New York Knicks | Game Theory Offseason Preview

New York Knicks | Game Theory Offseason Preview

hello and welcome to the Game Theory podcast offseason preview series where Bryce Simon and I dig in to all of the big decisions every NBA team needs to make this summer we have recorded this one previously but unfortunately it got uh lost to the ether when the Knicks decided to blow up their coaching staff and fire uh Tom Tibido so this is number two on the New York Knicks the first one will not be getting released but this one will be before we dive into everything happening with the Knicks who as of this recording still don’t have a coach thank you all for listening to this series this is number 28 that we have done we only have the two teams still in the finals remaining uh those will come out together on Tuesday actually you will get a double dip on Tuesday I believe is the plan for those but thank you all for listening and making this such a successful series it’s We’ve had a blast we’ve had such a fun time doing these go hit the subscribe button if you’ve enjoyed these go hit the like button uh on whatever podcasting platform you use hit the fivestar button hit the We’re closing in I think on like 48,000 YouTube subscribers 49 somewhere in that ballpark we would love to get to 50 by NBA draft night if we can get to 50 by NBA draft night that’d be great you you called it Sam i I wondered about the start of next regular season and you’re like “No Bryce I think we can get there by draft night.” And I’m like “Man if we have 50K going to the lives that’s going to be pretty sweet let’s get there let’s get to 50K hit that subscribe button we appreciate it immensely.” Okay Bryce the New York Knicks a a very like exciting season just straight up so before we dive into all of the madness that is like kind of occurring it feels like with the coaching search and why I think that some of it’s been blown out of proportion I think it’s just worth noting how exciting this season had to be for Knicks fans and how exciting the season was for Knicks fans we know firsthand our fearless producer GAC Andrew Claudio tells us every day how exciting it was for Knicks fans up until the Eastern Conference Finals so any conversation here I just think has to start with that piece of it they go out and they get Carl Towns they go out and they trade all of their draft capital for Mikuel Bridges obviously I’m just really fascinated now to see where this team goes because I think that this was a real positive step in the right direction this year yeah i mean I I’m looking at just like the Knicks season by season going back to like 13 14 and Knicks fans are going to know this so I don’t need to rattle it off like they they understand that but I mean it it wasn’t super pretty for six seven eight years there and then they finally got it together in Tibido’s first season and then over the last three 47 wins 50 wins 51 wins Eastern Conference semis Eastern Conference semis Eastern Conference Finals and at time of recording we don’t know the results of the NBA Finals but you potentially lost to the NBA champions in that Eastern Conference Finals and I’m not going to get off on my Pacers don’t get enough credit tangent but it’s like you may have lost to like the one or two like one of two teams that could beat you in the NBA and I think that’s why on the episode that will never be we kind of talked about you do you have to blow it up do you have to make wholesale changes and I think it’s still worth noting you brought it up first and I agree with it Sam you got Carl Anthony Towns in the fall right like whenever you made that move and so you didn’t even have a full off season to put things together and I want to quickly say I’ve always said with the tibido stuff didn’t always agree with the process so I understand but the results do matter and he was getting a lot of positive results in terms of where he was getting this team and so I saw both sides of things i’m sure we’ll talk about the coaching search to some extent but yes I think this is still a team that’s a real interesting place with a real talented top end of their roster and I think that that’s where this has to start right so this is a team that has Jaylen Brunson OG Anobi Carl Towns Male Bridges potentially as it’s like real expensive dudes right and the reason that we have to throw male into the expensive bucket is because to me the number one decision that has to get made before anything else this summer is male Bridges is up for a 4-year $156 million contract extension it’s a big number i don’t think it’s a number that other teams wouldn’t pay necessarily i do think somebody else like if he was to hit free agency next summer where a lot of teams have cap space I think somebody else would pay him like close to $40 million a year but the question for the Knicks is given the new collective bargaining agreement given how punitive the aprons are now given that James Dolan you know I think we’ll spend on a really high level roster but might might get like you know itchy feet if it turns south pretty quickly is Male Bridges the right person to give a four-year $156 million extension to for this team and I think you can go either way honestly like I I’m I would assume he’s going to stay to be honest the fact that they fired Tom Tibido there were obviously those uh murmurings throughout the year uh Muel Bridges obviously said at one point uh talked about like having to play so many minutes