Is Kat really gonna be worse to watch than Randle?

[JayTWill]

I wanted to come straight to the Knicks fan base, because I am curious what you all think about this.

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Was this a trend you saw in New York as well?

I don't know if it is a vision issue or not. Sometimes he just doesn't make the simple play. He may have just looked up and saw no shot blocker at the rim with only Duncan Robinson between him and the basket and decided to attack aggressively. With time and space he can be a great playmaker but when you speed him up or make him play in traffic he is not a good quick decision maker imo.

He actually got injured against Miami last year when he did not make the simple play and pass it to a wide open Brunson up by 17 late in the game but instead drove into a congested paint area and unfortunately dislocated his shoulder on the fall.

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[NoDopeOnSundays]

The problem with KAT is that to be at his best offensively he needs to be at the 5, and he's not good defensively, although the year before Gobert showed up they were 13th which isn't great but not bad either. He has the tools to be a good defender but he's seemingly dumb as rocks on that side of the floor, he chases blocks that leave him out of position. If you traded for KAT and played him at C you'd need an elite defender at the 4 that can guard multiple positions as well as protect the rim.

The offense between him and Brunson would be spectacular, but the defense would be as big of a problem if you didn't build to offset it.

Going from Randle to KAT

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Looks like they heard me, OG is doing just that.

[HopelessKnick]

KAT is an offensive juggernaut. On offensive he is a generational talent, there is no doubt about that---whenever you have a 7-footer shooting 50/40/85 while averaging 25/12, it does not get much better than that. Basketballwise he allows us to go with different looks on offense--whether you play him at the 5 with a bunch of good wing defenders around him or at the 4 with Mitch protecting the rim.

I told you guys back in November that you should give this team at least 30 games before even thinking about judging anything and it is looking really good right now. If Mitch can come back for the final 40 games and remain healthy we are going to challenge the Celtics for a title. I think we could beat anyone else even without Mitch but I think we'd need Mitch against the Celtics. The beautiful thing is that all our guards and wing players are good to very good 3 point shooters so you can put Mitch or Precious in there for defense and still have tremendous offense.

But the best thing for me is something entirely else: KAT, despite his scoring prowess, and he can really do EVERYTHING on offense, is that he is still an unselfish type of player that makes quick decisions and passes really well. He is a team player, his offense is a seemsless fit.

[Ray Williams]

KAT is an offensive juggernaut. On offensive he is a generational talent, there is no doubt about that---whenever you have a 7-footer shooting 50/40/85 while averaging 25/12, it does not get much better than that. Basketballwise he allows us to go with different looks on offense--whether you play him at the 5 with a bunch of good wing defenders around him or at the 4 with Mitch protecting the rim.

I told you guys back in November that you should give this team at least 30 games before even thinking about judging anything and it is looking really good right now. If Mitch can come back for the final 40 games and remain healthy we are going to challenge the Celtics for a title. I think we could beat anyone else even without Mitch but I think we'd need Mitch against the Celtics. The beautiful thing is that all our guards and wing players are good to very good 3 point shooters so you can put Mitch or Precious in there for defense and still have tremendous offense.

But the best thing for me is something entirely else: KAT, despite his scoring prowess, and he can really do EVERYTHING on offense, is that he is still an unselfish type of player that makes quick decisions and passes really well. He is a team player, his offense is a seemsless fit.

Cavs took a step up, going to need Mitch to son Mobley again.

[HopelessKnick]

KAT is an offensive juggernaut. On offensive he is a generational talent, there is no doubt about that---whenever you have a 7-footer shooting 50/40/85 while averaging 25/12, it does not get much better than that. Basketballwise he allows us to go with different looks on offense--whether you play him at the 5 with a bunch of good wing defenders around him or at the 4 with Mitch protecting the rim.

I told you guys back in November that you should give this team at least 30 games before even thinking about judging anything and it is looking really good right now. If Mitch can come back for the final 40 games and remain healthy we are going to challenge the Celtics for a title. I think we could beat anyone else even without Mitch but I think we'd need Mitch against the Celtics. The beautiful thing is that all our guards and wing players are good to very good 3 point shooters so you can put Mitch or Precious in there for defense and still have tremendous offense.

But the best thing for me is something entirely else: KAT, despite his scoring prowess, and he can really do EVERYTHING on offense, is that he is still an unselfish type of player that makes quick decisions and passes really well. He is a team player, his offense is a seemsless fit.

