Tiering the best options for Knicks to sign to the vet minimum | NY Got Game

Tiering the best options for Knicks to sign to the vet minimum | NY Got Game

Okay, the off season is continuing for the New York Knicks. They’ve made a couple of signings. We’ve talked about it here on New York Got Game. Jordan Clarkson, Gershon Yabaselli, Mike Brown has been introduced as the new head coach. So, a lot of questions are what’s next for the Knicks? Well, the Knicks are in a really interesting situation because they still have some room thanks to some capology, some great cap ma maneuverisms, I would say, whatever you want to call it. Doing the Lord’s work with the cap that Brock Olers has been doing has been fantastic for the Knicks because they still have room to sign one more minimum player to the roster and that is huge. But the big question is who shall they sign? Today, we’re going to break down some options about who they could sign, what works. I’m going to rank those options for you. I’m going to put them in different tiers so you can see how that all goes. So, joining me to do this, because I can’t do it by myself, is my guy, you see him join me here on New York Outame Live, Nick Knicks weekly, every week. We did the Knicks watch parties throughout the playoffs, is my guy Brian Fana, who joins me now. What’s going on, B? Been busy. Been a day full of maneuverisms. I mean, maneuverisms. I just made up that word. Not know what to say. Just made up the word. Whatever. Y’all know what I mean. That doesn’t matter. You Everybody knows what I mean. A day of maneuvers. Hopefully positive ones. Drop a maneuverism in the comments to let us know that you watched. Yeah. That Yeah, that that’ll let us know that you watched. Uh hopefully positive ones. Okay. So, the Knicks got here and our Stefan Bondi, our Knicks beat writer, wrote an article for New York Post Sports Plus in which he talked about his five candidates that he thought could be fun for the Knicks to look into to sign as a last veteran guy that could sign for the a minimum deal. Now, I do think it’s important to note that the Knicks are able to do this, as Steph pointed out in his article, for a couple of reasons. Most notably, Jaylen Brunson taking that discount last year on the extension that helped the Knicks have about $11 million in cap space that he could spend this year without crossing the second apron or which I love that Zack Low has done now is called that the hard cap because that’s really what it is, right? This is where you’re screwed and you don’t want to be above that second apron. So, the Knicks can still spend up to that and not be hardcapped at that second apron or they will be hardcapped second apron. can’t pass it. They don’t want to. Not this year. So, they’re they’re able to do that. Also, what helps them this year, they got Jordan Clarkson, who was a buyout from you from Utah. And if you remember Brian and I talking in earlier videos going back to the trade deadline. So, we’re going way back into the season. Brian and I thought Jordan Clarkson could be a good fit. Now, I don’t think either of us thought that the Knicks could get him this summer because we did not think Utah was going to buy him out. But the reason I bring that up is Utah buying out Jordan Clarkson. people that allowed the Knicks to get him on a veteran minimums contract. Jordan Clarkson on the open market would have cost a lot more money. So, the Knicks got a bargain deal there. And then the third thing is Gershon Yabiselli. Now, Brian and I also did a video if folks want to go back and check it. We talked about the taxpayer mid-level exception and what kind of player the Knicks could get with that. Gershon Yabiselli was very high on the list for me and Brian as a player that we thought could help the Knicks. Nicks got him for that taxpayer mid-level exception. We even thought he might go for more. However, he took just a little bit less, a couple hundred,000 less than the TMLE, and that also saved the Knicks some money and helped him have some space so they could sign what we are here to talk about, which is that final veteran guy. So, shout out to you, Brocker, cuz you’ve been out here doing the maneuvers, making things work. You know what I’m saying? And uh, hey, the Knicks have room to sign another veteran guy. Now, Brian, before we get into it, and we talked with Steph a little bit about this when we did the live after the Mike Brown press conference, Steph said to us, and it’s kind of reflected in his piece that he just had that came out. He thinks they’ll go and get a ball handler from the people he’s talked to around the league and within the Knicks that he’ll get a ball handler. And we’re going to dive into this more as we start tearing these players out. And we’re gonna we’re gonna So, just to let people know, we’re going to start from the group that Steph had, the five that he mentioned, and we’ve got some extra people that we’ve thrown into this that we think the Knicks might want to look at. But my question to you, Brian, is do the Knicks need another ball handler? Is that the best way for them to spend the final three million dollars and change that they have on a veteran? How do you feel about that? It kind of depends because we talked about this. Are they going to go double big again? If Mike Brown does start with in the starting lineup, you mean? Right. Right. Right. If they start with the double big lineup again, then I kind of think you have to consider going with the big for the last spot. If you want to read deeply into it, maybe there’s a world where because they’re targeting a ball handler, they’re probably planning on going away from the double big lineup at least who start games. like you’ll see it in spurts, but maybe they don’t want Mitchell Robinson to play a starting level role, even though we both know he wouldn’t play 32 minutes a night or anything like that if he were to start. And there are plenty of centers throughout NBA history who would start a game and average like 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 minutes. Like, it happens all the time at all levels of basketball. We both worked at a college where their starting center at one point played nine minutes per game. Like, it happens. not gonna mention him and out him, but it it did happen. I I remember I know who you’re talking about. He’s a good kid. Um but it’s, you know, yeah, you can look that up yourselves if you’re so inclined. Um but yeah, and just looking at their roster though, double big lineup also means Ariel Hawk Birdie has to deliver and it also means Gershon Yabelli could be in for some meaningful minutes. But if they go double big, I think you would have to consider that. If they’re not, you could still make the case, hey, what if Hawk Perie is not that good? What if he’s not ready? You know, you’re going to try to find out this year. Or what if Mitchell Robinson gets hurt again? Or what if Carl Anthony Towns gets hurt again? Because he’s had some injury issues throughout the course of his career. So, while I do think getting a ball handler, like I get it because you’re not sure if you can put Tyler Koh in a big spot yet. you know what Jaylen Brunson’s gonna give you and I have an idea of what Jordan Clarkson is going to give you. There’s a reason why we both like that signing very much. Yeah. But looking at the rest of the roster, it’s like you do need some level of creation. What if Pomeier is ready to step up in that way this year? He’s one of the I think low-key one of the most important players on this Knicks roster this year. And I agree him becoming a rotation guy would mean a lot. But I I I think you just have to focus on, okay, who’s kind of the best guy that makes sense that is okay with maybe not playing so much. Somebody you can play 20 minutes one night, 10 minutes another, shelve them for a couple games. Like it’s it’s going to be somebody who’s in and out of the lineup. That that’s that’s the thing though, right? like the the person who signs this as a veteran is going to understand like yo you may be in the rotation one night whether it’s nine or 10 men you may not this is not guaranteed and and when we look at this pool of players I think you have to like try to understand that so let’s start with this let’s start with who Steph had in his pool of players um one one you actually brought up to me and tossed to me on the