Is it time to blow it up and start collecting ping pong balls?

[8516knicks]

No I love Brunson and actually hate Lamelo antics and all the hype he currently on a winning streak. Many other teams go on streaks every now and then. We don’t have a franchise player because we didn’t go after Mitchell. We’ll have to wait and see. It’s delusional to believe we’re close to winning any, let alone multiple series.

Aha! A Donovan Mitchell post sighting. That explains things. I say this as a friend, wouldn't Scientology or Flat Eartherism be easier?

Aren’t you the one who sees crazy things?

I see an ordinary team on an ordinary winning streak.

Donovan MItchell. We good?

[spree2kawhi]

Aha! A Donovan Mitchell post sighting. That explains things. I say this as a friend, wouldn't Scientology or Flat Eartherism be easier?

Aren’t you the one who sees crazy things?

I see an ordinary team on an ordinary winning streak.

Donovan MItchell. We good?

I don’t really see what the hell you’re talking about. Mitchell was the last time we could have legitimately upgraded towards contention. Now we have to wait and see because this team still needs a top player.

[robillionaire]

Ill take the 1st pick over a first round exit all day. Can we just save bandwidth and recycle the win streak threads from the legendary 4th seed fake covid season?

Is this season fake too? Because there’s no Covid or any other excuses left. Yet here we are still 10 games over .500. No team in this situation with a fairly young team still on the rise with massive assets to continue to improve would ever tank in this situation. This is the best situation the Knicks have been in since the turn of the century and we aren’t pissing that away to tank. It’s ok to be wrong about things

[dakomish23]

Tankers cannot just jump on this ship and enjoy this winning now. Stay on your side.

They’ll be back on this side anyway next losing streak

This team is still not as good as people make it seem right now. It is fun of course to win some games but the talent level is still not there yet. We need a franchise player. There are going to be 16 playoff teams. We’ll probably have the worst franchise player among them.

Tanking is off the table but this team will be eliminated in the first round and you all should try and remain level headed. It is just the reality that we’re still a Doncic or Embiid away (not even LaVine or other wannabes like him).

I’m not pretending they’re world beaters. I do think they’ve entered pretender status after finding the perfect fill in the gaps guy in Hart. The gaps were so gaping we’d lose games even when a lot of our guys played well.

I agreed somewhere else that I think it comes down to RJ becoming consistently good and impactful instead of this sometimes feast whole lot of famine. I could care less if he drops 20 PPG. I’d gladly take 17/8/7 instead with good defense and better efficiency. We need him to maximize his floor game. Grimes too needs to become more consistent but his inconsistency is less painful to watch b/c he at least plays with it the confines of the system instead of forcing the issue like RJ does.

Brunson is a top 10 PG this year. Randle is the best he’s ever been. Mitch is a beast. IQ is a 6MOY candidate. Hart is an amazing glue guy. I finally a got a group of players I actually like on this team. 2nd rd tough out is my guesstimate

[spree2kawhi]

They’ll be back on this side anyway next losing streak

This team is still not as good as people make it seem right now. It is fun of course to win some games but the talent level is still not there yet. We need a franchise player. There are going to be 16 playoff teams. We’ll probably have the worst franchise player among them.

Tanking is off the table but this team will be eliminated in the first round and you all should try and remain level headed. It is just the reality that we’re still a Doncic or Embiid away (not even LaVine or other wannabes like him).

I’m not pretending they’re world beaters. I do think they’ve entered pretender status after finding the perfect fill in the gaps guy in Hart. The gaps were so gaping we’d lose games even when a lot of our guys played well.

I agreed somewhere else that I think it comes down to RJ becoming consistently good and impactful instead of this sometimes feast whole lot of famine. I could care less if he drops 20 PPG. I’d gladly take 17/8/7 instead with good defense and better efficiency. We need him to maximize his floor game. Grimes too needs to become more consistent but his inconsistency is less painful to watch b/c he at least plays with it the confines of the system instead of forcing the issue like RJ does.

