Who will the Knicks Target? Here's a List of REALISTIC Players

[JXL]

Kevin Knox for Ben Simmons. Who says no?

Sixers. At least Ben has some skills outside of shooting that's considered All-NBA material.

[louisorr]

I get the fascination with Simmons as a 4/5, but even prime Dwight Howard and Shaq were liabilities in the playoffs because they couldn't hit a FT.
Simmons is toast.

[sol537]

Simmons for cheap isn't a bad option if you could get him to a sports psychiatrist to fix his mental blocks.

But Lowry is my guy. 2 years, fair compensation.

Then we'd still have plenty of assets to get another piece before the trade deadline (a max cat type player... DMitch or Lavine or someone who demands out).

If Embiid demands out, then you think about sending Mitch and Randle back to Philly and then you still go out and sign a guy like Lowry. Embiid, Obi, Bullock, RJ, Lowry.

[ibraheim718]

RJ Barrett for Jimmy Butler... I've been trying to tell you.

[rickxdel]

RJ Barrett for Jimmy Butler... I've been trying to tell you.

Jimmys making 36 and 37M a yr next couple years at ages 32 and 33. He's a star because he's worked his way to one..but he doesn't have that natural superstar ability other guys do, so I expect his decline to start showing very soon.

once his contracts up if hes playing fine he's going to want 40M/yr and I wouldn't be comfortable paying him that at 33/34 years old If im the front office

[Deeeez Knicks]

a lonzo/rj backcourt. man it's gonna be a rough team to watch again.

I'm not jumping for joy, but that's so much better than reliving a Payton/RJ backcourt again.

If we are being serious, its our best backcourt in years with Rose/Quickley off the bench. It's hard to go from worst backcourt to a top backcourt. Sometimes you gotta upgrade more slowly. Else, we will end up with Payton again.

[Knicksfan1992]

People down on Lonzo are focusing too much on 1 issue and not the bigger picture. You need pieces like him to win and he still has some upside as a shot maker. The kind of guy who fits into any team construct and is still only 23. He was a big time clutch shot maker in college and outside of his rookie year hasn't really had the chance to be a lead guard in the league because of the situations he's been in. I'd roll the dice at like 20-25m.

At worst, you're getting a high volume 3 point shooter who is a really smart, quick decision maker and who impacts defense and helps on the glass. At best, you unlock his playmaking in a more dynamic way and he becomes like a consistent 18/7/7 type of guy. Those guys are worth maxes in today's NBA. A more helpful Simmons type because of his willingness to shoot.

It's not like we're starving for cap space. You sign Lonzo to that kind of deal and you still have plenty of flexibility to get a Beal or Lavine type next offseason or swing a major trade.

[ibraheim718]

RJ Barrett for Jimmy Butler... I've been trying to tell you.

Jimmys making 36 and 37M a yr next couple years at ages 32 and 33. He's a star because he's worked his way to one..but he doesn't have that natural superstar ability other guys do, so I expect his decline to start showing very soon.

once his contracts up if hes playing fine he's going to want 40M/yr and I wouldn't be comfortable paying him that at 33/34 years old If im the front office

Yeah.. I'm just pointing out what I think the front office is going to do and what the coach is going to ask for.

[Knicksfan1992]

a lonzo/rj backcourt. man it's gonna be a rough team to watch again.

I'm not jumping for joy, but that's so much better than reliving a Payton/RJ backcourt again.

If we are being serious, its our best backcourt in years with Rose/Quickley off the bench. It's hard to go from worst backcourt to a top backcourt. Sometimes you gotta upgrade more slowly. Else, we will end up with Payton again.

Also you can start IQ with those guys.. RJ and Lonzo both are big enough to handle most wings in the league.

Quickley can add the more dynamic punch. People, in general, on this forum are sleeping on Quickley's offensive potential.

[ADeP7]

Problem is the path to becoming a contender is a tricky spot for the Knicks right now. Yes we have some assets and cap space and we have some solid players but we aren’t in as great of a spot as some may think

For starters we still are stuck hoping a superstar will come save us. We have no homegrown star talent. We don’t have a true number 1 and maybe not a number 2 in Julius.
We will have to pay Julius and mitchs best asset of being cost controlled is about to change.
Rj while he has some potential doesn’t have a clear path to stardom. At best I see him as a number 3 best player on a championship team.

There’s no clear cut move to turn us to a contender. No superstars want out right now that we could acquire and still be a contender after a trade.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

a lonzo/rj backcourt. man it's gonna be a rough team to watch again.

Nah, a Lonzo and IQ bakccourt, big PG and small SG is a working combination.


You let IQ be what he is, which is a score first player, Lonzo is the all around facilitator, let RJ get more PnR time with Mitch and Julius isos when need be.

[Deeeez Knicks]

I'm not jumping for joy, but that's so much better than reliving a Payton/RJ backcourt again.

If we are being serious, its our best backcourt in years with Rose/Quickley off the bench. It's hard to go from worst backcourt to a top backcourt. Sometimes you gotta upgrade more slowly. Else, we will end up with Payton again.

Also you can start IQ with those guys.. RJ and Lonzo both are big enough to handle most wings in the league.

Quickley can add the more dynamic punch. People, in general, on this forum are sleeping on Quickley's offensive potential.

Definitely that's another good thing about Lonzo. You could play him next to Quickley/RJ and it can fit. Lonzo is a nice fit next to Quickley

[rickxdel]

Dinwiddie decline PO, does the Knicks go after him?

I think Knicks need to strongly consider going after him. He will be cheaper than Lonzo and Spencer is a dynamic scoring threat and can actually run some plays in the half court whereas Lonzo is best in transition, which in the playoffs doesn't matter as much.

