Kemba Walker to Sit Out Remainder of 2021-22 Season

H

htr10

GM
Reported that the New York Knicks and Kemba Walker have agreed that he will sit out the remainder of the 2021-22 season so that he can ?prepare for the 2022-23 season?.

Kemba is an expiring contract this summer that the Knicks lame duck front office will look to unload.

Thibs tried to get out in front of this earlier this season by removing Kemba from the rotation and he got killed by the media and fans over it.

Say what you want, no healthy player who allows themselves to be shut down for the season in February was going to be a major part of a successful season.

I thought the Kemba signing was low risk and somehow it still ended up being a huge disaster for us.
 
And just to be clear, the phrasing in Leon Rose?s statement was ?We fully support Kemba?s decision?.

The statement was NOT that the Knicks asked him and he agreed.
 
Like I said at the end of the offseason .. Grimes are the best players the Knicks FO added to the Knicks in 2021 offseason.
And now that's being destroyed by playing Grimes in lineups alongside Randle. Grimes has been taking ridiculous shots, throwing up bricks, refusing to pass the ball to teammates, shooting 3's on a fast-break, and only passing the ball to Randle.
Grimes perform well on defense defending the backcourt alongside Kemba however, Randle forces Kemba out of the PG position so Randle could be the PG to slow down the tempo to run a half-court offense on practically every offensive-possession, without any team-play or coaches play, or ball-movement play.
We had this problem from Randle & Payton the past two season from Knicks ex-coach Fizdale convincing Randle to play point-forward.
 
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What does this really solve??

No plan that with this move this will move into the starting lineup, etc, etc, etc.

Dr. Frankenstein will try anything now to sway popular thinking. Walker is a victim not source of the problems.
 
Bring over the draft and stash kid:

Rokas (6?4, 194 lbs) was selected 34th in the 2021 draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Subsequently, the Knicks acquired the draft rights to Jokubaitis and Deuce McBride in exchange for the rights to Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Rokas raised eyebrows a few days ago while leading his club to this year?s Spanish Copa del Rey championship, scoring nine consecutive points to turn the tide in the fourth quarter against Barcelona?s eternal rival in all sports, Real Madrid.

Collin Loring recently penned a tantalizing piece on Jokubaitis. In his Heavy.com article, ?New York Knicks Draft-and-Stash PG is ?Going Nuclear? Overseas.? Loring offers some totals (the 21-year old Lithuanian averaged 7.9 points, 3.1 assists, and shot 57% from deep for Barcelona this season) and some tease (will Rokas join the Knicks or rejoin EuroLeague next season? ?We?ll see,? says he).

Previously, Rokas was named the EuroLeague Best Young Player in 2020-21, having averaged seven points, 2.5 assists and 1.7 rebounds over 20.9 minutes in 31 games and eight points, four assists, and 1.6 rebounds in 43 divisional games.

He is a two-time King Mindaugas Cup winner, three-time Lithuanian Basketball League (LBL) champion, and was named Lithuanian National Basketball League Best Young Player (2019). Quite a mouthful, and quite a lot of accolades for the young stud.

??
OKC just drafted SGA and Giddy. Maybe they get PG
 
Burks is likely to start at point guard with Kemba Walker shut down for the season.
"We?ll see," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I think just digging into the numbers, Alec [Burks] has been our best option so far." Derrick Rose is due back soon, but the starting PG job will be Burks' to lose so he looks like a solid flier coming out of the break.
 
RunningJumper said:
Well I was gonna watch the Knicks if he was playing.

He faking an injury, Kiya?
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I believe the first injury was a fake too lol
D.Rose were loving his 2nd unit lineup out-performing the starter lineup every game, until Thibs F..ed up the 2nd unit lineup by putting Burks in the starter lineup. D.Rose tried to get Thibs to put rookie Deuce Mcbride in the starter lineup to replace Kemba, but Thibs wouldn't budge.

Thibs been trying to put D.Rose into the starter lineup since he arrived.
Last season D.Rose kept refusing to be in Thibs no chemistry ISO starter lineup where PF-Randle performed as the team play-maker in the backcourt, and SG Barrett running around the court clueless of his role on both sides of the court, but are the team 2nd option on offense.
The best way D.Rose knew how to keep himself out of the Knicks starter lineup, were to have energy to perform throughout the entire 4th quarter (all 12 min) of games where D.Rose decision making going down the stretch would WIN way more games than lose.
Head coach Woodson did the same thing on the Knicks in 2012 season with Jason Kidd.
 
Walker never the problem here, as you see Knicks on a sad losing streak right now and about to be ranked 14th in the East if they keep playing like this.

Randle is currently the worst defensive big in the NBA and Burks one of the worst guards on both ends.

This is more of a health issue with Kemba, because when he plays well, we look our most solid.


Now enjoy the rest of the season where Randle will continue to stat pad and give no effort on defense.
 
I concur?. PG position was punted?. KW was a lottery ticket that fell in their laps, but it wasn?t part of the roster construction plan.

Rose/Wes felt like Evan F & AB was more valuable and an improvement over Reggie?

The ignored Rose and Noel?s injury history

Kemba was a Hail Mary?. You can?t blame him.

This season is on Rose and Wes, than the triumvirate of Randle/Evan/AB

I give IQ and Obi a pass bc they entered season with a specific role and when D-Rose went down? they were put in a bad spot.

Then I look to Thibbs?. But, unlike some, I give him a pass too. If he was adamant he didn?t want Evan and Kemba, that he wanted RB, and he didn?t want Cam, and he wanted help at trade deadline? maybe he coached his rotation as a defiant act to Rose?

Not Thibbs fault Rose punted free agency, Sat and did nada when Rose went down for 2 months, and only trade at deadline in 2 years was a roll of the dice on a flopping lottery pick who had fallen out of favor at his former club.

