Briefing: April 17

Fizdale wants to be hated, Lance Thomas believes foundation is set, and more!

Apr 17, 2019

Good Morning,

David Fizdale is excited to be hated again. In an interview with Alan Hahn on MSG Networks, Hahn asked the Knicks coach if he looks forward to being hated again (like the Heat): “I can't wait. I miss being hated..and once we get this thing right, everybody's gonna hate us, because it's New York. They already hate us anyway."

Hahn’s new show: MSG Networks announced the upcoming launch of its new weeknight show MSG 150 hosted by Bill Pidto and Alan Hahn. The show will air 8:00-10:30 PM every Monday-Thursday and cover timely sports topics each night, including the latest Knicks rumblings. You will also see input from Knicks studio hosts Swin Cash and Wally Szczerbiak, former Knick John Wallace, and others! The show is slated to run May 6 - July 11, which will cover the time between the lottery, draft night, and free agency.

David Fizdale believes it was important to set proper expectations heading into this past season. As reported by Brian Mahoney:

“We tried to make a real point of that early in the press conferences. Just be brutally honest and don’t make it seem like we’re going to be better than we are, we’re going to do something magical, sprinkle pixie dust and all of a sudden we’re winning. Like, that’s not real and we wanted to be real.”

Fizdale added that the organization is making an effort to support players on expiring contracts to send a message around the league: “You don’t want to have that reputation that you just discard people because you think they may not be with your team. We’re not about that.” [Brian Mahoney]

Lance Thomas believes the foundation is set. In an interview with CBS Local, Lance Thomas elaborates:

The way that Coach Fizdale and the staff changed the culture here… it’s changed. I’m telling you, the foundation is set. We’ve worked really hard to build a culture where guys are actually working hard and guys are actually there and developing each and every day. That’s set and completely different and it’s a great feeling. Now all we need is the pieces. (Watch)

Kendrick Perkins thinks Durant should join the Knicks. Shams Charania asked one of Durant’s closest friends where he thinks the star forward should play next season and Perkins answered, “It would be big if he ended up in New York with the Knicks. I think that would be great. It would be great for the NBA. I think it would be great for basketball, period.”

Talking Knicks

On the latest Crossover podcast with Chris Mannix, Ian Begley and Howard Beck joined to discuss a variety of NBA topics, but finished the show discussing the Knicks.

Ian Begley says he is hearing what everyone else is hearing about Kevin Durant to the Knicks, noting it could appeal to Durant to disassociate himself from the narrative that he jumped on the bandwagon to win in Golden State.

While Beck has heard the same rumors about Durant wanting to leave Golden State, he is less than sold on the reasons why. He also doesn’t think Durant will succeed with the Knicks based on the franchise’s history over the past 20 years.
Beck lists others who have come to New York to “save the Knicks” and failed. He mentions Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown, Donnie Walsh, Mike D’Antoni, Amare Stoudamire, Stephon Marbury, and Carmelo Anthony as examples.

The problem with Beck’s logic is that most of the people he lists are coaches in a league where drastic changes to a team’s record are dictated by the players on the court. While Amare and Melo were great players, neither represent a championship-caliber player, like Durant, who is still considered one of the best players in the entire sport. I don’t see the similarity between Donnie Walsh coming to “save the Knicks” and Kevin Durant signing on with another superstar. Donnie Walsh came to deliver a player like Durant through cap clearing moves. Durant would be the actual delivery of a legitimate on-court superstar the Knicks have long sought to obtain (like every team).

Ask Macri

If the dream scenario of landing KD and Kyrie happens, would it be possible to bring Danny Green home? (asked by both @AQuincyJones, @kennethAntigua)

I'll say up front that answering these types of questions in written form is like inviting the basketball gods to strike us all with a bolt of lightning, aka, a Boogie Cousins max contract. Hell, I don't even like to talk about the moves New York might make if KD and Kyrie both come in July. It feels like a virgin who just got a supermodel's phone number at a bar and is already thinking about whether he's going to use Uber or Lyft to get her home from their eventual date. At this point I'm just hoping I don't call and get Steve from the pizza place on the other line.

