newyorker4ever wrote:So i can't remember where i heard it or who i heard say it but someone suggested that the reason they put A.Afflalo on the bench could be because they knew he wouldn't like it and they want him to opt out or they don't want his value to go up so he can ask for more money from us or for him to opt out and another team offer him more than we can afford to give him. Does anyone think that it could be because of either one of those reasons or that it was nothing more than them truly feeling that he'd be better as a 6th man or being a scorer for the 2nd team??

I myself want Afflalo to opt out and not be re-signed by us. I don't think he's as bad as we put him to be on here and i'm guilty of talking a lot of smack about him as well cause he does do a lot of good things for us and has had some really good 4th quarters that either put us back in games or kept us in games but when he's bad he's bad. I think his $8 million can be used on another player that can help us more than Afflalo.

I think it's probably a mix - they truly feel he'd be better off the bench. Rambis said it was his "more natural role". So they're giving him a sort of preview of what that'd look like. If he doesn't like it, it gives him a chance to leave this summer.

I think it's a fair move by the Knicks. They're saying - "this is the role we envision for you going forward, here's what it'll look like."

IMHO, win win for both sides to try it out now.

Hopefully next season we have a legit starting backcourt in front of him if he stays.

If he really hates it, gives him an opportunity to find a starting role this summer. Though I don't know what team would pay him like a starter at this point?

Paris907 wrote:The issue of 27 vs 30 is obviated by securing the services of Fournier whose 23 and can rebuild w KP / grant/ Galloway / Hernangomez / Wroten / Williams / Early / OQuinn/ with Lopez and perhaps Blake as vets.

Calderon/SASHA/ Melo/Thomas/Afflalo/ Seraphin/AMUNDSON/ expendable (with Melo swapped for Blake)

Fournier is a restricted free agent. We have almost zero chance of getting a RFA because no team is dumb enough to let an asset walk for nothing. They signed Tobias Harris last summer even though they didn't want him long-term and traded him mid-season this year. They'll sign Fournier for sure. Even if they want to trade him eventually. No team lets the assets walk for nothing, unless it's the Knicks.

Q: With Evan Fournier, the team faces a similar scenario to what the team faced with Tobias Harris last year. How will the team approach what appears to be restricted free agency on the horizon for Fournier? Rob Hennigan: We really value Evan. We’ve said that all along, and I’ll say about Evan what we said about Tobias, which is it’s our intention that he’ll be here for many years to come. We really, really like him and think he’s a great piece to continue to grow with our team.