Official Frank Ntilikina Thread

[newyorker4ever]

I agree that DRAYMOND favors bigs, because they tend to not give up space when defending shots at the rim.

The rating not only says that KP was a top 5 defender in the NBA before his injury, but also that he's the most underrated defender in the NBA

The funny thing is that we actually all know that - since we watched the games - (at least amongst bigs) that's true. He altered sooooo many shots. People are in denial about all of this.

KP was the 2nd best rim protector / paint protector in the league before he got hurt. His impact was nuts. He was also playing behind a joke back court of Timmy and Rose / Jack that couldn't stop anyone. Crap on KP for being a diva but he's an elite defender.

KP's shot blocking is very good but defense isn't only about shot blocking so no he's not a elite defender but a very good shot blocker.

[NYKnickerbocker]

Not just shot blocking tho. He was good in he was elite at protecting the basket in general. Altering shots, deterring teams from the rim like Mitch, only he could pop the 3 ball like we all hope Mitch can do

Now he wasn’t much of a perimeter defender

[DLTGWH]

The funny thing is that we actually all know that - since we watched the games - (at least amongst bigs) that's true. He altered sooooo many shots. People are in denial about all of this.

KP was the 2nd best rim protector / paint protector in the league before he got hurt. His impact was nuts. He was also playing behind a joke back court of Timmy and Rose / Jack that couldn't stop anyone. Crap on KP for being a diva but he's an elite defender.

KP's shot blocking is very good but defense isn't only about shot blocking so no he's not a elite defender but a very good shot blocker.

For a big guy (KP) who seemed to want to model his offensive game more after KD than Tim Duncan, defensively hed struggle defending the perimeter vs 3s and stretch 4s. He’d get blown by often and easily. Though to his credit because of his length he could recover and content shots near the rim anyways

All things considered I don’t think anyone could argue he wasn’t a big net positive on defense.

[TheBigBoss]

Kind of ticks me off that KP and his bro were such jerks because we could easily have one of the best defenses in the league between he, Mitch, and Frank along with the two way role players that we signed. Though it was probably for the best because I have no faith in his body being able to hold up long term (See Big Z, Sabonis, and Yao for reference).

[KnicksGadfly]

In general, I like guys like Frank who play defense and pass well but when your teammates have to carry your ass cause you suck on offense, you better get better. He's still young though.

Let's face it Frank hasn't exactly been playing with all-stars the last couple of seasons. If you have 3 or 4 scorers on the floor next to him the impact wouldn't have been as drastic. Lets not forget the more than handful of games Frank was absolutely clutch at the end either. He steps up late in games and hits big shots and makes winning plays.

He hasn't play with 3 or 4 scorers, but we can almost say the same for many others. DSJ hasn't played with shooters, for example. I feel like I can confidently say that for Frank, if he played with 3 or 4 scorers, he wouldn't be helping them, because he lets people clog the paint. In addition 3 or 4 scorers is a very high benchmark to set. It's very hard for me to picture a championship contending team (which is where all the scorers are anyway) that can cover for a offensive zero. The Golden State Warriors, maybe? They are able to play good defensive players who can't shoot, but they had Klay, Steph, KD, etc. Not exactly an endorsement of Frank. Rockets need shooters. Toronto had shooters. Bucks want shooters. Philadelphia needs shooters.

I like Frank and I think he has a potential to be a starter on a championship level team. However, the blame for his suck-it-tude lies with Frank right now, and not anyone else. I don't think we can expect Frank to be DSJ. He doesn't have that mentality and ability. But at the very least, to make it in this league, he needs a shot. He cannot blame his teammates much if he can't hit an open three. That's basically it. Learn to hit the three, or get off the team.

[Polk377]

In general, I like guys like Frank who play defense and pass well but when your teammates have to carry your ass cause you suck on offense, you better get better. He's still young though.

