Chandler wrote:

fitzfarm wrote:Speaking of Kat did you guys see the interview/ podcast where Kat said he’d be willing to take a JB like discount 100m to keep the core together.

That was awesome to hear

I’ve been saying for a looooong time money has marginal utility. These guys are already at generational wealth and the smart ones are asking the right questions like “you can’t buy anything that brings the joys of winning”

I hope they do what KAT says and all get together and figure it out.

Just deposit money in an offshore account in the Caymans or Switzerland. Kraft did that for years with Brady.

Alpha1971 wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Knicks only one 53 games last year and as someone already said Landry was really the only guy off the bench who made a sizeable impact for the playoff run. I don’t see why we can’t retool the bench and win more games and match bench success in the playoffs next year. Whether we win again or not is not really gonna be hinged on the bench.

That was me.

We went on our epic playoff run because of our starters and Shamet.

Everyone else on the roster played a provisional role at various moments, but nobody else was consistently a core element of the giant uptick in production after Game 4 in the ATL series.

The ability to repeat is going to hinge on the starting five's continued harmonization more than anything else. Considering how the team didn't truly click until the playoffs, there is reason to believe they can continue to learn more about how to play off each other to actually improve as a starting unit.

There is continued upside to the starters, particularly KAT and OG who have evolved the most this season and may not be done doing so.

The ability to retool by moving the pipeline players into the rotation and drafting well should strengthen the team while managing cap considerations.

If MO, McCullars, Kolek and maybe Dadiet deliver on their potential they are collectively a step up from Clarkson, Alvarado and Deuce as whole.

Mitch and Shamet are to me the only question marks. Everyone else can be replaced with our pipeline and the draft.

Mitch can be replaced. I'd like him to stay, but if re-signing him makes it hard to sign Mo and Shamet than I'd draft bigs and let him go. Maybe Huk stays as part of the Center depth.

Shamet is the one bench player I'd priortize retaining. The guy is a winner.

And Diawara is the one young player you have to figure out how to retain due to his potential all-star talent.

If it came down to Diawara vs. Shamet, I'd have to prioritize locking down Mo. His upside is that big.

I completely agree. Shamet is most replaceable. Mitch is a difference maker, a guy we can throw on the top tier Cs in the league and a weapon off the bench nobody else has. You’d like the keep him and draft a reserve that’s better than Hukporti. But fact is Mitch barely contributed to a championship run. That shows we don’t NEED him to be successful.

Mo is the guy we can’t lose. His ceiling is too high and he brings a rare element and loads of lineup flexibility if he becomes an every night guy off the bench. He’s also a piece that can keep us contending past the 2 year window if he pans out.

We can’t lose Mo for sure. He offers the wide range of outcomes and upside. As far as Mitch vs Shamet, I hate to say I’d probably prefer to keep shamet if I had to choose. He’s going to be cheaper. And he’s proven that he can play big minutes in the playoffs. For all of Mitch’s unique talent, it’s hard to play him more than 15 mpg due to the intentional fouling. He just can’t stay on the floor. Shamet can play 30 mpg in a finals game. Mitch can’t. But even so, I want to keep everyone.

contractually we are limited to what we can offer MO. Mo if offered more then what we are allowed to offer would have to choose to take less to remain. Let's hope the glow of the championship, team friendships, and promise of continued development behind OG and Hart helps him choose to remain.

Knicks can match any offer. Max a team can offer Mo is the full mid level of $15mil. But that would be insane for a team to offer that. Especially in this salary cap environment.

Panos wrote:

