Summer Mailbag Season

Plus, a special Jerry West tribute from Ray Marcano.

Good morning. The NBA lost a legend - perhaps the legend considering how many different roles he excelled in over his 65 years in pro basketball - when Jerry West passed away yesterday at the age of 86. To commemorate his life, legacy, and rivalry with the Knicks, Ray Marcano penned a special tribute which comes your way below. First though, we begin the summer of mailbag…

Summer Mailbag Season

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

On Tuesday morning I called for KFS readers to submit mailbag questions to keep me busy for the next few weeks, and boy did you deliver, with nearly 500 responses as of late yesterday morning.

And I haven’t looked at a single one yet, thanks to the backlog of questions I’ve received over the last few weeks in the form of comments and emails.

Clearly, I have my work cut out for me, so let’s not waste any time.

We start today by giving some page space to the man who I’ve sent out in more fake trades than I can count. In truth, he probably deserves a better fate, as Anthony H eloquently says in today’s opening question:

I'm a simpleton, but the simplest answer feels like just keeping Bogey, but I also don't think much of the reinforcement options available.

You are anything but a simpleton, Anthony. If anything, your wisdom is shining through because, as they say, the simplest answer is usually the correct one. With all due respect to the various players I’ve written about since the end of the season, there’s a good argument that none check as many boxes as the guy who’s already here.

When the Knicks traded for Bojan Bogdanovic, there was a very simple logic behind the move. Like Evan Fournier, Bogey had a salary for next season that wasn’t fully guaranteed. The reporting made it very clear that this salary slot - and the flexibility that came with it - was of vital importance for the front office to maintain.

The difference, of course, is that unlike Fournier, Bogey wouldn’t be dead roster weight if the Knicks needed to guarantee his ‘24-25 salary. He could still be a contributor to a winning team, and not just for the season in which they acquired him either.

Did Bogey light the nets on fire as soon as he got here? No, but after an inconsistent start, Bodganovic shot 49 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from deep over his last dozen regular season games. He was also a massive part of New York’s Game 1 win vs Philly, and they wouldn’t have been in a position to win Game 2 without his two 3-pointers early in the fourth.

If no star trade materializes that necessitates the inclusion of Bogey’s salary before June 30, the Knicks will be left with the following three options: