Thoughts on some Knick players: Young & Veterans

mafra

Legend
NY Post - M. Berman

Knicks mailbag: Point guard remains a pressing issue
By Marc Berman

March 28, 2020 | 9:01am


You ask, we answer. The Post is fielding questions from readers about New York?s biggest pro sports teams and getting our beat writers to answer them in a series of regularly published mailbags. In today?s installment: the Knicks.

I?m curious to get your take on the insistence that the Knicks need a great point guard. If we look at all the teams who have won championships recently, point guard play has come from other positions (Draymond Green with the Warriors, LeBron with the Cavs). Shouldn?t the Knicks focus on drafting the best player available? ? Kevin V.

The Knicks need a playmaker/3-point shooter from that position. It?s their No. 1 need. All the top teams have terrific point guards. Look at the Celtics after they added Kemba Walker. Assist machine LeBron James plays point guard, no matter what the Lakers designate him.


It would help RJ Barrett and Kevin Knox immensely. I?d like to see Knox play with a creative setup man. Former Knicks coach David Fizdale put it perfectly: Elfrid Payton, Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. have positive attributes, but all are mediocre 3-point shooters. Payton had some gems, especially defensively with his quick hands, but his inability to shoot the 3 (20.3 percent) is devastatingly bad. He?s a backup on a decent team.

The 2020 draft isn?t a good one, but there?s a plethora of interesting point guards in the lottery. LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton or Cole Anthony would look good in orange and blue. I also love Kentucky?s Tyrese Maxey as a scorer, though some scouts wonder if he?s a capable-enough playmaker as an NBA point guard.


LaMelo Ball
LaMelo Ball
Getty Images
Considering the Knicks are not a good shooting team and the league has become a shooting-point-guard type of league, why does their best shooter and probably their best ball handler (Allonzo Trier) not play? Did prior management call the shots of him being ignored? ? Todd

Trier falling off the map completely in November became one of the great surprises of the season. I reported after last season that Trier?s teammates didn?t enjoy playing with him because of his selfishness. Fast-forward to training camp in September: Fizdale said Trier?s goal in his second season was shedding his ?IsoZo?? nickname. And Fizdale shocked everyone by starting a Barrett-Trier backcourt on opening night in San Antonio.

Trier?s uncaring defense was an issue. The Knicks faced a shooting-guard glut ? and Trier is undersized at that position. At some point, GM Scott Perry didn?t regard Trier as part of the future. It?s a stunning fall from grace, considering brass was thrilled last season about Trier?s rise from an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract to a two-year, $6.8 million deal.

Is Kevin Knox struggling because he was simply too young to be taken where he was in the draft or is he just not that good? At the very least, he looks too passive on the court to ever be an NBA star, and that is not an age thing. I?m reluctant to say this, but can the Knicks finally label him a bust and just move on? ? Bobby B

No, I think there?s still something there ? and it?s not because of Kentucky coach John Calipari?s rant this week. Knox seems to have a confidence issue more than anything after showing scoring electricity as a rookie. The signing of Marcus Morris may have backfired for the Knicks in the long run. It slammed Knox back to the bench ? and he couldn?t find his mojo.

Submit questions on your favorite New York teams to be answered in an upcoming mailbag

Here?s a stat for you: Nearing the end of his sophomore campaign, Knox still is the 23rd-youngest player in the NBA. Knox has potential to be a solid 3-point shooter and slasher once he gets older, stronger and regains that bravado. He?ll never be a lockdown defender: He doesn?t have strong defensive instincts and his motor is an issue. But Knicks coaches thought he showed improvement on that end, and he started to block shots. He?s also close with Mitchell Robinson. The potential loss of the last 16 games hurts Knox more than any other Knick.
 
No Matter What the Outcome was... As a rookie you don't way off the play!! NEVER... you let the play fail and that is on the coach. You do what the play call for and nothing else. If was suppose to go to Randle... so be it. That should send a Very Strong Signal to all in this forum that there something seriously wrong. It not my dislike for RJ... It's basic fundamental BB, Period.

They force RJ into a situation that he was ill prepared for as a rookie. Let him earn his place in the rotation. F.O and coach gave him not a roll in the rotation but a starting position that he wasn't drafted for or earned.

Now the spin word is 'Spacing(3 put shooting PG)to open up the floor. Seriously!! That is what your SG is suppose to do!! This is the same problem before last year draft and F.A. That was suppose to solve by signing Ellington and Bullock. On top of that you draft RJ.

Now to take the PRESSURE off the SG(RJ) they now think that 3 pts shooting PG is the answer to the MANY PROBLEMS.

