Thoughts on some Knick players: Young & Veterans

[Dark Raider]

I have to agree 100% with Fraschilla .. the only way the Knicks should make a PG their first selection in the 2020 draft are if the Knicks make a whopping trade for an experience leadership PG in Chris Paul, or Lillard, or Conley on draft night.
Other than that .. give Frank Nitty the 30+ minute starter/finisher job next season, and select the best available player at the 6th pick in this draft. The Knicks roster has so many holes in so many positions from being coached how to play "individual-ISO" b.ball for so long by several bum head coaches whom let non-chemistry Stat-players call the shots on court.

Wsup Dark .... D.Rose is not a complimentary-teammate, nor has Rose ever showed chemistry in his performance with teammates.
D.Rose won the MVP on the strength of ex-Knicks Kurt Thomas putting a strong discipline in the Bulls lockerroom that season.
Having Noah, Boozer, and Deng following in veteran Kurt Thomas discipline foot-steps gave the Bulls a 62 win season, and a MVP for Rose.
When the Bulls did not resign Kurt Thomas the next season the Bulls offense/defense went down hill.
Cousin to the Knicks, are the same as Cousin's going back to the Sacramento Kings .. LOSER organization!
Why would Cousins take 10 steps backwards and sign with a mismanagement Knicks team?
Cousin's injury stopped him from being in a lineup alongside AD & Rondo again, plus having King James too.
If Cousin doesn't sign with the Lakers, I'm sure the GS Warriors having a healthy Curry/Klay/Green might have a extra $15M to sign Cousin again.

U da Man Kiya…. That leadership you mention that Paul could bring is the same leadership that D. Rose has a MVP. Rose would be a lot cheaper than Paul but( IMO) would give Frank and the other guards how to be a MVP and a winner. His work ethic with how what he did last year to put his body back into shape(scoring 50 pt in one game) is what our guard needs to see. Signing him with the option to be an assistant coach.

As for Cousin taking 10 steps backwards and signing with the Knicks. This give a platform to be the 'MAN' in NY. There are more advantages for him to sign with the Knicks than the Lakers. He become the starting #4 and the #1 option in the offense. Both of which he is accustom to doing. Then if we can get Wiseman that give him a someone to learn from as well as bring in Kevin Garnet as the 'Big Man' coach. Cousin sign a one year deal with a bunch of incentives and options. If thing work out(Big IF) then we go from there and sign him to a 3 year deal. MRob, Frank and Knox become better players with someone like Cousins. This is a win-win if he can regain his past playing ability.

If we can get the #1 overall pick we draft Wiseman. If we can by some miracle get one of the next 2 picks. Then get Edward(SG) this would be great for us out a weak draft.

[Dark Raider]

Rose career 45% FG average is the only thing decent bout his performance, his game assist are up & down, and Rose poor effort on defense has been a career weakness.

Elfrid Payton previous 3 NBA teams (Magic, Suns, Pelicans) proved EP are a decent backup PG to bring off the bench to provide energy to a 2nd unit lineup .. Payton/Dotson/Knox/Portis/MitchRob.
Coach Fiz & Miller's number 1 job should've been mentoring several-plays into young-core Frank & DSJ as the Knicks starter PG throughout the 2019-20 season. I will admit, the Knicks having the best Defense PG & Offense PG out of the same draft-class had me looking forward to seeing both Frank & DSJ tandem in the same lineup throughout the 2019-20 season, which never happen.
Do to all the Knicks coaches playing-time favoritism going to rookie RJ Barrett, whom didn't fare well as a SG, or SF in the Knicks 66 games.

Whomever, idea it was to give players (Randle & Barrett) 30 plus minute a game throughout the 2019-20 pre-season and regular season games, are the one's u blame for a 21-45 record .. the two players are not a team crunch-time closer. Randle & Barrett's skills, and B.ball IQ talent are only worthy of 20 to 24 minute per game, until they add more concept in their offense/defense performance.

