The KPers still haven't answered -
just how good did they see us getting had we kept their whiny whitey?
One helluva lot better than we are.
9 more W's and we'd be tied with BKY & ORL for the 7/8 playoff slots.
But the key issue is we'd have a franchise player, a 2-way guy who can play at an all-star level. We'd have a rim protector. Orange & Blue Julius "Turnover" Randle wouldn't be our best offensive player. We'd have a direction and know what we are building around. We'd still need a starting level PG, but we'd know the type of player to hunt up. For example a strong PnR G such as Tangelo would make sense next to KZ. And KZ at the rim would mitigate Tangelo's defensive shortcomings. Not saying we'd have him, but we'd know who fits and what works. We'd have the beginnings of a team blueprint, regardless of this season's win total.
When you've bottomed out, the hardest thing in the NBofA is getting a #1 or even a #2 scorer for a playoff team. Also getting a high level two-way player. KZ checks those boxes.
Right now we have no building blocks. And have to hope raw yute such as RJB and Mitch become legit starters, While Knox and Franc become solid role players. And none of that likely gets you into the playoff convo.
The other issue is the Knix just jerked around Melo, Noah and KZ over the past 4 years or so. These guys are all respected pros. Players and agents notice this. I think it limits the Knix attractiveness to FA's. Guys tend to get tarnished in NYK and there are too many distractions and coaching/executive turnover.
Lastly, Chip's right. OKC got Shai Guy for PG, we got Jr. Smith for KZ. Knix always get 60 cents on the dollar in every trade. We tend to give up the best player (TyC, KZ, MaMO, etc) and get back a bunch of change.
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