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The Ghost of Kevin Knox continues to haunt
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TLover
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6/23/2025  12:12 PM
Besides passing on Mikal Bridges (who we gave up 5 1st rounders for) we bypassed the best player in the NBA in SGA who happened to play on the same team at Knox at Kentucky.

It is sickening how inept this franchise’s decision makers have been. Which starts with the owner.
AUTOADVERT
blkexec
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6/23/2025  12:24 PM
TLover wrote:Besides passing on Mikal Bridges (who we gave up 5 1st rounders for) we bypassed the best player in the NBA in SGA who happened to play on the same team at Knox at Kentucky.

It is sickening how inept this franchise’s decision makers have been. Which starts with the owner.

You can put all 30 plus teams as inept (every year). Since there’s always a diamond in the rough that all teams but one will pass over. Clippers passed on Kobe. How you think they feel all these years watching Kobe turn into a superstar on their same court.

Born in Brooklyn, Raised in Queens, Lives in Maryland. The future is bright, I'm a Knicks fan for life!
fwk00
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6/23/2025  1:09 PM
Yeah. Just stop with blaming the owner. Waste of breath.
SupremeCommander
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6/23/2025  1:38 PM
It blows becausea decision like this can screw your franchise for a really long time.

I chose to look at it this way though: pretty thankful for what’s in place now. Definitely not a perfect operation but feel confident something like that won’t happen for now

DLeethal wrote: Lol Rick needs a safe space
BigDaddyG
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6/23/2025  2:26 PM
I try not to dwell too much on these things. How many teams passed in Joker and Brunson? Or Quickly and MRob? Imagine how Minnesota feels taking Jarret Culver over Coby White and Tyler Herro? The best you can hope for is that your organization has a solid process in place. You win some, you lose some.
Always... always remember: Less is less. More is more. More is better and twice as much is good too. Not enough is bad, and too much is never enough except when it's just about right. - The Tick
VDesai
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6/23/2025  5:14 PM
A lot of teams messed up on SGA. The Clippers had him and miscalculated that Paul George would be better than him in a 2-3 year window (he arguably wasn't even better than SGA for any one of those years post the trade). SGA was not at the top of Kentucky's and even after a good season was considered a draft projection - very skinny, not a natural PG, needed work on his J and finishing. However they underrated his coachability and work ethic and he reached his ceiling quickly. Lots of teams made the mistake of passing on him. Luka Doncic is the only player taken ahead of him that you could say is on his level or better.

We also could say we should have taken Jalen Brunson ahead of Knox in that draft...

Not worth thinking about anymore. Anyone responsible for the decision is already gone. The best you can do for making a mistake like that is getting rid of who made the decision (and that might not even be warranted).
VDesai
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6/23/2025  5:14 PM
I mean Sacramento took Marvin Bagley 2nd. Orlando took Mo Bamba 5th. These guys might not even be better than Knox!
ekstarks94
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6/23/2025  5:18 PM
Hindsight is what it is.....when we drafted Knox, he cooked in summer league...rangy wing....good 3 pt shooter....taking the ball coast to coast and killing in summer league....

Honestly.....we whiffed but as was mentioned earlier bunch of other teams....the person I blame the most is Fizdale...

He knew we were tanking for Zion and gave Knox a shamrock green light...with zero expectations about defense, developing his strengths and shoring up his weaknesses...driving through contact(weightroom etc)

By the time Thibs got here...Knox was not a player Thibs would have given a chance to....a player with zero awareness about the fundamentals of playing cohesive organized ball....another coach probably could have pulled Knox from the deep end and rehabilitated his game and subsequently his value...
GustavBahler
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6/23/2025  6:05 PM
Thank Fizdale, he used his leverage from signing with the Knicks to push for Knox over Bridges.
Nalod
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6/23/2025  6:18 PM
and yet there we were knocking on the door to the finals this year.
All teams have that wall of regret.
Much fewer with Leon and company. Dolan hired him.
No guarantees. Shit happens.
Want to have good laugh, look at the 2020 draft class! Seriously. It's the a great example of how hard this can be.
Haliburton at 12? Look at who went before him.
Maxey at 21!!!!
Bane at 30!!!
Look at the top 10 and the misses. Remember, NCAA tournament was cancelled and the Draft was in October with few players if any got to do a workout. Toppin at 8 was not as awful as say Killian Hayes.
That draft proved to be one of the all time messed up ones.

Day after SGA is basically enshrined in HOF you bring this up?
Regret? Hell, Thank goodness PhilC's comments are brief.
Im sure my rambles are regretful for a handful here! LOL
ekstarks94
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6/23/2025  6:47 PM
The 2020 draft....is Leon(70%) & Thibs(30%)

Leon son's was Obi's agent...so he was drafting at that spot while gauging trades on Randle...we needed a point at the time....They tried to get Maxey...but IQ was the fallback

Thibs...Obi was not a Thibs player...which was Thibs problem not Obi's .....with Thibs and selecting talent is like threading the eye of the needle.
BigDaddyG
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6/23/2025  7:46 PM
ekstarks94 wrote:The 2020 draft....is Leon(70%) & Thibs(30%)

Leon son's was Obi's agent...so he was drafting at that spot while gauging trades on Randle...we needed a point at the time....They tried to get Maxey...but IQ was the fallback

Thibs...Obi was not a Thibs player...which was Thibs problem not Obi's .....with Thibs and selecting talent is like threading the eye of the needle.