Cavs took a step up, going to need Mitch to son Mobley again.

Yeah definitely they are good. I would however still gives us a solid chance taking them down without Mitch. With Mitch I think it is our series to lose. I definitely believe Mitch's impact is going to be something similar to what OG's was last year when he was traded here. Once Mitch is back to playing 20-25 minutes a game in february you'll see multiple win streaks and blowouts and we'll be approaching those 55wins quickly. Mitch's impact is going to be huge. Other teams are not going to have much fun trying to score against a frontline consisting of OG-KAT-Mitch; that's a huge, strong, athletic and intimidating frontline.

Health is going to be our most important issue. The team itself is going to be good.

[HopelessKnick]

In the meantime, I'd like to see Hukporti get more minutes than Sims. He has the potential to be the legit backup center when Mitch comes back or if Mitch comes back and can't stay healthy. You can't go into the playoffs with Sims as your primary C option after Towns. That's asking for trouble.

Not sure what Thibs is doing with Sims, because he has no feel for the game nor does he have any instincts on what to do with the ball when he gathers a rebound on either end.

By mid-season, if Mitch is not back, they need to move on from Sims or else we'll lose too many games due to size mismatches.

My sentiment exactly. I have no clue what the deal was/is there. I thought Hukporti looked pretty solid in the few minutes he got. Good mobility and already showed in 50 nba minutes more on offense than Sims in all these years here. Hukporti can really do a bit of everything on the court. I'm hopeful he can be built up into a very solid, playable 3rd stringer or backup C.

I know Sims' defense is solid but I feel like in the bigger picture he has shown so little improvement in his game that I'd try to invest and go a different direction in terms of 3rd string/backup C.

[ctorres]

In the meantime, I'd like to see Hukporti get more minutes than Sims. He has the potential to be the legit backup center when Mitch comes back or if Mitch comes back and can't stay healthy. You can't go into the playoffs with Sims as your primary C option after Towns. That's asking for trouble.

Not sure what Thibs is doing with Sims, because he has no feel for the game nor does he have any instincts on what to do with the ball when he gathers a rebound on either end.

By mid-season, if Mitch is not back, they need to move on from Sims or else we'll lose too many games due to size mismatches.

My sentiment exactly. I have no clue what the deal was/is there. I thought Hukporti looked pretty solid in the few minutes he got. Good mobility and already showed in 50 nba minutes more on offense than Sims in all these years here. Hukporti can really do a bit of everything on the court. I'm hopeful he can be built up into a very solid, playable 3rd stringer or backup C.

I know Sims' defense is solid but I feel like in the bigger picture he has shown so little improvement in his game that I'd try to invest and go a different direction in terms of 3rd string/backup C.

I think the Knicks are trying to maintain a good relationship with Jason Glushon.

He's the agent for not only Jericho Sims, but also Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet. He is also the agent for Donte DiVincenzo.

https://basketball.realgm.com/info/agent_clients/Jason-Glushon/765

Sims is in his 4th season and is in a contract year. They're probably trying not to make him look bad.

Hukporti is in his 1st year of a 2 year deal. Next year is a team option for him but Knicks will probably pick it up.

Also, Hukporti and Mitchell Robinson have the same agent.

https://basketball.realgm.com/info/agent_clients/Joe-Smith/853

[Iron Mantis]

[dakomish23]

It's not hard to see the immediate decline of KAT the second he's playing out of position next Gobert who clogs the floor.

Remove him from that type of situation, and he'll go back too all NBA level again.

You'd have to have a monster defensive F like prime Dray next to him and we don't. But if you only care about offense, he'll immediately be a 25 /10 guy on great efficiency.

[Iron Mantis]

I keep repeating that the Knicks will have to pick up a 3&D PF......

You can't get KAT in a trade without Randle going out.....He's the only centerpiece that makes sense with their roster.

And this isn't NBA 2k....how are you advocating for having 2 guys up front who don't play good defense? Randle doesn't even try..at all...And Chemistry is obviously also a thing.....You really Think Randle is going to be OK with KAT coming in and taking all his shots? Are you serious?

Randle at the 5? All right I'm going to check out of this convo. No offense, but you don't sound like a serious basketball guy.

Name the championship level 3 and D PF we could realistically get though. We’d have to make at least 2 major trades and we can’t even make 1

Championship level?

