Spliting up Towns and Brunson.

[Jadoogar]

you could see the difference defensively. Knicks defense looked abaolsutley incredible with just wing defenders and KAT.

Of course, KAT won't go on a heater like that every night. You need Brunson's shot creation for the team to function properly on offense.

I do wonder if the Knicks win that game if Brunson doesn't get into foul trouble. KAT probably doesn't explode and the knicks aren't able to lock in defensively like that with Brunson on the floor.

[NY2k1]

If I'm the Knicks, would see if Jalen Brunson + Mikal Bridges + a young player is enough for to get Giannis. Having KAT and Burnson sharing the same court for significant periods of time is problematic and will be get exposed at some point during the playoffs. Even their defensive personal around them can't cover for both of these player lack of defense.

Brunson is a Knick for life, lol. He's not going anywhere. If anybody gets traded, it'll be KAT.

[CometGM]

I agree with what most said.
Split a lot of their time, but if playing together make sure Mitchell Robinson is in.

The other thing is, if all 3 are in KAT does need to be featured a little more. Brunson is amazing but he does have to work a lot harder to get his shot off. I need to see more plays ran for KAT and in different spots.

[Trippp]

They can't trade Brunson after he gave them such a big discount.
They can't really split their minutes too much either because they so many minutes. Trade KAT? I guess that depends on how the season ends

Trade Brunson? No one is trading Brunson. He is the foundation right now. And with the discount he gave... he should be a lifer. The Knicks are actually building something solid and I hope they can bridge the next gen by picking up a good young international prospect (could be Hukporti or Dadiet).

[Tim_Hardawayy]

I think Brunson is the one you keep if you do eventually break them up. KAT is fun and the ceiling for him is through the roof, but he’s been in the league long enough that it’s fair to say what you see is what you get, and he’s always going to carry his flaws and inconsistencies.

Not that I think the Knicks should be desperate to break them up. But if it was me, and I was going to do it, I’d sell high on KAT. If you want to try for Giannis, make KAT the centerpiece instead of Brunson. Although a Giannis/Robinson frontcourt definitely hurts you for spacing, but it is still a clear talent upgrade.

[Shock Defeat]

Been saying this all series long. The Towns/Brunson lineup is horrific defensively and Indiana has an easy time exposing it time and time again.

[WargamesX]

It’s a legit problem that I could see them making a decision on during the offseason. I think Brunson is a Knicks lifer. I also don’t think KATs value has ever been higher than right now either. Two back to back conference final runs in different conferences and a 3rd team All NBA nod. I would expect a large return for him if the Knicks did trade him.

[Mamba81p]

They can't trade Brunson after he gave them such a big discount.
They can't really split their minutes too much either because they so many minutes. Trade KAT? I guess that depends on how the season ends

Trade Brunson? No one is trading Brunson. He is the foundation right now. And with the discount he gave... he should be a lifer. The Knicks are actually building something solid and I hope they can bridge the next gen by picking up a good young international prospect (could be Hukporti or Dadiet).

They are not trading Brunson after that discount. The fans would revolt, even though some of them would probably accept if he netted them a giannis, but I don’t think any FA would sign with them after that. It’s a business but this is beyond that. Imo that discount it’s a like a no trade clause

Brunson is the bigger problem and Knicks could be favorites to winning a championship if they traded him for a #1. I think a Brunson giannis would have even more issues

[durden_tyler]

All about match-ups. This Pacers team can survive a Brunson "explosion" but not a KAT one. It's oversimplification saying "they can not play effectively with each other" but it's what the defense sometimes dictates so New York has to be more creative with the match-ups and how it's used.

[OrangeBlueSkies]

If I'm the Knicks, would see if Jalen Brunson + Mikal Bridges + a young player is enough for to get Giannis. Having KAT and Burnson sharing the same court for significant periods of time is problematic and will be get exposed at some point during the playoffs. Even their defensive personal around them can't cover for both of these player lack of defense.

The New York Knicks are NOT trading Jalen Brunson.

[OrangeBlueSkies]

They can't trade Brunson after he gave them such a big discount.
They can't really split their minutes too much either because they so many minutes. Trade KAT? I guess that depends on how the season ends

Trade Brunson? No one is trading Brunson. He is the foundation right now. And with the discount he gave... he should be a lifer. The Knicks are actually building something solid and I hope they can bridge the next gen by picking up a good young international prospect (could be Hukporti or Dadiet).

They are not trading Brunson after that discount. The fans would revolt, even though some of them would probably accept if he netted them a giannis, but I don’t think any FA would sign with them after that. It’s a business but this is beyond that. Imo that discount it’s a like a no trade clause

Brunson is the bigger problem and Knicks could be favorites to winning a championship if they traded him for a #1. I think a Brunson giannis would have even more issues

Brunson isnt going anywhere. Will they look to upgrade KAT? Yes. Do Giannis or Jokic have to specifically demand a trade to the Knicks? Probably.