very publicly in a way that I don’t know that we’ve seen him do before in all honesty i am intrigued to see how they handle his extension situation is it the full four for 156 is it that he go takes a little bit less is it that he takes three years like is there any wiggle room there when I kind of bring all of this up what is your immediate reaction because my mine is like I wouldn’t mind exploring the trade market in all honesty on male Bridges if I was the Knicks i understand that it’s going to be really hard from a public relations perspective to be like we just traded five first round picks in a swap for Male Bridges we’re now going to turn around and trade him for a price tag that would be less than that frankly but I don’t know if you can look at that and that be the key factor in the decision-m process I guess yeah so my initial thought is I wouldn’t in a vacuum I wouldn’t want to pay Mikuel Bridges that number based on what I have seen the last couple years what we’ve talked about with his defense even though there were times in the playoffs where I thought it was better than what I felt like it was during the season the second thing I think of Sam is in a world of aprons and taxes you know and all of these conversation is around how many guys can you pay at this level and the Knicks would almost be going entirely against that now the fact that Brunson took the deal he did is what opens all of this up right like we always have to continue to say that he just he he makes this even possible the fact that next year he’ll only be making 35 million as their best player and an allNBA player but Bridges is we both would agree he’s their fourth best player right like we both think OG Anobi is better than him i do okay i do as well especially when you factor in I think there’s a little bit of a gap defensively between those two guys at least this last season I felt that way agree you’re going to pay your fourth best player $40 million while you’re also paying as much as I like this player Josh Hart as your fifth best player or off 20 like where is where are you winning on the margins like where are you making that up other than Brunson because you’re paying Cat top of the market money you’re paying OG $40 million like I just wonder if you can really construct this roster if I wonder if you can build out the depth Sam is what I’m asking and I’m assuming you’re going to hire a coach that’s going to use a little bit more depth than Tibido and so you would want to do that i don’t know maybe they won’t but I I think that is a flaw for this team is the depth and the versatility and the options they have with the roster because it is so topheavy with talent and if you sign him to this extension with money as well so they would be getting some back on Deuce obviously because Deuce’s deal is quite cheap which is good but I mean this is a team just to kind of sort through their financial picture a little bit that has $196 million already guaranteed for 10 players they’re about 1 million over the projected first apron and about 11 million away from the second apron um they’re into the tax already i would expect that you know if Bridges stays they’re definitely in the tax but it gives them a little bit of wiggle room to be able to potentially use the taxpayer mid-level but if you do that you’re talking about all minimums like you’re talking about taxpayer mid-level and all minimums right you’re probably using number 50 and like getting somebody in a roster spot that’s you know probably not a player that helps you right i always thought that Doier was the real project like that that’s why that pick didn’t make a ton of sense to me at the time i understand the theoretical upside with Dier but I just didn’t see a guy that was going to be all that ready to play like early in his career hooky maybe he can be your third center but like center isn’t really the issue from a roster perspective right now I would argue i think Kolak has a real chance to be able to play that that’s one guy that might be able to help you but I think that you’re talking if you do decide to do this with Bridges mostly about Deuce and then Deuce probably gets pushed out at some point whenever he’s up for a big deal and hits unrestricted free agency mitchell Robinson probably like is a real trade candidate at this point as well in order to try and fill out the depth in any way shape or form that you can what about Josh Hart like it what would his trade value be around the like could you split him into two rotation players where that makes sense to you i’m just laughing at the way you said trade value like you were going do you know who Christopher Walkin is yeah yeah yeah yeah I know who that is yeah you you went full walking in the uh in the pronunciation i was like wait what just happened i I have a lot of discipline right now cuz I wanted to try to do an impersonation and I know it would not hit and so I kept it to myself you did it as well as you could have yeah but I did by accident that’s that’s the point is if I tried to do it on purpose now it would be a total flub and I would be getting cooked in the comments so I will refrain um what would Josh Hart’s value be i think he would return a first from somebody i I don’t know if I need players though like if I’m trading Josh Hart I want two rotation player i I also want to be clear real quick Sam i’m not anti- this core and continuing this window with this core based on the their age you know