2015 NY Knicks offseason thread, Los Almighty appreciation thread

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I'd like to start the season with Grant, Afflalo, Melo, Derrick Williams, Rolo, and Zinger at 6th Man


agreed. if zinger was a guard, then he can start asap. im skeptical about starting big men right away. especially our 19 year old euro who still needs time for his body to develop. thrusting him into starting minutes and pressuring him to produce now will increase the chance of injury. i like what detroit did with drummond. he played, but had limited minutes because of his "imbalances".
 
I'd like to start the season with Grant, Afflalo, Melo, Derrick Williams, Rolo, and Zinger at 6th Man


agreed. if zinger was a guard, then he can start asap. im skeptical about starting big men right away. especially our 19 year old euro who still needs time for his body to develop. thrusting him into starting minutes and pressuring him to produce now will increase the chance of injury. i like what detroit did with drummond. he played, but had limited minutes because of his "imbalances".

Drummond is a man though. Zinger looks like he's 210 lbs soaking wet.

Zinger isn't one of those physical big men. He's the type of guy you put out in the perimeter and put the ball on the floor. You have to start Zinger.

This aint the NFL, Zinger isn't a QB and his name isn't Aaron Rodgers. You throw him into the fire or deep end of the pool and see what happens.
 
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If Zingus wasn't considered the future of this team I could agree. Drummond was never gonna be the center piece of Detroit. If he's gonna get bodied it will happen whether he starts or comes off the bench. Starting doesn't mean 40 minutes a game. Def don't want him on the bench 'learning' from and under achieving former lottery pick.
 
Drummond is a man though. Zinger looks like he's 210 lbs soaking wet.

Zinger isn't one of those physical big men. He's the type of guy you put out in the perimeter and put the ball on the floor. You have to start Zinger.

This aint the NFL, Zinger isn't a QB and his name isn't Aaron Rodgers. You throw him into the fire or deep end of the pool and see what happens.
I disagree. Zinger's true value lies in being a center. It just does. I think it is ignorant to say that he isnt capable of being a center and I don't think that argument would be made if he wasn't European. He is 7'3 and athletic. Athletic/agile big men have become a premium more so than bulky big men. Sure he needs to add strength, that is obvious, but that doesnt mean the Knicks need to force him into a perimeter role. IMO that will only stunt his development.

Idc about the starting/not starting as much as I do about putting him in the best possible position to both succeed and develop. I think moving Zinger to a perimeter role will hurt his long term development more than help it. I still want to throw him into the fire and give him minutes, allowing him the opportunity to play a key role for us right off the bat. I have been on record saying that I think getting PT is the best way to develop when it comes to the NBA, but IMO the best way the Knicks can give Zinger minutes right away and also help his long term growth is for him to start the season as our 6th man.

As a 6th man, Zinger will be able to be the first big man off the bench and could come in for any of the 3 frontcourt players if one of them gets into foul trouble or is just playing ******. His versatility is an extremely desirable quality for 6th men to possess. This would be a major benefit for us and Zinger, because it wouldnt thrust the undermanned Zinger into a center spot right away, before he is ready. It will allow him to play alongside Rolo and not get bodied inside by bigger players. But at the same time, it also allows Zinger to be our de-facto back up center, getting him the necessary amount of exposure against bigger players to develop into a better post player/defender over time.

Zinger has said himself that he does not see himself as simply another "stretch 4," and the Knicks have indicated this much as well. Zinger is an especially rare prospect with an enormous upside not just because he can shoot the ball and spread the ball at 7+ feet. We have seen this before, especially from Euros. What makes Zinger such an intriguing prospect is his potential to do all that kind of stuff but also be a rim protecting center. We haven't really seen that quite like that before, especially from a Euro. I guess you could make the case for AD and KG, but it is not like that is bad company to be mentioned with. The Knicks wouldnt be smart to put Zinger in a position that would jeopardize this long term goal, because it is where Zinger's greatest potential truly lies.

Sure nobody is going to complain if Zinger becomes the next Dirk, but wouldnt it be a lot better if he can become a Dirk-like offensive weapon with a Tyson Chandler-like defensive game? Besides, Zinger being a capable rim protecting center is also a way to sort of hedge his potential so to speak.

I don't think anyone realistically expects Zinger to become the next Dirk. That is an incredibly lofty goal. Dirk is one of the greatest offensive big men of all time and arguably the greatest Euro ever. But he does have the offensive potential to at least get close to what Dirk became. Similarly, I don't think anyone expects Zinger to ever be a DPOY rim protector like Chandler was.

BUT if he can play center, and sort of mix in a combination of Dirk-offense and Chandler-defense, he can become as good/better an NBA player than either of them without ever being as good offensively as Dirk was or as good defensively as Tyson was. If that makes sense.

And besides, I have always maintained the stance that Melo would be best served alongside a combo forward in the starting lineup who can push the pace and switch off between the 3 and 4 with Melo. Melo flourished at the 4 in 2013 with Shumpert at the 3, and I think the best way to use the strategy but also address/upgrade the weaknesses of that team that come with playing Shumpert at the 3 is to play Melo alongside another combo forward.