Brunson is a top 10 PG this year. Randle is the best he’s ever been. Mitch is a beast. IQ is a 6MOY candidate. Hart is an amazing glue guy. I finally a got a group of players I actually like on this team. 2nd rd tough out is my guesstimate

You’re right, this team is fun and respectable.

I’m hoping for Embiid in the summer. Brunson, Grimes, Hart, Randle, Embiid. Without a superstar, this will remain just another team like Miami, Atlanta etc.

It is realistic to take the next step though.

[dakomish23]

This team is still not as good as people make it seem right now. It is fun of course to win some games but the talent level is still not there yet. We need a franchise player. There are going to be 16 playoff teams. We’ll probably have the worst franchise player among them.

Tanking is off the table but this team will be eliminated in the first round and you all should try and remain level headed. It is just the reality that we’re still a Doncic or Embiid away (not even LaVine or other wannabes like him).

I’m not pretending they’re world beaters. I do think they’ve entered pretender status after finding the perfect fill in the gaps guy in Hart. The gaps were so gaping we’d lose games even when a lot of our guys played well.

I agreed somewhere else that I think it comes down to RJ becoming consistently good and impactful instead of this sometimes feast whole lot of famine. I could care less if he drops 20 PPG. I’d gladly take 17/8/7 instead with good defense and better efficiency. We need him to maximize his floor game. Grimes too needs to become more consistent but his inconsistency is less painful to watch b/c he at least plays with it the confines of the system instead of forcing the issue like RJ does.

Brunson is a top 10 PG this year. Randle is the best he’s ever been. Mitch is a beast. IQ is a 6MOY candidate. Hart is an amazing glue guy. I finally a got a group of players I actually like on this team. 2nd rd tough out is my guesstimate

I’m hoping for Embiid in the summer. Brunson, Grimes, Hart, Randle, Embiid. Without a as superstar, this will remain just another team like Miami, Atlanta etc.

We’ll see. We have two all star caliber guys and a some really good role players.

[spree2kawhi]

I’m not pretending they’re world beaters. I do think they’ve entered pretender status after finding the perfect fill in the gaps guy in Hart. The gaps were so gaping we’d lose games even when a lot of our guys played well.

I agreed somewhere else that I think it comes down to RJ becoming consistently good and impactful instead of this sometimes feast whole lot of famine. I could care less if he drops 20 PPG. I’d gladly take 17/8/7 instead with good defense and better efficiency. We need him to maximize his floor game. Grimes too needs to become more consistent but his inconsistency is less painful to watch b/c he at least plays with it the confines of the system instead of forcing the issue like RJ does.

Brunson is a top 10 PG this year. Randle is the best he’s ever been. Mitch is a beast. IQ is a 6MOY candidate. Hart is an amazing glue guy. I finally a got a group of players I actually like on this team. 2nd rd tough out is my guesstimate

I’m hoping for Embiid in the summer. Brunson, Grimes, Hart, Randle, Embiid. Without a as superstar, this will remain just another team like Miami, Atlanta etc.

We’ll see. We have two all star caliber guys and a some really good role players.

It is definitely a fun team. Randle in the right role was always going to be powerful. Btw I edited the previous post a tad late.

[Kampuchea]

Mitchell would have been nice as a 3rd top 20 player alongside Randle and Brunson. We really just need a top SF and RJ going out or for him to take a leap. Bridges, Wiggins, OG fit the bill but won’t be available for a reasonable cost.

Paul George could be it if 32 isn’t too old. Kawhi can’t stay healthy.

[cgmw]

Mitchell would have been nice as a 3rd top 20 player alongside Randle and Brunson. We really just need a top SF and RJ going out or for him to take a leap. Bridges, Wiggins, OG fit the bill but won’t be available for a reasonable cost.

