Porzingis to Dallas

This Porzingis trade means the Knicks have enough money this offseason to pursue 2 or even 3 new PR people to explain why they didn’t sign Kevin Durant

— Jason O. Gilbert (@gilbertjasono) January 31, 2019

Unless the Knicks have been given indications by Durant's guys that he's planning on going there this summer, this is a really dumb trade. Actually, even if Durant has suggested he's going there, this is a really dumb trade. Why did they pull the trigger so quickly? Why not wait and see if anyone else gives you a better package? 

Its a big time gamble, but the reasoning is cap room. By getting rid of Hardaway and Lee, they free up $30M in space. Porzingis was going to command a LOT even as a RFA. They couldn’t do both, when the real honeypot is Irving and Durantand the #1 pick. If they are able to land Zion, they are able to sell resurrection to the starving Knick fan base. DSJ fits in that, and they wouldn’t  have to worry about his contract until ‘21-‘22.

Like I said- a huge gamble, but if it, you know, “works” with the lottery the league is back to the prime markets for basketball all battling out while the  league enjoys the subsequent ratings bonanza. 

But again... Doncic and Porzingis in the P&R? Who the f*** can defend it? 

Music City posted:

But again... Doncic and Porzingis in the P&R? Who the f*** can defend it? 

A lot of speculation in the media what this means for Giannis. Until he signs his supermax with the Bucks, this is all we are going to hear about. If not, next year at this time Bucks fans will be going through this.

He loves Milwaukee don’t he??  He’ll always be a Buck right??

Umm.....

See.....here's the thing.....a player like Giannis wants a ring. If he can't get it in Milwaukee then he will go to a market where he CAN get it.

Bucks ownership is going to have to pull out all the stops. I don't know how much that will cost or what they'll need to do but 1 or 2 more Superstars would go a long way toward coming out of the East. 

Then of course they would still need to beat the West champs. No small feat.

I gotta tell you... I have been going back and forth on this. At first I’m like “GO ALL IN!!!”, but now I’m seeing some things differently. 

The Spurs won with an all-time great in Tim Duncan, and two really good but not all-time great players in Parker and Ginobli. Together they won 4 titles... and not coincidentally in a very similar way that the Bucks are right now. Most everything flows through the superstar, and the others pick their spots and do the little things. While the Lakers, Knicks, Heat, and Celtics were using their monster market clout to assemble teams with elite players, the Spurs built around that core: Elite Superstar + perfect role players in the right system. That’s not saying that Parker/Ginobli were role players in the common sense- they were far more than that. But they were not elite players either, and they fit with Duncan perfectly. And they did it in one of the NBA’s smallest markets for almost 2 decades. 

Perhaps this is the Bucks path. Middleton and Brogdon are good players... they’re not top 20 on their own, but with Giannis they can achieve top 20 production. You put Parker or Ginobli alone on any other team and neither of their careers are close to what they achieved in San Antonio. 

Then you have Bledsoe- he’s the wild card to me. Can be elite... plays like it at times... but then has those uhhhg moments like last night. Helped build the 24 point lead, did plenty to help give it away. Making a strong case for All Defensive team this year, which has been huge for this team. They used to get torched by opposing PGs, but Bledsoe has changed all of that. 

And this is where Budenholzer comes in... he was part of that Spurs coaching core and learned from Popovich’s program. That business model fits in Milwaukee. Can he get Bledsoe to max out his ability and be a smarter decision maker? Can he get Middleton to play at an All Star level? Can Brogdon be that Manu Ginobli type who can operate in the margins and do all the little things that equate to winning basketball? 

If these answers are all YES, they don’t need to chase top shelf superstars. They can be the next Spurs...

Good post Music. I think the Spurs way is the model the Bucks have to follow. The key of course is to get Giannis to sign the SuperMax next year. If you know he's going to do that, then you go all out to return everyone you can from this team which is good enough to win 60 games and matches up defensively with the Warriors as good as anyone in the league (Giannis-Durant, Bledsoe-Curry, Middleton-Klay).

The problem is if you sign Bledsoe and Middleton (the two key guys this year as you'll match any offer Brogdon gets to keep him) and then Giannis leaves in a year.  Then you are stuck with a lineup that is in purgatory- good enough to win 3540 games, but not a title contender. You'll end up chasing the 8th seed and picking in the mid teens every year. The only reason the Bucks escaped purgatory in the last decade is picking a future HOFer in Giannis at 15. 