live which I found interesting and I didn’t you know Steph was already off the live with us when you had tossed this at me and I struggled with it. Um but I’ll get to that in a second. I’ll get to that player because I’m still struggling with it. I don’t you know what? Screw it. Let’s just start with it. Chris Paul handler. You threw it at me in the live the other day and I was like I don’t know man. I don’t really know what to do. And before we we’re going to talk about Chris Paul, I want to let the people know we have four tiers. Okay, we’ve made four tiers for this that you can look at in terms of what you want to do. I’m going to tell you the names of the tiers. The top tier is signing this guy would absolutely be a steal. So, this is at the top. Signing this person definitely a steal. You should do this. If you don’t do it, you’re probably going to look stupid. This is what we’re talking about. The next tier is he’s good. Solid fit. Solid fit tier. You can do okay. You’re not gonna be too mad about it. You might not be overly excited about it, but it’s solid, right? You can rock with that. Now, the tier below that is me. Don’t really care. Doesn’t move you any way. You’re probably leaning more to you wish they didn’t do it, but you’re okay with that. And then the last tier is how about no. Absolutely not. Don’t want this guy anywhere near my team. No thanks. Go somewhere else. The D tier could be just an F. We could just make that. Would you say the D tier could be what? Yeah, we could just because we have to have a fifth technically. We could just make the D tier an actual F tier. We could just do that. There we go. We we can we can we we can rock with that. Um, so you see, we’ve got some we’ve got some players here and we’re going to bring them up to the tears as we discuss them. So, you know, whatever. Chris Paul I thought was an interesting name you brought up. Let’s start with him. Where are you on this since you’re the one who brought him up, Brian? It should be you start with this. You you put me on the spot the other day. This is your guy. It’s our guy, but it’s your guy. Yeah. Well, you did say that. You’re like, “Yo, Dex is your guy. What do you What do you want to do with him?” Look, man. Chris Paul’s older. CP3 not out here calling you old, but you are old. He said that this might be his last year playing. He said this to Jamal Hill recently, but he is a quintessential ball handler. You are a traditional point guard guy, Mr. Fona. I am. This This is This is what you like out here. He is older. He can bring some leadership, which I did bring up on the broadcast the other day. Can bring you some leadership, but he’s old. I don’t know how much he wants to stay in the West Coast. We don’t want to be agist. No, I’m not trying to be agist, but you got to be real. Facts and facts. Now, numbers weren’t bad. He’s still a solid player. He can still do good things for your team. But is this how the Knicks should spend the last, you know, signing they can make for the season? This how they spend. And what tier do you put him in? Which this is going to be the most difficult question for me to answer. Oh gosh. So, so I have a small preamble for small one. Uh, but he’s never played under 26 minutes per game in a season. And if he signs to the Knicks specifically, he’s not going to play that. Now, he’s 40 4-0. So, he shouldn’t probably, but at the same time, and this is what it comes down to me, I do think the starting lineup we overrated a bit, but in this case, it matters because if you’re going double big or if you’re going, you know, with the Brunson, Bridges, Anobi, Hart, Carl, Anthony Towns lineup like I or Deuce even because some people want to throw Deuce in there like it kind of depends and then you’ll know how much a backup ball handler would play. If it’s Chris Paul, Chris Paul also makes sense for Tyler Koh, you know what I mean? From from a mentorship perspective as well, if you’re invested into Tyler Kolk in that way. Now, here’s the question I have. How do you feel about Brunson, Chris Paul minutes? I mean, you’re not going to play them together a lot, but if Brunson’s playing 32, 34, 36, 38 minutes per game and Chris Paul’s at give or take 18, 20, I mean, they’re going to cross over. Like, they’re going to be together at points. Do not like do not like don’t like, and this is going to sound weird because, you know, love Brunson. Uh, big Brunson fan, huge Chris Paul fan. Chris Paul’s one of the greatest point guards of all time. You’re not going to you’re not going to tell me anything other there will be no Chris Paul slander here, folks. And I’m not slandering him. But yeah, I don’t like those minutes. Too small and then just another guy small and old. That’s not a good combination is what I’m saying. Where where you still lack a lot of size in the back court overall, Brian, that’s just not a good combination. So when it cut because look let’s we don’t we don’t got to uh mess with the people here when it comes to these tears I don’t want to say meh for Chris Paul that’s the thing but I’m kind of there man I’m kind of there on this specific team where Jaylen Brunson’s the guy he’s played 35 minutes per game backtoback seasons almost 36 really and it’s like he he’s going to get even with Mike Brown not being Tom Thibido you’re expecting 30s you’re expecting I think 33ish 32 at least, you know, like I just don’t I don’t know, man. It’s hard for me to say this is like a solid fit unless you’re telling me, knock on wood, one of the guards goes down for an extended period of time, right? And like in theory, the the nature of Chris Paul and what he brings to the table, it should be a solid fit, right? And and look, because of Chris Paul and who he is and what he’s done, there’s no way in hell I’m gonna put him in the how about no category. Correct. Like, we’re not doing that to Chris Paul. We’re not doing that at all. But because of my concerns about size, I think he actually be cool with the minute stuff. I actually don’t think he’s going to trip over that. I really don’t. Yeah. But it sounds weird to say it about Chris Fall. I still think he has something to give to a team. I just think it has to be a specific team with certain needs right around them. And I feel like the Knicks, if they’re going to get a ball handler, might want somebody a little either a bigger um with a little more size, a little bit more explosiveness. So, I’m going to say me, I’m putting Chris Paul on the Mets tier. Do Do you agree? I agree. Would be perfect for him. The Clippers will be perfect for him. like there are other teams who want to be good and want to win and are invested in winning where he fits better than New York. That’s really what it comes down to. Okay, so we got him in the Mets here. Like look, and Matt, to be clear, if it happened, am I going to be upset? No. But it’s, you know, it’s not a hand and glove fit, but it also it can work. The absolute tears that you don’t want to be in where we’re like, “No, it cannot work.” Yeah. Are the last two. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you don’t you don’t want me here at all. Three is like, you know, 13 was like, okay, you know, let’s see. Okay. And and to be fair, like like Steph Bondi put this out just he was like that was his last thing in his piece. He was like, we’re just doing Chris Paul for fun. He had not talked to anybody about the Nick’s interest in Chris Paul. Just to be very clear in what we’re talking about, Steph has not talked to anybody about that. He did not know that any interest in Chris Paul. He just thought it would be fun and I think it was fun to bring him up. and you brought him up too to me the other day and I struggled with it and I had more time to think about it and for the purposes of this video. I thought it was dope for us to talk about him. Steph brought him up too so it was fine. All right. Next up, we’re going to go to somebody who was on the Knicks last year because we know people don’t know. Precious Chu ain’t coming back. Somebody asked us that the other day on the live. It’s not happening, right? He’s not coming back. But Landry Shamut, Brian, I feel like we know what Landry Shamid is. Um, he played with, you know, it sucked. He had that shoulder injury to start the season last year. Set him back, came back, you know, shot the ball well pretty at the end of the season, had some moments in the