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F N 11 wrote:Imma be honest, Pels would be dumb to trade Murphy. A healthy Mitch for them is crazy impact tho. ESP if they let him dribble and shoot 3s.

mpharris36 wrote:

E-Balla wrote:

god shammgod wrote:I gotta give it to Leon. This was a hell of a long con. He built up a lot of good will before he left us capped out with no assets and with an oft injured flawed one way overpaid star. Usually that happens sooner lol

Man I thought OG was just a blip I didn't realize we were trying to pay Leon's guys.

so you wouldn't have traded RJ and IQ for OG?

E-Balla wrote:

mpharris36 wrote:

E-Balla wrote:Man I thought OG was just a blip I didn't realize we were trying to pay Leon's guys.

so you wouldn't have traded RJ and IQ for OG?

I would've done whatever to dump RJ as long as we didn't drop IQ and benched RJ so he'd stop losing us games/stayed healthy while we looked. We should've benched RJ in 2023 and started IQ.

Trading for OG when he had all the leverage to make us pay literally twice of what he's worth is dumb. We literally only did it because OG's agent is out team president's son. Nepotism at its most blatant, $212 million for a player worth closer to $100-120. I remember when we were thinking he'd get $160 and calling that an overpay nobody saw $212 coming besides Leon and Sam.

mpharris36 wrote:

E-Balla wrote:

mpharris36 wrote:
so you wouldn't have traded RJ and IQ for OG?

I would've done whatever to dump RJ as long as we didn't drop IQ and benched RJ so he'd stop losing us games/stayed healthy while we looked. We should've benched RJ in 2023 and started IQ.

Trading for OG when he had all the leverage to make us pay literally twice of what he's worth is dumb. We literally only did it because OG's agent is out team president's son. Nepotism at its most blatant, $212 million for a player worth closer to $100-120. I remember when we were thinking he'd get $160 and calling that an overpay nobody saw $212 coming besides Leon and Sam.

so to get this straight your issue with OG and his contract is his injury history correct? Not his impact on the floor when he's out there right?

mpharris36 wrote:

E-Balla wrote:Our offense was not the issue in the playoffs man. The Sixers cooked our defense, the Pacers cooked our defense, we're responding by crippling that unit.

with less of an offensive load to carry if Mikal gets back to PHX level defense Mikal that will be a huge impact to our defense. Most of these teams now with stretch 5's aren't even impacted by rim protecting bigs.

You match them with 2-way switchable wings...we have a few of those guys now.

E-Balla wrote:

mpharris36 wrote:

E-Balla wrote:I would've done whatever to dump RJ as long as we didn't drop IQ and benched RJ so he'd stop losing us games/stayed healthy while we looked. We should've benched RJ in 2023 and started IQ.

Trading for OG when he had all the leverage to make us pay literally twice of what he's worth is dumb. We literally only did it because OG's agent is out team president's son. Nepotism at its most blatant, $212 million for a player worth closer to $100-120. I remember when we were thinking he'd get $160 and calling that an overpay nobody saw $212 coming besides Leon and Sam.

so to get this straight your issue with OG and his contract is his injury history correct? Not his impact on the floor when he's out there right?

Of course. This isn't the MLB we have a salary cap and no player can be evaluated independent of their contract situation.

Three more reasons why the Wolves felt as though they had to act now: 1. Coach Chris Finch worked with Randle as an assistant in New Orleans and knows his game very well after collaborating during Randle's lone season with the Pelicans … setting Randle up to sign with the Knicks as a better-than-they-ever-dreamed consolation prize once Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving elected to join the Nets instead; 2. Minnesota, league sources say, was the losing finalist to New York in free agency in 2023 when DiVincenzo chose to sign with the Knicks and never stopped wanting the rugged 3-and-D swingman who shot 40.1% from 3-point range last season on one of the league's best bargain contracts (DDV will earn $11.4 million this season); 3. The Wolves need an infusion of playmaking on a roster that features 37-year-old Mike Conley and rookie Rob Dillingham as the primary point guards ... and Randle's ability to make plays could (stress: could) offset the concerns about his inconsistent long-range shooting and what that might mean for Minnesota's spacing. Randle, mind you, arrives with his own array of question marks given that we haven't seen him on the floor since last January because of shoulder surgery and the uncertainty about his future with only next season's $30.1 million player option left on his current contract.

