Uptown wrote:

fishmike wrote:I believe at 26 I can build a championship caliber defensive team around KP/Frank/Kawhi and would give up anything on the current roster as well as a future 1 or 2 to secure that core. I can add scoring along the way. I need 3 guys who can wreck and opposing offense. Frank was a defensive wiz as a 19 y/o rookie and the best P&R defender in the league, KP is one of the best rim protectors and KL is DPOY. KP/Frank are 2-3 years away which puts KW at 28-29 (the old guy of the crew).

If we want the Spurs to engage us on the phone, we would have to begin with KP....Lets not forget, Kwahi, is a top 3 talent in the league...

but SA has 0 leverage. and for that matter if Kawhi wants to be in LA (or NYC) all of the other teams in the league will see this like PG situation. You might be trading assets for a one year rental who seems inclined to walk.

Kawhi doesn't want to be there -- like Kyrie in Cleveland. The threat is he walks for nothing in FA

KP is absolutely off the table

Cartman718 wrote:Unless we can retain KP and Frank there's no way Mills and Perry makes a call

And if we don't make KP and Frank available, would the Spurs even take the call?

Cartman718 wrote:https://nypost.com/2018/06/15/the-porzingis-caveat-that-could-block-a-knicks-kawhi-trade/
Meanwhile in BerFart land...
I agree with Chandler that SA has 0 leverage. There's no way anyone trades their picks for a 1 year rental. And even if they want to do sign and trade, I would not do Frank or KP included in the deal. Perry worked his magic on the Melo deal. He'll figure something out.

Remember, they have very clearly said that they are not sacrificing youth development. If they want THJr, I'll give them that. If they want other vets, I'll give them that. But not giving up on anyone 24 or younger.

Besides...why would Kawhi want to come to a depleted team?

You're acting like Kawhi to Los Angeles isn't even a thing when the reality is that it makes far more sense. First, the Lakers actually have things the Spurs would want. Remember that Kawhi IS under contract and that the Spurs have to be incentivized into making a deal.

Second, the Lakers actually have cap space to sign LeBron James (a far superior player to KP) to pair with Kawhi. Those two might be the greatest duo of all-time.

Third, because the Lakers have a bevy of assets, they can also find takers for Loul Deng's contract to again open up money to sign Paul George...something the Knicks couldn't come close to entertaining.

A LeBron-Kawhi-PG13 trio with a room exception player and minimum salaries is good enough to be the 2nd best team in the league and the closest thing to unseating the Warriors.

Any chance we end up with kyrie and Kawhi?

NardDogNation wrote:A trade for Kawhi would be a "typical Knicks" move. Something like that would obliterate our asset base, especially if (by the grace of God) KP isn't included. And then what would we be left with? How do we improve the team around those two moving forward with us over the cap and unable to sign another star or difference-makers moving forward? Because Kristaps and Kawhi isn't good enough to beat the elite cores in this league by themselves especially when you consider that they both will miss about 20 games (if not more) a season. And with Kawhi already 27 years old, what type of window would we even have?

Simply put, chasing Kawhi is fool's gold in the state we're currently in. It's akin to building a mansion on swampland. The focus right now needs to be on building a foundation that can accomodate a trade for a Kawhi, while still having the tools to be a competitive team. I think that process starts by following the Danny Ainge/Sam Hinkie model of creating cap space and then leveraging it to get a gaggle of first round picks to build through the draft (and by using the cap space itself when the time is right). We've missed the window to accomplish this with Paul George, Jimmy Butler, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard. As unfortunate as that may be, the Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis sweepstakes are right around the corner. We need to be preparing our asset base over the next 2-3 years to field offers for them and pair one with KP and whomever of our first round picks work out.

That starts by not signing guys like THJr to $17 million per year contracts and instead using that money to acquire as many picks as we can. Teams like the Wizards would be foolish enough to move the 15th pick and Ian Mahimmi for cap space and/or some useless veteran. Same with the Nuggets and their 14th pick. Grab picks like those (either this year or next), leverage them to either trade down or up to get the types of players that can either be used to build our core (e.g. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum) or get the star player we went (e.g. the BKN pick for Kyrie Irving). But not more Tim Hardaway Jr., Joakim Noah, Robin Lopez, Aaron Afflalo type signings.

Your right, I'm not sure our front office gets that. Giving Hardaway Jr. a contract was so incredibly stupid.

babyKnicks wrote:http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=y86rqc3y

Any chance we end up with kyrie and Kawhi?

lmao only a deranged knicks fan would come up with that trade proposal lol

dwiley20 wrote:Gut the team for Leonard and end up still missing the playoffs smh hell no... Remember the dumb Melo Trade???

exactly

Cartman718 wrote:

dwiley20 wrote:Gut the team for Leonard and end up still missing the playoffs smh hell no... Remember the dumb Melo Trade???

exactly

And don't forget he's been out a YEAR with a mysterious quad injury in which part of it had atrophied. Don't see that ever being 100% again.

TheGame wrote:I would give up everyone except Frank and KP. The spurs had their own young PG in Murray, so they might not demand Frank. Give the 9th pick, the 36th pick, and maybe a 2020 1st rounder and Burke and Dotson.