Adrian Wojnarowski
@wojespn
Reporting with
@MarcJSpearsESPN
: Free agent Marcus Morris -- who committed to a two-year, $20M Spurs deal w/ player option -- is re-considering agreement. Morris is now considering a free agent deal with Knicks, who'll have additional cap space with reworking of Bullock deal.
Chauncey Billups shares why he thinks Melo isn't in the NBA anymore.
Do they represent their countries in the World Cup in August? Or do they choose to rest, relax and work out with Knicks coaches?
In Brazdeikis case, the Michigan second-round pick has been contemplating suiting up for his native Lithuania, according to an industry source. Like Barrett, Brazdeikis grew up in Canada.
Barrett was asked where he stands on playing for his country. As much as he has New York blood, he is Canadian first and was part of the countrys 18- and 17-and-under national teams.
I havent thought about it much, Barrett said. Im trying to get through the summer league first [before making a decision].
SEE ALSO
Knicks Ignas Brazdeikis always has silenced the doubters
Team Canada, according to the source, hopes he plays. That Rowan Barrett, RJs father, had been a key player for Team Canada in years past could weigh in the favor of him playing in the event held in China beginning in late August. Rowan Barrett was teammates with Steve Nash on Team Canada.
They would have had Davis and probably just enough room for 2 max spots. Would that have made Kyrie and KD consider the Knicks? Would Leonard have been open to playing with Davis? He was searching for a 2nd star to play with - spoke to Durant and Butler before George.
I know he was a lock for the Lakers but its an interesting scenario to think of. It would have taken massive balls but imagine if they pulled in Davis and Kawhi this offseason....
They would have had Davis and probably just enough room for 2 max spots. Would that have made Kyrie and KD consider the Knicks? Would Leonard have been open to playing with Davis? He was searching for a 2nd star to play with - spoke to Durant and Butler before George.
I know he was a lock for the Lakers but its an interesting scenario to think of. It would have taken massive balls but imagine if they pulled in Davis and Kawhi this offseason....
if he was not represented by klutch i dont think he is as adamant about grtting to the lakers and i dknt think the lakers cam take that risk by trading for him...
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Leaving Las Vegas one last note - sounds like a few folks in and out of the knicks organization think that the Marcus Morris deal will happen.
I still expect smith barrett knox randle robinson
I still expect smith barrett knox randle robinson
I expect that too unless they sign Morris, in which case Knox is replaced by Morris as a starter (is my guess). It wouldn't hurt to mix up the young guys with the vets a little more anyway. The second team could be:
payton ellington knox portis gibson
that leaves a third team including frank, trier, dotson, iggy, ellenson, bullock (I guess there's a question how much he can play)
seems to be a surplus at the 2 and 3 and a shortage at the 5 - Mitch is the only true C on the roster.
I don't know that he'd be a starter with the Spurs either. They liked using DeRozan at the 3 last year and Aldridge at the 4 with Forbes and Poltl in there too.
Oak would approve.
One would think the minute allocation would look something like this:
PG: DSJ 28, Payton 20
SG: RJB 26, Trier 22
SF: Morris 18, Knox 24, Iggy or Dot to fight for scraps
PF: Randle 30, Portis 10, Morris 8
C: Robinson 22, Portis 12, Gibson 14
Obviously, guys can play their way in and out of minutes.
he has some seriously thin skin
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in the sign and trade because he didnt like the perception that he was being traded straight up for russell..
he has some seriously thin skin
i dont think he realizes how big the split is between nets and knicks. I think he thinks he will get the same love whether with nets or knicks
I'm also curious whether Fiz will actually stick with a starting line-up this season. Last season it seemed to change every few weeks. I'm going to wait for pre-season to make any starting line up predictions or assume anyone will be relegated to the bench. Just like last year, it seems like the Knicks have 15 players all who have similar skill levels, or at least that potential, so playing time will be difficult to allocate.