"Whomever, idea it was to give players(Randle & Barrett) 30 plus minute a game throughout the 2019-10 pre-season and regular season game, are the one's u blame for a 21- record".... Kiya, you know who to blame. That person is Scott Perry!! He is one that created this current state that the Knicks are end. He is the architect of this mess. Now they are talking about letting him stay on to help out with the draft.... Seriously. If you are Leon Rose, you get on the phone and fine out has C. Gaines been keeping up with this year college season. If so then you bring him in and fire Perry on the spot along with C. Robinson.

The problem is my friend is that Leon Rose isn't a BB person and you know damn well that Perry and Robinson are not.

[tiger0330]

In depth article on RJ and the season he's had. This is the first of a weekly series of the Knicks young players.

Mostly positive article about RJ and I obviously like him if you go by my sig. I've also been critical of him because statistically he lags behind players that were not as highly touted and were drafted after him but I see potential esp when you hear Breen talk about his level headedness and maturity. The mental part of his game is going to help him improve imo. Not a bad rookie season nonetheless despite the warts of his FT shooting and efficiency.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a weekly series examining the development of the Knicks’ younger players.
The last points of RJ Barrett’s rookie season (and let’s assume for a moment that this 2019-20 season is over) were an open 3 from the right wing off a kick-out from Julius Randle. They were emblematic of his season in some ways. The play began as a Randle post-up until a quick double-team and then Randle dribbling amidst multiple defenders. Barrett was a secondary concern in all regards. That he hit a 3 was important — he started the season shooting well from deep and ended it similarly, but with an entire interregnum of poor shooting in-between.On the surface, Barrett’s first season went well enough, even as the Knicks crawled to another losing season. His 14.3 points per game were third among all rookies — as many as Kristaps Porzingis averaged as a Knicks rookie, too. His shooting was, as expected, uneven and occasionally dreadful. His free throw shooting remains a work in progress. Still, he had moments where his talent was obvious. He was a bulldog in getting to the rim and occasionally a playmaker. It was obvious, at least, that the Knicks did not make a mistake with the third overall pick last June.But to truly evaluate Barrett’s rookie year, you’d have to also consider his surroundings. As one Western Conference scout said: “I think he’s a got a bright future if the Knicks handle him the right way and (give him) the resources to keep improving.” The numbers• 14.3 points per game
• 5.0 rebounds per game
• 2.6 assists per game
• 2.2 turnovers per game
• 1.0 steals per game
• 40.2 field goal percentage
• 32 3-point shooting percentage
• 4.5 three throw attempts per game
• 61.4 free throw shooting percentageIn his rookie year, Barrett was often surrounded by a group of non-shooters — ironic because the narrative coming out of Duke was that the NBA would suit Barrett better because he would find an offense with better spacing that would play to his strengths. Instead, the players he spent the most minutes playing alongside were Randle (27.7 3-point percentage), Marcus Morris (43.9 percent), Elfrid Payton (20.3 percent), Taj Gibson (14 3s attempted) and Frank Ntilikina (32.1 percent).He was often a second, third or fourth option. Barrett played 82 percent of his minutes alongside Randle — who finished 11th in the league in usage percentage — and Barrett’s usage percentage shot up after the Knicks dealt Morris at the trade deadline. Barrett played 3,424 possessions this season, according to Cleaning The Glass, but just 386 were without Morris or Randle alongside him, giving him precious few reps as the go-to guy.This stands out at how bad it sometimes got for Barrett, when he was ignored so thoroughly on offense that he pleaded for the ball in the corner before throwing his hands up in frustration during the fourth quarter of a game in Philadelphia:
That’s not to say Barrett went ignored the whole season. He ranked 53rd in usage rate among players who played at least 1,200 minutes and took more shots per game than Porzingis or Devin Booker did as a rookie.The larger issue for Barrett as a rookie was efficiency. Along with his shooting numbers, he ranked in the 24th percentile as a scorer off the pick-and-roll, according to Synergy Sports, and worse in transition. He sometimes tried to fit passes into tight windows, turning the ball over, or tried to navigate cramped spacing to get to the rim. His turnover rate put him in the bottom-third among all wings this season, via Cleaning The Glass. He also showed that he could find scoring opportunities for others, finding cutters and open shooters and looked more comfortable running the pick-and-roll in space. One NBA scout surveyed for this said he was impressed with how Barrett’s offense got better as the season went along.

