The Knicks’ two-year, $18MM offer to Kemba Walker was the only one he needed to consider, the point guard said today during an introductory press conference for him and Evan Fournier.
“Perfect timing. Really motivated,” Walker said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “Super excited that these guys have belief in me. That’s all I need. I just need somebody to believe in me. These guys do, and I appreciate that.”
Bontemps also writes that the status of Walker’s knee remains a big question. When asked if he’d play in back-to-backs this season (he didn’t last year), Walker replied with a smile, “You gotta ask (coach Tom Thibodeau).”
Thibodeau responded in a customary fashion. “Playing,” he said, eliciting laughter from those in attendance.
We have more Knicks news here:
- Both the Clippers and Lakers were interested in trading for Walker, but couldn’t reach a deal with the Thunder, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman runs through what held up the Knicks in their pursuit of other guards, writing that they liked Lonzo Ball but wanted a more ready-made point guard. Berman adds that – given Walker’s and Derrick Rose‘s history of knee injuries – Immanuel Quickley and rookie Miles McBride may be more important than realized to the team’s success.
- Spencer Dinwiddie responded to the claim in Berman’s article that he didn’t see the Knicks as “an appealing fit,” tweeting today, “Why y’all still writing this stuff about me? I never said that.” He went on to say he’s just happy to be a member of the Wizards.
- The Knicks will send $110K to the Celtics as their return for the Fournier sign-and-trade, reports Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link). In addition to the 28-year-old shooting guard, the Knicks will receive two future second-round picks (one heavily protected) for their role in helping the Celtics create a $17.1MM trade exception.
You can’t argue w/ Kemba on a 2/18. But I still think IQ’s development needs to be a top priority. I don’t wanna see him buried behind Rose and Kemba because TT wants to eek out another 2-3 wins this season.
IQ is fine as the second units scorer. I’d rather see McBride getting PG minutes than IQ
eke.
Eek is scary. Like EEK!!!!!
Good catch ty
ekeing out 2-3 more wins is the difference of being a 4 seed or sweating out the play in.
Not developing your young guys at the expense of getting the 4 seed is the difference between becoming a long-term contender and being mediocre every year
definitely true. they’ll get more pt and starts as walker and rose begin wearing down as the season goes on.
This is pro ball, not g league. Best players play, you want more minutes, then play better. Competition.
Yeah exactly pal. Check out IQ’s advanced numbers from last year and tell me he didn’t earn his PT. He was the most efficient out of him Rose and Walker.
Just don’t forget, the more minutes and run you get, the more difficult it is to stay as efficient..
Not saying IQ can’t remain as efficient, I’m just saying it’ll be more difficult playing longer runs and more minutes. Not to mention, the more tape a team gets on you, the better they are able to defend you..
I, personally, love the Knicks last two drafts, and really think they nailed their later pick with Grimes this season. IQ, Grimes, McBride, Toppin they were all solid picks, and they’ll be fun to watch then all developing together!!
Best players should play, but it’s also hard to develop when you’re sitting on the bench most of the game. Hard to expect a guy to “take that next step” if they’re playing 10 minutes a game. By the time they’ve even got their legs fully under them and get in a rhythm, they’re already coming out for the experienced vet.
Fair point. Well articulated.
This 100% and I’ll add giving guys regular extended stretches, even if they’re not playing 30mpg. Given them a solid 22 that they know they’ll play. One thing I don’t love about Thibs is he tends to pull young guys after one error (esp Toppin last year).
Supposedly what GL is for.
Players who need time to get a rythym better be good and proven. Unless it’s a bad team forcing in this year’s lottery pick.
I’m not sure that they really have too much effect on each other. Quickley is more of a combo guard that is great as a catch and shoot guy off Randle, Barrett, Rose or whoever is going to be making plays for them, that can be useful as a secondary or third playmaker for them, and also attack closeouts. If anything, he should be more important, with all of the guys that need the ball in their hands on their roster, although I could see where there might be some issues figuring out who gets those guard minutes and who sits, in certain matchups…probably makes 1 of Fournier or Burks over Bullock more questionable though
Lakers and Clippers have little assets to trade with Knicks for Walker At the trade deadline?