these guys are all upper 20s into their lower 30s i mean none of them you know I think uh Hart and Cat are either 30 or about to turn 30 this upcoming season i’m not anti that this thing can’t work and I assume that’s why you fire the coach is you bring in a new coach and you’re going to see if that coach can make it work i’m just saying it is going to get expensive and because of that I think it’s worth having some of these conversations in terms of okay can you trade this guy and open up something here whether financially or rotationally or fill some spots on the roster yeah like one idea that we had was look it feels like Dallas is going for it right like be it how smart that is or not you know we can talk through that at a later date you know once they draft Cooper Flag and everything but like it feels like in the next three years they’re really trying to go for it right like is there any equity like are the Knicks a better team if they would do PJ Washington and Max Christie for the Bridges like that was one that was one idea that we had previously right um is that a deal that Dallas would accept honestly like I’m I’m not sure to to be real with that cuz again then they become exceptionally expensive i mean god if I was the add family and Patrick Dumont and those guys like I’d be like yes I we will spend fan base trust me we will spend but you know I don’t know if they would do that but I I think again getting somebody like M like Max Christie on like that contract for $8 million a year those are the kind of targets that the Knicks need to find like I I personally believe that the Knicks would be a better team if they had Max Christie and PJ Washington as opposed to Muel Bridges but again you just gave up five firsts for a year of Muel Bridges PJ Washington and Max Christie like does that does that track for fans probably not um it’s more that I like those two players and if you’re Dallas you’re looking at it as like okay we have all of these dudes in the front court we have Anthony Davis we have Daniel Gaffford we have Derek Lively we have Cooper flag coming in when Cooper’s best position is probably the four right is there a way for us to upgrade on the perimeter like with with Klay Thompson with Cooper in order to you know really make a run at this thing bridges is like kind of interesting to me in that regard and you use the Washington deal to upgrade that well and if if you’re them you’re probably looking to the Brooklyn years especially 22 23 um or the the the end of 22 23 when he got traded and you know maybe some of the self-creation like option you know second option type stuff until Kyrie gets back right like cuz that’s one thing with Dallas you got to find somebody that can do some of that stuff from the perimeter at least till Kyrie gets back or all of next year or whatever and so maybe you just buy into a little bit of that with Bridges as well where he can play a little bit more of that just have a little more usage on the on the offensive end um for you and then would play perfectly off of Kyrie or or would play fine off of Kyrie whenever Kyrie is back so that that one is interesting i think this is the type of stuff that I think for New York if you were going to make a move you know you bring Max Christie in to play off of Brunson defensively that makes a lot of sense space the floor pj slides into the four and you have OG you can slide Josh Hart to the bench and then now all of a sudden you have Deuce and Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson like you said if Kolick becomes a backup point guard that can play 15 minutes a night if Hook Py can be your third center all of a sudden you’ve opened things up just a little bit um [Music] another version of this yeah like is there a like the kings feel like they’re kind of just like grasping at stuff right now to be honest with you i’m not I’m not totally sure what their plan is at this point is there a like Malik Monk and like Keon Ellis for uh Muel Bridges deal like just and I’m not saying that this would be smart for the Kings i’m saying like “Hey let’s call our old friend Scott Perry and see if he doesn’t really know what he’s doing with Sacramento kind of thing.” I mean because Keon would be a lot of fun i mean that’s another guy that plays off Brunson really well defends bring Malik off the bench in that role i don’t know what you would do with Deuce then but sure and to be clear like we we think if you move Josh Hart you’re not getting these level of names at all so like that’s why it’s got to be that’s why Bridges is the name yeah yeah if you’re going to move somebody and you you don’t have to is the thing like you are not in a position where you have to make a move but you know if you feel like you need a little bit more depth if you feel like you need to find different answers if you feel like you can’t just run it back because the Pacers are ahead of you you’re worried about the Cavs in some way shape or form if you think Orlando maybe like I I Orlando Orlando has made their trade trade right and I think that roster once once the trade is made it’s made knicks fans know this now right like they still get crap for the first round picks for Muel Bridges now it’s Orlando’s turn but at the end of the day now that roster is what it is and that’s a really interesting roster down in Orlando so if you’re in New York and that makes you a little bit nervous then maybe you my vibe is like their their answer is going to be the