Trier was last 'Darling' and see what they did to him this year. You going to find out real quick what kind of President Rose is. He doesn't owe RJ anything. If does nothing with RJ... we are in for another 5 years of mediocrity. It will take that long to admit he was a mistake.
 

mafra

Legend
?I was surprised they ignored the kid Gilgeous-Alexander because I thought he was Kentucky?s best player with the biggest upside,?? said one NBA college scout. ?Knox doesn?t look like a very good player now ? not a defender, not creative enough on offense and his feet are bad. Think about their backcourt. It could be Donovan Mitchell [passed over in 2017] and Alexander. The league knows what Kevin does and they have taken it away. He doesn?t look quick enough to get by guys. He isn?t tough enough to post up smaller guys and isn?t a playmaker for others.?

In defense of the Knicks, Gilgeous-Alexander declined to work out for any team except the Clippers. In addition, that draft the Knicks were all in on selecting a small forward to fill their greatest need.

Knicks brass is also encouraged because it considers Knox arguably the team?s hardest worker. Pre-shutdown, Knox would come to the Tarrytown campus at night to get extra shots up.
 

tiger0330

Legend
“I was surprised they ignored the kid Gilgeous-Alexander because I thought he was Kentucky’s best player with the biggest upside,’’ said one NBA college scout. “Knox doesn’t look like a very good player now — not a defender, not creative enough on offense and his feet are bad. Think about their backcourt. It could be Donovan Mitchell [passed over in 2017] and Alexander. The league knows what Kevin does and they have taken it away. He doesn’t look quick enough to get by guys. He isn’t tough enough to post up smaller guys and isn’t a playmaker for others.”

In defense of the Knicks, Gilgeous-Alexander declined to work out for any team except the Clippers. In addition, that draft the Knicks were all in on selecting a small forward to fill their greatest need.

Knicks brass is also encouraged because it considers Knox arguably the team’s hardest worker. Pre-shutdown, Knox would come to the Tarrytown campus at night to get extra shots up.
I said KK initially impressed me with his athleticism but after seeing him for a couple of seasons I rated him as so so now, average quickness and leaping ability and has regressed and not gotten better his sophomore year. Calipari and KKs dad better be right about the kid but he’s going to have to do it with his jump shot and not with superior athleticism.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
?I was surprised they ignored the kid Gilgeous-Alexander because I thought he was Kentucky?s best player with the biggest upside,?? said one NBA college scout. ?Knox doesn?t look like a very good player now ? not a defender, not creative enough on offense and his feet are bad. Think about their backcourt. It could be Donovan Mitchell [passed over in 2017] and Alexander. The league knows what Kevin does and they have taken it away. He doesn?t look quick enough to get by guys. He isn?t tough enough to post up smaller guys and isn?t a playmaker for others.?

In defense of the Knicks, Gilgeous-Alexander declined to work out for any team except the Clippers. In addition, that draft the Knicks were all in on selecting a small forward to fill their greatest need.

Knicks brass is also encouraged because it considers Knox arguably the team?s hardest worker. Pre-shutdown, Knox would come to the Tarrytown campus at night to get extra shots up.


Gilgeous-Alexander wanted no part of the Knicks organization poor-arse rookie program. As a guard Gilgeous-Alexander camp settled for an experience NBA head coach Doc Rivers Clippers to start his NBA growth. Very wise decision.

Keven Knox needed an experience NBA head-coach to set him up with a lot of catch n shoot plays inside of 20 ft of the perimeter to find his shot the past 2 season. Knox also need to work-hard on practicing his defensive moves in a defensive lineup having MitchRob Gibson Knox Dotson and Frank.
 

mafra

Legend
Very smart move indeed by SGA, and it?s becoming an annual thing. We make poor choices, while true talent avoids the org at every step.
 

tiger0330

Legend
Very smart move indeed by SGA, and it’s becoming an annual thing. We make poor choices, while true talent avoids the org at every step.
That's why Rose is here, to attract talent which might be the only skill he brings to the table. People praise the guy but he really has no experience being a GM of a team just like PJ didn't and if you had asked me who I'd pick to be the President/GM of a team, a HOF coach with 11 titles or a successful sports agent, I'd go with PJ. Albeit, I wasn't for hiring PJ because of his lack of experience. Rose has only been here a short while and the NBA is shut down but the lack of any news coming from him is not a good sign to me.
 

mafra

Legend
SI.com

-In yesterday's roundup, we referenced The New York Post's Marc Berman's article about Maurice Harkless and how the Knicks could be interested in bringing the free agent back. SNY's Ian Begley confirmed this, as he wrote about other executives expecting New York to try and re-sign the St. John's alum. Harkless could be a nice fit around the young core of the Knicks?at the right price, of course.