Player (85) 	 	Pos 	Age 	YOE 	Prev  	Prev AAV 	Type
LeBron James 	 	PF 	41.4 	23 	LAL 	$50,677,999 	UFA / Bird
Trae Young 	 	PG 	27.7 	8 	WAS 	$43,031,940 	UFA / Bird
C.J. McCollum 	 	SG 	34.7 	13 	ATL 	$32,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Khris Middleton 	SF 	34.8 	14 	DAL 	$31,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kristaps Porzingis 	PF 	30.8 	10 	GSW 	$30,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Tobias Harris 	 	PF 	33.9 	15 	DET 	$26,000,000 	UFA / Early Bird
Anfernee Simons 	SG 	27.0 	8 	CHI 	$25,000,000 	UFA / Bird
John Collins 	 	PF 	28.7 	9 	LAC 	$25,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Nikola Vucevic 	 	C 	35.6 	15 	BOS 	$20,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Norman Powell 	 	SG 	33.0 	11 	MIA 	$18,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Harrison Barnes 	PF 	34.0 	14 	SAS 	$18,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Collin Sexton 	 	PG 	27.4 	8 	CHI 	$17,737,500 	UFA / Bird
Jusuf Nurkic 	 	C 	31.8 	12 	UTA 	$17,500,000 	UFA / Bird
Zach Collins 	 	C 	28.5 	9 	CHI 	$17,410,848 	UFA / Bird
Rui Hachimura 	 	PF 	28.3 	7 	LAL 	$17,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kevin Huerter 	 	SG 	27.8 	8 	DET 	$16,250,000 	UFA / Bird
Mitchell Robinson 	C 	28.2 	8 	NYK 	$15,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kelly Olynyk 	 	PF 	35.1 	13 	SAS 	$13,125,000 	UFA / Bird
Coby White 	 	PG 	26.3 	6 	CHA 	$12,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Robert Williams III 	C 	28.7 	8 	POR 	$12,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Matisse Thybulle 	SG 	29.2 	7 	POR 	$11,025,000 	UFA / Bird
Luke Kennard 	 	SG 	29.9 	9 	LAL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Non-Bird
Maxi Kleber 	 	PF 	34.3 	9 	LAL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Moritz Wagner 	 	C 	29.1 	8 	ORL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Gabe Vincent 	 	PG 	30.0 	7 	ATL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Quentin Grimes 	 	SG 	26.1 	5 	PHI 	$8,741,209 	UFA / Bird
Kelly Oubre Jr. 	SF 	30.5 	11 	PHI 	$8,182,575 	UFA / Bird
Simone Fontecchio 	SF 	30.5 	4 	MIA 	$8,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Ayo Dosunmu 	 	PG 	26.4 	5 	MIN 	$7,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Dean Wade 	 	PF 	29.5 	7 	CLE 	$6,166,667 	UFA / Bird
Jett Howard 	 	SG 	22.8 	3 	ORL 	$5,793,195 	UFA / Bird
Guerschon Yabusele 	PF 	30.5 	4 	CHI 	$5,637,500 	UFA / Non-Bird
Nick Richards 	 	C 	28.5 	6 	CHI 	$5,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Andre Drummond 	 	C 	32.8 	14 	PHI 	$5,000,000 	UFA / Early Bird
Aaron Holiday 	 	PG 	29.7 	8 	HOU 	$4,784,700 	UFA / Bird
Dwight Powell 	 	C 	34.8 	12 	DAL 	$4,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kevin Love 	 	C 	37.8 	18 	UTA 	$4,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kyle Lowry 	 	PG 	40.2 	20 	PHI 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Tim Hardaway Jr. 	SG 	34.2 	13 	DEN 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Garrett Temple 	 	SG 	40.1 	16 	TOR 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Bird
Jordan Clarkson 	SG 	34.0 	12 	NYK 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Joe Ingles 	 	SF 	38.7 	12 	MIN 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Larry Nance Jr. 	PF 	33.4 	11 	CLE 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Doug McDermott 	 	SF 	34.4 	12 	SAC 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Jeff Green 	 	PF 	39.8 	19 	HOU 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Bird
Bismack Biyombo 	C 	33.8 	15 	SAS 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
DeAndre Jordan 	 	C 	37.8 	18 	NOP 	$3,571,495 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jaxson Hayes 	 	C 	26.0 	7 	LAL 	$3,449,323 	UFA / Bird
Russell Westbrook 	PG 	37.6 	18 	SAC 	$3,386,366 	UFA / Non-Bird
Gary Payton II 	 	PG 	33.5 	10 	GSW 	$3,303,774 	UFA / Bird
Thomas Bryant 	 	C 	28.8 	9 	CLE 	$3,287,409 	UFA / Non-Bird
MarJon Beauchamp 	SG 	25.7 	4 	PHI 	$3,152,399 	UFA / Non-Bird
Drew Eubanks 	 	C 	29.3 	8 	SAC 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Marvin Bagley III 	PF 	27.2 	8 	DAL 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Bruce Brown Jr. 	SG 	29.8 	8 	DEN 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Josh Okogie 	 	SG 	27.8 	8 	HOU 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Landry Shamet 	 	SG 	29.2 	8 	NYK 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Bird
Jordan McLaughlin 	PG 	30.2 	7 	SAS 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Early Bird
Amir Coffey 	 	SG 	29.0 	7 	PHX 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Non-Bird
Javonte Green 	 	SG 	32.8 	7 	DET 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Non-Bird
Seth Curry 	 	SG 	35.8 	13 	GSW 	$2,777,830 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jae’Sean Tate 	 	SF 	30.6 	6 	HOU 	$2,667,947 	UFA / Bird
Anthony Gill 	 	PF 	33.7 	6 	WAS 	$2,667,947 	UFA / Bird
Jock Landale 	 	C 	30.6 	5 	ATL 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Non-Bird
Nah'Shon Hyland 	PG 	25.8 	5 	MIN 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Early Bird
Lindy Waters III 	SF 	28.8 	5 	SAS 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Non-Bird
Precious Achiuwa 	PF 	26.7 	6 	SAC 	$2,453,285 	UFA / Non-Bird
Xavier Tillman 	 	C 	27.4 	5 	CHA 	$2,392,183 	UFA / Bird
Blake Wesley 	 	SG 	23.2 	4 	POR 	$2,378,870 	UFA / Non-Bird
Collin Gillespie 	PG 	26.9 	4 	PHX 	$2,378,870 	UFA / Early Bird
Bryce McGowens 	 	SG 	23.6 	4 	NOP 	$2,081,293 	UFA / Non-Bird
Keon Ellis 	 	SF 	26.4 	4 	CLE 	$1,701,903 	UFA / Bird
Olivier-Maxence Prosper PF 	23.9 	3 	MEM 	$1,512,846 	UFA / Early Bird
Jordan Goodwin 	 	PG 	27.6 	5 	PHX 	$1,286,648 	UFA / Early Bird
Jevon Carter 	 	PG 	30.8 	8 	ORL 	$1,168,625 	UFA / Non-Bird
Brandon Williams 	PG 	26.5 	4 	DAL 	$1,159,362 	UFA / Bird
Mike Conley 	 	PG 	38.7 	19 	MIN 	$1,148,727 	UFA / Non-Bird
Mason Plumlee 	 	C 	36.2 	13 	SAS 	$939,867 	UFA / Non-Bird
Cameron Thomas 	 	SG 	24.7 	5 	MIL 	$905,366 	UFA / Non-Bird
Kyle Anderson 	 	PF 	32.7 	12 	MIN 	$898,095 	UFA / Non-Bird
Tyus Jones 	 	PG 	30.1 	11 	DEN 	$814,552 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jeremy Sochan 	 	PF 	23.0 	4 	NYK 	$806,628 	UFA / Non-Bird
A.J. Lawson 	 	F 	25.9 	4 	TOR 	$27,343 	UFA / Non-Bird
Tony Bradley 	 	C 	28.4 	8 	ATL 	$17,706 	UFA / Non-Bird
Charles Bassey 	 	C 	25.6 	5 	GSW 	$14,146 	UFA / Non-Bird

