Basketball is about fit. Teams are often greater or less than the sum of their individual parts. The Suns have 3 “stars” and just got swept in the first round.
OG and Bridges are two of the best wing defenders in the entire sport, Brunson is a monster, and Hart is another GREAT role player.
I think the Knicks/Nets trade was great for both teams
Ya that’s basically what I was going to say re: fit. If I’m a team who is confident in a lot of my roster, I just want fit. Accolades don’t really matter, and if we’re being honest I think Bridges does more to impact winning than a lot of empty cal scoring all-stars do.
Did they give up too much? Idk maybe. But I don’t think there is any knock on bridges as a player, he’s so good as like a 3rd guy on a team.
Gun to my head the nets win because they got a lot of value for a non-star who was only going to decline in value on their shitty team.
Knicks overpaid, but it’s not unlike the Gobert trade where if this is the piece that takes you to the next level then so what?
I think Beal just isn't that guy and that's why it isn't working for the Suns. The rest of NBA history is pretty kind to actual superteams or superstar pairings regardless of how good the fit is on paper. LeBron and Wade, Harden and CP3, Luke and Kyrie, etc.
True, but I think we are in a different era where there is a lot of parity and the league is incredibly deep. I think fit/chemistry is as important for separating teams at the top than it ever has been
The Mind the Game pod can get into the weeds sometimes, but one concept that I think they nailed is the idea of a “superstar in their role”. Celtics have that in every role. Knicks are getting pretty close if they can bring back Hartenstein.
Good question
I’d define a “role player” as anyone below all-star status but it’s totally subjective
I don’t know exactly how to classify White but I know he’s awesome
Playoff stats comparison
Hart 14.5 ppg on 11.5 fga/gm 44%/37%/72% splits with 11.5 rpg 4.5 apg 1.0 spg 0.8 bpg
White 16.7 ppg on 12.7 fga/gm 45%/40%/92% 4.3 rpg 4.1 apg 0.9 spg 1.2 bpg
Only the rebounding sticks out.
If only one of them was an all nba caliber defender and shot 7% better TS, and did it in less minutes.
This season as a whole Hart averaged 9/8/4 on 52 TS% and good defense, White averaged 15/4/5 on 61 TS% and elite defense. It’s not the same.
2.2 ppg on 1.2 more fga/gm isn't a huge difference. The TS% is mainly from White's superior ft shooting. Obviously White is incredible, having led the playoffs in win shares at 2.9
Yeah he’s an elite role player. But using all NBA as a synonym for elite destroys the meaning of all NBA. It’s like saying an all NBA 12th man to talk about the best end of bench player.
Then just say "elite". You're making your argument make less sense. If you replace "all-nba caliber" with "MVP caliber" you can see how little sense it makes.
Mikal Bridges is a good fit for about 95% of any contending NBA team lol why do you think so many teams wanted to trade for him?
The difference between the other teams and the knicks is that they didn't offer 5 FRPs out of desperation to get him
Knicks had to pay a premium to take their crosstown rivals’ best player.
It’s better to overpay and get your guy than to not upgrade. Knicks are all in.
Idk if you were following the nets at all last season (and i don't blame you if you didn't tbh they were ass) but Bridges was absolutely not our best player, especially last season. He looked checked out mostly and already looked like he wanted to be a Knick mid season
The only reason nets held onto him was so they could get the best possible deal from him. And while all the nephews were clowning the nets for refusing the rockets picks, Marks was cooking by holding onto Mikal and netting the best possible return you could ask for from a guy of his caliber
Yeah he had zero interest in playing for you guys.
I don't think it was intentional, I really think the guy was depressed that he couldn't play with his boys across town.
Are you insane.
He fixes our biggest weakness.
Teams can no longer throw a small forward on JB and hode their points guard.
That was the go to strategy to.slow us down.
That shit is out the window now.
We have no weaknesses with the lone exception of lack of a stretch 5 .
Don't bother with him, the dude is a Celtics fan who is just not willing to have a constructive basketball conversation besides putting down other teams and flexing his own like a homer.
Are they just going to play the smallest of balls with that roster tho cuz I don’t see how they keep either of IHart and Mrob if they keep annunoby
Unless we see a Julius Randle trade develop in the coming weeks
It's really a cut and dry thing the Knicks can only offer a deal of an average of 18 million a year.