Baby steps.....any PF that can hit a 3, rebound, play D: A role player......

It's the front office's job to see if any teams have an underutilized PF or a roster glut they can take advantage of..that's how they found J.Hart and Cam (even though Cam didn't pan out)..

This was pre OG trade ..but the vision was clear.

Who would prove to be that 3&D power forward to play alongside KAT if we traded Randle to bring KAT home? Who could Leon get?

[Iron Mantis]

Why?

When you take Mitch out of the starting lineup you diminish the team's biggest strength - interior defense and offensive rebounding - and make it into a huge weakness (w/Towns) ...all for the sake of stretching the floor. Mitch is our glue....I think he is singlehandedly keeping us out of the Lottery....

And while stretching the floor is a very big need, there are ways to do it without weakening what we do best. My suggestion is to insert a starting swingman of legit size who can really shoot. Someone like this guy...




Sure Bogs would not be a permanent solution due to age, but he's exactly what is needed to balance out this roster while being cheap enough to retain assets for future moves.

If we keep our offensive rebounding intact, just adding one true sniper would pay huge dividends towards making us truly competitive.

Brunson
RJ
Bogs
Julius
Mitch

The above lineup gives us spacing while retaining our Interior D and O rebounding.

Knicks need balance.

Mitch isn't lost...he comes off the bench to provide valuable minutes...we sacrifice moving down a few spots on defense to move up from being the worst on offense...maybe even surprisingly good.

Interior D and O rebounding is nice when your center can do more than that..ours can do nothing else...zero......Mitch is killing the offense: can't score, and his man is camping in the paint to challenge EVERYTHING. And if Mitch is having lackluster game....he's just a warm body because he can do literally nothing else.

KAT can create his own offense in the paint and draw doubles....so Maybe with KAT-centric offense....Grimes can get better looks and RJ, Brunson can score in the paint much easier without a camping 7-footer challenging them literally every single time...if they leave KAT open on the perimeter to challenge, he can quickly go off from 3........so offensive rebounding and a prayer will not need to be the primary offense. Actual organic scoring and passing can be.

Some of the complimentary pieces have been moved to get the 3 & D power forward I said we needed, which proved to be OG.. And my vision for how KAT would unlock the offense has beautifully come to fruition.

I like Leon. We are both cut from the same cloth, you know. We are both guys who know ball.

[gavran]

It's not hard to see the immediate decline of KAT the second he's playing out of position next Gobert who clogs the floor.

Remove him from that type of situation, and he'll go back too all NBA level again.

You'd have to have a monster defensive F like prime Dray next to him and we don't. But if you only care about offense, he'll immediately be a 25 /10 guy on great efficiency.

So you were saying OG is not a monster defensive F?

[RHODEY]

When you take Mitch out of the starting lineup you diminish the team's biggest strength - interior defense and offensive rebounding - and make it into a huge weakness (w/Towns) ...all for the sake of stretching the floor. Mitch is our glue....I think he is singlehandedly keeping us out of the Lottery....

And while stretching the floor is a very big need, there are ways to do it without weakening what we do best. My suggestion is to insert a starting swingman of legit size who can really shoot. Someone like this guy...




Sure Bogs would not be a permanent solution due to age, but he's exactly what is needed to balance out this roster while being cheap enough to retain assets for future moves.

If we keep our offensive rebounding intact, just adding one true sniper would pay huge dividends towards making us truly competitive.

Brunson
RJ
Bogs
Julius
Mitch

The above lineup gives us spacing while retaining our Interior D and O rebounding.

Knicks need balance.

Mitch isn't lost...he comes off the bench to provide valuable minutes...we sacrifice moving down a few spots on defense to move up from being the worst on offense...maybe even surprisingly good.

Interior D and O rebounding is nice when your center can do more than that..ours can do nothing else...zero......Mitch is killing the offense: can't score, and his man is camping in the paint to challenge EVERYTHING. And if Mitch is having lackluster game....he's just a warm body because he can do literally nothing else.

KAT can create his own offense in the paint and draw doubles....so Maybe with KAT-centric offense....Grimes can get better looks and RJ, Brunson can score in the paint much easier without a camping 7-footer challenging them literally every single time...if they leave KAT open on the perimeter to challenge, he can quickly go off from 3........so offensive rebounding and a prayer will not need to be the primary offense. Actual organic scoring and passing can be.

