butler is close to being on the wrong side of 30.
5 years? what will a 34 year old butler look like?
pass on a deal.
free agent is one thing. trade? no .
What if...
Butler assures you Irving.
Still no?
"Nothing is written..."
i get your point KAM. only problem is how do you know if one leads to another? you can't.
I'll take my chances on another lottery pick and see who wants to join the party next year.
until KP is here and fully healthy we are sort of shooting in the dark IMO>
Nagel cautioning forbearance.
Film at 11.
And I know Kiid will go into MOCK OVERDRIVE, but guess what. This is Kristaps Porzingis' Team.
Phil Jackson?
GONE.
Carmelo Anthony?
GONE.
Jeff Hornacek?
GONE.
Frank Ntilikina? Kevin Knox?
On Board.
Again, no one is turning their noses up at Jimmy Butler.
But this is Kristaps Porzingis team. He is our bell cow. When he and Hardaway were grooving last fall, we were in the running for the playoffs. When they were out, lottery here we come.
Regarding free agents?
How many times in the past twenty years have we been left at the altar by free agents, or had our free agent saviors blow up in our face.
We gutted our team to make a run at LeBron. We gutted our team to accommodate Carmelo.
We are now at ground zero with an ACTUAL REBUILD & COMMITTMENT TO YOUTH.
You have to go back to the 1960s to see the Knicks bottoming out, and rebuilding with YOUTH, in the person of Bill Bradley, Cazzie Russell, Phil Jackson, Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Dave Stallworth, Mike Riordan.
Whether you think KP is the second coming or a REACH--a projection of our hopes and prayers--he remains the most impactful player on this roster.
It is in the Knicks best interest to build a roster about him, and let the youth, from elders Kanter and Hardaway, to wash out reclamation projects Burke, Mudiay, Vonleh and Hezonja, to have the opportunity to compete and make a case for themselves as KNICKS.
It is not tanking, but not unlike the Celtics in the Stevens Era, or the Lakers under Walton, there is a willingness to TAKE YOUR LUMPS, and let your young talent play through the slaps and beat downs, learning and earning through taking their lumps...purposeful...patient...
I do not necessarily agree with Nages that we are a high lottery lock, but you never know.
http://www.nbadraft.net/2019mock_draftZion Williamson intrigues me. A freak of nature. Could be the second coming of Larry Johnson.
Be that as it may, there is talent out there. There is talent coming to training camp, and it makes more sense--TO ME ANYWAY--to allow the process to play out, for hard-nosed competition to ensue, and for the kids we have on site to feel as if they are actually competing for something, not merely as placeholders for the next big-titted free agent to excite our more impatient fans.
Credit Fizz with being a bullshit artist if you like, but the idea that he put forth, wherein free agency doesn't mean a damn thing, unless we FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE OUR CULTURE.
Why gut our team now to import Jimmy Butler to A LOSING TEAM. He's on a team with the likes of TOWNS & WIGGINS, to former #1 picks, big time talents, and he was not pleased in playing WITH THEM? Hello? WAKE UP CALL.
Now, just for the sake of argument. If come the summer of 2019, KP is healthy and ready to come back strong, we have a #1 pick (possibly a significant player), and some combination of Knox, Robinson, Ntilikina, Hezonja, Vonleh, Mudiay, Burke, Kanter and Hardaway have made a case for themselves, and learned how to play OLD SCHOOL KNICK DEFENSE and learned to play an aggressive brand of offense, then we will have a much better idea of who is a keeper.
What's more, a potential free agent such as Butler (I honestly do not see Irving leaving the Celtics) could look at a team like the Knicks and think, "Hey, the skill-set and aggression and defensive intensity and experience and competitive tenacity I bring to the party would make for a great fit...I LIKE WHAT I SEE IN THEIR KIDS."
Well, that is a horse of a different fire department. A BELL COW who can give us big minutes at SF-SG, and A LEADER on the Knicks, and not necessarily THE LEADER. A piece that fits. A player who could make the likes of KP and Knox better, and vicea versa. That makes sense.
Looking at the free agent class for 2019, Butler, Irving and Leonard would top my wish list.
Not sure how realistic any of them are.
Kevin Durant.
HAHAHA
Tell me about the rabbits, George.
Be patient Knicks fans. This is what an actual re-build looks like.
Poll