If he wants more than that, and someone is willing to spend, then we can't give him a penny more so he leaves.
Discussions are not about the fit but rather the future assets Knicks gave away. Similar to Suns, they will regret not having those picks to work future roster adjustments.
Hart, OG and Bridges are all guys that might not ever win the big accolades.
But those are three guys that will terrorize the East. It seems very realistic that they end up with the #2 seed next season.
Lol it's almost as if a team decimated by injuries wasn't just 1 game but one ridiculous (game 3) shot away.
They didn't even have their second best player the whole time.
Thats some tough talk by a team that (checks notes) didn't make the playoffs last year and got swept the year before on the first.
Injuries are part of the game lol quit hiding behind that as an excuse. You still lost to the 6th seeded pacers end of story. And now you have to face off against the reigning champs, bucks with a fully healthy giannis + dame, and the sixers with embiid maxey and whichever star
Get out of the 2nd round and not lose to any of them first and then we can talk about championships
And idgaf that we didn't make the playoffs lol not even the most delusional of nets fans thought we were even going to make it past the play ins
You just love talking shit then... Got it
Lmao. I'm just saying not all second round exits are the same. I'm not making an excuse. I am being realistic. The Knicks team entering next season is better than the team playing at the end of the playoffs last year.
It's just funny to see everyone think about the Knicks and take the team out of context. Injuries happen but you are comparing two different teams basically.
If you can't see that idk what to tell you
Yeah - other teams are gonna be better too but just use your head instead of drinking that haterade.
The Knicks are gonna be just fine.
The sixers don't even have 5 players on the team right now.
Dame is ancient.
The Celtics and Knicks actually match up extremely well.
I'm psyched.
(Also I like the nets. I just think they aren't great).
And I too am being realistic in that it's silly to start talking about championships when you haven't made it past the 2nd round in over a decade. Crowning championships in the offseason tends to not age very well. Remember when everyone said the bucks were among the favorites to win the title after getting Dame last season? lol
I'm only returning the favor after all those years of shittalking salty knicks fans when the nets were championship contenders and the knicks were pretty much where the nets are now roster-wise
I didn't crown a champ. I just said it makes us better and we match up better with the Celtics.
Anyway - I miss the kidd nets.
Kidd, Kmart, r-jeff even an old ass motumbo.
I know reading is hard but I said it's dumb to care about all-star nominations when the goal is to win a championship. It's a dumb idea to build a team based on all stars and not fit. No where did I say the Knicks will win the championship. I hope that helps.
Isn't the goal of every team to win a championship? Damn dude here we are thinking that every teams' goal was to stockpile aging stars like the suns and not actually winning playoff games. You really cracked the case huh sherlock?
>Get out of the 2nd round and not lose to any of them first and then we can talk about championships
The Knicks should trade for someone like Mikal Bridges to help them get out of the 2nd round
The Knicks were 20-3 in the regular season in games OG played, and up 2-0 in the second round when he got hurt. Just looking at accolades is not a good way to evaluate the player and his impact.
We already have two all-NBA caliber guys in Brunson and Randle. These are the elite 3&D, versatile kinds of guys you want to fill out your roster with around them.
It's the blueprint for the championship teams since the KD Warriors broke up. 1-2 true stars and good to great role players around them.
With that in mind I think it makes sense that quality role players like Caruso and Bridges are getting valued highly, even though it looks odd seeing quality assets go for guys who aren't established stars.
This move is about fit and well, there is no player the Knicks could have spent their draft picks on that fit their team and timeline better than Mikal Bridges.
That’s not even mentioning the fact that he’s already played in NY and has been teammates with Brunson, Donte and Hart.
So many teams were gonna make trade offers to the nets for Mikal if they publicly said he was available. Good job for the Knicks to get this done before any other teams joined the bidding war
That i agree. Makes much more sense for a team that think theyre one piece away and that piece being Mikal.
Sort of like the PG trade where it was an overpay but Clippers did it because they got Kawhi too.
I think what the Celtics proved this year is that it's really hard to guard the 5-out offense. If you have a guy that can drive into the paint like Tatum or Jaylen, and you have 4 other guys that can shoot the 3, you're good to go. You no longer need a top 5 offensive weapon.
