I'm new member here and I am Knicks fan since early 90's. I'm reading you for years and I wanted to register multiple times but in the end I never did. I'm from Croatia and english is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes in writing.

No need to say how angry I am for all the misjudgments since the end of 90's. I don't even want to remember the 00's and all the washed-up stars that have gone through MSG. 2010 seemed like a lifesaver and although LeBron eventually chose Miami, Walsh didn’t panic and pulled the right moves at the end. But then the Melo trade happened and we ran out of all the resources only to bring in a player who was soon to be a free agent. One of the few bright spots was the eastern semifinals against Indiana. Each season was a “new start,” but the same mistakes were made each time. Bargnani trade where we gave a pick for the player Toronto wanted to vaiwe anyway.

Porzingis seemed like something that would move us in the right direction, but in the end it didn’t work out either. Worst of all are mistakes in the draft year after year. But it should be said that it's not just about drafting because I can't shake the impression that Ntilikina and Knox would be much better players today if they got into a little less dysfunctional franchise.

Thibs is one of my favorite coaches in the league given that I’m a fan of the “defense is the foundation of everything” approach, but I have to admit that I thought he was simply out of time and no longer a top coach in this league. But as I was just fooled, Thibs is still Thibs and the change in mentality on the team is amazing. The downside is that we will be left without a high pick in a very good draft, but I'm ok with that. I have to “apologize” to Randle as well because I thought he is not keeper and is just volume scorer who doesn’t help the team.

However, now it is crucial not to make mistakes from the past again. Do we have the resources to bring Beal, LaVine or Oladipo? We absolutely have, but where will that take us? Nowhere. These are the moves made by teams that only need the "last piece of the puzzle". The Knicks are unfortunately not even close to that yet. As for the future, we have Randle and Robinson as starters in PF and C positions and Barrett in SG/SF depending on who will be his partner. IQ is probably a great 6th player. Toppin will be a great backup PF/C positions. Like I said, I think a lot more could have been pulled out of Ntilikna and Knox, but I’m afraid that train has unfortunately passed and that they won’t be the team’s future.

So we need a PG and one wing player and it would be ideal if they were both good shooters and at least one of them a top defender. That would make Barrett's life a lot easier. We need to be creative and see how to find them. We have picks and we have a good cap situation. We just must not make panic moves and give a lot for a player who is not a long term solution and who will not take us to the desired level.

ramtour420 wrote:Hey, given how you said you value defense I think these Knicks with Thibs is just perfect for those of us longing for that 90's grind it out type of approach.

Anthony Davis was a star to wish upon for sure. With the way we are constructed I feel like a passing PG would bring the most out of our draft picks.

Imagine Quickley not having to drive around a pick to get into the paint and instead receiving the ball with a defender trying to catch up and close out? Then he could really be a threat to either let it fly from 3 or use the defender's momentum to his advantage to get closer for the floater.

Obi would blossom ala Amare with a passing PG. Finishing strong off of a PnR. In transition. Lobs! Where are thou?
Need more lobs!! I would settle for backdoor cuts. Whatever. We need more assists to really gel as a team.

Yes, passing PG would definitely make this team significantly better offensively. I's reason why I'm not completely thrilled with bringing Rose, considering that he is not exactly what this team needed. But since we didn't gave up anything important from the resources for him, I'm ok with that trade.

As for Toppin, I have to admit that I’m not quite sure his ceiling is very high, but I certainly think he can be a useful player for rotation. But the problem is that he simply won't get minutes with Randle because they are both primarily PF and they can possibly play a few minutes at C (certainly not at SF). I wouldn't have anything against trading Randle if we can get some nice pieces, but I’m afraid the offers for him would be much lower than some think.