Light at the end of the tunnel in Sacramento?

Ah I remember when the Sacramento Kings were good. As in damn good. At the turn of the century the Kings were the most exciting team in the NBA; with their intoxicating, fast paced, selfless – and most importantly – winning style of play. Sacramento was the hardest place to play in the league - a beacon of small market success. They were a dream to watch. Brash young point guard Jason “White Chocolate” Williams (John Stockton’s evil twin) was dropping jaws (and selling jerseys – good for top 5 in the league his rookie year) in living rooms across the country with his outrageous behind the back, pinpoint, fast as a bullet, lookaways. Peja Stojakovic was jovially sinking three balls like layups. Chris Webber and Vlade Divac were defying the laws of being big – nimbly threading needle like passes in the paint to form a devastating interior tag team since unrivalled. Even when they lost Williams, their flashy fulcrum, for the pretty mundane Mike Bibby in 2001 – they were still one of the best teams to watch; and flat out best teams, in the league, and enjoyed 2 more seasons of contending for a championship.

From ’03 to ’05 things started to go downhill. Then in ’06 they fell off a cliff.

The last 7 years for the Kings have been nothing short of a nightmare; the franchise almost suffocated under a barrage of dodgy front office decisions, overrated players, ugly basketball and a lot of losing. Last season the Kings were on life support and were a Board of Governors meeting away from being sold and relocated to Seattle – a city still heartbroken from its own NBA breakup. They were given life, however, when NBA pogo-stick come politician - and current Mayor of Sacramento - Kevin Johnson rallied the troops and orchestrated a dramatic off the court fourth quarter comeback, bringing together a consortium led by business tycoon Vivek Ranadive to buy the franchise from the Maloof family – keeping the Kings in Sacramento - and ushering in a welcome new era, with a new arena on the way, for the city and it’s beloved but forgotten Kings.

The new era has already seen a near overhaul of the entire organization.

The Owners…

Given the Maloof family's sad indifference to the misfortunes of the franchise, which bordered on willful neglect in the last few seasons, any change is a good change in ownership.

The family was replaced by business tycoon Vivek Ranadive and friends.

When the deal saving the Kings went through, Vivek called his young center Demarcus Cousins and said, as his buddy Steve Jobs used to, “Let’s put a dent in the universe”. This tells us a few things; 1) He’s a pretty successful businessman with pretty successful buddies, 2) He’s ambitious (let’s try and put a dent in the Pacific Division before we take on the universe Vivek), 3) He understands that Cousins is a big part of the puzzle going forward, and 4) He actually gives a rats ass.

The Front Office…

Geoff Petrie and his prehistoric philosophy on scouting, analytics, and cap management have hurt the Kings in recent years. Petrie had highs and lows in his 19 year career in Sacramento – highs included - 8 straight playoff appearances, a Game 7 away from the NBA finals in 2002, and 2x Executive of the Year Awards. Lows included – 7 straight playoff no-shows, trading Mike Bibby for some pots and pans, drafting Jimmer Fredette (and taking on some bad, bad contracts to do it), and drafting Thomas Robinson over Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes and Andre Drummond. He was a class act throughout, but is a relic in a new age dominated by metrics and mini-mid levels.

His replacement – new General Manager Pete D’Alessandro – is a massive upgrade. He is the antithesis of Petrie as a true 21^st century GM well versed in the arts of capology and analytics. After 3 successful seasons in Denver’s front office, Pete’s fingerprints are already all over the Kings roster – drafting Ben McLemore with the 7^th pick, freeing up a starting guard spot for Ben by deciding not to re-sign Tyreke Evans, but getting some value for him by bringing in underrated point guard Greivis Vasquez in a sign and trade, bringing in Carl Landry in free agency, and somehow getting Mbah a Moute for two second round picks – an absolute bargain. That’s 4 starters to go along with Demarcus Cousins in the middle.

