* The Leon Rose/ Tom Thibodeau alliance isn't going anywhere. The team has shown enough improvement and stability relative to previous seasons that the Garden will continue to sell out and MSG viewers will continue to subscribe.
* Thibs refuses to play anything other than his way. I think the development of Obi speaks volumes. Obi played center in college and has slowly morphed into a wing. Maybe that was always his path to being a NBA player, but there are plenty of small ball centers who have the similar physical tools as Obi. Surprisingly, Obi has shared 70 of 540 minutes this season with Randle this season at the front end. With Robinson out and a big hole at center, the answer has been more Sims and Hart.
* So I think it's pretty clear that Thibs will only play centers in drop coverage who can protect the paint. I guess it's clear where this is going.Gobert has his flaws but in terms of what Thibs is looking for in a center, he's the perfect fit.
* Minnesota really have their backs to the wall on this one. Whatever they were hoping to accomplish with the Gobert trade hasn't worked ou. theringer.com had a long article on Anthony Edwards a week ago and the gist was basically it took him 10 games to register an assist to Gobert and his splits with Gobert have been terrible.
* I don't think Gobert's value can get much lower than it is, and I also think it's more of a question of fit. I think all those traded draft picks are really go it to hurt the franchise when they continue to flounder and start pushing against the luxury tax. At some point you have to cut bait.
* The Knicks have a surplus of draft picks but I think their value, because of lottery protections, are actually pretty low. That is, they are unlikely to help the current core their ceiling.
* The deal I propose is:
Knicks trade
Rose
Fournier
Hartenstein
Dallas pick and Detroit pick
Minnesota trades:
Rudy Gobert
Minnesota is out of the 23, 25 drafts. The Dallas pick is likely to convey this season and Detroit in 2025, when the protections fall off. Hartenstein is an OK fit as he at least won't clog up the paint. Rose will give Minnesota some salary cap relief and at least they won't be forced into trading D-Lo immediately. Fournier can spread the floor on Minnesota.
Knicks get Robinson and Gobert so 48 solid minutes of rim protection. Both can reliably pick up the slack if the other is injury. It's fricking bonkers to have 55 million committed to the center position in this day and age, but with the personnel the Knicks have and looking around at which players available, and taking into account Thibs style of play and the unlikely possibility that Thibs/ Rose go anywhere soon, I think this might be the best move to make.