I'll be honest, Obi isn't really a player for a ton of teams. Indiana is a perfect fit and they gave Obi a legitimate shot to take the starting PF spot. He couldn't take it. He's a bench player and there's nothing wrong with it. But its hard for me to lose sleep over such a flawed player.

Always... always remember: Less is less. More is more. More is better and twice as much is good too. Not enough is bad, and too much is never enough except when it's just about right. - The Tick
LivingLegend
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6/23/2025  9:14 PM
TLover wrote:Besides passing on Mikal Bridges (who we gave up 5 1st rounders for) we bypassed the best player in the NBA in SGA who happened to play on the same team at Knox at Kentucky.

It is sickening how inept this franchise’s decision makers have been. Which starts with the owner.

Kevin classic $M talent and $0.05 noggin.
TLover
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6/23/2025  11:11 PM
Agreed that relying on Fizdale (who was an empty suit) to make the call on Knox screwed us. But it was the ineptitude of Steve Mills & Dolan to bring in Fizdale thinking he could lure LeBron bc he was an assistant with the Heat. Just pure foolishness all around.
technomaster
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6/24/2025  12:03 AM
Knox's game might have worked really well in the 2010-2015 game, but became a bit outdated. I still think that, with opportunity, he could be a mid-teens type of 3rd or 4th scorer on the right team... but the game needs some playmaking.

I mean, in another time, he might have been some version of Glenn Rice or Wally Szczerbiak.

SGA has sort of a funny game - somehow the rule changes have worked in his favor... plus he learned how to shoot from long range.

I've also said this before - but the Knicks were relying heavily on Calipari's recommendation that Knox was the better player of the two.

“That was two, two from the heart.” - John Starks
GustavBahler
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6/24/2025  12:14 AM    LAST EDITED: 6/24/2025  12:16 AM
TLover wrote:Agreed that relying on Fizdale (who was an empty suit) to make the call on Knox screwed us. But it was the ineptitude of Steve Mills & Dolan to bring in Fizdale thinking he could lure LeBron bc he was an assistant with the Heat. Just pure foolishness all around.

Fizdale was considered an up and coming young coach at the time. Knicks werent the only team trying to sign him. Fizdale had a good rep, and he was connected. Time proved that he was an "empty suit". Was more about the NY nightlife, and the celebrity of being Knicks head coach.

It was a sign of good faith towards a coach who passed on other offers to come to NY. Letting Fizdale have a say in the draft was a mistake. Fizdale wanted a high risk/reward player. And Knox didnt turn out to be much of a reward.
HofstraBBall
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6/24/2025  3:28 AM
I also blame Dolan for me missing out on Bitcoin!!
Draft is a crapshoot!

Obi is a good role player. Plenty of those out there.
Randle and Siakam are much better.

'Knicks focus should be on players that have grown up playing soccer or cricket' - Triplethreat 8/28/2020
EwingsGlass
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6/24/2025  6:43 AM
ekstarks94 wrote:The 2020 draft....is Leon(70%) & Thibs(30%)

Leon son's was Obi's agent...so he was drafting at that spot while gauging trades on Randle...we needed a point at the time....They tried to get Maxey...but IQ was the fallback

Thibs...Obi was not a Thibs player...which was Thibs problem not Obi's .....with Thibs and selecting talent is like threading the eye of the needle.

I see things this way. Nothing wrong with Obi as a player. That wingspan and leaping ability are real. Perfect fit next to Hali but his lack of versatility and lack of toughness lost him his rotation spot in NY and in Indiana it let them feel comfortable trading for Siakam. In both places he was stuck behind ore rugged plays.

You know I gonna spin wit it
Nalod
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6/24/2025  9:05 AM
EwingsGlass wrote:
ekstarks94 wrote:The 2020 draft....is Leon(70%) & Thibs(30%)

Leon son's was Obi's agent...so he was drafting at that spot while gauging trades on Randle...we needed a point at the time....They tried to get Maxey...but IQ was the fallback

Thibs...Obi was not a Thibs player...which was Thibs problem not Obi's .....with Thibs and selecting talent is like threading the eye of the needle.

I see things this way. Nothing wrong with Obi as a player. That wingspan and leaping ability are real. Perfect fit next to Hali but his lack of versatility and lack of toughness lost him his rotation spot in NY and in Indiana it let them feel comfortable trading for Siakam. In both places he was stuck behind ore rugged plays.

Well said. Precious filled the Thibian role for a while better than OBI did last season when Randle was hurt and we needed him at center for a time. Again, context matters. perhaps this past season Obi having improved his handle would have added more but his defense still questionable. Obi in transitions with KATS exceptional outlet passing off rebounds could have been exceptional weapon. But did we know KAT was gonna be here? Of course not.
Internally was FO at odds with Thibs over obi? His agent? There was frustration. It's a business remember. OBI needed to be in a situation he was valued and compensated. He got that.
Hindsight no doubt gives us clarity on what happened and what could have been. But go back two seasons now when it was time to commit or not to obi, what the roster looked like that off season and what his trade value was at that moment.

Knox was one of those bordering talents that perhaps on the right team/coach could have scored a long term deal giving him the window to establish. So many players like this. Indy has done a great job with its roster. Nesmith included.
VDesai
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6/24/2025  9:09 AM
Lets see if the Pacers keep Obi. Don't think Herb Simon loves paying the luxury tax historically. If they re-sign Turner, then shedding Obi or Mathurin probably becomes a priority from a salary perspective. I would guess they'd prefer to ship Obi.
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