"NYK will surprise the NBA"...I believe 'em too. 19-20 NYK Offseason Thread

[storyteller]

Bonus Blurb: I think this is as good a time as any to beat you over the head with the importance of patience. RJ Barrett marks our third straight year of drafting one of the absolute youngest players available. Kevin Knox saw an assault via advanced data that completely overlooked his age and the massive role he was forced into. These are still kids with a lot to learn and develop. You draft young players with raw talent in order to build them up and that takes more than one season. It takes more than 28 mpg or whatever arbitrary figure you attach to it. Development is going to require a lot more than just one offseason too. So expect guy like Knox, Mitch and Trier to still have some of those old rookie habits that frustrated you...it's natural. Don't let that stuff blind you to development and growth. Did Knox just take a bump and still blow by for a finish? That's growth. Did Mitch just aggressively call for the ball at the three point line even if only to switch the offense over to the other side of the court? Baby steps. You see Trier making lobs and kick outs? That wasn't happening this time last year (keep that in mind when watching RJ). These feel small, sometimes insignificant even. But it starts to add up. Small wrinkles combine to form larger impacts as teams force players to leave their comfort zones. Will this work out with every young player we draft? Of course not. But keep an eye out for style trends and new habits, they're what these breakdowns have been about since I started. I'm not asking yall to "trust the process" because that's too much of a "have faith" approach. I'm telling yall to "enjoy the process." Have fun watching these kids grow and trying to project where they'll go as players; that's what a rebuild is good for. Don't let the haters take away your enjoyment; if we only cared about the w/l record we'd have lost our minds during the Eddy Curry era. But we're still here, loyal as ever and with a lot to forward to.

Medium link to click on, follow me and clap for support...always appreciated fam

 

[Peter Popoff]

This tambourine fakkit is annoying as shyt and I ran out of negs to give him.

 

[FreshFromATL]

Ok everyone needs to relax with the hot takes after 1 summer league game. RJ will be ok brehs don’t worry about it. With that said They shouldn’t put RJ and trier in at the same time during the season .We need a PG that will facilitate and keep everyone happy.

Starting lineup should be.

Frank Ntilikina
RJ Barrett
Kevin Knox
Julius Randle
Mitchell Robinson

Or

Elfrid Payton
Allonzo Trier
Kevin Knox
Julius Randle
Mitchell Robinson


I know this was the first game but ignas looked bad out the brehs. Please get him some proactive

RJ is exactly who I thought he was, a damn chucker. He'll get better over time but Fizdale has his work cut out for him. Between DSJ, Randle, and Barrett, nikkas will not see the ball on NYKs. nikka cut straight from the Westbrook school of ballers.

 

[Wargames]

Bonus Blurb: I think this is as good a time as any to beat you over the head with the importance of patience. RJ Barrett marks our third straight year of drafting one of the absolute youngest players available. Kevin Knox saw an assault via advanced data that completely overlooked his age and the massive role he was forced into. These are still kids with a lot to learn and develop. You draft young players with raw talent in order to build them up and that takes more than one season. It takes more than 28 mpg or whatever arbitrary figure you attach to it. Development is going to require a lot more than just one offseason too. So expect guy like Knox, Mitch and Trier to still have some of those old rookie habits that frustrated you...it's natural. Don't let that stuff blind you to development and growth. Did Knox just take a bump and still blow by for a finish? That's growth. Did Mitch just aggressively call for the ball at the three point line even if only to switch the offense over to the other side of the court? Baby steps. You see Trier making lobs and kick outs? That wasn't happening this time last year (keep that in mind when watching RJ). These feel small, sometimes insignificant even. But it starts to add up. Small wrinkles combine to form larger impacts as teams force players to leave their comfort zones. Will this work out with every young player we draft? Of course not. But keep an eye out for style trends and new habits, they're what these breakdowns have been about since I started. I'm not asking yall to "trust the process" because that's too much of a "have faith" approach. I'm telling yall to "enjoy the process." Have fun watching these kids grow and trying to project where they'll go as players; that's what a rebuild is good for. Don't let the haters take away your enjoyment; if we only cared about the w/l record we'd have lost our minds during the Eddy Curry era. But we're still here, loyal as ever and with a lot to forward to.