More than anything, Barrett proved this season he already has one high-level NBA skill. He can get to the rim. He took 48 percent of his field goal attempts at the rim this season — putting in the 91st percentile among all wings, according to Cleaning The Glass. He took the fifth-most free throw attempts per game of any rookie in the last five seasons (the only ones who averaged more: Zion Williamson, Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic, Trae Young) and was 14th among all wings and guards in shots per game from the restricted area.Barrett got to the basket in a variety of ways. He used physicality, occasionally bullying his way to the rim and initiating contact. He wasn’t afraid to attack big men at the rim, trying to dunk on them on a number of occasions.
He was tenacious in continuing his drives to the rim, using body to shield off defenders and absorb contact. He scored the game-cliching basket in a March win over the Rockets by putting P.J. Tucker on his hip and taking him to the basket.
Because Barrett isn’t an elite athlete, he often used savvy and guile to get to the rim, taking smart cuts to the basket and finishing with scoop shots or from odd angles and in-between multiple defenders.
As good as Barrett already is at getting to the rim, he also needs to find ways to finish better there. He hit 54 percent of his shots at the rim, which put him in the 21st percentile among wings, according to Cleaning The Glass. He shot just 53.4 percent on shots in the restricted area, third-worst of the top 50 in shots per game there. His ability to get to the line was muted by his poor free throw shooting.(Scroll or swipe left to view the sortable chart in full.)RJ Barrett and the Class of 2019

PLAYER	ISOS (PPP/PERCENTILE)	DRIVES/GAME	PULL-UP JUMPERS (FG%)	PNR (PPP)	CATCH-AND-SHOOT 3S	TRUE SHOOTING %	% OF SHOTS AT RIM	ASSIST%	USAGE%
RJ Barrett	63 (0.67, 16th)	9.8	137 (27%)	267 (0.68, 24th)	160 (33.8%)	47.90%	48	12.5	24
Ja Morant	94 (0.82, 41st)	18.4	233 (39.9%)	554 (0.87, 59th)	50 (42%)	56.80%	51	34.7	26
De’Andre Hunter	34 (1.00, 78th)	6.2	160 (32.5%)	162 (0.69, 25th)	258 (38.8%)	52.10%	30	7.7	17.5
Darius Garland	57 (0.75, 29th)	11	315 (37.5%)	365 (0.76, 34th)	153 (39.2%)	49.80%	23	18	20.7
Coby White	56 (0.79, 36th)	7	258 (32.2%)	328 (0.8, 42nd)	243 (37%)	50.60%	31	16.3	24.4
Jarrett Culver	43 (0.7, 22nd)	5.3	95 (30.5%)	146 (0.78, 37th)	150 (29.3%)	46.70%	50	10.5	19.2
Rui Hachimura	23 (0.87, 53rd)	3.4	94 (41.5%)	7 (1.43, NA)	70 (28.6%)	54.30%	46	8.4	18.7
Cam Reddish	25 (0.64, 13th)	5	142 (33.8%)	152 (0.72, 28th)	195 (34.4%)	50%	30	7.9	18.9
Sekou Doumbouya	11 (0.91, 59th)	2.1	19 (26.3%)	13 (1.00, 88th)	87 (27.6%)	47.40%	42	3.8	16.5
Eric Paschall	113 (0.98, 72nd)	5.7	127 (40.2%)	36 (1.14, 97th)	115 (30.4%)	57.10%	43	12.9	21.4
Terrance Davis	13 (1.54, 100th)	3.2	68 (26.5%)	80 (0.68, 24th)	168 (42.3%)	59.80%	33	12.9	18.9

