What a Day
Good day? Bad day? Remains to be seen.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNIN’ KNICK FANS!
How you doing today?
I don’t know if it’s the three-game winning streak, the fact that we didn’t trade away a crippling future draft pick and/or key young player, or the fact that there’s a slim chance James Dolan did something smart, but I’m feel fan-f—-tastic today.
I have lots of thoughts on the day’s events, as did my KFS colleague Jeremy Cohen, so we decided to combine them. Here’s the convo that transpired between myself and Mr. Cohen over the course of last night and early this morning. Hope you enjoy.
Macri: So...I honestly don’t know where to begin Jeremy…
Typically, on days when wholesale organizational changes take place, I find myself flying through the 12 steps toward recovery at light speed, except that by the end, I’m confused as to whether I’m a Knicks apologist, a Knicks hater, or somewhere in between.
Right now, I’m feeling oddly good. I’m still mad that we can’t have a normal owner who takes the normal amount of time to hire a normal President, especially since there’s no indication that someone really good with a ton of experience wouldn’t have taken this job, or that there was a line of teams ready to scoop up Leon Rose before the summer.
But given that said owner is a pipe dream, hiring maybe the most prominent agent in the last 20 years isn’t the worst thing, is it?
Or am I deluding myself like so many times in the past?
Help.
Jeremy: Have you seen Seth Meyers’s most recent stand-up special, where he talks about his wife giving birth? She’s experiencing contractions in their lobby, and while on the phone with 9-1-1, Seth says, “We’re about to have a baby. We’re having a baby. We had a baby.” It was that fast.
That’s what this search felt like on, of all days, Deadline Day, Jon.
I’m totally ambivalent on the hiring. I’m feeling positive because I want to believe that his experience and reputation do more for this organization than Steve Mills ever could. I’m feeling negative because Bob Meyers and Rob Pelinka at least served as their respective team’s second-in-command before taking over. We’re expecting someone who has no front office experience to lead a team that constantly takes one step forward and two steps backwards. Why can’t Dolan bring in someone who knows the intricacies of a front office because that individual has worked in one himself? And of course, there’s the CAA connections. I, for one, am tired of nepotism wreaking havoc on this organization.
I will say thought that my favorite thing said today was a reply that Ian Begley had:
You’re not deluding yourself if Leon Rose understands the importance of playing the long game, hiring the best scouts, talent evaluators, and development pieces, and listening to what they have to say. What’s more, I spoke with someone I trust who has interacted with Rose in the past and they think the world of him.
Does that make you feel any better or worse?
Macri: Better. Slightly, but better.
Leon Rose is, if I had to guess things, three things:
Smart,
Humble enough to eat shit, because if the real world is anything like Jerry Maguire, sometimes as an agent, you have to eat shit, but also…
He’s not going to get pushed around.
Let’s start at the end, because with Dolan, only someone he respects and who has an actual, functioning spine is going to stand a chance. I think Rose is that guy.
If we combine the first two, hopefully he’s smart enough to realize that he doesn’t know everything, and that he needs to hire people that do…which, I guess, is where World Wide Wes comes in. I also have to say, it’s kinda fun having LOL Knicksers everywhere praising the move.
I’ve said it so many times, but perception is everything in the NBA, and whether the Knicks are perceived as a disaster or not is almost as important as whether they actually are one.
Do you have any thoughts on the man who taught Drake about “the game,” and presumably has other talents as well?
Jeremy: I won’t lie to you, I somehow didn’t know World Wide Wes even existed until today. I probably should’ve paid more attention to the lyrics in “Back to Back” if I’m being honest. He’s only in the first lyric of the song.
From what I’ve read, the Knicks are going for sexy. Is William Wesley sexy? Maybe? Is his star appeal sexy to Dolan? Absolutely. It can never hurt to improve your brand and image, but with so few genuine superstars available over the next few years, I’m unsure if this does them any good.
Rose and Wes have each signed elite talent as an agent, which leads me to hope that they can identify talent well, which means they can draft well.
My two biggest questions are: 1) Do Rose and Wes know how to implement a proper system to develop the Knicks’ young players (like hiring a shooting coach)? and 2) Do they have the patience for such an approach?
Macri: The last part to me is the key. I imagine that they will be patient, but the bigger question is whether Dolan will be.
Mills and Perry were screaming “PATIENCE!!!” from the rooftop of 2 Penn Plaza when they first took the job, and then “patience” turned into “maybe we’ll just sign two superstars...but if we don’t, then we’ll still totally be patient,” which then turned into a preseason locker room mandate to play nicely with others and make the playoffs at all costs. They also seemed more than ready to deal several young players for D’Angelo Russell, which may or may not have contributed to Mills’ ouster.
