We hired Kenny Atkinson?
COUGH
The Knicks best free agent signing was TOM THIBODEAU. Do you feel me, BoD.
The manner in which the Knicks were prepared to respond to a second half whup ass by the Pacers on opening night, and to neutralize Sabonis, and to dominate the FINAL THREE MINUTES of the fourth quarter are all marks of a TOP TIER COACH, both in his prep, and in his in game reponses.
Facil?
Why make ANY moves right now.
Get everyone healthy, and ramp up the levels of competition up and dopwn the roster. That approach appears to be....WORKING.
Harper and Pinson are of course, slated for Westchester in the G League.
Skal Labissière?
He was SIGNED to be RELEASED. To be Re-UPPED. He is on an EXHIBIT 10 Contract, which reserves the Knicks NBAGL rights. Sort of like what they did with Bryce Brown.
He is slotted for the G League once that hits.
Also, you are dismissing PF-C Omari Spellman based on what....exactly?
All of our veteran FA signings/trade additions to the 2020-2021 roster--Noels [26], Burks [29] and Rivers [28], Bullock [29] and Payton [26]--are progressing nicely, and offering a significant level of competition with the pups. Omari Spellman [23] is more of a puppy, in terms of age and experience. You are dismissing Spellman before he has had an opportunity to come back from injury and get into game shape? He was a .391% three point shooter for the Warriors. One might grant the Knicks brass and coaching staff some leeway vis a vis developing talent, puppy and veteran alike. Their decisions are looking pretty good right about now.
DECISIONS.
The premise, floated with some consistency by BoD, is that drafting Obi is a redundancy with Randle on board.
Uh, I believe Julius's reponse to COMPETITION has been solid...oh wait, that's right, they are both lousy defensive players.
Julius won the game tonight with a clutch defensive steal, full court sprint and slam, not to mention, keeping Sabonis from going off, when he torched is in the season opener. Likewise, the presumption that Randle and Toppin is an either or? Again, TALENT IS TALENT, and if Obi's footsteps have elevated Randle's game to its present level, well, nicely played, Leon Rose.
I mean, Elfrid Payton is manning up big time and playing like a vet possessed. Footsteps are causing him to elevate his game. He was a force tonight on both sides of the ball, save for that one Frank Ntilikina telegraph pass. Elfrid played winning basketball, and his clutch ball save and pass to Mitchell was key in the final minutes.
FINALLY: The Quickley/Rivers back court made me giddy. They were very effective individually and as a tandem. Both made a strong case for regular rotation minutes as they leap frogged over healing Frank and Dennis.
I WOULD EXPECT THE KNICKS TO WAIT LIKE 20-25 GAMES IN TO POSSESS AN ACCURATE SAMPLING OF WHAT WE HAVE GOT, AND ANY MOVES WE MIGHT WANT TO MAKE, WITH AN EYE TOWARDS THE ROSTER OR FUTURE ASSETS.
Thibs ain't writing anyone off, and everyone is motivated to make a case for consideration.
Tonight's win left me delirious, and I was totally taken by Austin Rivers fire and leadership, backing up his INSTAGRAM PEP TALKS TO NYC FANS, and Thibs getting everyone to buy in.
WE ARE PLAYING FUCKING DEFENSE. Can you imagine that?
PPS: Why in the name of LesterDawg's Left Nut and BoD's Abacus, did the Bucks let Malcolm Brogdon not match his offer with the Pacers. I believe they copped Indiana's 2020 #1 (and a couple of second rounders), which I believe they used to select RJ Hampton at #24 before the Knicks tapped IQ at #25, and they promptly traded offladed Hampton to Denver as part of some convoluted 4 team trade. I TAKE IT THEY DID NOT WANT TO PAY THE LUXURY TAX ON 4 YEARS X 85 MILLION, but they were willing to give BB damn near that amount, and if they want to reup JRUE HOLIDAY this summer, it will cost them at least that much for an older player. Every time Brogdon touched the ball tonight, I winced in pain. Having Brogdon AND Middleton? How the fuck could anyone cover The Greek Freak with those snipers spreading the floor. Penny Wise And Pound Foolish.