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/available/_/year/2026/type/ufa

Here are some names that stand out to me:
Guards: Coby White, Gary Payton II, Bruce Brown, Seth Curry, Tyus Jones, Quentin Grimes(?)
Front Court: Larry Nance Jr., Joe Ingles, Precious, Jusuf Nurkic, Nick Richards

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/richani01.html

"Richards, specifically, seemed to have been brought to Chicago at the NBA Trade Deadline to give Josh Giddey and Buzelis the experience of playing with a rim-running, shot blocking big man. The issue with that was that Richards, while being the archetype I described, is not a very effective version of that archetype. Richards is a rim-runner, but has a world of trouble holding on to passes. He possesses solid athleticism and can clearly block shots (1.4 blocks per 36 minutes over the 2025-26 season), yet per Cleaning The Glass, the Chicago defense was 1.2 points per possession worse with Richards on the floor. Richards goes for blocks, but doesn't do a great job of keeping active bigs off of the offensive glass. In layman's terms, opponents know they have opportunities for second-chance points when Richards is on the floor."

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/likely-chicago-bulls-target-walker-214705271.html

*******

Panos,
Good list. Thank you for posting it.
Out of the big men who are in the bargain bin section, which individual do you think can help the Knicks this upcoming season? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it.

I also added some information on Nick Richards, who can give the Knicks some shot blocking and rim running. Richards market range is probably 3/18 and if the market for big man heats up, maybe 3/20. If he wants to play for a contender, then he's likely going to get a little less than the Tax Payers MLE. The salary range won't shift much, but the amount of years on the contract will waver then. Of course teams in the Apron zones will have to ask themselves if the want to be hardcapped for Richards.

IMHO, Richards is the kind of player that Mike Brown can make better on defense. I would not rely on the counting stats for the hopeful double doubles potential though, as moving from a non contender to a contender changes that dynamic quite a bit. Can Brown make Richards more effective in one season is the more critical question though.

TripleThreat wrote:

Panos wrote:

