Hckyfn17 wrote:Really interesting thread, y'all
With all the talk of "culture," it worries me that we've backed ourselves into a corner by relying too much on a big free agency haul this summer, which runs counter to our recent renewed focus on player development and eschewing the type of delusional "star*phucking" that's continued for years
The exception here is if we get Kawhi, a move that would be on par with Mark Messier joining the NY Rangers in the early 90s and immediately assuming the alpha/Captaincy/leadership mantle on an otherwise young squad.
Any of the other guys are fool's gold as they haven't done enough to warrant that role and the level of scrutiny that comes with being the presumed leader of a team in NYC
Franchises hoping for an immediate "quick fix" happens all the time, 2000 Orlando Magic in free agency with T-Mac and Grant Hill is a perfect example. Solid role players like Darrell Armstrong, Bo Outlaw, Pat Garrity, young Mike Miller, etc. but nothing otherwise established before adding two max players. Hill gets injured and that team only imroves by 2 wins over the previous year's squad (41 to 43)
Too Long; Didn't Read: I'd rather see an extra year of development committed to Knox, Frank, DSJr, Mitch Rob, Dotson + Barrett/Culver, etc BECAUSE teams that have a young & talented core like that will eventually establish their own culture and thus the whole process is that much more sustainable from a team-building & free agency destination perspective
TL;DR: Don't waste all of this on trading for AD and signing KD and Kyrie. Kawhi, Klay and Danny Green are the guys I want to see suiting up next Fall
oh, and we definitely need to resign Noah Vonleh
I hear what you are saying. A little while back I was feeling that this FA thing came up one year too early - not unlike the Knicks are about a year behind the Nets in rebuilding. Maybe two years.
Anyway, I like that in general the Knicks are committed to building via the draft, holding on to picks, player development.
And in something I meant to post as an answer to CapnO, but didn't, it's still right to feel a little wary, as though Phil was an "transitional" culture change, in that he was post McKinsey and kept picks, Phil/The Knicks DID decide to resign Melo when maybe it was time to cut bait, start the rebuild then. And then commit long term contracts to Noah and CLee - but at least not long term contracts to DRose and Jennings.
I guess it's possible that the Knicks decided, "culturally" to keep picks, and at the same time, take on last shot with the last of Melo's prime.
When it became apparent that the Knicks couldn't really put a team around him, Phil was acting crazy etc, that the Knicks decided to can Phil and it's at that moment the rebuild begins, though maybe not as "in earnest" as we'd like.
First misstep: Committing too much money to THJr.
Anyway, maybe that could be seen as trying to put some guys into KP's timeline.
What I like about what Perry has done, other than not tanking HARD in the year of Hornacek and Jarrett Jack, is they've made trades when they need to. Traded Melo to keep Melo happy, keep reputation in the league and possibly get assets. Got Kanter and McDermott, who became Mudiay - not much. But didn't that 2nd round pick become Mitch?
Made the tough and maybe right call (time will tell) of trading KP, when it became apparent he either soured on the team, that they weren't sure he'd be healthy, not sure he'd be worth tying up 125 million at 25 million per for 5 years, or they were sick of his entourage trying to run too much of the org while being amateurs. All of the above? Some of the above?
But when they did the KP trade, they accomplished two really important things - they cleared out all their cap room, and got back two picks, plus a player with some value around the league, in DSJr.
While this may ultimately not work out in favor of the Knicks, it shows some vision, boldness, and a team that is looking to collect assets.
To get to the point - the part to be wary is that the Knicks, really right up to the moment they signed THJr, have shown a tendency to jump at fixes. Even when they hired Phil, they tried to quick fix a team around Melo. So the Knicks history of this is not that far in the past, though it stretches far into the past as well. And Mills is still around, who had a hand in some of the recent iterations of this bad idea.
The hope is that Perry has a better idea and that the culture change also extended to letting the GM do his thing, not without any input from the POBO, but at least have the dominant say. And so far, that seems true and Perry seems up to the task.
So, it's possible that "jumping at the chance" of KP/Other Max Cat/AD is "same old knicks", but even an org that wants to commit to building internally and develop players and keep picks, even teams like that could and should strike when an opportunity presents itself that won't be available for another few years.
Fans have to trust that Perry is plugged in enough that he's got a real handle on the situation.
Also, while I'm go back and forth about trading a lot of the youth/assets for AD, it's possible the Knicks really want to go two max cats and use their youth/assets to fill out the roster by some of the being on the roster, while others are traded away for vets (but not "stars") that make more sense.
We don't exactly know. The Knicks could do a lot of things. It's why it's the most interesting offseason ever.