Some of the complimentary pieces have been moved to get the 3 & D power forward I said we needed, which proved to be OG.. And my vision for how KAT would unlock the offense has beautifully come to fruition.

I like Leon. We are both cut from the same cloth, you know. We are both guys who know ball.

Way to give yourself a pat on the back! But seriously we both predicted the future and I think we both were right. Bogs was a temporary fix that help us get more talent later on. You of course were right about Kat. I stil think I'm right about needing Mitch or atleast what he brings.... so really al 3 of us are guys who know ball l

[NoDopeOnSundays]

KAT is an offensive juggernaut. On offensive he is a generational talent, there is no doubt about that---whenever you have a 7-footer shooting 50/40/85 while averaging 25/12, it does not get much better than that. Basketballwise he allows us to go with different looks on offense--whether you play him at the 5 with a bunch of good wing defenders around him or at the 4 with Mitch protecting the rim.

I told you guys back in November that you should give this team at least 30 games before even thinking about judging anything and it is looking really good right now. If Mitch can come back for the final 40 games and remain healthy we are going to challenge the Celtics for a title. I think we could beat anyone else even without Mitch but I think we'd need Mitch against the Celtics. The beautiful thing is that all our guards and wing players are good to very good 3 point shooters so you can put Mitch or Precious in there for defense and still have tremendous offense.

But the best thing for me is something entirely else: KAT, despite his scoring prowess, and he can really do EVERYTHING on offense, is that he is still an unselfish type of player that makes quick decisions and passes really well. He is a team player, his offense is a seemsless fit.

Cavs took a step up, going to need Mitch to son Mobley again.

They are better, but I don't think they're as good as us. They play at a fast pace and that almost never works in the playoffs when it turns into possession basketball.

[Iron Mantis]

Knicks need balance.

Mitch isn't lost...he comes off the bench to provide valuable minutes...we sacrifice moving down a few spots on defense to move up from being the worst on offense...maybe even surprisingly good.

Interior D and O rebounding is nice when your center can do more than that..ours can do nothing else...zero......Mitch is killing the offense: can't score, and his man is camping in the paint to challenge EVERYTHING. And if Mitch is having lackluster game....he's just a warm body because he can do literally nothing else.

KAT can create his own offense in the paint and draw doubles....so Maybe with KAT-centric offense....Grimes can get better looks and RJ, Brunson can score in the paint much easier without a camping 7-footer challenging them literally every single time...if they leave KAT open on the perimeter to challenge, he can quickly go off from 3........so offensive rebounding and a prayer will not need to be the primary offense. Actual organic scoring and passing can be.

Some of the complimentary pieces have been moved to get the 3 & D power forward I said we needed, which proved to be OG.. And my vision for how KAT would unlock the offense has beautifully come to fruition.

I like Leon. We are both cut from the same cloth, you know. We are both guys who know ball.

Way to give yourself a pat on the back! But seriously we both predicted the future and I think we both were right. Bogs was a temporary fix that help us get more talent later on. You of course were right about Kat. I stil think I'm right about needing Mitch or atleast what he brings.... so really al 3 of us are guys who know ball l

If Mitch is not traded for a wing, he will be an invaluable piece off the bench. And when the matchup gives us an advantage, he will be playing alongside KAT, they will dominate.

Sometimes Precious looks like he doesn't know what to do with the ball when he is in the paint and KAT hits him with a pass from the high post.

I think Mitch is rising up and dunking that every time.

[ctorres]

Some of the complimentary pieces have been moved to get the 3 & D power forward I said we needed, which proved to be OG.. And my vision for how KAT would unlock the offense has beautifully come to fruition.

I like Leon. We are both cut from the same cloth, you know. We are both guys who know ball.

Way to give yourself a pat on the back! But seriously we both predicted the future and I think we both were right. Bogs was a temporary fix that help us get more talent later on. You of course were right about Kat. I stil think I'm right about needing Mitch or atleast what he brings.... so really al 3 of us are guys who know ball l

If Mitch is not traded for a wing, he will be an invaluable piece off the bench. And when the matchup gives us an advantage, he will be playing alongside KAT, they will dominate.

Sometimes Precious looks like he doesn't know what to do with the ball when he is in the paint and KAT hits him with a pass from the high post.

I think Mitch is rising up and dunking that every time.

I am looking at team salaries around the league.

