We're signing Thanasis

[moocow007]

What do you mean by "feature"? As in feature him in the offense?


That wouldnt make sense though because even at that level, Thanasis isnt the type of player you can "feature" in an offense. He is what he is right now... A slasher/finisher/hustle rebounder on offense.

Normally no. But on that team? Once Galloway got called up, the other options to feature as the no. 1 option were Darnell Jackson, a chunky former NBA journeyman who should be playing in China, or Todd Mayo, the (much) less talented brother of OJ Mayo (and who have no future in the NBA). The Westchester Knicks last season were extremely low on talent. No one on that team was going to have a career in the NBA so teaching those guys the Triangle was kinda pointless.

They should have given Thanasis a little more leeway to try to work on his dribbling and shooting. Thanasis was one of the few guys that was keeping the team in games to begin with (with his defense, energy and effort) and was clearly their most talented player. At the very least they'd have been able to get a better feel for whether he really has any offensive upside. Considering how much energy he plays with I doubt that he'd have turned down a more free reign on offense.

Now I'm not saying that Whitted didn't deserve some of the blame but I would imagine that if the directive was to develop Thanasis utmost that it would have been communicated to him. If it was, I don't see why Whitted would resist (he's a brand new coach for a franchise led by the legendary Phil Jackson). Just very odd and I don't buy the excuse given.

I think its funny that most people are against this kid(pretty positive he will become a fan favorite if he has a good camp/preseason). I said he would make camp a long time ago and that he actually has a chance to make the team because he can fill a "role" that every team needs... And thats that athletic defensive hustle player who is going to play 135% every minute he is on the floor. He also has something you cant teach, and thats being a freak athlete and having great measurements.

We all loved Balkman and thats because he hustled and played defense. Real Knick fans imo respect those attributes. Thanasis and Balkman are very similar players. Balkman had a pretty solid rookie year but then never got any better. If Thanasis can become a rich mans Balkman or Trevor Ariza type, then i would be pretty happy with that for a minimum end of the bench player.

Yes. I think as long as folks are realistic with expectations (good luck right?) he should be fine. But fans are very odd. They either love someone to death or hate someone to the point where they cheer for failure. They'll give the player they love a world of excuses but the players they don't like? One mistake and it's the plank for them. Very little middle ground.

I don't know. I watched 8-9 WKnicks games last year and I had watched Thanasis a couple of times the previous season in the d l because his brother was so intriguing. I know he improved in 13-14 in the d league but I don't think he improved much if at all last year. He can be a pest, block shots and hustle but I don't know that the talent is there for him to play in the nba. I think this was the knicks making good on their word to bring him to camp. They may keep him but if Saunders looks good I think he gets cut.

Sure possible, but it doesn't justify firing their D-League coach over. Something else had to have happened. Was it Jackson that hired Whitted and Hodges or was it Houston? It sure sounded like Houston that fired both. Houston as supposed to be the heir apparent to the GM throne of the NY Knicks at one point. Wonder is there's any animosity between Houston and the NY FO and how much, if any, that had with these firings.

[Jtoocheap]

Normally no. But on that team? Once Galloway got called up, the other options to feature as the no. 1 option were Darnell Jackson, a chunky former NBA journeyman who should be playing in China, or Todd Mayo, the (much) less talented brother of OJ Mayo (and who have no future in the NBA). The Westchester Knicks last season were extremely low on talent. No one on that team was going to have a career in the NBA so teaching those guys the Triangle was kinda pointless.

They should have given Thanasis a little more leeway to try to work on his dribbling and shooting. Thanasis was one of the few guys that was keeping the team in games to begin with (with his defense, energy and effort) and was clearly their most talented player. At the very least they'd have been able to get a better feel for whether he really has any offensive upside. Considering how much energy he plays with I doubt that he'd have turned down a more free reign on offense.

Now I'm not saying that Whitted didn't deserve some of the blame but I would imagine that if the directive was to develop Thanasis utmost that it would have been communicated to him. If it was, I don't see why Whitted would resist (he's a brand new coach for a franchise led by the legendary Phil Jackson). Just very odd and I don't buy the excuse given.



Yes. I think as long as folks are realistic with expectations (good luck right?) he should be fine. But fans are very odd. They either love someone to death or hate someone to the point where they cheer for failure. They'll give the player they love a world of excuses but the players they don't like? One mistake and it's the plank for them. Very little middle ground.

I don't know. I watched 8-9 WKnicks games last year and I had watched Thanasis a couple of times the previous season in the d l because his brother was so intriguing. I know he improved in 13-14 in the d league but I don't think he improved much if at all last year. He can be a pest, block shots and hustle but I don't know that the talent is there for him to play in the nba. I think this was the knicks making good on their word to bring him to camp. They may keep him but if Saunders looks good I think he gets cut.

