Older thread '20 NYK Off-season Thread

[ISO]

That's not a low motor player.

And to your last question, Frank did that multiple times this season.

Avoidance of making bad plays is not the same as not having energy on offense

 

[Wargames]

how does Randle free them up financially?

They’re trading Oubre with the 10th pick to make room for someone else. If they wanted Randle they wouldn’t need to give up much for him...

My fault I heard a rumor they wanted a scorer and names like Aaron Gordon and Dimwiddle were thrown around as targets.

 

[JMurder]

You do know that motor has to do with a player's energy right?

 

[ISO]

You do know that motor has to do with a player's energy right?

Is Frank a high energy player on offense. Yes or no.

No Juelz either

 

[JMurder]

Is Frank a high energy player on offense. Yes or no.

No Juelz either

No but he's not a low energy player on offense. If you asked him to push the pace offensively he would be able to

 

[JMurder]

Vassell, Bane, and a case for the Knicks to prioritize off-ball players

Maybe this is obvious. Half the minutes are defensive minutes, and there’s only one ball on offense. But it’s precisely this obviousness that is the point. The majority of NBA players will be off-ball for over 95% of their NBA careers. If a player can’t shoot and defend, they are a problem, and problems can’t play in the playoffs. Hence the 3-and-D fetish.

The bubble playoffs are a case in point. One of the most unexpectedly deadly 3-point marksmen on the planet right now, the Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson, may be on an Eastern Conference collision course with one of the game’s most destructive defenders, the Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart. Both guys are linchpins of their team’s offensive and defensive systems, respectively.

Robinson is a 3-point shooting flamethrower temporarily adopting human form. He torches, torments, and turns defenses into panicked goo with the mere threat of a flick of the wrist. If he ever shoots the ball, the defense has failed, and defenders feel this lurking failure every second Robinson is on the floor. Defensively, he’s big at 6-foot-9, and smart enough to be in the right place at the right time. (Of course, he’s on the Heat, so he sucks.)

Smart is a defensive piranha, a piranha the size of a great white shark, a piranha-shark that’s had 14 pre-game espressos: a caffeinated piranha-shark who sees offensive game plans as blood in the water. Offensively, he keeps defenses honest with 35% shooting from deep on a characteristically aggressive 6.6 attempts a game. (Of course, he’s on the Celtics, so he sucks.)

Both guys are — in their own ways — off-ball maestros. Their elite skills remain elite without having the ball in their hands, so they are infinitely more effective than if those skills only kicked into action for the five-ish percent of the time that they had the ball.

Which brings us nicely to 2020 NBA Draft prospects Devin Vassell and Desmond Bane: this draft’s 3-and-D wet dreams.

Vassell is a 20-year-old, 6-foot-7 wing who is projected to be available for the Knicks with the No. 8 pick. I’ll let our draft experts fill you in on the details, but the bottom line is this: he’s the best off-ball defender in the draft, one of the best off-ball defensive prospects in recent memory, and is a 42% shooter from deep. People will talk about what he can’t do in the 5% of the time he will have the ball as an NBA player, but the other 95% is not in question.

Bane is a 22-year-old, 6-foot-6 wing who is projected to go somewhere in the second half of the first round. The Knicks have the 27th pick, so would likely have to move up to nab Bane. Again, I’ll leave the details to the experts, but the bottom line is this: he’s one of the — if not the — best shooters in the draft, nailing 43.3% from deep on 575 attempts over four years in college. He’s also a very good off-ball defender, with a switch-friendly NBA body and a great motor. Again, his 95% is not in question.

Coming out of the draft with the best defender in the draft who can also shoot, and the best shooter in the draft who can also defend seems like it would be a pretty good outcome.

The Knicks have ranked 22nd, 28th, 25th, 27th, 18th, and 28th in defensive efficiency, and 29th, 30th, 21st, 19th, 23rd, and 29th in offensive efficiency the last six seasons. This sustained two-way futility may have something to do with consistently focusing on 5% skillsets and too easily overlooking the other 95%.

I'm struggling to argue this logic

 

[23Barrettcity]

Vassell, Bane, and a case for the Knicks to prioritize off-ball players



I'm struggling to argue this logic

I like it . We need to Start with this mindset snd stop trying to reinvent the wheel

 

[Wargames]

We need a god damn PG who can you know play the point

 

[JMurder]

Is Frank a high energy player on offense. Yes or no.

No Juelz either

I want you to watch this YouTube critiquing Frank's game this season. Only a few instances where Frank was just standing around on offense and they were usually beneficial to the team's offense for him to do so

 

[JMurder]

We need a god damn PG who can you know play the point

We have one... We just don't have an attacking point guard. A PG who can be a real threat as a point of attack would be a game changer. It's why I'm confused at ppl clamoring for Lamelo (I wrote this and instantly pulled up a highlights video and yeah, you can nevermind this. I can see the hype)... We definitely need one

 

[Wargames]

We have one... We just don't have an attacking point guard. A PG who can be a real threat as a point of attack would be a game changer. It's why I'm confused at ppl clamoring for Lamelo (I wrote this and instantly pulled up a highlights video and yeah, you can nevermind this. I can see the hype)... We definitely need one

I feel the same. At first I was a fan of Haliburton until I realized he’s not built that way. Arguably Hayes, Kira, and Maledon are the Pure PGs who could do it and guys like Maxey and Tyrell are smaller combo guards who could be converted into pg.

 

[Typical Knicks Fan]

The Knicks and Giants are pretty similar in how they look at certain positions. For decades franchise PGs and LBs always seem to be overlooked or one pick away in the draft.

 

[Wargames]

The Knicks and Giants are pretty similar in how they look at certain positions. For decades franchise PGs and LBs always seem to be overlooked or one pick away in the draft.

Yeah but the giants compensated by having some of the best defensive lines in the league at various points through the decades. To the point they’ve won championships off their defensive line.

Knicks just won’t learn

 

[Typical Knicks Fan]

Yeah but the giants compensated by having some of the best defensive lines in the league at various points through the decades. To the point they’ve won championships off their defensive line.

Knicks just won’t learn

True. They still passed on Josh Allen in 2019 when their defense was shyt all around and reached on Daniel Jones.

 

[Wargames]

True. They still passed on Josh Allen in 2019 when their defense was shyt all around and reached on Daniel Jones.

that draft was so fukking stupid...... it was Knicks’esque