new voice in the locker room i think too for what it’s worth yeah like a lot of our stuff at the top here is you know our biggest questions is like are they good enough to run this back right at the end of the day like is that the reality are they a good enough team to be able to run this back i I think the answer frankly is yes i was going to say given how open the East is going to be next year I don’t have a problem with them running it back but if you do run it back you do invol it does involve extending bridges to me you can’t let him hit free agency next year which means running it back does like create more long-term I don’t want to say issues because m I feel like we’re [ __ ] on MueL Bridges like Mel Bridges is a good basketball player but like it does create the potential for long-term ramifications that could cause problems yeah I I I think that’s my gut answer as well if somebody just said like “Hey do you think the Knicks can win the do you think the Knicks can win the East next year?” My blanket answer would be yes in terms of like can they am I going to when I’m in Vegas in a couple weeks am I going to put a bunch of money on it like not necessarily but can they absolutely i mean this is a very talented roster and again like they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and lost to the Pacers and they gave a game away in that series you know game one they just completely gave away and that is something that can haunt you but they’re not that they weren’t even that far away so if I’m them I’m definitely talking myself into okay we’re going to hire a coach that will get even more out of this thing offensively right cuz that’s always the conversation in terms of like maximizing them offensively and can you maybe do some other things defensively with Cat and Brunson but I I don’t blame them at all it’s just to your point you’re now locking it in for real right if you give Bridges the extension all four of those guys I guess yeah i mean three more this next year plus two more they’re all locked in and it’s big money whenever you do that and look at the end of the day like I think that they would be flexible i think they could make moves you know what I mean carl Towns I think has value again on the market og Anobi definitely has value like I know that’s a big contract but he’s like the kind of player that I think a lot of teams can sell themselves on being able to push them over the top right like if you’re making a final you know Drew Holiday level move right like I always think of Drew Holiday because he’s been the final move for two title teams now right uh you know the Bucks and the Celtics traded for him and then won the title i I think Ananobi can be that kind of move for you like Alex Caruso style move like with Oklahoma City if they go on to win the title right like you know not not Seakum seakum’s a little bit better than this I think but like you know those are the kind of that’s the kind of value I think Anobi brings in a playoff series more than anything because he’s so versatile and flexible defensively and can take on so many different assignments so like it’s not like you wouldn’t be able to get off of the roster if you had to so let’s say let’s go down this path for one more season they they extend bridges let’s just say at the max number and let’s say new coach they they make some moves on the margins and they fizzle out they actually take a step back and lose in the the second round like to your point you’re not in an awful situation where like you could probably still move like CAD is going to be somewhat or or CAD is still going to be a plus contract og is definitely a plus like you’re not attaching assets to get off any of these guys on their numbers right unless they just have like awful seasons individually somehow you know what I mean so in that way I guess I feel like we or I have portrayed it like “Oh my gosh you’re locking in all this money you’re in trouble.” But if you can still get off each individual contract it’s not that dire of a situation even if it doesn’t work and goes south unless again one of these guys just goes you know has a historically bad regression or something like that or gets hurt true which like you can’t live in those worlds with these decisions not on these guys right um other teams around the league maybe should have considered some of that but like No I mean like Brid Bridges plays every single game every single game like are any are any of these guys what we would consider injuryprone or whatever phrase somebody wanted to use i I don’t I mean Anobi’s had his little Yeah but like he misses like 25 games when he misses time you know what I mean it’s not like he’s if I remember correctly I don’t think he’s like h he’s missed one season pretty he missed like a lot of one season if I remember correctly but regardless like I would say Aninobi is really the only one that has like a okay history yeah so especially early in it no that that was game so he went through a two-year backto-back stretch with 43 and 48 those were during the 50 his first year in New York and Toronto yeah so Yeah yeah and then 74 this last year so nothing crazy but okay a little bit but we also also as the knee injury in Indiana as well remember true but you just made the pitch for what a team could see him as i guess I guess we’re just talking it potential risk of going down this path so totally fair i I think that there I think he would be the only one really in like