Happy Draft Day
Knicks likely to select RJ Barrett. And much more!
Good Morning,
Happy Draft Day!
Despite a last-minute workout with Darius Garland, New York remains “locked” on selecting RJ Barrett on Thursday, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
Higher ceiling? “some members of the Knicks organization think Garland could turn out to be a better NBA player than RJ Barrett but regard the Duke swingman as the safe pick at 3 and remains the likely selection.” [Marc Berman]
Memphis traded franchise star Mike Conley to Utah yesterday, which would suggest they are prepared to select point guard Ja Morant with the second overall pick, leaving Barret for the Knicks.
Could Memphis still trade back? Peter Vecsey reported late last night that New Orleans “is assembling assets in all out effort to leapfrog Knicks into second slot in order to snare RJ Barrett.”
Trade unlikely: “Teams in touch with the Memphis Grizzlies recently are under the impression that they would need to be presented with an incredibly strong offer to trade the No. 2 pick,” per SNY sources.
Draft Notes:
Knicks select 3rd and 55th in tonight’s draft.
They have $5.2M in cash, if they want to try to buy a second round pick. As a baseline, Golden State just paid $1.3M and a 2024 second round pick to acquire the 41st pick from Atlanta.
Second round picks do not carry a cap hold like first round picks. RJ Barrett will immediately count as $7.8M against the Knicks cap, even before he is officially signed. A second round pick only counts against the cap once they are signed. The Knicks could use all of their cap space and still sign a second round pick using the minimum salary exception. However, unlike first round picks, there are no special exceptions to sign second round picks, so they must use cap space, the minimum salary exception, or the room exception to sign anyone selected in the second round.
Frank back in town? There is a chance that Frank Ntilikina will be back in NYC to attend the 2019 NBA draft. He has been working out with his new agency in Dallas. According to French Knicks Pod, he would be there to support Sekou Doumbouya, a top 10 prospect he played with in France.
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More News
The Rockets recently explored trading Chris Paul into New York’s cap space, but the Knicks refused, according to Kevin O’Connor.
Before Kevin Durant’s injury, Durant and Kyrie Irving had planned a vacation together to map out their respective futures per Frank Isola.
Who knows now, but “as recently as Wednesday, there was belief among several NBA teams that even if Kyrie Irving joined Brooklyn, Kevin Durant would still come to the Knicks.” [The Athletic]
Don’t count the Knicks out yet. Jay Williams speaking on Get Up this morning says, “I wouldn’t count the Knicks out yet” in terms of attracting top-tier free agents. He said “Fizdale is one of the best coaches out there in the way he communicates with his players.” Jalen Rose agreed that the Knicks are still in play. [Watch]
Kawhi still possible? Brian Windhorst said on Get Up this morning, “I do think Kawhi will give the Knicks a look. There’s a relationship between Dennis Robertson [“Uncle Dennis”], his advisor, and Steve Mills, they go way back.” [Watch]
Knicks pitch to Anthony Davis. Once the Knicks realized the price was too high to trade for Davis, they reportedly made overtures for Davis to join them as a free agent in 2020, per Howard Beck.
Kristaps Porzingis’ trainer. The Knicks front office wasn’t in favor of Porzingis’ long-time Spanish physiotherapist, Manolo Valdivieso, traveling with the team, which is why KP elected to remain in NY and work with his hand-picked trainer during road trips, per Frank Isola.
Why this matters: With Kevin Durant facing a year-long recovery process, it’s interesting to note how the Knicks reacted to Porzingis’ medical requests.
Time for Knicks to bait the hook and cast their line
by Jonathan Macri
He's a force.
Lance Thomas was 16 floors up in a swanky We Work (not your grandfather's We Work, no sir) a few blocks from Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night surrounded by his teammates.
No, not the those teammates...his fishing team. The occasion was a promotion for Slangmagic, Lance's apparel company that's trying to blur the lines between what you'd wear at sea on a Saturday afternoon with what you'd wear at Sea on a Saturday night.
The concept seems a little far fetched, and yet the Knicks' captain - an avid angler - has managed to pull it off: the clothes are comfortable, fashionable and functional for all settings (I'll be modeling one of their shirts at our draft party tonight, mostly because I'm old and this is the closest I can come to being considered hip).
It's also not dissimilar to the task Scott Perry claimed he was taking on with the Knicks starting last summer: blending development of young players with star chasing, two things that have not traditionally gone together throughout NBA history.
The culmination of one half of that process comes to fruition tonight, when the Knicks will make their highest draft selection since Patrick Ewing. That’s where the "force" Lance was referring to comes in. You’d forgive Thomas if he was being overly optimistic when describing his fellow Dukie RJ Barrett, but his praise for the young Canadian felt legit. He called him someone "who can drive the lane and put the ball in the basket” - a well-worn basketball cliche, but one that the playoffs remind us every year persists for a reason.