Player (85) 	 	Pos 	Age 	YOE 	Prev  	Prev AAV 	Type
LeBron James 	 	PF 	41.4 	23 	LAL 	$50,677,999 	UFA / Bird
Trae Young 	 	PG 	27.7 	8 	WAS 	$43,031,940 	UFA / Bird
C.J. McCollum 	 	SG 	34.7 	13 	ATL 	$32,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Khris Middleton 	SF 	34.8 	14 	DAL 	$31,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kristaps Porzingis 	PF 	30.8 	10 	GSW 	$30,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Tobias Harris 	 	PF 	33.9 	15 	DET 	$26,000,000 	UFA / Early Bird
Anfernee Simons 	SG 	27.0 	8 	CHI 	$25,000,000 	UFA / Bird
John Collins 	 	PF 	28.7 	9 	LAC 	$25,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Nikola Vucevic 	 	C 	35.6 	15 	BOS 	$20,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Norman Powell 	 	SG 	33.0 	11 	MIA 	$18,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Harrison Barnes 	PF 	34.0 	14 	SAS 	$18,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Collin Sexton 	 	PG 	27.4 	8 	CHI 	$17,737,500 	UFA / Bird
Jusuf Nurkic 	 	C 	31.8 	12 	UTA 	$17,500,000 	UFA / Bird
Zach Collins 	 	C 	28.5 	9 	CHI 	$17,410,848 	UFA / Bird
Rui Hachimura 	 	PF 	28.3 	7 	LAL 	$17,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kevin Huerter 	 	SG 	27.8 	8 	DET 	$16,250,000 	UFA / Bird
Mitchell Robinson 	C 	28.2 	8 	NYK 	$15,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kelly Olynyk 	 	PF 	35.1 	13 	SAS 	$13,125,000 	UFA / Bird
Coby White 	 	PG 	26.3 	6 	CHA 	$12,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Robert Williams III 	C 	28.7 	8 	POR 	$12,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Matisse Thybulle 	SG 	29.2 	7 	POR 	$11,025,000 	UFA / Bird
Luke Kennard 	 	SG 	29.9 	9 	LAL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Non-Bird
Maxi Kleber 	 	PF 	34.3 	9 	LAL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Moritz Wagner 	 	C 	29.1 	8 	ORL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Gabe Vincent 	 	PG 	30.0 	7 	ATL 	$11,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Quentin Grimes 	 	SG 	26.1 	5 	PHI 	$8,741,209 	UFA / Bird
Kelly Oubre Jr. 	SF 	30.5 	11 	PHI 	$8,182,575 	UFA / Bird
Simone Fontecchio 	SF 	30.5 	4 	MIA 	$8,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Ayo Dosunmu 	 	PG 	26.4 	5 	MIN 	$7,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Dean Wade 	 	PF 	29.5 	7 	CLE 	$6,166,667 	UFA / Bird
Jett Howard 	 	SG 	22.8 	3 	ORL 	$5,793,195 	UFA / Bird
Guerschon Yabusele 	PF 	30.5 	4 	CHI 	$5,637,500 	UFA / Non-Bird
Nick Richards 	 	C 	28.5 	6 	CHI 	$5,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Andre Drummond 	 	C 	32.8 	14 	PHI 	$5,000,000 	UFA / Early Bird
Aaron Holiday 	 	PG 	29.7 	8 	HOU 	$4,784,700 	UFA / Bird
Dwight Powell 	 	C 	34.8 	12 	DAL 	$4,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kevin Love 	 	C 	37.8 	18 	UTA 	$4,000,000 	UFA / Bird
Kyle Lowry 	 	PG 	40.2 	20 	PHI 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Tim Hardaway Jr. 	SG 	34.2 	13 	DEN 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Garrett Temple 	 	SG 	40.1 	16 	TOR 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Bird
Jordan Clarkson 	SG 	34.0 	12 	NYK 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Joe Ingles 	 	SF 	38.7 	12 	MIN 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Larry Nance Jr. 	PF 	33.4 	11 	CLE 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Non-Bird
Doug McDermott 	 	SF 	34.4 	12 	SAC 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
Jeff Green 	 	PF 	39.8 	19 	HOU 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Bird
Bismack Biyombo 	C 	33.8 	15 	SAS 	$3,634,153 	UFA / Early Bird
DeAndre Jordan 	 	C 	37.8 	18 	NOP 	$3,571,495 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jaxson Hayes 	 	C 	26.0 	7 	LAL 	$3,449,323 	UFA / Bird
Russell Westbrook 	PG 	37.6 	18 	SAC 	$3,386,366 	UFA / Non-Bird
Gary Payton II 	 	PG 	33.5 	10 	GSW 	$3,303,774 	UFA / Bird
Thomas Bryant 	 	C 	28.8 	9 	CLE 	$3,287,409 	UFA / Non-Bird
MarJon Beauchamp 	SG 	25.7 	4 	PHI 	$3,152,399 	UFA / Non-Bird
Drew Eubanks 	 	C 	29.3 	8 	SAC 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Marvin Bagley III 	PF 	27.2 	8 	DAL 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Bruce Brown Jr. 	SG 	29.8 	8 	DEN 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Josh Okogie 	 	SG 	27.8 	8 	HOU 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Non-Bird
Landry Shamet 	 	SG 	29.2 	8 	NYK 	$3,080,921 	UFA / Bird
Jordan McLaughlin 	PG 	30.2 	7 	SAS 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Early Bird
Amir Coffey 	 	SG 	29.0 	7 	PHX 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Non-Bird
Javonte Green 	 	SG 	32.8 	7 	DET 	$2,874,436 	UFA / Non-Bird
Seth Curry 	 	SG 	35.8 	13 	GSW 	$2,777,830 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jae’Sean Tate 	 	SF 	30.6 	6 	HOU 	$2,667,947 	UFA / Bird
Anthony Gill 	 	PF 	33.7 	6 	WAS 	$2,667,947 	UFA / Bird
Jock Landale 	 	C 	30.6 	5 	ATL 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Non-Bird
Nah'Shon Hyland 	PG 	25.8 	5 	MIN 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Early Bird
Lindy Waters III 	SF 	28.8 	5 	SAS 	$2,461,463 	UFA / Non-Bird
Precious Achiuwa 	PF 	26.7 	6 	SAC 	$2,453,285 	UFA / Non-Bird
Xavier Tillman 	 	C 	27.4 	5 	CHA 	$2,392,183 	UFA / Bird
Blake Wesley 	 	SG 	23.2 	4 	POR 	$2,378,870 	UFA / Non-Bird
Collin Gillespie 	PG 	26.9 	4 	PHX 	$2,378,870 	UFA / Early Bird
Bryce McGowens 	 	SG 	23.6 	4 	NOP 	$2,081,293 	UFA / Non-Bird
Keon Ellis 	 	SF 	26.4 	4 	CLE 	$1,701,903 	UFA / Bird
Olivier-Maxence Prosper PF 	23.9 	3 	MEM 	$1,512,846 	UFA / Early Bird
Jordan Goodwin 	 	PG 	27.6 	5 	PHX 	$1,286,648 	UFA / Early Bird
Jevon Carter 	 	PG 	30.8 	8 	ORL 	$1,168,625 	UFA / Non-Bird
Brandon Williams 	PG 	26.5 	4 	DAL 	$1,159,362 	UFA / Bird
Mike Conley 	 	PG 	38.7 	19 	MIN 	$1,148,727 	UFA / Non-Bird
Mason Plumlee 	 	C 	36.2 	13 	SAS 	$939,867 	UFA / Non-Bird
Cameron Thomas 	 	SG 	24.7 	5 	MIL 	$905,366 	UFA / Non-Bird
Kyle Anderson 	 	PF 	32.7 	12 	MIN 	$898,095 	UFA / Non-Bird
Tyus Jones 	 	PG 	30.1 	11 	DEN 	$814,552 	UFA / Non-Bird
Jeremy Sochan 	 	PF 	23.0 	4 	NYK 	$806,628 	UFA / Non-Bird
A.J. Lawson 	 	F 	25.9 	4 	TOR 	$27,343 	UFA / Non-Bird
Tony Bradley 	 	C 	28.4 	8 	ATL 	$17,706 	UFA / Non-Bird
Charles Bassey 	 	C 	25.6 	5 	GSW 	$14,146 	UFA / Non-Bird

