Put Some Hornacek On Our Game: 2016 New York Knicks Offseason Thread

[Knicksman20]

He hasn't been able to defend at even a B+ level in three seasons.

I thought that where he's hovered his entire career when he's not injured. He was about that last season to me.

 

[Sampson]

Yeah I know about Afflalo, but my expectations for him this season were already low before the injury issue. Ideally I have him pegged as a backup. I would like to get an up and coming young guard with some real scoring ability and solid defense in this lineup. I know we have the triangle in place, but I would still like to add more scoring punch to prevent the inevitable return to iso Melo mode.

Then again maybe Afflalo will surprise me.

The pickings will be slim if we're looking for a true 2-way SG. Let's just cross our fingers and hope that Grant can be that guy eventually.

 

[Tim Dripcan]

Mudiay looking good guys. I hope this European guy pans out in a few years if not you know Knicks fukked up right?

 

[Miles Davis]

Man, with what Grant has shown us already if he keeps developing at a good click he's gonna be a sight to be seen in a few years.

Friday need to hurry up, I need my Knicks fix

 

[DPresidential]

Mudiay looking good guys. I hope this European guy pans out in a few years if not you know Knicks fukked up right?

NO... if Porzingis doesn't pan out, it would have been a gamble with a security of a steal in Jerian Grant.

If Mudiay is putting up Star level quality & Jerian Grant is putting up Quality starting PG play... I say we gambled well.

 

[Wargames]

Former No. 2 pick Derrick Williams emerging as offensive force for Knicks

Greg Monroe and LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t want to join the Knicks over the summer.

Derrick Williams did.

And the former No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft wants it known that he chose the Knicks and is intent on helping to turn the team around after signing a two-year deal worth nearly $10 million.
“Like I always said, when I got drafted [by the Minnesota Timberwolves] they picked me, I didn’t pick them,” Williams said after putting up his second straight 20-plus point game with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting as the Knicks beat the 76ers, 94-88, to improve to 3-0 in the preseason.

“I chose to be here and Phil [Jackson] wanted me here and Derek [Fisher] wanted me here and as soon as I was done with the meeting I called my agent,” the 6-foot-8 Williams added. “Ten minutes after the meeting, I said I’m signing up.”

Williams wanted to be a Knick so much he never even spoke to Kings coach George Karl about possibly remaining in Sacramento, where he spent the previous two seasons.

“Nope, I didn’t really care,” he said. “I knew where I wanted to go.”

Williams saw parallels between the rebuilding Knicks and the Arizona team he chose for college over Arizona State, Gonzaga and Memphis once he decommitted from USC.

“The history, the rebuilding process, I like that as well,” he said. “That was the reason I chose Arizona, I wanted to be part of the rebuilding process and that’s what propelled me into the NBA. Same situation [with the Knicks], the prestige of this franchise. We had a couple down years and I just want to be part of the rebuilding process, and so far so good.”

It’s only been three virtually meaningless preseason games, but Williams looks to be far and way the Knicks’ most athletic player as he bounces and bounds around the court scoring on dunks, putbacks and even going 2-for-2 from the arc.

“I don’t think I’m surprised,” said Carmelo Anthony, who had 18 points in the win. “A lot of things that you guys are seeing right now are things we’ve been seeing throughout training camp and in practice…One thing about Derrick, he came into camp in great condition and in great shape. I think just coming here really challenged him to see how good of shape he can get in, his conditioning and you can see it’s paying off.”

On a night when Kristaps Porzingis didn’t play with a calf strain, Williams played in the front court with the second unit, giving it some much-needed offensive punch.

“You need that second unit,” Anthony said. “The second unit is guys coming off the bench, push the tempo if the tempo is slow, maintain the tempo, and so we need that bench. Our bench will hopefully be a big part of our success this year.”

Williams chose the Knicks in part because he knew they lacked a player with his athleticism. Bigs like Robin Lopez, Kyle O’Quinn and Kevin Seraphin are not nearly as athletic.

His ability to play multiple positions in the triangle offense could make him an attractive piece for Fisher and the Knicks going forward.

“I just try to be dynamic, man, just try to be all over the court and I think that’s what coach wants me to do,” Williams said. “I take on the challenge. I’m playing 2-3 spots and you gotta learn them. I want to learn them. I want to be out there on the floor as much as possible and show how versatile I am. It’s really shown the first couple games and I just want to keep getting better from here.”

Said Fisher: “Derrick’s versatility on both ends of the floor, he can defend multiple players. Offensively, he can do multiple things. We believe that if we can help him feel comfortable here, that he’s valued not just as a basketball player but as a man and that we’re behind him 100 percent and we can create a program around him that will help him be at his best, that it can work out.”

Williams concedes that he still only knows about “50 percent” of the triangle offense and is still learning what spots to be in, but believes he will grow into the offense and that it’s a good fit for him long-term.

And that’s why he chose the Knicks.

“I know probably like 50 percent of it,” he said of the triangle. “Just learning the reads, there’s a lot of reads that coming along with it. But we still got two weeks until the games count for real.”

This is the shyt I was talking about. How the bench is its own unit. D-Will coming up in Arizona transition offense means D-Will has done a lot of the same stuff in college that being the focus of the knicks bench is asking him to do now. Yeah he has to learn the right cuts but everything else abut this should be second nature. Plus honestly where else could he have gone and a team would be willing to make him a key cog of the offense, even if that offense is the bench unit?



I don't know if Melo and D-Will could co-exist for a lot of minutes a game. Its like 2 units built around their strengths. Melo needs 3 shooters around him. D-Will needs guys who can run the ball in transition to draw in defenders to make his catch and finish style work along with an inside scoring big to pass to for when teams focus on him.



Like I said there is a ton of intelligence behind the summers moves.