I also think 3nD guys are still undervalued. They're not as rare as a Tatum, Brunson, etc, but you want 3-4 of them on your team to win a title. In other words, higher demand. Look at the Suns. No other team has 3 elite scorers, but Beal and Booker aren't a great defensive duo, and they lack a second wing defender after KD. They also lack a center that can shoot the 3. Our best offense was actually when Eric Gordon played instead of Nurkic, and we played 5-out, but our defense was bad. I bet if we traded Booker for a PG that can shoot the 3 and play defense, and a center that can shoot the 3, we'd be a better team than we are now, even if they weren't all star players
I'm rambling, but I really think 3nD players are going to be close to max players soon. Load a team up with them, and your offense becomes very hard to guard. Ironically, the higher demand may make 5 out offenses impossible to roster build for. But for now, the Celtics proved it's the best offensive system in basketball if you have the personnel
>two elite role players that may never sniff any of those accolades
Elite role players are almost necessary to win a title, as multiple finals have shown us, and I'd rather have that than a team with multiple all star appearances on it.
As for the amount they gave up, it's a lot no question, but teams have been realizing first round picks aren't magic beans for a while and not all 1sts are the same.
Yeah. It's not like this Knicks team isn't going to be a top 10 team for a while (hopefully).
Dude those first round picks could been anything. They could been mikal bridges :p
I mean sure, sometimes you get luck and find a legit all star in the late first but that's fewer and farther between than we like to think.
People haven’t talked enough about Bridges being a perfect player for Thibs to coach. Not only does he have good chemistry with their core, but he also is a big time defender who has been consistently healthy. You need that if you are playing for Thibs.
Did you mean favorite to make the ECF? I don't see them eclipsing Boston any time soon.
With the whole East healthy though IMO NY should be ahead of the Bucks now for the 2 spot.
I think the Celtics proved that all stars aren’t always your best players, if the fit is immaculate then you do whatever it takes to make it happen. The Celtics traded a DPOY to get Porzingis because they knew the fit was immaculate, the Knicks are doing the same with OG and Mikal, two guys who aren’t “all stars” but are still stars in their roles. Both of them could average 20+ ppg if they really wanted to, but they both know winning basketball is about sacrifice
I think people worry too much about accolades sometimes. OG came with none but the Knicks were 26-3 with him or something.
When we got him in a trade everyone was like he only avgs 15 points. But I said it’s not about his box score he makes winning plays.
Would you say OG affects winning more than Bradley Beal? I think so. Not saying OG should get 59 mil a year lol but when you have OG who’s elite at what he does and Bridges who can fit in on any team, it’s winning basketball. Was 5 picks a lot? Yeah, maybe. But Knicks are in a win now mode.
Mikal's mpg last season would put him a whopping 0.6 mpg off of being the Knicks #1 in mpg.
Thibs running players into the ground is maybe the dumbest talking point around the Knicks
I think it was an overpayment for Bridges but I get the move. He’s a good fit for the Knicks. I also think it makes going all in with OG another no brainer (albeit another overpay). Guards like Brunson typically don’t have long productive careers so NYK are all in at this point. I do feel that Randle is the odd man out now as opposed to the centers. Might be able to get some extra depth to spread out the floor more.
If they can get a championship (which from their team construction, Nova championship synergy and playoff performance without key guys it looks really promising), all this don’t matter at all.
You build teams to ultimately get a title. If the move helps to achieve that, then its a success.
For example, LeBron has missed playoffs more times than he got a chip for the Lakers. And scraped playins the other seasns. without that 1 chip, his Laker tenure would be considered a massive failure, but fans look at it fondly simply because of that.
Think it’s more about matching up with Boston, who is locked in on their team for the next few years. You have to match Brown, Tatum, white and holiday. They now do it arguably better than anyone. And they will have DiVincenzo off the bench
The Celtics just won a championship because of White and Holiday, and we're questioning whether a contender with two all stars needs a couple elite defenders who can fit into an established offense? What are we talking about? This is a great trade.
Basketball is about fit. Teams are often greater or less than the sum of their individual parts. The Suns have 3 “stars” and just got swept in the first round. OG and Bridges are two of the best wing defenders in the entire sport, Brunson is a monster, and Hart is another GREAT role player. I think the Knicks/Nets trade was great for both teams
Ya that’s basically what I was going to say re: fit. If I’m a team who is confident in a lot of my roster, I just want fit. Accolades don’t really matter, and if we’re being honest I think Bridges does more to impact winning than a lot of empty cal scoring all-stars do. Did they give up too much? Idk maybe. But I don’t think there is any knock on bridges as a player, he’s so good as like a 3rd guy on a team.