you know if Towns was to go down in some way like I think his value would drop like in a real way cuz there would just be question at that point but he’s one where I don’t think you can really live in that like you have to consider these things like what what is the player if he gets hurt like what is our risk mitigation factor here but regardless you know that’s a depressing conversation to go down and I don’t think we need to do it um yeah I mean just for me it all comes down to I think I’m good running this back i mean look like by the time this is up even on Saturday like I guess there’s a chance that they have a coach right yep and I don’t know that I really want to speculate too too much on like who that’s going to be right now we kind of held this back in the hopes that they would hire somebody like relatively quickly but they didn’t i mean look like I’ll just say I think Taylor Jenkins would be a better hireer than Mike Brown like before this happens i I think that that would make more sense i think he’d be the kind of mindset that the organization could use a little bit more of but I think he’s a little bit more of a creative offensive mind you know he would bring like a little bit more of a consistent uptempo kind of strategy that would work a little bit more consistently with this group but you know look like I’m not going to sit here and say that I know for sure like to me like Mike Brown would probably be like a little bit more like just player friendly tibsy kind of vibe and maybe that’s what they need like I I maybe they do need that guy who’s not such a disciplinarian like hard ass in some ways and is so inflexible but like I’ve never really felt like Mike Brown’s like adjustments have been the you know best staple of his coaching ability either so like you you go from inflexible to like not all that creative in terms of the adjustment strategy so I I’d rather take the flyer on Jenkins if I’m being honest but we’ll see what they do yeah these are the nuances of a coaching hire that are so fascinating to me and I’m not going to pretend to know the super details of all of these coaches to have the answers but recently on a live we talked about how Indiana’s success and Oklahoma City’s success should be a blueprint for other teams in the NBA not in terms of trying to duplicate it but to do it in their own way in terms of organizationally down from the top down being on the same page and what’s interesting about a coaching change for me for a team like the Knicks is you have to find a coach that’s going to fit this roster now right like it’s you’re not you don’t have the GM and the coach and then let’s go identify the players we just talked about if you extend Muel Bridges you essentially have the roster locked in so to me I think that’s one of the most important decisions do you think what Taylor Jenkins will do offensively and defensively does that match your roster because that roster is probably not going to change as much or if it doesn’t is Taylor Jenkins and I’m just using him as the example here is he willing to adjust to his roster and that’s just the X’s and O’s sam you know this as much as me every team has its own identity and personality right some are loose some are intense some listen to music some play games on the plane rides you know whatever is his personality going to mesh with this already somewhat locked in roster and I think that’s that’s where New York has to be really strategic in terms of who they hire yeah agree so just to kind of close up here I mean we’re going to like go probably like 10 more minutes but not you know we’re into the final like points here free agencywise Precious Sichua campaign Dylon Wright Landry Shamut we bringing any of those guys back um I mean maybe one of the guards i like if you think Kohley can play then you definitely don’t need all of them um and I feel like it’s the same thing with Aua right you bring back Precious if you don’t think that Hook Porty is ready so I think it comes down to your vibes on those two guys in terms of are they going to be ready to give minutes or not the other piece for me is just what’s available right yeah like who are you going to be able to get if you can use the non- taxpayer midle right which I think that they can get creative enough to use it financially can they get there they’re far enough away to where I think they can like they have basically 11 million to spend to be able to like you have to stay under they have 11 million to spend for four guys one of whom can be a rostered player at number 50 you know what I mean so that’s like a million so you’d have 10 million for three guys so that’d be the non- taxpayer and two minimums basically so I would think that they can do it n the issue is like the non- taxpayer name that makes sense i mean like I don’t really What do you think they should be looking for in terms of depth here like I think this is what’s hard for me is you look at the wing room there on the in the starting lineup and it’s like oh they’re set at wings but then you look in the backup group and there are none and so I find myself still going I would like another wing especially one that can play the four is what I would look for it or or maybe like a what I would refer to as a forward Sam is like a guy that can play the four maybe give you a little bit of time at the three is what I would if we’re staying with this roster right here and assuming you have some faith in Kick or bring one of