The issue for the Knicks is that they played better after Randle went down. He is more of an iso player, not sure it meshes well with the Nova crowd that are great at moving the ball around. Wouldn’t be surprised if the trade him to fill other holes, though very possible they think he offers something different than the rest of roster and is worth keeping.
I guess January never happened? With a healthy Randle and the addition of OG, the Knicks went something like 15-2. During that time, OG, Donte, and Hart all saw their 3pt % go up an average 4 to 5% with Randle in the post. And Randle's numbers took a small dip, but remained close to his typical production. Only Brunson shooting from 3 remained the same. The perception was Randle was a black hole, when the truth was he took fewer shots (3s) and focused on his post play. In return, the Knicks were more efficient without Randle being ball dominant. But the truth doesn't fit the narrative created and fueled by the herd mentality. The source of this info I got was an article from ESPiN. If you trade Randle, what exactly do people expect in return? Chemistry is important to the team's success and trading him doesn't help that.
The hole the Knicks have is at Center. The Knicks front office would very much like to bring back Hartenstein to be the starter next year, but they are now hard capped after the Bridges trade and won’t be able to sign him. They are down on Robinson because he is always hurt, and can’t guard any of the elite centers in the East on the perimeter. The only asset they can move to fix it is Randle. The 4s they have to worry about in the East are Brown and Harris (and I suppose Brook Lopez, but he is mainly trying to shoot 3s from the perimeter), who can be guarded by OG and Hart. Like I said, I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep Randle to provide different looks, and even play some small ball 5, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they trade him to fix the center spot.
I am far from an expert on this, but most NBA observers think the Claxton contract set the market for Hartenstein and expect him to get something similar. I doubt he is giving up over $20 mil to stay with the Knicks, and the local reporters are basically saying he is gone.
Drummond is an even worse perimeter defender than Robinson. Look at how Porzingis destroyed Dallas in a couple of games even though he wasn’t fully healthy because they couldn’t guard him outside the paint. When you are in a conference with Embiid, Giannis and Porzingis, you need someone who can leave the paint to cover them, otherwise they will go wild and it will be very tough to even have a chance.
And by the way, the reason Claxton got a $100 million contract and Hartenstein is likely to be in that ballpark is that they can play defense all over the court and can both make like more difficult for elite centers and switch and cover non-centers for a least a few dribbles. Robinson and Drummond can’t do that, and if you are really trying to go all in, you are going to need more from your centers.
According to the experts, the series of moves (trades for 2nd-round picks) made by the Knicks last night made it more likely they can re-sign IHart to slightly more than $72 million reported. I think the Knicks may be able to go as high as $80 million.
Robinson led centers in blocked 3-point shots in 2022-2023 and again this year until his injury.
ESPN article on the trade specifically notes the 2025 superdraft with 3 players at the top for the Nets - Ace, Cooper Flag and Dylan
I was surprised to see the iHart defensive rating numbers in recent days, did not think they were that high. Seems to really get along with these guys hope there is a discount.
I don't think the Knicks can offer more than the $72 million even if they wanted to. I believe that is the max they can offer with his limited bird rights, regardless of the salary caps. They needed to get to the 2nd apron just to be able to do the $72M. Of course, I could be wrong.
I just watched a podcast that broke it down. The cap specialist for the Knicks is a genius. The series of moves during the draft made it possible to re-sign IHart. The Knicks were smart with how certain players received descending contracts (Brunson & Robinson), and others had ascending contracts like OG. IHart could accept a contract like OG where the first year is team-friendly, and after that, IHart would start to see an increase in pay to his satisfaction. It could go like this: year one-$16 million; year two-$18 million; year three-$20 million; and year four-$22 million. You get around the limitation of only being able to pay IHart $16 million a year for four years ($72 million). This gives the Knicks a chance to be competitive with OKC and Orlando and time to address the next set of contracts for the following year. This is why the Knicks loaded up on 2nd-round picks to fill out the roster without breaking the bank. If IHart accepts the deal, it would put the Knicks in a position to stay under the second apron. Current contract guaranteed (with IHart signing & including 2nd-round roster fillers)-$189,055,997. The second apron is $189,486,000. Again, that leaves about $430,000 under.
Pretty sure they still can't go above the $72.5 total contract. All the moves last night were to get to a point where they would be able to offer that $16.2M number for the first year. They weren't able to do that as of yesterday morning.
Yeah, the comparison is a little off to say the least. Just another disgruntled Net fan weighing in.
You're creating a narrative that doesn't exist, well maybe in your own mind. I don't know these Knicks fans or are aware of the comments they made about the Nets moves. Was it a sports talk radio thing? I honestly don't recall that. Everything the Knicks did, drafting the players you mention and stockpiling the picks was about building for the future. Yes, that was the strategy and that's what they did. I'm not sure how you are missing the boat on this. Knicks fans understood that and weren't married to the "homegrown" concept you mention.
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