nixluva wrote:

VCoug wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

nixluva wrote:

nixluva wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/590541642177843201

This is a very important statement. For those who wonder about his focus for the team, this goes along with his other statements that he wants to improve this team's defense. We know we need to score but playing better D will go along with any added scoring.

I think this is also why we may see THJ traded. He's simply a player that doesn't give you enough at the other parts of the game. If THJ isn't scoring at a high clip he's useless. He may still have some value in the eyes of another team.

I also liked Phil's statements on being smart in Free Agency. Not gonna go bargain basement but doesn't sound like he's gonna blow his whole stash on one expensive guy.

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://twitter.com/HerringWSJ/status/590545631204274178

You sound more positive than phil. that comment about over paying is something he clearly is going to have to do. He has no leverage, he's not coaching, and he has a suspect coach.

He tried to sell the same thing about getting Melo to opt in last yr, or taking a home town discount. By the 3rd day of Free agency he was flying to LA with a max contract.

You ever meet a person who wants to help so bad but when he does he just fcks everything up. Phil has good intentions and I don't believe he's here just for the money, but the reality is, he dug this hole so deep, he's starting to resemble defeat.

It's easy to paint this kind of narrative at this juncture and some in the Media are certainly on board with this. However, there is so much opportunity out in front of Phil not only this summer but going forward.

This is a very clear path to improve the franchise and set up a positive direction. How are we in a bad spot when we have a great opportunity to bring in some better talent not only in the draft but in Free Agency?

And there's an advantage to having cash to spend this summer. Next summer, the new national television money kicks in, raising the salary cap (and providing newfound spending ability to all teams). Free agents have a vested interest in signing short-term deals this summer to build their value ahead of next year's cash grab, limiting the advantage their incumbent team typically has in being able to offer the most money and extra season in any deal, the result of controlling their player's Bird Rights.

Jackson acknowledged that the new marketplace creates both uncertainty and opportunity. And he maintained that the system he has the Knicks running should be a selling point to potential free agents, noting that many players this season expanded their repertoires, such as center Jason Smith extending his range and shooting three pointers, or burly forward Quincy Acy learning to handle the basketball.

"Guys can come here and understand they can play in a game that enhances their skills," Jackson said. "That part of it is one of the selling points of what we do. There are very few teams that are like that, because there are so many generic ways of playing this game. We have a unique style, and that attracts certain people."

And so the work begins—to add youth who can blend with experience, players who complement rather than overlap with what Carmelo Anthony does best, convincing free agents to buy into what the Knicks are about to do while ignoring the 17-65 mark from the just-concluded season. Expecting a championship "would be like talking crazy", Jackson said. But real, substantial progress, and a winning team, Jackson believes is within reach.

"[Knicks Director of Scouting John] Gabriel put on my desk," Jackson said. "A book documenting the ascension of teams—the Spurs to the 76ers, who have changed their luck in a matter of three years. Going from the bottom... but teams change rapidly in the NBA. And depending on the personnel and how things develop for them. Injuries play a part, certainly. But we are a league that's dominated by personalities, by talent. And with five players, getting two or three players of talent changes your direction quickly. And we've all seen that."

There's like a lot of teams with major $$$ and better current talent.

look for your self

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/2016/

I'm well aware of the teams with cap space. I've posted lists of the top teams myself this year. The thing is that not all teams will be buyers in this market and some teams will be focused on trying to retain their own star players this summer.

The idea of a team having better current talent isn't really the issue. There's more to the equation than just that factor. Not to mention that there are a LOT of players in this FA Market. We already know that Agents are already talking to their clients about the new TV Contract money and how the league will be transformed by all the massive increase in Cap space.

You may not view NY as a good destination but I can assure you that Agents and Players don't agree with you. Agents will see NY as a great spot to send their clients in a revamped roster and with the ability for this team to continue to add talent in the future. You can get your money in Indiana or Orlando or you can get it in NY and a lot of players would prefer NY. It will only take one Free Agent to come on board to get the ball rolling.