Derrick Williams isnt an ideal fit next to Melo, primarily because he sucks defensively, but he does fit that mold better than anyone on our roster right now. I also think that if we want to have any chance to get the most out of D-Will, we need to show faith in him and throw HIM into the fire right away, more so than Zinger. If it pays off and he thrives in the role, that would be ******* awesome. But if not, you move him out of the lineup for Zinger earlier than expected. no harm, no foul.
 
Scared money don't make no money.

Throw Zinger on the court immediately. He has the mentality for it. If he ain't scared of contact, why should any of the fans?
 
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Scared money don't make no money.

Throw Zinger on the court immediately. He has the mentality for it. If he ain't scared of contact, why should any of the fans?
Playing Zinger as 6th man during his rookie season isnt about being scared. It's about utilizing his versatility and doing what best fits the team.

I don't think anyone is calling for him to be a bench warmer in here.
 
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We about to make the playoffs finally...everyone phil picked up this summer plays defense and rebounds... no star player will make a joke out of us in the garden anymore :hat
 
I think it would be wise to at least "protect" Porzingis by playing him against second units. At least to start the season and evaluate him as the season progresses.
 
I think it would be wise to at least "protect" Porzingis by playing him against second units. At least to start the season and evaluate him as the season progresses.


that was my point. being tall, frail, and young against the howards/gasols of the league is not good. hes gonna need some time to adjust. even though hes prepared for the more physical NBA game, he was getting BODIED in SL. he could NOT get position. hes gonna need to ease into it. now if he were a 6'4 SG, then start him and he can play 40 min for all i care.
 
Well part of the problem seems to be everyone expects him to bang. Yeah he's a seven footer but he ain't, and prolly never will be an NBA center in the theoretical sense. His skill set is that of a forward and that will be his bread and butter. He can learn how to play in the post but he's gonna be a forward. After thinking about it I do agree that he may be best served coming off the bench early in the season. This is because of the long season and getting used to the NBA game. However nothing about his play, other than his height, that says center and there's nothing wrong with that. How many centers can handle the rock and hit the three.
 
Afflalo said he spoke to Melo before and during free agency this summer. Which marks yet another false report made about Melo during the summer. It's amazing how little these reporters are held accountable. I cant remember exactly but I would definitely guess it was Isola or someone connected to him who reported that Melo never reached out to Afflalo at any point this summer.
 
Zinger is not a banger type of NBA player.

He's more like a Dirk Nowitki. Put him as the PF and let him cook.

When he pulls up for the 3, I want the garden to chat "World-Star, World-Star, World-Star!"

If not, then "Fire Phil, Fire Phil, Fire Phil!"
 
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Zinger is not a banger type of NBA player.

He's more like a Dirk Nowitki. Put him as the PF and let him cook.

When he pulls up for the 3, I want the garden to chat "World-Star, World-Star, World-Star!"
Again, he doesnt need to be a banger to be a center and he won't be Dirk. Dirk also isn't 7'3.
 
Personally I think asking Porzingis to be the back up 5 wouldn't help him or the team. His game works at its best as a 4, his positive qualities are strongest there. It would also benefit us defensively to have the bigger post player function as the 5 and let Kristaps be the weak side defensive big. Offensively it would work wonders but the defensive discrepancy wouldn't be worth it. He's too rangy to limit him at the 5 defensively.
 
Zinger is not a banger type of NBA player.

He's more like a Dirk Nowitki. Put him as the PF and let him cook.

When he pulls up for the 3, I want the garden to chat "World-Star, World-Star, World-Star!"

If not, then "Fire Phil, Fire Phil, Fire Phil!"

world star :rollin
 
I actually really like Melo at teh 4 with Rolo.

Phil said he really wanted Wes Mathews but the achilles ****** things up
 
Just looked it up... SHOCKED that it was Isola who reported that Melo never spoke to Afflalo/tried to rip him for it. I wonder if he will try to refute this report now? Not only was it reported today that Afflalo spoke with Melo but it was also reported that the Knicks asked Carmelo for input about Afflalo and that Carmelo highly reccomended him. 
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LeBron and Paul both played active roles in free agency. Whether it was their choice or not isn’t the point. They were involved. Afflalo, Anthony’s former teammate in Denver, said that he never spoke with Anthony during the process and even refuted a report that Anthony called him after he agreed to join the Knicks.
Not only was it reported today that Afflalo spoke with Melo during free agency, but it also came out that the Knicks asked Carmelo for input about Afflalo and that Carmelo highly recommended him to Knicks management and convinced Afflalo to sign with us.

This contradicts numerous Isola skewed reports from the past month or so such as Melo not being in touch with management, Phil not asking Melo for input, Melo being unhappy with the free agent signings, and Melo not recruiting.

Astonishing that Isola will get 0 backlash from all this even though me and I know a lot of yall have known he was full of **** from the start. What a ******* snake. 
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If there is a positive to take away from all the outright bull **** reporting and/or misconstruing of quotes to further his own agenda, I guess it is that we can take everything else he has said this summer as the bull **** it was (not like this was ever in doubt), primarily all the reports about Phil and Melo beefing and Melo just being generally unhappy with the team's overall direction.
 
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