Marc and Jay talk about all the new Knicks signings and what they do and do not like about them, who else is available and who would be a good fit, Kevin Durant jumping ship, and all the other significant free agency moves
Episode 341: Emergency Episode
Marc and Jay give their thoughts on the Derrick Rose trade, talk to Rose, man on the street, what’s next for the Knicks, and more
New York Knicks to Cash in on NBA Star Carmelo Anthony
The New York Knicks moved heaven and earth to trade for Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets. They did the same when they convinced him to sign a long-term contract in 2014, and it worked. For the most part he’s been a spectacular player for the Knicks. However, the 32-year-old wants to win, and he wants it now. The Knicks, although improving, aren’t there yet. In fact they won’t get there before Carmelo’s skills have largely decreased. For that reason, it’s a win-win to trade the All-Star now. Trade him for players, picks and cap room, and he’ll have a shot at his coveted ring, and the Knicks can improve with an arsenal of tools to help them in doing so. One option is a trade for Kevin Love.
Carmelo’s abilities will decrease rapidly as he continues in to his thirties, yet teams would still trade their arm and a leg to get him. The Knicks can call all the shots here, and indeed they should.
Carmelo wants to win, but seems to have accepted the fact that he might remain in New York.
Phil Jackson insisted “In our meeting at the end of the season, Carmelo said, ‘Really, it’s not that bad. I think we have the best frontline guys in the game in the Eastern Conference in Robin [Lopez], myself and Kristaps [Porzingis],’”.
Will he stay, however?
Jackson explained “I have to agree with him: Yes, those are three real potent figures, but we still have guard roles to have to play. So we’ve got some positions to fill, but not a lot. Not that many.”
However, every team in the NBA would offer a crazy package to get him, and Jackson is a smart man. He must realize this is the smart thing to do.
One option is to trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’d be willing to off-load Love. Although he’s not on Carmelo’s level, he’s younger, and would provide an excellent cornerstone to rebuild the franchise upon.
Should the Knicks keep Carmelo, they must target Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan or any other all-star help to ensure Carmelo can win now. It won’t be easy. Any of these additions would help the Knicks change their Betway.com’s odds. Can they win a championship for Carmelo?
However, if they want the easier, long-term approach that Jackson has previously spoken of, then trading him makes sense. He deserves a chance to win it all, at least, and with his value to decrease, the Knicks won’t want to lose him for little in a few years time.
By cashing in now they can get anything they have their eyes on. A few years later, after still- likely- failing to win, they might lose Anthony for next to nothing.
It’s going to be a hard decision to make, but trading him- whether for Kevin Love or not- might just be the right thing to do for Phil Jackson’s Knicks.
Episode 340: Derrick Rose
Marc and Jay talk about the finals and Knicks rumors with Derrick Rose, JR Smith, Sir Insider, man on the street, Adam Silver, and more
2016 Free Agent Targets For The New York Knicks: players who fit both timelines – Part 2
Written by Kevin Meng
Yesterday was part 1 of the free agent targets. And now here are the free agents that the Knicks should target in 2016. In order of importance.
#1) Hassan Whiteside
Age: 26
Projected average salary: 22 million per
Position: C
Hassan Whiteside is the on the cusp of becoming the first player in league history to multiply his salary by 20 from one season to the next. Count Blockula went from being an obscure NBA misfit playing out contracts in Lebanon to a bonafide NBA star. He averaged 14 points, 12 boards, and nearly 4 blocks per game, all in under 30 minutes of playing time per contest. His rim protection is really what makes him so valuable, though. Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan will have nightmares of him for years to come. Had he not gone down, I’d have expect both of them to turn into raging alcoholics suffering from PTSD.
He gets lost on defense at times, lacks focus every now and then, and is still developing his offensive game, but scoring comes easy when you’re in the top .01% of humans in history in terms of size. Hassan get ball. Hassan dunk. His contract will be for less than the max for Batum or Conley, and the thought of KP AND Whiteside patrolling the paint together in their primes is so exciting that right-wing political groups would consider it scandalous, and it still isn’t legal in Mississippi. Despite our deficiencies at guard(which could be rectified through trades, especially if RoLo becomes redundant), this guy is priority #1. He isn’t so much a 2-t free agent as he is just a foundational franchise piece. He does happen to fit the age bracket we need.