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/available/_/year/2026/type/ufa

Here are some names that stand out to me:
Guards: Coby White, Gary Payton II, Bruce Brown, Seth Curry, Tyus Jones, Quentin Grimes(?)
Front Court: Larry Nance Jr., Joe Ingles, Precious, Jusuf Nurkic, Nick Richards

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/richani01.html

"Richards, specifically, seemed to have been brought to Chicago at the NBA Trade Deadline to give Josh Giddey and Buzelis the experience of playing with a rim-running, shot blocking big man. The issue with that was that Richards, while being the archetype I described, is not a very effective version of that archetype. Richards is a rim-runner, but has a world of trouble holding on to passes. He possesses solid athleticism and can clearly block shots (1.4 blocks per 36 minutes over the 2025-26 season), yet per Cleaning The Glass, the Chicago defense was 1.2 points per possession worse with Richards on the floor. Richards goes for blocks, but doesn't do a great job of keeping active bigs off of the offensive glass. In layman's terms, opponents know they have opportunities for second-chance points when Richards is on the floor."

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/likely-chicago-bulls-target-walker-214705271.html

*******

Panos,
Good list. Thank you for posting it.
Out of the big men who are in the bargain bin section, which individual do you think can help the Knicks this upcoming season? I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it.

I also added some information on Nick Richards, who can give the Knicks some shot blocking and rim running. Richards market range is probably 3/18 and if the market for big man heats up, maybe 3/20. If he wants to play for a contender, then he's likely going to get a little less than the Tax Payers MLE. The salary range won't shift much, but the amount of years on the contract will waver then. Of course teams in the Apron zones will have to ask themselves if the want to be hardcapped for Richards.

IMHO, Richards is the kind of player that Mike Brown can make better on defense. I would not rely on the counting stats for the hopeful double doubles potential though, as moving from a non contender to a contender changes that dynamic quite a bit. Can Brown make Richards more effective in one season is the more critical question though.

Russell Westbrook
Moritz Wagner
Jock Landale

Rookie wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:

Alpha1971 wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Knicks only one 53 games last year and as someone already said Landry was really the only guy off the bench who made a sizeable impact for the playoff run. I don’t see why we can’t retool the bench and win more games and match bench success in the playoffs next year. Whether we win again or not is not really gonna be hinged on the bench.