Sure possible, but it doesn't justify firing their D-League coach over. Something else had to have happened. Was it Jackson that hired Whitted and Hodges or was it Houston? It sure sounded like Houston that fired both. Houston as supposed to be the heir apparent to the GM throne of the NY Knicks at one point. Wonder is there's any animosity between Houston and the NY FO and how much, if any, that had with these firings.

Houston reportedly hired Whitted. I believe they were college teammates. I believe I read that Hodges didn't like how Whitted yelled at the players all the time. Hodges seems like a Phil hire. Not sure why Craig was let go but the guys they are reportedly looking at to take the job at Westchester, Bryan Gates and Mike Miller seem to be really good developmental coaches based on their experience.

[Polk377]

I said it before and I'll say it again, Thanasis is a defensive dynamo. He has the athleticism and raw tools to be one of the best lockdown defenders in the league. I do agree he is still a couple of years away with his offense but he is only 23-24 I believe so he still has plenty of time to develop. I made the comparison before that I think he is the perimeter version of Ben Wallace. Wallace was a terrible offensive player but his defense and energy was off the charts and I think Thanasis is the same. He will be a good energy guy off the bench this year and he is someone you can throw out there to pester wings and get them off their games.

[ozwizard8]

Thanasis doesn't know to play basketball.

But that's beside the point.

Part of turning around the organizational culture is building goodwill around the league. We are doing good by Giannis.

lance thomas, amundson contracts are also some kind of PR work done by Pjax.
he's changing culture of Knicks franchise and our image. he made our team more respectable.
Thanasis contract can be justified in that matter but i think he wont stay in nba for long. He can play PF in euroleague.

To play power forward in Euroleague you absolutely have to be an excellent shooter, and have to be a very good 3 point shooter. So no, he most definitely can't play power forward in Euroleague. His body is also too small and he's not strong enough to play power forward in Euroleague.

He has none of the traits or qualities at all required. There would be absolutely zero chance he could play power forward in Euroleague. You also have to be either a really good ball handler and passer and shooter, or at the very least, a really good shooter to play two guard in Euroleague, so he would almost 100% certainly be a small forward if he played in Euroleague.

he can play PF in Euroleague.
Shooting isnt necessity. You can find many centers with 3pt shot to play with thanasis.
his size is enough for euroleague. his height is minus but he compansates with his atleticism.
i dont expect him to be star but he would be good role player.

btw: how can he play SF/PF in nba if he cant play pf in euroleague?
*poor handling
*cant shoot 3 point.
*he doesnt have midrange shot or some particular play on offense.

i dont know that kind of SF in nba.
there is tony allen but he's expectional defender.

[NYKAL]

Tony Allen and the other "good" defenders in the league tend to get away with things because of their defensive reputation. No reason to think Thansis can't get to that level. Dude is a smaller version of our resigned center. All energy, just in a slightly smaller package thought, Thanasis might have the longer wingspan. Energy guys are always good to have on the bench.

Dudes with HIS energy level tend to be more effective later in the game when others are running lows. They are still going full tilt.

[JXL]

I always thought of Thanasis as Kawhi Leonard before he had a jumper.

Remember Leonard was all-defense, had an awful jumper in his 1st year, so he had very little minutes because he was behind Stephen Jackson on the depth chart. Now, I don't think Thanasis will get close to Leonard in terms of a 3 and D player, but he can learn from the bench and work hard on his jump shot. He can be a Bruce Bowen type player but faster and with length.

[GONYK]

I always thought of Thanasis as Kawhi Leonard before he had a jumper.

Remember Leonard was all-defense, had an awful jumper in his 1st year, so he had very little minutes because he was behind Stephen Jackson on the depth chart. Now, I don't think Thanasis will get close to Leonard in terms of a 3 and D player, but he can learn from the bench and work hard on his jump shot. He can be a Bruce Bowen type player but faster and with length.

Kawhi was almost a 50/40 player shooting % wise in 24 mpg his rookie year.

[NYKAL]

I always thought of Thanasis as Kawhi Leonard before he had a jumper.

Remember Leonard was all-defense, had an awful jumper in his 1st year, so he had very little minutes because he was behind Stephen Jackson on the depth chart. Now, I don't think Thanasis will get close to Leonard in terms of a 3 and D player, but he can learn from the bench and work hard on his jump shot. He can be a Bruce Bowen type player but faster and with length.

Kawhi was almost a 50/40 player shooting % wise in 24 mpg his rookie year.

but, where those on jump shots? I don't remember him having a jumper either.

[JXL]

I always thought of Thanasis as Kawhi Leonard before he had a jumper.