 

[mson]

 

[Knicksman20]

This is the shyt I was talking about. How the bench is its own unit. D-Will coming up in Arizona transition offense means D-Will has done a lot of the same stuff in college that being the focus of the knicks bench is asking him to do now. Yeah he has to learn the right cuts but everything else abut this should be second nature. Plus honestly where else could he have gone and a team would be willing to make him a key cog of the offense, even if that offense is the bench unit?



I don't know if Melo and D-Will could co-exist for a lot of minutes a game. Its like 2 units built around their strengths. Melo needs 3 shooters around him. D-Will needs guys who can run the ball in transition to draw in defenders to make his catch and finish style work along with an inside scoring big to pass to for when teams focus on him.



Like I said there is a ton of intelligence behind the summers moves.

I definitely agree with you & I believe they can coexist with Grant running the point. Melo will always create double teams which means open looks for everyone & with Grant in the lineup he WILL find the open man or create off the dribble.

If PJ was at the helm manning the team a couple of years ago we would've drafted Lorenzo Brown who plays like Grant but is more athletic.

 

[I.V.]

I thought that where he's hovered his entire career when he's not injured. He was about that last season to me.

Nah. He was NOT very good last season. I'm hoping for a mild turnout, with somebody like Melo as the obvious offensive torch-bearer. Hopefully it frees him up, he expends less energy (and efficiency) on offense, and is able to play better defense.

Man, with what Grant has shown us already if he keeps developing at a good click he's gonna be a sight to be seen in a few years.

Friday need to hurry up, I need my Knicks fix

That move already has me way up blessed. Like, that in and of itself is a MASSIVE victory. Maybe he goes to ATL and turns into a great player, or a really useful scorer off the bench or whatever... but hew as a black hole stuffed in a dumpster here.

and Jerian Grant looks like a legit point guard, with plus vision, defensive potential and some fukking funk, breh. He ready for this.

NO... if Porzingis doesn't pan out, it would have been a gamble with a security of a steal in Jerian Grant.

If Mudiay is putting up Star level quality & Jerian Grant is putting up Quality starting PG play... I say we gambled well.

Mudiay is going to get a bunch of highlights this year. he's going to be on espn. But he's going to shoot atrociously and turn the ball over a TON. He's also going to be LOST on defense. Now maybe all that massive potential turns up and he ends up being an Iverson/Rose hybrid. But if porzingis turns into the player we think he can be AND we have grant who already looks like a solid PG prospect. That's a win, man. And I'm hyped for it.

 

[Tim Dripcan]

NO... if Porzingis doesn't pan out, it would have been a gamble with a security of a steal in Jerian Grant.

If Mudiay is putting up Star level quality & Jerian Grant is putting up Quality starting PG play... I say we gambled well.

we'll see. but im telling you just look at the Knicks history when it comes to certain draft picks. if grant doesn't live up to his potential to a starter level and Mudiay putting up all-star level numbers Knicks will forever be the laughing stock in the NBA. with all due respect.

you can't let good picks go. but you know what I'll give Knicks another 3 years. we'll see

 

[I.V.]

we'll see. but im telling you just look at the Knicks history when it comes to certain draft picks. if grant doesn't live up to his potential to a starter level and Mudiay putting up all-star level numbers Knicks will forever be the laughing stock in the NBA. with all due respect.

you can't let good picks go. but you know what I'll give Knicks another 3 years. we'll see

Knicks are already a laughing stock, so shut the fukk up.

Mudiay, who I like as a prospect, has a lot of holes in his game right now... so does porzingis... it's going to be two or three years before we can say if anybody messed up... I mean shyt, Winslow could be a star, and both teams blew it.


Please take this half-baked hand-wringing and

 

[Tim Dripcan]

Knicks are already a laughing stock, so shut the fukk up.

Mudiay, who I like as a prospect, has a lot of holes in his game right now... so does porzingis... it's going to be two or three years before we can say if anybody messed up... I mean shyt, Winslow could be a star, and both teams blew it.


Please take this half-baked hand-wringing and

slow down brother.

im not disrespecting your team in any way I'm just stating my opinion. you're right both players has holes in their game right now, but we'll see how they develop in the next 2 years.

 

[storyteller]

we'll see. but im telling you just look at the Knicks history when it comes to certain draft picks. if grant doesn't live up to his potential to a starter level and Mudiay putting up all-star level numbers Knicks will forever be the laughing stock in the NBA. with all due respect.

you can't let good picks go. but you know what I'll give Knicks another 3 years. we'll see

Both KP and Mudiay are raw rookies with massive potential who didn't have college careers to gauge their value through...The only difference is one's a Euro. Basically, if we had drafted Mudiay; right after a game like the 9 pts, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks game for KP you could have shown up saying the exact same thing. Plus Grant's early returns (4-1 Ast:TO ratio bodies Mudiay in the most important category for a PG) are a nice sign that we got ourselves a PG with potential to be an impact player.

 

[Victim of Racism]

 

[Victim of Racism]

if grant doesn't live up to his potential to a starter level and Mudiay putting up all-star level numbers Knicks will forever be the laughing stock in the NBA. with all due respect.

The reach and wishful thinking is real. No one is going to be laughing at NY over no Jerian.

Moreover, NY has the 9th most championships, 4th most Finals appearances, and 5th most consecutive Finals appearances in the history of the league. NY is one of the most successful franchises in NBA history. They won a Finals game without Ewing in '99. They will never be the laughing stock of anything.

By comparison, Nuggets have done nothing and Mudiay isn't going to change that. They have zero Finals appearances and hadn't seen the Conference Finals in 24 years before 'Melo got there. Nuggets are the only ones in danger of “forever being the laughing stock in the NBA”. With all due respect.