So? if Rose doesn?t realize went went wrong then how can he fix it? It is Ok if he punted this season, just be man enough to communicate with fans and let them know the plan? he didn?t like top free agents and didn?t see that as the path for long term build. He?s probably right. DeRozan won?t be able his guy next year?.

But if he did his job, CJ McCullum is at least here, and he?s probably here in early JaN and Knicks probably the 7th seed.
 
metrocard said:
Walker never the problem here, as you see Knicks on a sad losing streak right now and about to be ranked 14th in the East if they keep playing like this.

Randle is currently the worst defensive big in the NBA and Burks one of the worst guards on both ends.

This is more of a health issue with Kemba, because when he plays well, we look our most solid.


Now enjoy the rest of the season where Randle will continue to stat pad and give no effort on defense.
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Exactly. His defensive effort against the Sixers was an absolute disgrace. So much for Thibs bringing out the best in players defense. Concerning our injuries (especially Rose's): This is what you get if you play a guy with that kind of injury history for 30 minutes. In contrast to intelligent coaches, who look at their roster and figure out what to do with them (e.g. Pop), Thibs tries to do the same thing over and over and over, expecting different results.

But (as I have been saying for years), things will not change until Dolan sells the team to somebody more competent. Intelligent people hire the right people. Even if Dolan decides he is going to take a backseat, things will not change since he ist still the one picking the person who is going to run things. A new, coach, a new GM a new president. None of that is going to change things.
 
In November, on the Thanks-Giving Weekend the Knicks had a 11-9 record.

Well, wasn't the Knicks as a team putting out a .500+ performance the day coach Thibs announced "Kemba's out of the rotation" ???
Didn't the Knicks next 10 games having Burks replace Kemba as starter PG, have a 2-8 record performance in those 10 games ???
And now, we are in midseason games early March. and the Knicks are coming off a 3-17 record performance in its last 20 games having Burks as the PG ..
Have the Knicks been Building or Destroying since November ???

There have been two many walking FA PG (unemployed) the Knicks could've signed a 10 day contract to or traded for a PG since November.
Management vs Coaching staff ???
Or Thibs are gonna keep letting PG-Randle control the ball annd the offense on every Knicks offensive-possession for 35 min a game the rest of the season ???
Didn't we let PG-Melo do that and we became a 32 win season team?
 
Kiyaman said:
In November, on the Thanks-Giving Weekend the Knicks had a 11-9 record.

Well, wasn't the Knicks as a team putting out a .500+ performance the day coach Thibs announced "Kemba's out of the rotation" ???
Didn't the Knicks next 10 games having Burks replace Kemba as starter PG, have a 2-8 record performance in those 10 games ???
And now, we are in midseason games early March. and the Knicks are coming off a 3-17 record performance in its last 20 games having Burks as the PG ..
Have the Knicks been Building or Destroying since November ???

There have been two many walking FA PG (unemployed) the Knicks could've signed a 10 day contract to or traded for a PG since November.
Management vs Coaching staff ???
Or Thibs are gonna keep letting PG-Randle control the ball annd the offense on every Knicks offensive-possession for 35 min a game the rest of the season ???
Didn't we let PG-Melo do that and we became a 32 win season team?
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It?s funny. Most people wouldn?t immediately think of it, but Julius Randle and Carmelo Anthony have played very similar roles on this team at different times. Melo was the better scorer, Randle the better rebounder and passer, but both expected to play this point forward role because our front offices have failed season after season to give the team a starting PG.

How many times have we said a price tag, either via assets in trade or salary in free agency, was too high? Year after year, so we don?t get a PG. Almost 10 years ago that we didn?t want to trade a 1st round pick for Kyle Lowry. How many other starting PG caliber players have we also passed on?

Now we go into the draft lottery again, likely to end up with a top 10 pick, and do we try again to draft a PG?

This may sound crazy, but we?d probably have been better off keeping Ntilikina because at least he could play defense.
 
Yes! The Knicks FO spent over $65M in the offseason FA market to unimproved or deteriorate an above .500 Knicks team. When all the Knicks FO had to do in the offseason FA market were to go after two players .. sign FA Kyle Lowry, then FA Derozan for the Knicks starter lineup.
After that, resign D.Rose, Bullock, and Taj Gibson, then signing a FA buy-out Kemba Walker (Knees) to be a mentoring bench player for the young-core players, plus our replacement for injury guards would've been the icing on a .500+ plus team.
Starters
Lowry = Leadership
Barrett
Derozan = Leader
Randle = Leader
MitchRob

Bench
D.Rose = Leadership
Quickley
Grimes/Knox
Obi
Taj Gibson = Leader
 
htr10 said:
It?s funny. Most people wouldn?t immediately think of it, but Julius Randle and Carmelo Anthony have played very similar roles on this team at different times. Melo was the better scorer, Randle the better rebounder and passer, but both expected to play this point forward role because our front offices have failed season after season to give the team a starting PG.

How many times have we said a price tag, either via assets in trade or salary in free agency, was too high? Year after year, so we don?t get a PG. Almost 10 years ago that we didn?t want to trade a 1st round pick for Kyle Lowry. How many other starting PG caliber players have we also passed on?

Now we go into the draft lottery again, likely to end up with a top 10 pick, and do we try again to draft a PG?

This may sound crazy, but we?d probably have been better off keeping Ntilikina because at least he could play defense.
Click to expand...

Well, that I been saying for a long time. Play Frank, he certainly could not have put us in a more difficult situation. Frank just needed rep after rep and someone to. Point out his mistakes. Just play him.

The other night did you see Paul and E. Payton talking during the game?? I would love you know what they were saying.
 
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