I appreciate your passion for "deals" BoD.
Having said that, how would "dealing" Hezonja and/or Hardaway help our team?
More to the point, how would "dumping" Mario or Timmy enhance our standing among free agents? There are more implications to deals than just talent.
Who, among second or third tier free agents are going to be enthused about coming here, perhaps accepting one year deals or less money, because they are excited about the possibility of proving themselves and creating a home in NYC at the Garden.
To then simply turn around and go, "Oooops, my bad," is not going to build trust or a family climate.
Yes, yes, hard knocks and hard truths. Got it.
"Maybe it will help us tank?"
Well, now, that doesn't seem to be the goal, does it?
We could very well be a lottery team come next spring.
Management and the coaching staff have not committed to tanking, they have committed to building a better, sustainable culture.
Fizdale genuinely impresses me, because he seems to be able to reach & teach young players. Again, baby steps, naught but baby steps, and in pre-season no less, but we've already seen his young charges getting after it defensively, and demonstrating better pacing and energy.
What he did with Mudiay, responding to poor games by starting him, really struck me as foundational and supportive in a very...human response. Mudiay's shooting continues to astonish in its ineptitude, but Emmanuel really set a very good tone in transition, made some excellent penetrations and reads in the open court and in the paint, and had a good defensive focus. Perhaps the confidence Mudiay displayed will translate to his own offense. Perhaps not. Fizz got good minutes out of him.
And we also saw progress from Hezonja and Hardaway and Vonleh in tangible ways. Again, baby steps, but Mario seemed more under control, though I am still baffled at how few looks he gets (Alonzo Trier, please pick up the Hospitality Phone); Timmy still had too many heat check threes, but I liked his aggression, and how it mirrored Trier in using his athleticism, going to the rack, and getting to the charity stripe; and the sheer physicality and competitive ooomph of Vonleh was a welcome development...a double double in a handful of minutes, some nice aggression and hops around the rack, and a three pointer.
I am confident that Perry is working the phones looking to find takers for our roster overflow.
In the meantime, if Trier has to go to Westchester, along with Hicks, that is not the end of the world. Meanwhile, Baker evincing his inner Mike Riordan, Dotson playing well in limited minutes.
I sense that Perry is going to be a lot more patient with the likes of Hezonja, Mudiay, Hardaway than some of us on this forum might be.
Which is all to the good.
I am liking our chemistry, even as I wait for the other shoe to drop, and for this team to absorb some good old fashioned ass whuppings. I will be interested to see how they respond post-loss, and how they respond when Fizz shortens up rotations and begins to settle in lineups and match ups.
The time for deal-deals-deals is more distant than you would seem to project, and in terms of chemistry, some of what you propose, calculated and well-thought out as you always are, amounts to little more than a reshuffling not a reboot. Harkless instead of Hezonja? Giving up on Hardaway in the name of cap space; adding a Wes Matthews when we already have Dotson and Trier (AND COURTNEY LEE)?
Oh, and yet another proposal for dumping Lance Thomas, who clearly is a significant contributor and a defensive force, and one of Fizz's faves? A trendsetter in terms of our team culture, our defensive culture. So we can replace him with Moe Harkless?
Persuasive? Perhaps.
Compelling?
PASS.
Poll
