NYKBocker wrote:I read this out loud while my wife was at the table. She teared up and I came really close.

Great kid, well worded.
As I said a while back and many disagreed, the next Maxey!

ESOMKnicks wrote:This letter makes me doubt this guy would have left us in the summer. Sure there would have been a way to get to a reasonable deal with him.
This type of loyal character guys, who can also really ball, you just don't trade.

anyway IQ was a gem. We all knew that. He was my fav player to watch. He was the cost. Both get upgrades in opportunity. I have said for years RJ needs to play SG.

What we got back is better. A 1-5 defender and instant floor spacer opening things for Randle/Brunson even more. He already looks great with IHart but pair OG and Mitch and its the literal death of your pick and roll. OG is 26 and a terrific person.

3.5 years later we are built around Brunson, Randle, OG and Mitch with a very good supporting cast, all our FRPs and 4 extra's potentially in the queue. No bad contracts and everyone's best years are ahead of them. Losing IQ is tough but it's a great time to be a Knick fan

ESOMKnicks wrote:

fishmike wrote:

ESOMKnicks wrote:This letter makes me doubt this guy would have left us in the summer. Sure there would have been a way to get to a reasonable deal with him.
This type of loyal character guys, who can also really ball, you just don't trade.

except Randle right? You would trade him...

Randle is a different type of character. When he is on - he looks positively Ewingesque. When he sulks or takes bad shots or spins - he positively hurts the team. It has been a roller-coaster with him, which is why I argued for a "sell high" on him.

fishmike wrote:
anyway IQ was a gem. We all knew that. He was my fav player to watch. He was the cost. Both get upgrades in opportunity. I have said for years RJ needs to play SG.

What we got back is better. A 1-5 defender and instant floor spacer opening things for Randle/Brunson even more. He already looks great with IHart but pair OG and Mitch and its the literal death of your pick and roll. OG is 26 and a terrific person.

3.5 years later we are built around Brunson, Randle, OG and Mitch with a very good supporting cast, all our FRPs and 4 extra's potentially in the queue. No bad contracts and everyone's best years are ahead of them. Losing IQ is tough but it's a great time to be a Knick fan

In other words, 3.5 years later we are built as a solid mediocrity with ECF as our ceiling.

Has it been a roller coaster ride? Seems like mostly up to me since Thibs got here. MIP, 2x all star, 2 playoff berths in 3 years after decades of none. Only a roller coaster for fans who hate on their guys. That makes it tough.

fishmike wrote:

ESOMKnicks wrote:

fishmike wrote:

ESOMKnicks wrote:This letter makes me doubt this guy would have left us in the summer. Sure there would have been a way to get to a reasonable deal with him.
This type of loyal character guys, who can also really ball, you just don't trade.

except Randle right? You would trade him...

Randle is a different type of character. When he is on - he looks positively Ewingesque. When he sulks or takes bad shots or spins - he positively hurts the team. It has been a roller-coaster with him, which is why I argued for a "sell high" on him.

fishmike wrote:
anyway IQ was a gem. We all knew that. He was my fav player to watch. He was the cost. Both get upgrades in opportunity. I have said for years RJ needs to play SG.

What we got back is better. A 1-5 defender and instant floor spacer opening things for Randle/Brunson even more. He already looks great with IHart but pair OG and Mitch and its the literal death of your pick and roll. OG is 26 and a terrific person.

3.5 years later we are built around Brunson, Randle, OG and Mitch with a very good supporting cast, all our FRPs and 4 extra's potentially in the queue. No bad contracts and everyone's best years are ahead of them. Losing IQ is tough but it's a great time to be a Knick fan

In other words, 3.5 years later we are built as a solid mediocrity with ECF as our ceiling.

In other words we are an ECF contender with depth and a treasure trove of picks along with a core of key player on reasonable contracts about 27 years old.

Has it been a roller coaster ride? Seems like mostly up to me since Thibs got here. MIP, 2x all star, 2 playoff berths in 3 years after decades of none. Only a roller coaster for fans who hate on their guys. That makes it tough.

This.

