Bargain Basement

Slowly but surely, Deuce McBride is turning into one of the best value contracts in the NBA.

Good morning! I know, I know…I said no newsletter today. Well, I lied. Had to pen a few words about the sensational Deuce McBride (with some more words coming later this week…this is the first of a two-part newsletter). Hope you enjoy.

Game Night

TONIGHT: Pistons at Knicks, 7:30 pm, MSG Network

Injury Report: Anunoby, Randle and Mitch are all still out. Ever since the encouraging news on Robinson from a few days ago, there has been no new update, with Thibs merely confirming the status quo. OG continues to sit for “injury maintenance” as the Knicks let his surgically repaired elbow “calm down,” while Julius still isn’t taking any contact.

The only question at this point has to be whether these guys aren’t progressing because they can’t or because the team is exercising an abundance of caution. Considering we’re more likely to get intel from the Kremlin than the head coach, I doubt we find out anytime soon.

For Detroit, Cade Cunningham missed yesterday’s game for left knee injury management, Jalen Duren sat with a back issue, and Quentin Grimes and Simone Fontecchio were out with dings and dents. Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson are both out for the season.

Halftime Zoom: Finishing the year strong. Here’s the link.

What to watch for: Malachi Flynn was Detroit’s leading scorer yesterday.

Please, for the love of God and all that is holy, do not fuck around with this game.

Standings Check In

With Cleveland’s loss to Miami on Sunday, the Knicks are now tied in the loss column with the 3rd place Cavs, who host Charlotte tonight.

Bargain Basement

A little over a dozen years ago, the Golden State Warriors signed a contract that would forever change the course of NBA history.

Coming off a series of ankle injuries in the first three years of his career, Stephen Curry agreed to a rookie extension that would pay him $44 million over four years, or about $16 million less than he was eligible to make. It would look ridiculous before it even kicked in, as Curry danced and pranced his way around the 57-win Nuggets the following spring before putting a scare into the eventual West champion Spurs.

More importantly, the financial savings allowed the Warriors to sign Kevin Durant in free agency a few years later, essentially making two entire seasons an exercise in futility for the rest of the league.

Now considered by many to be a top-10 player ever, it’s wild to think that three years into his pro tenure, there wasn’t consensus about how valuable he could be. Even after that rookie extension was inked, some doubted whether it was a wise investment. Here’s an actual headline from Bleacher Report following the announcement:

The article goes on to explain that while Curry’s ceiling was clearly sky high, his durability issues made the contract a significant risk. Alternatively, there was another point guard taken in Curry’s same draft class that the author argued was a much safer investment: Ty Lawson.

Here is an actual paragraph from the piece, which you can read for yourself lest you think it’s been doctored in any way:

“When you consider that Curry's draft-class contemporary Ty Lawson got four years and $48 million from the Nuggets, it might feel like the Warriors got their man at a slight discount. But really, Lawson hasn't had anything close to the injury history Curry has. He was a risk-free investment with a pretty high ceiling. Curry’s potential may be greater than Lawson’s, but he’s a substantially riskier investment.”

My point here isn’t to belatedly lampoon the author (although, like many far greater basketball minds, he probably failed to see the 3-point heavy direction the league was goink). Instead, it just shows how there’s often a good deal of uncertainty when it comes to signing a player to his second contract, especially when the initial sample size doesn’t produce enough solid evidence from which to draw conclusions.

(And in the case of Lawson and many others, sometimes even when it seemingly does)

Which brings us to the matter of Miles “Deuce” McBride, who in late December signed a three-year, $13 million extension that will kick in this July.