[Knicksfan1992]

If we are being serious, its our best backcourt in years with Rose/Quickley off the bench. It's hard to go from worst backcourt to a top backcourt. Sometimes you gotta upgrade more slowly. Else, we will end up with Payton again.

Also you can start IQ with those guys.. RJ and Lonzo both are big enough to handle most wings in the league.

Quickley can add the more dynamic punch. People, in general, on this forum are sleeping on Quickley's offensive potential.

Definitely that's another good thing about Lonzo. You could play him next to Quickley/RJ and it can fit. Lonzo is a nice fit next to Quickley

It's why guys like him get paid. Unselfish and good shooters who can also have an impact on D are really useful pieces. It makes life easier for everyone in the FO knowing Lonzo can fit in with pretty much everyone they might be interested in bringing in.

[GettinitDone]

With Ben, the good thing about his stock bottoming is there's nowhere to go but up. Maybe chance in a lifetime his stock is this low.

Or since we're the Knicks his mental got so out of whacked from this series he disappeared into upside down world like Deron Williams once we got him

But I'd give him a benefit of doubt and say this series is so terrible for him it's so ingrained in his brain that he'll be desperate to be in much better form for rest of his career from now on.

[thebuzzardman]

I'm not jumping for joy, but that's so much better than reliving a Payton/RJ backcourt again.

If we are being serious, its our best backcourt in years with Rose/Quickley off the bench. It's hard to go from worst backcourt to a top backcourt. Sometimes you gotta upgrade more slowly. Else, we will end up with Payton again.

Also you can start IQ with those guys.. RJ and Lonzo both are big enough to handle most wings in the league.

Quickley can add the more dynamic punch. People, in general, on this forum are sleeping on Quickley's offensive potential.

Lonzo
IQ
RJ
Randle
Mitch

Who, besides no one, except maybe Randle, can create and make a layup, in that lineup?

[thebuzzardman]

Dinwiddie decline PO, does the Knicks go after him?

I think Knicks need to strongly consider going after him. He will be cheaper than Lonzo and Spencer is a dynamic scoring threat and can actually run some plays in the half court whereas Lonzo is best in transition, which in the playoffs doesn't matter as much.

I don't like him, but at least he'll attempt layups. With Ball, it's more a wish.

Ball + Lavine though, I'd be for.

[jvsimonetti0514]

a lonzo/rj backcourt. man it's gonna be a rough team to watch again.

Nah, a Lonzo and IQ bakccourt, big PG and small SG is a working combination.


You let IQ be what he is, which is a score first player, Lonzo is the all around facilitator, let RJ get more PnR time with Mitch and Julius isos when need be.

Rose isn't going anywhere either. Would it be shocking if Rose started next to Lonzo and RJ? Not at all. Sham's RJ slander isn't even making sense anymore.

[Chanel Bomber]

If we are being serious, its our best backcourt in years with Rose/Quickley off the bench. It's hard to go from worst backcourt to a top backcourt. Sometimes you gotta upgrade more slowly. Else, we will end up with Payton again.

Also you can start IQ with those guys.. RJ and Lonzo both are big enough to handle most wings in the league.

Quickley can add the more dynamic punch. People, in general, on this forum are sleeping on Quickley's offensive potential.

Lonzo
IQ
RJ
Randle
Mitch

Who, besides no one, except maybe Randle, can create and make a layup, in that lineup?

That line-up would be a disaster waiting to happen.

[HarthorneWingo]

That's a really good breakdown of the good and bad of going after Lonzo. I also agree with Macri's conclusion too. I think a lot of Knicks fan expect one person to come and fix all the issues with this team and that person just isn't on the market. We still need a primary ball handlers and someone that's going to create in isolation but with Lonzo, we can still improve our offense.

He'll help create more easy buckets by finding cutters and throwing ahead the ball on the break. Think of a turbo charged Jason Kidd the one year he was in NY. There was so many times this year that our guards missed Obi or RJ leaking out on the break. Or Obi making a great cut toward the rim. Lonzo is going to find them. He's also got a little bit of an off the bounce three point game too. So it's not like you'd be able to hide Trae Young on him like the Hawks just did to Bullock in our playoff series.

Lonzo played even worse against us during the season than Huerter did in the playoffs. And we saw what Huerter did to the Sixers in their series. Huerter can get to the rim too. Maybe the Hawks will be forced to trade him this off season or before the deadline next season for cap reasons?

I get that part of Lonzo being a secondary facilitator, outside shooter, and defender. Frank can fill that role and do so at a much cheaper cost. Frank was close to 90th percentile on catch and shoot 3s. We know he can play defense, even better than Lonzo.

Huerter is averaging 11.6 ppg in the playoffs on slightly better percentages during the regular season. This is who this kid is and that's a solid role player, I don't think we should overreact for a couple good games in the playoffs. If you look at his career numbers they're pretty much the same from Huerter first year with slight improvements in efficiency. Lonzo has made dramatic improvements with his efficiency and scoring. I mean that's how we ended up signing Jerome James to some crazy contract cuz of an overreaction to some playoff games. Don't get me wrong I wouldn't hate bringing in Huerter if the price was right but Idk if I see as much upside there as I do in Lonzo.

Frank can't fill that role cuz Frank isn't an NBA player and playing him more would not make us a better offensive team. Marci had a bunch of advanced stats showing the Lonzo made his team better. Frank's not even an upgrade for Bullock. If he was, Thibs would have played him in the rotation instead of being situational. We need to try to upgrade our startling line up, not make it worse.

Lonzo vs. Knicks

'20-'21:

- 27+ minutes, TS% .278 (lowest of all starters), 2-9 FGs (22%), 1-5 3P FGs (20%), 3 assists.