Medium link to click on, follow me and clap for support...always appreciated fam

RJ looked a year away. The talent is there it's just gonna take time. We have 7 picks in 5 years so far a lot of young guys and cap room. You're absolutely right this isn't a quick fix, but it isn't broken either. Its a by the book rebuild situation.

 

[Kitsch]

It's way too early to sour on RJ.

 

[RickyGQ]

Knicks coaching staff step in and nip this ballhog no passing shyt immediately. Let him know right away, this is not the expectation. Even THJR passed the ball occasionally.

RJ is the type to get himself going and THEN get others going. That’s why i never cared for his high assist numbers. He’s still young but the coaching staff is gonna have to beat into him that passing early will open the offense up to him.

 

[storyteller]

RJ looked a year away. The talent is there it's just gonna take time. We have 7 picks in 5 years so far a lot of young guys and cap room. You're absolutely right this isn't a quick fix, but it isn't broken either. Its a by the book rebuild situation.

Yes exactly. This is what an actual rebuild usually looks like from the loading up on youth and assets to filling out the roster with reliable veterans. Now we need to find or develop a star which is the hardest part. KP didn't want to be here. We have picks, cap space and assets off of that trade though. When the youth is ready we'll be armed to take a shot wherever the option becomes available. If it's one of our own that would be huge; if we're on a typical rebuild timeline we've probably got another lottery pick or two (not to mention what Dallas conveys); or maybe the next FA does choose us or someone demands a trade and we finally have the depth to pull that off without blowing up the team. We're in a great position and regardless; the young guys are gonna be fun to watch. They've made improvements.

 

[TOAD99]

Way too early to hate on RJ, although he definitely has a lot to work on, such as passing the damn rock and most importantly - making his free throws since he seems good at drawing contact

I see some of y’all talking about trading Trier he’s honestly one of our best young guys, he’s a walking bucket and yesterday he showed more willingness to share and pass the ball

I’d like to see him work on his defense and if he’s at least average, he goes from 6th man to our potential starting shooting guard

 

[DPresidential]

To be fair...

Looking at Zion, strength is natural but that flat shot and no lift on his jumper would be very glaring flaws in assessing his longevity.

I do believe RJ was way more raw than I thought he would be in that first game but I also still have high hopes in both RJ and Zion

 

[Peter Popoff]

I see a bigger upside in one over the other. That knee injury is a red flag that makes me nervous.

 

[MR. Conclusion]

RJ is the type to get himself going and THEN get others going. That’s why i never cared for his high assist numbers. He’s still young but the coaching staff is gonna have to beat into him that passing early will open the offense up to him.

Agreed. I'm not looking for high assist numbers, but this is a ball movememt league. He has to know when to use discretion. I don't need THJR again.

 

[puggle]

Mario Hezonja looked great in his first summer league game, I’m not worried at all about SL stats.

 

[RickyGQ]

Wild seeing OKC getting all this praise for doing exactly what we did with KP.

 

[BAMBA]

Summer League is a glorified practice. Much like practice, you should get some insights into player’s strengths and weaknesses that they’ll Need to work on, but you do not make final determinations...that is what regular season games (plural) are for.

I honestly can’t believe we are even having this conversation

 

[Peter Popoff]

Well he said his favorite player is James Harden so...

 

[Columbo]

RJ is exactly who I thought he was, a damn chucker. He'll get better over time but Fizdale has his work cut out for him. Between DSJ, Randle, and Barrett, nikkas will not see the ball on NYKs. nikka cut straight from the Westbrook school of ballers.

My goodness. I hope this doesnt prove to be true