The NY Daily News has another story, but I didn't link since it's behind a partial paywall.
I find this interesting because it's an insight into how the business works. We've seen this before, but it's rare.
Agents need relationships with both clients and buyers -- teams, in this case. A lot of people think of agents as sleazy wheeler-dealers (and there's some truth to that) but teams have to believe that when an agent agrees to something, he speaks for his client. If he says "We have a deal" and then there's no deal, then people won't negotiate with him anymore. If his client chooses to back out, the agent pretty much has to "fire" that client to preserve his relationship with the buyers.
Honestly, if Morris agreed to a deal and backed out, for me that's a small red flag about him. But maybe there's more to it than I can see from the outside.
Report: Marcus Morris, agent Rich Paul part ways - (
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It's going to be like Spinal Tap doing Big Bottom with five bass players!
It’s the knicks new slogan
The NY Knicks, we power forward.
(Stolen from reddit)
Good post.
Totally disagree. Number one, I like Portis a lot and think his best basketball is soon to come. Two, he and Robinson are a very athletic, high energy center combo. Three, Robinson/Knox/RJB/Trier can only benefit from this slew of tough/competitive group of vets. Four, these one year plus a team option contracts may prove valuable if someone like Bradley Beal shakes free.
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was a poor signing at that cost. That seems like a misstep otherwise the "position" concerns are silly UNLESS Fizdale gets too obsessed with winning over development.
Totally disagree. Number one, I like Portis a lot and think his best basketball is soon to come. Two, he and Robinson are a very athletic, high energy center combo. Three, Robinson/Knox/RJB/Trier can only benefit from this slew of tough/competitive group of vets. Four, these one year plus a team option contracts may prove valuable if someone like Bradley Beal shakes free.
Portis was the #2 worst signing of the off-season per 538
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In comment 14499021 DanMetroMan said:
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was a poor signing at that cost. That seems like a misstep otherwise the "position" concerns are silly UNLESS Fizdale gets too obsessed with winning over development.
Totally disagree. Number one, I like Portis a lot and think his best basketball is soon to come. Two, he and Robinson are a very athletic, high energy center combo. Three, Robinson/Knox/RJB/Trier can only benefit from this slew of tough/competitive group of vets. Four, these one year plus a team option contracts may prove valuable if someone like Bradley Beal shakes free.
Portis was the #2 worst signing of the off-season per 538
I have a lot of issues with 538's CARMELO system but they also didn't account for length of contract in this analysis which is just as important as the total annual value... you overpay for essentially one year deals
Players’ net values calculated by their 2019-20 CARMELO market values minus 2019-20 salaries, as of July 8
RANK PLAYER TEAM CARMELO MARKET VALUE 2019-20 SALARY NET VALUE
1 Harrison Barnes Sacramento $3.5m $19.0m -$15.5m
2 Bobby Portis New York 1.1 15.1 -14.0
3 Trevor Ariza Sacramento -1.0 12.2 -13.2
4 Klay Thompson Golden State 22.5 32.7 -10.2
5 Rajon Rondo L.A. Lakers -6.6 2.6 -9.2
6 Mike Scott Philadelphia -4.4 4.8 -9.2
7 Tobias Harris Philadelphia 22.4 31.0 -8.6
8 Bojan Bogdanovic Utah 8.4 17.0 -8.6
9 Robin Lopez Milwaukee -3.1 4.8 -7.9
10 Taj Gibson New York 2.1 9.8 -7.7
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In comment 14499040 Pep22 said:
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In comment 14499021 DanMetroMan said:
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was a poor signing at that cost. That seems like a misstep otherwise the "position" concerns are silly UNLESS Fizdale gets too obsessed with winning over development.
Totally disagree. Number one, I like Portis a lot and think his best basketball is soon to come. Two, he and Robinson are a very athletic, high energy center combo. Three, Robinson/Knox/RJB/Trier can only benefit from this slew of tough/competitive group of vets. Four, these one year plus a team option contracts may prove valuable if someone like Bradley Beal shakes free.
Portis was the #2 worst signing of the off-season per 538
I have a lot of issues with 538's CARMELO system but they also didn't account for length of contract in this analysis which is just as important as the total annual value... you overpay for essentially one year deals
Deadspin came to a similar conclusion and Rotoworld said he was looking for 16 million per but he was unlikely to get it. He was roundly viewed as an overpay.
"The Knicks are in that tier of NBA teams where they have to pay a premium in free agency, because they suck. And because they were stiff-armed by their two primary free agency targets and thus denied the chance to pay for production, they find themselves paying a premium for what they hope is potential. It’s tempting to think of the Portis contract as just more Knicks bullcrap—for now it’s safe to assume it will wind up being more Knicks bullcrap—but it’s also an illuminating example of how doing business with bad basketball teams can help and hurt a player’s development arc. Portis’s new contract is a blessing and a curse—he’ll make $15.5 million next season, but he’ll have to produce quite a lot in order for the Knicks to consider picking up his team option for the following year, at that same price tag. If he falls out of their rotation early in the season, Portis could quickly become an expiring contract to be dangled in pure money swaps—not a desirable player on a reasonable deal, the kind of guy who could get moved to a playoff team ahead of the deadline, but a bad-money deal to be moved to a team looking to create salary cap space if the Knicks shift into asset acquisition mode. That’s a bottom-rung position in the NBA’s hierarchy."
? Huh? how the Knicks paid way more for Portis than they should have because they are bad vs. Looney who took far less and is arguably better or at least as good but the Warriors are a good team?
"This is not to say that Bobby Portis sucks—well, it’s not to say it yet, anyway—but taken against contracts signed by comparable players in the first couple days of free agency, his deal, um, stands out. Portis will get $15.5 million next season, despite never having played for a good NBA team, and despite never having been a winning player. "
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not the Knicks.
? Huh? how the Knicks paid way more for Portis than they should have because they are bad vs. Looney who took far less and is arguably better or at least as good but the Warriors are a good team?
"This is not to say that Bobby Portis sucks—well, it’s not to say it yet, anyway—but taken against contracts signed by comparable players in the first couple days of free agency, his deal, um, stands out. Portis will get $15.5 million next season, despite never having played for a good NBA team, and despite never having been a winning player. "
I'm referring to your most recent posted quote. I wouldn't hold it against him that he's never played for a good team. He's supposed to carry Chicago or Washington? He's improved as a scorer, rebounder and 3 point shooter every year since he's come into the league. He's young and he's on basically a one year deal. I have no issue with the signing. He's also known to be an extremely hard worker and he's tough. That's a good guy to have around.
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In comment 14499062 Strahan91 said:
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not the Knicks.
? Huh? how the Knicks paid way more for Portis than they should have because they are bad vs. Looney who took far less and is arguably better or at least as good but the Warriors are a good team?
"This is not to say that Bobby Portis sucks—well, it’s not to say it yet, anyway—but taken against contracts signed by comparable players in the first couple days of free agency, his deal, um, stands out. Portis will get $15.5 million next season, despite never having played for a good NBA team, and despite never having been a winning player. "
I'm referring to your most recent posted quote. I wouldn't hold it against him that he's never played for a good team. He's supposed to carry Chicago or Washington? He's improved as a scorer, rebounder and 3 point shooter every year since he's come into the league. He's young and he's on basically a one year deal. I have no issue with the signing. He's also known to be an extremely hard worker and he's tough. That's a good guy to have around.
BINGO