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Kiyaman

Legend
Cousins with a torn ACL. He'll probably miss the entire season but his NBA career is probably on the line as well.

WOW! Cousins has had a bad run, while working out in Vegas in off season Cousins reportedly suffered a torn ACL.
This sucks bad for Cousins, he's suffered some worst injuries.
When DJ signed with the Nets, I was willing to sign Cousins the week we signed Taj & Randle.
Are there anyone out there for the Lakers to grab? Does this finally open a door for Melo?

PS .. I doubt Lebron wants a non-defensive-skill Melo on the roster as the Lakers 15th man in the rotation.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
LOL. With Cousins out, Lakers now looking at bringing in Dwight Howard. How’d that work out last time?

The last time DH was a Lakers .. the Lakers organization were a bigger joke than our Knicks.
Dwight Howard is a tough BIG-BODY in the paint for 20 min per game .. AD & DH in a lineup !!!
 

tiger0330

Legend
LOL. With Cousins out, Lakers now looking at bringing in Dwight Howard. How’d that work out last time?
Lakers chose DH over Noah to replace Cuz. What does that tell you about Noah, stick a fork in him, worse deal the Knicks ever made. We at least got one good year out of Eddie Curry.
 

mafra

Legend
Giannis may be All-World... but...

?Brazil overcame a double-digit deficit and beat Greece 79-78 in a thriller at the FIBA World Cup in Nanjing, China, on Tuesday.

NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 13 points but fouled out late in the fourth quarter for Greece.

Brazil's Alex Garcia, 39, seemed to stifle Antetokounmpo at every turn.

"Why this sport is wonderful," Brazil coach Aleksandar Petrovic said. "You have a guy who won MVP, he's 23 years old, and who stops him tonight? The guy who is 40 years old and kicks his ass."
 

mafra

Legend
Ian Begley, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Prior to the NBA Draft this past June, the Knicks talked to several teams about trades involving Frank Ntilikina. One of those teams said New York discussed a deal that would have returned an early second-round pick for the guard, per SNY sources.

Obviously, the Knicks didn't end up with an offer that they liked for Ntilikina. But it seemed then that the organization was set on jettisoning the 21-year-old.

Has that stance changed over the last few months? That's unclear.


But you'd think that Ntilikina's performance in France's win over Team USA on Wednesday is encouraging to the Knicks.

Ntilikina hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 4:33 to play and a deep jumper late in the shot clock with two minutes to play to give France a 6-point lead in their upset of Team USA. He finished with 11 points, three assists and one steal in 25 minutes.

France outscored Team USA by 22 when he was on the floor and Ntilikina's impact in the game's most pivotal stretch was clear. Team USA led by seven when Ntilikina entered the game with eight minutes to play in the fourth. France outscored Team USA by 17 after he checked in.

Ntilikina was yelling with teammates after the final buzzer, soaking in the aftermath of arguably the biggest win in the history of basketball in his country. He was screaming with his teammates and had the game ball in his hands as France huddled to celebrate the victory.

It was the kind of moment that you haven't seen often during Ntilikina's Knicks career.

The 6-7 guard was drafted No. 8 overall by Phil Jackson in 2017, presumably because he was a strong fit for Jackson's triangle offense. Days after making the pick, Jackson was fired by the Knicks. Steve Mills, the GM at the time, said that he fully supported the decision to draft Ntilikina.

But Ntilikina has been in and out of the Knicks rotation in his first two seasons in the NBA. Veteran point guards -- and point guards around the same age as Ntilikina -- have played ahead of him. Some people around Ntilikina -- and one rival GM -- predicted last season that his best basketball would be played somewhere else.

Will that prediction prove true, or will Ntilikina get a chance to play with this year's Knicks team? The club has point guards Dennis Smith Jr., Elfrid Payton and Kadeem Allen on the roster. And, earlier this summer, the plan entering camp was for Payton to be given every chance to win the starting job, per SNY sources. Given that scenario, Ntilikina will need to have a strong training camp -- especially on offense -- to earn a rotation spot.

Some Knicks people have always lauded Ntilikina's ability to defend. He has a 7-foot wingspan, moves well and can guard multiple positions. But those people felt that Ntilikina needed to produce more, and consistently, on offense to get regular playing time.

He also needs to stay healthy. Ntilikina suffered several injuries in his first three seasons that kept him out of the lineup. When he was healthy, Ntilikina wasn't often given the latitude to play through mistakes. But when he did play significant minutes for extended stretches, Ntilikina was inconsistent on offense. He averaged 5.7 points and 2.7 assists in 21 minutes per game last season.

But Ntilikina is only 21 years old and he gives the Knicks a presence on defense -- something that the team has said is a priority. So does it make sense for New York to take a patient approach with Ntilikina at this point in his career? Or should they continue to try to trade him even though the return would -- presumably -- be minimal?

One scout watching Wednesday's game -- and the entire World Cup -- noted that Ntilikina is moving well with the weight he's added. The scout also noted that Ntilikina played with a poise and confidence that the evaluator hadn't seen often in the NBA. If that confidence -- and his production on Wednesday -- translates to training camp, maybe Ntilikina can open some eyes and earn some minutes with New York.

