Knicks' Tom Thibodeau Not Concerned About Obi Toppin Slump: Very Confident in Him
Nov 25, 2022
New York Knicks' Obi Toppin plays during an NBA basketball game, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin has the support of his head coach amid his struggles during the team's recent Western Conference road trip.
Tom Thibodeau told reporters he's "very confident" in Toppin's ability to turn things around.
"I trust his process," Thibodeau said. "He’s very diligent. I think he has a strategy for everything. He’s put a lot of time into his shooting. Players go through things like that, but he can help us in a lot of different ways. Just the way he moves the ball, the way he runs the floor, gets some rebounds. But I’m very confident in his ability."
The third-year forward looked like he took a significant step forward to start this season. He was averaging 10.0 points on 49.1 percent shooting (42.4 percent from three-point range) and 4.1 rebounds per game through his first 14 games.
Things took a turn for Toppin starting on Nov. 16 against the Denver Nuggets. The Dayton alum has scored a total of 13 points on 5-of-28 shooting (2-of-15 from behind the arc) in the past four games.
The Knicks have gone 2-2 in those games, with wins over the Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Toppin saw his usage increase across the board in 2021-22. He averaged 9.0 points on 53.1 percent shooting and 3.7 rebounds per game. His usage rate has dipped slightly to 20.0 percent this season after it was up at 20.8 percent last season.
New York's front office made aggressive moves during the offseason to make the roster better for the 2022-23 campaign. Jalen Brunson has been solid, averaging 20.8 points and 6.7 assists per game.
The Knicks are currently 9-9 and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Toppin's development will be critical for this team to be a playoff contender because of what he offers as a 6'9" shooter off the bench.
Based on how well Toppin played for the first 14 games of the season, Thibodeau's confidence in his 24-year-old power forward should be rewarded when he gets back in rhythm.
NBA Twitter Says Klay Thompson Is 'Back' After Warriors' Win vs. RJ Barrett, Knicks
Nov 19, 2022
Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson continued to show signs
of a resurgence with 20 points to help lead the Golden State Warriors
to a 111-101 win over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
Thompson knocked down eight of his 16
shots from the field, including four three-pointers, to go along with
three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes.
"It seemed like every time Klay just
made an extra pass, the ball started to move and then we got a wide
open shot," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr told reporters. "We
ended up with 32 assists. It started with early on Klay taking a more
patient approach. And then the game rewarded him."
After a sluggish start to the campaign,
the five-time All-Star has slowly been rounding into form over the
past few weeks, which is a great sign for the Warriors as they
attempt to pick up steam. Their record stands at 7-9 after beating
the Knicks.
Let's check out some social-media
reaction to Thompson's performance:
Stephen Curry once again paced the
Warriors with 24 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals as
he builds a strong early-season MVP candidacy. Draymond Green chipped
in 10 points, nine boards, seven dimes and two blocks.
So, for at least one night, it looked
like the reigning NBA champions were ready to start making some noise
once again.
"We played that Warriors brand of
basketball that has made us the best team of the past decade,"
Thompson said.
Julius Randle scored a team-high 20
points for the Knicks, who dropped to 8-8. RJ Barrett posted 18
points, five assists and four rebounds.
"We still got a chance to make it a
great trip," Randle said. "We got two more games, two more very
winnable games. We've got a chance to make it a great trip and go
back home feeling pretty good about ourselves."
Both teams are back in action Sunday.
New York continues its five-game road trip against the Phoenix Suns,
while Golden State travels to face the Houston Rockets.
Knicks' Mitchell Robinson out vs. Warriors with Knee Injury
Nov 19, 2022
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 26: Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks shoots a free throw during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on October 26, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will miss his eighth straight game with a right knee sprain when his team takes on the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco's Chase Center on Friday evening.
Robinson has been sidelined since Nov. 4, when he suffered the injury against the Philadelphia 76ers. As Fred Katz of The Athletic noted, Robinson has been listed as out on the team's injury reports since then.
However, there was at least a glimmer of hope for Friday when the Knicks listed Robinson as doubtful instead of out immediately.
The 24-year-old Robinson re-signed with the Knicks on a four-year, $60 million contract last offseason. In eight games (all starts), he has averaged 6.5 points on 69.7 percent shooting, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 21.8 minutes per contest.
The upgrade from out to doubtful could be a sign that Robinson's rehab is trending in the right direction, at least.
For now, Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims will absorb the bulk of the minutes at center.
Hartenstein, who signed a two-year, $16 million deal with New York as a free agent last offseason, is posting 6.9 points on 53.6 percent shooting and 8.0 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game.
Sims, who is in his second year in the NBA (both with the Knicks), has averaged 3.8 points on 85.7 percent shooting and 4.3 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game.