these guys back plus deuce I I think that’s where I would go yeah I don’t know that I disagree it’s just like I don’t know that that guy’s available for the non- tax or for the taxpayer mid-level i keep saying non- taxpayer for some reason like my brain that’s where you confuse me as like are you sure they can get to the non- tax no it’s it’s 5.7 the number they have is 5.7 i always say non- taxpayer cuz like my brain for whatever reason like associates the word non with like you’re not allowed to use the full number or whatever they’re allowed to spend 5.7 basically is the number um the full taxpayer is like 14 obviously and they said they had 11 to spend so like I I don’t know why my brain continues to like associate non- taxpayer with you know that like terminology but it’s taxpayer mid-level and like Okay so like Gary Trent was a name I thought of for them just as like another shooter who might be able to create a little bit of offense right sure yeah i mean I’m looking through names and it’s like I think a lot of the names we like are they’re they’re above this right like they’re going to get a little bit more than this is is the issue yeah like do do you think they need more ball handling okay i Yeah sure i could I could hear that out like I I I am a Cole guy for sure but it’s a big swing for him to just be the only guy you have right maybe that is a minimum like maybe you go get maybe one of the minimums is a ball handler right but you know these guys are just hard to f like it’s hard to find guys that are so like what do we think useful on the minimum tus like is Tyus is this the best Tus Jones is going to get what is Dante Exom gonna get what is like Monte Morris exum is not a bad name i I I wouldn’t mind exam on a minimum for them for sure like one name I just thought of is like do you try to take a flyer on like Pat Spencer sure like give him like a full deal as opposed to just like whatever he’s a restricted guy so like the Warriors have the ability to retain him if they want but you know he’s guy that I thought was like fairly useful in his minutes with the Warriors it’s like you’re taking these upside swings where you hope that these guys can become something at some point but you you know might not have it yet right or it’s the guys that have been around forever and Yeah you know you you kind of know that they probably aren’t playable in the playoffs right yeah i mean so like here’s a name that I I’ve I’ve always said I don’t think you can play him in the playoffs but like Delano Banton every time I watch him like he finds a way to be productive um I I think he would be a he would be the taxpayer mid-level if you wanted him i think he gets a little bit more than the minimum um but not like a terrible name I don’t think and an interesting name is like a bigger ball handler that I think like honestly I could play a little bit with Jaylen Brunson too potentially like let Jaylen play off the ball and run off some stuff so terrible i was looking through the names here some more i like the again a lot of the names I really like just they’re going to get more than the taxpayer I think yeah I agree like does Malcolm Brogden get the taxpayer that’s going to be a fun market to track this year like I think he would like sort of help them honestly he’d probably be the top end of the market I would guess if they like decide to go that route of like the vet right sure um Amir Coffee like does he work for you at all that’s a I like that name i like Air Coffee sure jate like it’s J Seawn Tate i think Jan’s probably on a minimum next year if you made me bet but a good name i think that would make sense ca guy too so that would track i I actually quite like J Shawn Tate i would probably do that if I was them on a minimum what about the like power forward idea like do names like Trey Lyles um Larry N i mean that’s kind of why that’s kind of why I like J Sean honestly because I think he can guard up the lineup a little bit yeah Trey Lyles is a good name for sure yeah Larry N i think he’s again I think Trey is probably the taxpayer mid-level to be honest he’s at least going to get that right don’t you think like that that’s going to be the high end or you think that’s about as good as he’s going to get i think probably right around the taxpayer mid level feels right for Trey okay um Chris like Gary Harris that work for you yeah Gary Harris was a name I just saw as well is Gary Harris a minimum next year maybe i feel like it um they could if if Detroit decides to go a different path they could bring Tim Hardaway Jr back honestly I I wouldn’t mind it it It’s just that I mean do you think he gets more than the taxpayer i don’t know he’s going to be another one cuz like that’s a dude that started a bunch of games on a playoff team and if like there’s a real path where Detroit goes a direction where he doesn’t return and then it’ll be fascinating to see i I had this conversation with someone the other day i was like eventually the money dries up we It happens every year where Gary Trent Jr Tory and Prince you know Taius Jones all end up on vet men’s because there’s nothing else out there and then eventually take that because it’s either for what they thought was going to be a contender or a specific role or whatever i mean that might be an advantage for New York is I mean I don’t know if it’s a starting spot it it it could be for some of these guys like as a physical if somebody gets hurt here yeah it could easily