Tags: Frank Ntilikina, Ian Begley
 

mafra

Legend
Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina played stifling defense and scored five huge points down the stretch as France pulled off a stunning upset over Team USA on Wednesday as they eliminated them from the FIBA World Cup.

The 89-79 win came in the knockout round, and Ntilikina was incredibly fired up after the final buzzer.

The 21-year-old Ntilikina finished with 11 points, three assists, and one steal while playing just over 25 minutes, and his performance included a game-tying three with four minutes and 35 seconds left in the game.

"I'm happy to be a Knick," Ntilikina told reporters in July. "I still take as much as I can get from every situation that I can. I'm in their jersey. I'm happy to be a Knick. I'm happy to be here. I'll work very hard to make this situation successful."
 

mafra

Legend
Not only that he was brilliant on defense, on- and off ball. A joy to watch.

He shut Kemba Walker down. Hear that BOS!!!

I go into camp with Knits/MRob starting at SG/C. Two elite defenders.

DSJ and Randle and RJ would round it out. Enough offense... elite offense.

That?s my starting 5.

We need about 20 points a night from FN/MR duo for those 2 to be integral players. Just let that 5 get used to one another. There?s a chance that 5 is title worthy unit come 2021.

Kids have to earn it, but to me this is the depth chart start of camp.
 

tiger0330

Legend
Pistons sign 38 year old Joe Johnson who didn’t play last season but did play in Big3. Got a feeling Melo is going to be picked up for a look by somebody if JJ got a shot. Don’t expect JJ to make it out of training camp if he doesn’t light it up beyond the arc in the preseason.
 

tiger0330

Legend
He shut Kemba Walker down. Hear that BOS!!!

I go into camp with Knits/MRob starting at SG/C. Two elite defenders.

DSJ and Randle and RJ would round it out. Enough offense... elite offense.

That’s my starting 5.

We need about 20 points a night from FN/MR duo for those 2 to be integral players. Just let that 5 get used to one another. There’s a chance that 5 is title worthy unit come 2021.

Kids have to earn it, but to me this is the depth chart start of camp.
Kemba played like crap even when Albicy was in the game so it was more Kemba having an off night than Nits.

I’ll give him credit though, that bank shot floater he was missing last season was going in, perimeter shooting was better, he’s bigger and stronger and more aggressive.

I think you’re right about his spot in the roster, Fiz probably has him playing the 2 rather than as our PG esp. if DSJ shows the same improvement Nits has.

The Knicks will have to tie up over 11M in cap space if they want to retain both so I think this is not only going to be a battle for a spot in the rotation but also the chance to remain a Knick for the two of them.
 

mafra

Legend
I agree. No way they keep Knits unless ?we see it? this season. By this I mean, Frank becomes a tenacious wing harasser. This piece complimenting MRob the Blockness Monster, NY is on to something.

But for this to be impactful, and for FN to have value, and be worth keeping, then he needs to be a consistent contributing piece in offense...

He can?t be a liability, or just mediocre...

And, we?ll need to see a explosion here and there... break 20 point barrier a few times.
 

pat

Starter
I agree. No way they keep Knits unless “we see it” this season. By this I mean, Frank becomes a tenacious wing harasser. This piece complimenting MRob the Blockness Monster, NY is on to something.

But for this to be impactful, and for FN to have value, and be worth keeping, then he needs to be a consistent contributing piece in offense...

He can’t be a liability, or just mediocre...

And, we’ll need to see a explosion here and there... break 20 point barrier a few times.

You wouldn't expect that from Rodman, Bowen or Roberson. If he is a solid 3 and D guy making his freethrows and a nightmare for ball-dominant guards, I'll take that any day of the week. It all depends on who you pair him up with.
 

tiger0330

Legend
You wouldn't expect that from Rodman, Bowen or Roberson. If he is a solid 3 and D guy making his freethrows and a nightmare for ball-dominant guards, I'll take that any day of the week. It all depends on who you pair him up with.
None of those guy were a high first round pick like Ntilikina is. Bowen was undrafted, Rodman a 2nd round pick and Roberson went 26th in the first about where we should have picked Nits. I’m hoping he justifies that 8th pick, Roberson is a great example, the guy can’t shoot a lick not even freebies but he’s carved out a spot as an elite defender but shouldn’t we expect more from a lottery pick?
 

Kiyaman

Legend
None of those guy were a high first round pick like Ntilikina is. Bowen was undrafted, Rodman a 2nd round pick and Roberson went 26th in the first about where we should have picked Nits. I’m hoping he justifies that 8th pick, Roberson is a great example, the guy can’t shoot a lick not even freebies but he’s carved out a spot as an elite defender but shouldn’t we expect more from a lottery pick?

When Phil selected a defensive-depth 6.6 guard Frank with the Knicks 9th pick .. Phil selected a need.
The Knicks previous two season showed no defensive-effort in their performance, plus the Knicks had three 30 minute high scoring Ball-Hogs Melo/Rose/KP in their rotation that didn't play defense well because opponents were scoring on all three players at will in the previous season.
 
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