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Knicks shed a bunch of salary in a year right?

Since Rokas has not been traded, lets look at how he did in group stages.

8.4 ppg. (50 FG% : 30.8 3PT%) 2.2 rpg. 3.8 apg. 25.5 mpg. (Lithuania will face Spain in the first round of top 16 knock out stages)

Also, lets look at Evan Fournier's numbers

15 ppg. (38.2 FG% : 31.4 3PT%) 2 rpg. 2 apg. 1 spg. 29 mpg. (France will face Turkey)

Both, Lithuania's and France's games will be played on Saturday.
If you follow or are interested in Eurobasket, join our discussion on general board :

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2203330

RHODEY wrote:

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Caught that the other day. Rokas leading the bench with Deuce at the 2 could Be LETHAL. He is a true PG with great leadership and a great shot. He probably is just adequate on defense (bench wise). Very mature player.

For sure he would be better suited to PG than Deuce (as of right now.)

ScienceOfLosing wrote:

RHODEY wrote:

Watch on YouTube

Caught that the other day. Rokas leading the bench with Deuce at the 2 could Be LETHAL. He is a true PG with great leadership and a great shot. He probably is just adequate on defense (bench wise). Very mature player.

For sure he would be better suited to PG than Deuce (as of right now.)

Yeah Rokas and Deuce would actually be a great backup guard tandem, if Rokas is legit.

Rokas is 6’4” and more of a true PG than Deuce. They would theoretically work perfectly together, since Deuce is more of a SG.

Now that we made all these trades and opened up more PT, Rokas can come right over and play minutes.

Assuming no moves are made:

Jalen / Rokas
Donte / Deuce
OG / Josh
Julius / Precious or Bojan
Isaiah / Mitch

RHODEY wrote:

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If there is a super trade this off-season that could mean Rokas incoming and Deuce is part of a package, because expirings for old horses like Detroit won't get it done.

I want Rokas here as he'd give us classic PG depth we don't currently have. He's a floor general from what I've seen and can keep us focused when Brunson rests.

1) How much does he want? I do not know if the minimum would be enough. We may not have enough money to give him considering we have to pay OG, IHart, Precious, the FRPs, and stay under the Second Tier. Maybe as a contingency plan.

2) It may be tough to adapt to the NBA. He never played in NBA. European PGs can struggle in NBA like Micic and Teososic. Especially playing for a contender that needs to win as many games as possible. Not all players are like Prigioni (and our roster was not good at his time).

3) We do not need him in a normal rotation. I think the plan is to bring everyone back to the next season if we do not make a big trade. I am sure we make all the effort to bring OG and IHART. Bojan should have his option picked for continuous soup needs. I would not be surprised if Burks re-signs (not because he is good but because he is a Thibs guy and should accept the vet min). If everybody is healthy, we do not need Roskas. Hart can share playmaker duties with Deuce and Precious/Bojan can be out forwards. Burks can be our 11th player. Besides, Thibs love 9 man rotations. Even if we had one player down and not play Burks, we may not play Roskas.

TrueWarrior wrote:

ScienceOfLosing wrote:

RHODEY wrote:

Watch on YouTube

Caught that the other day. Rokas leading the bench with Deuce at the 2 could Be LETHAL. He is a true PG with great leadership and a great shot. He probably is just adequate on defense (bench wise). Very mature player.

For sure he would be better suited to PG than Deuce (as of right now.)

Yeah Rokas and Deuce would actually be a great backup guard tandem, if Rokas is legit.

Rokas is 6’4” and more of a true PG than Deuce. They would theoretically work perfectly together, since Deuce is more of a SG.

Now that we made all these trades and opened up more PT, Rokas can come right over and play minutes.

Assuming no moves are made:

Jalen / Rokas
Donte / Deuce
OG / Josh
Julius / Precious or Bojan
Isaiah / Mitch

If they make that move for another big piece, Deuce might be used...or not.

Mitch + McBride + two protected 1sts for Mikal Bridges... then we bring Rokas over and run it back with this crew one more time...

iHart / Randle / OG / Bridges / Brunson with Precious, Hart, DDV, and Rokas as the main bench pieces. Sims is there too but would probably draft a back-up big.

sol537 wrote:Mitch + McBride + two protected 1sts for Mikal Bridges... then we bring Rokas over and run it back with this crew one more time...

iHart / Randle / OG / Bridges / Brunson with Precious, Hart, DDV, and Rokas as the main bench pieces. Sims is there too but would probably draft a back-up big.

Is this a joke there's no way I am including McBride in this deal.

Rokas coming over because he's absolutely getting packaged in a trade.

Brunson and/or McBride blocks the playing time he wants. So either Rokas was told it's likely he'll be traded to where he can play or that McBride will likely be traded and Rokas gets his minutes.

thebuzzardman wrote:Rokas coming over because he's absolutely getting packaged in a trade.

Brunson and/or McBride blocks the playing time he wants. So either Rokas was told it's likely he'll be traded to where he can play or that McBride will likely be traded and Rokas gets his minutes.

You are correct sir



While Rokas can't make demands to start anywhere, he can hold out for the promise of backup PG rotation minutes.

Keeping Deuce would depend then on whether we're rolling it back or going for a big fish trade. If it is the latter and Rokas is coming, then Deuce will be in that deal.