playoffs. I think I’m out on the Landry Shamid experience because of one thing. I like Landry Sham is professional. He can get up some threes. He doesn’t really create his own shot off the dribble and he’s just a small. You saw teams hunt him when he was on the floor a lot last time last year. I particularly remember a game against the Lakers at the Garden. LeBron just was hunting him. He gives up a lot on defense. He doesn’t really fit that ball handler. He’s more of a shooter, but he’s a professional. Like, he’ll come in and give you professional minutes. And could the Knicks use more shooting? Yes, they could. Now, Jordan Clarkson, I think, is going to help with some of that. Gershan Yaboselli is absolutely going to help with some of that. Um, and especially on above the break threes where the Knicks really struggled last year. Landry Shannon could help with that, but if you’re gonna do that, I think you could do better. And so, we’ll see if we come to a consensus on this, but I’m leaning towards putting him in the mech category as well, too. Yeah. You know, I wasn’t the biggest um Landry Shamage to play more minutes guy. And I think I think there’s some rosecolored glasses in looking at the experience from last year from some people where they’ll be like he shot 40% from three last year but it was 35% until April and then in April he just went crazy. He got hot in a in a couple games also uh particularly that didn’t really like matter that much, you know what I mean? um and one of which he played 40 minutes and he hit seven of 13 from three and then in the playoffs he wasn’t really like playable up until the latter portion of the Pacers series where Tibs’ hand was forced and I was saying like they they kind of need the Lright’s defense more than Landry Sham shooting and Landry Shamid um you know he was one for two for three straight games and then four for seven in that final game six so like he was fine ultimately um I I agree it’s a meh I think I I think the positive in it is you can like just sort of move him around. Like you don’t need to play him. He he he’ll probably like, “Okay, I understand my role.” Like there’s something to be said for that for the last guy, so to speak. Like there’s something to be said for that. Like he will be accepting of the role and he’s been there and the familiarity matters. Um, would I probably want to be more ambitious given the other names that are potentially on the board, not just these 10, but in general with, you know, the way free agency just squeezes out the middle class and some good players have to take the veteran minimums. Will I want to be more ambitious than Landry Sham if I’m the Knicks front office? Probably. So, I would say I would say meh solid fit is is is okay, but I I think we want to be a little bit more. We’re going to grade a little tougher. That’s what I’ll say. Yeah, we’re going to grade a little tougher here. Sorry. No grading on the curve, people. We’re not doing that. two for two with players getting a man. I still I still don’t feel right about putting Chris Paul in man. Makes me feel wrong. But so be it. So be it. Uh Clips album coming out if you didn’t catch that reference. Uh nice. Let’s go with this is going to be fun. This is going to be fun for us. Let’s talk about somebody. This was mentioned on the live stream the other day and a lot of people were bringing it up to us in the comments. I’m sure there’ll be people that talk about in the comments of this video. This might be the most polarizing player on this list. Some of y’all out there love him. I don’t. Oh, I don’t. Ben Simmons. Ben Simmons. A man who still can defend. 610 elite passer. He won’t shoot. He damn sure will not shoot. doesn’t want any contact, doesn’t want the smoke, folks. No. And I’m not even going to get deep into this. If you know me, you’ve been watching New York Got Game, you know Brian a little bit, you know what kind of players we like. I’m here for the defense. I’m here for the passing. Not here for the non-shooting. And you’re adding him to a team that already has one non-shooter, complete non-shooter in Mitchell Robinson and a hesitant shooter, but much more willing than Ben Simmons in Josh Hart. I don’t like having three non-shooters on my roster. And I don’t like somebody who I think might be shook. Not in New York. Nope. Philly couldn’t cut it. We know what happened in Brooklyn. This is how about no solidly for me. You want to sell me on the defensive upside? He can help if you need another big. You can play him with some small ball five lineups. No. No. No. I don’t want him. No thank you. Look the other way. keep this thing moving. Ben Simmons sounds good in theory. Ben Simmons looks good when you’re watching the summer workout videos that some of y’all like out there and get hyped about with people. No, don’t I don’t send me Don’t be like, “Hey, Dex, send me the video. He’s hitting his jumper now, man. We’ve seen that before. Stop it, Ryan. I I you can’t tell me I will be I will be stunned if you’re out here on the anything higher than a how about no program or or are you going lower? I I don’t I don’t think I want to give him a F, but it’s it’s give him an F. I think it would be fair. I mean, here here’s the thing. You could just because like this window is very precious. Legitimately, it might only be a year. Like we the the way the NBA swings back and forth these wild like the Celtics evidently like I I know the Tatum and Brown window was longer but like now with this current climate financial structure of the the modern NBA like it’s very difficult to just extend these windows. Um Oklahoma City is is a unique situation but that’s for obvious reasons and they stockpile draft picks like nobody’s business. All of which is to say this window is too precious to to put Ben Simmons on your roster. Like you you need to be able to at least think you can trust everybody. You can’t put him on a roster where you already have Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson and risk having to play all three of them together at any point. And um you know, I think he he looks great in transition because he will push the ball so fast up to the opposing three-point line and he’ll make sure somebody else gets it. He he’s he’s not a threat to finish unless it’s absolutely nobody there. Like I just I don’t I don’t see it. So I know I know I know what was once there, but we’re we’re we’re long enough removed from that to have any trust that it’ll be back. And I know it’s the last spot on the roster, but I don’t think it makes a lot of sense. I don’t I I don’t like it. Um he might be the player I’m the We’ll see. I’m the most harsh on here. Uh, as we’re doing this recording, I’m not intrigued by him as some other people may be out there. Um, I’ve been off the Ben Simmons wagon for quite some time. Uh, sometimes you got to know when it’s time to move on. Speaking of moving on, we are going to move on to H let’s go with one of your guys. This this is a Brian Gona allstar if anybody knows and that is Marcus Smart. Now I think it’s going to be weird to see Marcus Smart if you do see him in the next uniform. Something just doesn’t feel right about him. Too much Boston in him there. Right. But he’s a fan. He’s a player. the fans would love the way he plays. Now, he hasn’t played that well lately. Um, he hasn’t really been the same. Injuries, couple other things since leaving Boston, Memphis, now with the Wizards, but Marcus Smart in theory can give you some things. Some ball handling, some defensive toughness, not the biggest guard, got tons of playoff experience. My thing with him is the minutes. to go back to that. Will he be cool with that? I’m not so sure. But this is your guy. This is a This is one of your guys. Last guard to win defensive player of the year. This This is one This is one of your guys. Um Okay. This feels like it should be a solid fit. Yeah. Uh oh. the the smile tells me, “But you might want to drop him right below.” I don’t feel like you would have said this two years ago, but now the fact that you even have your hands on your cheeks and you’re thinking about it tells me. Go ahead. Just tell tell me what you think cuz I I’m This is He’s played He’s played 54 games in the last two seasons. That’s something I do not like. I do not like that. The shot has always been streaky, we’ll say. like he’s one of these dudes like you’ll leave him