PG: KNICKS vs Twolves - Welcome To NY, OG

[FrozenEnvelope]

Question: Would Jordan Clarkson be of any interest as an IQ replacement off the bench?

I expect to see his name in rumors very soon. Not sure if he's an option since dealing with Ainge is a headache.

But he'd be a nice pickup at a fair price.

23.4m is his cap number. Hm. Not sure if Leon wants to burn Fournier's contract for a non all star addition.

Fournier is not going to get you an All-Star no matter how many picks you attach to him imo. Should've kept IQ for that trade. We don't have enough assets, especially enticing young players.

I think Leon will be picking between Murray, Brogdan and Clarkson depending the asking price.

[Clyde_Style]

January schedule looks good

I say we go 12-4 in January and start to separate ourselves from the pack

[Reign23]

January schedule looks good

I say we go 12-4 in January and start to separate ourselves from the pack

we should definitely rack up some wins. schedule has to become easier soon. can't be any harder

[Deeeez Knicks]

Donte as a starter:
13.9ppg, 3.3rpg, 2apg, 0.8tos, 1.5steals, 55% FG, 49%3, 74% TS

he has been a bargain and is playing lights out. His chemistry with Brunson is off the charts, and the chemistry with Randle is growing.. The shooting is probably unsustainable but love the way he plays off the ball and moves the ball....low turnovers but picks up some assists.. That Nova system is ingrained. He is already showing nice chemistry with OG.

Not the best man to man defender but he plays the passing lanes well and has active hands.

The DDV signing was great from the perspective of building depth to brace for the IQ trade.

He made little sense with IQ and Grimes on the roster, but reading the tea leaves it seems it was their intention all along to trade IQ before the deadline (keeping him trade eligible by turning down the extension, OG going CAA before the season, etc.). It was probably just a matter of aligning on the details of the trade.

You don't have to be a fan of Donte's game to recognize him as an essential piece for this squad.

Donte makes a lot more sense now and that seemed to be the plan all along. The writing was on the wall with a lot of hints. The roster balanced itself out and just fits much better with OG. It will be interesting to see what or if there is another move this season and the plan going forward. I do love the way all the Nova guys play and the chemistry they bring...and OG plays kinda the same way...Its like he played under Jay. if we are recreating those Nova championship teams he's basically the Mikal.

[NYKinMIA]

Read on Twitter

68 obsessions

[HarthorneWingo]

as much as i love RJ and Quick. it was so obvious, that it was a good trade.

from the get go, we saw the fluidity of the game was so different. we had actual spacing, donte and OG have natural nack for good cuts and filling the open spaces. iHart was a better rimprotector than gobert yesterday. And randle was actually smiling the whole time, he had so much more room to work with. i loved it.

the only alarming thing now is getting brunson some more rest. we cant keep this up the whole season, assuming we making the playoffs. we need mcbride to get comfy.

at this point im not even trading randle, if it doesnt net us a top tier superstar like embiid or something. i dont think there is much out there for us right now. getting murray would be nice i think, but im personally not giving up randle for murray.

Great post!

[stuporman]

The guy in question is gone and the board is still this toxic???

tsk tsk tsk

tour bus tickets are still available...

[stuporman]

OG plays much bigger than his size...like when he cuts to the basket then gets the pass and makes a 7-1 defensive player of the year appear smallish and cower away from him compared to someone who will remain nameless gets blocked at the rim by gravity at least once a game.

[KNIXFAN_83]

I thought right away it was evident you noticed OG size and athleticism on the court. He does seem to fit with this team better. However the downside is we truly don’t have a 3rd scorer at all on this team. OG is not going to force anything or create the way IQ and RJ so all the creativity truly relies on Julius and Jalen. This is fine but in the playoffs this will max out. Until we can get another scorer there is going to be a limit. Reports show the Cavs have no interest in trading Mitchell and Lavine is often hurt. The only person that would make sense is Devin Booker but would the suns want a trading starting with Q Grimes? It seems like the Knicks have a better fit but still don’t have the piece they need yet to make them a contender.

