JR came here a problem and I still think he influenced Shump enough that eventually shump became a knucklehead too.

Knicks1969 wrote:

wargames wrote:I still hold a soft spot for A'mare. Injuries did him in as much as everything else. He was a professional in NY and always seems like a hard worker overall (for example he was asked to learn to be a better post player so he went and became a better post player).

JR came here a problem and I still think he influenced Shump enough that eventually shump became a knucklehead too.

The pairing of Carmelo and Amare was doomed to fail from the start. Those two did not complement one another, and Amare never could stay healthy. His penchant to always shoot the ball on offense never appeased me; further, his inability to defend his position was even worse. I am happy with the RoLo and KP fromt court.

I am not disagreeing with your assessment but it doesn't feel right to me to look at Amare like he was a pariah. He was here prior to Melo. The two not fitting was as much to do with bad GM'ing as anything else cause we traded a custom made team to play around A'mare full of shooters for Melo. Same for the fact they used their amnesty on Billups and we got stuck holding the bill on Amare's injuries. A'mare deserves us as knicks fans respect, even though it didn't end well with him here in NY.

They didn't play both sides of the ball, either they were a Pick and Roll specialist (Amare), 6th man spark off bench (JR), or defensive specialist (Shump). You'd always be at a deficit on 1 side of the ball anytime you played them, and none of them were great team defenders, especially Amare.

Now it seems we have a full roster of players that have "bought in" to the system. Whether it's hard cutting, forming the triangle early, playing great team defense, going over screens with gusto...the team is benefitting greatly by losing these selfish type of lackadaisical effort me first ballers.

Kudos Phil!

Then you look at the Jr Smith and Shump deal to the Cavs, it brought us Lance Thomas and it opened up more capspace. Galloway got more playing time and has become a decent investment.

Even the Hardaway deal for a young draft pick in Grant - something to balance the roster and give potential for the future.

We've gone from being an old, declining, no defense, me first selfish playing team that was missing the playoffs (when Phil got the team in summer 2014 that's what we were) into a younger, improving, defending, sharing team that's playing .500 ball with potential to keep improving through improvement of younger players like Porzingis, Williams, Thomas, Galloway and Grant. And somehow along the way we've got Melo to buy in to playing team ball while he has NO all-star teammates (Porzingis is close, but not there yet). Melo wasn't playing team ball like this when he had great teammates in Denver or early days in NY. Yet he is now with lesser talent than those situations.

Truly remarkable what's going on in NY. All while the most important aspect of improving outside of Porzingis improvement as a player is that Phil has lined up capspace in 2016 and 2017. We're in position to pursue some top quality all-star free agents, or keep signing quality proven veteran support players. There can still be massive improvement with free agent additions, and Porzingis (Grant, DWill, Thomas, Galloway as well) improving in the next 1-2 years.

He won't win it, but he should be in line for executive of the year for the job he's done. He's completely re-structured NY Knicks basketball into something cohesive and that looks respectable.

nyknickzingis wrote:If you look back at all the criticism Phil got for trading Chandler even, it all had a purpose. He knew Tyson's defensive impact but wanted a guy in Calderon who would help team chemistry and improve ball movement. He wanted to sign a younger Center to a contract as Tyson would be getting another massive contract within a year. You look at Tyson Chandler right now in Pheonix, does anyone want that guy in New York making as much as he is? RLopez + Calderon > Tyson. And if we keep Tyson we likely win more games last year and don't get ourselves in position to draft someone like Porzingis.

Then you look at the Jr Smith and Shump deal to the Cavs, it brought us Lance Thomas and it opened up more capspace. Galloway got more playing time and has become a decent investment.

Even the Hardaway deal for a young draft pick in Grant - something to balance the roster and give potential for the future.

We've gone from being an old, declining, no defense, me first selfish playing team that was missing the playoffs (when Phil got the team in summer 2014 that's what we were) into a younger, improving, defending, sharing team that's playing .500 ball with potential to keep improving through improvement of younger players like Porzingis, Williams, Thomas, Galloway and Grant. And somehow along the way we've got Melo to buy in to playing team ball while he has NO all-star teammates (Porzingis is close, but not there yet). Melo wasn't playing team ball like this when he had great teammates in Denver or early days in NY. Yet he is now with lesser talent than those situations.