All that said, for purely theoretical purposes only, let's think about potential moves they can make if the fantasy does transpire. We've discussed on the podcast how the Knicks could potentially need to cut a bit of additional salary if they want to keep all of their young players and still have space for two max salaries, but for the purposes of imagining the roster Scott Perry will be looking to add to, let's assume that both Damyean Dotson and Allonzo Trier are still here (I would be shocked if either wasn't, regardless of what transpires this summer. They love Trier and Dotson is so damn cheap).

So no, there won't be an absolute need for another shooting guard...but getting another guy would certainly be wise. The Knicks hit the third lowest percentage of threes in the NBA last season. To drive home how big of a deal this is, 10 of the bottom 12 teams in 3pt% failed to make the playoffs (and the two that did - Detroit and OKC - aren't looking great), while 11 of the top 12 did make the postseason, Sacramento being the only exception. Thus far in the playoffs, the team that has hit more threes has won 12 of the 13 games played thus far.

How's it goink, indeed. The Knicks will have money to spend on a shooter in the form of their room exception, which is slated to be about $4.7 million. The only way I could see that money not being spent on a shooter is if it's already been earmarked for DeAndre Jordan as part of the Kevin Durant Full Detail & Wax Premium Package. While I love the mentorship DJ has provided, I'm not sure that's the best use of assets with Mitch already here, and Luke "He's an NBA rotation player, dammit" Kornet already here a restricted free agent with a very small cap hold.

So getting to the original question, yes, Danny Green probably represents the best shooter who'll be available that might realistically consider signing for the room exception. He's a New York guy who's already won a ring, and New York could guarantee him a starting spot. Oh, and he shot 45 freaking percent from deep this year while defending his position as well as anyone. Sign me up, please.

Other possibilities include JJ Redick (although I'm not sure how a guy with his own podcast would feel about leaving Philly and taking a pay cut to come to the notoriously media shy Knicks), Terrence Ross (who could also be priced out as he looks to cash in on a strong year) and old friend Trevor Ariza.

Point is, if they get the two big names, I wouldn't worry about getting someone good to fill in this important gap. Someone will take their money to be a part of what will undoubtedly be the biggest show in basketball starting next season.

Have a question you want answered? Reply to this email or shoot a mention to @JCMacriNBA or @KnickFilmSchool on Twitter.

Season in Review

The final roundtable of the year, CP hosts a roundtable of Knicks podcasters and bloggers featuring J.Ellis from the Knick of Time Show as well as myself (JB) and Jonathan Macri from the Knicks Film School.

Remember when…

April 17, 2013: Carmelo Anthony with 28.7 points per game secures Knicks first scoring crown since Bernard King in 1984-85.

April 17, 2012: Carmelo Anthony records his second career triple double (35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists) to lead New York to a 118-110 win over Boston at the Garden. Knicks hit 19 triples for the second time this season (19-32), falling one shy of the club record. (Learn more from Vivek Dadhania)

April 17, 2011: Knicks return to the Playoffs for first time in seven years, losing in the final seconds 87-85 to Boston at TD Garden. New York takes a three-point lead on a Toney Douglas triple with :37.8 to play, but Boston scores the final five points, capped off by a Ray Allen triple with :11.6 remaining (after an illegal screen set by Kevin Garnett—had to say it!)

April 17, 2005: Knicks hit a then franchise record 17 three pointers in 139-135 (OT) loss to Atlanta at the Garden. The two teams combined for 38 points in the extra period with Atlanta posting a 21-17 edge. Jamal Crawford (31 points) and Tim Thomas (26 points) hit six three-pointers each.

April 17, 1984: Bernard King scores 36 points and Darrell Walker records 13 points and seven steals to lead the Knicks to a 94-93 victory in Detroit in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round. New York outscores Detroit 30-17 in the fourth quarter.

Knicks Film School