Forgive me, as I think what a lot of us are probably thinking/feeling on this topic, but at least for me it has to be said out loud.
I cannot understate the impact this guy has brought when he has been on the court. He is the link that holds the defense together and has been an absolutely perfect fit for the Thibs system as a switchable, 5 position defender. Even offensively, he's a ball mover/decisive cutter with good finishing skills and an accurate corner 3 which works perfectly alongside Brunson and Randle. But my gosh this man has played 17 games and missed 25. Not gonna begrudge someone getting injured, but to have a surgery, rehab time come back and then miss another 7 games with tennis elbow...its not that its just frustrating from a fan perspective (and I know the Knicks are gonna err on being cautious to have him for the playoffs), but how do you take this within the context of his career, where he has only player over 70 games his rookie season and the pay him 30-40mm per annum. 7 seasons in the league where injuries have always been an issue - hard to expect something different in the future and really need to price this in to your expectations. To me this is the conundrum of all conundrums because there's no question he is value add, but if he misses 15-35 games per year for each of the seasons of his deal, how much does that hurt us?
Remember paying him 30-40mm means you can't afford depth behind him, and if you have to play 20-40% of your games without him, that's potentially either a big drop off or has ripple effects on the rest of your team, where certain guys are playing 40+ mins every night and can wear down late in games or have off nights with tired legs, or worse yet, get in position to also get injured. Meanwhile that 30-40mm per annum is a huge portion of your cap. I think we're feeling the pinch right now- our team is giving an amazing effort night and night out, but the more that OG doesn't play, the less it feels we can sustain this and go far into the playoffs.
I'm not sure the math adds up. This is gonna be a really hard and impactful decision for the front office and the future of the franchise. But after the resources we gave up, its hard to fold your cards and not go all in. This is the endowment effect in economics. Happens all the time on bball - trade for a guy, invest a lot of resources, double down on your investment, but maybe not the best decision for your future. But your always gonna think - maybe he can play 65-70 games a year and that is absolutely worth it if he can stay healthy in the playoffs and get you to the ring...but is that high odds / a good bet? Is "what else are we gonna do?" a good enough reason to stay the course?