They said they tried with OKC but couldn’t work things out
“Perfect timing. Really motivated,” Walker said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “Super excited that these guys have belief in me. That’s all I need. I just need somebody to believe in me. These guys do, and I appreciate that.”
Pretty sure the Celtics would have believed in him too at that price versus the max he was on, but whatever floats his boat.
It’s a little odd indeed but I don’t know what he could say that wouldn’t be
Real World- It would be like being let go as the GM of the fancy popular steak house in town but then talking about how McDonalds and Burger King are fighting for your services.
All just lip service newayz, there never was a market and all this was agreed upon behind closed doors before it ever even began. Ida preferred if Okc coulda cut into Kemba’s loses(?) (~3 mill) a touch more in the end but it is what it is , a players/movement league
Walker is a shell of what he was. Lost his lateral quickness and step, to small to play effective defense before tearing his knee up. The kind of player a second level team aquires hoping.
He also plays a fan on Twitter. I doubt you even know his injury history.
And I assume that Dr. Al does? Kemba isn’t the savior of the Knicks.
Let’s see how he rebounds after getting some proper rest and treatment. Then let’s judge. I think, if anything, Kemba has earned the benefit of the doubt.
‘A shell of what he was’? His averages last year were exactly in line with his career averages, and that’s with 32 minutes a game. With Rose, IQ, and McBride behind him, he can rest up and play 20-24 minutes a game and stay fresh.
I know Thibs runs his guys ragged, but he’s got multiple options at PG and can rest Kemba. Be patient and let 15-20 games run out this year before making any judgements about him being done.
Shell of himself is harsh but he’s declining.
The issue with Kemba really was the contract. He just went from being one of the most overpaid to potentially one of the most under.
He can still play at a high level, it’s just not as consistent, probably because of his injuries but also his age. You hit 30 something and you don’t have the same burst every night, maybe just 3 out of 4.
Between Kemba, Rose, IQ, McBride, and Luca Thibs is going to have a lot to sort out at the PG spot. Unless they’re going small for long stretches at least one of those guys will probably be odd man out.
Walker talked about his knee in article. The truth is he hasn’t really rested enough. Celtics brought him back too soon the first time. There was pressure on cause he was the FA catch. Wasn’t handled right, I remember that.
He talked about getting plenty of rest. First time in yrs. That he feels good and strong. Well we will all see soon. I would not play him in back to back games. We got plenty of depth this yr. We need Walker and Rose strong for playoffs. So there’s no need to get mins. Quickley and McBride can get us wins.
I only worry about him wanting to please the home crowd. So he could push himself. I rather he push himself in the playoffs. We got PG depth (real PG). We got shooting and scoring. And our rim protector is back. A guy many in NY think, he can DPOY one day. I just want to see 32 mins a gm for 80 gms. It’s just going to be a fun yr at The Garden.
In Thibs We Trust ….
love how Dinwiddie called out Berman. Something I do a lot. He just prints whatever comes into his head.
Knicks open the season at Home. Against the Celtics !!
How cool is that. Walker and Fournier both putting up 20, easy.
Berman is such a joke and I’m glad Dinwiddie slammed him.
Here’s the thing. The Knicks used to always be the team on the bad side of these deals. Now they’re on the GOOD side. Walker’s minutes can be managed, especially early on the season. If they aren’t winning they can move on without losing much. And if they are winning? Sky’s the limit baby!
The PG spot will likely be interesting all year. Something I wanted to avoid. I wanted a definitive boring veteran answer at the position, not the stockpiling of possibilities. But they went where the value was. Starting with the draft. McBride in the second round was a must draft regardless (value and fit with the Knicks was off the charts at that point). Rose, for many reasons, (almost) had to be resigned at the price he commanded. Walker, at the post-buyout price he signed for, was a must sign regardless. Quickley shouldn’t be removed from the PG discussion either (I’m glad they gave him the chance to run the team in the SL, even if the results were mixed – he tried and hopefully will continue to work at it).
Still, I doubt we finish the year with a 30 mpg starter going forward. If we do, then I think it will be McBride. He might be our best 2nd round pick since Willis (sorry Mitch).
