I do not believe that drafting Towns will prevent the Knicks from pairing Melo with a combo forward (as opposed to a traditional 4). Like Gasol, Towns protects the rim well and has the potential of being a two way force. Despite being 10 pounds lighter and two inches shorter than Gasol, Towns has the same wingspan as Gasol (7'4 wingspan) and a greater standing reach (9'5). Additionally, Towns is only 19, and Gasol will be 31 next season. Towns would be a raw, athletic center that can be just as great a fit as Gasol, with a brighter future. Plus, Towns could still get a growth spurt, he's that young.
The Knicks should NOT employ a traditional lineup. Melo needs a forward who can shoot 3s while being able to defend both the perimeter and the post (Draymond/ Jeff Green, Tobias....) If not, It will be 2011 all over again: the logjam that was Melo-Amare-Tyson.
I somewhat agree with this and I have brought up the possibility of drafting Towns to be our rim protecting center while still pairing Melo with a combo forward like Jeff or Draymond Green instead of a true 4 like Monroe or Aldridge.
Like I have said a couple of times though, the only major issue that I have with this would be Towns getting into foul trouble. Towns is young and raw and still very skinny to be the lone rim protector of an NBA team. In a little over 20 minutes per game of action, Towns led the SEC this season in fouls per game. If Towns is fouling that much in 20 minutes of SEC basketball, just imagine what it would be like as the starting center and lone rim protector on an NBA team.
There would be sure to be plenty of speed bumps along the way, as opposed to with someone like Gasol who is an elite post defender/rim protector right off the bat. But again it is all temporary and could actually be viewed as a potential positive. Towns has a ton of potential and room to grow. He has the offensive skill set to be a tremendous all around athletic forawrd with range out to the 3 point line, post skills, great passing ability, and the ability to take the ball from the elbow in the triangle and use his speed to blow past opposing centers to the hoop. That is a dangerous ******* force. And although there would be plenty of speed bumps in throwing Towns into that rim protecting role right away, it might force him to grow up/develop as a rim protector/post defender even faster, which could ultimately be a very good thing.
So yeah, I agree with you. It is possible to draft Towns and still pair Melo with a combo forward as opposed to a true 4. I think the IDEAL fit in between Melo/Towns would be Draymond Green, because he is one of the best defenders in the NBA and compliments Melo perfectly. However, he is obviously going to be very tough to get. It would be hard to out bid hometown Detroit to get him to sign an offer sheet to begin with, and if we are able to get that far it would be tough to out bid Golden State not to match. But he would be a great fit in between Melo/Towns because he defends the paint well, so Towns would have to focus more as a rim protector than as a last line of defense defensively. Don't get it twisted there is a major difference between the 2 with just rim protecting being a much easier task for a rookie big man to handle than a last line of defense who constantly has to account for defensive lapses bt the rest of the team. a Classic example of this "last line of defense" center would be Tyson during his time here and Marc Gasol in Memphis having to always compensate for a weak *** defender like Z-Bo.
did he though? i mean he cleared house and freed up some cap once he realized this team isnt going anywhere, instead of waiting until it was too late. tbh, this is the best season we've had in long time in terms of actually having a structure for the organization. yeah, i wouldve preferred to make the playoffs and all that, but we have a really good start at rebuilding without having to be the sixers. we have a top 10 player, cap room, and a top 5 pick. i cant be too mad. id rather have one ****** season, then be a bottom feeder like the sixers for years.
Agreed. I am glad that Phil cleaned house right when he saw the writing on the wall instead of pulling some stupid **** just so we could get to 30 wins and achieve absolutely nothing except his pride and less of a tongue lashing by dumb *** NY media folk who like to make a big deal out of pointless **** like the Knicks having their worst record in franchise history. At the end of the day isnt a good thing that Phil/Fisher have done something this season that no Knicks team has done before? Even if it is accumulating more losses than any Knicks GM/coach of the past, if we are doing **** that Isiah and Layden didnt do then I will take that as a step in the right direction.
All in all I also view this season as one of the most successful Knicks season in recent memory. I for one would MUCH rather be in this situation right now then be a 7 or 8 seed in the playoffs about to get man handled in the first round. It is very rare that there is a draft like this that comes around and even more rare that the Knicks actually have their own first round pick.
This season was the perfect storm to tank and have a great draft pick and I am glad the Knicks took full advantage of it. It was known that we were not going to be truly competitive until after this summer with a low playoff seed being the most optimistic prediction possible, so I am glad that the Knicks have used this gap season to truly be bad. We knew that this team was going to undergo a major overhaul this summer regardless of what our record was so it only helps our cause to have a top draft pick in addition to the cap space we were already planing on using to fix the roster.
they have a ton of assets (draft picks, cap space) and an elite coach. but still, Simmons is a crusty assclown.
I would like all the notable names possible but the chances are slim. A lot of these guys are probably not leaving and we can't overpay on EVERYBODY because then we'll end up short. Might have to look for a bargain somewhere as long as the player involved can contribute.