Those sort of constant negative complaints always seem to ignore ANY positives.
Same people that complained about Ewing never winning a chip yet ignored other factors and everything we accomplished. Same thing that will be said of Randle if we get to the finals but fail to win it. Ignoring all the positives that took place to get us there.

The FO has done a great job. And it all started with the hiring of Thibs.

ramtour420 wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:

fishmike wrote:

ESOMKnicks wrote:

fishmike wrote:

ESOMKnicks wrote:This letter makes me doubt this guy would have left us in the summer. Sure there would have been a way to get to a reasonable deal with him.
This type of loyal character guys, who can also really ball, you just don't trade.

except Randle right? You would trade him...

Randle is a different type of character. When he is on - he looks positively Ewingesque. When he sulks or takes bad shots or spins - he positively hurts the team. It has been a roller-coaster with him, which is why I argued for a "sell high" on him.

fishmike wrote:
anyway IQ was a gem. We all knew that. He was my fav player to watch. He was the cost. Both get upgrades in opportunity. I have said for years RJ needs to play SG.

What we got back is better. A 1-5 defender and instant floor spacer opening things for Randle/Brunson even more. He already looks great with IHart but pair OG and Mitch and its the literal death of your pick and roll. OG is 26 and a terrific person.

3.5 years later we are built around Brunson, Randle, OG and Mitch with a very good supporting cast, all our FRPs and 4 extra's potentially in the queue. No bad contracts and everyone's best years are ahead of them. Losing IQ is tough but it's a great time to be a Knick fan

In other words, 3.5 years later we are built as a solid mediocrity with ECF as our ceiling.

In other words we are an ECF contender with depth and a treasure trove of picks along with a core of key player on reasonable contracts about 27 years old.

Has it been a roller coaster ride? Seems like mostly up to me since Thibs got here. MIP, 2x all star, 2 playoff berths in 3 years after decades of none. Only a roller coaster for fans who hate on their guys. That makes it tough.

This.

Those sort of constant negative complaints always seem to ignore ANY positives.
Same people that complained about Ewing never winning a chip yet ignored other factors and everything we accomplished. Same thing that will be said of Randle if we get to the finals but fail to win it. Ignoring all the positives that took place to get us there.

The FO has done a great job. And it all started with the hiring of Thibs.

Arguably, it all started with Phil Jackson refusing to trade any picks.

Yep, Kurt Rambis was the game changer!!
Jackson was like the band Live, great in the 90s and lousy every year after that.
I enjoyed pics of his naps and his great draft picks.

ESOMKnicks wrote:This letter makes me doubt this guy would have left us in the summer. Sure there would have been a way to get to a reasonable deal with him.
This type of loyal character guys, who can also really ball, you just don't trade.

Its a nice fable to think of him this way.
He was offered a reasonable deal.
Brunson got in the way.
Quick wants to start. Maybe emotionally he did not want to leave quite yet but here he was making a b-line to RFA.
Not being ugly, just keeping out real.
Our guys both had 25 losing without siakim to clippers. I wish them well, but they are both doing really well.

fishmike wrote:

ESOMKnicks wrote:
In other words, 3.5 years later we are built as a solid mediocrity with ECF as our ceiling.

In other words we are an ECF contender with depth and a treasure trove of picks along with a core of key player on reasonable contracts about 27 years old.

Has it been a roller coaster ride? Seems like mostly up to me since Thibs got here. MIP, 2x all star, 2 playoff berths in 3 years after decades of none. Only a roller coaster for fans who hate on their guys. That makes it tough.

ECF contender or ECF fodder - no different.
The concept of our stockpile of picks being a treasure trove is way overstated in my opinion. In Rose's opinion apparently too, given how he was trading out of the first round.
RJ and IQ with about 25 pts apiece the other night. Both homegrown Knicks. You cannot buy talent on your way to a championship, unless you have the Lakers cache. Gotta grow your own superstars. It is Thibs that hates on his young guys. No wonder, given how he comes from the JVG school of thought. Though, to give him credit, he does give them minutes, unlike JVG with his 8-man veteran rotations. Still, not enough patience to build around them.