The rebuild is in full swing only a couple of months into D’Alessandro’s time in Sacramento.

The Coaching Staff…

With the epic ownership and front office failures – it’s no wonder there have been 5 coaches in 6 years in Sactown. With the coaching carousel working overtime, the team was denied the stability and time needed to create an on court identity. It also fractured player development on a roster full of young talent in need of consistent direction. After orchestrating the aforementioned "Greatest Show On Earth”, Rick Adelman’s highly successful time on the sidelines was inexplicably ended in 2006 by ownership who neglected to re-sign arguably the best Coach in Kings history (possibly the dumbest decision in Kings history), paving the way for a 7 year playoff drought and a period of coaching chaos….

Erik Musselman was a dud after a losing season and numerous run-ins with the law. His replacement Reggie Theus was remembered for being at the helm when Mike Bibby was controversially traded and introducing a one-two punch of Kevin Martin and Spencer Hawes… unsurprisingly he didn’t last long. Kenny Natt led the Kings to the worst record in the league in his 1 year in charge. Paul Westphaul ended the 1 and done streak with 3 seasons on the sidelines – but failed to mesh the young duo of Evans and Cousins and was let go halfway into the 11/12 season after butting heads with the latter. Keith Smart was a cheap replacement and posted an uninspiring 48-93 record in 1 and a half seasons on the sidelines, eventually moving Tyreke to his natural shooting guard spot after initially trying him at small forward (where he was uncomfortable and in constant foul trouble). He was axed at the end of last season as soon as the new ownership group took over.

Enter Mike Malone for the start of the 2013/14 season.

Malone was handpicked by Ranadive after spending time together in Golden State (Where Ranadive was a minority owner and Malone was an Assistant last year). He’s a defensive strategist who has had a hand in defensive leaps in his last 2 coaching roles – the Hornets in 10/11 jumped from 21^st the previous year to 5^th in opponents PPG, and the Warriors in 12/13 jumped from 28^th the previous year to 19^th. He is widely respected as an Assistant throughout the league, and was in demand this summer as a Head Coaching candidate – but looked no further than Sacramento because of his close relationship with the new owner – who has assured Malone that he will be given time, and won’t be expected to perform any miracles this year. As a rookie Head Coach, his inexperience will be mitigated by the addition of his Dad, former NBA Head Coach Brendan Malone, as an Assistant to his staff.

He’s a promising new coach, and if he can in any way live up to his lofty, “Next Tom Thibodeau” label – he’ll be doing just fine.

The Roster…

As a shooter, lottery pick Ben McLemore should be a better fit with Cousins than Evans, who was an improved but unspectacular shooter and more at home at the rim than on the perimeter last year. Cousins and McLemore will form a more traditional post-perimeter one-two punch – as well as saving the Kings a hefty wad of cash with an extension for Evans.

The offensive foundation of Cousins/McLemore will benefit greatly from the addition of Greivis Vasquez. The Venezuelan is a point guard with size and excellent playmaking ability to take advantage of his elevated vantage point. More savvy than strong and clever than quick, Vasquez was a pleasant surprise for the Pelicans (Hornets) last season – displaying a reliable shooting touch and array of floaters in the paint. His real strength is in his pass first mentality; good for 3^rd in the league at 9 dimes a game last season on a bad offensive team. Impressively, this pass first mentality is something he has developed since getting into the league, adjusting his game from coming out of college where he was a shoot first point guard at Maryland. At 26, he’s fairly young, and is a steady pure point guard – who shouldn’t be too expensive should the Kings decide to retain him after next season - the last year of his current deal.

The gamble with Vasquez is on the defensive end – where he has a reputation as a liability. This is where Mike Malone can earn his money, creating a system to hide his lack of quickness and limit his vulnerability to the Ty Lawson’s of this world. His struggles on that end of the floor notwithstanding, he’s an upgrade from Isaiah Thomas – whose offensive minded game is better suited to giving the second unit scoring punch than setting the table for Cousins and McLemore, and who isn’t exactly a defensive juggernaught himself.

