Take a DEEP Breath!!

[irish2u2]

I made a statement that tonight was like Christmas for me and it was right up until the Grinch stole it and I ended it up with a stocking full of coal!!

But then I took a deep breath. And then another. And when my face went from bright red to somewhere closer to normal I pondered. Why in the Lord's name did the Knicks in dire need of length and athleticism trade away the best athlete in the draft along with an immensely athletic and skilled big? I knew circumstance were working against us as Bouknight, Murphy, Williams, Moody and even Tre Mann went off the board But then I'm left with 2 bigs I loved in Jones and Garuba and a top ten lottery pick who was off the charts athletic and I'm thinking it's going to be all right.

Till it wasn't. 

But I have now considered all the possibilities and it makes more sense. 

I didn't see Quentin Grimes coming to the Knicks. There was very little mention of him and he does nothing great but after further examination he does most things good. He's got length, he's a good athlete, smart, a two way player with some offensive pop and a little bit of a late bloomer. Apparently The Knicks braintrust identified him and maneuvered to a spot in the draft where he'd be available. I'll trust the process. 

But the big question is why? I think part of the answer lies in the Knicks not being able to trade up, a few surprise picks and mostly because they had some guys targeted they knew would be available later. Alan Hahn also pointed out that the Knicks saved a lot of cap room by trading out of #s 19 & 21 with their guaranteed cap holds and making #25 their sole first round pick. That tells me the Knicks are maybe going bigger in free agency and the trade market than maybe I thought by saving cap room and acquiring draft capital. That does make sense. Cleveland acquired Ricky Rubio today so Colin Sexton is definitely on the move. Ball is out there too. Missing out on the wings the Knicks wanted in the draft (Murphy, Kispert, Williams, Bouknight, Moody, and Duarte) means maybe free agency is the direction we go. Oubre is more in play. Or McDermott, Powell, DeRozan, Robinson, or Barton. Maybe the trade for Terrence Ross has some traction. 

I think maybe the cleverest thing the Knicks tonight was drafting Rokas Jakubaitus who is likely going to be stashed for a year or two in Europe. A lot of people smarter than me really, really like his game. There was talk about Thibs loving Miles McBride and the Knicks found a way to make him happy. McBride is a perfect Thibs type guard who is tough, strong, defensive minded, smart, long and a very good athlete. The last piece was actually the most surpassing. After Keon Johnson the most impressive athlete in the combines was Jericho Sims. He's raw but the viral video of him smacking his head on the rim during a dunk is all I need to make me excited. We needed an athlete and we got one in Sims. We needed a big and at 6'10, 240 Sims is a big with a ton of potential. 

So now I am going to relax and watch the next episode of "Ted Lasso" to decompress and then go to bed. The next week will be interesting. Even more interesting is how the Dodgers stole the NBA's spotlight with the Scherzer/Turner trade to the Dodgers. WTF? 

[greatgates36]

Excellent Analysis. After seeing Sims look like he hit his nose on the rim they said he had a 44.5 vertical. At 6'10. They also stated that Grimes killed at the combine.

[ReneNYG1]

I wanted Grimes at 32 and McBride at 21 so I'm ecstatic with what we did.We are going to be big players in FA,let's see how this plays out.We are playing chess while others are at checkers,this draft was brilliant use of picks to extract value,by picking McBride in second his contract is like Mitch a great great deal this helps build a team cap wise.

[irish2u2]

"Ted Lasso" was great. It's beautiful outside and already I'm on my third cup of espresso. 

I'm also clearer on what Rose and the Knicks did last night and why they did what they did what they did and how orchestrated it all was in the end. IMHO Grimes and McBride were targeted from the start though likely in the case of Grimes he wasn't option "A". I think the Knicks wanted Duarte all along and when he went to Indiana at #13 the scramble was on as wing guys like Kispert, Murphy, Moody, Williams, Mann and Christopher were drafted there was Grimes who ticked all the boxes of what the Knicks needed. He was outstanding in the combine scrimmages, he helped propel Houston to the Final 4 and he has an NBA ready body and is very mature at 21. He's a 3 and D player with some expanded skills and some more ceiling in his game. 

There were a couple of surprises in the first round so McBride was still available and I think the Knicks knew the Clippers were not going to take him leaving them to wonder about the New Orleans pick which became Alabama forward Herbert Jones. I'm thinking by not taking a PG here the Pelicans might be leaning towards keeping Lonzo Ball. I still believe the Knicks stole Rokas Jukabaitus knowing they could stash him in Europe while he develops better shooting skills. He already has an NBA body and an NBA IQ. 

Jericho Simms falling to NY at #58 was just pure dumb luck. He needs some work on his skills but physically he is NBA ready. His athleticism is amazing and all along I have been saying the Knicks needed more athleticism. With Grimes, McBride and Simms the KnicksI got what I asked for though at best we are looking at rotation players and in the case of Simms an emergency player. 