What went well

• Barrett's skill at getting to the basket has already been covered, but he also seemed to develop a post-up game as the season went on. He averaged 0.97 points per possession on them, according to Synergy Sports, and he seemed to work them into his arsenal late in the year. Though he had just 36 post-up possessions, seven came over his last five games. Barrett looked comfortable trying to get work done from the elbow in or posting up a smaller player when he sensed he could get into good position. Here, he is running the floor and diving in when he sees a guard on him and then scoring over Chris Paul:
• Barrett's rebounding ability was visible immediately. He finished in the 79th percentile in defensive rebounding among all wings, from Cleaning The Glass, and eighth among all rookies (who played at least 800 minutes) in defensive rebounding percentage. He also had an interesting knack for rebounding his free throws and misses at the rim. Because Barrett wasn't a great finisher at the rim or at the line, he got his opportunities and he said he rebounded them often because he sensed when they would be off.• While scouts said Barrett was mostly an average defender, his Synergy numbers were much better. When he defended the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll, he limited them to 0.83 points per possession, good to be in the 62nd percentile. While those numbers can sometimes be deceiving — he got caught on Rudy Gobert picks on two possessions against the Jazz last month but was still credited with misses when the players he was guarding bricked jumpers — Barrett was an active and willing defender for most of the season. He found ways to use his hands and body to remain diligent and get into passing lanes when he was off the ball, though the NBA scout said Barrett was caught flat-footed too often.• Barrett was particularly good at finding creative ways to finish at the rim. He rarely jumped over defenders or blew by them for easy baskets. Instead, he used shot fakes, funky angles, double clutches, finger rolls, spins and other wily ideas to get his shots up.
What needs work

• The free throw shooting is an obvious start. Barrett shot 61.2 percent on them this season while getting to the line a good amount (4.5 free throw attempts per game). Over the last 10 seasons, 37 players have taken at least 200 free throws in their rookie season. Only Nerlens Noel, Ben Simmons and Elfrid Payton shot worse. That doesn't mean there isn't hope. Brandon Ingram entered the league a poor free throw shooter (68.2 percent in his lone season at Duke) then shot 62 percent, 68 percent and 68 percent in each of his first three NBA seasons before hitting them at an 86 percent rate for the Pelicans this year. Blake Griffin was a 61 percent shooter over his first three seasons and has shot 76 percent over his last four. Improvement is possible, though not a given. With Barrett's willingness and capability to get fouled, something he is already good at, even becoming a little less than a league-average shooter at the line (77.1 percent in 2019-20) would add easy points to his line each night.• The 3-point shooting needs work, too. Barrett shot 32 percent from deep as a rookie, but it was uneven. He hit 7-of-13 3s in his first three games and then 38.7 percent during his last seven games, and those 10 games accounted for 30 percent of his made 3s on the season. Which means he shot 28.7 percent in the intervening 46 games. Sometimes Barrett's misses were ugly, showing just far off his shot was. He shot just 33.3 percent on what NBA.com classified as wide-open 3s — 23rd of 33 rookies who took at least 40 such 3s.• Playmaking out of the pick-and-roll needs to get better. If you use Synergy numbers as a guide, Barrett is in the 25th percentile in points per possession as the pick-and-roll ball-handler and that includes when he passed out of it. There are caveats, obviously. He did that as a 19-year-old on a bad team surrounded by non-shooters and he played only about one-third of his minutes (606) alongside Mitchell Robinson, the best and really only big that served as a pick-and-roll threat. But the numbers also lined up with the scouts' take that this area of his game needs improvement.And ones

• Barrett was fearless about attacking big men at the rim this season (he tried to dunk on DeAndre Jordan in his second game). Sometimes it didn't work out, as Marquese Chriss was sure to let him know on the play below. But that moxie was more of a feature than a bug for him. He does get stopped sometimes (he missed six of his 41 dunk attempts this season, via Basketball Reference) but it's that same aggressiveness that gets him to the line so much.
• Number of possessions Barrett, Ntilikina, Robinson and Kevin Knox (the main players of the last Knicks' three draft classes) played together this season: 85 (1.4 percent of the Knicks' total possessions, according to Cleaning The Glass). No three-player combination of those four played more than 316 possessions together (5 percent).• Rookies over the last 10 seasons to play at least 1,700 minutes and average 17-plus points, 5.5-plus rebounds, and three-plus assists per 36 minutes: Barrett, Luka Doncic, Dario Saric, Michael Carter-Williams, DeMarcus Cousins and Blake Griffin.Scout's take