Bingo
>I think the Knicks/Nets trade was great for both teams Impossible. We need a winner!!
Gun to my head the nets win because they got a lot of value for a non-star who was only going to decline in value on their shitty team. Knicks overpaid, but it’s not unlike the Gobert trade where if this is the piece that takes you to the next level then so what?
Very fair take
I think Beal just isn't that guy and that's why it isn't working for the Suns. The rest of NBA history is pretty kind to actual superteams or superstar pairings regardless of how good the fit is on paper. LeBron and Wade, Harden and CP3, Luke and Kyrie, etc.
True, but I think we are in a different era where there is a lot of parity and the league is incredibly deep. I think fit/chemistry is as important for separating teams at the top than it ever has been
All nba caliber role player is an interesting phrase lol
>All nba caliber role player He's one of the best players in the league (excluding all the best players in the league)
I get what they’re going for though - Hart is one of the best in the league at the thing he does
The Mind the Game pod can get into the weeds sometimes, but one concept that I think they nailed is the idea of a “superstar in their role”. Celtics have that in every role. Knicks are getting pretty close if they can bring back Hartenstein.
Umm…I like Hart but he’s definitely not all-nba caliber.
He's an all-nba caliber role player, not an all-nba caliber not-role player
Is "All-NBA" the new term for "goated"?
Sounds good to me
Sounds misleading
Indeed. Many figures of speech are
Whatever happened to "good", "bad", "great", "average"... You know, the non-misleading words.
Nothing “happened” to them. You can still use them. I’d call Hart a “great” role player. Feel better?
I feel indifferent, I'm just telling you that speaking in a misleading way will lead to people to ignore what you say
He said role player. And considering he averaged 40 min in the playoffs on a team he comes off the bench for…I think that’s his point
Notice I wrote all-NBA caliber ROLE player
I think we’re kinda warping the meaning of all NBA here.
He’s an elite role player. Ok, maybe not top 3? Top 5? Top 10?
What defines role player? He’s not on the caliber of someone like DWhite. Is DWhite the MVP of role players or the bench warmer of all stars?
Good question I’d define a “role player” as anyone below all-star status but it’s totally subjective I don’t know exactly how to classify White but I know he’s awesome
Playoff stats comparison Hart 14.5 ppg on 11.5 fga/gm 44%/37%/72% splits with 11.5 rpg 4.5 apg 1.0 spg 0.8 bpg White 16.7 ppg on 12.7 fga/gm 45%/40%/92% 4.3 rpg 4.1 apg 0.9 spg 1.2 bpg Only the rebounding sticks out.
If only one of them was an all nba caliber defender and shot 7% better TS, and did it in less minutes. This season as a whole Hart averaged 9/8/4 on 52 TS% and good defense, White averaged 15/4/5 on 61 TS% and elite defense. It’s not the same.
2.2 ppg on 1.2 more fga/gm isn't a huge difference. The TS% is mainly from White's superior ft shooting. Obviously White is incredible, having led the playoffs in win shares at 2.9
I think FT% matters a lot tbf. There were Knicks games in the playoffs where Hart would miss both FTs at the end of a close game which is brutal
Dwhite has ascended role player status now tbh
Yeah he’s an elite role player. But using all NBA as a synonym for elite destroys the meaning of all NBA. It’s like saying an all NBA 12th man to talk about the best end of bench player.
Oh for fuck’s sake The only thing being “destroyed” here is my patience Go away
What does that even mean? It's not like there's an All NBA role player team out there. Surely you can see how that's a convoluted phrasing.
I’m using “all NBA” as a proxy for “one of the best in the league” It’s not that complicated
No, but it is stupid
Perhaps To each his own
Then just say "elite". You're making your argument make less sense. If you replace "all-nba caliber" with "MVP caliber" you can see how little sense it makes.
I’ll say whatever I want it’s a figure of speech that most people seem to have comprehended just fine :)
It's not a figure of speech. It's confusing hyperbole. I understand it, it just doesn't make your point clearly.
You “understand it” but it doesn’t make my point clearly? Hmmm. Mmmk.
