Briefing: June 3
What if Morant falls to the Knicks?
Good Morning,
Workout Day: The Knicks have scheduled workouts with the following prospects today (or at least these are publicly reported):
Quinndary Weatherspoon, guard Mississippi State (source)
Aric Holman, forward Mississippi State (source)
LaGerald Vick, guard Kansas (source)
Kevin Knox has been working with Knicks coaches in California. He posted pictures on Instagram from the Mamba Sports Academy.
Blame Metta World Peace for Knicks overlooking him in 1999 draft. “Honestly, I caused that,” World Peace told the New York Daily News. “Because I was getting in trouble. I didn’t show up to my first Knick tryout. I was partying the night before in New York. I was f--ked up. I had my Knicks tryout the next day. I got drunk in Westchester, in the hotel, like, ‘Yo I can’t make it out the bed.’”
Kemba Walker appears committed to Charlotte. “Oh no question, Charlotte’s definitely my first priority,” Walker told The Athletic. “That’s where I’ve been for eight years and that’s all I know. Not many people get a chance to play for one NBA team throughout their career. When I go on my Instagram, I see, ‘Kemba leave! Kemba get out of Charlotte!’ People don’t understand, when they say you need to go ‘here’ and win, that winning is not guaranteed anywhere.”
MUST LISTEN: Ian Begley joins the Knicks Film School podcast
Jon is joined by SNY’s Ian Begley to talk all things Knicks draft, including what to make of the team’s possible interest in trading down, how they feel about RJ Barrett, whether he’d be a good fit in New York, and how their front office is functioning heading into the huge summer ahead. [iTunes | SoundCloud]
Cam Reddish
The Duke forward was spotted meeting with the Knicks in Westchester last Thursday. Meanwhile, Reddish will undergo a minor procedure for a core muscle injury, according to The Athletic. The injury nagged him during the season with Duke, but he is expected to fully heal after a six-week timetable.
Champions at the Garden
Andy Ruiz Jr. shocked the boxing world by knocking out Anthony Joshua at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Boxing news until Ruiz appeared after the fight in a Knicks jersey, and it was reported that Kyrie Irving was in attendance.
What if Morant falls to the Knicks?
by Jonathan Macri
Well we've officially reached the month that will begin to define the future of basketball as we know it.
The NBA draft is now less than three weeks away. It feels a little wrong to talk about anything other than these Finals while they're going on, because my Lord, have they been entertaining...but this is Knicks Film School, after all. Trudge on we must.
The only notable news from over the weekend comes by way of Memphis. According to Marc Berman and Mark Fischer of the New York Post, Ja Morant to the Grizzlies is no longer a fait accompli, perhaps in part to an upcoming arthroscopic procedure which will remove loose bodies from his knee.
(I can't tell whether "Loose Bodies" would be for a better name for a 90's grunge band or a postmodern art exhibit in Soho. Either way, can we find a more descriptive term for whatever gets taken out of people's knees during these procedures? Are they bone chips? Cartilage? I need answers, people...)
It sets up a fascinating lead-up to draft night for a number of reasons:
The Knicks reportedly have Morant higher on their board, and Scott Perry has already seemed to indicate they'd go best player available.
Could RJ Barrett muck this up by refusing to work out with Memphis, as he reportedly has done thus far?
Would there be anything Knicksier than drafting a point guard who relies heavily on his athleticism and that already has knee issues at 19 years old, only to see those issues come back to bite them in the ass?
Where would this leave Dennis Smith Jr, an athletic, defensively inconstant point guard with a questionable shot who would not seem to be a candidate to play alongside another athletic, defensively inconsistent point guard with a questionable shot?
Assuming Morant is there, does that increase the or decrease the value of the pick?
It's these last two points that intrigue me the most because they're directly related in the sense that they both require us to ask the same question: how can the Knicks get the most value out of the assets they have?
I've written and spoke a lot about the importance of asset maximization in the NBA, and how good teams buy low and sell high while bad ones do the opposite.
The issue with drafting Morant (with the intention on keeping him, at least...whether New Orleans would be interested in pairing him with Zion Williamson is another story) is that it immediately signals to the rest of the league that the Knicks are out on Smith. To some, this may not be a big deal, as Smith was arguably the third most important asset from the KP trade after cap space and the picks.
I say differently. With the Knicks already apparently exploring the possibility of getting what they can for Frank Ntilikina, by essentially giving up on Smith, that would be two top-ten draft picks that they didn't get nearly enough value from. Sure, it's possible Smith could start the season in New York and recoup some of the value he lost last year, but are we sure that's going to go well? We saw how DSJ reacted to the arrival of Luka Doncic, another ball handler who his team handed the reins to, allegedly causing the rift that got Smith shipped out of town. Would this be any different? How much could he really pop coming off the bench anyway?
For my money, anyone sold on Morant should at least be willing to give Smith another look. Dennis has far more defensive aptitude than Ja, and there's some thought that conditioning - which is his focus this summer, according to his trainer - is the key to unlocking it.
DSJ also shot 43.6% on open threes in 21 games with the Knicks last year and is every bit the athlete Morant is. He was operating with next to no spacing last season and thus had very little room to work; how would he look surrounded by some shooting? It's worth noting that in the 10 games post-All-Star break, after he got acclimated to his new team but before he went out with an injury, Smith's 106.3 on court offensive rating was the highest of any Knick. If the team feels good about his back, maybe he's worth a continued look.
Best of all, the top ten in this draft happens to have a few point-guard needy teams, including one in the Suns that I could easily see paying a hefty sum for the right to pair Morant with Devin Booker. If there were any way for the Knicks to extract an unprotected pick or even very lightly protected pick that eventually loses its protections from Pheonix, that's not something the Knicks should bypass. Morant is going to take a while before he leads to any winning (just look at Collin Sexton with last year's Cavs), and a Booker/Morant backcourt pairing might set a new record for defensive futility.
That extra pick would automatically become a pristine asset to either hang onto or use in some other move, and the Knicks would presumably get the Suns 6th pick in this year's draft as well. Not a bad haul.
All food for thought as we get closer to June 20. Either way it's going to be a fun couple of weeks.
Remember when…
June 3, 2016: Knicks officially introduce Jeff Hornacek as head coach with a press conference at MSG Training Center.
June 3, 2013: NBA legend Jason Kidd announces his retirement after one season with the Knicks, in which he averaged 6.0 points, 3.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.64 steals in 76 games.
June 3, 1994: Knicks defeat the Pacers 98-91 at Market Square Arena to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals. John Starks leads the way with 26 points, including five three-pointers.
Thanks for reading, talk to you tomorrow!