open. Maybe he goes four for six. Often times he won’t. Um it it’s another example of like can you play him with Josh Hart? This kind of matters because if Josh Hart is coming off the bench and even if he’s not like you’re you’re some Josh Hart the whole appeal of Josh Hart is his versatility and the fact that he could play with so many other guys if they can shoot and we Yeah. Josh Hart, he’ll say all the things about like he’ll be more willing to shoot. He’ll shoot more threes, whatever, whatever. But ultimately, like even if he does shoot more threes, he’s never going to be like a knockdown 44% three-point shooter. Like that’s just not going to happen. Yeah. With Marcus Smart, one, can you play him with Jaylen Brunson? I think you can. I think you absolutely can. I feel better about him than Chris Paul. That’s for sure. He’s always been a bigger That’s that’s sort of the main factor for me. All right. If we’re talking about guards, they have to be able to play with Jayla Brunson. They have to be able to have that look like Don Wright was even able to do it right with Marcus Smart. He can do that from a defensive standpoint. I feel good about the floor there. Just the health, there’s a lot of questions there. The shooting is not a handing glove sort of fit. But for what you’re playing with in terms of the veteran minimum, like do would I say would I say if I’m the Knicks front office, would I go for Marcus Smart before any of the other three guys you mentioned? Yes. So, to me, I’m actually going to say solid fit. I’m going to say solid fit because I can play him with Jaylen Brunson. I know he can hit a shot. I know that it’s not going to be pretty and there’s going to be plenty of nights where, you know, it’s going to be it’s going to be dependent like matchup dependent with Marcus Smart, but he can play with your best players. Okay? He could play with Brunson, he could play with Towns, he could play with Male, he could play with OG, Josh Hart. There’s question marks there, but he could play with the majority of your best players. And there is a defensive presence there. Like, as much as I like Don Wright defensively, for example, Marcus Mart’s better even now. The the injury history is a it’s a it’s a big question mark. But we’re talking about the veteran minimum. And with the veteran minimum, I’m trying to take an upside swing. and with an upside swing, it’s like, okay, if Marcus Smart, if he can give you enough availability and mainly be healthy for the playoffs, okay, that’s somebody I could throw in to slow down hopefully one of the other like guards who are like going off in the series. Like, if Trey Young is just cooking everybody because Nicks Hawks could be 14 or 23 in the Eastern Conference in the second round. And you have to think about it like this. Can Marcus Smart guard Trey Young in a playoff series in spurts? I think he can. You might have sold me. You might have upsold me. I was going to man, but I think that same thing with the Cavs. Same thing with Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. Darius Garland. Can you throw him on Donov Mitchell for a stretch? Right. He’s valuing it. No, he’s only, you got to remember, he’s only 31. There’s another caveat to this though, folks. He’s not bought out by the Washington Wizards. There’s talks that he might be bought out by the Washington Wizards. So, if he’s bought out, then the Knicks could sweep in and give him the cuz I don’t the Knicks are not going to trade for him. The thing about the Eastern Conference though, Dex, it’s like Trey Young, Tyrese Maxi. Yep. Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, I suppose, Tyler Hero. I wouldn’t put him in that category, but him as well. Um, and Jaylen Brown. Yeah, but now see the way you’re talking about the way you’re talking about him and the situational factors to be able to use him makes me actually feel like you can make an argument that he could be a steel. I don’t know if I want to go that far. I don’t Yeah. What I guess what Let me put it like this. What I’m saying is he’s that kind of signing that could start out as a solid fit and by the end of the year you’re like, “Yo, okay, that was a steal.” Right? But I think for right now, I’m going to agree with you and say that he’s in solid fit. Cuz I do if healthy. If healthy, big if. I trust more of what he’ll give you, especially on the defensive end, and the value of what that could be to the Knicks, particularly in the playoffs. I’m with you on this. There’s there’s a lot of value there for him. Now, if you look at these guys, if you’re watching this as you are, you see we have one solid fib into four players. We’ve got two Matt players and Chris Paul and Landry Shamid. And we’ve got one, how about no, and Ben Simmons. Now, just so we’re clear, so people know in the Met players that we have, Chris Paul, Landry Shamut, it, you know, if you had to choose one, gun to your head, knife to your throat, as we like to talk about, if you had to choose one, how would you rank? Would you rather have Chris Paul or would you rather have Landry Sham? Like, what’s the rankings in the me tier? Chris Paul. I agree with Chris. about Chris Paul. Damn it. Cuz at least I feel like with Chris Paul, I’m going to get a solidly run team. I’m going to get the veteran leadership. It’s like another coach on the bench. Landry Sham, which I think Marcus Smart also Marcus Smart to go back to him real quick. Veteran leadership. Yeah, got the veteran. He’s like a playable PJ Tucker. That’s interesting. A playable guard version of PJ Tucker. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Chris Paul. I think Chris Paul also of literally maybe all these 10 guys, he probably has the highest floor where it’s like I I I know exactly what this is going to be. I just don’t know if it works specifically for this team for the Knicks. You know, that’s really what it is. That’s why I felt weird about putting him. I agree. He has the highest floor. You know exactly who he’s going to be. Um that’s it. Okay. So, the fifth player that Bondi talked about is a player I mentioned a lot about the Knicks trying to go after the trade deadline uh when I thought he needs upgrade to bench scoring. Wouldn’t mind if the Knicks got him this offseason even over Jordan Clarkson. I wonder how redundant he might be now because of Clarkson. And that’s Malcolm Brogden. Malcolm Brogden is a player I’ve liked for a long time. He is not the most athletic player. He’s a very crafty player. He’s not a good defender. I will note that. Um, but he is very crafty. He too has dealt with some injuries the last couple of years and stops that that he’s been in. What do you What do you say about Brockton and what what tier would you put him in? He can play on the ball and off the ball, which is good because then that opens up. Okay, you can play with Brunson, you can play with Male, you can play with OG, you can play with Hart. He can shoot. He didn’t shoot well last year, but he could shoot well enough to play with Josh Hart. He’s shot almost 40% from three for his career. Last year was an outlier here. Famously bad medical coming into the NBA. Health is always a question mark with Malcolm Brogen. That’s the entire reason that he is a veteran minimum player at this point of his career or likely to be one, I guess, because he’s not technically one right now at this second. Um, but at his best, he was very efficient. I don’t feel like he’s going to be a guy that comes in and kills you. I do worry about the defense because and this is low-key a thing about Marcus Smart too is his defense isn’t what it was before. So Brogden’s defense was never like Marcus Smart level. So you wonder what that’s going to be. He’s one of these guys like in the playoff series. If he gets out there and he’s 0 for two in six minutes, he might have also just given up seven points because he can’t get out to a corner shooter in time and he gets blown by once and he just gets like, you know, overpowered on another instance uh by a bigger guard like a Jaylen Brown or something along those lines. So, it’s not uh it’s not great from a defensive standpoint, but offense, I I see the vision. And the way Mike Brown kind of wants to play a and the way Malcolm Brogden is at this stage of his career, like I think he’s another guy you can sort of toggle back and forth like you’re in the rotation at this point, then you’re not