OfficiaL '16 NYK offseason thread, Melo goes to bodega in bathrobe and Olympic hat

[8pm at msg]

Something like O'Quinn's deal. 4 or 5 million a year. Maybe 6.

 

[kingfoamnyc]

Remember when Landry Fields was "untouchable"

 

[xbiker47]

keep him

 

[nick.]

Something like O'Quinn's deal. 4 or 5 million a year. Maybe 6.

i hope it's something like that but Shump just got 4/$40M & with the cap rising Lance's deal will probably look something like that

 

[bm35]

So ya wouldn't trade lance for a 1st rounder ?

 

[phar0]

Melomorphosis 

and I really wanna keep Lance

 

[redd spyder]

Remember when Landry Fields was "untouchable"

:x :x :x

a true lowpoint for our team..

 

[donewithjs]

Does he still play?

 

[donewithjs]

If Lance keeps playing the way he does we will really need to get rid of Caldos contract if we want to re sign him and have some decent spending money for free agents.

 

[Mister Meaner]

Spurs just went no Vaseline on the Nets. We play them Wednesday. I hope w don't get off to a slow start. I'd like to see Brooklyn go o-fer whatever many games are left this season.

 

[ballinsam23]

Package Caldo with Pookie.

 

[donewithjs]

I wonder what we could get for that.

 

[kingfoamnyc]

I wonder what we could get for that.

Brandon Jennings

 

[nick.]

i'd like Evan Fournier this summer

 

[johnnyredstorm]

i'd like Evan Fournier this summer

I can dig it

 

[donewithjs]

I'd like Batum

 

[nick.]

obviously we'll meet with Durant but he's not a realistic option.

after we strike out on him Phil should shift to Conley & Fournier/Batum. landing Conley with one of those wings would set us up nicely.

Conley
Fournier/Batum
Melo
KP
Lopez

so much length

 

[bm35]

Is beal a ufa this year ?

 

[nick.]

he's an RFA

i'd be surprised if he wasn't a Wizard next season

 

[ballinsam23]

I think Afflalo opts in, especially if we make the playoffs.

 

[donewithjs]

I think Afflalo opts in, especially if we make the playoffs.

I can't see that with all this new money coming in.

 

[worldbeefreeg]

I think Durant is not as much as a long shot two years from now then people think...if we make the playoffs and KP takes that step towards becoming a superstar I wouldn't count it out.

Durant is kind of a follower imo, think He is the type of dude who could be suckered by someone like Phil whispering sweet nothings in his ear.

I like Fournier for the right price, not as big in Conley since he's getting older now.

 

[nick.]

I think Afflalo opts in, especially if we make the playoffs.

I can't see that with all this new money coming in.

i really hope he opts out

 

[nick.]

Knicks Coach Is No Longer a Fish Out of Water[h2]In his second season on the bench, Derek Fisher is emerging as a more effective leader[/h2]
By  
CHRIS HERRING
Jan. 11, 2016 5:06 p.m. ET

There are a number of people who deserve acclaim for the Knicks’ turnaround this season, from the worst team in franchise history last year to a fringe playoff contender.

At age 31, Carmelo Anthony is playing perhaps the best basketball of his career. Talented rookie Kristaps Porzingis has turned into a legitimate contributor quicker than anyone expected. And Phil Jackson and his front-office staff have put together a roster that, at 19-20, should continue to trend upwards over the next couple of years.

But beyond the obvious candidates, there’s another individual who has emerged as a key factor behind the team’s improvement and its current run of five wins in the last seven games: second-year coach Derek Fisher.

Since the start of the new year, Fisher has made a couple of dramatic shifts in his approach to game management. Whereas Fisher once favored a rotation involving 12 or 13 players, he’s used just nine or 10 in games this month. And he’s struck a balance by staggering his lineups to avoid scoring droughts.

At the start of the season, Fisher relied too heavily on his second unit—he played all-bench lineups a league-high 19% of the time during the first two months of the season, according to Stats LLC—but he’s used five reserves together just 2% of the time so far in January. He’s accomplished this by trimming his big-man rotation to Porzingis and Robin Lopez and bypassing backups Kyle O’Quinn and Kevin Seraphin, an impressive balancing act given that the former two players are both starters.