The raptors however have a solid young core and IQ RJ Barnes and Siakim are complimented each others game too. I think both teams benefited from the trade but I feel for the Knicks they still need another guy if we want to take this team serious. Just my thoughts.

the team just have to move the ball a bit more. Putting a third scorer alongside the starting lineup will bring back the same problem before the trade: not enough basketballs

if it is a scorer for the second unit then the concern is really valid

The third scorer's skill set is important.

If the third score can create/penetrate but is also an excellent shooter then it's exactly what the Knicks need.

This part. To rely this much on Jalen and Julius in January to create offense is a lot with so much season left. Who would be the second best creator if Jalen or Julius had to miss 5-10 straight games? That’s the issue. It’s clear OG is what we needed since our 2 best players are subpar defenders at best. Now the issue is where is the offense gonna come from and creativity when those two can go iso? Then he’s going to opt out so now you have to pay him 35-40 mill per. So signing any scorers is not going to be easy and it will have to come through trade or draft. And we already traded our best home grown assets outside of Mitch. It’s step forward for “this unit” but we are still a 8th seed with many teams in front of us playing a better brand of basketball with a better alpha player. Respectfully

[Tron Carter]

[youtube]https://youtu.be/i2ANLGxyuIw?si=i_J0HMB_G8Ax3aqD[/youtube]

Great breakdown of last night’s game for OG. Without Mitch this guy is unquestionably the best athlete on this team. I really underrated his functional athleticism.

[Clyde Frazier]

Read on Twitter

Definitely a starting caliber center. We're lucky to have him after Mitch went down! Also love this:

Read on Twitter

[TrueWarrior]

Read on Twitter

Definitely a starting caliber center. We're lucky to have him after Mitch went down! Also love this:

Read on Twitter

I dont want to keep dunking on Mitch while hes injured (again), but it should be obvious by now that Hartenstein is the better long term option at center. Mitch is good at being Mitch but he should be a back up going forward, or he can get traded if hes not cool with that.

Just think if Hartenstein’s jumper ever becomes decent. There is still more potential with him compared to Mitch. He’s also got some solid moves around the basket with his floaters, hooks, up and unders, etc.

[Chanel Bomber]

Randle was incredible in the 4th quarter. He really carried.

[TrueWarrior]

As far as the SG position goes, Im okay with Donte and Grimes for now. Let them duke it out.

These other names like Lavine, Murray, etc are not worth it. Lets see if Donte and Grimes can up their scoring first.

Donte may have more ability as a scorer than previously thought with all the career highs hes been getting this season. Hes very athletic, has a wet jumper, moves great off ball, and even has a decent collection of shots to get off.

Grimes is crawling out of the darkness slowly and showing some things again. Maybe he blooms with more shots and touches on the bench, or perhaps we move Donte to 6th man. No need to change right now though.

[cgmw]

Read on Twitter

Definitely a starting caliber center. We're lucky to have him after Mitch went down! Also love this:

Read on Twitter

I dont want to keep dunking on Mitch while hes injured (again), but it should be obvious by now that Hartenstein is the better long term option at center. Mitch is good at being Mitch but he should be a back up going forward, or he can get traded if hes not cool with that.

Just think if Hartenstein’s jumper ever becomes decent. There is still more potential with him compared to Mitch. He’s also got some solid moves around the basket with his floaters, hooks, up and unders, etc.

Obvious?

Come on, now. Prisoner of the moment much? Neither Mitch nor Hartenstein will ever make an All-Star team, so you're really just being nasty for nastiness sake to rag on Mitch while he's out. Centers are like running backs. I wouldn't get too attached to either longterm, especially with Thibs running a 7-foot, 250+ lbs center like he's Steph Curry, Reggie Miller or Ray Allen.

As long as Thibs is coach, the FO needs to be agile in providing large bodied rim defenders because Thibs will continue to chew them up and spit them out.

[SelfishPlayer]

Donte as a starter:
13.9ppg, 3.3rpg, 2apg, 0.8tos, 1.5steals, 55% FG, 49%3, 74% TS

he has been a bargain and is playing lights out. His chemistry with Brunson is off the charts, and the chemistry with Randle is growing.. The shooting is probably unsustainable but love the way he plays off the ball and moves the ball....low turnovers but picks up some assists.. That Nova system is ingrained. He is already showing nice chemistry with OG.

Not the best man to man defender but he plays the passing lanes well and has active hands.

The DDV signing was great from the perspective of building depth to brace for the IQ trade.