That was me.

We went on our epic playoff run because of our starters and Shamet.

Everyone else on the roster played a provisional role at various moments, but nobody else was consistently a core element of the giant uptick in production after Game 4 in the ATL series.

The ability to repeat is going to hinge on the starting five's continued harmonization more than anything else. Considering how the team didn't truly click until the playoffs, there is reason to believe they can continue to learn more about how to play off each other to actually improve as a starting unit.

There is continued upside to the starters, particularly KAT and OG who have evolved the most this season and may not be done doing so.

The ability to retool by moving the pipeline players into the rotation and drafting well should strengthen the team while managing cap considerations.

If MO, McCullars, Kolek and maybe Dadiet deliver on their potential they are collectively a step up from Clarkson, Alvarado and Deuce as whole.

Mitch and Shamet are to me the only question marks. Everyone else can be replaced with our pipeline and the draft.

Mitch can be replaced. I'd like him to stay, but if re-signing him makes it hard to sign Mo and Shamet than I'd draft bigs and let him go. Maybe Huk stays as part of the Center depth.

Shamet is the one bench player I'd priortize retaining. The guy is a winner.

And Diawara is the one young player you have to figure out how to retain due to his potential all-star talent.

If it came down to Diawara vs. Shamet, I'd have to prioritize locking down Mo. His upside is that big.

I completely agree. Shamet is most replaceable. Mitch is a difference maker, a guy we can throw on the top tier Cs in the league and a weapon off the bench nobody else has. You’d like the keep him and draft a reserve that’s better than Hukporti. But fact is Mitch barely contributed to a championship run. That shows we don’t NEED him to be successful.

Mo is the guy we can’t lose. His ceiling is too high and he brings a rare element and loads of lineup flexibility if he becomes an every night guy off the bench. He’s also a piece that can keep us contending past the 2 year window if he pans out.

We can’t lose Mo for sure. He offers the wide range of outcomes and upside. As far as Mitch vs Shamet, I hate to say I’d probably prefer to keep shamet if I had to choose. He’s going to be cheaper. And he’s proven that he can play big minutes in the playoffs. For all of Mitch’s unique talent, it’s hard to play him more than 15 mpg due to the intentional fouling. He just can’t stay on the floor. Shamet can play 30 mpg in a finals game. Mitch can’t. But even so, I want to keep everyone.

contractually we are limited to what we can offer MO. Mo if offered more then what we are allowed to offer would have to choose to take less to remain. Let's hope the glow of the championship, team friendships, and promise of continued development behind OG and Hart helps him choose to remain.

Knicks can match any offer. Max a team can offer Mo is the full mid level of $15mil. But that would be insane for a team to offer that. Especially in this salary cap environment.

Less money AND a bench roll? Where do I sign🤣 If Mo is what we think he is, he needs a path to the SL. Which starter moves to the bench? Personally, I think that’s an easy question, Bridges would excel in a bench roll.

Wouldn't mind him starting. He would fit with the starters. Hart would be the one to come off the bench if that was the case to give the bench more proven fire power.

https://www.postingandtoasting.com/knicks-rumors/85960/report-mitchell-robinson-very-open-to-knicks-return

TripleThreat wrote:

fitzfarm wrote:Can we get an offensive rebounding machine in the draft at 24 that can play elite defense?

<snip>

It's a good question you are asking, and I believe technomaster's answer is on the spot. It's dangerous and quite a high risk for self implosion to ask a rookie to take on that kind of role.

( On an aside, I've always found technomaster's analysis to be very good, I'm not quite sure why his posts never got more love here. But I appreciate them)

<snip>

The thing with MRob is you have to ask the question on what if KAT gets hurt. MRob creates more questions than answers ( in part because it accelerates more pressure on Brunson, who needs more relief) . For a high paid backup, that's not what you are looking for out that situation.

To be fair, it is however a gamble. A matchup might exist in the playoffs next year where MRob is critical. But how likely is that? How likely is he himself going to get hurt again?

Thx for the shout out. :) In recent years, I've been raising a teenager so I've been a bit more of a lurker as of late, so my convos here are more sporadic.

Mitch is a critical member of the team - he's a starter quality guy. Advanced stats (PER) says he's elite. Great finisher, covers lots of ground. I think the Knicks have given him a pass to play more like 80-90% effort. When you have him giving 100% effort night in and night out, he's prone to hand injuries (from swatting and battling in the paint) and lower leg injuries. The Knicks made some conscious decisions for injury management and give him nights off.

Sure his FT% is terrible, but if he's taking lots of them, that means the opponents are getting desperate. I don't know if hack a Mitch has ever been a winning strategy in ANY game, certainly not in the playoffs the past 2 seasons. Basically, teams shouldn't be fouling anyone intentionally if they're already in the lead.

