nycericanguy wrote:also Brunson, DDV, Ihart... very few NBA miles on them compared to most players their age.

Very good point. This is spot on.

martin wrote:This thread is where it's at!

IMO the Knicks have so many good avenues ahead of them. Outside of injury...

They are legit ECF contenders.

They can sit and wait on the next best trade, they don't have to pull it off any time soon. All adult trade partners only.

They can massively upgrade immediately if a trade opportunity presents itself.

They are in the position to nab a CP3-like PG for off bench this summer, something will shake out this offseason with a former all-star or that quality player who is looking for one last dance.

They can draft based not so much on need but long term value. And they have a ton of time and latitude to convince a player or players to sit tights in draft and land with Knicks. Witness IQ, Grimes, RJ, Mitch, iHart, even Jalen/Randle to an extent.... Their dev and farm system is legit to outsiders. Maybe not Miami legit, but legit legit.

Even the current guys that are on the roster, the whole team has serious untapped potential. Witness the full of January, all without Mitch. There was no doubt a bit of honeymoon but one can't say it was anywhere near fluke.

I'm still of the opinion iHart has another offensive level and now has the cutters, shooters necessary to unlock that dude at the top of the key. If iHart gets his 3point shot straightened out, WATCH OUT.

I hope McBride can make the dribble-decision jump as he has with his 3point shooting confidence.

Knicks era about it get REALLY fun.

Biggest challenge the Knicks have is the tax aprons. They will have to commit sooner rather than later but with the draft assets they won’t be as limited as the other contenders so we have to feel great about that. I really feel like this team is almost ready to compete for a long time. Along with OKC and Boston I think their window is as wide open as anyone.

Knixkik wrote:

martin wrote:This thread is where it's at!

IMO the Knicks have so many good avenues ahead of them. Outside of injury...

They are legit ECF contenders.

They can sit and wait on the next best trade, they don't have to pull it off any time soon. All adult trade partners only.

They can massively upgrade immediately if a trade opportunity presents itself.

They are in the position to nab a CP3-like PG for off bench this summer, something will shake out this offseason with a former all-star or that quality player who is looking for one last dance.

They can draft based not so much on need but long term value. And they have a ton of time and latitude to convince a player or players to sit tights in draft and land with Knicks. Witness IQ, Grimes, RJ, Mitch, iHart, even Jalen/Randle to an extent.... Their dev and farm system is legit to outsiders. Maybe not Miami legit, but legit legit.

Even the current guys that are on the roster, the whole team has serious untapped potential. Witness the full of January, all without Mitch. There was no doubt a bit of honeymoon but one can't say it was anywhere near fluke.

I'm still of the opinion iHart has another offensive level and now has the cutters, shooters necessary to unlock that dude at the top of the key. If iHart gets his 3point shot straightened out, WATCH OUT.

I hope McBride can make the dribble-decision jump as he has with his 3point shooting confidence.

Knicks era about it get REALLY fun.

Biggest challenge the Knicks have is the tax aprons. They will have to commit sooner rather than later but with the draft assets they won’t be as limited as the other contenders so we have to feel great about that. I really feel like this team is almost ready to compete for a long time. Along with OKC and Boston I think their window is as wide open as anyone.

I have to tell you, I have not seen 1 projected salary outline in relation to tax aprons that includes Randle, OG, Brunson, iHart out for 3-5 years and what that would total.

Knicks have 1 more full season before they need to sort that out?

Interesting exercise though.

Nalod wrote:I dig this thread and its all good stuff.
Change is the one constant and while we'd like to assume we can keep this core together a while the reality is it will "Evolve".
We thought RJ and IQ were long term here as well.
It was pretty evident (especially in hindsight) RJ and Randle could not fully achieve full ceiling together. And "BAM", Both ere made gone so fast one fell swoop!

I don't Know how or if Leon and Co. will use the assets to get to the next level.
What level is that? That team in January before Randle got hurt was as good as any for a short time.

We kemosabe?!?!

KnickDanger wrote:Agree with the optimism - interesting to me that Knicks are in this spot despite mostly crapping out on lottery picks (pre Leon mostly) and a couple of bad signings. The braintrust has shown an affinity for the long view and an ability to pivot and learn from mistakes.

We tanked the wrong way and didn't trade Randle!

martin wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

martin wrote:This thread is where it's at!

IMO the Knicks have so many good avenues ahead of them. Outside of injury...

They are legit ECF contenders.

They can sit and wait on the next best trade, they don't have to pull it off any time soon. All adult trade partners only.

They can massively upgrade immediately if a trade opportunity presents itself.

They are in the position to nab a CP3-like PG for off bench this summer, something will shake out this offseason with a former all-star or that quality player who is looking for one last dance.

They can draft based not so much on need but long term value. And they have a ton of time and latitude to convince a player or players to sit tights in draft and land with Knicks. Witness IQ, Grimes, RJ, Mitch, iHart, even Jalen/Randle to an extent.... Their dev and farm system is legit to outsiders. Maybe not Miami legit, but legit legit.

Even the current guys that are on the roster, the whole team has serious untapped potential. Witness the full of January, all without Mitch. There was no doubt a bit of honeymoon but one can't say it was anywhere near fluke.

I'm still of the opinion iHart has another offensive level and now has the cutters, shooters necessary to unlock that dude at the top of the key. If iHart gets his 3point shot straightened out, WATCH OUT.

I hope McBride can make the dribble-decision jump as he has with his 3point shooting confidence.

Knicks era about it get REALLY fun.

Biggest challenge the Knicks have is the tax aprons. They will have to commit sooner rather than later but with the draft assets they won’t be as limited as the other contenders so we have to feel great about that. I really feel like this team is almost ready to compete for a long time. Along with OKC and Boston I think their window is as wide open as anyone.

I have to tell you, I have not seen 1 projected salary outline in relation to tax aprons that includes Randle, OG, Brunson, iHart out for 3-5 years and what that would total.

Knicks have 1 more full season before they need to sort that out?

Interesting exercise though.

I put the totals for next years projection into the Achiuwa thread. Based on my math the Knicks wouldn’t be able to avoid the first apron if they sign all 4 major free agents. They would have to pick between Achiuwa and Burks and even then it’s really tight. Ultimately they can just decide to go over but not sure what their appetite for that is. Knicks biggest advantage over other contenders is flexibility until Brunson and Randle extensions kick in.