Alpha1971 wrote:Drummond was too fat last year. He was soft in the belly. If he puts in the work in the gym and does his cardio might make a huge difference. Let's see how he shows up to camp. Hope he sits down and only has one portion at dinner and cuts the chips and high calorie beverages out.

If he locked in he would help us a lot. I understood why people are skeptical, but his upside if he gets reasonably fit is greater than most people acknowledge

He started 24 games. His 19.5 min per game avg does not tell the full story. Mitch played 60 games and averaged 19.6 min.
Offensive stats? Mitch 5.7 pts, 8.8 rebs, 4.2 offensive and that abysmal 40% FT%. Andre? 6.4 pts, 8.4 rebs, 3.2 offensive rebs and 63% from Free throw line. Im not suggesting we won't miss what mitch brings. The salary difference was very different.

Reality is not a plug and play video game league here. Chemistry and his abilty to pass/Shoot/Stretch/rebound is important. With that in mind he can bring somthing with the system knicks play. I trust Leon. Seems as if Knicks have some flexiblity and perhaps he is waiting on a buy out? A trade? Maybe even until the trade deadline? Nalod does advocate having another true 5 on the roster that can contribute.
I suggest a few of you look at Drummonds logs and while its very inconsistent minutes, its not like he just rolling around in the mud doing nothing.

EwingsGlass wrote:

Nalod wrote:Drummond is 33. Yes he is not in this 20's nor is he moses Malone, but....He did play 64 games last season and here are his log for the year:https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/drumman01/gamelog/2026/

He started 24 games. His 19.5 min per game avg does not tell the full story. Mitch played 60 games and averaged 19.6 min.
Offensive stats? Mitch 5.7 pts, 8.8 rebs, 4.2 offensive and that abysmal 40% FT%. Andre? 6.4 pts, 8.4 rebs, 3.2 offensive rebs and 63% from Free throw line. Im not suggesting we won't miss what mitch brings. The salary difference was very different.

Reality is not a plug and play video game league here. Chemistry and his abilty to pass/Shoot/Stretch/rebound is important. With that in mind he can bring somthing with the system knicks play. I trust Leon. Seems as if Knicks have some flexiblity and perhaps he is waiting on a buy out? A trade? Maybe even until the trade deadline? Nalod does advocate having another true 5 on the roster that can contribute.
I suggest a few of you look at Drummonds logs and while its very inconsistent minutes, its not like he just rolling around in the mud doing nothing.

At 2.45m of cap space, Drummond is the closest comp to Robinson we could afford.

What we will be missing is his box outs. Robinson got his rebounds while boxing out more. Drummond isn’t a slouch, but he wasn’t on Mitch’s level.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/box-outs?PerMode=Per36&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&dir=D&sort=DEF_BOXOUTS

That’s where a guy like Moussa Cisse came in. Maybe still can come in if Dallas can’t solve their roster crunch. Dallas will really have to cut a center at some point. And that center - whichever one - will likely be our best option as backup / 3rd center.

Mitch did a few things elite and yes, boxing out was great. The window, the Chip, the contract, and his payday allworked out for both. Knicks did not have the money and Mitch lacks certain skills on offense. Drummond lacks in some areas but will excell in others vs. Mitch. Things like FT's, catching the ball, and passing.
Obviously Knicks want another athletic 5 and perhaps the Lively situation in Dallas will be resolved soon enough. Problem there is he has only played in 98 games over three seasons. Still just 22 years old he has the skills and potential but can't stay on the floor. He gets 5.2mm this year and then is restricted FA. Im not familiar with is issues and if they would be percieved as chronic going forward or he'd project to be OK.

I suspect Leon might have forced the Cisse thing a bit hoping they shake Lively loose? ALdama has 34mm due in next 2 years and Gafford about 54mm over 3. They gonna stretch/waive them? Knicks trading for Lively won't be easy given his 7mm salary. I Understand the default is "Dadiet" but that alone won't do it. Dallas has to think thru Kyrie who has 80mm over two years and not on the same timeline as the rebuilding Dallas. He needs to demonstrate he is "back" or not and then perhaps the trade rumors start to fly.