Let's face it Frank hasn't exactly been playing with all-stars the last couple of seasons. If you have 3 or 4 scorers on the floor next to him the impact wouldn't have been as drastic. Lets not forget the more than handful of games Frank was absolutely clutch at the end either. He steps up late in games and hits big shots and makes winning plays.

He hasn't play with 3 or 4 scorers, but we can almost say the same for many others. DSJ hasn't played with shooters, for example. I feel like I can confidently say that for Frank, if he played with 3 or 4 scorers, he wouldn't be helping them, because he lets people clog the paint. In addition 3 or 4 scorers is a very high benchmark to set. It's very hard for me to picture a championship contending team (which is where all the scorers are anyway) that can cover for a offensive zero. The Golden State Warriors, maybe? They are able to play good defensive players who can't shoot, but they had Klay, Steph, KD, etc. Not exactly an endorsement of Frank. Rockets need shooters. Toronto had shooters. Bucks want shooters. Philadelphia needs shooters.

I like Frank and I think he has a potential to be a starter on a championship level team. However, the blame for his suck-it-tude lies with Frank right now, and not anyone else. I don't think we can expect Frank to be DSJ. He doesn't have that mentality and ability. But at the very least, to make it in this league, he needs a shot. He cannot blame his teammates much if he can't hit an open three. That's basically it. Learn to hit the three, or get off the team.

He has not been a zero on the offensive end. Frank has been trained to be a system PG since he was little. He is fundamentally solid as a floor general. Problem has been the Knicks the last 2 seasons were very iso heavy. He just didn't have the get your own skill set most American players learn in AAU. This is the first off season where he has had a real NBA skills trainer in Tim Martin showing him how to get to his spots and shoot.

I wasn't saying he needs all star level scorers to be effective. Just guys who could catch the ball and make a quick play. He worked very well with Porzingis, Beasley, O'Quinn and Dougie his rookie season. He had problems with guys like Burke and THJ who liked to milk the clock. I would like to see Frank in lineups with Dotson, Ellington, Randle, Portis, Mitch and Iggy this season. Guys who can catch the ball, make a quick decision and attack.

[DrCoach]

I really wish he started at pg over Allen

[CoolKids]

Let's face it Frank hasn't exactly been playing with all-stars the last couple of seasons. If you have 3 or 4 scorers on the floor next to him the impact wouldn't have been as drastic. Lets not forget the more than handful of games Frank was absolutely clutch at the end either. He steps up late in games and hits big shots and makes winning plays.

He hasn't play with 3 or 4 scorers, but we can almost say the same for many others. DSJ hasn't played with shooters, for example. I feel like I can confidently say that for Frank, if he played with 3 or 4 scorers, he wouldn't be helping them, because he lets people clog the paint. In addition 3 or 4 scorers is a very high benchmark to set. It's very hard for me to picture a championship contending team (which is where all the scorers are anyway) that can cover for a offensive zero. The Golden State Warriors, maybe? They are able to play good defensive players who can't shoot, but they had Klay, Steph, KD, etc. Not exactly an endorsement of Frank. Rockets need shooters. Toronto had shooters. Bucks want shooters. Philadelphia needs shooters.

I like Frank and I think he has a potential to be a starter on a championship level team. However, the blame for his suck-it-tude lies with Frank right now, and not anyone else. I don't think we can expect Frank to be DSJ. He doesn't have that mentality and ability. But at the very least, to make it in this league, he needs a shot. He cannot blame his teammates much if he can't hit an open three. That's basically it. Learn to hit the three, or get off the team.

He has not been a zero on the offensive end. Frank has been trained to be a system PG since he was little. He is fundamentally solid as a floor general. Problem has been the Knicks the last 2 seasons were very iso heavy. He just didn't have the get your own skill set most American players learn in AAU. This is the first off season where he has had a real NBA skills trainer in Tim Martin showing him how to get to his spots and shoot.