He last saw Barrett play in person against NC State, and along with the rest of his team, was rooting heartily for Duke when they lost to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament - a night that coincided with Mitchell Robinson's surprise 21st birthday party (Lance, not in a festive mood following the loss, admitted to ghosting his teammates after the birthday boy showed up. Who can blame him?) RJ's effort against the Spartans was like a lot of games he had for the Blue Devils this year: flashes of brilliance, but ultimately an inefficient night that was marred by a missed free throw with six seconds left in a one point loss.
If you'd have asked Knick fans that evening how they'd feel about having another team jump them to take Barrett on draft night, allowing Ja Morant to fall to New York at three, I imagine most would have been pretty thrilled. Funny how things can change after you've spent the better part of six weeks selling yourself on one particular outcome. Even so, it was interesting to wake up this morning and see so many people bugging out over the rumor that New Orleans is trying to trade up to two so they can pair the former Duke teammates together.
Coincidentally, Lance spoke a lot about New Orleans throughout this night, but only because that's where he fell in love with fishing when he was a member of the Pelicans. Hearing him discuss how his greatest skill as a fisherman was adjusting to the unseen, I couldn't help but think of the draft. Stay with me here: Tuna - his preferred catch - usually swim at a depth of 250 feet, but sometimes go as low as 600, which requires several adjustments from the person holding the pole (it had something to do with how you bait the line. In other news, fishing: not as simple as you might think!) Similarly, there's so much false information floating around in the weeks, days and hours leading up to the draft that teams need to make educated guesses about what they can't possibly know for sure, otherwise there’s a risk of coming up empty handed.
That's where the Knicks sit right now: left to guess what the hell is going on under the water, which brings us back to that delicate balance Scott Perry is trying to achieve.
On one hand, it's tempting to say that any outcome is great. This is still a three player draft, and regardless of what happens, New York is going to end up with one of those three guys. Gummy bears for everyone.
On the other hand, if you've been paying attention to the NBA for, oh, the last several decades, you know that rookie point guards take time to develop. Sometimes you get lucky and it happens in year two, but often the road is longer. If you don't believe me, look no further than Dennis Smith Jr., a player with a lot of similarities to Morant coming out of college: uber-athlete, inconsistent defense and shot. Morant is a far better passer than Smith ever was, but Dennis also had the physique to defend NBA guards on his first day as a pro. Ja is the same height but 20 pounds lighter. If you want to imagine what his defense will be like next season, go back and watch tape of Trae Young with the Hawks. That, plus the adjustment of going from playing the Prairie View’s and Austin Peay’s of the world to the Raptors and Sixers eight times a year, will almost certainly result in a bumpy transition. That’s a definite risk for a team that needs to show progress this year for all kinds of reasons, some obvious and some less so.
Barrett, for whatever his flaws might be (and there are flaws) is as much of a plug and play as anyone in the draft not named Zion. His ceiling will be determined by how much he cleans up his shot, his wiggle on drives, and most of all his defense, but as Jonathan Wasserman told me a month ago, he's going to be just fine playing alongside better players (Wass also said he feared giving Barrett free reign on a crappy Knicks team, but that's what they pay the coaches for). Morant maybe not so much.
Of course, the way this summer is shaping up, that may not matter. Or it might matter a lot. Whatever you think the Knicks chances of landing Kawhi Leonard are right now, here's betting they go down considerably if he knows he'd be coming to play alongside a rookie point guard. Ditto for Anthony Davis next summer, to whom the Knicks apparently tried to make a pre-agency sales pitch amidst the trade talks with New Orleans. Could it even factor into Kevin Durant's decision, ever so slightly?
There are sure to be people - maybe even some in the Knicks front office - who don't think these questions should factor into the discussion. Maybe they feel Morant it’s worth whatever investment is required. Or maybe they feel that Vandy's Darius Garland - similar in size to Morant but a much smarter team defender who can get also over a screen, something Ja struggled mightily with - is a better fit on a roster trying to take a step forward. If nothing else, his shooting should ease his transition to the pros and allow Fiz to play him at either guard spot, at least initially.
Or maybe they feel like it's Barrett or bust, and the New Orleans rumors will prompt them to try and trade up themselves.
Of all the outcomes, this feels like the least likely, if for no other reason than they have nothing to trade that would be an appropriate price (the '21 Dallas pick - the closest thing to a fitting payment - seems more than a little rich for my blood). By the same token, if the Pels do trade up, it's not like the Knicks will be able to trade down to four and pick up an additional asset. If Memphis makes this deal, it's a clear sign that they're comfortable with whichever point guard falls to them.
Maybe - in a scenario that might result in pitchforks and torches outside MSG - it would open the door for a trade down with the Cavs, Suns or Hawks (discussed yesterday) to pick up more goodies.
Everything is on the table (or under the waves, as it were). As has been said many times in many ways, it's the Knicks, so of course nothing is ever going to be easy. Perry has done yeoman's work thus far, but for all intents and purposes, his job as the Knicks GM starts now..
Time to bait the hook and cast your line, Scott. The summer we've all been waiting for starts tonight.
Thanks for reading, talk to you tomorrow!