F*** It Friday
What the hell.
In this newsletter…
Only the Knicks.
Only the Knicks could do this.
During a season in which winning games probably never should have been the first priority (and, 59 games into a 17-42 campaign, it still seemingly is), only New York could eschew the most obvious starting lineup change in all of basketball even as it’s served up to them on a silver platter.
The irony of this “win now” decision causing them to go down by 10 points almost instantly in a game they wound up losing by nine is palpable, but so is most of everything about this year’s team. Knicks’ brass made every possible move they could to rack up as many meaningless victories as possible, only to find themselves here…
…near the top of a lottery they wanted desperately not to be a part of.
(BTW, with the help of our friends at Tankathon.com, we’re going to be making the lottery standings a regular feature of the newsletter from now on. It’s time.)
But that is indeed where they find themselves, thanks to a series of inexplicable decisions, the latest of which came yesterday. On the bright side, starting Bobby Portis (-18 in 22 minutes, an accurate description of his impact on the outcome) over Mitchell Robinson (-1 in 32, also accurate) gave me the inspiration for today’s column.
The last part - “F it: Start RJ at C” - was enough to cause one of my favorite Twitter friends to reply with an “F it” of their own:
The worst that could happen? Mitch misses the shot, the Knicks get further away from winning than they would have if someone else had used the possession more wisely, and the basketball gods would smite us in anger as we disrespected the sport we lo- OH MY GOD THEY HAVE 17 WINS WHAT THE HELL DOES IT MATTER?!?
On that note, let’s do a few more “F it’s” that I’d like to see before the end of the season…
F*** It: Bring up Lamar Peters…and start him immediately
What’s the worst that can happen? He’s overmatched, the team struggles, and the experiment angers the locker room to the point that several vets mentally check out and ask to be traded in the offseason.
Will this actually happen? If that last part came true, I’d go out and get the keg myself for our collective celebration. On the court though, this would cure so much of what ails this team. Peters is a dogged defender and Peters is averaging 41 percent from deep on eight (eight!) attempts per game, so he’d instantly help them at both ends.
Payton has done a nice job setting up certain teammates (LOUD COUGHING NOISES), but even so, it would probably be better for the development of other players if some of the playmaking duties were distributed more equally. Speaking of which…
F*** It: Bench Julius Randle
What’s the worst that can happen? Ditto from above about the vets checking out and possible locker room issues taking place as a result. The Knicks would also certainly struggle far more to generate offense. As we were reminded of last night, he’s still the most gifted scorer on this team, and it’s not particularly close.
Who cares? Not me.
The only guys in the locker room you have to worry about are the young ones, and it’s become pretty clear by now that players like Frank and RJ play a more, shall we say, “cerebral” brand of basketball than Julius does, and secretly probably wouldn’t mind the change.
On the court, if you toss in Peters, and replace Randle, Moe and Taj (sorry big guy, but it’s time) with Knox, Frank (once he’s healthy) and Mitch, you’ll be putting more playmaking responsibilities on RJ, but he’ll have two other nominal point guards on the floor to help out.
As for Knox…
F*** It: Start Knox and play him 30 minutes a night…or send him to the G-League
What’s the worst that can happen? There’s a chance that either failing on a bigger stage or being relegated to a place few lottery picks ever see could shatter his confidence.
Wait…isn’t his confidence already shattered? Oh that’s right…it is.
Short of taping a “Kick Me” sign to his back when he checks into games, the Knicks couldn’t possibly break this kid any more than they have already. Now it just comes down to which is the best path to recovery.
Starting him, playing him significant minutes, and most importantly, actually letting him commandeer the offense from time to time might actually get him back on track if he’s told ahead of time “no matter how badly you eff this up, we’re going to stick with it till the end of the season as long as you continue to put in the effort.”
But there is a chance it goes very poorly, which is why the G-League is a real option, but Westchester only has 11 games left, which isn’t much.
I’d pick option one and let the chips fall where they may.
And finally…
F*** It: Waive a Bunch of Dudes.
What’s the worst that can happen? Without trusty veteran mentors around like Wayne Ellington, Moe Harkless and Bobby Portis, the locker room erupts into a chaotic frat party, and a drunk Mitchell Robinson will have to be dragged out onto the court to start games reeking of vomit and stale cheez whiz.
Will this actually happen? Of course not.
Aside from the fact that I’ve been told Robinson doesn’t drink, do we really think the vets are making a bit of difference at this point? I mean, listen to Harkless after last night’s game:
Seriously…what are we doing here?
In order to be fair, these cuts/buyouts would need to happen by Sunday, as March 1 is the deadline after which players still on NBA rosters aren’t eligible to play in the playoffs with a new team.
The only thing to keep in mind here for certain players (Ellington, Taj, Bullock and Elf for sure, and possibly Bobby Portis, although details on the trigger date for his team option aren’t publically available) is that the Knicks would be losing some potentially valuable trade chips. Specifically, if another team wanted to clear a bunch of money off their books, they could swing a draft night trade with New York and then waive any of the above players by June 28, which is when their salaries for next year become fully guaranteed.
If that’s a concern, split the baby: waive Portis and Harkless (who has no such option, and is going to be an unrestricted free agent), open up 50 minutes a night along with two roster spots, sign Peters, bring up Iggy, and simply glue other veterans to the bench.
My sense is that at the very least, that last part might be coming anyway, and soon. Leon Rose starts Sunday, and with his arrival, don’t be surprised if you see major changes take place sooner rather than later.
As they should. F*** it. What’s the worst that can happen?
Player Spotlight
I’m using Saturday’s Bulls game to get out ahead of something that I’ll bet you a doughnut will be happening once the offseason hits: Zach LaVine to the Knicks rumors.
I want to be clear that this is 100% not something I’ve heard anyone mention even in passing. It’s just something that wouldn’t surprise me for a variety of reasons.
For one, LaVine and the Bulls would seem to be nearing a breaking point. I remember (I think) Zach Lowe saying around the deadline that Chicago wasn’t taking calls on LaVine, but since then, well…let’s just say things haven’t exactly gotten much better.
You also may have caught this clip from the other night:
Historically, LaVine is a guy the Knicks always go after: he’s flashy, he puts up numbers, and has nothing resembling the well-rounded game winning teams usually value.
He’s also repped by noted Knick buddy Bill Duffy, who also represents RJ Barrett, the aforementioned Harkless, and former “why is this guy occupying one of our two-way slots” G-Leaguer Isaiah Hicks. He was also the agent for everyone’s favorite $72 million man, Joakim Noah.
So yeah, there’s a history.
(What, you thought that just because a CAA guy was taking over the Knicks, kowtowing to other agents was going to suddenly end? Puh-lease!)
Couldn’t you just see this being the first big, splashy move of a new regime - a guy they' could probably get for little by way of assets, but who there’s a reason no one else is willing to give up anything good for? I’m readying myself now.
Anywho, LaVine’s numbers have actually been quite good this year, especially as the season has gone on, helping him rebound steadily from an early season lull when he was selling at just $3.72. His PredictionStrike share price has more than doubled since then, and it should surprise no one if he goes off on Saturday night at the Garden.
(check out Ps here, enter code KFS, get $10 towards your first $10+ investment)
News & Notes
compiled by Michael Schatz (@mschatz99)
Alex Wolfe was down in Philly for last night’s game, and wrote about it.
Julius Randle might not be thrilled
Here’s Ken T with a nice piece on Mitchell Robinson
Finally, new pod!
That’s it…have a great weekend everyone!