Paul George could be it if 32 isn’t too old. Kawhi can’t stay healthy.

I’m enjoying the ride, but it’s hard to see how Leon graduates past all the newfound excitement of basic respectability into an echelon of actual title contention without acquiring at least one top 10 nba player.

The tank-antitank wars on this board notwithstanding, the basic assumption of pro hoops is that it’s nearly impossible to win championships without a top player. Hence the normal path of trying to draft one.

As far as I can tell, Leon still doesn’t have a path to acquiring a championship caliber star. Although I could see him trying to make it work with Embiid-Randle-Brunson.

[Gravy]

Only 3 teams in the league are tanking for supposedly the greatest draft pick in history. It looks like more GMs are catching on that tanking is a weak strategy that relies on luck and hardly works.

[robillionaire]

Mitchell would have been nice as a 3rd top 20 player alongside Randle and Brunson. We really just need a top SF and RJ going out or for him to take a leap. Bridges, Wiggins, OG fit the bill but won’t be available for a reasonable cost.

Paul George could be it if 32 isn’t too old. Kawhi can’t stay healthy.

I’m enjoying the ride, but it’s hard to see how Leon graduates past all the newfound excitement of basic respectability into an echelon of actual title contention without acquiring at least one top 10 nba player.

The tank-antitank wars on this board notwithstanding, the basic assumption of pro hoops is that it’s nearly impossible to win championships without a top player. Hence the normal path of trying to draft one.

As far as I can tell, Leon still doesn’t have a path to acquiring a championship caliber star. Although I could see him trying to make it work with Embiid-Randle-Brunson.

The path is to trade a bunch of players and draft picks for a star. Whether he can pull that off or not remains to be seen but that’s the obvious path and we are at least positioned for it asset-wise

After this season the only bad contract we have is Fournier and he’ll be an expiring trade chip if nothing else, and then maybe RJ could be a bad contact if he keeps floundering but hopefully he comes around. If someone hits free agency like Brunson did Leon will be ready for that too. We will hire their family and tamper and do whatever it takes

I guess the important thing to remember is we are not watching the completed product, this is not yet our final form

[nedleeds]

Ill take the 1st pick over a first round exit all day. Can we just save bandwidth and recycle the win streak threads from the legendary 4th seed fake covid season?

Is this season fake too? Because there’s no Covid or any other excuses left. Yet here we are still 10 games over .500. No team in this situation with a fairly young team still on the rise with massive assets to continue to improve would ever tank in this situation. This is the best situation the Knicks have been in since the turn of the century and we aren’t pissing that away to tank. It’s ok to be wrong about things

I hope it isn't for sure. I'm not sure how much I trust the regular season in the modern NBA. So many games with people resting, but we've had our share of injuries --mostly our defensive anchor missing time.

There are lots of things to be positive about this year

- Getting a high level starting point guard for effectively a late first (to get off Leon Rose's own bad deals) and Alec Burks
- Randle deciding like he does every other year, to try
- Grimes as a late round pick clearly being a rotation player
- IQ as a late first round pick clearly being a good rotation player and a really good bench guard
- Lots of young players playing period (Grimes, Mitch, IQ ... even McBride and Sims)
- We don't have good picks, but we've gotten rotation or better players in the teens so there's hope we identify another good player or 1% chance we maybe find a Giannis/Kawhi/Joker.

But I'm 46 and could give a **** about the 1st round. I've seen us in the finals twice. We still don't have a top 30 player. We don't have a top pick. RJ is a bust at 3 and signed a year early for no good reason, on the books for the rest of your life.

I think the chance of being in the finals in the next 3-4 years is probably below 5%. So I'm just not that excited. We needed 3 or 4 swings at a generational player or good enough prospects to trade for a top 15 player and we were too impatient.

[robillionaire]

Ill take the 1st pick over a first round exit all day. Can we just save bandwidth and recycle the win streak threads from the legendary 4th seed fake covid season?

