TripleThreat wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:Sign Goran Dragic 4 years 62mm(starting at 14.5mm)

Trade with Denver and absorb Javalee MCgee's 12mm using cap space for the 11 pick and add Christian Wood 6-11 PF UNLV( a piece that I feel compliments Okafor's game)
Trade Tim Hardaway for a 2016 2nd rounder

Trade our 2017 pick top 7 restricted to any team 19-27 who wants out and the player we want is there 6-4 PG Tyler Harvey

James Dolan

- Always willing to trade future first round picks in an aborted attempt to quick fix the team. These attempts are nearly always doomed to failure
- Always willing to absorb other team's contract/player problems and make them Knick problems. Usually these moves have long term repurcussions
- Always willing to give up on young developing players that the Knicks did formerly draft, whether they ultimately pan out or not, doesn't change the issue that a culture of jettisoning your young players from the draft ruins any chance to build a core and stability that veteran winning teams have as a baseline.
- Always willing to pay or overpay a veteran player, who will likely not move the needle for the team as a whole, short term or long term.

Briggs

- Like Dolan, wants to keep up the trend of dumping future first round draft picks. To gain a player in the back half of the draft. While some pan out, how many don't? All while projecting prospects future when most of the actual NBA front offices wait until at least the NCAA tournament is over to try to balance out potential draft day value.

- Like Dolan, wants to take other team's contract/player problems. If the Knicks were lucky enough to win the lottery and get Okafor, how does putting him through even one year of headcase JaVale McGee help him? ( And yet again, only happens in a trade that Denver never makes, last time Briggs said Denver would give up Nurkic and a first to get out of McGees last year, now it's just one first rounder. Is that supposed to be seen as progress towards objective reality?)

- Like Dolan, wants to dump young drafted players, because they don't instantly produce, but yet believes mass acquiring THREE rookies at once will all produce, one in Okafor he claims will absolutely produce at a historic and HOF level, and that the other two will not bust at all and absolutely be stone cold locks for building a contender.

- Like Dolan, wants to open up the check book for a veteran who won't make a difference if this team was constructed ( You want him to roll with a team with three rookies and JaVale McGee and produce at his current clip?) But I guess it would be Dolan like to spend 60 million on a team president who uses a complex offensive system that negates the need for a ball dominant point guard, spend another 25 in a coach to teach it, then load up big money on point guards in Dragic and Calderon combined, at the brutal cost of not helping other parts of the roster.

Anyone ever know someone in high school who had an opportunity? I knew someone who did well and got a full scholarship offer plus room and board. They rejected it because they thought their high school relationship would go somewhere. With someone who was in a band. How do you think that turned out?

The high schooler who takes that scholarship, the longer road, goes to college, works hard, tries to lay groundwork for the future, it's not fast, it's not sexy, but it's trying to build something that lasts. It's not neon lights like hooking up with the next lead singer for the Beatles. Or saying you ditched a full college ride for a shot in the dark.

Briggs, your version of things would be for that kid to set that scholarship on fire then be a roadie/groupie for the band, while working some minimum wage dead end jobs on the side. Dolan thinks that way, which is why he's failed at everything except he was fortunate to be saved by his pops money. Quick fix, reactionary, taking the long shot and short cut.

I suppose my version is less cinematic. Take the scholarship. Pay the hard road now. Hope you establish a foundation even if it's not the sexiest looking option to start.

Thanks for keeping the spirit of Dolan here Briggs, as we ring in the New Year, I salute your continued homage to the Sure Shot himself.

Cool commentary bro. Just wondering what you've done in life that makes your opinions here so much better and with so much more expertise that you choose to denigrate, belittle and take personal shots at another posters opinions?

Its nearly impossible to acquire quality BIGS in free agency. This draft year is "unique" with many 4-5's of value that will run up and down the first round. We are almost assured a great player up top--MUCH more to see but Im confident of a high value return with this high draft asset.

Use our secondary cap space(I believe up to 13.5mm) our 2018 pick(top 7 restricted) to go "all in" on this draft. My goal is three 1's and a 2.

Simply outspend either Phoenix for Dragic(my choice #1)Milwaukee for Knight or Chicago for Butler. Realistic Dragic but also a great option

I need EVERY single dollar I can get to work this--that is why I "would" waive Calderon. we NEED his 4.5mm we need it badly. IF I could pull off an additional pick in the 10-15 range using that cap space to find synergy with our top pick--we expedite rebuilding by 1.5 years.