I wasn't saying he needs all star level scorers to be effective. Just guys who could catch the ball and make a quick play. He worked very well with Porzingis, Beasley, O'Quinn and Dougie his rookie season. He had problems with guys like Burke and THJ who liked to milk the clock. I would like to see Frank in lineups with Dotson, Ellington, Randle, Portis, Mitch and Iggy this season. Guys who can catch the ball, make a quick decision and attack.

[Polk377]

He hasn't play with 3 or 4 scorers, but we can almost say the same for many others. DSJ hasn't played with shooters, for example. I feel like I can confidently say that for Frank, if he played with 3 or 4 scorers, he wouldn't be helping them, because he lets people clog the paint. In addition 3 or 4 scorers is a very high benchmark to set. It's very hard for me to picture a championship contending team (which is where all the scorers are anyway) that can cover for a offensive zero. The Golden State Warriors, maybe? They are able to play good defensive players who can't shoot, but they had Klay, Steph, KD, etc. Not exactly an endorsement of Frank. Rockets need shooters. Toronto had shooters. Bucks want shooters. Philadelphia needs shooters.

I like Frank and I think he has a potential to be a starter on a championship level team. However, the blame for his suck-it-tude lies with Frank right now, and not anyone else. I don't think we can expect Frank to be DSJ. He doesn't have that mentality and ability. But at the very least, to make it in this league, he needs a shot. He cannot blame his teammates much if he can't hit an open three. That's basically it. Learn to hit the three, or get off the team.

He has not been a zero on the offensive end. Frank has been trained to be a system PG since he was little. He is fundamentally solid as a floor general. Problem has been the Knicks the last 2 seasons were very iso heavy. He just didn't have the get your own skill set most American players learn in AAU. This is the first off season where he has had a real NBA skills trainer in Tim Martin showing him how to get to his spots and shoot.

I wasn't saying he needs all star level scorers to be effective. Just guys who could catch the ball and make a quick play. He worked very well with Porzingis, Beasley, O'Quinn and Dougie his rookie season. He had problems with guys like Burke and THJ who liked to milk the clock. I would like to see Frank in lineups with Dotson, Ellington, Randle, Portis, Mitch and Iggy this season. Guys who can catch the ball, make a quick decision and attack.

Not everyone has to score on the offensive end to have an impact. He is a very good facilitator who gets others involved. A zero is someone who can't handle the ball, unwilling passer who shoots and misses everything.

[nedleeds]

KP was the 2nd best rim protector / paint protector in the league before he got hurt. His impact was nuts. He was also playing behind a joke back court of Timmy and Rose / Jack that couldn't stop anyone. Crap on KP for being a diva but he's an elite defender.

KP's shot blocking is very good but defense isn't only about shot blocking so no he's not a elite defender but a very good shot blocker.

For a big guy (KP) who seemed to want to model his offensive game more after KD than Tim Duncan, defensively hed struggle defending the perimeter vs 3s and stretch 4s. He’d get blown by often and easily. Though to his credit because of his length he could recover and content shots near the rim anyways

All things considered I don’t think anyone could argue he wasn’t a big net positive on defense.

Opponents shot the 2nd lowest FG% against him from 0-15 feet in the league at the time of his injury. I think Gobert was 1st when KP went down. It's not just shot blocking, it's shot missing and shot not even taking. KP was an elite defender at the time of his injury. Even more impressive considering the dumpster back court he was playing with and the putrid dumpster coaching carousel the Knicks had (Fischer, Rambis, Hornee). Again I think he's a douchelord in many respects but if healthy he's one of the 3 best defensive bigs in the league. Enjoy Dennis Smith and cap space.

[nedleeds]

He has not been a zero on the offensive end. Frank has been trained to be a system PG since he was little. He is fundamentally solid as a floor general. Problem has been the Knicks the last 2 seasons were very iso heavy. He just didn't have the get your own skill set most American players learn in AAU. This is the first off season where he has had a real NBA skills trainer in Tim Martin showing him how to get to his spots and shoot.

