Media Day Messages
by Jonathan Macri
Media day came and went without any reporters getting banned and with no one saying anything inflammatory.
Now if only the season can go as smoothly.
On what was overall a pretty nondescript couple of hours’ worth of Q&A, maybe the only thing that remotely surprised me was something that wasn’t said. I was half-expecting to hear someone try to convince us that circumstances before June 30 (i.e., a certain torn Achilles) changed the Knicks’ approach to free agency, and that Plan B ended up being Plan A before all was said and done.
It never happened.
Instead, Steve Mills predictably gushed about the guys they did sign (and really, what else did anyone expect him to do?) while tacitly acknowledging that there were indeed players the Knicks wanted who they didn’t get (when asked about why stars didn’t come, the response was simply “you would have to ask them”). While the overall tenor was a little too upbeat for some, as far as baby steps towards media respectability go, it counted as progress.
He also noted that there were “max-type” players the Knicks didn’t go after. While this induced more than a few eye rolls, as far as the Knicks’ typical spin cycle goes, it was casual wash at best. Sure, we can doubt whether the Tobias Harrises and D’Angelo Russells of the world would have considered New York if it came calling, but the fact is that even before free agency started, Mills and Perry all but proclaimed this summer to be superstar or bust.
That this particular mix of six players (remember, Marcus Morris didn’t become a viable option until later) was a cohesive unit they apparently targeted from the beginning – once they knew the big guys weren’t coming, of course - shouldn’t be taken as spin at all.
This wasn’t Scott and Steve throwing darts at a board where “first come, first served” was rewarded with the Knicks’ gobs of cash. They went after a certain blend of players, knowing they had certain needs and that these signings addressed those needs without compromising the future.
As for what those needs are, aside from the obvious ones (shooting, defense, literally any basketball skill), we got a glimpse into the answer from the players themselves. There was a theme that emerged as one player after another got up to the microphone. It was – stop me if you heard this before – one of accountability.
There was a slight difference yesterday though. Usually, it’s the GM or coach that talks about how everyone will have to earn their time with defense and unselfishness and blah bah blah. There was some of that on Monday, but mostly, it came from the guys who will be on the court.
From Dennis Smith Jr. talking about the “sweat equity” that will help this team build camaraderie, to Taj Gibson calling out Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis and Julius Randle as vets who will help keep the young guys in order, to Morris himself saying in no uncertain terms that things will be different around here than they were a season ago (cue to 1:28:40…I sure as heck believe him), you heard a distinct theme emerge:
Last year’s free-for-all – one that saw missed rotations and not making the extra pass, among other transgressions, become part of the norm - is on its way out.
Will things actually change? On one hand, believing that a roster full of potential one-year contract guys is going to be less selfish and more dedicated to the little things is a stretch. On the other hand, this seemed like more than telling the masses what they knew we wanted to hear. There was an air of legitimacy to it all, right down to (wisely) no one predicting playoffs for this motley crew.
As for why we should believe what we heard, maybe Marcus Morris said it best. When asked why he chose the Knicks in free agency after reneging on the Spurs, Morris (after pausing for a solid five seconds, likely thinking to himself don’t say “they had the most money left”…don’t say “they had the most money left…”) told us that the Knicks embraced players like him.
All kidding aside, regardless of how Morris ended up in orange and blue, this team most certainly had no one like him on the roster last year – take-no-shit pros who might not win games by themselves, but who weren’t going to lose them for you either.
Think about it for a second: who was really holding anyone accountable on this roster last season? Players like Mudiay, Hezonja and Vonleh, fighting for their NBA lives? Kanter, who had one foot out the door before camp was over? Porzingis? Ha. The rookies? Keep dreaming. I mean, I love me some Lance Thomas, but the man was a respected vet, not a wizard.
The Knicks are smart enough to know that none of the new signees outside of maybe Randle have the kind of ceiling that changes a franchise, but on Monday, the modus operandi became clear: the new guys should collectively elevate the ceilings of the players who can turn around the team’s fortunes – guys like RJ, Mitch, Knox, Dennis Smith Jr., and if Santa Clause is real, Frank Ntilikina.
On that front, Morris unwittingly gave us what may wind up being the quote of the year. After he expressed how much he liked that the roster was full of dawgs (not dogs; dawgs), he was asked whether or not dawgs had to be born of they could be raised from puppies. After initially saying you had to be born a dawg, and that you had to “have it in you,” he backtracked a bit, and added that if you’re around dawgs for long enough, it’ll begin to rub off on you.
If the Knicks’ brass does indeed plan to mold this team in the image of players like Morris, and to a greater extent, the 90’s teams that the city still holds so dear, we all better hope that his second thought is the correct one.
We’ll start to find out soon enough. The time for talking has officially - thankfully - come and gone. Preseason starts in a week.
News & Notes
According to Knicks PR and multiple reports, Damyean Dotson will miss the preseason as he recovers from injury. He should be available for the start of the regular season. Reggie Bullock will be re-evaluated in November.
Check it out:
Chris Iseman on the Knicks three (not two) headed point guard race.
Alex Wolfe from Posting & Toasting has your back with all the key quotes from yesterday’s presser.
Listen:
New episode of the Knicks Film School Podcast, featuring the aforementioned Chris Iseman dishing on all things Media Day and making some rotation predictions for the season ahead.