For as bad as we are projected I think everyone is sleeping on the Mitch, RJ and Toppin trio. If Kenny Payne is as good as everyone says we are going to take a big jump this year. Add one more difference maker in next years lottery and we should be able to grab real free agents

MS wrote:More encouraging is Toppin texting Quickley after the draft saying “Let’s turn this thing around” and both of them putting in the work immediately.

For as bad as we are projected I think everyone is sleeping on the Mitch, RJ and Toppin trio. If Kenny Payne is as good as everyone says we are going to take a big jump this year. Add one more difference maker in next years lottery and we should be able to grab real free agents

Hopefully Johnny Bryant will have the same impact with the knicks small guys. Im hoping Frank and DSJ takes a huge step forward as well.

KnickDanger wrote:

Jimbo5 wrote:

MS wrote:More encouraging is Toppin texting Quickley after the draft saying “Let’s turn this thing around” and both of them putting in the work immediately.

For as bad as we are projected I think everyone is sleeping on the Mitch, RJ and Toppin trio. If Kenny Payne is as good as everyone says we are going to take a big jump this year. Add one more difference maker in next years lottery and we should be able to grab real free agents

Hopefully Johnny Bryant will have the same impact with the knicks small guys. Im hoping Frank and DSJ takes a huge step forward as well.

They're sleeping on Frank also. I have all faith in him except for that goddamn groin.

there's like 8 other guards on the roster, you should just be hoping anyone of them level up

1) we still have the ability to trade for Westbrook or Wall

2) Randle s still on the roster- we all saw him freeze out RJ, will he now also see Toppin as a threat and try to over compensate (at least they won't be playing together)

technomaster wrote:Encouraging seeing the progress that AD has made... and crediting it all back to KP. Let's see what he can do with our players.

So compared to the start of last season we've jettisoned Fizdale/staff and have replaced him with a more experienced staff led by Thibs.

I say this every year - a good coach can generally drag a bunch of meh players to close to .500. We've had some meh coaches (perhaps Mike Miller aside!), but Thibs is about as good as it gets in the league in terms of regular season coaches.

(With all that said, our talent level is currently below-meh.)

kind of like saying, the talent only a mother could love?

Noel/Robinson. Defensive Center. Very similar defense style. Very similar offensive style. Clearly they expect them to share minutes.
Rivers/IQ - 3&D from the guard position. With a 3 year contract on Rivers, I would expect IQ's development to take some time.
Burks/Barrett. SG/SF Offense role with a back to the basket skill set. Burks is further along with his outside shooting. Both could use work on D. I think you will see Burks subbing in for Barrett on a unit with Payton/Randle, with Payton handling the ball.
MKG/KK - Not much to talk about here. At this point, they are both reclamation projects. I would expect these two to spend a lot of time together with Kenny Payne, but I think they will be fighting for the same minutes if MKG gets a NBA contract.

Then you have DSJ and FN. Contractually, they both run afoul of any 2021 free agency play. So, you kind of have to expect them to define their roles in camp -- DSJ as a Derrick Rose type and FN as a Patrick Beverley type. They basically have to be on a short leash because I can't see either being with the Knicks past this season unless they take a pretty magical turn.

smackeddog wrote:2 things worrying me are:

1) we still have the ability to trade for Westbrook or Wall

2) Randle s still on the roster- we all saw him freeze out RJ, will he now also see Toppin as a threat and try to over compensate (at least they won't be playing together)

I’m not worried about those 2 things at all. I think Thibs cares about building towards becoming a winning team and he won’t tolerate freezing. He has a much bigger voice than Fiz and Miller combined and he’s not on the hot-seat so he’s at the mercy of nobody. This is his team until hopefully a young player like RJ or Obi are good enough to make it theirs.

I also think the Westbrook rumors are a thing of the past. They could have easily made a big offer if they really wanted Westbrook and a big offer is obviously what Houston wants. Westy is not worth it and I think the Knicks know it, thankfully.

smackeddog wrote:2 things worrying me are:

1) we still have the ability to trade for Westbrook or Wall

2) Randle s still on the roster- we all saw him freeze out RJ, will he now also see Toppin as a threat and try to over compensate (at least they won't be playing together)

1. Knicks have indicated zero interest in Wall and thank God. It also looks like Westbrook is staying in Houston for now

2. Obi needs to start over Randle

jskinny35 wrote:How old is Kenny Payne - can we sign him?

He's like 6'8". You want to add another PF to the roster?