I suppose the biggest challenge with him is that he's not a perimeter threat on offense, which affects spacing, especially Brunson's, who likes to operate in the mid-range and paint to balance out his absolutely killer (and not oft talked about) perimeter shooting.

The Knicks operate primarily in 2 modes: Big Man in the paint, or Big Man on the perimeter. Depending on the play, the Knicks can vary where Towns operates. It keeps the offense very unpredictable depending on how they deploy KAT. When Mitch is in the game, defenders are able to cave in even if you park Mitch out. Which is fine. Mitch doesn't demand the ball.

As we know, we have a REALLY talented team with a lot of untapped offensive talent that gets unleashed when KAT and/or Brunson are off the floor. Bridges can operate as a first or second option for stretches, and OG actually looks like he could be a Jaylen Brown/Mini-Kawhi if you give him the call at this stage of his career. His handle has tightened and his slashing is now elite. Plus we have a bunch of guys with sweet strokes off the bench (Diawara, Shamet, McBride) that typically come in when Mitch is in the game.

This all works in our favor if we're full strength. We give opponents different looks. We kept teams in the playoffs off-balance.

I'll address this with why Luke Kornet probably keeps getting playing time as the primary backup to these huge centers (Wemby, and prior to that Porzingis) even though those teams often have other really solid centers on their rosters (the Spurs had Olynyk and Plumlee as late deep additions to their rosters). Kornet is solid enough: AT 7'2" he's got similar size to both Wemby/Porzingis with a lot of the same skills. This allows the Spurs to just plug him in and the rest of the players continue to play the same style. But he only has a small fraction of the athleticism, especially compared to Wemby. You sort of get an impaired version of the same system. I think Olynyk (elite perimeter shooter) or Plumlee (strong ball distribution skills) might be better fits to unlock the offensive potential of the other Spurs key players.

The Knicks play differently when Mitch is on the floor with Brunson. It's like they revert to classic Thibs basketball. It's not ideal, admittedly. But they make do.

KAT is an extremely rare player (#1 overall pick, best shooting big, all of those accolades he's amassed over his career) that literally cannot be replaced. For the question of what happens if KAT misses extended time, there isn't a perfect answer. If you want to keep our starter style of play intact you plug in a KAT-lite sort of player (let's say, maybe a Kyle Anderson - similar skill set but a lot smaller). So maybe you flip around the Knicks style a bit.

With Mitch as a bench player, we get an elite change of pace crew that often exceeded the efficiency of the 5 starters together. Let's be honest, the Knicks didn't really become the offensive juggernaut until KAT started playing point center in the playoffs. We criticized the Knicks for our starters not meshing well.

But what I do love about the Knicks is we have talent to spare and we have a coach who'll try different things.

Mitch needs to be back if at all possible.

newyorknewyork wrote:

Alpha1971 wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Knicks only one 53 games last year and as someone already said Landry was really the only guy off the bench who made a sizeable impact for the playoff run. I don’t see why we can’t retool the bench and win more games and match bench success in the playoffs next year. Whether we win again or not is not really gonna be hinged on the bench.

That was me.

We went on our epic playoff run because of our starters and Shamet.

Everyone else on the roster played a provisional role at various moments, but nobody else was consistently a core element of the giant uptick in production after Game 4 in the ATL series.

The ability to repeat is going to hinge on the starting five's continued harmonization more than anything else. Considering how the team didn't truly click until the playoffs, there is reason to believe they can continue to learn more about how to play off each other to actually improve as a starting unit.

There is continued upside to the starters, particularly KAT and OG who have evolved the most this season and may not be done doing so.

The ability to retool by moving the pipeline players into the rotation and drafting well should strengthen the team while managing cap considerations.

If MO, McCullars, Kolek and maybe Dadiet deliver on their potential they are collectively a step up from Clarkson, Alvarado and Deuce as whole.

Mitch and Shamet are to me the only question marks. Everyone else can be replaced with our pipeline and the draft.

Mitch can be replaced. I'd like him to stay, but if re-signing him makes it hard to sign Mo and Shamet than I'd draft bigs and let him go. Maybe Huk stays as part of the Center depth.

Shamet is the one bench player I'd priortize retaining. The guy is a winner.

And Diawara is the one young player you have to figure out how to retain due to his potential all-star talent.

If it came down to Diawara vs. Shamet, I'd have to prioritize locking down Mo. His upside is that big.

I completely agree. Shamet is most replaceable. Mitch is a difference maker, a guy we can throw on the top tier Cs in the league and a weapon off the bench nobody else has. You’d like the keep him and draft a reserve that’s better than Hukporti. But fact is Mitch barely contributed to a championship run. That shows we don’t NEED him to be successful.

Mo is the guy we can’t lose. His ceiling is too high and he brings a rare element and loads of lineup flexibility if he becomes an every night guy off the bench. He’s also a piece that can keep us contending past the 2 year window if he pans out.

