Briefing: July 9
Summer League continues
Good Morning,
Knicks return to Summer League action tonight and tomorrow:
July 9th vs Toronto at 9:30PM / MSG Networks
July 10th vs Lakers at 9:30PM / ESPN2
Scouts weigh in on RJ Barrett’s slow start:
"Of course the Knicks would like to see him come out and dominate in these games against guys who won't be in the NBA. That's what you'd expect from the No. 3 pick. But there's no reason to sound any alarms," one veteran scout said Monday to Ian Begley. "He's 19 and this is what Summer League - and his rookie season, really - is for. It's about development and getting comfortable on an NBA floor."
Kenny Wooten has been impressive so far. The Knicks had him earmarked for the 55th pick before trading up for Ignas Brazdeikis, per Marc Berman.
Wooten: “They told me about that. But I’m glad they got Iggy. You saw what he did right now [scoring 30 points in Sunday’s loss to the Suns]. I’m proud of him. I have no complaints. [Trading up] was a really smart choice.”
Dennis Smith Jr. has been working out in Vegas with Chris Paul, per Marc Berman. Smith Jr. has been rebuilding his shot from scratch, and it appears he is trying to improve his game any way possible.
Knicks were one of 12 teams to attend a workout for Amare Stoudemire and Monta Ellis on Monday night, per Chris Haynes.
Ignas Brazdeikis signed a multi-year contract with the Knicks earlier this week. The contract details have been leaked to be the rookie minimum, which will pay him $2.4 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, with a $1.8 million team option in 2022-23. [Marc Berman]
How much cap space is left? Adding Brazdeikis signing, the Knicks have approximately $2.8 million remaining in cap space, depending on whether they front-loaded any of their signings, such as Julius Randle’s. New York also has the $4.8 million room exception available to them.
A word on Russell Westbrook
by Jonathan Macri
Of all the words, jokes, memes and emojis that have been put forth in the last few days in response to a small contingent of fans who want the Knicks to trade for Russell Westbrook, Kristian Winfield's initial response is still probably by favorite:
Not writing a Knicks shouldn’t trade for Russell Westbrook piece, guys, it should be self-explanatory.
It really should be. The thing is, fans of the walking triple-double are like far right conservatives (TD-partiers, perhaps?)...they stan for their man, and if you don't, you are not only wrong, but a horrible person who also happens to be wrong.
Thus, we must go through this exercise, because what's more fun than arguing with a wall.
(but first, a reminder: due to salary matching rules, a Westbrook trade can't even be consummated until December 15. It doesn't mean the teams couldn't theoretically agree to a trade now and execute it later. For as much as OKC wants to get this done quickly, they will undoubtedly wait for the best deal if it comes to that)
So yes...Brodie. He is nearly 31 years old. Over the last four seasons, he is one of only six players to play over 11,000 combined regular season minutes. Of those six, he is a year older than the next oldest player: James Harden, who notably does not rely on athleticism nearly as much as Westbrook.
Russ is two seasons removed from winning the MVP award and has made the All-NBA 2nd and 3rd teams in the years since. This is good. He is one of maybe six or seven guys in the league that will guarantee you a .500 record by himself in the games he plays. This is also good. To even insinuate he has been bad is an insult to his greatness, true shooting percentage be damned.
But he is a wildly imperfect one. That aforementioned TS% has decreased markedly in each of the last three years, from .554 to .524 to .501, and that is despite playing alongside Paul George for the last two. Speaking of George, the Thunder were outscored by 5.4 points per 100 possessions during the minutes Westbrook played and PG13 didn't last year, according to Cleaning the Glass.
George saw the writing on the wall and politely asked out. On that same wall are medical reports from this offseason and the one before it, each of which saw Westbrook get his right knee scoped. That knee is the only thing preventing him from becoming the player the Blazers turned him into this postseason: one who can't get to the rim at will and is forced to launch shots he doesn't want to take.
Portland sealed off the paint to achieve this. If Russ loses even 10% of his giddy-up-and-go-go-go, teams won't even need to do that.
For the right to see if this is the path Westbrook's storied career takes, the Knicks would only have to pay him the low, low price $170 million. Only John Wall is currently guaranteed more money over the next four seasons.