going to be like, you know, he just played on a bad team as well. So, and I and I think, you know, he’s a guy who’s been around a lot, who’s been on really good teams, who’s been on playoff teams. Um, played with Marcus Smart actually in Boston. Y um I I kind of want to say solid fit even though the defense makes me nervous as does the health but like offensively I see the vision right like I I like his his offensive ceiling for a season higher than like a Landry Shams even though Landry Sham’s a good complimentary shooter in theory but Malcolm Brogden could be that plus he could do a little bit more with the ball. Yeah. I would even say if you want to talk about the Jordan Clarksonness of it all too like he’s pro he’s not probably he’s a more efficient player than Clarkson although Clarkson does not get enough credit and I did a video on this a couple weeks ago breaking down how efficient he is actually in the half court he’s in like one of the best half court scorers you’ll find uh in the game he’s in like the 97th or 98th percentile according to basketball index they play together too by the way Clarkson and see that’s something I like there are two bigger guards Neither are great defensively, but I think you can play them together or you could play them alongside Deuce or you know that there’s things I like. I like the Knicks getting a little bit more size even in the back court. Questions about the health. It’s kind of like kind of like uh he’s almost the inverse of smart in a way, but I lean towards solid fit on this. I do like Michael Michael Malcolm Brockton. I do like him and what he brings to a team. team. I do think some veteran leadership. I also think that he knows where he is in his career at 32 and would be fine with the minutes as well too. I do think his craftiness plays into some of the play style on the ball and off the ball that you see from a, you know, see from a Jaylen Brunson that you’re going to get from even a Tyler Cole to some degree as he tries to develop. These are actually some guards I think that could help Cole in a way. Even though he’s not like the best floor general, I think there’s ways they could help him in terms of creating space, getting a shot. So, I see value in there. I’m going solid. I’m going solid for Malcolm Brogden. Wouldn’t be mad at this. It’s low cost. A guy that could come in here. And so, we go through all Bondi’s picks and we don’t have one steel. And uh we only have one. How about no here? Absolutely. For sure. So, one steel. Now, as we transition, Bondi only went with ball handlers here. However, as we talked about at the top of this episode, Brian talked about why there could be value in signing another big, especially if you go with the double big starting lineup. And I happen to agree. So, Brian and I picked five other players that we’re going to put in these tiers and rank them. And there are a couple bigs in here. And Brian gave me both of the bigs. One one I think is actually really interesting and fun. But when you texted me, I was like, “Oh, that’s it’s kind of fun. I kind of I kind of like this guy. It’s interesting.” All right, let’s let’s start with the bigs here. Let’s start let’s start with the one that might piss some Knicks fans off because this man did not make you happy uh in the last time you saw him on a basketball court. That’s Thomas Bryant of the Pacers. hit a couple big threes against the Knicks in game six of their Eastern Conference Final Series with the Pacers. So, you know, I I understand the wound is still a little bit fresh with Thomas Bryant. Look, Thomas Bryant’s a guy can stretch the floor. He’s been he’s had some injuries. Well, after the Wizards, he played for what? Played for the Nuggets. He also played for the Heat. won a title with Denver. Want a title with Denver? Yep. He was on the Heat. They traded him to Indiana for a second rounder. Look, I do like some bigs that can help stretch the floor for you. Something I mean, the Knicks have that in cat, but maybe having another one off the bench that could do that, I don’t think is a bad thing because a different look from Hawky and Mitchell Robinson. If you’re gonna go double big starting lineup, I do think they should sign another center just to, you know, just for insurance. And like you said, Mitchell Robinson never stays healthy. Thomas Bryant though. This is doesn’t I have an answer. I have an answer already. I have an easy answer for you. It feels like he’s got to be mad for you. Yeah. I I actually think it’s a solid fit. Can I tell you why? H you got to sell me on this. Um he’s backed up some pretty good centers before. There’s something to be said for that, which is basically like he he’s done the role. He understands the role. He’s not somebody who’s going to come in and be pissed off about his minutes. He was third string behind Nicole when they won the title. He was behind him and I think DeAndre Jordan. DeAndre Jordan. He was Bam’s backup for a year and a half and then they moved him to Indiana and in Indiana he actually had to start several games. Um, you know, but he was backing up Miles Turner primarily and he played better in Indiana than he did in Miami. Um, he’s a great great locker room guy and you see it on the bench. He’s always up. He’s always energetic. He’s always flexing, pumping up his teammates regardless of whether or not he’s actually playing in the game. There was a time where the Heat shelved him because they were wanting to look at other guys and they were actually looking to move him. He was still up motivating Bam, motivating others on the team. Same thing in Denver with Nicole Joic with others on the team. He he just seems like one of those glue guys who he’s in the league because he’s he’s a he’s a functional like good solid center, but also he’s a good locker room guy. I think there’s something to be said for that. And we talk about this role having to be someone who’s like got to be understanding of the situation. Got to be understanding of the team and the team goals and and really knowledgeable of hey, you’re not going to play all the time. And there’s going to be games where you sit games plural. There’s going to be times where two weeks you don’t play a second and then we’re going to have to go for you go to you for 19 minutes. You know what I mean? Like it it it’s just one of those things. I think he can serve that purpose in terms of his on the court ability. The defense is shaky. Um does make some mistakes. You saw it in this series. He got played off initially of this series and they went to Tony Bradley for stability. Then they went back to Thomas Bryant because Tony Bradley got hurt and then he made all those threes and became a hero. See that that that that’s that’s what makes me not feel good. I mean I mean but but there there’s a resilience piece there. You know what I mean? Like cuz he could he could have mailed it in. That’s fair. But you also got replaced. You also got replaced for Tony Bradley. But but this is the role, right? It’s like listen, you’re if you’re Thomas Bryant, you’re coming in to essentially like Ariel Hawk Party, you have to beat him out to solidify your standing in this potential rotation, especially if it’s a double double big lineup. So Hawk Party has to beat him out. And if you’re the Knicks, you would want that because then it would justify you paying Ariel Hawk party like a Deuce McBride type of contract, like a little bit of a short a short-term deal that’s like, you know, team friendly and all these different things. But if he can’t, it’s like, okay, Thomas Bryant, like I know where he is. I know I can go to him for 12 minutes, you know, those kinds of things. He’s not going to absolutely kill you. Um, you know, but like I I think I think there’s something to be said for all that. He can finish around the rim. He can shoot a little bit more. He’s not like a knockdown three-point shooter, but like he can take an above the break three or a corner three and you’re probably fine with it. Yeah. To me, this is this is solid in the event that they go double big. Or if Mitchell Robinson gets hurt. That’s the other piece. Like Mitchell Robinson is absolutely he’s not playing 82 games. All right. Wild prediction. And Mitchell Robinson not playing. Which is why I wonder if some of the Knicks stuff that’s getting out there is a bit of a smoke screen because of what you’re saying. It the