Of course you're right to do so. But it's fun to guess, so here's my current thinking assuming Morris is signed:
1st team:
Mitch-Randle-Morris-RJ-Payton
2nd team:
Portis-Iggy-Knox-Ellingon-DSJ
Occasional minutes:
Gibson-Trier-Dotson-Bullock-[big man not on roster yet]
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If the Knicks are going down this road with vets, they might as well try to win games. I have no clue who to start at guard - Smith and Barrett have the highest upside, but you could make a case for guys like Payton, Dotson and Trier if it's a true meritocracy.
One would think the minute allocation would look something like this:
PG: DSJ 28, Payton 20
SG: RJB 26, Trier 22
SF: Morris 18, Knox 24, Iggy or Dot to fight for scraps
PF: Randle 30, Portis 10, Morris 8
C: Robinson 22, Portis 12, Gibson 14
Obviously, guys can play their way in and out of minutes.
The 4 young guys need more minutes than that. And thats going to be a cramped floor for that starting 5.
I dont understand this Morris signing at all or this entire offseason but thats a different story. Why not just keep the 15million or cap space and move on from Bullock too? There are no NBA teams with substantial cap space. When teams want to make a trade and need a 3rd team with space to facilitate - that could put the Knicks in a good position. But who needs more picks when you can sign your 5th power forward instead.
"Obviously, guys can play their way in and out of minutes."
Also, as much as we all like him, with his foul rate its unlikely he gets near 30 min.
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with 0 uptick in minutes? Yuck
"Obviously, guys can play their way in and out of minutes."
Also, as much as we all like him, with his foul rate its unlikely he gets near 30 min.
He played 20.6 minutes per game last season including 17.8 first half, so you're basically suggesting he's going to play less than he did last year once joining the rotation? Foul trouble or not that would be terrible.
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In comment 14496668 bceagle05 said:
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If the Knicks are going down this road with vets, they might as well try to win games. I have no clue who to start at guard - Smith and Barrett have the highest upside, but you could make a case for guys like Payton, Dotson and Trier if it's a true meritocracy.
One would think the minute allocation would look something like this:
PG: DSJ 28, Payton 20
SG: RJB 26, Trier 22
SF: Morris 18, Knox 24, Iggy or Dot to fight for scraps
PF: Randle 30, Portis 10, Morris 8
C: Robinson 22, Portis 12, Gibson 14
Obviously, guys can play their way in and out of minutes.
The 4 young guys need more minutes than that. And thats going to be a cramped floor for that starting 5.
I dont understand this Morris signing at all or this entire offseason but thats a different story. Why not just keep the 15million or cap space and move on from Bullock too? There are no NBA teams with substantial cap space. When teams want to make a trade and need a 3rd team with space to facilitate - that could put the Knicks in a good position. But who needs more picks when you can sign your 5th power forward instead.
This is not < 2010. They're not all PFs, they're all BIGs. There is 96 minutes a night to allocate among the 5 guys. Randle will get 30 of that. Gibson might get 10. There's 56 left and that isn't factoring the idea that Morris will get minutes at the 3 also. With Morris, your adding toughness, shooting and a trade asset.
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In comment 14496755 DanMetroMan said:
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with 0 uptick in minutes? Yuck
"Obviously, guys can play their way in and out of minutes."
Also, as much as we all like him, with his foul rate its unlikely he gets near 30 min.
He played 20.6 minutes per game last season including 17.8 first half, so you're basically suggesting he's going to play less than he did last year once joining the rotation? Foul trouble or not that would be terrible.