KAT/Bridges/McBride/ future picks + Giannis or Jokic specifically saying “ I got you guys a chip- trade me to the Knicks “ can happen.

[Papi_swav]

Thibs need to find a way to use their minutes wisely, but he's not that good of a coach to know how to. Knicks need to learn to fight thru screens and stop switching all the time, too many times KAT is left on an island to defense Haliburton and it's costing them. OG and Bridges need to step it up too, they don't really have a bigger wing player that can guard them, they should be able to cook a little more.

[Mamba81p]

Trade Brunson? No one is trading Brunson. He is the foundation right now. And with the discount he gave... he should be a lifer. The Knicks are actually building something solid and I hope they can bridge the next gen by picking up a good young international prospect (could be Hukporti or Dadiet).

They are not trading Brunson after that discount. The fans would revolt, even though some of them would probably accept if he netted them a giannis, but I don’t think any FA would sign with them after that. It’s a business but this is beyond that. Imo that discount it’s a like a no trade clause

Brunson is the bigger problem and Knicks could be favorites to winning a championship if they traded him for a #1. I think a Brunson giannis would have even more issues

Brunson isnt going anywhere. Will they look to upgrade KAT? Yes. Do Giannis or Jokic have to specifically demand a trade to the Knicks? Probably.

KAT/Bridges/McBride/ future picks + Giannis or Jokic specifically saying “ I got you guys a chip- trade me to the Knicks “ can happen.

I mentioned that brunson is not going anywhere.

Knicks don't have picks to trade. Just swaps and 2nd round picks(that Was pick is essentially 2 second round).
After the dame fiasco I think the league made it clear that a player cannot force his way to a specific team. They have to give the team multiple options.

[doogie_hauser]

I think OG and Bridges playing consistently together at the same time/game is arguably as big an issue for the Knicks. It's arguable one is surplus to the Knicks current requirements

[cgf]

They are not trading Brunson after that discount. The fans would revolt, even though some of them would probably accept if he netted them a giannis, but I don’t think any FA would sign with them after that. It’s a business but this is beyond that. Imo that discount it’s a like a no trade clause

Brunson is the bigger problem and Knicks could be favorites to winning a championship if they traded him for a #1. I think a Brunson giannis would have even more issues

Brunson isnt going anywhere. Will they look to upgrade KAT? Yes. Do Giannis or Jokic have to specifically demand a trade to the Knicks? Probably.

KAT/Bridges/McBride/ future picks + Giannis or Jokic specifically saying “ I got you guys a chip- trade me to the Knicks “ can happen.

I mentioned that brunson is not going anywhere.

Knicks don't have picks to trade. Just swaps and 2nd round picks(that Was pick is essentially 2 second round).
After the dame fiasco I think the league made it clear that a player cannot force his way to a specific team. They have to give the team multiple options.

Darn, so you’re saying we’ll need to keep our superstar?

[Chokic]

Brunson is the better player for sure but I feel there are more players closer to his caliber at the guard then there are KAT at the bigs the guard position is much more heavily saturated in the nba.

[cgf]

Brunson and Towns defensive vulnerabilities can confuse teams. There was a play late when Indy had Haliburton on Towns but choose to attack Brunson with Nesmith instead, ending up getting nothing out of the possession despite being in good shape earlier in the clock.

Our defense has been at its best when we can bait teams into taking the shots we want them too instead of just running their offense, and getting too focused on isolating Brunson or Towns has backfired on the Pacers & Celtics now.

[cgf]

They can't trade Brunson after he gave them such a big discount.
They can't really split their minutes too much either because they so many minutes. Trade KAT? I guess that depends on how the season ends

Trade Brunson? No one is trading Brunson. He is the foundation right now. And with the discount he gave... he should be a lifer. The Knicks are actually building something solid and I hope they can bridge the next gen by picking up a good young international prospect (could be Hukporti or Dadiet).

I like Dadiet’s potential…but I don’t think he fits the timeline; especially with McCullar having looked like a player once he got healthy. I suspect we’ll see Dadiet & some of our draft capital used to upgrade Hukporti…especially if we can land someone like Laravia / Brown / Tate with the taxpayer MLE.

I’m expecting something like this next season:

Bigs: Towns, Robinson, Hukporti/trade, Achiuwa
Wings: Anunoby, Bridges, Hart, tpMLE, McCullar
Guards: Brunson, McBride, Shamet / Wright / Kolek

[Upperclass]

KAT, OG and a pick probably wouldve gotten it done.. but they have no picks. If they didnt get Bridges.. they probably couldve sent KAT, Donte, tons of picks and still signed Bridges in a year