payitforward wrote:doclinkin wrote:payitforward wrote:It's just a rumor, as folks have pointed out. But if the rumor has any substance, it can only be b/c we're trying to deal Brad & his big salary. Even if Beal isn't part of the deal for Lee.
Mahinmi for Lee would be fine, obviously. How about Beal for Lee & the Knicks' 2019 R1 pick.
I doubt Brad is on the block. So far this team is all in on John + Brad. Merchandise, promotion, etc. Especially not for Boogie who is a free agent next year, coming off an injury this year, and a notable bad actor. IF it were for Boogie, the push would be to placate John Wall, but we added Howard as our 'athletic big' as his offseason request, and have to see how it plays out. Nah, that's a loopy pessimists view of this whisper.
So. I doubt there's substance to the Wiz involvement, this one, likely floated by the Knicks to drive interest in the market.
But pretending its credible. I think I liked it. The Knicks are in a rebuilding phase, and the Wiz are always in a win-now, sorta, kinda, why not, phase. With LeBJ out and us capped out and in Lux land the FO could see this as a chance to win an extra round in the playoffs, since we are cashed out anyway might as well look like we are trying to win with the $.
Lee is a solid 3&D team player. Putting in good work defending positions 1-3. Offensively he's an excellent fit next to John. Lee is one of the better catch and shoot players in the league. We add another player to spread the floor, giving Howard room and time to operate down low without the 2nd defender to swipe the ball away. And with an outside in attack there's nobody underneath to hedge against his the roll to interior. John, Brad, Lee, Otto, Howard gives us a dominant mismatch in speed at PG, power at Center, and 3pt shooting outside to provide options on the drive and kick.
Our 2nd unit backcourt is also realistically deep with this add. The backcourt bench has been an achilles heel for us, we build leads with our starters then lose them when we go to the reserves. The blame is most often due to a dogs breakfast of PG/2G options. We've never had a realistic back up for Brad at shooting guard. Not ever. So he ends up playing far too many minutes, and as the only option with the 2nd unit he has to run through so many screens to even catch the ball and get free. Here we may not have to play him, or of we do its as a decoy to overload defense in his direction but expose attackers elsewhere. Everybody eats worked okay until scouts realized that Brad as primary ballhandler plus best option on offense was a liability. Double him and we got nothin.
Adding Lee helps a bit. Gives options.
Saty & Lee are a good mesh with each other. Feisty defenders. One a pass first glue guy with drive & kick instincts, he has a savvy that makes up for his 2nd tier athleticism (*). The other a 2nd tier offensive option but a smart off ball player. I've been curious for a while about seeing if we can try Otto in a 2nd line-up and ask him to be lead dog on finding his own offense there. Surrounding him with similar tough defenders and unselfish passers seems like he may rise to the challenge.
(* and actually, the same can be said about rookie Troy Brown. I can see a few small ball line-ups mixing the rookie/bench/starters, as interchangeable parts to keep players fresh).
Saty/Troy --IQ passing, leadership,
Brad -- 3ball, seeming star, off ball decoy.
Lee -- 3ball
Otto -- 3ball, crash forward, backdoor, offensive rebounding
Kieff/Jeff -- midrange low-post junk, JG: Georgetown back door putback work same as Otto --
Or with a true big: TBJr --3 ball big man, spoon-fed by savvy veterans.
Seems like a solid "Everybody Eats" team.
Having zero depth behind Howard though (with Ian gone) would mean Thomas Bryant Jr is our only back-up 5. But if he develops like I hope then that's not a bad thing. He needs minutes and reps and savvy veterans around him to help him find his position and role on the floor. Playing with Saty Otto Lee and even Journeyman Jeff with his Georgetown/Princeton offense training, seem like a good fit next to a Big with range.
I wasn't suggesting that trading Beal would be to bring us Cousins now, but that trading him would open salary for next year when we'd sign him as a FA. Just a thought, however, & it may be true that we have zero interest in Cousins.
I love your non-Rivers rotation, doc.
I agree that Courtney Lee is a good player.
The hidden benefit here is getting Thomas Bryant on the floor. Some here have no idea how good this kid can be. In my book, he's a lock to be the next Thomas Bryant -- & you know how high I am on him, right?
Whoa, Thomas Bryant's got potential, but let's not get crazy.
Courtney Lee will be 33 at the start of next season. Only a... Superman - so to speak - can play at a high level at that age. Even Thomas Bryant might start slipping when he's that ancient.