Knicks have a lot of guard depth right now. They don’t have a lot of big depth. They probably could use another wing, but they’re supposedly high in Daddy A. And we’ll see how Daddy does in summer league, especially his first couple of games. I It’s funny because I was higher on Thomas Bryant like a couple years ago. I you might have sold me a little bit on moving it up to solid. Solid with a caveat though. It is solid with a caveat and we’ll see where we rank him in the among the side. Like I think right now like we could put him in solid. We’ll put him in solid but I think he’s behind Marcus. Marcus Smart is the leader in the clubhouse. Yeah. Right now in solid category. The soliter is in order as is the Met. As it is as you see it right there. It’s in order. I think Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogden, and then Thomas Bryan. Like, and if you’re just if you’re for whatever reason, if you skip to this part of the video, we’re not saying Thomas Bryant is better than Chris Paul. No, no, I know we’re talk because we’re talking about fits here. Fits. Fit matters. And if you if you missed that, go back and you’ll hear our talk on Chris Paul. Um, okay. So, Thomas Bryant. Yeah, you convinced me. I I I’ll he’s solid. We we we got him there. All right. Context matters, people. The other big and you said this was fun for you, so you can explain to the people why you said bowl. This is a fun one. Bowl. Yeah. I’m not sure this was on any of the Knicks fans radars here. Somebody is watching this and they’re like, “No.” Yeah, absolutely. This one will be polarizing, but All right. Why? Why? Why bowl bowl? And why is he not in the how about no category? Because he might be. He still might be. But if you’re the 15th guy on the team, if you’re the 15th guy and you have ambitions of of winning, obviously sometimes you just want to take an upside swing and I think with Ball, you could argue that he has the most talent on this list. like just pure talent. The problem is a bunch of other things. Health uh starting with there and then just like the little things. Um he’s bounced around a lot already. So, I don’t think we’re going to see whatever we thought the best version of him was. And frankly, when he got hurt in college, I thought that was kind of the end of what the ceiling could have been there because he fell to the second round for a reason. I do think though there’s something to be said for hey like he has an interesting skill set he can play with some of your best players going back to that point like he can play with cat and with Mitch you know what I mean like there there’s there’s a world where I hate I hate the word interesting sometimes I hate it sometimes interesting skill set with like you know there’s a shooting ability there you would like to see it be more consistent um he has sounds like flyer that’s what it sounds Take a fly. That’s what this is. That’s what this is. You know where Take a Fly gets you. How about No, this is what This is where like if you want to go the flyer route. Yes. This is This is This is what I This is someone I’d consider now cuz he has these stretches where like he starts, he’ll be productive, and then you just don’t see him again for like a for what feels like a month, be it injury or otherwise. And you’re talking about someone you could move around his minutes like he’s a guy that he he played 20 24 and then just didn’t play at all. It admittedly this is more of a fun one. I’m not going to sit up here and tell you this is a solid fit. This is either a Met or how about no or maybe even an F. But no, it’s not an F. I I won’t It’s not It’s not F. It’s a fun upside swing. For fun. Yeah, it’s a fun upside swing. Like it’s a fun flyer where it’s like, you know what? We you know what we want to do with this 15 spot? Let’s just make a talent bet. All right. So, here’s Okay. Do you like him better than you like Ben Simmons? Yes. So, at least we’re starting from at least we’re starting from he’s at in the leader in the clubhouse in the how about no category. 26th of September in November. In November, you like him more than you like Ben Simmons. I’m inclined to agree. I’m not sure I want to put him in the mech category, but he is better. I do like him more than Simmons. I got to go with a how about no. I’ll go with a man, but you could be the tiebreaker. Just if you put him in the How about no, you could put him ahead of Simmons. How about no. Ahead of S. There we go. Got it right. Ahead of Simmons. because he’s not like a hell no, which is kind of where I am with Simmons. Well, you want a higher floor. I understand. Yeah. You know what I like better about Bo? I know he’s going to shoot. I know that. I know Ben Simmons is not. So, just off the strength of that, Bo has to be ahead of him. Y’all can tell how much I don’t I don’t care for Ben Simmons. I wonder what I wonder what people, if you’re if you’re watching this, comment about the Bo idea. We’re both We’re both pretty pretty much I’m a little more I’m a little more intrigued by it than you are. I’m not mad. I I got to be the tiebreaker on this one. So, I’m keeping him in the how about though, just to make it interesting. If you if you’re if you’re mad, be mad. It’s fine. All right. Those were the bigs we had. Now, here’s what gets interesting. Let’s go with this one. And I remember when we talked about this guy with the taxpayer mid-level in free a first free agency show we did. This got a lot of reaction in the comments. People were like, “Oh, how could you bring up this name? We don’t want him back.” This will be This is a the once a Nick, always a Nick category. Come back story. Alec Burks. Yo. Hey, man. Professional ball handler, 6’5, generally healthy. I know he was a Tib guy. Tibs is not here anymore, but can run the offense solid defensively. Not great, but solid enough. I know he did not shoot the ball well the last time Nick Knicks fans saw him. I get that he did last year. Yeah, last year when he came over in the trade from Detroit, he did not shoot the ball as well as Nicks fans were like, I get all that. He’s okay for the Heat in the minutes he played last year. It’s fine. They started him toward the end of the season. They also were running out of bodies. Yeah. Yeah, that’s what it was. I think Alec Burks at the veterans minimum is a solid signing, man. I agree. Like I understand some of you guys are done with him, but he’s a solid professional that I think is all I and I think we’re gonna keep bringing this up and Brian, you’re so right about this, man. Like knowing your role and knowing ex you dealing with like, hey, you might play for three straight games and you might not play or not. Like, can you really be cool with that? And fitting in the offense, he can play on the he can play on the ball, he can play off the ball. I think Alec Burks is is a solid signing. He shot the ball better last year from three. A lot better. A lot better than he did. So yeah, I wouldn’t be mad at Alec Burks. I wouldn’t be mad at all. I think he’s he’s solidly in the solid tier. I move him ahead of Thomas Bryant. I absolutely ahead of Thomas Bryant. Get him up there. Thomas Bryant, you were at the you were at the end. I don’t Can I Yo, are we going to move out of Brockton? cuz I’m kind of there. Kind of want to. Yo, I’m kind of there, man. Just cuz only because of the health and I trust his health more. His defense is probably better to be honest at this stage. Y um here here’s the key. I don’t think he has the upside he can give you of Marcus Smart, but I think he’s solidly number two in this in this tier, but his floor is high. And I think here’s here’s what people like have to understand, too. His three-point attempt rate last year was 76%. Mhm. He took a lot of three-point shots. He averaged He averaged like five and a half field goal attempts per game and over four of them came from three. Like he was just shooting threes. He was a he was a three and guy functionally for the Heat last year. Occasionally he’ll be on the ball, but like he was in the corner. He was shooting threes. He was off of Tyler Herro and DaVon Mitchell and Bam and Nicole Yovic when he was healthy. Like that’s that’s what it was. You need a corner shooter. Okay. And you know that he can play with the ball a little bit. He could do I trust him more with the ball than Landry Shamid, which is why I would have him ahead. Oh, hell. You