Wall is the ultimate cautionary tale for those who think even a diminished Russ would still be worth the risk. No, the former Wildcat never hit MVP heights, but like Westbrook did this year, Wall made the All-NBA 3rd Team just two years ago. It might as well be 20. That's because Wall's contract is currently viewed as not only the worst in the NBA, but perhaps the most onerous in the history of the sport. To simply assume Westbrook won't join him in that conversation at some point soon is the type of naïveté you wouldn't bet $170 on, let alone $170 million.
For shits and giggles though, sure...overflow the glass. Let's say Russ stays healthy and is a reasonable facsimile of the man who has resembled his MVP-self at times over the last two years. That's a guy who takes 3-5 inexcusably bad shots a game and acts like a riverboat gambler on defense, but is still someone you unquestionably want on your side if the goal is to win the game.
OK...then what. He cannot do it alone, and there is no cogent argument that he makes young players better. Sure, his drives draw attention and he is a willing kick-out passer at times, but 19 and 20-year-olds need more for their growth than simply standing around the arc and waiting for their pitance. There is no "working" Westbrook into an offense. He is the offense; you work around his whims, as he pleases, when he pleases it.
Turning your organization over to this man would be like the late Melo-years, only far worse. Other than KP, there wasn't much young talent here to speak of when Melo started to fade. For as frustrating as every additional jab-step 18-footer was, did they really make a difference? Meh.
That is no longer the case. These young players might be good or they might be garbage, but we'd never know once the Westbrook umbrella blocks out the sun and whatever saplings might have contemplated growing instead shrivel up and die.
That is the difference between the Knicks bringing in six veterans and one walking, snarling seismic event. In theory, the new guys will up the level of competition and competence across the board, which should in turn hasten the development of the young players. Creating a winning atmosphere is less important than growing a sustainable one, where the biggest contributions come from the components that figure to be here the longest.
Bringing in Russ, even at just the cost of a few of the new 1 + 1 contracts, would almost surely result in more short-term gains but with potentially disastrous long-term ramifications. The idea that he would bring a "winning mentality" is like saying saying I've made a wise investment because a volatile stock I just invested my life savings in happened to go up in price over the first week.
You can sell the stock; Westbrook, you're stuck with. We poo-pooh the idea of a winning culture 'round these parts because we haven't had one in forever, but such a thing is real, and it is necessary. If this summer taught us nothing, it is that. Westbrook might put a bandage on a gaping wound, but putting off surgery only worsens things.
This year will likely be another painful one. That's fine as long as signs of progress are shown with enough key young players to be able to say "yes, we are headed in the right direction." Trading for Westbrook would be as directionless a move as the franchise has ever made, and that is saying something.
If your thought is to acquire Russ and then mortgage the farm for Bradley Beal, congrats: you're a five seed for the foreseeable future, until Westbrook starts to break down or Beal bolts, whatever comes first.
If you think Sam Presti is going to send Russ with some goodie bag of picks from his newfound war chest, think again. There are few savvier GM's in the NBA, and he would never include any assets that could truly come back to bite him, especially when Miami is waiting as a perfectly viable suitor that could talk themselves into the risk being worth it (and there's a barely discernible possible future where they might not be wrong).
Let them. Please. We have come this far, traded away a possible future star - a move that was right to do, but was painful all the same - suffered through 17 wins and the ignominy of losing out this summer to a team that is as much of a nonentity as New York City sports has ever known. Continue on the boring road. It doesn't feature the whirling dervish that is Westbrook, but sometimes, less is more.
Like right now.
Remember when…
July 9, 2016: Knicks sign two-time All-Star center and 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah, centers Guillermo “Willy” Hernangomez and Marshall Plumlee, guards Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings and re-sign forward Lance Thomas. Noah, Lee and Jennings are introduced to the media at a press conference at MSG Training Center that also includes President Phil Jackson, General Manager Steve Mills and Coach Jeff Hornacek.
July 9, 2015: Knicks sign guard Arron Afflalo, center Robin Lopez and forward Derrick Williams and acquire forward/center Kyle O’Quinn via sign-and-trade from Orlando.
July 9, 2010: Knicks sign-and-trade Davis Lee to the Golden State Warriors. [Vivek Dadhania with more]
July 9, 2008: Knicks sign four-year veteran guard Chris Duhon, who previously played for Chicago.
Thanks for reading, talk to you tomorrow!