I wasn't saying he needs all star level scorers to be effective. Just guys who could catch the ball and make a quick play. He worked very well with Porzingis, Beasley, O'Quinn and Dougie his rookie season. He had problems with guys like Burke and THJ who liked to milk the clock. I would like to see Frank in lineups with Dotson, Ellington, Randle, Portis, Mitch and Iggy this season. Guys who can catch the ball, make a quick decision and attack.

Not everyone has to score on the offensive end to have an impact. He is a very good facilitator who gets others involved. A zero is someone who can't handle the ball, unwilling passer who shoots and misses everything.

A zero is Roberson. Can't dribble, pass and won't even attempt a shot. If he gets fouled he's worse than Ben Wallace. Frank is a better shooter, dribbler, passer and free throw shooter than Roberson.

[newyorker4ever]

KP's shot blocking is very good but defense isn't only about shot blocking so no he's not a elite defender but a very good shot blocker.

For a big guy (KP) who seemed to want to model his offensive game more after KD than Tim Duncan, defensively hed struggle defending the perimeter vs 3s and stretch 4s. He’d get blown by often and easily. Though to his credit because of his length he could recover and content shots near the rim anyways

All things considered I don’t think anyone could argue he wasn’t a big net positive on defense.

Opponents shot the 2nd lowest FG% against him from 0-15 feet in the league at the time of his injury. I think Gobert was 1st when KP went down. It's not just shot blocking, it's shot missing and shot not even taking. KP was an elite defender at the time of his injury. Even more impressive considering the dumpster back court he was playing with and the putrid dumpster coaching carousel the Knicks had (Fischer, Rambis, Hornee). Again I think he's a douchelord in many respects but if healthy he's one of the 3 best defensive bigs in the league. Enjoy Dennis Smith and cap space.

If you keep calling him an elite defender over and over and over again eventually you'll trick yourself into actually believing it. Elite is a very strong word but the shot blocking was very good.

[nedleeds]

For a big guy (KP) who seemed to want to model his offensive game more after KD than Tim Duncan, defensively hed struggle defending the perimeter vs 3s and stretch 4s. He’d get blown by often and easily. Though to his credit because of his length he could recover and content shots near the rim anyways

All things considered I don’t think anyone could argue he wasn’t a big net positive on defense.

Opponents shot the 2nd lowest FG% against him from 0-15 feet in the league at the time of his injury. I think Gobert was 1st when KP went down. It's not just shot blocking, it's shot missing and shot not even taking. KP was an elite defender at the time of his injury. Even more impressive considering the dumpster back court he was playing with and the putrid dumpster coaching carousel the Knicks had (Fischer, Rambis, Hornee). Again I think he's a douchelord in many respects but if healthy he's one of the 3 best defensive bigs in the league. Enjoy Dennis Smith and cap space.

If you keep calling him an elite defender over and over and over again eventually you'll trick yourself into actually believing it. Elite is a very strong word but the shot blocking was very good.

Eventually you'll learn opponents not being able to hit shots when a defender is around is even better than shot blocking (which KP is also great at)

[Cookies4Life]

Kind of ticks me off that KP and his bro were such jerks because we could easily have one of the best defenses in the league between he, Mitch, and Frank along with the two way role players that we signed. Though it was probably for the best because I have no faith in his body being able to hold up long term (See Big Z, Sabonis, and Yao for reference).

All of those guys were much heavier than Kristaps. I don't really care about KP anymore but he has an unusual body frame for a guy his size. I'd say Anthony Davis is probably his best comparison from a frame standpoint.

It would've been wonderful if he was still on this squad, I think him and MItchell would've been a nightmare duo defensively with Frank patrolling the perimeter. Anyway he didn't want to be here and we received a pretty good haul considering the ultimatum he put on management right before the trade deadline.

I actually like DSJ and think he has the room to develop into a solid player but I root for him even harder knowing he was a key piece in that trade. I still think his game would work very well with Frank in the backcourt but I also love the idea of pairing Frank with RJ.