-The Knicks made a successful move at the trade deadline, offloading (what became 12 games of) Marcus Morris for the aforementioned Harkless and a first round pick. However, the team was considering another deal with the Charlotte Hornets, according to Begley. Apparently, a deal at the deadline that had "internal support" had New York sending Julius Randle, Dennis Smith Jr., and a first round pick to Charlotte for Terry Rozier and Malik Monk.
It's hard to understand what exactly the Knicks were thinking with this one. It'd be fair to consider Randle and Smith Jr. for Rozier and Monk as close to a wash, so that logic would mean the Knicks would be giving up a first round pick for essentially nothing. While Monk is better than Smith Jr., Rozier has been just as frustrating as Randle this season and has a longer contract. To give up a first round pick for a deal that does not move the needle and hurts the team long term would be a colossal mistake. To trade a pick just to get rid of their big free agent signing of Randle represents yet another instance where the Knicks have been willing to deem one of their decisions a failure shortly after making it. That's not to say they shouldn't move Randle, but to do this while burning a first round pick as a rebuilding team shows there isn't (or wasn't) a coherent plan with this franchise.
 
That's why Rose is here, to attract talent which might be the only skill he brings to the table. People praise the guy but he really has no experience being a GM of a team just like PJ didn't and if you had asked me who I'd pick to be the President/GM of a team, a HOF coach with 11 titles or a successful sports agent, I'd go with PJ. Albeit, I wasn't for hiring PJ because of his lack of experience. Rose has only been here a short while and the NBA is shut down but the lack of any news coming from him is not a good sign to me.

Do you think hiring Phil was a mistake?? Most do. The way you stated it... it look like you have the same concerns(with Rose) but give Phil the edge because of his experience in winning 11 titles. I agree.

Phil did solve his biggest weakest as GM and that was to hire C. Gaines. Never putting together a team was something he knew nothing about talent wise.

Rose not firing Perry/C. Robinson and the scouts are not a good sign as you put it. Let watch and see if a BB person emerges before the draft and F.A. If we are to make the right decisions then this one factor must be done and done correctly.
WHO DO YOU HIRE!!
 

tiger0330

Legend
Do you think hiring Phil was a mistake?? Most do. The way you stated it... it look like you have the same concerns(with Rose) but give Phil the edge because of his experience in winning 11 titles. I agree.

Phil did solve his biggest weakest as GM and that was to hire C. Gaines. Never putting together a team was something he knew nothing about talent wise.

Rose not firing Perry/C. Robinson and the scouts are not a good sign as you put it. Let watch and see if a BB person emerges before the draft and F.A. If we are to make the right decisions then this one factor must be done and done correctly.
WHO DO YOU HIRE!!
When PJ was hired it took him a month to fire Woody and his entire staff, Knicks are in dire need of a house cleaning and I somewhat expected Rose to come in with guns blazing. Looks like that's not his style and everything you read about the guy smacks of nice guy like Meyers in GS, kind of a disappointment to me that we got Likeable Leon when I was expecting Chainsaw Leon.
 

mafra

Legend
Rose did something PHIL didn?t do.... get Mills out of the kitchen! In 2014, Gaines and Jax took CleAntthony Early over Nikola Jokic and Jordan Clarkson! Total failure. Not to mention Joe Harris went 1 pick ahead... Talent everywhere around that pick, and we grabbed a stiff.
 
First of all Mills got fired before Rose was hired. Correct me if I'm wrong.
If Joe Harris was picked before Early how would we have gotten him? It wasn't liked he was drafted after Early. So I miss your point. As for Jokic this was the 2nd round and all 30 some team pass on him and Clark at least once. So are those team dumber than Phil and Gaines?
 

Kiyaman

Legend
Awkward Leon Rose dynamic at center of Knicks? Frank Ntilikina dilemma
NY Post (Marc Berman) ? The Knicks point guard Frank Ntilikina is in an awkward spot once again. The president who could decide his...
https://nypost.com/2020/03/30/awkward-leon-rose-dynamic-at-center-of-knicks-frank-ntilikina-dilemma/

Ntilikina, who has survived three Knicks presidents and three Knicks head-coaches, in three Knicks seasons, may receive the KP treatment of being traded during the off-season to have a 50-50 chance in landing in a winning organization.
 

mafra

Legend
If the Knicks are smart... they should use next year as a year to truly evaluate their talent.

Frank, DSJ, RJ, Knox, MRob, Randle. All 6 are under contract... if they are here come September... then this should be 6/10 rotation guys... and they should get serious burn.