For the most part, agents will see players' current teams as their best destination since their current teams can offer a higher starting salary, larger yearly raises, and more years.

Generally yes, but this is a much different NBA now with the knowledge that the cap is due to increase by leaps and bounds. It's changing the way players are thinking about their careers. They don't have to stay with their current team in order to make a huge windfall of money. Players can choose to move and sign a contract with an opt out so they have the choice to resign for a much bigger contract in a city they may prefer.

But not everybody is built for NY, when you start focusing on just talent, you will get the Marburys, tim thomas, jamal crawfords, kvh, it's got be a specific skill set, which narrows down your options (as a gm/pres) considerably.

knickscity wrote:Agents dont look at location, all they want is their cut of the contract. Players might choose location, but most choose dollars firstly or winning which the Knicks arent anywhere close to. I dont see how to cap spike increases the Knicks chances of anything compared to other teams with better rosters in place already, but maybe it happens.

Some players actually want that style of life. All Agents would like the spotlight of their client being a star in LA or NY. Even when Marbury was in NY despite not winning he still had so many sales of his Jersey and other products. It's just a nice plus.

knicks1248 wrote: But not everybody is built for NY, when you start focusing on just talent, you will get the Marburys, tim thomas, jamal crawfords, kvh, it's got be a specific skill set, which narrows down your options (as a gm/pres) considerably.

I actually think Phil is doing a good job of finding players who can take being in NY. As for the FA Market lets remember that there are about 180 or so players and that's a lot of players looking to improve their situation. You always read about certain players loving to play in the Garden. They see how even in our worst season the Garden is packed and jumping. They may be in a situation that is not as attractive despite probably having a better record than NY. We only need to pick off 2-3 of these guys in order to have a successful summer!