I don’t know much about McBride so I’ll defer there.
Agree w/ the overall point and I think the collection of PG’s we’ve acquired makes me a little nervous.
Kemba could just come in and be a complete steal, play 34 mpg, avg 20ppg, and be a borderline All Star, end of story.
But if not I think it could get murky and Thibs’ tendency to go with the vets could hurt.
Frankly, I think having Rose and Walker is a bit superfluous. Not sure what they knew about Kemba when they signed Rose so maybe it was just timing, but I don’t love having two 30 somethings, both of whom are traditionally score first PG’s on my roster, right next to my very talented young PG prospect (who’s also score first). Hard to imagine a rotation where are three are getting substantial PT.
Rose and Walker skillset-wise are duplicative. Each is a vet, unlikely to play 30 mpg, who’s forte is offense, with a focus on scoring vs facilitation. Still, I doubt that the decision to bring back Rose would have been different even if they knew Walker was likely going to become available. I think the most significant FA decision they made was prioritizing $$-wise the wing “upgrade” (Fournier > Bullock) over a younger veteran PG that might complement Rose (or, maybe, in their opinion that guy wasn’t there). Fournier > Bullock reduced the available cap space to the point that Walker wasn’t just interesting, but a no brainer to sign.
I originally didn’t want to draft a PG because I wanted IQ to have a clear path to the remaining minutes at PG (in addition to some time at the 2, which is where he mostly played last year) as he learns how to be a PG. But they passed on McBride 2-4 times, and, IMO, had to take him at #36.
The result is that we have more aggregate talent at PG than I expected, but a messy depth chart with no clear starter and no plus defender (other than a rookie, who almost can’t count this year) or plus facilitator. I love McBride, but he can wait. Question is whether the other 3 guys capable enough, as a group, to warrant it.
Yeah it will be interesting to see if they end up bringing Luca over next year. If they do they’ll potentially be allocating 5 roster spots for PG’s, all of whom are under 6-4.
Luca 6-3 | IQ 6-3 | Rose 6-2 | Kemba 6-0 (being generous) | McBride 6-2
Then, on the flip side, allocating 3 spots to centers w/ Noel, Robinson, and Gibson, none of whom can realistically play 4.
So that’s 8/15 spots to essentially non-wings. I think this is where the Noel signing could come back to hurt – given the relative gap in wings I think I’d rather have Bullock on a 3/30 than Noel (in fact, I ‘d rather have Bullock on a 3/30 than Noel, period).
Of course they don’t *have* to play all of these guys. Or maybe they go super small. We’ll see.
Luca is here. Signed for 3 more years. NG, so he may be cut, but he’ll be in camp.
Kemba avg 33 mins a gm the last three yrs. He’s a career 33.7 mins a gm player. If anyone avgs 30 mins. It will be our best PG. Kemba and Rose hold up, and they should. I can see them moving Quickley. McBride is a real PG with potential to start for yrs. He can just learn for a few yrs. The way Toppin showed in SL. He continues playing like that. There will teams coming and asking for him. Knicks are young and deep. This is the yr we get back on a stars map. There will be stars who want to come here now. I rather just keep building this team……. Toppin >>for>> Okoro
Why not just slide Quickley over to the 2 as a sparkplug scorer off the bench??
Probably wouldn’t be ideal defensively, but he could be hidden if surrounded by the right combination of guys.
Idk, I’d hate for them to give him up as he shows some real promise as an explosive scorer…
Quickley needs to improve his shooting percentage if he wants more minutes. 39.5% ain’t gonna cut it, especially from the 2 position.
It’s going to be tough playing Kemba and IQ together defensively. McBride is also on the smaller side.
I believe the Argentinian Luca is also still coming over?
Either way 15 PER 55% TS and +0.6 BPM as a rookie guard for Quickley is something that I think deserves another look this season. Unless we’re contending I don’t think giving his minutes to Rose is the wisest move long-term.
Having said that given they just paid Rose and Thibs’ fondness I could see IQ being odd man out here.
As a Celtic fan Kemba did not get the benefit of the doubt last year. I hope he has a great year he is a great person. His smile is so joyful!