Is this season fake too? Because there’s no Covid or any other excuses left. Yet here we are still 10 games over .500. No team in this situation with a fairly young team still on the rise with massive assets to continue to improve would ever tank in this situation. This is the best situation the Knicks have been in since the turn of the century and we aren’t pissing that away to tank. It’s ok to be wrong about things

I hope it isn't for sure. I'm not sure how much I trust the regular season in the modern NBA. So many games with people resting, but we've had our share of injuries --mostly our defensive anchor missing time.

There are lots of things to be positive about this year

- Getting a high level starting point guard for effectively a late first (to get off Leon Rose's own bad deals) and Alec Burks
- Randle deciding like he does every other year, to try
- Grimes as a late round pick clearly being a rotation player
- IQ as a late first round pick clearly being a good rotation player and a really good bench guard
- Lots of young players playing period (Grimes, Mitch, IQ ... even McBride and Sims)
- We don't have good picks, but we've gotten rotation or better players in the teens so there's hope we identify another good player or 1% chance we maybe find a Giannis/Kawhi/Joker.

But I'm 46 and could give a **** about the 1st round. I've seen us in the finals twice. We still don't have a top 30 player. We don't have a top pick. RJ is a bust at 3 and signed a year early for no good reason, on the books for the rest of your life.

I think the chance of being in the finals in the next 3-4 years is probably below 5%. So I'm just not that excited. We needed 3 or 4 swings at a generational player or good enough prospects to trade for a top 15 player and we were too impatient.

Truth be told I’m not “excited” either, more like cautiously optimistic about the possibilities and potential for the future and glad the team is not a complete dumpster fire for a change. RJ is a bust and we gave away a year of our lives for that. I’m good on that plan. Give me more IQs and more Grimes’ and more competency as an organization

[Ewings2ndcousin]

I said this before in another post... win streak aside because every good team has one or more of these in a season, we are a FUN team to watch right now! I think everyone would agree on that. Now we start to showcase just what it's like to play in NY and now I think players will see that this is a franchise on the move. Blow up? Absolutely no need to... We have some of the best supporting actors in the play! ALL WE NEED IS THAT Denzel Washington type player and its off to the races for us!!!

[FrozenEnvelope]

If you still wanna tank, that is fine. I dgaf. Just own it and stay there. It's those fans who are fickle and are attempting to join in on the joy of winning that bother me. Especially those who do nothing but cry for the tank all season. You can't jump on the bandwagon like that. I won't allow it.

But like some mentioned, those crybabies will call for Thibs being fired and blow the team up the next loss or two. But just own it. Don't flip flop between two sides. You cannot do that.

[spree8]

I’ve wanted a fully committed 3-5 year all-in rebuild, but it hasn’t happened in 20 years and I’m slowly making my peace with it. The team has definitely improved recently and actually finally fun to watch, which is helping. Getting Hart really turned things up imo. Even beginning to take a liking to Randle. RJ’s gotta go tho. Hopefully something opens up this summer where we can package him with draft picks for an upgrade. But these playoffs, we definitely have a shot at an upset or two… never know.

[Capn'O]

Only 3 teams in the league are tanking for supposedly the greatest draft pick in history. It looks like more GMs are catching on that tanking is a weak strategy that relies on luck and hardly works.

Tanking, by itself, is not a strategy. It's a tool. Like a great whittling knife, it's how you use it. You can either make a great wooden statue from an ugly log or cut off your dick.

[Gravy]

Only 3 teams in the league are tanking for supposedly the greatest draft pick in history. It looks like more GMs are catching on that tanking is a weak strategy that relies on luck and hardly works.

Tanking, by itself, is not a strategy. It's a tool. Like a great whittling knife, it's how you use it. You can either make a great wooden statue from an ugly log or cut off your dick.

yes, there's much safer tools to use around your peen than that . Some dudes ONLY want the whittling knife and no other way.