However, if we don't do a mega trade, a second unit backcourt of Rokas as the primary facilitator and Deuce as combo guard looks great on paper.

why cant deuce and rokas play at the same time? yeah there are height issues but deuce nicely fits the 2 guard role better

Clyde_Style wrote:

thebuzzardman wrote:Rokas coming over because he's absolutely getting packaged in a trade.

Brunson and/or McBride blocks the playing time he wants. So either Rokas was told it's likely he'll be traded to where he can play or that McBride will likely be traded and Rokas gets his minutes.

You are correct sir



While Rokas can't make demands to start anywhere, he can hold out for the promise of backup PG rotation minutes.

Keeping Deuce would depend then on whether we're rolling it back or going for a big fish trade. If it is the latter and Rokas is coming, then Deuce will be in that deal.

However, if we don't do a mega trade, a second unit backcourt of Rokas as the primary facilitator and Deuce as combo guard looks great on paper.

Deuce has been playing 40 minutes a night and Burke's minutes are there too and, unless he wants some all-nba awards, Brunson could do with playing fewer minutes too, so I think the minutes are there for Rokas. Thibs likes using 3 guard rotations sometimes too, so I don't think minutes would be an issue.

How the salary will work - and I'm not up on the latest rules. Kinda confusing, and I get it. The NBA wants to avoid "super-teams" but I don't know if the Knicks can bring everyone back and Rokus too. I hope they can, but I don't know how that will play out.

Adelheid wrote:why cant deuce and rokas play at the same time? yeah there are height issues but deuce nicely fits the 2 guard role better

Rokas is listed at 6'4" so he should be a good fit next to Deuce if Rokas is an adequate defender.

It will come down the the FO's plans for a big trade. Deuce will be demanded by anyone involved in those talks.

The current issue for Deuce is he is starting and guarding big guards and wings. Coming off the bench, Deuce will not always get those assignments or be tasked with stopping another team's scoring wing. He's a great defender, but he can get abused by guys 6'4" and up.

Look at Vassell. OG would have altered his performance in ways Deuce simply cannot, so a lot of the matchup issues are hopefully temporary.

Deuce could start when needed, but unless he's next to a bigger guard who defends or a defensive wing like OG is on the floor, starting Deuce next to Brunson may continue to pose match-up issues for us.

As a backup guard, Deuce is great though. His defense coming off the bench has often been a real sparkplug for us.

Luv those Knicks wrote:

Clyde_Style wrote:

thebuzzardman wrote:Rokas coming over because he's absolutely getting packaged in a trade.

Brunson and/or McBride blocks the playing time he wants. So either Rokas was told it's likely he'll be traded to where he can play or that McBride will likely be traded and Rokas gets his minutes.

You are correct sir



While Rokas can't make demands to start anywhere, he can hold out for the promise of backup PG rotation minutes.

Keeping Deuce would depend then on whether we're rolling it back or going for a big fish trade. If it is the latter and Rokas is coming, then Deuce will be in that deal.

However, if we don't do a mega trade, a second unit backcourt of Rokas as the primary facilitator and Deuce as combo guard looks great on paper.

Deuce has been playing 40 minutes a night and Burke's minutes are there too and, unless he wants some all-nba awards, Brunson could do with playing fewer minutes too, so I think the minutes are there for Rokas. Thibs likes using 3 guard rotations sometimes too, so I don't think minutes would be an issue.

How the salary will work - and I'm not up on the latest rules. Kinda confusing, and I get it. The NBA wants to avoid "super-teams" but I don't know if the Knicks can bring everyone back and Rokus too. I hope they can, but I don't know how that will play out.

I would love to have a Brunson, Deuce, Rokas backcourt, though it is going to be about the FO's plans, not Deuce. They love Deuce and would never let him go unless including him in a deal secures a major piece of the puzzle. Any team will ask for Deuce. His contract is catnip for other teams. Salaries matches will be with other guys, but Deuce and picks may be what gets a deal done.

Signing OG, re-signing iHart add more variables, but all things being equal I think it is clear the Knicks want Deuce to stay. But they did lock him up on an incredibly enticing deal that they knew could be a key piece in any trade.

Adelheid wrote:why cant deuce and rokas play at the same time? yeah there are height issues but deuce nicely fits the 2 guard role better

Wouldn't playing time among Brunson, Donte, OG and Hart get in the way?

Yes, I included guys that play the 3, but Thibs seems fairly committed to getting Hart minutes.

If both Deuce and Rokas are backups, I don't see more than 10 mpg, and I thought Rokas didn't want to come over for that little.

Then again, OG is going to miss 30 games next year, at least, if he can still even play anymore, so there should be lots of available minutes.

thebuzzardman wrote:

Adelheid wrote:why cant deuce and rokas play at the same time? yeah there are height issues but deuce nicely fits the 2 guard role better

Wouldn't playing time among Brunson, Donte, OG and Hart get in the way?

Yes, I included guys that play the 3, but Thibs seems fairly committed to getting Hart minutes.

If both Deuce and Rokas are backups, I don't see more than 10 mpg, and I thought Rokas didn't want to come over for that little.

Then again, OG is going to miss 30 games next year, at least, if he can still even play anymore, so there should be lots of available minutes.

Barring a mega trade, Deuce could be odd man out but still on the bench waiting for the next injury. It's a cruel business, but he is cheap enough to mothball for half a season if that is how the club sees it.

Scouting report from two years ago

Ray Williams wrote:Scouting report from two years ago

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No disrespect intended, Ray, but why is a scouting report on Rokus from two years ago relevant now?