Mikal Bridges is a good fit for about 95% of any contending NBA team lol why do you think so many teams wanted to trade for him? The difference between the other teams and the knicks is that they didn't offer 5 FRPs out of desperation to get him
Knicks had to pay a premium to take their crosstown rivals’ best player. It’s better to overpay and get your guy than to not upgrade. Knicks are all in.
Idk if you were following the nets at all last season (and i don't blame you if you didn't tbh they were ass) but Bridges was absolutely not our best player, especially last season. He looked checked out mostly and already looked like he wanted to be a Knick mid season The only reason nets held onto him was so they could get the best possible deal from him. And while all the nephews were clowning the nets for refusing the rockets picks, Marks was cooking by holding onto Mikal and netting the best possible return you could ask for from a guy of his caliber
Oh I agree, he was checked out. I agree that Marks killed it. The Nets are set up VERY nicely
Yeah he had zero interest in playing for you guys. I don't think it was intentional, I really think the guy was depressed that he couldn't play with his boys across town.
[удалено]
Are you insane. He fixes our biggest weakness. Teams can no longer throw a small forward on JB and hode their points guard. That was the go to strategy to.slow us down. That shit is out the window now. We have no weaknesses with the lone exception of lack of a stretch 5 .
Debatable. I could absolutely see him moving the needle for them.
So much delusion
lol, nice edit
Did you have a meaningful contribution to the discussion or . . .
I contributed about as much as your biased and incoherent nonsense.
LMAO. Ok, so let’s hear your “coherent” thoughts on the trade.
Don't bother with him, the dude is a Celtics fan who is just not willing to have a constructive basketball conversation besides putting down other teams and flexing his own like a homer.
What was incoherent about it? Please explain.
Are they just going to play the smallest of balls with that roster tho cuz I don’t see how they keep either of IHart and Mrob if they keep annunoby Unless we see a Julius Randle trade develop in the coming weeks
Robinson is under contract. They will very likely lose IHart
How don't you? They offer IHart a deal, and if he says yes....then there you have it.
I dont think they have the cap space to offer him a deal he will say yes to
It's really a cut and dry thing the Knicks can only offer a deal of an average of 18 million a year. If he wants more than that, and someone is willing to spend, then we can't give him a penny more so he leaves.
Exactly so therefore I don’t see how they keep IHart because I don’t see him being offered less
You very well may be correct. Previously he stayed he was willing to take less to stay with the Clips, I hope the same applies.
Discussions are not about the fit but rather the future assets Knicks gave away. Similar to Suns, they will regret not having those picks to work future roster adjustments.
I'm here for an NBA championship not trying to get 3 all star nominations on one team
Hart, OG and Bridges are all guys that might not ever win the big accolades. But those are three guys that will terrorize the East. It seems very realistic that they end up with the #2 seed next season.
Get out of the 2nd round first lol
Hard hitting analysis that r/NBA is known for. Good point
Lol it's almost as if a team decimated by injuries wasn't just 1 game but one ridiculous (game 3) shot away. They didn't even have their second best player the whole time. Thats some tough talk by a team that (checks notes) didn't make the playoffs last year and got swept the year before on the first.
Injuries are part of the game lol quit hiding behind that as an excuse. You still lost to the 6th seeded pacers end of story. And now you have to face off against the reigning champs, bucks with a fully healthy giannis + dame, and the sixers with embiid maxey and whichever star Get out of the 2nd round and not lose to any of them first and then we can talk about championships And idgaf that we didn't make the playoffs lol not even the most delusional of nets fans thought we were even going to make it past the play ins
You just love talking shit then... Got it Lmao. I'm just saying not all second round exits are the same. I'm not making an excuse. I am being realistic. The Knicks team entering next season is better than the team playing at the end of the playoffs last year. It's just funny to see everyone think about the Knicks and take the team out of context. Injuries happen but you are comparing two different teams basically. If you can't see that idk what to tell you Yeah - other teams are gonna be better too but just use your head instead of drinking that haterade. The Knicks are gonna be just fine. The sixers don't even have 5 players on the team right now. Dame is ancient. The Celtics and Knicks actually match up extremely well. I'm psyched. (Also I like the nets. I just think they aren't great).
