nyvector16 wrote:When you have a player like Brunson, you don't need anyone to play the Hero and dominate the ball and limit the offensive flow.
The calming effect Brunson has had on Randle is palpable, he is not forcing like he did last year and letting the game come to him.
Everyone is doing their part by playing hard, with purpose, and trusting each other.
This is a much more complete team with Brunson.

I really liked the postgame interview where he would not celebrate the win and indicated it was a good start but they have to keep improving... He has a terrific attitude

I can't wait to see how the chemistry, culture, and players develop this season.
What a great Free Agency signing, probably one of the best the team ever made...

In terms of free agent signings, Amare is the most memorable because he was already a superstar, but obviously his major impact was really short-lived. The Brunson signing is very comparable to Allan Houston as far as adding a younger player who is sort of just turning the corner of a breakout and fits the culture the Knicks are trying to accomplish so well.

Knixkik wrote:

nyvector16 wrote:When you have a player like Brunson, you don't need anyone to play the Hero and dominate the ball and limit the offensive flow.
The calming effect Brunson has had on Randle is palpable, he is not forcing like he did last year and letting the game come to him.
Everyone is doing their part by playing hard, with purpose, and trusting each other.
This is a much more complete team with Brunson.

I really liked the postgame interview where he would not celebrate the win and indicated it was a good start but they have to keep improving... He has a terrific attitude

I can't wait to see how the chemistry, culture, and players develop this season.
What a great Free Agency signing, probably one of the best the team ever made...

In terms of free agent signings, Amare is the most memorable because he was already a superstar, but obviously his major impact was really short-lived. The Brunson signing is very comparable to Allan Houston as far as adding a younger player who is sort of just turning the corner of a breakout and fits the culture the Knicks are trying to accomplish so well.

he is much better than I thought he was, I am happy he is here, I really like his brand of ball. In today's NBA, PGs are all pretty much score first... I kinda hate it. He is a throwback and I am about that

fishmike wrote:not our BEST player... sorry to say that is still Randle.

However, there isnt much talent separation between our main 4 guys (contract wise) are the core of our team and that's Mitch/Randle/RJ/Brunson. That is also not a bad thing, in fact I think it ends up being the strength of the team. They are all signed long term and you can already see them playing for each other. We have already seen Mitch get more post ups in 2 games than the prior 3 years. Brunson and Randle are already making sick passers to cutters in the half court. There is a much different attitude this year and its very positive.

Back to Brunson... not our best player but easily one of the highest IQ players in the league. What that means is he's really going to elevate guys around him because he's always making the right play. Randle/RJ are the best all around players on the roster, but their scoring is not EFF% enough and either that improves OR you get help. Hopefully we get both, as Brunson and IHart are massive offensive upgrades from last year and we already see them taking pressure of RJ/Randle to get a volume of shots off.

Brunson is also a perfect fit for Thibs. Those core 4 guys and Thibs all look like great fits. Honestly that group should win a lot of regular season games because we are good and deep and will defend every night. Still need a star wing, but I think we have the making of a good and deep team in the 45-50 win range with plenty of upside from young players and chemistry. Extra future draft assets are great also.

Randle is our most talented but I feel like replacing him with Toppin wouldn’t leave much regression. Replacing Brunson with any other stopgap PG would leave a huge hole on this team as we have seen last year. I do agree about needing to find an elite wing at some point.

fishmike wrote:not our BEST player... sorry to say that is still Randle.

However, there isnt much talent separation between our main 4 guys (contract wise) are the core of our team and that's Mitch/Randle/RJ/Brunson. That is also not a bad thing, in fact I think it ends up being the strength of the team. They are all signed long term and you can already see them playing for each other. We have already seen Mitch get more post ups in 2 games than the prior 3 years. Brunson and Randle are already making sick passers to cutters in the half court. There is a much different attitude this year and its very positive.

Back to Brunson... not our best player but easily one of the highest IQ players in the league. What that means is he's really going to elevate guys around him because he's always making the right play. Randle/RJ are the best all around players on the roster, but their scoring is not EFF% enough and either that improves OR you get help. Hopefully we get both, as Brunson and IHart are massive offensive upgrades from last year and we already see them taking pressure of RJ/Randle to get a volume of shots off.

Brunson is also a perfect fit for Thibs. Those core 4 guys and Thibs all look like great fits. Honestly that group should win a lot of regular season games because we are good and deep and will defend every night. Still need a star wing, but I think we have the making of a good and deep team in the 45-50 win range with plenty of upside from young players and chemistry. Extra future draft assets are great also.

I think this sums it up pretty good. Knicks need a high level player that just can get his own. Hardest type of player to get but there it is. Your reference to Toronto pre-Kawhi is spot on.