Jabari Parker just needed to be a solid NBA player. Instead, the Bucks essentially wasted that #2 pick. It would have been taking an enormous risk to take Embiid instead and I would have been the first one to criticize that move, but obviously that was the best long-term pick that year. Unfortunately, the Bucks got a top pick in a year with a weak draft (the only first rounder to make the All-Star game is Embiid). Just like the year they picked Bogut (only Chris Paul and DeRon Williams really were elite players). 

I don’t see Giannis leaving Title chasing... there is nothing in his personality that indicates that is the way he thinks. The NBA has become AAU team building because these guys have been in that environment their entire lives. Giannis does not know that world and has indicated he doesn’t even like the bright lights of the big market. He’s 100% focused on basketball and family... just like you and me (work and family). Christ, this kid was selling sunglasses in a street market in Athens 8 years ago... he’s more like us than any player I can think of. Ever... 

Music City posted:

I don’t see Giannis leaving Title chasing... there is nothing in his personality that indicates that is the way he thinks. The NBA has become AAU team building because these guys have been in that environment their entire lives. Giannis does not know that world and has indicated he doesn’t even like the bright lights of the big market. He’s 100% focused on basketball and family... just like you and me (work and family). Christ, this kid was selling sunglasses in a street market in Athens 8 years ago... he’s more like us than any player I can think of. Ever... 

Good points. I was in Athens in 2011 for a meeting and the number of people selling stuff on the street just trying to make enough money to eat was staggering. And I wasn't even the poorer part - I was down by the Parthenon, Syntagma Square, and the Convention Center. 

The fact that he turned down overtures to train with LeBron in the offseason was a good sign. You're right - the fact he didn't grow up getting shoe money funneled to his parents during high school and his one year in college makes him unique. He's essentially got the drive that a poor kid growing up in crushing poverty would have without all the hangers-on that attach themselves to a 14 year old American kid who they think might be their ticket out. 

He's the exact opposite of Jabari Parker. Jabari actually grew up with money and was told he was going to a superstar from the time he hit puberty. Of course, why Jabari flamed out and why guys with similar backgrounds like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson (with fathers who were NBA players) aren't lazy and entitled is a whole other discussion. 

I actually think that was a good trade for New York.   They cleared space to be able to sign two max players and maybe three if they are creative.  If they keep tanking they will get a top 3 pick.  Just watch them somehow end up with Zion. 

Porzingis is really good but who knows how he’ll come back from the ACL and he’s not signed long term.  Time will tell. 

The Knicks land Irving and Durant and Zion?   Look out Eastern Conference.  

They're the Knicks.

N.B.A. equivalent of the Vikings.

Blair Kiel posted:

They're the Knicks.

N.B.A. equivalent of the Vikings.

The Knicks have actually won a championship. 

Tschmack posted:

 If they keep tanking they will get a top 3 pick.  Just watch them somehow end up with Zion. 

Yeah... “somehow”...

Well, the draft lottery shenanigans started with the Knicks and landing Patrick Ewing.  Something tells me they will find a way to get the 1st overall pick. 

It sounds like the NBA playoffs are going to go a long way to deciding what’s going to happen in the coming free agency. 

Lets say the unthinkable happens... the Bucks win it all, beat the Warriors. Does that mean Durant hesitates to move over to play with the Knicks? Does that force him to stay with GS? How would that impact the whole west dynamic? For years, I think players avoided the east because of LeBron. Does Giannis create the same thing if he continues to develop? They win it, the Bucks are still standing pat, right? 

Lets say the Bucks get to the Finals but the Warriors take them down in 7 games. Does the east still scare everybody? Bucks still stand pat? How about 5 or 6 games? Are the Bucks looking more vulnerable and guys like Durant see an opening to come east and pair up like the Knicks propose? Do the Bucks stand pat with their guys then? They wouldn’t, would they? How about if the Bucks don’t make the finals- losing to Toronto in the ECF? 

The playoffs and how they work out is going to determine a lot...  

Anthony Davis news. Woj from ESPN reported that Anthony Davis has given the Pelicans a list of teams he’d re-sign with if traded to: the Lakers, Knicks, Bucks, and Clippers. Oh my.

Obviously, it would be outstanding if he got traded to the Bucks, but you'd basically be throwing this season away to get him. He might not be cleared to play for a while and you'd lose any depth you would need to get through some playoff series. Also, there is no one that New Orleans would get that is signed beyond this year, other than Brogdon. 

Hmmmm... does anyone really believe him though?

Rich Paul last week says “no one but the Lakers so **** off” and now it’s 4 teams? The Lakers have the most to offer now. Boston has the most this summer. Knicks might have something to offer if they get the #1 overall, but that won’t be known until the Finals.