At small forward the Kings have bought in Luc Mbah a Moute from the Bucks for two second round picks. This is a steal for a guy with a lot of talent at a reasonable cost - 2 years and 9 million remaining on his contract. GM D’Alessandro has long sought after Luc, after signing him to an offer sheet with the Nuggets in 2011, only to have the offer matched by the Bucks. He’s probably one of the best kept defensive secrets in the league – capable of guarding multiple positions and an excellent isolation defender on the wing. His knock is his shooting, which was at a career low (he wasn’t healthy) 40% last year, the same clip that John Salmons (who really needs to be amnestied) shot in the starting SF spot last year – so you won’t be losing anything offensively. His sale price of a couple of second rounders has a lot to do with health woes the last two years, which is a worry going forward for the Kings, but if healthy he’s a brilliant pickup.

The latest addition of the summer has been signing free agent forward Carl Landry, who has played 81 games in two separate stints with the Kings in 09/10 and 10/11. In the first stretch, over 28 games with starters minutes – Landry averaged 18 points and 6 boards a game. In his third stretch in Sacramento, Landry is coming over from Golden State with Mike Malone. He’s a consistent and efficient, 53% from the field over his 8 year career, scorer who will bring a veteran presence to the locker room. With previous ties to both the organization and the new Head Coach – Landry should fit right in.

With ownership, the front office, and coaching staff on the same page for the first time in a long time; and a promising, hopefully balanced and complimentary starting unit – it’s not crazy to call this the beginning of the end of the nightmarish playoff drought in California’s capital.

Better late than never I suppose.

Grading free agency pickups: Howard, Iguodala, Smith.

Howard to Houston

Houston was the best destination for Dwight for a number of reasons. Off the court; it’s a smaller - but not too small - market with a fraction of the stifling pressure he faced in Lala land, the Rockets are a franchise with a (albeit modest) winning tradition and a history of talented big men as franchise players. It’s somewhere in the middle of Orlando and LA as an organization, with the added perks of a healthy 23 year old superstar who casts a relatively small shadow as opposed to a banged up 35 year old superstar with the biggest shadow in the league, and an extremely innovative front office. Much has been made of Dwight passing up 30 million dollars to sign in Houston rather than L.A in the name of winning, how much of this 30 million he’ll make up via the lack of tax in Texas I don’t know, but in my opinion signing an 86 million dollar contract can in no context be properly considered selfless, nor a sacrifice.

On the court; he joins a fledgling roster led by James Harden and rounded out by Parsons, Lin, Asik, Beverley, Garcia, Motiejunas, Jones and not much else. Assuming and hoping for Houston’s sake he’s healthy and is anywhere close to his 3 time defensive player of the year form in Orlando, he’ll be a nice fit with this group and their style of play. Houston aren’t bashful from beyond the arc, and with the addition of Dwight will likely be looking to fill remaining roster spots with gunners, which should give him plenty of room to display his improved post moves developed by two of the smoothest operators the game has ever seen down low – McHale and Olajuwan. Lin and Harden are both brilliant running the pick and roll, giving Howard plenty of easy buckets on dishes and misses at the rim. He’ll need to get in shape to fit in and take advantage of the fast pace McHale likes, but once he does that he’ll be a pest for defenses on quick paint pins and transition pick and rolls. Not to mention his impact on defense, as one of the best interior defenders of all time he should quickly make the paint an unattractive prospect for the opposition, and when he gets in foul trouble (which he will - regularly) Asik can step in, bang, and eat up the glass.

A lot of this is subject to an unchanged core group – which is looking less and less likely. Asik is bummed at the Howard signing given his great season emerging as one of the better centers in the league and has asked for a trade – but Houston are keen to hang onto him, and there are rumours flying around that Lin is being aggressively shopped. Regardless – the core of Howard, Harden and Parsons (best contract in the league from a GM’s standpoint) looks safe.