know what I mean? And and probably even from a defensive standpoint, it depends. Um, but with Alec Burks, he can play off of Brunson. He can play off of Deuce and Clarkson and OG and Har and like all these guys. Every single player on the roster, Alec Burks can compliment because he can shoot because he could do a little bit with the ball and because defensively I don’t think he’s going to absolutely murder you. Like, yeah. And and he he’s he’s he’s proven as a vet. He will understand his role. He’s also been in New York before. I I think it’s one of the best fits here. It’s not a sexy name at all, but with the veteran minimum, he can play a two or a three. And like there’s just there’s just a high floor there for me, I think, with Alec Burks. Yeah, I I’m I’m for this. I think this is actually one of the better fit signings mentioned, but it’s not sexy. So, I understand some of you guys are not going to love it. Um, but when you’re trying to fill out the last roster spot, I don’t know why you’d expect it to be sexy. It’s not It’s generally not going to be that. Like, yo, we out here talking about Ben Simmons and Bald B people. It’s probably It’s what we’re doing. I mean, that would kill that would kill in 2021, but we are. But we are in 2025. Look, I I I listen, as you look at this list, listen, they’re good. There’s some good options here. What what it’s relatively going to come down to is with some of these guys, how much they want to win. Are you willing to play in a reduced role? Do you want to be here in New York on a team that is now the favorite to come out of the East according to all the sports books? That’s going to be the key. All right, we got a couple more that you guys can see on screen. Two more players to talk about. Uh Gary Payeyton and Air Coffee. Anyone you want to take first here? Air Coffee. Let’s do him first. All right. Amir Coffee, another guy we had brought up for the TMLE. I don’t know if he’s going to get the TMLE. You know, it I I don’t know if that’s happening anymore for him. He might have to take the veterans minimum. And I think if you’re the Knicks and you can get coffee on a veterans minimum with his age and what he’s done shot 40% from downtown last year, 47% from the field, you know, he’s a kind of a he played a two, also played a three, you know, 67 wing. I’m not mad at this. He’ll be 28 this year. So, he’s in his prime. Career-high points average last year, 9.7. Was playing about 24 minutes a game. But that’s the key for me with him at his age, 27. Is he going to want to come here and play limited minutes when he was just playing 24 a game last year in with the Clippers? I’m not sure. I think he’s a I’m This might be the first person I’m saying. And I’m talking about age and I’m talking about fit with the team because of his size, his shooting ability. If you get him for just over $3 million, how do you not say he’s a steal? That’s the thing. Like he’s he’s the one player we’ve discussed where I’m like, are we sure he’s going to be a veteran minimum guy? You know what I mean? Sure about that? Like I don’t know either. Um, I I kind of agree because he’s not just a guy who shot 41% from three last year. He also shot He’s also a 38% better than 38% three-point shooter for his entire career. Career. He’s a 67 wing. He’s gotten better every year. He’s got more minutes. He’s gotten better. Tyl was trusting him. I mean, some of it was injuries, too, but Tyler trust him. He’s played over 20 minutes a game the last two seasons. Yeah. I I’d like him to be a better rebounder so that I can play him as a small ball four maybe, but he’s a two or a three. Fair. Um he can he can he can shoot another guy who can be a good complimentary player. He spent his entire career to this point with the Clippers. We know who the Clippers have had throughout his run. James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, so on and so forth. Norman Powell even who’s like Norman Palum I I don’t want to say high usage guard in that way but he’s had high usage spots and was damn near allstar last year like air coffee has had to play with all these guys. So I I think it’ll work with Jaylen Brunson. I think it’ll work with Towns. I think it’ll work with the guys that the Knicks have. This might be a steal if you can get him on the veteran minimum. But I I also think like he kind of has to play if you sign him like he he’s not and this is where this is where it could move down to solid fit like in terms of understanding the role whatever like he was getting good minutes on like good we joke about the Clippers but like good playoffbound Clippers teams a guy who’s played in 20 career playoff games who was in the playoff rotation last year and even started three playoff games not last year the year before last year and and even started three playoff games. I think uh Kawawaii may have been hurt. I’m trying to remember what what was the situation there, but it was an injury for sure. Yeah. Yeah, I think it was Kawaii. Yeah. Regardless, like he’s been in these spots. He didn’t play in the playoffs this past year, but like I kind of think talentwise, age-wise, being a 67 wing who could shoot like that, that would be a steal if you could get him. I just think if you get him, he he kind of has to play and he might be a Pakcom Dier progress stopper. So maybe he’s not a steel for those reasons that are like a little bit more complicated in terms of locker room dynamics and and things like that. Yeah, that’s the thing. Would he stop the progress to Dier? I think it’s a good problem to have though. I’m about having those problems. That’s you you cross that bridge when you get there. Um, having another 67 guy that could shoot helps. It’s a little more size than we’re talking about. Any of the guys any of the guys we mentioned outside of Ben Simmons and B Bowl Bowl and Thomas Bryan who are bigger players obviously, but any of the guards we or wings we mentioned there, he’s really the first true wing if you want to say that. He’s got the size. He’s played some minutes. He’s got playoff minutes. I Yeah, I think it’s a steal cuz and we’re only saying this because we don’t expect him to even get the the vet. I don’t think it’s going to come down to the veterans minimum. The problem where it could come down from is just the market’s not great for some of these guys like him. It really sucks like him. And it’s like if the Knicks are able to swoop in and get him on the minimum, it’s hard. How is it not a steal? Also, also a tradeable contract when he comes dead. Yeah. Yeah. I’d be stunned if he if he I I think it could be a steal from the standpoint of like I’d be stunned if they actually if this is actually the guy at minimum, you know, it’s part of it. It’s part of how you got to look at it. Like I’d be stunned if they got him for that, but if they did, yeah, again, I get and if I were him, if I were him, like I’d probably want to go to a spot where I could play more at this stage of my career because he is 28, just turned 28. Um, I know like that might be seen as older in today’s NBA, but if I’m him, I do want to go to a spot where I could play. And I’m not sure how much he’s actually going to play uh relative to what he can on other teams, but if he’s down for the federal minimum, like yeah, he might be the number one guy here from from that standpoint because everyone else we’re talking about like is older, has had injuries, you know, all these kinds of different things. Um, it feels weird putting air coffee here versus some of the other names here, but I but I think people have to like really think about this and where people are in their careers. And you know, Coffey’s really in his prime uh from a standpoint of like he’s a guy who also hasn’t been like dealt a serious hand in terms of like a litany of serious injuries. Like he’s actually played 70 and 72 games the last two seasons. more than I think everyone else here, almost everyone else here at least. Let’s have a Chris Paul played all 82 last year, right? Yeah. So, yeah, again, if you’re looking at this, you’re probably shocked it’s a mere coffee is a steal, but when you’ve taken everything Yeah. But but he’s a guy we thought we had on our when we did a TML show. We mentioned him. We talked about him. We talked about how he could be a good fit. The Knicks get him for this. That’s So, yeah, we can’t come off. We thought he was a good fit with the