turn into being a starting spot like I just wonder how much that would get taken into account for some of these names we’re talking about where okay this is a team that’s really going to compete for a championship not only am I in the rotation but if they decide they want to go away from Josh Hart and let’s say it’s a a real floor spacer shooter maybe they put me in the starting lineup or a real defender they want out there maybe they put me in the starting lineup because they want to keep this this rotation off the bench i’ll go sign up for the Vet men to start for the New York Knicks and make a run to the potential NBA finals that might be an advantage they have to get somebody on the taxpayer or on a vetmin so like it feels like you almost want more of like a wing for than a like four i think I think like Larry Nance was a name I just thought of like I think Larry Nance is awesome i think the world of Larry Nance like again probably a guy that you have to use your taxpayer mid-level on I would guess but like does that player help you like you it’s a different look almost to me than if you wanted to play too big like I think you might actually be able to play too big with Larry Nance and Towns and like he could help cover for Towns a little bit i think he could play with Mitch a little bit too there might be some small ball five lineups that you could use with uh Larry Nance you obviously have to work I mean the other piece of this too with Mitch is like the injury stuff like he’s probably gonna miss time is the reality so like you might need like a four or five who can come in and step in and like deal with some center minutes too that’s why I like the Trey Lyles one also like Trey is having moonlight at center a little bit i’m not saying he’s your best small ball five option in the world like I’m not going to go there but this is the optionality that I mentioned at the top that I think would be interesting for them and if they’re not going to be able to do it or they’re not going to do it they would be able to do it if they’re not going to do it by trading bridges or trading in an OB or something like that then go find guys that can play minutes of the four and you can go too big that can play five and you can go small or you know go find wings that can really space or provide some extra ball handling or or whatever right like go find go win on the margins i think that’s one of my biggest takeaways throughout this is now number 28 of our offseason previews is winning on the margins is vital to success and a lot of that comes with finding guys that give your roster versatility and theoretically Sam you’re you are going to get a coach that is less rigid you know like at the end of the day Tibido was going to play the guys he was going to play in the spots he was going to play him and it wasn’t going to go super deep with it no matter who they hire is probably going to be less rigid than that and I would want to give them a roster that was a little bit more fluid with those options i would agree with that so to kind of wrap this up I mean number 50 like is again like I guess 50 like does matter here because it’s probably going to be a roster player uh I would guess like I mean names that are trackable here I mean I mean like the the floor spacers like you could go the like the Kobe Brea you could go the defensive route Sam right like Elijah Martin um you know what I’d really like is like Max Schulga there okay yeah Schulga this is where like we keep saying the the break is at 35 to 40 and I think we both truly believe that but we know guys are going to go that are out like it’s going to happen i’m not saying I’m not saying a bunch of names are going to drop to 50 that we love there’s a chance that one of these names drops to 50 that could be interesting or I recorded the other day over on Lakers Nation with Trevor Lane and we talked about the potential to trade up um who who has two backtoback at the top of the second round uh Charlotte like do they want to take both of those brooklyn has one at 36 if they take three first round picks even are they going to also take one at 36 so I I don’t like I’m not saying you use a bunch to trade up but if you wanted to get up to 36 might get a real interesting name there and again for you that’s a player that is going to be on your 15-man roster that could be real interesting to agents and players in the second round that gives you a leg up on that so it’s at 50 i don’t have a ton of faith but they could make a move that gets somebody interesting few other names bryce Williams is just like big and can shoot uh that’s an interesting name to me if you’re if you’re going to roster somebody like I want to roster like an older dude yeah if I’m the next honestly like I have Doier as my like project and that’s probably enough for me uh given that I’m contending right now uh yeah like Bryce Williams is interesting sanders is interesting for them yeah I like Kobe Sanders uh Ton think TJ gets to 50 but like Ton would make sense if he was there you think Pavey will last pave would make a ton of sense for them i think he could get to 50 like like I I think there’s a chance that a lot of these like I think there’s a chance like Janai Broom gets to 50 you know what I mean like Yeah like not it’s a lower chance for sure but like if you’re looking at ranges of outcomes right like you know there there are outcomes where Janai Broom gets to 50 I think so you know you just kind of look at