Rk  Player        Pos Age Tm   G   MP    PER   TS%   3PAr  FTr   ORB%  DRB%  TRB%  AST%  STL% BLK% TOV%  USG%  OWS  DWS  WS   WS/48 ▾ VORP
1   DeA. Jordan	  C   26  LAC  82  2820  21.0  .638  .007  .882  16.2  32.4  24.5  3.2   1.5  5.4  12.8  13.6  7.4  5.4  12.8  .217    4.3
2   Jimmy Butler  SG  25  CHI  65  2513  21.3  .583  .212  .508  5.1   11.2  8.2   14.4  2.3  1.0  7.7   21.6  8.2  3.0  11.2  .214    4.2
3   Kawhi Leonard SF  23  SAS  64  2033  22.0  .567  .234  .307  4.8   20.6  12.9  13.0  3.7  1.8  9.4   23.0  4.2  4.4  8.6   .204    4.1
4   Bran. Wright  PF  27  TOT  75  1449	 20.4  .660  .008  .309  9.6   14.7  12.1  4.4   1.7  5.1  7.6   13.6  4.3  1.8  6.1   .202    2.0
5   M. Gasol	  C   30  MEM  81  2687  21.7  .558  .016  .410  4.9   21.8  13.4  19.7  1.4  4.0  12.2  24.6  5.5  4.7  10.2  .182    4.6
6   M. Muscala	  PF  23  ATL  40  502   18.0  .608  .146  .166  12.2  14.8  13.5  8.0   1.6  3.2  11.5  16.7  1.2  0.7  1.9   .179    0.5
7   P. Millsap	  PF  29  ATL  73  2390  20.1  .565  .232  .362  6.9   20.0  13.6  15.4  2.8  2.4  13.3  23.8  4.0  4.3  8.3   .167    3.7
8   A. Baynes	  C   28  SAS  70  1122  15.9  .618  .012  .318  11.2  20.7  16.1  4.9   0.7  1.5  14.8  17.8  2.3  1.6  3.9   .166    0.3
9   L. Aldridge	  PF  29  POR  71  2512  22.8  .528  .074  .256  7.7   22.9  15.5  9.2   1.0  1.9  7.2   30.2  4.9  3.7  8.6   .165    1.4
10  K. Love	  PF  26  CLE  75  2532  18.8  .562  .412  .337  6.5   26.3  16.6  10.7  1.0  1.2  10.0  21.7  5.8  2.9  8.7   .165    2.5
Rk  Player        Pos Age Tm   G   MP    PER   TS%   3PAr  FTr   ORB%  DRB%  TRB%  AST%  STL% BLK% TOV%  USG%  OWS  DWS  WS   WS/48 ▾ VORP
11  Danny Green	  SG  27  SAS  81  2312  16.5  .596  .619  .172  2.7   13.9  8.4   10.3  2.2  2.8  10.5  17.5  4.0  3.9  7.8   .163    4.1
12  Dray. Green	  SF  24  GSW  79  2490  16.4  .540  .430  .261  5.1   22.4  14.0  16.1  2.4  2.9  13.5  17.2  3.3  5.2  8.5   .163    4.4
13  A. Ajinca	  C   26  NOP  68  957   19.9  .595  .000  .301  12.4  25.0  18.7  8.2   1.2  4.0  15.6  21.1  1.9  1.2  3.2   .159    0.5
14  Brook Lopez	  C   26  BRK  72  2100  22.7  .558  .010  .278  11.5  17.1  14.3  4.5   1.1  4.8  8.6   26.3  4.7  2.2  7.0   .159    1.1
15  B. Biyombo	  C   22  CHO  64  1243  15.2  .578  .000  .941  13.7  22.6  18.0  2.0   0.7  6.3  16.5  11.6  1.8  2.2  4.0   .155    0.5
16  D. Carroll	  SF  28  ATL  70  2189  15.9  .603  .466  .277  5.3   13.8  9.7   8.3   2.2  0.7  9.3   16.9  4.3  2.8  7.0   .154    2.7
17  G. Monroe	  PF  24  DET  69  2137  21.2  .549  .000  .394  11.2  25.1  17.9  11.7  1.9  1.3  13.0  23.9  4.0  2.8  6.8   .153    2.1
18  A. Morrow	  SG  29  OKC  74  1806  14.8  .604  .528  .145  2.4   9.1   5.8   5.2   1.5  0.5  5.5   16.5  4.4  1.2  5.7   .151    1.2
19  R. Lopez	  C   26  POR  59  1638  16.2  .574  .002  .291  12.7  13.1  12.9  5.1   0.5  3.7  12.9  15.5  3.2  1.9  5.1   .150    1.7
20  C. Joseph	  PG  23  SAS  79  1444  15.5  .564  .107  .348  3.5   11.4  7.5   19.7  1.6  0.9  12.4  17.0  2.7  1.8  4.5   .149    1.0
Rk  Player        Pos Age Tm   G   MP    PER   TS%   3PAr  FTr   ORB%  DRB%  TRB%  AST%  STL% BLK% TOV%  USG%  OWS  DWS  WS   WS/48 ▾ VORP
