trades

The New York Knicks Are Boring – Is Hope On The Horizon?

by
New York Knicks

I’ve spent the last week trying to come up with something to say that’s new or interesting about the New York Knicks. My confidence was shaken, maybe I’m boring and it’s my inability to come up with anything. Then I looked back at my hard-hitting opinion piece about Aaron Judge and realized that couldn’t be it.

*No it’s a fact…the Knicks are boring*

The NBA trade deadline is looming, so I thought about writing about that, but why bother? The Knicks could trade Enes Kanter for Jabari Parker, which I suppose is like trading dysentery for Ebola, but what would it accomplish?

It would make the team worse which is a positive, but possibly more dysfunctional for the younger players. The Knicks trading for Jabari would have been exciting 4-years and 2 ACL’s ago.

What about the Dennis Smith Jr. rumors, could I write about that? Well, Smith is now throwing a hissy fit in Dallas over Luka being the focus of the team, and has been benched while they try to work it out. Building around Luka makes good sense since he’s better at basketball, and the fact Smith doesn’t see this says a lot about him. I’m sure he’d totally be cool with being the third or fourth option on the Knicks after KP, Knox, Zion (dare to dream) and/or free agent “x” this offseason.

Anytime you can acquire an egocentric score first guard, you should totally do it.

Is Dion Waiters still available?

I could talk about Frankies development but that article would be shorter than the aforementioned Judge piece. Noah Vonleh has developed nicely but who cares? Tim Hardaway Jr.’s game has me convinced he actively hates me, and is intentionally the most inefficient scorer I’ve ever seen. How about 500 words on Luke Kornet?

All this being said I stopped and asked myself how would the greatest journalist in American history handle this situation? “When the going gets tough a pro gets weird” that phrase was uttered by the great Hunter Thompson whose star began to rise from a sports story.

So, I’m asking our founder and editor in chief Alex Wilson to send me to a Knicks game, ply me with enough alcohol to make the Knicks interesting and publish the sure to be genius results.

What do you say boss, are you ready to release the beast and publish Fear and Loathing in MSG, subheading the NY Knicks are decadent and depraved? If I’m going to watch one more minute of THJ shooting 8 for 24 with 2 rebounds this is the only way to do it. Lets kick out the jams.

New York Yankees First Baseman And The Curse Of The Giambino

by
New York Yankees, Luke Voit

I remember when first base was manned by Donnie Baseball, the New York Yankees followed him up with Tino Martinez and Jason Giambi. After Giambi started breaking down we were treated to Tony Clark, Andy Phillips, Wilson Betemit, John Olerud and John Olerud’s batting helmet along with one misguided reunion with a 37-year-old Martinez.

In 2009, Mark Teixeira signed and had 1 good year, two mediocre years and one “meh” year, unfortunately for the Yankees he played a total of nine. Since then we’ve had the Greg Bird injury experience, Garret Jones, Rob Refsnyder, Tyler Austin and Luke Voit.

An offseason of doubt and uncertainty:

Yet, this offseason there has been no mention of the black hole at first base. Some may be comfortable with the Luke Voit and Greg Bird tandem, but I’m skeptical about Bird ever being healthy and good at the same time, and I don’t think Voit’s Roy Hobbs impression can be sustained.

Will Andujar continue his success at the plate?

Miguel Andujar’s defense has been the cause of a lot of hand wringing this off-season, and has caused a lot of people to overlook the fact he hit .297 with 27 home runs and 92 RBIs at 23-years-old. Another thing that’s overlooked is his 47 doubles, and what that number predicts.

Scouts used to believe that as a player grew into his body and learned to hit at the major league level doubles were a sign of developing power. Sabremetrics has validated this fact, and typically young players will see a decrease in doubles (typically balls hit into outfield gaps) as they learn to pull and drive more pitches out of the ball park.

There is no reason not to expect to see Andujar follow this same path and have his doubles drop down into the low 30’s, and to see his home run totals shoot up into that same area.

If you put two and two together there is an obvious conclusion here:

I think Andujar ends up a .270-.280 hitter with an OBP around .330 who averages out at 30 HRs and right around 100 runs batted in each season. That’s a valuable player, particularly when he’s 5-years from being anywhere near free agency and you have Aaron Judge, Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez all to come.

Trading him for equal value seems unlikely when you take in the full picture, so what do you do with him? Maybe his defense improves and you leave him at third, but improvement would take him from terrible to just bad and I don’t think below adequate is the Yankees’ goal for him.

A move across the diamond accomplishes several things:

First it give Andujar a home, ends the trade speculation and allows him to settle in and just hit. Second it opens up the Yankee infield to multiple options with LeMahieu, Torres, Gregorius, Tulowitzki and whoever else they bring in.

Finally it lets Yankee fans spend next offseason reliving the Machado let down with Nolan Arenado as the free agent who totally wants to be in NYC until he doesent.

Everyone’s a winner in this scenario so let’s do it Yankees, lets break the cycle of first base futility with a young home-grown star. Just to be safe though, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to perform an exorcism at first base just in case.

The New York Yankees Need To Remain Patient With Gary Sanchez

by
New York Yankees, Gary Sanchez

This winter New York Yankees‘ Gary Sanchez’s name has consistently been floated in trade rumors. Informed sources claim the Yankees wanted J.T. Realmuto, or Noah Syndergaard, or some other ridiculous fake trade people throw out for click bait.

The Yankees would be out of their minds to trade Sanchez, and GM Brian Cashman knows it.