all of that and you think through it and you’re like okay there are names here it’s an older draft year in the second round so there are guys that we could roster that could maybe help us long term form at least I I Vlad Golden is a guy that I’m just like very adamant is going to be a third center in the NBA and I find that valuable if you’re really nervous about Mitchell Robinson’s health or and or unsure if Hook’s completely ready that would be an interesting name for me because I just think Vlad is going to be able to do that he doesn’t have the upside maybe but I think he’s going to be able to come in and be the third center for a team that that’s probably a two-way if you’re doing that like I don’t think that’s Sure that’s fine i’m fine with that that’s the draft pick like I I think that I think if you’re going to do Vlad Golden you’re probably doing him on a two-way as opposed to doing him there but again like I don’t mind that by any stretch like I think that that’s a completely reasonable take but we just named like eight or nine guys that I would guess that one of the eight or nine guys that we just named is available at number 50 yeah basically yep okay Bryce our overall takeaway here is basically run it back which isn’t like the sexiest thing in the world bring in the new coach see what it looks like i would explore the market on bridges i’ll be interested to see if they explore the market on bridges I think is my take but beyond that that’s kind of where I sit on it yep i’m with you again this is a team that I I know it didn’t end the way fans wanted it to but it was still I I think it’s we’ve asked GMAC this i think it was still a successful season if you would have asked them you know in a vacuum you know you make it to game whatever of the Eastern Conference Finals like that’s not an awful outcome for this Knicks team this Knicks organization and it’s still a core it’s not like it’s an aging core right it’s not like these guys are in their mid30s so I I think I agree with that run it back if you want to quietly see what Bridges market would be I would understand but otherwise try to make some of those free agent on the margin moves hire this new coach hopefully that gives you an influx of energy and change and whatever and go compete next year and then see where you’re at yeah no I agree bryce tell the people where they can find your work tell the people what’s going on yeah motorcity hoops on Twitter on Blue Sky if you are interested in some of the names free agency and draft that we just spoke about my Substack motor city hoops.stack.com has some video breakdowns on like 15 draft prospects in the range of the second round because that’s where the Pistons are at and some free agency names as well the Pistons Pulse podcast otherwise right here Game Theory podcast with the San Vini and we will be live both nights of the NBA draft i know there’s a lot of options out there but come join us because we’re a lot of fun and we’ll be able to break down all of these picks i’m so ready for like the sicko like final 10 picks of the NBA draft where like someone like Cheney Johnson from Auburn gets drafted or something and we’re just like “All right what’s going on here?” Here’s what’s funny my biggest nightmare for the next week is and somebody gets picked who I literally don’t have notes on and I just have to put in the private chat this one’s all you Sam you know like just please don’t go to me for any int any analysis on this pick yeah I mean look I’ll be interested to see if that happens i mean I’ve got I’ve got a 100 names on the draft guide this year when realistically I would argue that there were 75 worth ranking yeah maybe so I hope it sticks within that 75 yeah so I think I I have 80 85 names that I have notes on all of those players so um it’s going to take a deep cut and usually you watch enough that you’ve at least watched a name even if you don’t have the detailed notes like we have on some guys but I think that’s right okay uh go to the athletic keep me employed over there the draft guide is out a mock draft will be out uh on Monday here we we will have a ton of content coming for you guys i I promise you that over the course of the next couple days uh we will have game seven coverage on Sunday we will have on Monday what will we have i don’t know for nothing on Monday but Tuesday we’ll have offseason previews for the finals team and a live mock yeah maybe I’ll make Andrew go live with me on Monday or something and run through some draft news and notes and things like that we’ll see if that’s something we have to do based on what comes out i mean we’re waiting we’re on like Kevin Durant watch too so that’ll be a whole thing at some point uh go to the athletic keep me employed go subscribe to the Game Theory podcast YouTube i’m looking we’re at 48,000 subscribers right now we would love to get those extra 2,000 going into draft night and then just having a great time on draft night go hit the subscribe button we appreciate you guys immensely thank you for rocking with the show until next time we’ll talk soon bye [Music]

In this Game Theory offseason preview, Sam Vecenie is joined by Bryce Simon discuss the future of the New York Knicks (FINALLY).

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Sam Vecenie, a Senior NBA Writer at The Athletic, talks all about basketball. From the NBA, to the NBA Draft, to college hoops and even some high school, Vecenie has you covered in this show.