21  Tri Thompson  PF  23  CLE  82  2194  15.6  .580  .000  .508  14.5  19.7  17.2  2.7   0.8  2.2  12.2  14.0  4.7  2.1  6.8   .148    0.8
22  W. Matthews	  SG  28  POR  60  2024  16.1  .586  .592  .193  2.1   9.5   5.9   10.8  1.9  0.4  9.0   19.8  4.0  2.2  6.2   .147    3.0
23  Enes Kanter	  C   22  TOT  75  2135  20.3  .564  .048  .252  14.6  20.5  17.6  4.8   0.9  1.1  12.3  24.7  4.3  2.1  6.4   .145   -0.1
24  Jon. Jerebko  PF  27  TOT  75  1230  15.0  .549  .369  .174  8.0   17.2  12.5  9.0   1.9  1.1  9.7   16.2  2.0  1.4  3.5   .135    0.9
25  K. Middleton  PF  23  MIL  79  2378  15.6  .563  .308  .180  2.3   14.3  8.4   12.7  2.6  0.4  10.8  19.9  3.2  3.5  6.7   .135    2.0
26  Alexey Shved  SG  26  TOT  42  767   19.5  .541  .415  .448  3.3   11.7  7.3   25.7  2.0  0.6  10.7  26.3  1.7  0.5  2.2   .135    0.5
27  Brandon Bass  PF  29  BOS  82  1929  16.3  .557  .047  .313  7.8   14.9  11.3  8.6   1.1  1.3  9.6   19.5  3.4  1.9  5.3   .132    0.7
28  Dorell Wright SF  29  POR  48  592   13.4  .525  .568  .221  2.6   17.2  10.0  10.2  1.7  1.3  7.9   17.1  0.7  0.8  1.6   .128    0.4
29  Lavoy Allen   PF  25  IND  63  1070  14.9  .493  .000  .157  12.8  20.5  16.7  10.9  0.7  3.1  11.1  15.2  1.3  1.6  2.8   .127    0.8
30  Amir Johnson  PF  27  TOR  75  1979  15.4  .603  .089  .249  9.3   17.3  13.3  9.4   1.1  2.4  16.0  15.7  3.5  1.6  5.1   .124    1.9
Rk  Player        Pos Age Tm   G   MP    PER   TS%   3PAr  FTr   ORB%  DRB%  TRB%  AST%  STL% BLK% TOV%  USG%  OWS  DWS  WS   WS/48 ▾ VORP
31  Goran Dragic  PG  28  TOT  78  2640  17.4  .577  .258  .234  3.5   8.2   5.9   22.8  1.5  0.5  13.5  21.8  5.4  1.4  6.8   .123    2.1
32  Joel Freeland C   27  POR  48  617   12.2  .522  .000  .166  11.0  21.9  16.6  3.8   0.7  2.7  12.4  13.4  0.6  0.9  1.6   .122    0.0
33  Tha Sefolosha SF  30  ATL  52  976   13.8  .506  .313  .233  6.4   19.3  13.1  11.2  2.8  1.8  12.2  14.6  0.8  1.7  2.5   .121    0.8
34  Omer Asik	  C   28  NOP  76  1982  15.5  .545  .000  .546  14.0  28.8  21.4  5.4   0.8  2.1  15.7  14.0  2.8  2.2  5.0   .120    0.6
35  Kosta Koufos  C   25  MEM  81  1348  14.2  .530  .000  .237  10.3  25.8  18.1  4.3   1.1  3.9  14.9  15.8  0.8  2.5  3.3   .118    0.2
36  Jae Crowder   SF  24  TOT  82  1647  13.9  .517  .382  .259  4.7   14.9  9.7   8.6   2.2  1.2  7.5   17.5  1.9  2.0  3.9   .113    1.1
37  Cole Aldrich  C   26  NYK  61  976   18.1  .513  .000  .213  11.6  28.9  20.0  13.3  2.0  5.5  15.2  18.3  0.8  1.4  2.2   .107    0.7
38  Bran Knight	  PG  23  TOT  63  2035  17.1  .543  .361  .251  1.6   12.0  6.8   27.4  2.3  0.4  16.1  25.9  2.0  2.5  4.5   .106    1.6
39  Reg Jackson	  PG  24  TOT  77  2268  17.2  .511  .242  .219  2.6   12.9  7.8   34.8  1.4  0.3  14.6  24.6  3.3  1.7  4.9   .104    1.6
40  Mar Belinelli SG  28  SAS  62  1388  12.4  .553  .489  .211  2.2   10.5  6.4   10.3  1.1  0.2  10.6  18.8  1.5  1.4  2.9   .100    0.5
41  Tobias Harris SF  22  ORL  68  2369  16.7  .551  .252  .258  3.4   17.3  10.3  8.8   1.5  1.2  9.8   22.5  3.0  1.8  4.8   .098    1.0