That’s where things get interesting to me. Was Mills fired because he was trying to speed up the process to the detriment of the long-term health of the franchise? If so, then you would think that Dolan continues to be an advocate for (say it with me now) building this thing the right way.
More to the point, if we think that his CAA friends advised him to fire Mills, then doesn’t it hold that they’re very much on board with a longer term approach?
Of course, this could all be meaningless and Mills was actually fired because Dolan didn’t like fans chanting “Sell the Team!”
In either case, at the very least, the Knicks should be saved from even themselves this summer with such a poor free agent class on the horizon. So maybe we’ll get what we want after all: another year of letting the kids grow, except hopefully between now and then, the roster shifts more towards something that actually helps that process as opposed to hindering it.
See, I’ve talked myself into this already!
Jeremy: That’s the thing…there are really no quick fixes for this team anyway.
The team can’t rely on a teenager in this year’s draft to catapult them, even in the East. Free agency is weak. The trade market for stars has never been more barren. It’s Bradley Beal (who I don’t see going anywhere) and Devin Booker (who I also don’t see going anywhere). So who would they really target?
Someone asked me if I want the Knicks to punt on next year and I don’t. I’m just not quite sure what other avenues the Knicks have to build a good team. I would imagine that free agency can add a few more wins but nothing quite that grand.
So with that as the backdrop, are you happy DLo is a big DNo for the Knicks?
Macri: I’ll tell you what I’m happy about: that last line! I don’t pay you the big bucks for nothing, Jeremy.
(BTW, last month’s check for $7.54 is in the mail)
I’m thrilled Russell isn’t a Knick, especially seeing what Minnesota gave up for him. Someone who was familiar with the trade talks told me late yesterday afternoon that the deal fell apart because the Knicks refused to give up the draft compensation necessary to make it happen. My guess? New York wanted to lottery protect next year’s pick.
If the Knicks gave up a pick that was only top-three protected, like the Wolves did? I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a minute of next season because I’d constantly be worried about how the lottery would go. Oh, and we’d still be bad, because Russell ain’t a difference maker. Smear campaign or not, but I thought this piece by Marcus Thompson was pretty damning:
I also thought Zach Lowe nailed it on yesterday’s Lowe Post podcast when he said of Russell that there’s a greater disparity between how fans perceive him vs how the league perceives him than any player in the NBA.
Am I thrilled he’s in Minnesota, and this maybe appeases Towns? I guess not, but hey: let the days of praying that Superstar X wants to bestow his presence on our pitiful franchise be over.
How’s this for crazy: I’m ok going into next season with a properly-executed version of what the plan was supposed to be this year! (i.e., what Memphis is doing) Let your kids do the heavy lifting, but allow competent veterans to do their thing and contribute - hopefully - to wins.
That’s why I don’t even mind the fact that they won tonight’s game by finishing the fourth quarter without a single young “core” player on the floor. Don’t look now, but the Knicks are 5-5 in their last 10 and have a positive net rating over that time with the fourth ranked defense in the league. Fourth! That means guys are still playing hard when they have absolutely no discernible reason to do so. If anything, you’d have expected guys to come out flat last night because they were disappointed they weren’t traded elsewhere. If that isn’t the beginnings of a culture, I don’t know what is.
Of course we want to see the kids finish games, but it feels like the organization now has a chance to take a deep breath and reset, with the next “fate of the universe” date not until June 30, 2021.
In the meantime, just go out and hoop, and ideally, do it well. Now 52 games in, I wouldn’t be shocked if some continuity starts to build. Guys know they’re not going anywhere, and there’s a good chance they’ll be back next season:
Also, we got two more draft picks!
My God...I think I’m full-on excited about this team again! See what you’ve done Jeremy?
I BLAME YOU.
Jeremy: “I blame you”? Dad? Is that you?
As I’ve mentioned on the pod, I don’t believe paying top dollar for a non-generational point guard is the key to success. The Knicks may have the finances for such a player but that doesn’t mean he’s worth it.
The Knicks did the bare minimum of their responsibilities, and that was trade Marcus Morris. Due to rumors flying left and right, some fans went from “just get a first round pick” to “I can’t believe all this team got was a first round pick.” It’s absolute bullshit. The Knicks were ridiculed for signing a million power forwards and one of them yielded a first round pick.
I don’t particularly care about the fact that Morris fell into the Knicks’ lap. At the end of the day, he signed with the team and they traded him for a first round pick. Be happy with the extra asset that the team has. This team hasn’t had two first round picks in a draft since 2006, and I’m not counting 2015 because that was a draft day trade.