NBA scout: Got into the paint consistently over the course of the year and that bodes well for him ... An average defender right now, but that should improve with age and experience ... Fine as a playmaker coming off of screens. Won't be a high-level playmaker, but good enough to complement his scoring ... Struggled to stay in a stance and that caused him to get pushed around a little bit and couldn't keep quicker wings in front.Western Conference scout: I like him ... He's been playing out of position. I think he's more of a three and a small-ball four in a specialized lineup. I don't know if he's ever really played that role. Skill-wise he does a lot of things. Not sure (shooting guard is) his long-term role moving forward ... I like his makeup. The way he plays. There's definitely a competitive side to him that is not very common with a lot of these young players coming in ... The pick for the Knicks was a good one ... Once he finds his comfort zone he'll be a really good player. He's got to work on his shot. Just the overall game being a bit more of a playmaker. I think in college he was more of a get the ball and bully his way to the rim ... I'm high on him. It's been a tough year. Anytime you're young and playing out of position, it takes a while to transition ... Would like to see him handle the ball and be a secondary ball-handler ... Any rookie takes awhile to figure out defensively.

(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)

[Kiyaman]

RJ Barrett gets no rookie props from me .. I watched the Knicks (Fizdale/Miller) give RJ Barrett 37 minute per game on the court throughout the first half of the Knicks 2019-20 season, even 37 minute in all of the Knicks (1-3) preseason games.
Plus RJ Barrett's Defensive-performance were terrible, out right terrible for 37 minutes each game!
And RJ Barrett's offensive performance were straight-up Individual ball-hogging for 37 minute per game.
There were NO team-ballin in RJ Barretts 2019-20 Knicks performance .... RJ Barrett's NBA Stats are phony because 37 minute of playing-time in each game would be easy for any NBA player to stack his stats given that much time on the court.

[tiger0330]

Just wanted to point out that chart of this years rookie stats is not truncated and static, you can scroll the window by dragging to the left on your mobile device.

[Dark Raider]

RJ Barrett gets no rookie props from me .. I watched the Knicks (Fizdale/Miller) give RJ Barrett 37 minute per game on the court throughout the first half of the Knicks 2019-20 season, even 37 minute in all of the Knicks (1-3) preseason games.
Plus RJ Barrett's Defensive-performance were terrible, out right terrible for 37 minutes each game!
And RJ Barrett's offensive performance were straight-up Individual ball-hogging for 37 minute per game.
There were NO team-ballin in RJ Barretts 2019-20 Knicks performance .... RJ Barrett's NBA Stats are phony because 37 minute of playing-time in each game would be easy for any NBA player to stack his stats given that much time on the court.

Very well put and said!! NO HYPE just facts!! When we can be honest with ourselves and see when the wool is being pull over our eyes about a player. Paying to have good things written about mistake that some people will go along with and now look and evaluate for themselves. This was done to hide a horrible mistake knowing that we should have traded back.

Cream will come to the top... Truth will come to the light. Look at his assessment of RJ playing defense. "

Barrett was an active and willing defender for most of the season". Now if that isn't some BS.

Whoever wrote that must having been watching another player because it was definitely not RJ.

Our #1 priority is PF(Wiseman). #2 is to try to get Edward if possible. Weak draft but those are my two major target. BTW, if I'm Rose I would be letting everybody we are drafting a PG but with all intention to drafting both Wiseman and Edward.

[mafra]

This is why I would bet on the man that is RJ Barrett... I don’t see superstar... but I don’t see flop either.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost....donations/amp/

[Dark Raider]

Just call it what it is!!! We spend a #3 overall pick on a player that isn't TRANSFORMATIVE. There has to be some kind of justification for making that BOLD decision. If it not a superstar then we wasted a #3 pick on an average player we could have gotten if we traded back.

If you didn't know RJ wasn't transformative from the start you have to be blind. These are the kind of mistake that have us in the situation we are currently in. You are not going to change this pig ear into a silk purse.

Questions... What to do with the Mistake? How best not to make these kind of mistakes in the future? If we didn't draft for need(PF) last year 'Is the need is still there'?

Gentleman the above are just a few question to answer to yourself or talk about in this forum. But most importantly 'Let come to a consensus about RJ' because the 'smoke and mirrors' and the HYPE isn't fooling some of us. WE SAW HIM PLAY.... AND IT WASN'T GOOD!!!