We also have 3 draft picks. I?d use back 2 to trade up... grab 2 guys in top 22? There?s also free agency to add to this stable (Joe Harris?).

Keep Harkless, Bullock, Ellington as vey end-of-bench depth.

Sink or swim kids. This way, wins won?t matter. Only development. If they can?t compete for the 8th seed... then we know what to do in 2021.
 
Agree with trying to get 2 guys in top 22. This is a weak draft with only two players that I think we should go very hard after. Wiseman and Edward would solve(to me) a couple of problems. One is that Wiseman could be a transformative type player at the PF(7'1"). This solve last year problem and the need for a player of his caliber. We must keep Wiseman out of the Warriors hand. Edward would solve this year problem of needing a scorer(3 pt shooter) at the SG. Since Ellington, Bullock and RJ didn't solve that last season. Now the question is how to accomplish this feat of getting both? Let hope for the draft god to show us some mercy and luck up on the lst overall pick. Then you have to figure out how to get another pick within the top 3. For that to happen the Clippers 1st round and players would have to be offered. Definitely can't offer MRob so that leave only RJ. I don't think nobody would be interested in the 2nd rounder of this weak draft. Maybe someone with the #2 or #3 would be foolish enough to take that trade.

Now if can pull that off then the team is headed into a very different direction. Just think with the addition of Wiseman and Edward to the roster. Maybe a starting lineup of:

MRob… C
Wiseman... PF
Knox.... SF
Edward or Dotson... SG
Frank.... PG
With Randle, Bobby P., Trier and hopefully the resigning of MM, Mudiay and Kornet. At this point you finish building on the(that word) Chemistry by bring back those from the 2018 roster.

Now this isn't going to happen unless there is a Real BB person hired and Perry is fired. Perry must go if we are to move in the right direction.
 

mafra

Legend
I think we have to look at Wiseman... if he?s arguably best player in the draft.... we would be foolish to pass on him without doing our due diligence.

We need a big to compliment MRob... Randle is more of a 6th man bench player type. Yes prefer Wiseman over paying big bucks for Drummond.

I?m hopeful we pursue a trade for Lauri Markkanen, even if that means using our lottery pick. This guy and Joe Harris is just what we need... shooting!!!
 
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"Purse a trade of Lauri Markkanen", using our lottery pick. I for one wouldn't do it because I don't see a lot of different in him and Kornet(if he had some GOOD coaching- Big Man). Kornet had the best 3% on the team last season so why let him go. Saw him out on the 3 pt perimeter guarding and switching. Plus he was a good rim defender in college and the second best shooting big man in the country outside of Markkanen. Per C. Gaines. This is what happen with no real BB person in the organization.

Question-- Harris will be turning 30 this year. Do we want a 30 year old shooting guard? If I'm bring in a vet. guard it D. Rose. For one reason, To teach my guards 'How to be MVP'!! His work ethics is what I want to rub off on them. Especially Frank!!
 

mafra

Legend
I doubt he?ll leave Brooklyn, but I would definitely sign Joe Harris and trade for Marky... Knicks almost dead last in 3-point shooting, in an era where the sport is geared towards deep range bombing.

Should we give Bullock and Ellington a mulligan? Expect that there stats will rise to their career norms? It?s all about cost, of course.

But the best way to ensure Frank, MRob, and RJ develop next year is to surround them with 2 3-point snipers, IMHO.

I didn?t mind Rose?s antics while he was here... with Mills gone and perhaps with Thibbs, we could entertain that idea. I think DSJ is trash and will be dealt and I don?t believe this young roster will
Benefit from a teenage PG...

Rose would be wise to latch on a winner and be a role guy.... if we sign him he doesn?t move the needle and make us a playoff team and he?ll be 32 when next season begins. This is a 2-3 year temp stopgap, and would represent repeating past mistakes...

But, yeah... all options are open.

Harris will be 29 in September and has shot over 40% from downtown last 3 seasons.

I think Marky is a better fit with MRob than Randle, and I think he?s better than Kornet (but not as good as KP).
 

Kiyaman

Legend
I think we have to look at Wiseman... if he?s arguably best player in the draft.... we would be foolish to pass on him without doing our due diligence.

We need a big to compliment MRob... Randle is more of a 6th man bench player type. Yes prefer Wiseman over paying big bucks for Drummond.

I?m hopeful we pursue a trade for Lauri Markkanen, even if that means using our lottery pick. This guy and Joe Harris is just what we need... shooting!!!