Plan B is to have maximum flexibility in 2016 to take run at KD. I believe if we have all the Ducks in place New york becomes a destination for him.

Fck this 6 yr rebuilding BS talk. That is talk of a negative nelly. Ten toes in--all in aggression to be better immediately

A lot of different ways we can go with the rebuild. I mean suppose we either lose out or pass on one of these top bigs in the draft and went for Emmanuel Mudiay instead:

5 - Sign DeAndre Jordan/re-sign Cole Aldrich
4 - JyMychal Green/Lavoy Allen/Richard Howell
3 - Melo/Early(Quincy Miller?)/Thanasis
2 - Elliot Williams/THJ/JR Smith
1 - Mudiay/Bryce Cotton/Calderon/Prigioni

Call me nuts--a little unorthodox but I could really get into that club.

• DeAndre Jordan would be the big FA signing. Something in the $10-15mm range. Dude's a top-3 NBA rebounder and shot-blocker. Basically a better, more-impactful version of Tyson Chandler. Only 26 years old.

• JaMychal Green is a starting PF in the NBA without question. Sign him to a 2 or 3-yr deal. 6'9" 235, athletic and very skilled. Every time I see this guy play I think of Antonio McDyess. Easily 15 & 10 a night in the pros with a starting role and enough touches, probably more. He's young and he'd come cheap. I bet SA thinks they have this guy in the bag for next year -- I'd swoop in right now outta nowhere, sign him for the rest of the year, establishing an immediate relationship with him, and then offer him a fair contract for a player with his experience (ready to outbid SA if necessary) along with offering him a starting role.

• Re-sign Cole Aldrich. No-brainer for the money it'll take. We'll have early Bird rights which should help in case there's any competition for his services (which I doubt -- there wasn't any this past off-season and he finished strong last year).

• Sign Lavoy Allen. Reminds me of Kurt Thomas. Upgrade over Jason Smith. Probably an upgrade over Amar'e at this point as well. Underrated. Could even see some time at C.

• Sign Rich Howell. Reserve PF in the DeJuan Blair mold. Quality depth -- could be useful and would come dirt cheap. Upgrade over Acy who I've been disappointed with. Westchester selected Howell in the DL expansion draft so obviously the Knicks have their eye on him.

• Elliot Williams looks healthy and is ripping up the DL right now. He can score and is actually good enough to handle and facilitate for stretches at a time.

• Mudiay's a big, talented PG that may have to go through some growing pains but should only get better and better starting day 1. The talent's there. Floor is a useful rotation guard right away, ceiling is a top NBA PG maybe even by year 2.

• Bryce Cotton's a little small at 6', but he can play. He's cat-quick with the ball, a very capable outside shooter, a good enough distributor and he can get to the rim with ease whenever he wants to. Could be a nice change-of-pace guard off the bench. A much better, more-aggressive version of Shane Larkin. Something close to Patty Mills maybe. I could see this guy on the floor at the same time with the 6'5" Mudiay.

We'd be adding a considerable amount of talent very quietly, get a lot younger in the process and address a host of team needs (rebounding would be greatly enhanced--we'd be hands down one of the best rebounding teams in the league; we'd be adding legit rim protection with Jordan and to a lesser degree with Aldrich and Green; we'd be adding a legit underrated post scorer in Green who can also knock down jumpers consistently all the way out to 3-pt territory; we'd be adding excellent frontcourt depth in Allen/Aldrich/Howell; we incorporate Early and Thanasis--Thanasis could be our new shutdown defender at several positions--maybe we make a decision to move forward with the 6'10" Quincy Miller over Early for some better outside shooting; and we'd be upgrading the backcourt significantly with guys like Mudiay, Elliot Williams and Bryce Cotton. Most importantly we'd be keeping costs down as much as possible. Jordan would be the main FA signing, a guy we could expect 10/13/2.5 out of every night who's not even a max player. Money should then be left over for Lavoy Allen and then all the other low-cost additions. Hopefully there will then be enough cap space available for 2016 to add more. JR and Prigs will be off the books by then and maybe Calderon could be stretched to allow even more cap room like some of you have suggested. Not terrible.