This team still overpaid for players like Bobby Portis, Wayne Ellington, and Elfrid Payton. As a result, salaries were harder to match, which led to them not going anywhere. Was it a bad summer? Honestly, yes. That doesn’t mean we can’t be satisfied with the positives in front of us.
As for the draft picks, does Scott Perry know how to spot a bad team or what? The 2020 and 2021 Hornets picks and now the 2021 Pistons pick? It’s quite possible that the Knicks have four picks in the top-35 of next year’s draft, a remarkable feat, all things considered. I would love to see the Knicks target players who can space the floor, defend a bit, and pass. That may seem like a lot but I don’t think it should be!
It really does feel like we’re biding our time until 2021, and honestly, I’m okay with that. I would rather see this team built properly, and patiently, than rushed in any way. And I believe that with Rose in his first year of operating, he’s allotted more patience than Mills would have received in year four. Hopefully the team will continue the recent tradition of not trading for stars that can come in free agency.
The hope is that the person in charge of signing said stars isn’t a finance guy in Mills but a well-respected executive like Rose.
Macri: Which leads us to what happens now. Who gets hired to make these decisions? Is there a complete overall of several departments, including scouting (which, as one well-connected league insider told me yesterday absolutely needs revamping)? Will they have the right pieces in place by this summer to approach the draft and free agency wisely, such that we don’t end up with another Bobby Portis?
The last part worries me the most. I’m still convinced that the team made Randle its top free agent target (and Payton their second point guard target after Rozier got his guaranteed third year from Charlotte) because they’re both repped by CAA. Are they bad players? No, and honestly, there was some logic to bringing in guys that had a pre-existing on-court connection.
But it showed an incredible lack of forethought to bring in two non-shooters as presumptive starters when the two most important young players on the team are also non-shooters.
And even more importantly, will these guys have the wherewithal to craft an actual plan for what this team’s identity is moving forward? Bringing back the triangle offense and finding players to fit into it was utter insanity, but at least it was a plan. “We need to get more athletic” was not a plan. “Bring back the 90’s” was not a plan". “I know that guy’s agent” (or worse, “I used to be that guy’s agent”) is definitely not a plan.
That’s what we have to hope these guys are up to. Relationships and league-wide respect are one thing. Rebuilding an organization from the ground up is quite another. I’ll again refer to what Masai has done in Toronto: they lost a top-three player in the NBA and are better this year (record-wise, at least). That, more than bringing in the top-three guy to begin with, is what you aspire to.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to watching this team play out the string, oddly enough. Save me your lottery arguments. Go into next season feeling good about where you’re headed.
If they can do that, maybe all the hope we’re expressing here won’t be completely unjustified after all
Player Spotlight
Yesterday I highlighted players that I thought would get a bump in value on PredictionStrike after the trade deadline. Today, with the information of what actually happened, we can throw a few more value adds into the pool…
Jerome Robinson - $7.63 / share: Buy! Buy! Buy! Washington - Robinson’s new home - has zero reason not to give Jerome significantly more run than he was getting in LA. The price here is a little steep, but if he beats projections, that just means that the gains will be that much greater. Easy value add.
Christian Wood - $10.93 / share: another one where the prices is high because he’s been beating projections of late, but that’s only because he’s been really good. Now, with Drummond out of the picture, he should get a chance to start. Think of what that did for Mitchell Robinson’s stats at the end of last year.
Skal Labissiere - $1.01 / share: Skal might just be terrible, but he’s going to Atlanta now, who was already starting five guys 23-or-under, so here’s betting he gets significant burn between now and the end of the season. You could do worse as far as fliers go.
Remember, if you want to get in now, click here and use code KFS at sign up for $10 off your first investment of $10 or more.
New Podcasts
Double duty yesterday. Give a listen…
News & Notes
compiled by Michael Schatz (@mschatz99)
The Knicks did play a game last night, which Matthew Miranda wrote about for P&T, complete with all the highlights you need. My personal fave was a lob from RJ to Mitch that Barrett threw within 15 seconds of his entering the game:
The big storyline will be how none of the kids played over 20 minutes and the vets closed out the game. Personally? I had no issue. It was RJ’s first game back. Knox was godawful. Elfrid Payton and Taj Gibson were in the midst of perhaps their best games New York, and the Knicks needed shooting on the floor to beat a stellar Magic defensive unit.
Wins matter. Imagine how nice it would feel if New York finished the season strong and had most of this core group back for next season.
I could think of worse fates.
Here comes World Wide Wes, with a possible John Calipari twist
Mitchell Robinson has switched agents.
Finally, here’s SNY’s primer on Leon Rose.
That’s it for today! See everyone on Monday.