K-DOT wrote:thebuzzardman wrote:IF the Knicks knew Kawhi was coming, building around him and AD, even if enough assets went out for AD, is a great play, because both are 26, entering prime prime, and good for 4 years, if not extensions for a couple more years after that (maybe)
But AD was always a maybe - it's a trade.
Kawhi is a total wildcard.
Durant was different. Minus those accusations being leveled about "entitled" Knick fans in another topic, there was STRONG smoke he was coming here.
Now the Knicks are just another team with their fingers crossed, only with a perception of being awful for 20 years they still can't shake.
Lost my enthusiasm for the off season last night. Sure, I'll pay attention. Speculate a little. But it's different now. Anyone who doesn't see that is being a little bit foolish.
Which is why I think (again, qualifier being if it really is an achilles rupture) that we're out of the AD race. Pels want it done before the draft, now that KD's situation has changed, it's not worth the risk for us to trade for him and potentially end up stuck with no other guys to put next to him
Now, if he isn't traded before free agency and Kawhi signs with us, that's a different story. Or maybe Pills want to do the classic Knicks maneuver of trading for the star first, trying to use him to sign other stars, failing, and ending up signing 2nd tier guys to a gutted roster
Kleinman said "The ENTIRE NBA landscape has changed". He doesn't say that just about the Knicks having an uptick in quality if KD joined them.
He KNEW KD to the Knicks mean another guy coming. That at LEAST the landscape changed via the Knicks. He may know more, or he could be speculating, but he probably sees the dominoes fall in Kyrie now a lock to the Nets (if he wasn't already, granted), AD to Knicks no longer a thing, in fact, LA a thing, etc.
I think that was the sound of a man seeing the aspects of 3+ teams changing at once.
Of course, only the Knicks for the worse.