If the 3 minutes is going to keep you up tonight, there you go:
PG: DSJ 28, Payton 20
SG: RJB 26, Trier 22
SF: Morris 18, Knox 24, Iggy or Dot to fight for scraps
PF: Randle 30, Portis 10, Morris 8
C: Robinson 26, Portis 8, Gibson 14
So IMO DSJ is an unlikely starter, tho if his shot has improved, that might make him the scoring choice over EP. Even so EP starts as the better playmaker. Then the only other definite starter is Randle at 4
Mitch should get the most minutes at 5, but with 2 guys better on O it won't be that simple. As mentioned if he doesn't get fouls in control it takes care of itself minutes-wise
Then RJ you think starts at 2, but the others are better shooters. So does Dot get the nod early being the best 2-way of those? Or Trier if they need more scoring? If either has improved this offseason, both have a shot outside of #3 pick taking priority
The 3 becomes much clearer without Morris. But iirc he's the best defender and solid all around. Knox then Iggy & Dot certainly need some minutes. Tho I bet Dot in particular plays some 2
Which is my last point, especially w/ the breakdown of set positions, there's gonna be a lot more overlap & grey area for positions. It's conceivable RJ / Iggy / KK do what Vonleh was doing from the 4-5 & bring the ball up. With EP the lone passing PG, this might be a more common in game move, even aside from the mandate to break. As people have said, there's a lot on Fizzy this time, interesting to see how he does
Payton did have a higher assist percentage than DSJ last year but not by a lot -- 32 percent to 28 percent.
I find this stat to be pretty illuminating. Knox was abysmal. Ranked 441 out of 510 players who saw any NBA playing time. My biggest concern about his game.
nba advanced - ( New Window )
While the starting group can do more with DSJ in theory even if he is a lesser floor general atm (I'd think atm) - Randle can do a lot with the ball, Portis too. Then KK / RJ aren't PG dependent either...tho you'd think we need less scoring if that was the 4, while PG / handle isn't a requirement
Again it's gonna be who works best - best PnR pairs, best trio on the strong side, best motor & team D if not just best choice to defend specific players. Gonna need a shooter or 2 which they seem to have more now, be it strong or weakside. Likely a lot of changes & experimentation early
How does that make sense? He didn't like the perception that he was being traded straight up for Russell so instead he wanted the perception to be that he's not even good enough to be traded straight up for Russell, the GSW had to kick in a 1st rounder?
Obviously GSW wasn't kicking in a 1st because Russell is in any way more valuable than Durant (except for next season), but how does KD's (self-)perceived value increase by GSW including a 1st?
knicks do not need a scorer off the bench, with trier off the bench..
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in the sign and trade because he didnt like the perception that he was being traded straight up for russell..
How does that make sense? He didn't like the perception that he was being traded straight up for Russell so instead he wanted the perception to be that he's not even good enough to be traded straight up for Russell, the GSW had to kick in a 1st rounder?
Obviously GSW wasn't kicking in a 1st because Russell is in any way more valuable than Durant (except for next season), but how does KD's (self-)perceived value increase by GSW including a 1st?
Windhorst wasn't clear on this point. My guess is it was about perception. It looked like Russell was being traded for the pick and not Durant straight up.
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fear is Fitz putting DSJ on the bench as a "scorer". He's either a PG or he's not an NBA player.
knicks do not need a scorer off the bench, with trier off the bench..
Trier was a perfect example of extremely odd messaging from Fitz... I like Trier but why was he given a different set of rules within the system?
That signing is going to come back and haunt Brooklyn.
Kept youth and picks- and added prince.
They lost vets.
I struggle to understand what they are going to miss out on?
And if hes healthy and it hits- fantastic.
That signing is going to come back and haunt Brooklyn.
he will probably end his career in brooklyn
Kept youth and picks- and added prince.
They lost vets.
I struggle to understand what they are going to miss out on?
And if hes healthy and it hits- fantastic.
Exactly. I never understood the argument that it was a risky signing. The reward far outweighs any risk. You are getting one of the one of the best players to ever play the game from ages 32-34 at a minimum. And they got a first round pick in return.
Its actually sad and ironic the Nets were the ones getting a 1st and 2 max players while the Knicks struck out in both...
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They gave up nothing- swapped Irving and dlo-
Kept youth and picks- and added prince.
They lost vets.
I struggle to understand what they are going to miss out on?
And if hes healthy and it hits- fantastic.
Exactly. I never understood the argument that it was a risky signing. The reward far outweighs any risk. You are getting one of the one of the best players to ever play the game from ages 32-34 at a minimum. And they got a first round pick in return.
Its actually sad and ironic the Nets were the ones getting a 1st and 2 max players while the Knicks struck out in both...
You sound like SAS. Maybe consider becoming a Nets fan?