Noah's contract is pretty bad, but so is Danilo Gallinari's, also with the Clippers - $65m/3 years (including this season - same time left as Noah's). He's younger and SHOULD be in his prime (age 29). his claim to fame is his in8 obsession with the number 8 - is that he wears the #8, and was born on 8/8/88.
So... with the Clippers rebooting, it seems as if their main priority is cutting salary at the moment. I can picture the Knicks talking a deal centered around:
DeAndre & Gallo for Kanter, Noah.
The devil is in the details - it depends on what other fillers are moving to/from.
It also depends on what type of draft pick compensation the Clippers would need (needless to say the Knicks should exercise lottery protection). Jack, McDermott, Beasley are all only under contract this season, so they're expendable. Lee has one more year on his deal on a relatively tradeable contract, so he could be on the go too.
The Clippers would have time to evaluate whether Kanter (age 25) is worthy of becoming the next cornerstone of the team and big contract, and if not they could let him go. Noah could take over DeAndre's mins in the short term. At 18mil/year, he's less costly than Gallo.
What do the Knicks get in the deal:
We jettison Noah's toxic presence. That should probably be our #1 priority. He'll sabotage us with free agent acquisitions, sabotage us during games. You need to give him an enemy on the opposing team, otherwise he'll get bored and turn his venom internally.
The Knicks get a player they coveted a few years ago in Jordan, giving the Knicks an unbelievable shotblocking tandem at the big man slots. He's also one of the few players superior at rebounding to Kanter. He's not so much of a post scorer, so we give up something here.
Gallo, when healthy, gives us a legit starting forward. He's a lights out shooter who can spread the court. His size will give the Knicks tremendous length with TWO 7 footers and a 6'10" players in their starting frontcourt. With his injury history, the Knicks will need to count on extra depth (well, we have Beasley, Lance, and McDermott at the moment) - and of course, hope Gallo's healthy come playoff time.
THJr to start at a more natural (for his size) SG position.
What don't we get:
Jordan and Gallo aren't well known for their playmaking, averaging only a little more than 3 assists/game combined for their careers. We'd have 3 frontcourt starters that basically average 4 assists among them. Not ideal. That puts extra pressure on our guards to get them them ball.
(At this moment I understand the lure of a young big like Julius Randle, who averages around 3.5apg per 36)
1/29/2018 11:02 PM