Frank needs to show out in training camp and play as aggressively as he can. It looks like he worked on his handles and his jumpshot a lot this summer- especially coming off screens & curls. I think he has a valuable skillset but with the depth of this roster, he needs to play with some fire and hopefully we'll see some of that when he plays for team France next month.

[Jeffrey]

What is the need to continuously bash KP? Y'all can't say he is good?!

[B8RcDeMktfxC]

Kind of ticks me off that KP and his bro were such jerks because we could easily have one of the best defenses in the league between he, Mitch, and Frank along with the two way role players that we signed. Though it was probably for the best because I have no faith in his body being able to hold up long term (See Big Z, Sabonis, and Yao for reference).

All of those guys were much heavier than Kristaps. I don't really care about KP anymore but he has an unusual body frame for a guy his size. I'd say Anthony Davis is probably his best comparison from a frame standpoint.

It would've been wonderful if he was still on this squad, I think him and MItchell would've been a nightmare duo defensively with Frank patrolling the perimeter. Anyway he didn't want to be here and we received a pretty good haul considering the ultimatum he put on management right before the trade deadline.

I actually like DSJ and think he has the room to develop into a solid player but I root for him even harder knowing he was a key piece in that trade. I still think his game would work very well with Frank in the backcourt but I also love the idea of pairing Frank with RJ.

Frank needs to show out in training camp and play as aggressively as he can. It looks like he worked on his handles and his jumpshot a lot this summer- especially coming off screens & curls. I think he has a valuable skillset but with the depth of this roster, he needs to play with some fire and hopefully we'll see some of that when he plays for team France next month.

The body height/size thing is hard to understand because we have so few examples. We have plenty of " 6'9" " guys at various weights and playing in various styles, so we can make decent stabs at thinking, eg, Zion should shed a few pounds. Once you go over " 7'1" " everything becomes extremely murky.

Sabonis, for example, had huge problems - a lot attributable to his team rushing him back from injury/surgery in his mid-late 20s (Russia national team/his team in Lithuania) - but nevertheless played at least somewhat effectively as a pro (even in the NBA) until his late, late 30s.

A crude take away might be that: if you aren't completely broken then even as a hobbled 30+ year old 7'3" you are of real value. (If you were a good player to start with.)

There is (and always was) a seemingly high risk factor with a 7'3" player. And maybe the biomechanics of KP's jump and/or leg movement on his shot before he was injured were tells that some injury was inevitable. But the upside/ceiling ... my god. Do we really think Julius Randle (who I like as a player and think a good signing on a good contract) has anything close? You compare him to AD .. fine .. but an AD 3"+ taller and who shoots 3pters at 40%.

[ I'm (again ) not interested in engaging in the MSG-PR stuff about who wanted who out of where .. so let's just leave that alone. ]

For Frank: I'm eternally optimistic, because he understands how to play (including in the NBA). Now, whether any coach for the NYK, or the FO for the NYK, understands how to play is a pretty moot subject as of right now. So, maybe they will also discard him. And his minutes will go to black-flock-of-seagulls or Kadeem-almost-played-my-way-out-of-the-G-league-Allen. In which case :shrug:

[Cookies4Life]

Kind of ticks me off that KP and his bro were such jerks because we could easily have one of the best defenses in the league between he, Mitch, and Frank along with the two way role players that we signed. Though it was probably for the best because I have no faith in his body being able to hold up long term (See Big Z, Sabonis, and Yao for reference).

All of those guys were much heavier than Kristaps. I don't really care about KP anymore but he has an unusual body frame for a guy his size. I'd say Anthony Davis is probably his best comparison from a frame standpoint.

It would've been wonderful if he was still on this squad, I think him and MItchell would've been a nightmare duo defensively with Frank patrolling the perimeter. Anyway he didn't want to be here and we received a pretty good haul considering the ultimatum he put on management right before the trade deadline.

I actually like DSJ and think he has the room to develop into a solid player but I root for him even harder knowing he was a key piece in that trade. I still think his game would work very well with Frank in the backcourt but I also love the idea of pairing Frank with RJ.