Dwight made a great decision (finally), but he’s fresh out of excuses now as long as he’s healthy. He’s got a tailor made coach who will concoct a tailor made offence for him, a front office who moved mountains (and bucketloads of young talent) to get him, with probably the most valuable young superstar in the league at his side, in a city that loves him – and we all know how much Dwight needs the love.

I’m not expecting a ring this year or even next, everyone (even superman) has to pay their dues. But the foundational pieces are in place - Howard’s fate rests on his own gigantic (but fragile) shoulders.

Pickup Grade – A

Iguodala to Golden State

In a league dominated by superstar wings, perimeter defenders are a rare commodity that the Warriors rightly weren’t prepared to pass up on when Andre became a possibility. Iggy is a top 5 perimeter defender in the league, but importantly also does everything else well (except foul shooting weirdly – which has declined the last 4 years to a horrible 57% last season?), he’s a reliable shooter and has improved from three in recent years (Mark Jackson is desperate for more 3 point shooting on the roster…), he’s a very good passer, a strong rebounder, he’s dynamite in transition, is selfless, extremely low maintenance and will provide some welcome leadership and experience to a young Warrior roster.

Golden States front office did well to create cap space for his 48 million dollar contract by dumping Rush, Jefferson and Biedrins on Utah – who took the salary hit in order to snag 2 first round picks. A lot of people are tagging Jack and Landry onto this list, who the Warriors lost to free agency in the wake of the Iguodala move. But I reckon GS were resigned to losing both those guys anyway, who earnt themselves a payday with last season’s stellar play (Jack 25 million over 4, Landry 26 million over 4). GS saw this coming, picking up young point guard Nemanja Nedovic in the draft, and now adding the gritty Marreese Speights for frontcourt depth – who brings a defensive pedigree earned during 2 seasons (11-12, 12-13) in Memphis and an underrated offensive game – a nice pickup.

There are questions for the new look Warriors though – someones going to lose minutes in the frontcourt – that someone absolutely should not be Harrison Barnes – who was arguably Mark Jackson’s most consistent playoff performer last year in a ridiculously promising rookie season. That leaves David Lee. Plan A is to trade him, but his 3 year 44 million dollar contract makes that a hard sell, meaning he’ll likely have to take a cut on playing time. The new minutes split will likely be built around one of if not the scariest small ball units in the league of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Iguodala + 1 big. Andre and his previous employer, the Denver Nuggets, witnessed firsthand how devastating the Warriors can be in a run and gun style in the first round of last season’s playoffs. That series probably had a lot to do with Iggy signing on with Golden State – from both sides of the fence. From the Warriors perspective the Nuggets series was a turning point in a commitment to high octane small ball – as they beat the Nuggets at their own furious paced game. An injury to David Lee in Game 1 forced Jackson to fully commit to the trending small ball philosophy, using a combination of Barnes, Green and Landry in lieu of Lee – which turned out to be a major success, and a tantalizing taste of the potential of sizing down long term. From Iguodala’s side the series was quite possibly a catalyst for the idea of relocating his talents to the Bay area and a system perfectly suited to his game.

The pickup will improve an already highly capable (when focused) defense, as Iguodala instantly becomes the Warriors best defender, if they can put an exclamation point on this defensive leap by losing their weakest defensive link in David Lee then the move will have a huge impact on that end of the floor. With the assumption of a small ball master plan motivating the move, and no negative impact on Harrison Barnes’ time on the floor – I love the pickup.

If Steph Curry can keep his ankles healthy, watch out for the Warriors next year.