Remember Leonard was all-defense, had an awful jumper in his 1st year, so he had very little minutes because he was behind Stephen Jackson on the depth chart. Now, I don't think Thanasis will get close to Leonard in terms of a 3 and D player, but he can learn from the bench and work hard on his jump shot. He can be a Bruce Bowen type player but faster and with length.

Kawhi was almost a 50/40 player shooting % wise in 24 mpg his rookie year.

When he was behind Stephen Jackson? He had an awful jumper.

[GONYK]

I always thought of Thanasis as Kawhi Leonard before he had a jumper.

Remember Leonard was all-defense, had an awful jumper in his 1st year, so he had very little minutes because he was behind Stephen Jackson on the depth chart. Now, I don't think Thanasis will get close to Leonard in terms of a 3 and D player, but he can learn from the bench and work hard on his jump shot. He can be a Bruce Bowen type player but faster and with length.

Kawhi was almost a 50/40 player shooting % wise in 24 mpg his rookie year.

but, where those on jump shots? I don't remember him having a jumper either.

He admittedly didn't shoot much his rookie year. Around 6 FGA's per, but he attempted around 2 3's a game his rookie year and shot 38%.

Kawhi wasn't Steph Curry or anything, but he was always in a different league than Thanasis as a shooter. Thanasis shot 21% on any shot that wasn't a layup in the D-League

[moocow007]

EDIT: Regarding Thanasis...

SF's that can't handle the ball, shoot 3's or have any particular refined offensive skill (these are all guys that played a lot of minutes in the NBA last season in descending PER ranking):

Michael Kidd Gilchrist
Al Farouq Aminu
Jae Crowder
Thabo Sefolosha
Alonzo Gee
Tayshaun Prince
Quincy Acy (he's listed as a SF)
Otto Porter Jr
Matt Barnes
Solomon Hill
Quincy Pondexter
Jermai Grant
Mo Harkless
Kostas Popanikolaou

You don't need to be a star or even a top notch player that everyone knows to be able to play in the NBA as a SF without defined offensive skills. Most of these guys make a living on athleticism/length, hustle and/or some combination of defense skills (perimeter defense, rebounding, etc.). If we are looking only for star players or top tier players, then we might as well dump more than half the team. To imply that since he can't possibly be as good as arguably the best perimeter defenders in the NBA in his prime (Tony Allen) he can't possibly be a fit in the NBA is a bit on the excessive side no? I'm sure most GM's would be more than happy with any of the above guys with the 51st pick. So is the concern that he can't even become any of these guys?

This was what I was talking about when mentioning perspective when it comes to how we see players. Just because you can't see him being the best wing defender a la Tony Allen or as a Kawhi Leonard or whomever doesn't mean he can't actually be a useful NBA player. I mean my goodness, the guy that seems to be the fan favorite right now...Lou Amundson...is arguably among the worst offensive players in the NBA at any position when it comes to dribbling, shooting or hitting the side of a barn with a bazooka. And yet Amundson is in the NBA right? We're getting a little bit carried away with this (that he can't possibly play in the NBA cause he can't shoot 3's and cant create off the dribble).

In the NBA there are 3 types of players: a) guys that can play on both sides of the ball, b) offensive specialists, c) defensive specialists. It's odd that for a fanbase that has been crying for type c) players that we can't see to accept that a player can make it if he doesn't possess refined offensive skills.

Give the **** a shot before just simply discounting him.

[KnicksGod]

There are guys who played better at SL and are better all-around players at this point. But Thanasis has one or two special attributes that they're hoping set him apart and can make him have an impact on the game that is felt. Special attributes can sometimes be harnessed to be something. And I think they're rewarding someone who has followed the plan.

[Spandau]

There are guys who played better at SL and are better all-around players at this point. But Thanasis has one or two special attributes that they're hoping set him apart and can make him have an impact on the game that is felt. Special attributes can sometimes be harnessed to be something. And I think they're rewarding someone who has followed the plan.

Well said. Those special attributes don't just lead to on-court production, but they also influence the culture of the team and the expectations in practice. Look at a guy like JYD, towards the end when he was in New York. Fun to watch, brought a couple of special intangible attributes that made the team operate differently when he was out there, and noticeably made the rest of the team look deficient in hustle areas. That's important. We've got a roster now that, I think, will respond to those sorts of challenges and accountability (unlike a decade ago, when nobody on that squad could give a rat's ass as long as the checks were in the mail).

[Fat Kat]

There are guys who played better at SL and are better all-around players at this point. But Thanasis has one or two special attributes that they're hoping set him apart and can make him have an impact on the game that is felt. Special attributes can sometimes be harnessed to be something. And I think they're rewarding someone who has followed the plan.

For some reason I heard Liam Neeson's voice in my head as I read this.