[Kiyaman]

This is why I would bet on the man that is RJ Barrett... I don’t see superstar... but I don’t see flop either.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost....donations/amp/

Dont get me wrong .. RJ Barrett is not a BUST, and was the best pick at the # 3 spot in the 2019 draft class.
RJ Barrett is coach-able, and needed a experience NBA head-coach to teach him the fundamentals in his rookie season, plus have a majority of complimentary teammates in the teams rookie rotation to play team-ball every game, or watch his playing-time minute decrease as the season goes on.

The Knicks past 5 head-coaches were all inexperience NBA coaches having a poor defensive system, and a isolation offensive system.
And the Knicks each season having half a roster of different one yr contract players performing under loser head-coaches with a TANKING plan the past 6 season kept the Knicks in the draft lottery.

The Knicks low-cap should've jumped at the opportunity to get PG-Chris Paul high 3 yr contract when the Rockets put him on the trade block in the 2019 offseason, before July 1st. plus the Knicks should've resign center Andre Jordan asap, plus sign PF-Taj Gibson to find out from those three veterans in the preseason games what position the Knicks 3rd pick in the 2019 draft RJ Barret perform at best SG or SF?
I would have rather let Chris Paul mentor the young-core players, plus select the Knicks 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th option on offense than an inexperience FAKE coaches Fizdale & Miller !!!

[mafra]

I was really impressed with CP3 this year, what he did for OKC after the trade. I would love to bring him here now... but I felt differently last summer. His contract to onerous and they were trying to fleece us, with report they wanted picks from us.

[Kiyaman]

Just call it what it is!!! We spend a #3 overall pick on a player that isn't TRANSFORMATIVE. There has to be some kind of justification for making that BOLD decision. If it not a superstar then we wasted a #3 pick on an average player we could have gotten if we traded back.

If you didn't know RJ wasn't transformative from the start you have to be blind. These are the kind of mistake that have us in the situation we are currently in. You are not going to change this pig ear into a silk purse.

Questions... What to do with the Mistake? How best not to make these kind of mistakes in the future? If we didn't draft for need(PF) last year 'Is the need is still there'?

Gentleman the above are just a few question to answer to yourself or talk about in this forum. But most importantly 'Let come to a consensus about RJ' because the 'smoke and mirrors' and the HYPE isn't fooling some of us. WE SO HIM PLAY.... AND IT WASN'T GOOD!!!

Wsup Dark .... I don't blame KP for forcing the Knicks to trade him ASAP, that was the best thing KP did as a Knick to advance his NBA growth.
The Knicks had the worst coaching-staff in the NBA, and non-coach-able poor defensive effort captain Carmelo Anthony did not help the Knicks in his 7 season era. The Knicks hiring poor inexperience head-coaches one after another are the reason I haven't gave up on Frank Nitty being a NBA starter/finisher PG one day. Because Frank showed high IQ in his complimentary performance at getting his teammates involve on the offense.

RJ Barrett's rookie transition into the NBA were poor on both sides of the court mainly from having a inexperience head-coach that does not remind any of the players what he expect from them specifically, when to foul and when not to foul, or when to call time-out, or when to speed up or slow down the tempo of the game. When the head-coach don't give any of the players the heads-up on the many situation in a close game, especially during the 4th quarter .. the team will have consistent losing seasons just like our Knicks.

2019-20 record .. 21-45 .. we were on our way to have another 50 or more loss season.
2018-19 record .. 17-65
2017-18 record .. 29-53
2016-17 record .. 31-51
2015-16 record .. 32-50
2014-15 record .. 17-65
Having 6 consistent season that were only good at getting 50 or more losses per season, says the head-coach and coaching staff has little to no experience in winning games, or coaching a winning regular season.

[mafra]

Trust me, if we get a true, legit, top 15 PG and we find an indomitable stretch PF, and an all-Star caliber shooter for either SG/SF.... RJ and MRob could (easily) be starters on a contending NBA roster, with those 3 aforementioned missing pieces.

I truly believe RJ and MRob could be dependable C1,C2 type players. That’s their ceiling, with the occasional flash of A1,B1 brilliance. We won’t know how they would perform under the bright lights.... one step at a time.