I think the Charlotte swap that netted the Hornets Kai Jones and the Knicks a 2022 protected #1 pick was done purely to add trade assets. The Knicks could offer 2022 and 2023 first round picks in a trade scenario as they have Charlotte and Dallas' picks in addition to their own. 

So what now? I read this morning it's been a year since Leon Rose spoke to the media and he's not taking my calls.   I think the fact that Cleveland traded for Ricky Rubio is significant proof they want to move Colin Sexton. Obviously the Knicks would have an interest and since Cleveland is in a rebuilding mode multiple first round picks are certainly an enticing possibility for the Cavs. As stated earlier not going after a PG in the draft means to me that New Orleans is leaning towards keeping Ball which is fine with me. 

Monday @ 6pm starts free agency. With Rose being so secretive what the Knicks do is anybody's guess but I'm thinking they might entertain more immediate winning options like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan even though they have some trade assets to make deals.There is the thought the Knicks might have all those assets to go after the really big fish like Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal. This next step should be interesting. I'm sure the Knicks will keep Derrick Rose. I am equally sure they will not keep Elfrid Payton.   Otherwise I'm not about to guess what the Knicks will do especially after last night but even with the most possible available cap space the Knicks managed to save almost 2 million more to throw into the pot by trading one first round pick and trading down on the other. While filling needs. Impressive. 

[ReneNYG1]

In order of phone calls Monday
1-Paul
2- Lowery/DeRozan/Powell reunion baby
3-backup plan Dinwiddie/Fournier or Robinson
4-deRose
last resort call Bullock

[greatgates36]

Jul 30, 2021 9:16:08 GMT -5 irish2u2 said:

"Ted Lasso" was great. It's beautiful outside and already I'm on my third cup of espresso. 

I'm also clearer on what Rose and the Knicks did last night and why they did what they did what they did and how orchestrated it all was in the end. IMHO Grimes and McBride were targeted from the start though likely in the case of Grimes he wasn't option "A". I think the Knicks wanted Duarte all along and when he went to Indiana at #13 the scramble was on as wing guys like Kispert, Murphy, Moody, Williams, Mann and Christopher were drafted there was Grimes who ticked all the boxes of what the Knicks needed. He was outstanding in the combine scrimmages, he helped propel Houston to the Final 4 and he has an NBA ready body and is very mature at 21. He's a 3 and D player with some expanded skills and some more ceiling in his game. 

There were a couple of surprises in the first round so McBride was still available and I think the Knicks knew the Clippers were not going to take him leaving them to wonder about the New Orleans pick which became Alabama forward Herbert Jones. I'm thinking by not taking a PG here the Pelicans might be leaning towards keeping Lonzo Ball. I still believe the Knicks stole Rokas Jukabaitus knowing they could stash him in Europe while he develops better shooting skills. He already has an NBA body and an NBA IQ. 

Jericho Simms falling to NY at #58 was just pure dumb luck. He needs some work on his skills but physically he is NBA ready. His athleticism is amazing and all along I have been saying the Knicks needed more athleticism. With Grimes, McBride and Simms the KnicksI got what I asked for though at best we are looking at rotation players and in the case of Simms an emergency player. 

I think the Charlotte swap that netted the Hornets Kai Jones and the Knicks a 2022 protected #1 pick was done purely to add trade assets. The Knicks could offer 2022 and 2023 first round picks in a trade scenario as they have Charlotte and Dallas' picks in addition to their own. 

So what now? I read this morning it's been a year since Leon Rose spoke to the media and he's not taking my calls.   I think the fact that Cleveland traded for Ricky Rubio is significant proof they want to move Colin Sexton. Obviously the Knicks would have an interest and since Cleveland is in a rebuilding mode multiple first round picks are certainly an enticing possibility for the Cavs. As stated earlier not going after a PG in the draft means to me that New Orleans is leaning towards keeping Ball which is fine with me. 

Monday @ 6pm starts free agency. With Rose being so secretive what the Knicks do is anybody's guess but I'm thinking they might entertain more immediate winning options like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan even though they have some trade assets to make deals.There is the thought the Knicks might have all those assets to go after the really big fish like Damian Lillard or Bradley Beal. This next step should be interesting. I'm sure the Knicks will keep Derrick Rose. I am equally sure they will not keep Elfrid Payton.   Otherwise I'm not about to guess what the Knicks will do especially after last night but even with the most possible available cap space the Knicks managed to save almost 2 million more to throw into the pot by trading one first round pick and trading down on the other. While filling needs. Impressive. 

I think Ball may be option 2 for New Orleans. I suspect  Lowry is option 1.