Frank needs to show out in training camp and play as aggressively as he can. It looks like he worked on his handles and his jumpshot a lot this summer- especially coming off screens & curls. I think he has a valuable skillset but with the depth of this roster, he needs to play with some fire and hopefully we'll see some of that when he plays for team France next month.

The body height/size thing is hard to understand because we have so few examples. We have plenty of " 6'9" " guys at various weights and playing in various styles, so we can make decent stabs at thinking, eg, Zion should shed a few pounds. Once you go over " 7'1" " everything becomes extremely murky.

Sabonis, for example, had huge problems - a lot attributable to his team rushing him back from injury/surgery in his mid-late 20s (Russia national team/his team in Lithuania) - but nevertheless played at least somewhat effectively as a pro (even in the NBA) until his late, late 30s.

A crude take away might be that: if you aren't completely broken then even as a hobbled 30+ year old 7'3" you are of real value. (If you were a good player to start with.)

There is (and always was) a seemingly high risk factor with a 7'3" player. And maybe the biomechanics of KP's jump and/or leg movement on his shot before he was injured were tells that some injury was inevitable. But the upside/ceiling ... my god. Do we really think Julius Randle (who I like as a player and think a good signing on a good contract) has anything close? You compare him to AD .. fine .. but an AD 3"+ taller and who shoots 3pters at 40%.

[ I'm (again ) not interested in engaging in the MSG-PR stuff about who wanted who out of where .. so let's just leave that alone. ]

For Frank: I'm eternally optimistic, because he understands how to play (including in the NBA). Now, whether any coach for the NYK, or the FO for the NYK, understands how to play is a pretty moot subject as of right now. So, maybe they will also discard him. And his minutes will go to black-flock-of-seagulls or Kadeem-almost-played-my-way-out-of-the-G-league-Allen. In which case :shrug:

Excellent post. My initial response was more along the line of KP being much lighter weight-wise in comparison to those other players mentioned. Most NBA players are outliers as far as height is concerned so there will always be worries on putting so much stress on their weight bearing joints in their lower extremities (hip/knees/ankles in specific.) That goes up exponentially when you're dealing with guys that are much heavier in weight.

Sabonis' prime was a bit before I started watching basketball and I know he used to be a pretty good athlete prior to his knee issues but he always on the heavier side, as was Zydrunas and Ming. All 3 of those men mentioned as examples by the initial poster were at least 40-50 pounds heavier than where KP currently is.

I do agree that once you're above 7 feet tall things do get murky as far as long term health. These guys are running on average 3-5 miles per game and that's not including practices and offseason workouts. It puts a heavy level of stress on their weight bearing joints so trying to predict Kristaps' long term health is difficult at this juncture especially with his injury history since his rookie season.

I'm pretty sure he hasn't played 60 games yet for any season in the league (I would have to double check.) I agree it's probably best to leave the MSG-PR stuff out since no one definitively knows what occurred in that fiasco aside from KP and the FO.

[Polk377]

Not everyone has to score on the offensive end to have an impact. He is a very good facilitator who gets others involved. A zero is someone who can't handle the ball, unwilling passer who shoots and misses everything.

A zero is Roberson. Can't dribble, pass and won't even attempt a shot. If he gets fouled he's worse than Ben Wallace. Frank is a better shooter, dribbler, passer and free throw shooter than Roberson.

Right. Frank has shown he has skills to become really good. He was a deer in headlights in a new basketball world his rookie season and injured half of his 2nd. Even the greatest of Frank Bandwagon supporters knew it would take him a few years to develop into the player he can be. The fundamentals are there, the defense is there, the passing and handles are there. The only thing left is the shot and in practice it is smooth and repetitive. This kid needs to be a focus for this franchise.

[B8RcDeMktfxC]

All of those guys were much heavier than Kristaps. I don't really care about KP anymore but he has an unusual body frame for a guy his size. I'd say Anthony Davis is probably his best comparison from a frame standpoint.