#2) Kent Bazemore
Age: 26
Projected average salary: 15 million per
Position: wing
Bazemore isn’t going to blow anyone away or leave anyone’s jaw hanging low for too long, but what he will do is give the Knicks a reliable 12ish points every night, and, more importantly, the consistent three point shooting and stingy perimeter defense that this team so sorely lacked. He was only 36% from 3 this season overall (still solid), but he was a killer from the corners (a shot he will get plenty of), and he even shot well around the rim (60% from 0-3 feet). He was a net positive in every defensive metric this season for ATL, including being a +3.8 in defensive winshares, and at 6-5 he is lanky enough to guard multiple positions.
With Melo, KP, and hopefully an improved Grant at point guard, the Knicks won’t need someone to create offense, they’ll need someone to hit 3’s, get to the rim off of fakes, and play defense. He has improved every year, and at 26, he might still have a little more room to grow. He definitely isn’t the second most talented player on this list, but he is priority number 2 because of A) how he fits and B) how realistic of a target he is. The average NBA starter is going to get 15 per in this inflated market, so expect the bidding on him to start in that range. Giving him 15/16 per season would eat up only about half of our space, and leave us plenty flexible for 17’. Imagine KB at the 2 instead of he who shall not be named (that’s Sasha Vujacic, by the way).
#3) Evan Fournier Continue reading
Episode 339: Finals, coaching, and assaults
Marc and Jay talk about the finals, things to look for with our new coach, overall strategy going forward, free agents, and more
2016 Free Agent Targets For The New York Knicks: players who fit both timelines
Written by Kevin Meng
July, 2010
The Lakers had barely recovered from the hangover induced by winning game 7 against Pierce, Garnett & Sons, a bloodbath more reminiscent of World War One trench warfare than the finale of the National Basketball Association’s 64th season.
Kobe Bryant was still bitter that he hadn’t been able to shoot his team out of their 16th championship, try his damnedest though he did. The NBA was still abuzz about the draft that had just taken place. Was John Wall really better than Evan Turner? (yes, that was bandied about). Would Demarcus Cousins ever put it together? Who’s this skinny guy from Fresno State that Indiana just drafted? (better known as Paul George these days). And how the hell do you pronounce Hamady N’Diaye, the 56th pick from Senegal?
All the while, Knicks fans around the world glimmered with ignorant optimism about the future. THIS WAS THE SUMMER OF 2010! We had been swimming in a pool of stale water for years, polluted by the now defunct, non-eco- friendly conglomerate known as Isiah Thomas Co. We wanted the biggest names in the game: Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh. Actually, we wanted two of the biggest names in the game. Little did we know that they had been in cahoots with Riley in South Beach the whole time, and never wanted to play under the bright lights of MSG.
We wanted James and Wade; we got Stoudemire and Felton. The Big Three won not 1, not 2, not…well, actually they only won 2 titles. Better than the Knicks, though. Amar’e is now struggling for minutes in a league not friendly to old men with knee problems, and Felton is the rare NBA breed that has more gun charges on his record than NBA accolades.
What this long-winded rant about 2010 is meant to demonstrate is that the Knicks in the offseason of 2016, armed with enough cap space to throw at big names (which there are none of, by the way. KD doesn’t count), need to remember their lessons from 2010.
The New York Knicks simply don’t land big name free agents. 6 months of MVP Amar’e followed by 4 years of knee surgeries doesn’t count. What 2010 should also teach them is that just because you have money to spend, doesn’t mean to you have to spend it. When the Knicks struck out on the marquee names, they panicked and overpaid an aging and injury-riddled star to make up for it (respect to Amar’e for how well he played, though, and for always fighting to get healthy. He gave New York his all).
So here we find ourselves:
Summer 2016 Continue reading
Episode 338: Jeff Hornacek
The Knicks have a coach and it’s not Rambis! Marc and Jay give their thoughts on the new Knicks coach, what they expect to see this season and how this effects roster decisions. Some talk about the conference finals as well.
Episode 337: Coaching Hunt and Conference Finals
Marc and Jay talk about all the coaches that got signed and or didn’t interview with the Knicks, Phil is maybe secretly interviewing some coaches, the Knicks might be in the hunt for a draft pick, recapping the conference semifinals and previewing the conference finals
Episode 336: Coaching hunt and 2nd round
Marc, Jay, and Bri talk about all the coaches the Knicks didn’t interview and found jobs elsewhere, and their thoughts and predictions on the 2nd round of the playoffs