It seems much easier to trade Mitch's $14.3 million deal for a big 3&D wing than it would be to trade Achiuwa's $6 million deal for one.

Especially when it comes to trading for a player that Thibs will give minutes to immediately.

Knicks can trade Mitch to the Lakers for Rui Hachimura. Thibs would trust Rui's talent level enough to play him a good amount of minutes.

I don't know if any winning team in the NBA right now is playing any less than four 3pt shooters at all times. Where maybe a few years ago, playing Achiuwa and Mitch together could work, it just might not work this season.

[MrDollarBills]

Karl is a top 10 player in the sport and is a legitimate MVP candidate.

[Riot Randolph]

In the meantime, I'd like to see Hukporti get more minutes than Sims. He has the potential to be the legit backup center when Mitch comes back or if Mitch comes back and can't stay healthy. You can't go into the playoffs with Sims as your primary C option after Towns. That's asking for trouble.

Not sure what Thibs is doing with Sims, because he has no feel for the game nor does he have any instincts on what to do with the ball when he gathers a rebound on either end.

By mid-season, if Mitch is not back, they need to move on from Sims or else we'll lose too many games due to size mismatches.

My sentiment exactly. I have no clue what the deal was/is there. I thought Hukporti looked pretty solid in the few minutes he got. Good mobility and already showed in 50 nba minutes more on offense than Sims in all these years here. Hukporti can really do a bit of everything on the court. I'm hopeful he can be built up into a very solid, playable 3rd stringer or backup C.

I know Sims' defense is solid but I feel like in the bigger picture he has shown so little improvement in his game that I'd try to invest and go a different direction in terms of 3rd string/backup C.

I think the Knicks are trying to maintain a good relationship with Jason Glushon.

He's the agent for not only Jericho Sims, but also Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet. He is also the agent for Donte DiVincenzo.

https://basketball.realgm.com/info/agent_clients/Jason-Glushon/765

Sims is in his 4th season and is in a contract year. They're probably trying not to make him look bad.

Hukporti is in his 1st year of a 2 year deal. Next year is a team option for him but Knicks will probably pick it up.

Also, Hukporti and Mitchell Robinson have the same agent.

https://basketball.realgm.com/info/agent_clients/Joe-Smith/853

makes so much sense …Ty

[Riot Randolph]

Way to give yourself a pat on the back! But seriously we both predicted the future and I think we both were right. Bogs was a temporary fix that help us get more talent later on. You of course were right about Kat. I stil think I'm right about needing Mitch or atleast what he brings.... so really al 3 of us are guys who know ball l

If Mitch is not traded for a wing, he will be an invaluable piece off the bench. And when the matchup gives us an advantage, he will be playing alongside KAT, they will dominate.

Sometimes Precious looks like he doesn't know what to do with the ball when he is in the paint and KAT hits him with a pass from the high post.

I think Mitch is rising up and dunking that every time.

I am looking at team salaries around the league.

It seems much easier to trade Mitch's $14.3 million deal for a big 3&D wing than it would be to trade Achiuwa's $6 million deal for one.

Especially when it comes to trading for a player that Thibs will give minutes to immediately.

Knicks can trade Mitch to the Lakers for Rui Hachimura. Thibs would trust Rui's talent level enough to play him a good amount of minutes.

I don't know if any winning team in the NBA right now is playing any less than four 3pt shooters at all times. Where maybe a few years ago, playing Achiuwa and Mitch together could work, it just might not work this season.

deni avdija please

[RHODEY]

If Mitch is not traded for a wing, he will be an invaluable piece off the bench. And when the matchup gives us an advantage, he will be playing alongside KAT, they will dominate.

Sometimes Precious looks like he doesn't know what to do with the ball when he is in the paint and KAT hits him with a pass from the high post.

I think Mitch is rising up and dunking that every time.

I am looking at team salaries around the league.

It seems much easier to trade Mitch's $14.3 million deal for a big 3&D wing than it would be to trade Achiuwa's $6 million deal for one.

Especially when it comes to trading for a player that Thibs will give minutes to immediately.

Knicks can trade Mitch to the Lakers for Rui Hachimura. Thibs would trust Rui's talent level enough to play him a good amount of minutes.

I don't know if any winning team in the NBA right now is playing any less than four 3pt shooters at all times. Where maybe a few years ago, playing Achiuwa and Mitch together could work, it just might not work this season.

deni avdija please

Why?