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Knicks 2021-2022 Season Preview: Depth and Flexibility can Coexist with "Win Now"

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The Knicks are rapidly changing fans' perception of what the franchise represents. New York was notorious for going all in on aging superstars without any supporting cast in a desperate attempt to “win now”. The new regime of Leon Rose, World Wide Wes and Scott Perry are building this Knicks team in a very interesting way.  They are technically in “win now” mode, but with a certain amount of flexibility that I have never seen before in this franchise. The Knicks are doubling down on their successful season last year, re-signing Derrick Rose, Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks and Taj Gibson. They also signed Bronx native Kemba Walker as well as Evan Fournier, adding much needed offense to a team that got embarrassed by Trae Young and the Hawks in the playoffs.  Retaining talent and signing some much needed offensive firepower comes with a cost. Without any tweaks to this roster, the Knicks will not have a max slot available next free agency. This is where things might get a bit confusing. Th

Knicks 2020-2021 Season Preview: A Glimmer of Hope

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Over the past two decades, the Knicks have been the most disappointing team in the NBA. Season after season, management has given fans a false sense of hope by overpaying aging stars and trading away precious draft picks, mortgaging their future in exchange for mediocrity. I have told my family and friends that I am actually excited for this season, "Don't get me wrong, the Knicks are going to be at the bottom of the standings, but the future is bright. They have a lot of young talent that they're going to develop. The Knicks should be good in a couple of years."  I am sure you have heard that before. Let's go over how the Knicks handled this offseason, what to expect this season, and what to expect in the future. Free Agency: Less is More Hoping the CP3 to Knicks rumors are simply rumors. I love CP3 and am so happy he proved so many haters wrong this season. He’s an all-time great. However, he does not fit the Knicks’ timetable and is not worth giving up young as

Swiss Cheese D Regular Season Projections 2019-2020

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Here we go, here we go, here we go! What's the point of making these rankings? The Warriors are just going to win, the NBA is rigged! On a serious note, the Warriors look mortal! There are eight legitimate contenders this year and the NBA is great again! Eastern Conference Too Young, Too Unproven to take seriously 15) Charlotte Hornets The Hornets have by far the worst roster in the NBA. Kemba leaving was devastating, but when you factor in all of the poor contracts they have piled up over the years, it makes me almost think they’re the Knicks. 14) Cleveland Cavaliers The health of Kevin Love will determine their seeding, but even if he plays 82 games, there is not enough fire power on this team to be a legitimate playoff contender.  13) New York Knicks With Durant, Kyrie and Zion, the Knicks will win 10 championships in the next 8 seasons. I have said enough about this squad. Knicks fans are going to love Julius Randle, the dude is a bulldozer. Think Z

The Knicks are not a destination for Premier Free Agents... but hope remains

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In February the Knicks took a gamble. They traded their best prospect since Patrick Ewing to offload crappy contracts in Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee. The selling point to fans was simple: This would create two max slots to sign Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Dolan went on The Michael Kay Show stating, "Look, New York is the Mecca of basketball. We hear from people all the time, from players and representatives about who wants to come. We can’t respond because of the NBA rules, etc. But that doesn’t stop them from telling us, and they do. I can tell you, from what we’ve heard, I think we’re gonna have a very successful offseason when it comes to free agents." July 1 st provided us with a different outcome and the narrative across the media remains constant: The Knicks are a joke. We can speculate Porzingis’ health all we want. There is a legitimate argument that the Knicks dodged a bullet by trading away Porzingis before being forced to max out the tallest NBA player i

If the Knicks Strike Out with Durant and Kyrie...What happens next?

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So it turns out that when you have an 86% chance at not landing the 1st overall pick, that means you are most likely not going to land the 1st overall pick. Now that we got that out of the way, let's discuss the Knicks' upcoming offseason, specifically free agency. I have to entertain the possibility that Durant and Kyrie are going to join the Knicks because the Knicks have the cap room to afford both superstars, and because they said words to each other at an all-star game. https://twitter.com/Bballforeverfb/status/1097624111444983809 Crazy scenario: Kyrie and Durant don't sign with a team that has had the worst NBA record while spending the most money in luxury tax since 2001.  What is the next best course of action? Option 1: Sign the next best dude Who are the other free agents this July? Kawhi Leonard : Obviously if you can Sign Kawhi Leonard, you do it. Odds are he would not leave a Raptors team heading to the Conference Finals for the Knicks. Some people are speculat

Swiss Cheese D Mailbag Feat. Free Agency Potential, Dolan's Monarchy and Mitchell Robinson's Ceiling

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The last month before the playoffs is usually pretty boring. The Knicks basically locked in a top 3 spot for worst record in the league, so that 14% chance at Zion seems to be what they're facing. Only time will tell if they can win the golden ticket. In the meantime, I answered some questions from my lovely Twitter followers! https://twitter.com/Aphilpott_22/status/1105240039624245249 Robinson is such a raw talent that it's tough to say what his ceiling is, but it is clear that he is going to get paid due to his ceiling on the defensive end. On offense, expect a high efficiency low usage player. Similar to his mentor, DeAndre Jordan, Robinson rolls to the rim looking for lobs on basically every play. He is going to need to bulk up and set better screens, unfortunately I have seen Amar'e Stoudemire inspired screens thus far; the half-assed screens where he shies away with contact. Experience and the weight room will help with his screen setting. The reason why he is able to

The Knicks Patience vs. Win Now Dilemma

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“People want something that’s going to be sustainable. That to me is what’s important. And patience, if you’re going to build something the right way that’s going to be sustainable long term, you can’t cut corners.” - Scott Perry 10/6/17 "Jim has given us the room to be patient, which is not something that's been common in this organization. Patient hasn't been one of our biggest attributes here. He's given us the room to be patient to develop players, develop a culture within the organization. All we can ask is for fans to look at the plan we laid out last year and we are going to be consistent with [it]. Judge us on that." Steve Mills 4/13/18 It is clear that the Knicks are incapable of patience evident by their lack of sticking to a rebuilding plan. The idea of building a "culture" is simply an illusion for any new coach or GM. The Knicks culture has been established the day James Dolan took over as chairman of Madison Square Garden back in 1999: a &q