Most league insiders I've spoken to since the deal went public have been more surprised by Minnesota's willingness to abruptly change course so soon after its first sniff of playoff success in 20 years than the Knicks' willingness to swing so big now. The Knicks, after all, have been linked to a potential pursuit of Towns for years. The case can certainly be made that the Wolves owed it to Towns especially to give last season's core one more shot at a playoff run after Minnesota so impressively ousted the reigning champions from Denver in last spring's second round. The Wolves, though, clearly reasoned that they couldn't pass up this opportunity to turn Towns' crippling contract into two frontline players and put themselves on a path to greater financial flexibility that could allow them to re-sign both Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Word is that the Wolves want to make sure they can re-sign both Reid and Alexander-Walker for Anthony Edwards' supporting cast and moving out Towns' $220-plus million owed over the next four seasons greatly enhances Minnesota's chances … despite the ongoing lack of clarity over who will actually own this team after Glen Taylor vs. Marc Lore/Alex Rodriguez arbitration proceedings begin in November.

The Knicks going all-in for Towns, before newly acquired Mikal Bridges could even play a game alongside his fellow Villanova alumni Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the suddenly discarded DiVincenzo, is the latest example of the strong influence former Timberwolves executive Gersson Rosas has in New York's front office. In February 2022, you'll recall, we broke the story here of the Knicks' hiring of Rosas as a consultant in the wake of his incredibly messy exit as Minnesota's lead decision-maker ... which also, like this trade, took place right before training camp began. Rosas was elevated to senior vice president of basketball operations before last season and, according to league sources, is Towns' foremost fan in the Knicks' organization. Yes: Even ahead of Towns' former agent Leon Rose. Rosas is said to have been pushing for a Towns trade even before this summer's free agent departure of Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson's subsequent slow recovery from an ankle injury heightened the Knicks' need for immediate help at center.

From a purely basketball point of view, Towns certainly makes lots of sense for the Knicks. He is the most accomplished long-range-shooting big man in today's game and the Knicks think he can be their Kristaps Porziņģis … Boston version. There is no doubt he can ability-wise, but no shortage of curiosity (and, frankly, skepticism) is bubbling A) about Towns' ability to handle the considerable spotlight and pressure that comes with being billed and slotted into the Knicks' lineup as the last piece to make them a real championship threat; B) whether all is really forgotten between he and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau after Thibs was abruptly cast aside in Minnesota to cement Towns as the Wolves' post-Jimmy Butler, pre-Anthony Edwards centerpiece; and C) Towns' own injury history that has forced him to miss at least 20 games (and often more) in four of the past five seasons.

E-Balla wrote:

mpharris36 wrote:

E-Balla wrote:Our offense was not the issue in the playoffs man. The Sixers cooked our defense, the Pacers cooked our defense, we're responding by crippling that unit.

with less of an offensive load to carry if Mikal gets back to PHX level defense Mikal that will be a huge impact to our defense. Most of these teams now with stretch 5's aren't even impacted by rim protecting bigs.

You match them with 2-way switchable wings...we have a few of those guys now.

Name one team that is actually a contender that wouldn't be affected by a rim defending C?

According to SNY's Ian Begley, Anunoby had max offers from other teams, but chose to remain in New York and try to contend for the title.

KOA wrote:

According to SNY's Ian Begley, Anunoby had max offers from other teams, but chose to remain in New York and try to contend for the title.

People on this board have dreamed of being able to create a roster that remotely resembles this one for years, or even decades.
Don't get me wrong, having flexibility is nice, but when you are going for a title you have to lay it all out there. You can't partially commit and expect to actually win one.

E-Balla wrote:Mph get your boy bluntson because if I tell him he's a **** (Please Use More Appropriate Word) he's going to start throwing more internet threats around.

Knicksfan1992 wrote:

F N 11 wrote:Imma be honest, Pels would be dumb to trade Murphy. A healthy Mitch for them is crazy impact tho. ESP if they let him dribble and shoot 3s.

Yes the guy who can barely shoot 50% from the free throw line is going to be allowed to start launching 3's in NBA games and THAT will unlock his game... I don't even hate Mitch like that but some of you Mitch truthers are utterly insane

jvsimonetti0514 wrote:How good is Kat creating in isolation? I haven’t seen this discussed at all. Who on this roster can create a shot for themselves now outside of Brunson? Is Mikal the 2nd best creator on the team now? Starting last year we had too many cooks and now are we really only down to one?