Truly remarkable what's going on in NY. All while the most important aspect of improving outside of Porzingis improvement as a player is that Phil has lined up capspace in 2016 and 2017. We're in position to pursue some top quality all-star free agents, or keep signing quality proven veteran support players. There can still be massive improvement with free agent additions, and Porzingis (Grant, DWill, Thomas, Galloway as well) improving in the next 1-2 years.

He won't win it, but he should be in line for executive of the year for the job he's done. He's completely re-structured NY Knicks basketball into something cohesive and that looks respectable.

Phil is a few moves ahead of us in the chess game that is the knicks. while Im not sure we tanked on purpose but for every negative action there is a benefit and if we got lucky with KP, it was preparation and opportunity that created that luck. Phil will lose the battle to win the war.

wargames wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

wargames wrote:I still hold a soft spot for A'mare. Injuries did him in as much as everything else. He was a professional in NY and always seems like a hard worker overall (for example he was asked to learn to be a better post player so he went and became a better post player).

JR came here a problem and I still think he influenced Shump enough that eventually shump became a knucklehead too.

The pairing of Carmelo and Amare was doomed to fail from the start. Those two did not complement one another, and Amare never could stay healthy. His penchant to always shoot the ball on offense never appeased me; further, his inability to defend his position was even worse. I am happy with the RoLo and KP fromt court.

I am not disagreeing with your assessment but it doesn't feel right to me to look at Amare like he was a pariah. He was here prior to Melo. The two not fitting was as much to do with bad GM'ing as anything else cause we traded a custom made team to play around A'mare full of shooters for Melo. Same for the fact they used their amnesty on Billups and we got stuck holding the bill on Amare's injuries. A'mare deserves us as knicks fans respect, even though it didn't end well with him here in NY.

As much as I admired Amer'e's coming to New York, and taking that team to the playoffs, his inability to play defense was abysmal. Oh, he might get a weak side block now and then, but he simply didn't have a clue. Unless Pat the Rat is saving him for a playoffs surprise weapon, his end is a inglorious one. After JR's statement about partying too much prevented him from giving his best effort, he's dead to me. And it looks like Shumpert will never live up to his potential. A little Lance Thomas dedication to his craft over the off season would make a world of difference. And lest we forget; good riddance to "Flu" Tyson while we're cleaning house. I can't say I miss ANY of them.

Jmpasq wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:I will even throw THJ in there as well. We are now a both sides of the ball type of team; most of all, our guys love to share the ball. We probably need one more player to truly be a contender, but I trust that Phil will soon add that guy on the roster. Gone goes bad IQ plays, thanks to the absence of the aforementioned players.

Lance is playing his heart out
KP is a star
Aflalo is bringing it and stabilizing our SG spot
Carmelo is finally earning his superstar stripe
RoLo is solidifying the front court; and our bench is looking decent.

I hope Williams finally gets it as an athlete before the end of the season; I further hope that Grant and Gallo can continue to develop.

A max player Guard this team wins 50

Not any type of max player, that dude needs to be able to play both sides of the ball. I want Rondo, but don't foresee it happening

Knicks1969 wrote:

Jmpasq wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:I will even throw THJ in there as well. We are now a both sides of the ball type of team; most of all, our guys love to share the ball. We probably need one more player to truly be a contender, but I trust that Phil will soon add that guy on the roster. Gone goes bad IQ plays, thanks to the absence of the aforementioned players.

Lance is playing his heart out
KP is a star
Aflalo is bringing it and stabilizing our SG spot
Carmelo is finally earning his superstar stripe
RoLo is solidifying the front court; and our bench is looking decent.

I hope Williams finally gets it as an athlete before the end of the season; I further hope that Grant and Gallo can continue to develop.

A max player Guard this team wins 50

Not any type of max player, that dude needs to be able to play both sides of the ball. I want Rondo, but don't foresee it happening

which Rondo do you want on the team? The Rondo that has an all-world C on the team but is still 15-22 in a weaker Western Conference? Or the Rondo that was on the Dallas team and quit? Or the Rondo that had been injured for like 4 years in a row on the Boston squad?