I think we are a strong team with a highly talented, highly paid time bomb on the squad.
Is it something we can make work?
Is it something we need to address?
The Knicks have a BIG THREE
RJ
Jalen
JuliusAnd a lot of talented complementary pieces, looking to step up to the next level, individually, and collectively.
However, it is not enough to BE the best player, you have to CARRY yourself like a LEADER.
And this being NEW YORK, you have to be PERCEIVED to BE a LEADER.
I think questions about Julius are legit.
We know he WANTS to be a Knick. He gave the team a hometown price on his extension.
A TICKING TIME BOMB?
While there are questions and concerns JR must address moving forward, I think that for the fans to write him off as a ticking time bomb is...hysterical.
Certainly, while he ALWAYS competed last season, we know that Julius has a tendency to get in his own head and over think things, and his response to adversity, and frustration WITH HIMSELF and HIS PERFORMANCE, manifefsted itself in PROJECTIONS that...
Well, let's put it this way.
PROJECTIONS....
The great Count Basie tenor saxophone innovator
LESTER YOUNG, was once talking to a friend about a mutual aquaintance who was going through some frustrating changes.
"You'll be with a cat who's cursing you out, and you think it has something to do with you, but he's actually calling himself a motherfucker, and you just happen to be in the same room."Julius' "responses" came out bASSackWARDS. He was cussing himself out, and it came out WRONG.
Look, Julius is not a useless sack of shit like Joakim Noah, who basically laid down after getting a big contract from Phool Jagoff, not in shape, no dedication to the team. He bagged it, and seemingly didn't give a fuck.
JULIUS GIVES TOO MANY FUCKS.
Hey, look at the difference a season or two, hell a summer can make in terms of giving someone perspective.
Derrick Rose was kind of a moody, petulant dick his first season as a Knick under Phool & Company. He wasn't a ticking time bomb, but he was kind of in his own private Idaho on his first MSG go round.
LOOK HOW HE RESPONDED WHEN HE CAME BACK FOR ANOTHER TRY. A WHOLE DIFFERENT ATTITUDE.
Last season Julius was tasked with a burden he was not up to, and he often faltered. Not every game, but he lacked consistency and seemingly focus.
Some of that is on him. Some of that is on Thibs. Some of that is on Leon and management. Not having a point guard just exploded in our faces.
DOES IT NEED TO ADDRESSED?
How. By a public shaming. By shipping him out of town on a Chinese Garbage Trawler in giveaway deals for pennies on the dollar? In the name of cap space, getting back bupkus in return.
Julius has a nice contract. He made a commitment to the Knicks, and they in turn made one back to him.
No one ever accused him of not putting the work in.
Julius is not a problem that needs to addressed.
He is a talented player who NEEDED HELP and was tasked with too much responsibility. Exchanging Payton and Bullock for Walker and Fournier was glitchy. Losing THEO PINSON, of all people, had a weird ripple effect in the locker room, the practice facility and on the floor. You can see what his presence did for the Mavs.
We cashiered our vets Walker, Burks, Noel and Gibson for cap space and to open up space for our puppies to grow.
Obviously Taj was not a problem, Burks was a gamer and Noel was gimpy. Obviously Walker was a disaster AND WE DEALT WITH IT.
Getting Brunson and Hartenstein addressed some serious roster issues.
HOW WILL JULIUS DEAL WITH IT, seems to be your overriding concern.
PS: Well, RJ is now THE MAN, JB is the rudder and floor general, and JR is the bell cow. How will they cohere?
Look, I've pointed his out before, but it bears repeating. The very minute the season ended, Obi reached out to JR in a very solicitous manner, and spoke of working out with him, and the potential of them being on the floor together in 2022-23. To me, that is significant. Obi did not view JR as a roadblock, and impediment, but as a BROTHER. They are putting in time and WORK individually and as team mates. I was encouraged to see Jalen, Obi and JR team up this summer for a playground tournament game. Building trust. Building chemistry.
If something is GOING TO BE DEALT with, dumping someone for pennies on the dollar in some putative adition by subtraction scenarios is supercillious to me. What might make sense on paper, is going to disrupt chemistry in the gym. Mitchell, Julius, JR, Obi, IQ, Grimes, McBride, Cam, Evan and Jericho have bonds of experience they shared, collective ups and down, winning and losing, baby steps and giant steps THEY SHARED last season, and you don't tear that asunder, change for change's sake.
You saw that the Knicks were willing to approach and explore deals, hell, Mitchell and RJ were both in play at differnt points in the Donovan Mitchell Dance, but ultimately the Knicks proved unwilling to strip mine their roster, change for change's sake.
If you are going to ponder offloading anyone, makes sense to BUILD UP THEIR VALUE for any plausible transactions, let them revisit the bonds of last season on the practice court, competing and building skill and collective trust in preseason.
Hey, we were apparently willing to include RJ, our lead dawg, in a trade, so no one is untouchable. Including JR.
To me he has earned the right to prove his Knickdom, and reboot his game with a young squad an ascendant pup in RJ and a tough, scrappy little bulldog of a new PG, and if "the fans" are crying OFF WITH HIS HEAD, well, you already know what I think of THAT.
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