KP will be 24 next summer (8/2)
Frank will be 21 (7/28)
Knox will be 20 (8/11)
Mitch will be 21 (4/1)
Timmy will be 27 (3/16)
First rounder t-be will be in the 19-20 range

Young core. Durant will be 31 next fall (9/29). Does he fit our timeline? I'm of two minds on this. First, KD is the type of two-way player who can help the kids grow and learn how to go. all. the. way. He also seems like the type of player who won't pull a Melo and drop-off precipitously. HOWEVER, interesting Bleacher Report article on those with steep late-career declines (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2777816-nba-metrics-101-which-players-have-had-the-steepest-late-career-declines). Looking at the metrics, most of these declines start in the 31-32yr old range. We give a four-year max to KD, could it become an albatross?

Right now I'm leaning to 'bring him in and show the kids how to win' side of this argument, but do wonder what others think.

stanleybostitch wrote:Next summer the tabloids will be swimming in free agency ink. Kyrie, Kevin, Kawhi, Butler - lots of names looking for max deals. Got me thinking. Next summer, our core looks something like follows:

KP will be 24 next summer (8/2)
Frank will be 21 (7/28)
Knox will be 20 (8/11)
Mitch will be 21 (4/1)
Timmy will be 27 (3/16)
First rounder t-be will be in the 19-20 range

Young core. Durant will be 31 next fall (9/29). Does he fit our timeline? I'm of two minds on this. First, KD is the type of two-way player who can help the kids grow and learn how to go. all. the. way. He also seems like the type of player who won't pull a Melo and drop-off precipitously. HOWEVER, interesting Bleacher Report article on those with steep late-career declines (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2777816-nba-metrics-101-which-players-have-had-the-steepest-late-career-declines). Looking at the metrics, most of these declines start in the 31-32yr old range. We give a four-year max to KD, could it become an albatross?

Right now I'm leaning to 'bring him in and show the kids how to win' side of this argument, but do wonder what others think.

Not to rain on your parade. But it’s the other way around. Does Durant want the Knicks, honestly I highly doubt he would consider the Knicks.

doomed wrote:you guys are kidding right?

If you look at the data, it shows that many players start declining in their early 30s. Our core is or will be in their early 20's. It's a legit question. I lean towards bringing in a guy who has won chips, but will be very interested to see what KD does in his 30yr-old year coming up.

stanleybostitch wrote:Young core. Durant will be 31 next fall (9/29). Does he fit our timeline?

Right now I'm leaning to 'bring him in and show the kids how to win' side of this argument, but do wonder what others think.

His absolute rock bottom floor would be an elite Stretch 5 who can defend the rim.

Like Garnett, Durant started as a small forward, shifted to more of a power forward ( though Garnett did not play in a "positionless" type era) and will eventually move to center.

One of the reasons the Warriors are so deadly is because both Green and Durant can space the floor, defend the rim and roll out on the perimeter. Durant can also create his own shot at will.

Dirk has played for so long in Dallas in part because he also shifted to playing center ( and he's nowhere near the defender of a Durant) and could shoot from long range.

With age/attrition, Durant will start to struggle to create his own shot at will. He will likely though be able to do it at quite a reasonable pace. He won't be able to guard on the perimeter anymore. But, barring injury, his skill set will age mostly gracefully.

Someone like Westbrook is a bigger problem long term ( Zero defender, not an elite three point shooter, can't shift into a high floor role, athleticism/burst dependent, etc) WB classifies more as an "Attack Guard"

Should you extend a max Attack Guard? Probably not.

Should you extend a max Stretch 5 who can defend the rim who will be able to create their own shot half the time at the tail end of their career? Yes, if it's just a question of open cap space and no other assets are involved.

If Durant wants to be a Knick for just cap space, you sign him and don't look back.

The way I see it is Durant would make us a real threat in the east - he's that good even when he's the other side of 30. He can help our young players learn that winning mentality because he has lots of play off experience, has won lots of games, is a champion and MVP. It would be the equivalent of Miami adding a 32 year old Shaq to play alongside a 22 year old Wade. The addition of Shaq helped them immensely and I'm sure Wade and co learned a lot from Shaq. Durant could do the same for our young core and they'll arguably be better set for their later 20s after having played with Durant.

Vmart wrote:

stanleybostitch wrote:Next summer the tabloids will be swimming in free agency ink. Kyrie, Kevin, Kawhi, Butler - lots of names looking for max deals. Got me thinking. Next summer, our core looks something like follows:

KP will be 24 next summer (8/2)
Frank will be 21 (7/28)
Knox will be 20 (8/11)
Mitch will be 21 (4/1)
Timmy will be 27 (3/16)
First rounder t-be will be in the 19-20 range

Young core. Durant will be 31 next fall (9/29). Does he fit our timeline? I'm of two minds on this. First, KD is the type of two-way player who can help the kids grow and learn how to go. all. the. way. He also seems like the type of player who won't pull a Melo and drop-off precipitously. HOWEVER, interesting Bleacher Report article on those with steep late-career declines (https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2777816-nba-metrics-101-which-players-have-had-the-steepest-late-career-declines). Looking at the metrics, most of these declines start in the 31-32yr old range. We give a four-year max to KD, could it become an albatross?

Right now I'm leaning to 'bring him in and show the kids how to win' side of this argument, but do wonder what others think.

Not to rain on your parade. But it’s the other way around. Does Durant want the Knicks, honestly I highly doubt he would consider the Knicks.

exactly

LegendD wrote:Championship team 2019/2020
1) Robinson / Kanter
2) KP / Kornet
3) Durant / THJ
4) Knox / Lee / Trier
5) Kyrie / Frank / Burk
Maybe need trade Lee or THJ

I don’t think the money would make sense.

In terms of career arch, 26-29 is a player's peak, 30-32 a player is in slight decline and every thing after that depends on fitness/ethic/injury. For a lot of players it's the mid-30's injury that ends things and it curves a little younger for players that rely on speed or physical play.

Signing a player that takes care of himself at 30 or 31 isn't terrible but it's a shorter term project. Durant is a no-brainer.

LegendD wrote:

Vmart wrote:

LegendD wrote:Championship team 2019/2020
1) Robinson / Kanter
2) KP / Kornet
3) Durant / THJ
4) Knox / Lee / Trier
5) Kyrie / Frank / Burk
Maybe need trade Lee or THJ

I don’t think the money would make sense.

OK, trade away Lee and THJ and its ok.

You've magically scrubbed any indication of Noah from the face of the Knicks roster and from the Earth itself. Amazing.

What you are basically saying is this roster is possible if the GSW sign'ed and traded Durant for Joaquim Noah. OK. I can see this really happening. Good job.