Pickup Grade – A

Josh Smith to Detroit

Josh Smith, who averaged 18 points, 8 boards, 4 dimes, 2 blocks and a steal last year, was looking for a max deal this summer. His stat line would indicate that this was a reasonable-ish expectation. There is a reason however, why he had to settle for a not insignificant – but not max – deal of 56 million over 4 years with the Detroit Pistons.  It’s the same reason he’s yet to make an all star appearance in his career, why Atlanta let him walk, and why Detroit were the only team seriously considering signing him for (relatively) big money – that reason is his shooting. It’s not just that he can’t shoot, it’s that he loves to jack it up, it’s that for 8 out of his 9 years in the league he lacked the discipline not to do the thing that he sucks at. That one year 09/10 that Mike Woodson somehow incepted some discipline into Smith – he took 7 threes, played within his offensive limitations (5 feet of the rim) and put up then career highs in rebounds, assists and steals (since that year he’s taken 154, 109 and a career high 201 3 balls last season). That year, 09/10, he finished 2^nd to Howard in Defensive Player of the Year voting and shot 50% from the floor. That’s how good he can be; and in the right situation he could - with a coach that can keep him focused, a stretch 5 with a mid range game to give him paint space (but saying that he’s had Al Horford all these years) and a locker room where he doesn’t have to be a leader – conceivably find that discipline again.

Unfortunately Detroit is categorically not that utopian situation.

Playing the 4 emphasizes Smith’s strengths.  Extreme athleticism, paint protection, defensive rebounding, clinical finishing at the rim, more than adequate and surprisingly selfless distribution, and a nose for the ball on the defensive end. Unfortunately, the Pistons already have the 4 and 5 spots filled with the young duo of Drummond and Monroe. That means Pistons coach Mo Cheeks will either have to cut one of this promising duo’s minutes – stifling development and preventing chemistry between the two growing; or, ram a Josh Smith shaped peg into a floor spacing wing shaped hole. At the 3 his feet are a step slow and his body a few pounds too heavy to stay in front of quicker small forwards on defense, and his shooting a bit too heinously woeful for him to even remotely space the floor and keep defenders honest on offence.

The Detroit faithful are going to have to endure a painfully steady dose of 1 of 3 scenarios; 1) Smith, Monroe, and Drummond bumping heads and competing for space that doesn’t exist in the paint, 2) That horrible, apocalyptic moment when Smith squares up and his defender steps back a couple of meters or 3) Andre Drummond, one of the most intriguing prospects in the league, with a seemingly unlimited ceiling, sitting on the bench.

Off the court Smith’s not exactly low maintenance either, he’s not an absolute knucklehead, but he’s a potential problem – he left Atlanta after they neglected to give him the max deal he publicly pronounced he was worth, and isn’t the type of guy to patiently knuckle down in an uncomfortable role and potentially lose a few games as his team adjusts to his presence, especially if an impatient fan base are getting on his case in search of a return on a 56 million dollar investment.

So J Smoove could be a pretty rough fit in Detroit; one (pretty expensive) positional project too far on a roster with Knight learning the 1 and Stuckey learning the 2. The Smith/Drummond/Monroe positional quandary is slightly similar to the Iguodala/Barnes situation in Golden State – except Joe Dumars probably doesn’t have a “Big Ball” revolution in mind… at least I hope he doesn’t.

The Pistons won’t be terrible next year, Smith’s still one of the best players in the league not to be an All Star yet, they’ll win 35-40 games (up from 29 last year) and are an outside bet for the 8^th spot in the East. Smiths defense should win them those extra 6+ games. But I feel like it’s a case of 1 step forward and 2 steps backward with this move in the longer term – being a 40 win team is a bad place to be in the NBA, with many teams finding themselves stuck in perpetual mediocrity – unable to improve drastically through the draft and unable to attract major talent to a contending franchise.

Not a good fit.

Pickup Grade – C

OFFSEASON ANALYSIS: The Draft, Deron Williams and the new look Brooklyn Nets, and The Knicks response.

Offseason Analysis

A few initial thoughts on a crazy couple of weeks…

THE DRAFT.

