The Knicks Wall
Pretty cool site:
Perry was gifted a dumpster fire by Phil Jackson. He doused the flames and put a welcome sign with a David Fizdale fathead smack-dab in the middle. Mario Hezonja busted through the door like Kramer from Seinfeld in order to sign up. The details of Hezonja’s rumored offer from the Portland Trail Blazers hasn’t come out yet, but the fact that he declined a multi-year opportunity to sign a one-year contract with the Knicks is imperative to Perry’s narrative.
With that seemingly meaningless signing on the tiny desk, Perry and company tasted a bit of what they need in order to land their muse in 2019: desire. Hezonja’s desire to play for New York is rooted in two areas: self-actualization and culture.
The first part of Hezonja’s desire that Perry pinpointed was self-actualization. Self-actualization includes growth and reaching one’s ideal self, things Hezonja obviously craves after a disappointing start in the NBA. He still wishes to live up to the “Croatian Kobe” image he cultivated before the draft. Whatever the Blazers offered him wasn’t enough, whether it in terms of finances or his role on the team didn’t adequately feed his ego. A one-year deal where Fizdale said, “You keep what you kill”, is the exact situation that Hezonja, who was buried on Orlando’s bench at one point last season, desires. New York is offering him a shot at proving he’s worth the money he believes he deserves.
Culture, the second part of Hezonja’s decision, begins with Perry, one of the front office executives responsible for drafting Hezonja. Perry approached him after both have had multiple years of separation, with amicable yet less than favorable exits from the Magic organization, at least from their side of the table. And the culture aspect closes the deal with the sweetener the Knicks have locked up for the next four seasons: David Fizdale
Fizdale’s promise of a run & gun coaching style was part of the pitch that enamored Hezonja when it came to his duties on the court. A modern offense is a great look, and it goes hand-in-hand with Perry’s management philosophy on signings—Fizdale is as player-friendly as they come. In the immediate aftermath of his firing, a handful of future hall-of-famers tweeted in protest. They’re just tweets, but Perry recognized that when the most high profile ‘Coach Killer’ in the sport comes to your defense, your reputation is so sterling it could polish a turd, and indeed it did.
With ample cap space open for 2019 free agency, and the possibility of even more in 2020, Scott Perry has transformed the Knicks’ reputation from incompetence to growth like an expert manager. On court flubs are no longer mistakes—they’re learning opportunities. Unwanted underperformers aren’t cysts—they’re professionals who deserve to control their own destinies (ie: the nicest way to say GTFO). Over the past year, Perry hasn’t just given the Knicks a makeover with the rebrand; he put them through plastic surgery. His three tenants for favorable trades (modernity, cap flexibility, and player-centricity) combined with his specific criteria for signings, whether they be call ups for players with a chip on their shoulder or enticing free agents with the allure of Fizdale, creates a well-rounded philosophy, especially for a new GM. and a The organization still has a lot of work both on and off the court to complete, but if Perry can make Dolan disappear for a whole season, his next trick should be a doozie.
https://theknickswall.com/the-scott-perry-effect-rebranding-a-broken-knicks-organization/
Thank you for posting.
And this is why, I do not look with good humor upon what I take to be a moronic fixation upon tanking or whatever you want to call it, wherein the allure of a lottery pick trumps any other considerations.
What makes this manifestly stupid POV so appalling to me, is that as far as our future draft position goes, let the chips fall where they may.
Looking at picks 1-14 in this latest draft, damn near any of the players picked before or after #9, could have made a solid contribution to our roster going forward.
Perry & Fizdale did their due diligence, and while it is way too early to anoint Kevin Knox, nor to hang the franchise player albatross around his neck, clearly we got a solid all-around talent with good character to develop. I remember when Trey Burke was having a wonderful run at season's end, and we were winning some meaningless games with good team play and even some defense, members of this forum were bemoaning the loss of prime draft position.
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Expletive Deleted]
And son-of-a-bitch if we didn't get a prospect with a world of upside at #36.
As for where we finish the season, I'm for winning as many games as possible, and let the chips fall where they may, as it were.
Play Hard, Lose Hard.[Expletive Deleted]WRONG.
Develop a winning culture.
Do any of you simple-minded motherfuckers really think that a 22 win team and a lottery pick is going to have a tremendous appeal to the likes of Kyrie Irving or Jimmy Butler?
A winning culture is what will cause top tier free agents to smell the coffee and dampen their undies. And not just a winning culture. A YOUNG WINNING CULTURE. A young winning culture in NEW YORK. A young winning culture in New York with KRISTAPS PORZINGIS as the bell cow.
Not a fucking lottery pick. Not draconian Donnie Douche Bite Your Noses To Spite Your Faces cap space self-immolation. Not sell off your draft picks like every short term thinking, dumb-ass motherfucking Trader Vic in Knicks lore.
But someone saying, hey [
presumably, hopefully, God Willing], "Hey, look what they are building there in NY. Man, I want a piece of
that pussy. Look at how Fizz matured and ressurected the games of castaways and re-treads like Burke, Mudiay, Herzonja and Vonleh. Look at how they nurtured pups like Ntilikina, Kornet, Dotson, Knox and Robinson. Look at how Fizz challenged Kanter and Hardaway to raise their games and how they responded.
Of course, this is HIGHLY SPECULATIVE.
And by committing to player development and fostering a winning culture, we are going to lose a lot of games.
So no, I am not so stoned as to think we are a playoff team, but then, WHY THE FUCK NOT?
Unlike doofusses who give the thumbs down to draft selections such as Porzingis and Knox, or who see sugarplum fairies in losses ("Keep 'em coming"), players playing for their NBA lives, players playing for a Coach like Pat Riley, like Brad Stevens, like David Fizdale, buy into the system, the concept of team play, a commitment to defense, and a passion for winning. THEY HATE TO FUCKING LOSE.
We have a lot of raw young talent on this team. Very raw. We have some big time talent (go ahead and laugh) in the likes of Enes and Timmy, that are just crying out for tough love and positive reinforcement, raising the bar for them to raise their game.
New York wants a team to root for, a culture to finally believe in.
Defense? Look for the open man? That's New York hoops is all about.
Play Hard.
Compete Hard.
Leave It All On The Floor.
Poll
