"Who are the Knicks? Brunson, Brunson and some other Knickas" " - Official '23 NYK Offseason Thread

Peter Popoff

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ISO said:
I disagree because we still have IQ who is approaching best back up point in the league status. He held us down when Brunson was out and I feel he could do it for a prolonged stretch if that were to happen.

With Mikal we’d have high IQ players up and down the roster it’s a recipe for success and being the type of team that plays above its talent level and can plug and play.

4 is steep though for sure.
Click to expand...
IQ, Toppin and 2 picks for Mikal could work for both teams. 😍
 
storyteller

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Wargames said:
Yeah but he is a kid. A lot of great players weren't nearly as productive as he has been at his age.

I keep mentioning JR for a reason the talent was there but he was inconsistent. That’s why he excelled as a 6th man. Ideally if the knicks want to be a legit contender you put RJ in the same role and see if he can get the kinks out.

I also think asking him to produce with two other left handed ball dominant players is a issue. I don't think Hart could take his spot (though you never know with Thibs) but a Mikal could.
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Honestly...I think if IQ could improve his percentage on open/wide open shots, he'd actually be the best compliment for the Brunson/Randle two-man game. But then you'd need RJ to really lead the second unit and he hasn't shown that he's ready to do that (he looked like he was getting there before the finger injury break to be fair).

I also think people saying that he hasn't improved are ignoring a few things. His touch around the rim has improved a lot, particularly with his right hand. It's not "good" but it has improved to the point that he's at 43% from the field despite this recent slump. His slumps get massive attention, but he's also had 10-15 game stretches of really good basketball that everyone just pretends didn't happen in this 50ish game sample. Remove RJ's name from the equation and ask fans of any team if they'd take a 22 year old who is streaky, but averages 20 ppg as a third option...I think most fans would be interested.

But the caveat is that RJ's regressed in everything else. Getting less touches has turned up his tunnel vision; his defense has gone from shaky to damaging; and his effort on the boards is mid. I'm hoping that a chunk of that is from extended time off during contract negotiations (players can't risk injury while they're negotiating new contracts so they lighten up workouts by a lot).

I also wonder if this is similar to Randle last year. A player starts pressing to prove he's worth the money and winds up in his own head when that doesn't work out. In that case, a JR or Manu 6th man role could be the break he needs to snap out of it...or it could be the nail in the coffin. I think RJ's got the right head on his shoulders to handle it well.
 
RickyGQ

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DPresidential said:
We usually have great wizardry powers when our thread titles call out a knick...

I'm tempted to dedicate one to RJ to light a superstitious fire under him...


















But the five heartbeats - Hart theme is just too fire to change yet. :noah::whew:
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Chill… let’s ride this one out a bit… he could have a Derrick Rose run for us…
 
OsO

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storyteller said:
Honestly...I think if IQ could improve his percentage on open/wide open shots, he'd actually be the best compliment for the Brunson/Randle two-man game. But then you'd need RJ to really lead the second unit and he hasn't shown that he's ready to do that (he looked like he was getting there before the finger injury break to be fair).

I also think people saying that he hasn't improved are ignoring a few things. His touch around the rim has improved a lot, particularly with his right hand. It's not "good" but it has improved to the point that he's at 43% from the field despite this recent slump. His slumps get massive attention, but he's also had 10-15 game stretches of really good basketball that everyone just pretends didn't happen in this 50ish game sample. Remove RJ's name from the equation and ask fans of any team if they'd take a 22 year old who is streaky, but averages 20 ppg as a third option...I think most fans would be interested.

But the caveat is that RJ's regressed in everything else. Getting less touches has turned up his tunnel vision; his defense has gone from shaky to damaging; and his effort on the boards is mid. I'm hoping that a chunk of that is from extended time off during contract negotiations (players can't risk injury while they're negotiating new contracts so they lighten up workouts by a lot).

I also wonder if this is similar to Randle last year. A player starts pressing to prove he's worth the money and winds up in his own head when that doesn't work out. In that case, a JR or Manu 6th man role could be the break he needs to snap out of it...or it could be the nail in the coffin. I think RJ's got the right head on his shoulders to handle it well.
Click to expand...

I think a bench role would be perfect for RJ right now. Allows him to refine his game against lesser competition. Switch him out for Hart. I honestly think him and IQ would dominate most other team's benches.

But is he being paid like a bench player :jbhmm:

And would his ego be able to take that hit :jbhmm:
 
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