I stayed up to watch it live, and wasn’t disappointed. One of the few universal draft truths is that anything can happen; on draft night 2013 we were treated to an emphatic validation of this fact – a night when everything seemed to happen. A number of factors combined to create the unique context from which that crazy night was born.

Before it even started, the basketball world (especially the Brooklyn fans at the Barclays centre) was drunk on a rumour that KG and Paul Pierce (and Jason Terry… meh) were on their way to the Nets, signaling the end of an era in Boston, and the start of one in Brooklyn. The move was confirmed not long into the first round, but the excitement this potentially seismic power shift in the Atlantic division created in the buildup to the draft set the tone for the night.

Already tipsy at the prospect of the best starting five in basketball, Brooklyn fans were feeling feisty, and when Commissioner David Stern stepped up to the podium for the last time in his 30 year tenure, he was greeted by a traditional crescendo of boos. The boos encapsulated a cocktail of emotions towards Stern; love, hate, respect, appreciation – a confusing sentiment toward a controversial figure. Never one to shy away from the spotlight, especially on the evening of the his last dance at the draft, Stern lapped up the (faux?) animosity in his typical smug manner, goading and heckling the masses exquisitely and pausing frequently to savour his last moments of infamy. The interplay added an entertaining and comical sub plot to the draft itself.

And then the actual (drama) draft started…

“With the first pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers, select…”, at this point Stern  noticeably paused as his mouth prepared to sound out the “A” – presumably of Alex Len – who was at or near the top of mock drafts everywhere (the expected top 5, in a multitude of orders, was Len, Noel, McLemore, Porter, Oladipo). “…Anthony Bennett…” – WHAT! Bill Simmons’ next four utterances were, “Woah” (x2), “I need medical help”, and “Oh my god” – it was the most shocking number 1 pick in recent memory. But it was perennial reachers Cleveland picking, the same Cleveland who took Dion Waiters 4^th last year, and Thompson 4^th in 2011 – So yeah, the shock was mitigated. The weirdest thing wasn’t so much Bennett going 1, but Nerlens Noel plummeting down the board to 6, with another reach by another perennial reacher – Cody Zeller to the Bobcats – taking his place at the 4 spot.

It was pretty funny watching the disbelief at Noels table every time he was passed up, but the draft was a blessing in disguise for the 7 footer, giving him both motivation and realistic expectations heading into his rookie campaign.

The surprising Bennett and Zeller top 5 picks were more than just reckless pickups by (bad) bold front offices though – 2013 was a good year for risk taking. As a weak draft, taking a guy with a high ceiling who’s a bit of a project isn’t a bad move, as you’re not passing up on any sure things to get your guy – the Cavs took Bennett (Good offence with bad defence) over Noel (Bad offence with good defence and bad knees). The risk is even more attractive given the strength of next year's class, with 4 all stars all but guaranteed (Wiggins, Parker, Randle, Smart). So even if your 2013 project flops or takes time to develop (I’m looking at you and your Greek phenom Milwaukee), you win in the long run by losing for one year. A few teams are looking at this offseason through the lens of 2014’s 2003-like class. (Orlando, Phoenix, Philly, Atlanta). 

Two factors contributing to the madness of the evening were the unusual amount of trades (15) and international picks (19!) – both of which are attributable to Sterns legacy, and his substantial role in implementing the collective bargaining agreement of 2011. The high number of foreign players is a testament to the global reach of today’s NBA, something the Commish worked hard to extend throughout his reign; this coupled with financial implications of the new CBA made international picks a popular theme in the draft – meaning a player can be selected and left to play and develop abroad without taking on any salary. With similar motivations, teams were trading out of the first round and out of the guaranteed money those picks get. The CBA has facilitated player movement generally, with a stronger cap and a debilitating luxury tax, if you want to give a marquee free agent a big contract, you’ve more than likely got to balance the books by shedding a comparable contract(s) – meaning a lot of movement. Whereas prior to 2011 rich teams could just spend and spend and stockpile talent – nowadays it’s more of a financial challenge to construct a winning roster.