It would've been wonderful if he was still on this squad, I think him and MItchell would've been a nightmare duo defensively with Frank patrolling the perimeter. Anyway he didn't want to be here and we received a pretty good haul considering the ultimatum he put on management right before the trade deadline.

I actually like DSJ and think he has the room to develop into a solid player but I root for him even harder knowing he was a key piece in that trade. I still think his game would work very well with Frank in the backcourt but I also love the idea of pairing Frank with RJ.

Frank needs to show out in training camp and play as aggressively as he can. It looks like he worked on his handles and his jumpshot a lot this summer- especially coming off screens & curls. I think he has a valuable skillset but with the depth of this roster, he needs to play with some fire and hopefully we'll see some of that when he plays for team France next month.

The body height/size thing is hard to understand because we have so few examples. We have plenty of " 6'9" " guys at various weights and playing in various styles, so we can make decent stabs at thinking, eg, Zion should shed a few pounds. Once you go over " 7'1" " everything becomes extremely murky.

Sabonis, for example, had huge problems - a lot attributable to his team rushing him back from injury/surgery in his mid-late 20s (Russia national team/his team in Lithuania) - but nevertheless played at least somewhat effectively as a pro (even in the NBA) until his late, late 30s.

A crude take away might be that: if you aren't completely broken then even as a hobbled 30+ year old 7'3" you are of real value. (If you were a good player to start with.)

There is (and always was) a seemingly high risk factor with a 7'3" player. And maybe the biomechanics of KP's jump and/or leg movement on his shot before he was injured were tells that some injury was inevitable. But the upside/ceiling ... my god. Do we really think Julius Randle (who I like as a player and think a good signing on a good contract) has anything close? You compare him to AD .. fine .. but an AD 3"+ taller and who shoots 3pters at 40%.

[ I'm (again ) not interested in engaging in the MSG-PR stuff about who wanted who out of where .. so let's just leave that alone. ]

For Frank: I'm eternally optimistic, because he understands how to play (including in the NBA). Now, whether any coach for the NYK, or the FO for the NYK, understands how to play is a pretty moot subject as of right now. So, maybe they will also discard him. And his minutes will go to black-flock-of-seagulls or Kadeem-almost-played-my-way-out-of-the-G-league-Allen. In which case :shrug:

Excellent post. My initial response was more along the line of KP being much lighter weight-wise in comparison to those other players mentioned. Most NBA players are outliers as far as height is concerned so there will always be worries on putting so much stress on their weight bearing joints in their lower extremities (hip/knees/ankles in specific.) That goes up exponentially when you're dealing with guys that are much heavier in weight.

Sabonis' prime was a bit before I started watching basketball and I know he used to be a pretty good athlete prior to his knee issues but he always on the heavier side, as was Zydrunas and Ming. All 3 of those men mentioned as examples by the initial poster were at least 40-50 pounds heavier than where KP currently is.

I do agree that once you're above 7 feet tall things do get murky as far as long term health. These guys are running on average 3-5 miles per game and that's not including practices and offseason workouts. It puts a heavy level of stress on their weight bearing joints so trying to predict Kristaps' long term health is difficult at this juncture especially with his injury history since his rookie season.

I'm pretty sure he hasn't played 60 games yet for any season in the league (I would have to double check.) I agree it's probably best to leave the MSG-PR stuff out since no one definitively knows what occurred in that fiasco aside from KP and the FO.

Actually KP played 72 games his first year, 66 in the second and played 48 out of 55 up to getting hurt in his third year - so on schedule for around 72 games again.

I agree about the weight/frame question. Maybe Rick Smits or Ralph Sampson would be closer models? But both of them had extensive injury problems. So, yes, one has to be wary.

[DrCoach]

I hope Frank stays but I expect Perry to move him for a pick or young player

He’s a great defender, you need elite guys like that. Just has to get 3pt up, if he isn’t gonna be a PG