure anyone’s heard much of anything about his intentions since the injury. What may not play in our favor is that he could be less confident in his ability to carry a team than he was prior to the injury, making it more important that he goes somewhere with another star hence why there’s so much Nets talk recently given Kyrie’s interest there.

it's that he doesn't do anything but shoot. He's a black hole on offense and he has really poor assist and rebounding numbers.

Obviously working on offense is important as well, but I'd love for him to work on his court vision and passing.

getting to the basket in summer league. Once the real games started he struggled to finish and i think it made him more hesitant to drive. 4.5 rebounds a game for a rookie SF was fine. As for assists i dont think thats ever going to be a strong part of his game, but for a SF thats not a big deal.

and finishing once he gets there. If he can do that he will be fine.