So blockbuster deals, boos, bad drafts, good drafts and bargaining agreements combined to give us the best, and craziest, draft in years.

My 10 favourite picks were – Oladipo (2^nd to Orlando), KCP (8^th to Detroit), Burke (9^th to – via trade – Utah), Schroeder (17^th to Atlanta), Karasev (19^th to Cleveland), Snell (20^th to Bulls), Hardaway (24^th to my Knickerbockers), Jean Charles (28^th to Spurs), Ledo (43^rd to – via trade – Dallas), Kazemi (54^th – via trade – Philly).

A longer post on those guys is on the way soon…


DERON WILLIAMS AND THE NEW LOOK NETS

Brooklyn gets KG, Pierce and Jet. Boston gets Humphries, Wallace, Brooks, Bogans, Joseph and 1^st round picks in 2014, ’16 and ’18. This is a good trade for the Nets, they become a contender, with the best starting unit in basketball. However – they’re operating in a very small window given the age of the incoming trio – it wouldn’t be a push to say they had to win a ring in the next 2 years for it to work – it’s ultimate win now mode in Brooklyn.

For that to happen, they need to get a bench on the cheap and manage regular season minutes of the vets to go into the playoffs healthy.

But in terms of the starting unit, they look pretty scary. KG complements Lopez perfectly and brings much needed defence to BK, where he won’t be asked to play the 5 spot night in night out as in Boston – hopefully sparing his body a bruising down in the paint. Pierce comes off a year averaging 18/6/5, will help Williams as a secondary facilitator and team up with Johnson to create a long, offensively versatile, playoff tested (against each other) duo on the wings.

This gives D-Will a starting unit of 4 guys with a combined career average of 77 points a game, 4 guys who have all been number one options for the majority of their careers, 4 guys who can all shoot. Get those ankles fixed D-Will and you can lead the league in dimes, especially now Mr Rondo will be feeding Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries up in Boston. Williams has also got one of the greatest point guards of all time on the sidelines, rookie Coach Jason Kidd, to help him get the most out of this uber talented starting group. Expect his APG to go from 7.7 last year to 10 minimum.

The roster was gutted to make the trade. After picking up Plumlee in the draft and resigning Blatche the current bench is rounded out by Evans, Taylor, Teletovic and Terry – which is hardly a Championship second unit. I thought they blundered on not signing Korver, which was a possibility for a while and would have been a brilliant pickup, who ended up resigning in Atlanta. Of the names still available in free agency, a list which is shrinking fast now big name dominoes (Smith to Detroit, Howard to Houston, Iggy to GS) have started to fall, I’m thinking Matt Barnes, Will Bynum, JJ Barea, Shaun Livingston (all but a done deal), Kirilenko and Kenyon Martin make sense.

I would have liked to have seen Pierce and KG retire as Celtics, but next year will be fascinating to watch in Brooklyn. Who gets the ball in the clutch?


THE KNICKS RESPONSE…

We had a nice draft. Picking up Tim Hardaway Jr with the 24^th pick - he’s a great shooter, a long wing, an underrated athlete who can contribute right away. Off the floor he’s from a winning program in Michigan, where he proved he can handle the spotlight in the NCAA Championship Game, he’s a high character guy and obviously has family pedigree. In terms of NBA offspring let’s hope he’s more Steph Curry than Austin Rivers.

We also picked up undrafted combo forward C.J Leslie out of NC State. Apparently the Knicks would have taken him 24^th in certain scenarios so were delighted that he went undrafted (probably because of all the international picks stashed away abroad). An incredible athlete with questionable work ethic, he’ll add depth in the frontcourt.

Then we traded Novak, Camby, Richardson, a 2016 1^st rounder and a couple of 2^nd rounders for Andrea Bargnani. Oh boy.

