As for Frankie's development, well, this is the Knicks.. Its only now, with Miller as head coach, do our youth stand any chance of actually realizing their potential.
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Frankie is actually accelerating ... But he's a star in the making, maybe a generational Knicks player. His value today is small potatoes and the money nonsense is just hot air. This kid is playing his way into better days.
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I'd like Franc (and Knox) to be 10+ year Knix, but I still think we badly need a starting caliber PG for now and the future. I'm even willing to take on 34 year old Chris Paul and his $40M to have one.
I also don't get this talk of needing a C, as though it was pressing. Sure it'd be nice to have a Baynes type bully, and this year has seen somewhat of a resurgence in C usage. But I'd prioritize a starting PG, a 3&D wing, and a deadeye shooter over a beefy C. It shouldn't be hard to pick up a Plumlee or Zeller or Len or Baynes or such on the cheap. At least we never boned up by dumping $15+M on a stiff like Mahinmi.(well, we did back in the day with Jerome James and Eddy Curry)
In general terms, the only tweaking I think that's necessary with the PG position is that DSJ needs to be moved. Payton has been distracted lately because of a new baby and ugly as that looks in recent games we weren't beating the Clips or Lakers anyway so this is as good a time as any to have his head spin.
IMO, the two-headed Payton/Frankie PG coverage is ideal. Both have great potential and represent consistent expectations on the court. Allen backs both in complementary fashion.
However, I've also come to the conclusion that the Knicks need to trade into a contender. Draft picks are nice but Free Agency has become a perennial, flaccid tease. While I'm open to CP3 or Westbrook, I don't think either are interested in joining the Knicks and forcing that never ends well.
I *could*, however see Rubio or Conley fit nicely in which case I think Payton gets moved as a consequence in one trade or another. And I don't see it as an abandonment of the rebuild - Frankie needs a couple of years before he takes the reigns for good.
I've been advocating for months that we need a C who can come in and apply the same kind of defensive pressure as Mitch. Now, teams can bait MR into fouling out and while Gibson and Portis are fine rotation players, it doesn't click.
Now, for months I've advocated any trade be a multi-player trade that opened a roster spot for Wooten - an MR doppleganger. But here I'm willing to admit I'm not confident this is good enough. Wooten is not a basketball player yet but he is *raw* talent.
And the more I watch the Knicks, MR thrives against sub-par teams and wilts against winning teams. He gets bullied and pushed around a lot. The Knicks need a pit-bull of their own to change that equation. I'm actually open to Drummond assuming the price isn't Mitch. They'd be a hell of a tag team.
If the Knicks could move Randall, DSJ, and Ellington for Drummond and Kennard, what's not to like?
If Morris gets traded, my first choice of likely candidates would be Kuzma.
Knox is another player I'd like to see flipped for an equivalent talent. Nor is RJ untouchable, IMO. Ratchet up the immediate talent pool.