He made little sense with IQ and Grimes on the roster, but reading the tea leaves it seems it was their intention all along to trade IQ before the deadline (keeping him trade eligible by turning down the extension, OG going CAA before the season, etc.). It was probably just a matter of aligning on the details of the trade.

You don't have to be a fan of Donte's game to recognize him as an essential piece for this squad.

Donte makes a lot more sense now and that seemed to be the plan all along. The writing was on the wall with a lot of hints. The roster balanced itself out and just fits much better with OG. It will be interesting to see what or if there is another move this season and the plan going forward. I do love the way all the Nova guys play and the chemistry they bring...and OG plays kinda the same way...Its like he played under Jay. if we are recreating those Nova championship teams he's basically the Mikal.

The Knicks now have a team more representative of the culture it had during the Ewing era. You have a collection of "hard nosed" pros without prima Donna egos. Randle and OG are very much like modern era versions of Mason, Oakley, and X-man. The Nova guys bring tenacity to fortify this as a culture. The Knicks now look like Knicks to me.

[TrueWarrior]

Read on Twitter

Definitely a starting caliber center. We're lucky to have him after Mitch went down! Also love this:

Read on Twitter

I dont want to keep dunking on Mitch while hes injured (again), but it should be obvious by now that Hartenstein is the better long term option at center. Mitch is good at being Mitch but he should be a back up going forward, or he can get traded if hes not cool with that.

Just think if Hartenstein’s jumper ever becomes decent. There is still more potential with him compared to Mitch. He’s also got some solid moves around the basket with his floaters, hooks, up and unders, etc.

Obvious?

Come on, now. Prisoner of the moment much? Neither Mitch nor Hartenstein will ever make an All-Star team, so you're really just being nasty for nastiness sake to rag on Mitch while he's out. Centers are like running backs. I wouldn't get too attached to either longterm, especially with Thibs running a 7-foot, 250+ lbs center like he's Steph Curry, Reggie Miller or Ray Allen.

As long as Thibs is coach, the FO needs to be agile in providing large bodied rim defenders because Thibs will continue to chew them up and spit them out.

Many numbers, like the above, paint Hartenstein as just as good or even better on defense than Mitch. On offense hes clearly better. To me thats obvious yes.

If Hartenstein can ever become a solid shooter then he has All Star potential. Hes already a great defender, rebounder, passer, and has some moves around the rim. Add a Kurt Thomas/Taj Gibson/David Lee jumper, like many players have developed and Hartenstein himself has shown flashes of, then he can be a very good all around starting center. Hes not just some random rim runner. You’re underrating him.

[3toheadmelo]

OG also held KAT to 2-8 FG and 2 turnovers. Elite defender

[Capn'O]

Donte as a starter:
13.9ppg, 3.3rpg, 2apg, 0.8tos, 1.5steals, 55% FG, 49%3, 74% TS

he has been a bargain and is playing lights out. His chemistry with Brunson is off the charts, and the chemistry with Randle is growing.. The shooting is probably unsustainable but love the way he plays off the ball and moves the ball....low turnovers but picks up some assists.. That Nova system is ingrained. He is already showing nice chemistry with OG.

Not the best man to man defender but he plays the passing lanes well and has active hands.

I agree that this is a bargain contract. Love his game. Would the team be better served with Donte coming off the bench and filling the vacant Quickley role?

The starting unit has 2 high usage guys plus OG. I’d like to see what Donte could do leading the second unit

It's a good question. I think with the way he is playing we should leave him with the starters for now. But if the bench struggles we may need to figure something else out.... Grimes looked like he was starting to come out of his shell.... Maybe he can up his aggressiveness off the bench

If Grimes can shoot again I think he works better with the starters and Donte in that dynamic bench role. I've said a few times that the ball movement and spacing OG provides helps system guys like Grimes and Hart the most to get their shots in rhythm rather than forcing action.

[Capn'O]

Hello, in an effort to try not to derail game threads, lets please keep random RJ talk that is unrelated to the game in the OG trade thread, one of the many other RJ threads or Around the NBA thread. Else every thread is going to turn into an RJ thread. Inevitably his name will come up, but we dont really need news articles or stories unrelated here. Thank you!

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2343862&start=1920