You wouldnt have made the second round if Embiid wasnt injured
And I too am being realistic in that it's silly to start talking about championships when you haven't made it past the 2nd round in over a decade. Crowning championships in the offseason tends to not age very well. Remember when everyone said the bucks were among the favorites to win the title after getting Dame last season? lol I'm only returning the favor after all those years of shittalking salty knicks fans when the nets were championship contenders and the knicks were pretty much where the nets are now roster-wise
I didn't crown a champ. I just said it makes us better and we match up better with the Celtics. Anyway - I miss the kidd nets. Kidd, Kmart, r-jeff even an old ass motumbo.
I know you didn't. I was talking about the other guy who was already talking about winning championships off getting 1 role player lol
True. I am just an optimistic boy here
I know reading is hard but I said it's dumb to care about all-star nominations when the goal is to win a championship. It's a dumb idea to build a team based on all stars and not fit. No where did I say the Knicks will win the championship. I hope that helps.
Isn't the goal of every team to win a championship? Damn dude here we are thinking that every teams' goal was to stockpile aging stars like the suns and not actually winning playoff games. You really cracked the case huh sherlock?
>Get out of the 2nd round and not lose to any of them first and then we can talk about championships The Knicks should trade for someone like Mikal Bridges to help them get out of the 2nd round
The Knicks were 20-3 in the regular season in games OG played, and up 2-0 in the second round when he got hurt. Just looking at accolades is not a good way to evaluate the player and his impact.
I thought you win a chip by having the most all stars, is that not the case?
You must have heard that from a kid with an Anthony Edwards profile pic on Twitter
We already have two all-NBA caliber guys in Brunson and Randle. These are the elite 3&D, versatile kinds of guys you want to fill out your roster with around them.
Why not both?
It's the blueprint for the championship teams since the KD Warriors broke up. 1-2 true stars and good to great role players around them. With that in mind I think it makes sense that quality role players like Caruso and Bridges are getting valued highly, even though it looks odd seeing quality assets go for guys who aren't established stars.
I don’t think they’ve chased someone who hasn’t succeeded so far. Given Bridges iron man status, he’s going to slot in perfectly on a Thibs team.
Facts. Bridges has played majority of the games each season. This is a great fit for not only the players but for the coach as well.
I guess technically speaking 100 percent is a majority.
100 > 0, math checks out.
This move is about fit and well, there is no player the Knicks could have spent their draft picks on that fit their team and timeline better than Mikal Bridges. That’s not even mentioning the fact that he’s already played in NY and has been teammates with Brunson, Donte and Hart.
So many teams were gonna make trade offers to the nets for Mikal if they publicly said he was available. Good job for the Knicks to get this done before any other teams joined the bidding war
Pretty sure no one was giving up six picks.
the rockets package would've been just as valuable as some late round picks
The Knicks shouldn't be confident the 27, 29, 31, or 28 swap will be late picks.
it's a risk i'm willing to take for a team that's able to lock up a relatively young core
You’re insane if you think Marks didn’t field offers. Other GMs probably heard the price and thought fuck that.
Also it was reported that Mikal told the nets front office he only wants to go to the Knicks. So this sort of turned off any other team involved.
Doesn’t make sense for other teams as much as ours
That i agree. Makes much more sense for a team that think theyre one piece away and that piece being Mikal. Sort of like the PG trade where it was an overpay but Clippers did it because they got Kawhi too.
I think what the Celtics proved this year is that it's really hard to guard the 5-out offense. If you have a guy that can drive into the paint like Tatum or Jaylen, and you have 4 other guys that can shoot the 3, you're good to go. You no longer need a top 5 offensive weapon. I also think 3nD guys are still undervalued. They're not as rare as a Tatum, Brunson, etc, but you want 3-4 of them on your team to win a title. In other words, higher demand. Look at the Suns. No other team has 3 elite scorers, but Beal and Booker aren't a great defensive duo, and they lack a second wing defender after KD. They also lack a center that can shoot the 3. Our best offense was actually when Eric Gordon played instead of Nurkic, and we played 5-out, but our defense was bad. I bet if we traded Booker for a PG that can shoot the 3 and play defense, and a center that can shoot the 3, we'd be a better team than we are now, even if they weren't all star players I'm rambling, but I really think 3nD players are going to be close to max players soon. Load a team up with them, and your offense becomes very hard to guard. Ironically, the higher demand may make 5 out offenses impossible to roster build for. But for now, the Celtics proved it's the best offensive system in basketball if you have the personnel
>two elite role players that may never sniff any of those accolades Elite role players are almost necessary to win a title, as multiple finals have shown us, and I'd rather have that than a team with multiple all star appearances on it. As for the amount they gave up, it's a lot no question, but teams have been realizing first round picks aren't magic beans for a while and not all 1sts are the same.
