martin wrote:

Nalod wrote:Great athlete. We to D-league him?

I know that the Knicks did this last year with Thanasis and others. Is this par for the course for other teams? Seems like a decent way to at least try to establish some continuity from Big League to D League.

Randle is also competing too right?

RonRon wrote:He is a lot smaller than both Summers and Thanasis, he seems to be in between a PG/SG's size but plays as a G/F, maybe he can be used as a defender on opponents PG's
Not a fan of the Ron Baker signing because we need a LEGIT 3rd backup PG or at least combo guard, think his team mate, Chasson Randle (his body/skill sets are very similar to Jennings but seems to be a better legit PG, without the drama, EGO, and wants to play D/along with creating good shots for the team, but can score/shoot)....

rather than Baker or JP Tokoto...
Even Tony Douglas would fit a need better than Baker for our roster
With the injuries/question marks to both Rose/Jennings, getting a backup to them is needed

even other combo guards, there are plenty available

or Lance Stephenson/PJ Hairston as G/F's but can penetrate/facilitate a bit...

would much rather have Summers or even Thanasis

On Summers,

He seems to have been a volume shooter, something he will not have the luxury of being if on The Knicks
seems a bit think but like his game, probably ahead of Thanasis on skills right now but still think Thanasis has the better NBA body and upside....

On Thanasis, there is also that side of me that wants to be able to use him as leverage for future Giannes acqusitions, pulling a Chris Smith type of deal, Giannes is unlikely to sign a qualifying offer like Greg Monroe, however, he can demand a 4year MAX deal with a player option instead
which I think would greatly benefit with the addition of our summer acquisitions and coaching changes/uptempo systems + PG's that can penetrate/finish consistently
I still think he has a great ceiling and shooting is a weakness's that he can eventually overcome, with the size/strength/athleticism/explosiveness/defensive mentality, just as Ariza developed with the Lakers before gaining confidence in his 3pt shot
He can finish on fast break or initiate it with rebounds/defense etc...

On a team with Noah, KP, Lee, Lance Thomas, they can mentor and use his young legs
Along with 2 PG's that will look to handle/penetrate/create fast break/uptempo pace/team philosophy etc...

lets not forget how Ariza developed, if he stayed a Knick, he was likely going oversea's and might not have become the player he was and currently is (though on the downside)

Summers is the best Melo clone on the team. So he should fit right in, whenever Melo is on the bench. Volume shooter who can score.....and He's taller than all of the prospects mentioned in this thread. He's also a veteran with NBA experience. His main problem is injury history. Coming off an injury, with a team that already has key players with injuries, is a risk. But Summers is very solid and will be great in this system since he can get buckets.....The other 3 guys mentioned brings more defensive energy.

Finestrg wrote:

RonRon wrote:He is a lot smaller than both Summers and Thanasis, he seems to be in between a PG/SG's size but plays as a G/F, maybe he can be used as a defender on opponents PG's
Not a fan of the Ron Baker signing because we need a LEGIT 3rd backup PG or at least combo guard, think his team mate, Chasson Randle (his body/skill sets are very similar to Jennings but seems to be a better legit PG, without the drama, EGO, and wants to play D/along with creating good shots for the team, but can score/shoot)....

rather than Baker or JP Tokoto...
Even Tony Douglas would fit a need better than Baker for our roster
With the injuries/question marks to both Rose/Jennings, getting a backup to them is needed

even other combo guards, there are plenty available

or Lance Stephenson/PJ Hairston as G/F's but can penetrate/facilitate a bit...

would much rather have Summers or even Thanasis

On Summers,

He seems to have been a volume shooter, something he will not have the luxury of being if on The Knicks
seems a bit think but like his game, probably ahead of Thanasis on skills right now but still think Thanasis has the better NBA body and upside....

On Thanasis, there is also that side of me that wants to be able to use him as leverage for future Giannes acqusitions, pulling a Chris Smith type of deal, Giannes is unlikely to sign a qualifying offer like Greg Monroe, however, he can demand a 4year MAX deal with a player option instead
which I think would greatly benefit with the addition of our summer acquisitions and coaching changes/uptempo systems + PG's that can penetrate/finish consistently
I still think he has a great ceiling and shooting is a weakness's that he can eventually overcome, with the size/strength/athleticism/explosiveness/defensive mentality, just as Ariza developed with the Lakers before gaining confidence in his 3pt shot
He can finish on fast break or initiate it with rebounds/defense etc...

On a team with Noah, KP, Lee, Lance Thomas, they can mentor and use his young legs
Along with 2 PG's that will look to handle/penetrate/create fast break/uptempo pace/team philosophy etc...

lets not forget how Ariza developed, if he stayed a Knick, he was likely going oversea's and might not have become the player he was and currently is (though on the downside)

Nice post. Tokoto's interesting -- I don't think there's enough there to stick at the NBA level at this time but he is a good athlete and I actually liked his decision-making in SL with the ball in his hands at times.

By comparison, I though Thanasis was an even better player myself (and so is Baker, I agree with GardenFaithful). A little sad that we're apparently moving on without him. I still think TA has real nice upside and despite the ho-hum DL numbers overall, I still thought he made progress and he also had some real stellar performances--I just don't think he progressed fast enough for the Knicks' liking. Good point about players being able to improve their jump-shots as they progress--that's true--it's a skill that guys can definitely improve as long as their strokes aren't completely broken (and TA's isn't) and Ariza is a good example of a similar player that improved a good deal over time. I'm telling ya -- TA's ceiling is a better Gerald Wilkins. If you watch him closely, the similarities to Gerald are there in abundance. What's up with TA? Anyone know? Europe (Greece)? I thought I read a week or two ago that the Bulls were thinking about bringing him to camp? Any truth to that? I'd love to get him back in the fold. Would love to have him over Sasha Vujacic--that's a no brainer to me.

I see you also mentioned PJ Hairston a few times now. I actually had him identified as a cheap solution at SG for us before FA began. He's got upside as well--surprised he hasn't been locked up yet by someone.

I think that gerald wilkins would struggle badly in todays NBA. If you can't shoot then you better be a great passer and rack up tons of assists (and assists still may not be enough) or a average 10+ rebounds a game + plus be a well above average defender.

TA's shot did not seem broken, I agree there but he must have not impressed them with enough improvement in that area.

reub wrote:He looks lost on the basketball court. Randle would be much, much better and can actually shoot!

And if you realize that by watching SL......what do you think him and his agent are thinking? Which is why he hasn't signed with the Knicks......would you sign with a team that doesn't have an open roster spot? Or wait to hear from other teams that do? Randle was by far the best player on the SL team. We can only hope other teams are sleeping on him.

Kid is super athletic and....thats about it. I've seen some of his dunks up close at Chapel Hill and dude would definitely give LaVine a run for his money but thats about it.

With that said, that was a couple of years ago (maybe his jumper has improved since then) and you can't teach athleticism so I hope the Knicks do get to hold on to him and stash him on the D-league.