What are the issues with the Yankees trading Sanchez?

The first issue is that even if you believe the team has soured on Sanchez (they haven’t), his value is the lowest it has been. After an injury plagued season where he couldn’t hit for average, block the plate, or run to first base, teams are likely to be weary.

He also just had shoulder surgery for an injury that’s bothered him for two years, which would be another red flag for potential suitors. Unless Cashman wants to trade a dollar for three-quarters I don’t see a trade happening.

The other reason it would be a bad idea to trade Sanchez is even more obvious….he’s been better than almost every other catcher in baseball even when he was at his worst. For his career his 162 game average stats would work out to a .262 BA, 43 HR and 113 RBI. J.T. Realmuto would come in at .279, 21, 79.

Realmuto is a good player but Sanchez has to potential to be HOF caliber. Teams don’t give up on that type of talent especially at a premium defensive position.

Are Sanchez’s defensive issues sensationalized?

Speaking of defense, Sanchez’s issues there are overblown. He had the bad luck that some of his passed balls ended up deciding the outcomes of games and shined a spotlight on one of the aspects of catching he struggles with.

His framing stats are in the upper third of all catchers, he controls the running game with a strong-arm and a quick release, and Yankee pitchers have spoken out about how well he calls a game. Yes he has struggled with his positioning blocking the plate and he can get lazy at times and just reach for balls instead of using his body. I’ll take the occasional passed ball in exchange for the overall package he offers.

Another narrative that has bubbled to the surface is his effort running the bases. What seems to be forgotten is he had been struggling with hamstring issues and actually went back on the DL shortly after his second lapse for that very reason.

Effort is not the issue:

If Yankee fans are so worked up about his effort why are they in such a rush to throw $250 million dollars at a player (Manny Machado) who told the world he wasn’t “Charlie Hustle?” I assure you every other team in baseball including the Marlins would be ecstatic to have Sanchez as a foundational piece of their team.

I think fans forget Sanchez is only 26 years old, has not reached his peak in any aspect of the game yet, and like all players will experience growing pains. Aaron Judge struggled adjusting in the later summer of rookie year and if my recollections are correct went 0 for August with 200 strikeouts…or something like that.

Youth is a process:

Every young player hits bumps in his development and I believe injuries were a huge contributor to the Kraken’s. So all you Yankee fans clamoring for a trade be careful what you wish for. As for me, at then end of the season I’m confident that I’ll be posting a self-congratulatory I told you so. Lets see come October what the right call was.

The New York Knicks Are Bad, But Being Worse Couldn’t Hurt

by

The New York Knicks are in a difficult position right now as they approach the midpoint of this season. While they jockey for position in the race for the worst record in the NBA, the teams’ young players are improving a little too quickly.

Reclamation projects Noah Vonleh and Emmanuel Mudiay have staked claims on starting roles and are becoming contributors. Rookies Kevin Knox and Alonzo Trier are improving, and soon Mitchell Robinson will return to the rotation as well. It may be time to for the front office to take action to ensure the team is in pole position for the top pick in this years draft.

Where do the New York Knicks need to be?

The Knicks need to be all in on Zion Williamson, currently averaging just under 20ppg and 10rpg for the Duke Blue Devils. It’s not just about the stats, but the energy and excitement he brings to the table. It’s too easy to picture MSG losing its mind after a thunderous dunk by Williamson, and feeling the building shake with excitement for the first time since the late 90s thug ball title contending teams of Pat Riley.

A front court of Porzingis, Knox and Williamson would be embraced by the fanbase for years to come and would supply scoring, energy and athleticism that the team has been lacking for decades. Porzingis as center is the perfect shooter/shot blocker in the wide open era of offenses, Knox has the length, height and talent to be a 3 and D wing, and Zion would be there as the roll man and finisher inside. Along with a back-court of the ever improving Mudiay and the lock down defense of Frank Ntikilina the makings of a contender are starting to coalesce for the Knicks.

Making this vision a reality:

So how do they ensure the vision above becomes a reality? The first step is finishing with the leagues worst record to have the best chance at that top selection in the draft. Step one is buying out Enes Kanter ASAP, and he should be open to this option as well.

Kanter has been a great teammate,  and has had some great games but is clearly frustrated to be coming off the bench for a team going nowhere. Trading him is not an option due to his $18 million dollar cap hit, and the need to take that much back in salary in any deal. If the Knicks want to keep their Durant dreams alive, they’ll need Kanter’s expiring contract off their books. Halfway through the season, all he’s owed is about 9 million so they should be able to work out a deal that’s agreeable to both sides.

The next step is tougher, and that’s finding a taker for Tim Hardaway Jr. and his contract. You may be surprised to hear that in the era of efficiency teams are not lining up for a shot at volume scorer who does not shoot well (under 40% fg, and 35% 3pfg), hasn’t played defense since he was at Michigan, and averaged less than 4 rebounds or assists per game.

Essentially he’s a poor man’s version of Carmelo Anthony in his prime. If Courtney Lee can show some ability to shoot and play defense again maybe there’s a playoff team that could use a bench scorer , and a defensive wing who could shoot (Dallas?) and a package could be worked out shipping them off together.

By cutting ties with Kanter and Hardaway the Knicks should be able to out-tank Atlanta and Cleveland for the bottom of the NBA barrel and move closer to a brighter future. What’s one more step back for a team that’s been in reverse for a decade if the ultimate step forward can change the franchise for the next 15 years?