We can’t lose Mo for sure. He offers the wide range of outcomes and upside. As far as Mitch vs Shamet, I hate to say I’d probably prefer to keep shamet if I had to choose. He’s going to be cheaper. And he’s proven that he can play big minutes in the playoffs. For all of Mitch’s unique talent, it’s hard to play him more than 15 mpg due to the intentional fouling. He just can’t stay on the floor. Shamet can play 30 mpg in a finals game. Mitch can’t. But even so, I want to keep everyone.

contractually we are limited to what we can offer MO. Mo if offered more then what we are allowed to offer would have to choose to take less to remain. Let's hope the glow of the championship, team friendships, and promise of continued development behind OG and Hart helps him choose to remain.

Knicks can match any offer. Max a team can offer Mo is the full mid level of $15mil. But that would be insane for a team to offer that. Especially in this salary cap environment.

Actually this is only half-correct. Here’s the dilemma;
Knicks can only offer him a starting salary of 2.7M if they go over the second apron. Anything over 2.7M they would have to use an exception to sign him. If they use an exception, they are hard-capped at the second apron. So if you are resigning both Mitch and shamet, you better hope Diawara is cool with about 3M per year. If not, it’s essentially a decision between Mo and Mitch. So while we can technically match any realistic offer, it’s really difficult to do so.

Knixkik wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:

Alpha1971 wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

DLeethal wrote:

BlueKnickers wrote:

DLeethal wrote:Knicks only one 53 games last year and as someone already said Landry was really the only guy off the bench who made a sizeable impact for the playoff run. I don’t see why we can’t retool the bench and win more games and match bench success in the playoffs next year. Whether we win again or not is not really gonna be hinged on the bench.

That was me.

We went on our epic playoff run because of our starters and Shamet.

Everyone else on the roster played a provisional role at various moments, but nobody else was consistently a core element of the giant uptick in production after Game 4 in the ATL series.

The ability to repeat is going to hinge on the starting five's continued harmonization more than anything else. Considering how the team didn't truly click until the playoffs, there is reason to believe they can continue to learn more about how to play off each other to actually improve as a starting unit.

There is continued upside to the starters, particularly KAT and OG who have evolved the most this season and may not be done doing so.

The ability to retool by moving the pipeline players into the rotation and drafting well should strengthen the team while managing cap considerations.

If MO, McCullars, Kolek and maybe Dadiet deliver on their potential they are collectively a step up from Clarkson, Alvarado and Deuce as whole.

Mitch and Shamet are to me the only question marks. Everyone else can be replaced with our pipeline and the draft.

Mitch can be replaced. I'd like him to stay, but if re-signing him makes it hard to sign Mo and Shamet than I'd draft bigs and let him go. Maybe Huk stays as part of the Center depth.

Shamet is the one bench player I'd priortize retaining. The guy is a winner.

And Diawara is the one young player you have to figure out how to retain due to his potential all-star talent.

If it came down to Diawara vs. Shamet, I'd have to prioritize locking down Mo. His upside is that big.

I completely agree. Shamet is most replaceable. Mitch is a difference maker, a guy we can throw on the top tier Cs in the league and a weapon off the bench nobody else has. You’d like the keep him and draft a reserve that’s better than Hukporti. But fact is Mitch barely contributed to a championship run. That shows we don’t NEED him to be successful.

Mo is the guy we can’t lose. His ceiling is too high and he brings a rare element and loads of lineup flexibility if he becomes an every night guy off the bench. He’s also a piece that can keep us contending past the 2 year window if he pans out.

We can’t lose Mo for sure. He offers the wide range of outcomes and upside. As far as Mitch vs Shamet, I hate to say I’d probably prefer to keep shamet if I had to choose. He’s going to be cheaper. And he’s proven that he can play big minutes in the playoffs. For all of Mitch’s unique talent, it’s hard to play him more than 15 mpg due to the intentional fouling. He just can’t stay on the floor. Shamet can play 30 mpg in a finals game. Mitch can’t. But even so, I want to keep everyone.

contractually we are limited to what we can offer MO. Mo if offered more then what we are allowed to offer would have to choose to take less to remain. Let's hope the glow of the championship, team friendships, and promise of continued development behind OG and Hart helps him choose to remain.

Knicks can match any offer. Max a team can offer Mo is the full mid level of $15mil. But that would be insane for a team to offer that. Especially in this salary cap environment.

Actually this is only half-correct. Here’s the dilemma;
Knicks can only offer him a starting salary of 2.7M if they go over the second apron. Anything over 2.7M they would have to use an exception to sign him. If they use an exception, they are hard-capped at the second apron. So if you are resigning both Mitch and shamet, you better hope Diawara is cool with about 3M per year. If not, it’s essentially a decision between Mo and Mitch. So while we can technically match any realistic offer, it’s really difficult to do so.

2.7m, so about 2 years $6m factoring raise, honestly that's right about where he should be anyway