Here’s the background on the enigmatic Italian.

The number 1 pick in 2006 for his unique combination of size and skill set as a stretch 7 footer, he’s been underwhelming in his 7 years in the league so far. Given his size, he’s an impossibly bad rebounder – think worst-in-the-league bad. He’s also a bad-to-terrible defender depending on who you talk to; his slight build leaves him vulnerable in the paint, and his lack of foot speed leaves him vulnerable on the perimeter – but it’s not just his physical tools that hold him back, his help defense is Amare-like. The only thing that slightly offsets these liabilities is his ability to stroke it from deep and drag opposition bigs out of the paint, something he’s never been spectacular at, and in the last couple of years has been worryingly bad at.

Not a pretty picture – and so the debate goes…

Optimistic Knick fan – “We didn’t lose any value on the court. Steve Novak although a sniper from behind the arc and a fan favourite, has been useless 2 straight postseasons, moving him frees up minutes for the rookie Hardaway who’s a good shooter with a more polished all around game. Camby and Richardson hardly saw the floor last year.”

Objective Observer – “Firstly, you didn’t have to give anything up, they would have traded him for a washing machine, new GM Ujiri made it clear his first order of business was to axe Bargnani, who was a likely candidate to be amnestied as most execs saw his deteriorating game and massive contract as untradeable.  Secondly, you didn’t gain anything on the court from a guy who’s gone from bad to worse in the last few years.”

Optimistic Knick fan – “It’s true that he’s shot the ball badly the last 2 years, but he was battling injury this past season, and was completely unmotivated to play in a city and franchise that had given up on him. He won’t have to be the number 1 option in New York which he struggled with in Toronto. A fresh start in New York in a role with a more manageable offensive load off the bench could rejuvenate his career. Having barely played last season he’d finally be healthy come the new season. He was a number one pick for a reason and has shown flashes of All Star potential that are worth the risk.”

Objective Observer – “Ok so assuming he gets out of his 2 year slump and the change of scenery helps him rediscover his stroke, he still doesn’t help you’re team. The Knicks need rebounding and defense, two areas which were brutally exposed by Indiana in the playoffs. Andrea has always been torrid in these areas. Not only does it make no sense in terms of team needs, it messes with the Knicks identity in the Melo era, it all but kills the small ball tactic of Anthony at the 4 with 1 big and 3 shooters/playmakers – when the Knicks were at their best, and raises questions about rotations with Stoudemire, let alone the horrifying prospect of having the 2 defensive liabilities on the floor at the same time.”

The Optimistic Knick fan looks pissed as he struggles to muster up a counter argument…

Objective Observer – “And on top of all this, you still managed to give up to much for a guy you don’t need – why give up the picks? Having given up 2014’s first rounder to get Anthony, and second rounder to get Camby, the Knicks send the second rounder they picked up from OKC for Brewer earlier in the year to Toronto, meaning they’ll be without a stake in the deepest draft in a decade. You’ve already given up second rounders in 2015 to get Camby and 2016 to get Felton, and now 2017 for Bargnani. Draft picks are more valuable than ever under the new CBA as a way of adding talent on the cheap, and the Knicks have all too easily given up multiple draft chips yet again.”

Somewhere in Toronto Masai Ujiri sits in front of a fire stroking a cat and laughing an evil, evil laugh.

 

Honestly I’d rather re-sign Kenyon Martin than Bargnani. When held up against Brooklyn’s blockbuster offseason so far, the Knicks acquisition of a 7 foot question mark is pretty depressing.

The Knicks then resigned J.R Smith, which I’m OK with at best (for less money we could have had Toney Allen). I was hoping we’d spend the Smith money on something we needed and give more time to Shump and newboy Hardaway at the 2 spot. At least we resigned my boy Prigioni.

Ah, being a Knick fan is fun…

Reaction to the big free agency moves (Dwight, Iggy, Smith) coming soon.