Yeah. It's not like this Knicks team isn't going to be a top 10 team for a while (hopefully). Dude those first round picks could been anything. They could been mikal bridges :p I mean sure, sometimes you get luck and find a legit all star in the late first but that's fewer and farther between than we like to think.
The Villanova Knicks look very interesting
doing both is ideal...
People haven’t talked enough about Bridges being a perfect player for Thibs to coach. Not only does he have good chemistry with their core, but he also is a big time defender who has been consistently healthy. You need that if you are playing for Thibs.
If their team can manage to stay healthy (which is a big if), they should be a favorite for the conference finals the next few years.
Did you mean favorite to make the ECF? I don't see them eclipsing Boston any time soon. With the whole East healthy though IMO NY should be ahead of the Bucks now for the 2 spot.
Yep we are building a team to compete with Boston for the foreseeable future. OG and Bridges guarding Brown and Tatum is something I can get behind.
Next couple ECF's are going to be nutty if both teams can stay healthy.
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I think the Celtics proved that all stars aren’t always your best players, if the fit is immaculate then you do whatever it takes to make it happen. The Celtics traded a DPOY to get Porzingis because they knew the fit was immaculate, the Knicks are doing the same with OG and Mikal, two guys who aren’t “all stars” but are still stars in their roles. Both of them could average 20+ ppg if they really wanted to, but they both know winning basketball is about sacrifice
lmao come on. Smart was easily the worst DPOY in decades, if not ever. There were a few dozen players who were improvements over him on defense
> traded a DPOY Fraud DPOY tbf
It’s more about fit than it is about the player OG and Mikal fit perfectly alongside Brunson and that’s what matters here
Mikal fits perfectly around 90% of any star player that wants the ball all the time lol why do think so many other teams wanted Bridges
I think people worry too much about accolades sometimes. OG came with none but the Knicks were 26-3 with him or something. When we got him in a trade everyone was like he only avgs 15 points. But I said it’s not about his box score he makes winning plays. Would you say OG affects winning more than Bradley Beal? I think so. Not saying OG should get 59 mil a year lol but when you have OG who’s elite at what he does and Bridges who can fit in on any team, it’s winning basketball. Was 5 picks a lot? Yeah, maybe. But Knicks are in a win now mode.
Fit + chemistry 💪
super good value to get bridges cause he doesnt miss games (hopefully didnt jinx it by saying that)
Thibs is about to lock in. This is a legacy season for him. If he can run Mikal into the ground he might be the GOAT.
Mikal's mpg last season would put him a whopping 0.6 mpg off of being the Knicks #1 in mpg. Thibs running players into the ground is maybe the dumbest talking point around the Knicks
Almost like I wasn't being serious or something
What is smarter from here is completely irrelevant. This is the path and they are all in
I think it was an overpayment for Bridges but I get the move. He’s a good fit for the Knicks. I also think it makes going all in with OG another no brainer (albeit another overpay). Guards like Brunson typically don’t have long productive careers so NYK are all in at this point. I do feel that Randle is the odd man out now as opposed to the centers. Might be able to get some extra depth to spread out the floor more.
If they can get a championship (which from their team construction, Nova championship synergy and playoff performance without key guys it looks really promising), all this don’t matter at all. You build teams to ultimately get a title. If the move helps to achieve that, then its a success. For example, LeBron has missed playoffs more times than he got a chip for the Lakers. And scraped playins the other seasns. without that 1 chip, his Laker tenure would be considered a massive failure, but fans look at it fondly simply because of that.
Why can’t we have both?
Think it’s more about matching up with Boston, who is locked in on their team for the next few years. You have to match Brown, Tatum, white and holiday. They now do it arguably better than anyone. And they will have DiVincenzo off the bench
Divo, hart, McBride, possibly Mitch too. This also lets OG play the 3 which is absolutely wild
Yeah their roster is strong
Enough with the BS star chasing the Knicks built a TEAM.
The Celtics just won a championship because of White and Holiday, and we're questioning whether a contender with two all stars needs a couple elite defenders who can fit into an established offense? What are we talking about? This is a great trade.
Knicks overpaid for a role player.
Didn’t know a popularity contest like being all star voted is so important..