But RJ, MRob. Even Knits and Knox could serve a purpose, carve out a role (with the latter duo being valuable reserves, contributing and ‘doing their part’ types).

Everybody is so young too. Let them grow together for 3 seasons, and then these dudes are hitting their prime... gaining their strides... all would be about 25... then use assets to round out the picture, via Trade or free agent or draft.

Basically... that would be my 5 year plan, if I were Rose.

For starters, we need continuity for once. Enough of the revolving door.

We arguably might already possess 4/9 rotation parts of a ‘deep-run’ sort of playoff caliber roster. And these cats are gym dawgs! Frank, Kevin, RJ, MRob are coachable and willing to work. They are grounded and have the right attitudes. I’m attempting to build around that. I’m investing in this, in those men, that quartet. This is the foundation, even if they may simply boost their trade values and be used to swing a block buster assemblage of something at MSG...

But, for now... I build around that 4, and only differ to the newcomer acquisition to this roster when it is one of those 3 missing pieces you luck into... But, if its a player in the back of roster # 8-12 range... man, get out with that!

With 7 first round picks next 5 years... Up to them to find those missing 3 parts — albeit the hardest to find assets. Perhaps they are fortune and HIT on a lottery next 2 drafts... and use the other picks (and players taken with them) to be able to swing that deal, down the road... year 3... to seal the deal and roll with the vision you conceived and built.

Dont compromise or settle anymore... not for anything. Identity what is missing, that which needs to be added to this young core 4... And go for it.

In the meantime, play to the kids’ strengths, get out of their way, give them time to gel.... sprinkle in those 3 missing pieces. For the fillers, well... we want guys that compliment our kids... not hinder their development.

[Dark Raider]

First of all you are still drinking the RJ Kool-Aid. Why are you mentioning RJ with MRob every time? Reason is you are trying to give RJ Creditability by associating him with MRob. Tiring him to the high ceiling that is MRob isn’t right. Let RJ stand on his own as a player and stop use him in the same breath as MRob. MRob isn’t a starter on the Knick roster but RJ is?? Seriously!! Nobody is taking RJ over MRob. MRob has a long coat tails and a very important piece to building a team.

“If we get a true, legit, top 15 PG and we find an indomitable stretch PF”. Got problems with both half of that quote. Why does everybody think that getting PG is top priority? Former and maybe future Management along with the fan base think that is our #1 problem. The lack of a real BB person (like C. Gaines) is one of the many problems of the last two years. Same problem existed before last year draft, huh? Both picks went for what SF/SG(supposedly). Second part, finding an indomitable stretch PF, well they aren’t just laying around waiting for someone to pick them up. That(PF) became a major issue the moment KP was traded but everybody is talking about a PG. It wasn’t address during last year draft but all of a sudden it became important now. Management and the fan base has some misplaced priority.

RJ does not fit in the core group (Frank, MRob and Knox) mention. He is an odd piece just like Randle, Bullock, Ellington, Gibson (sorry Kiya) and Payton. Of the core players mention the only one to wave off a play call be the coach is RJ. The only one to way off the PG in the final second of the 4^th with the game on the line is RJ. Rookie don’t wave off plays or the PG, PERIOD. This set a bad precedent among the rest of the players. Trier(rookie) last year and now RJ(rookie) this year. Dotson is the player missing out of that core group. How do you miss the best all-around player on the team in that core group? A transformative PF is the missing piece that at core group.
The fans have been warn be C. Oakley about the millennial (singular not plural) on the Knicks. We have more than one but he said millennial. They don’t care about anything but themselves and video games. He didn’t call any names but who is the Knicks most visible millennial?? THAT RIGHT!!

Let stop wishing for a superstar player to sign/traded to the Knicks. Build the team from WITHIN with young solid well rounded players from the draft. If you look at last year draft that ‘Ain’t gonna happen’.

Let close by saying, We are surrounded by problems!!! Everywhere we turn there is a problem. Those seen and unseen!! The unseen ones are the root cause of all of the seen problems. Of course none of us talk about the unseen problems because we are too busy talking about the seen ones.