Last year, I didn't see the Knicks getting Zion, and I don't see the Knicks getting Wiseman, Edwards, or Lamelo in the upcoming draft.
However, the Knicks do need a complimentary 2-Way BIG to fit in a lineup well with MitchRob's 2-Way performance. above.
Sorry but Randle-Handle's best performance throughout the 2019-20 season has graded to be a decent bench player. Not a starter or finisher.
I'm still wondering why Fizdale & Miller gave Randle the Green-Light to call shots on the the court, plus be the #1 option on offense.
Or was that Mills/Perry idea ???
 

mafra

Legend
NY Post

ESPN draft guru Fran Fraschilla has a message for the Knicks: Take the best player available with your lottery pick and save the late first-rounder for a point guard.

The former St. John?s coach believes there are flaws in each of the projected top-10 picks in this year?s draft, including the trove of point guards led by LaMelo Ball and Cole Anthony.

With no sure floor general, Fraschilla prefers the Knicks go with a point guard at No. 27 and touts Alabama sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. as being their smart choice.

?Here?s what I would tell the Knicks: I think it?s a bad year to target one position,?? Fraschilla, who also coached at Manhattan and New Mexico, told The Post.

?If I?m the Knicks and I?m picking sixth, I?m absolutely taking the best player available ? regardless of position. If you reach to take a point guard you?re unsure of, you?re better off zeroing on whoever is the best player left on the board.??


A scoring point guard is the Knicks? top need. Fraschilla believes the speed demon Lewis, 19, is attractive late in the first round. The Knicks obtained the Clippers? No. 1 pick in the Marcus Morris deal on Feb. 6. If the regular season never restarts because of the global pandemic, the Clippers would select 27th.

?He?s still one of the youngest kids in the draft,?? Fraschilla said of Lewis. ?He?s arguably the fastest player in this draft. The crazy thing is he has played two full seasons in the SEC and doesn?t turn 20 until next April.

?If you want a sleeper, if they take (forwards Obi) Toppin or James Wiseman in the lottery and are looking to take a point guard, the first guy I?d look at is Lewis. He?s Ja Morant Lite and he started his career in the SEC as a 17-year-old.?

Known more as a penetrator, Lewis averaged 18.5 points, 5.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds in his second season. He shot 45.9 percent and 36.6 percent from 3. Without the expected pre-draft workouts, Lewis probably won?t be able to climb up draft boards.

The mock drafts are stuck on Ball, Anthony, Tyrese Haliburton and Killian Hayes atop the board at point guard. The draft is scheduled for June 25, but that could change. The lottery is slated for May 14, another event that is up in the air.

?There?s not a great consensus on who the No. 1 pick is or who the best point guard is, even though LaMelo has the most buzz,? Fraschilla said.

The super-athletic Anthony Edwards is hyped as the top pick, but the Georgia shooting guard has plenty of question marks, including a wayward perimeter jump shot. Edwards shot 22 percent from 3-point range in his final 10 games for the bottom-dwelling Bulldogs.

?He?s boom or bust,?? Fraschilla said. ?He?s either Bradley Beal or Dion Waiters. If somebody has him figured out in the league, they?re lying. NBA GMs, scouts feel just like I do.

?This is a draft of high-risk, high-reward guys in the first 10 picks,? Fraschilla said. ?There is no consensus guy that anybody can safely say he will be an NBA star.?

Besides the baggage Ball brings with LaVar, his loudmouthed father, LaMelo didn?t wow Fraschilla during a short pro stint in Australia. But Fraschilla thinks Ball, 18, might be the first point guard taken.

?In terms of his talent and incredible passing ability, it has to be LaMelo,?? Fraschilla said. ?But there are major red flags about his on-court ability. His shooting is broken. I always laugh when someone says, ?Well, he?ll get better as a shooter.? There are some shots that don?t get better: [Rajon] Rondo, [Elfrid] Payton. His effort level defensively, I hope when he gets to the league, he figures out he?ll have to defend and play both ends. I don?t think he has an idea on how to play hard on that end yet.?

As for other point-guard prospects, Fraschilla likes Anthony?s ?shot creation,?? but the 19-year-old North Carolina freshman is low-efficiency and doesn?t make teammates better.

Iowa State?s Haliburton, 20, doesn?t have enough ?dynamic explosion?? to get to the basket, making him a better 2-guard, according to Fraschilla. And Hayes, an 18-year-old who played professionally in Germany, is a project who may not make an impact until he?s 22.

?In this draft, you?re going to have to roll the dice with these top-10 picks and take a guy who has some flaws,?? Fraschilla said.



https://nypost.com/2020/04/06/nba-draft-2020-knicks-could-steal-kira-lewis-at-end-of-first-round/
 
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