In the last six outings, Fisher has subbed Porzingis out midway through the first and third quarters, then brought him back in later for Lopez. (Lance Thomas, the team’s most consistent backup, has served as the sixth man lately, coming in to replace Porzingis each game.)

“We’re all feeling more comfortable now because we know how many minutes we’re going to get, when we’re going in, when we’re coming out,” Porzingis said of Fisher’s rotations.

Aside from giving Porzingis more spin at center, where he’s generally capable of holding his own, Fisher’s new substitution pattern has also given the 7-foot-3 rookie valuable minutes each game as a No. 1 scoring option without Anthony on the floor, something that should help him develop in the long term.

A year ago, cutting O’Quinn and Seraphin’s playing time might have proved beyond Fisher, who has acknowledged the challenge he faced as a young coach in making choices that might have disappointed the same players he’s trying to win over.

“I’m just more comfortable not worrying about whether someone’s going to be pissed off if I don’t put them in a game, and knowing that it’s not personal, or about trying to protect someone’s feelings,” Fisher said. “I’m just trying to do what I think is best to win a game.”

Of course, it’s difficult to determine how good or bad a coach Fisher was last season, given the lackluster and transient roster he was saddled with. And it remains to be seen whether this is simply a good two-week stretch or if Fisher’s coaching has truly improved in the middle of Year Two. 

Either way, there are some encouraging signs. Fisher has been clear about establishing a defensive identity based on strong rim protection. The Knicks currently lead the league in 3-point percentage defense—after ranking last in the NBA in 2015—partly because of Fisher’s scheme, which encourages wing players to crowd the perimeter, knowing that Lopez and Porzingis will serve as safety valves if and when opponents reach the paint.

Fisher has also enjoyed recent success in diagramming playcalls during timeouts, a noteworthy shift given that he often appeared lost in those scenarios last year.

From the beginning of last season to All-Star weekend, when Anthony was ruled out for the season with a knee injury, the Knicks got whistled for a mind-blowing 14 shot-clock violations coming out of a timeout, suggesting that the plays he drew up were as challenging for his own players as the opposition.

“This year, I think he’s been able to convey what he wants from us [during timeouts] more quickly,” Thomas said. “It probably took more effort on his part last year, since we had a less-experienced team with so many younger guys.”

The Knicks’ poor execution following timeouts last season helps to explain why they failed so frequently in close games. From early November to mid-December last year, the Knicks lost 13 consecutive games that were within five points in the final five minutes of play.

This season, New York has gradually become more effective following timeouts, going from scoring just 37% of the time following a huddle in November to 44% of the time in December and a staggering 64% of the time so far in January.

The Knicks came up one point short in San Antonio, where the Spurs have won 31 consecutive games, after Jose Calderon misfired on a potential game-winning shot. But Fisher still coached a solid game, punctuated by an impressive play call.

During a timeout with 33 seconds left, and trailing by three points, Fisher called for Anthony to set a high screen for the Porzingis. Doing so temporarily froze Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard, who looked as if he were expecting Anthony to go in search of the ball. In the confusion, Leonard opted against switching the screen with teammate LaMarcus Aldridge, leaving Anthony double-covered and allowing Porzingis a wide-open alley-oop dunk off the inbound play.

All told, the Knicks scored a season-high 11 points on six possessions after timeouts against the Spurs, a feat that is all the more impressive given that San Antonio owns the league’s best defense and is led by Gregg Popovich, who is widely seen as the best coach in the game.

It’s still too soon to know whether Fisher will one day be considered as one of the game’s top coaches in his own right. But looking at the team’s play of late, and how many of those things have been sparked by tangible changes he’s made, it’s clear that he’s had a substantial role in the recent improvement.

http://on.wsj.com/1RjaLdn

 

[8pm at msg]

I wouldn't be mad at Fournier at all. Son can ball.