TMLE. Now, if you get him for the veterans minimum, that’s that’s insane. All right, last guy we have here on the list uh that we made is a player that I like a lot. His dad is one of the great defensive point guards in NBA history. Uh and that’s Gary Peyton second, formerly with the Warriors. Can play a little bit on the ball, can play the two, can plays at three. Another lefty back on the team. Shot shot the ball from downtown. Not great, but had an injury riddled year last year. 32 just over 32% 57% from the field. Has good athleticism in transition. Fantastic defensive player. Um 6’2. So, you know, he’s my height. Not the biggest guard you’re going to get out there, but he’s a guy that can play in the system. He’s a guy that gives you some energy off the bench, especially with his defense. He might feel a little bit redundant like he’s Miles McBride without the shooting volume in a way and more athleticism. I I like him as a player. I always have. He for me, he goes in solid fit. Now, where he goes in the solid fit is is interesting. I could drop him to me, but I think that he’s still got enough left. Only 62 games last year is what he played. Okay. Um I I still think he has something left. He’s bounced around a lot. Played about He’s comfortable. This goes into my factor. He’s comfortable with playing low minutes. Played 15 minutes a game last year. 15 and a half the year before, 16 year before. The most he’s ever played in a season was the 21-22 season when he played 17.6 minutes a game. This is a guy who I think knows his role. He’s also come from the G-League. He’s been out the league different. I think he can know his role. He’s also, to your point, he fits that role of we might need you during the season, but yo, Trey Young is cooking us. I could put you on Trey Young. I put you on Donovan Mitchell. I could He plays that role. This Marcus Smart plays this role. There’s kind of value in that defensive stopper guy kind of role. I like this. Where do I have him in solid tier? That’s Well, I I would have had him as a steel at number one overall if I if I trusted the three-point shot more. A Okay, I agree. That’s really That’s really why I don’t have him there. I And why he’s not coffee. So to me, and he’s not like a he’s not he’s really a smaller he’s a smaller two because he doesn’t give you a ton of playmaking for a dude who’s 6’2. So that that’s why I I still would probably give Marcus Smart the edge here. Um he’s a good cut. He’s a good cutter. Fantastic in great cutter. one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA and has been one of the better defenders in my opinion who has never been all defense. I don’t think he’s been all defense once in his career. Uh but he has been a champion 62% true shooting throughout his career. Like he’s an efficient finisher because of those back door cuts because like it’s it’s he’s kind of like a smaller Josh Hart in some way. great comple um better defensive player. But again, like and I think with uh with just you have the concerns about the shot and it’s not just from three, it’s also the free throw shooting. He doesn’t get to the free throw line enough or at all really, but he he’s not like he’s never been a great free throw shooter or even a particularly good one for a guard. I think he’s in the solid tier. I don’t know if he’s ahead of anybody there though. Like maybe Thomas Bryant, but again like I I kind of think one of the centers, I mean, we’ve only talked about a couple, but I I kind of think uh like with Thomas Bryant, I could see it more. I with Gary Payton second because of the the shooting questions I have. And there’s also some health stuff there, too. As a matter of fact, um 62 games last year you mentioned, but he he was around that in the previous two years put together because he was at 24 and yeah, 22 and 44. 22 cuz he played 15 in the in in Portland postseason. Um but he’s had a lot of like a lot of injury stuff. So he’s in solid fit, but I think he’s after Thomas Bryant because I do think I I I would entertain I would entertain center here. Uh, so I think Bryant has Brian has to stay there. Gary Payton I think might be currently the best defensive player out of everyone we’re talking about, but the shooting is like and and then I think he could play with Brunson. I think he could play with a lot of the guys we’re talking about, but like I don’t know if he could play with Josh Hart. And that’s big because Josh Hart’s still going to get like regardless of his role, I think he’ll get 28, 30, 32 minutes tonight. Yeah, he’s like he’s clo he’s not Ben Simmons, right? He’s kind of close to that non-shooter, but he’s so good defensively. And in I love that smaller Josh Hart comparison. I love that for him. But yeah, I I I’d have to put him I think Bryant fits more like as soon as Bri Bryant was signed, you’re like, “Oh, I know exactly what his role is. I know he fits on his team. I know what he does. I know his limitations, too.” Like not you know with Gary Payne, I trust Brian’s health more than I do Gary Payne. So I think that also gives him the edge. So, I like Gary Pay. He’s He’d be a solid pickup. Wouldn’t be mad if it happened. Wouldn’t be mad at all if it happened. But yeah, so we got one steel out of this, which shows you when you’re shopping at this point, you’re not going you hope you find some of these turn into steals, but there’s not a lot of jump off the page guaranteed steals. Only two how about nos. No F’s given. Don’t say that we were hard graders here. We didn’t give anybody F. I was close to giving Ben Simmons an F. Chris Paul and me still feels weird. But again, feels weird contextually. We laid it out earlier. Yeah. You know, Chris Paul’s mad, but he’s knocking on the door of Solid Fit. That’s the best way I put it. I also think if they got him, people would be polarized. Like the reactions would be polarizing. Like some people be like, “Oh my god, they got Chris Paul.” And some people would be like, “What are they doing with Chris Paul?” you know, and and part of it is Chris Paul is also the shortest player here by far. And it’s like, could he play with Jaylen Brunson? Younger Chris Paul, I think, could, but Chris Paul, no, I don’t like it. I think I I don’t That’s my Chris Paul at another, you know, four or five inches in height. I might feel better. I just still don’t feel good about it. All right, so th those are our picks. Let us know what you think about uh all of this. And did we get this right? Did we get it wrong? I mean, we’re not GMs. I mean, it’s just all it’s all discussion and fun. This was fun to do, Brian. One steel, two how about nos. We had five solid fits and two mess. I think I think we did I think we did I think we did okay. I think I think we did okay here. Um we’ll see what the Knicks do. This is going to be fascinating. Hope you guys enjoyed this. We have more coming up on New York. Game this coming week. New episode will be dropping on Monday in which we dive into how some of the young players are looking at summer league right now on the nicers dier Tyler Kakhorty we talked about a bunch of this we’ll look into that uh as well as how the Liberty are doing they have a big game on Sunday against the Atlanta Dream we’ll see how all that goes uh Brian this will be good I’m sure when the Knicks make their final signing of the summer if there is more moves for them to do we’ll be back with another one of these um I’m sure or another live either way it goes. Uh shout out to everybody working on this video. Uh crew back in the studio, Tommy Hogan, Tommy Cohen, Wesley Splain, Nikolai Jackson. Appreciate you all. I’m Dexter Henry. He’s Brian Fona. Hope you enjoyed the picks. Let us know in the comments who you think the Knicks should sign for their final roster spot, or at least one of their final roster spots with the Veterans Minimum. Let us know what you think about that. We’ll catch you next time in New York Game. Peace.

The last big question for the Knicks free agency is who they will sign with the vet minimum they still have. NY Post’s Dexter Henry and Bryan Fonseca use the five options Knicks beat writer Stefan Bondy laid out and add five of their own to create a tier of the best available free agents.

Read from Stefan Bondy: https://nypost.com/2025/07/10/sports/knicks-options-for-final-free-agent-spot-chris-paul-marcus-smart/

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