HofstraBBall wrote:fishmike wrote:HofstraBBall wrote:CrushAlot wrote:Nalod wrote:Drive up the value in your mind then blame Mills for offers that never really came.
I agree with you but its not a given we can get that.
Not sure I want to pay him what he will want long term.
Morris is really good. His numbers are inflated because he is on a bad team but he is a two way player. I think the Clippers or Lakers make a good offer for him. He is a guy that could push a team over the edge for a championship. He isn’t Kyle O’Quinn. He is a commodity and if he isn’t trad d it is on Mills.
When do you think we should start keeping guys like Morris? Real question. Agree that if he is leaving by the end of the year we have to get what ever we can for him. I know everyone keeps saying guys like Morris dont fit our timeline but that seems to change every year. Just thinking that if we keep trading guys like Morris for picks that only adds another 3 to 5 years to the timeline. Frustrating. Not claiming I know the answer but hoping the day comes when we are good enough that we start looking for ways to make the playoffs and not just add more pieces for yet another 3 to 5 year plan. Guess it is what it is.
depends on what the goal is right? Is the goal to field a team that can win a title? Or field a team that *should* make the playoffs?If the goal is the win a chip you dont pay anyone at this stage that isnt a long term part of what you are building. The goal is to get top flight guys worth paying to compete for a title. Once we have those we can swim in the luxury tax paying role players who might help, but those guys (like Morris) are only worth it if you already have the core guys you are building around. We dont have a single one yet. RJ might be the closest but is totally untested/unproven. We have another nice prospect in Mitch. Knox/Frank/Trier/DSjr are total unknowns worth keeping and developing but again... unknowns.
What you dont want to do is pay guys to improve the team, then after a few seasons of 35-40 win seasons your draft picks stink and you are paying role players big money for a chance to play like two extra weeks when the post season starts.
The ideal financial path is to procure young talent and use cap space to build your roster before you gotta pay those kids.
Agree with most. Do not think you can just say "lets put together a chip winning team" though. That is hard to do with so many factors involved. Unless your talking bringing in two big superstars like LBJ, Kawai or KD to join the roster. And as we have seen, the Knicks are not attractive atm. Think first step is to go from laughing stock to putting together a playoff team. Feel we are close to doing so. (Not too hard considering as bad as we have played we are 6 games back in win column) Point is if we are on the verge with the roster that we have, mostly due to Randle, Morris, RJ and Payton, why not keep the two main pieces and make other adjustments? That would get us to first step and not exactly cost the kitchen sink. Secondly, think we start including some of our "What if's" for successful 24 to 28 year olds that teams may be getting rid of due to circumstances. Just don't think we can just keep getting rid of players and hoarding young picks/projects for the next 5 to 10 years. Don't see how that is progression. Now if we are talking about starphucking for a guy like Chris Paul or Russell Westbrook, then i am against any such move. But Morris will cost average for a solid team, wont need to be for 4 or 5 years and does not cost us any picks. Think he is worth keeping.
of course you cant. But you can look around the league at the elite teams and how they got there, as well as the mistakes other teams make.
Its not lost on anyone here its a stars league and very hard to compete and be elite without some elite players. Guys who are worth building a team and style of play around. Impact players. Guys you can lean on and ride to win games.
How does one acquire stars and impact players? Pretty straightforward history lesson here:
1) draft. This works best and needs little explanation. Of course luck helps. Picking really high in the draft also helps.
2) trade. Problem is this is not only costly but often requires your destination to be desirable. PG and AD were traded for 4-5 first rounders plus good young players. That is a massive price
3) buddy up. If you can gut your roster of most everything but rookie/cheap deals you can offer a spot where two max FAs can buddy up as we have seen in the past
Now... none of those 3 are easy to make happen, but NONE of them start with overpaying role players. They are the easier piece, especially when you have Dolan's checkbook.
Morris is a good player. Know who else is playing like a really good player? Averaging 16ppg on 47% shooting and 43% from downtown on a winning team? Tim Hardaway Jr. Since they made him a starter he's been great and they are playing really well. Phucking Timmy... you know why? Of you course you do, because Luka is a star and damn if he doesnt make other guys better.
The league is full of guys like THjr who got paid because they are good, but not good enough to move the needle. Otto Porter, Andre Drummond... hey, if we already had Ja Morant and Ayton in the fold then bring em on! We dont... we gotta get those guys first.
"winning is more fun... then fun is fun" -Thibs