The New York Knicks were aiming to make the 2022-23 NBA season their turnaround campaign after a rough go in 2021-22. That isn't happening. At least, nothing...
Knicks Twitter Praises Jalen Brunson for Dominating Jazz After Failed Mitchell Trade
Nov 16, 2022
Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson scored 25 points to lead
the New York Knicks to a 118-111 road win over the Utah Jazz at
Vivint Arena on Tuesday night.
Brunson was the main addition during a
Knicks offseason that also included heavily rumored trade talks with
the Jazz for Donovan Mitchell, who ended up with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He also tallied eight assists, three rebounds and three steals in
Tuesday's victory.
"We stuck together for four
quarters," Brunson told reporters. "When they made a run, we just
looked at each other and said, 'It's time to tighten it up,' and just
kept fighting."
The 26-year-old Villanova product has
been the team's most consistent performer during an up-and-down 7-7
start to the 2022-23 NBA season. He's averaged 19.9 points, 6.9
assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals while playing in all 14 games.
Here's a look at some social-media
reaction to his latest strong showing against Utah, a team he also fared well against during his time with the Dallas Mavericks:
Jalen Brunson took over the fourth after the Obi/Quickley duo got the team momentum to open the quarter. #Knicks were grinding and got a rare win in Utah.
Brunson was one of six Knicks players
to reach double figures in scoring as part of a well-rounded
offensive attack. The others were Cam Reddish (19 points), RJ Barrett
(18), Julius Randle (15), Immanuel Quickley (13) and Jericho Sims
(11).
"I think we just had more of a sense
of urgency," Randle said. "Guys came in prepared today and were
ready to go. Got a great win."
Kelly Olynyk paced the Jazz with 27
points and 11 rebounds, marking his first double-double performance
of the campaign. Lauri Markkanen chipped in 13 points, six boards and
four dimes as Utah dropped to 10-6.
This season's second meeting between
the teams won't take place until Feb. 11 at Madison Square Garden in
New York City.
The Knicks are right back in action
Wednesday night as they continue a five-game road trip with a visit
to Ball Arena to take on the Denver Nuggets.
Knicks' RJ Barrett Reflects on Being Benched for Performance vs. Gilgeous-Alexander
Nov 15, 2022
New York Knicks' RJ Barrett (9) runs the court during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett was benched during Sunday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and reflected on the experience.
"I think it’s time [to sit] when you’re fouling enough," Barrett said, per Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post. "It falls on me for sure because I was guarding Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], and he got me into some foul trouble. And that's not good. I got to do a better job of not fouling."
The Duke product finished with four points and four fouls on 2-of-10 shooting from the field in the 145-135 defeat.
Gilgeous-Alexander posted 37 points, eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks in a dominant performance.
The 22-year-old Barrett has been better than his most recent showing for much of this season and is averaging 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
He steadily increased his
scoring output across his first three NBA seasons after the Knicks
selected him with the third pick in the 2019 draft. He
averaged 14.3 points as a rookie, and that number was up to 20.0 last year.
Barrett's 2021-22 season came to a slightly
premature end when he suffered a knee injury in the team's
penultimate game.
The Duke product otherwise has remained
mostly durable over his first three years in New York, playing in 198 of a possible 220 games.
Immanuel Quickley would likely see more playing time if Barrett was benched more as the season progresses, but the latter figures to retain a crucial role as the Knicks look to bounce back from missing the playoffs last season.
The New York Knicks Are on a Fast Track to Nowhere
Nov 14, 2022
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 10: President Leon Rose and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau of the New York Knicks attend a game between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks during the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League on July 10, 2022 at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Bart YoungNBAE via Getty Images)
Most NBA teams have a discernible direction. These directions aren't always urgent (Orlando) or successful (Brooklyn). Some are reflected in singular players (Dallas). A few you must squint to see (Chicago), but you can, in fact, see them. Others are complicated by surprise (Utah) or disappointment (Minnesota) but nevertheless visible.
Scattered throughout the league, though, are a handful of organizations without concrete course.
The New York Knicks are one of them, if not leading the aimless charge.
This has been semi-clear for longer than many will care to admit. It is painfully obvious now on the heels of another telltale loss, this one a 145-135 Sunday defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder that evoked effusive boos from the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Lots of boos here at MSG as the Thunder close out a win over the Knicks.
In many ways, this was the quintessential Knicks loss—a confluence of everything that remains wrong, both fixable and absolute, with a nod to their Jekyll and Hyde extremes.
They opened with a 48-point first quarter on 20-of-31 shooting. Nine different players scored in the 12-minute frame, and New York led by as many as 13.
Over the next two quarters, the Thunder outscored the Knicks by 28 points (86-58). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander absolutely roasted New York's "defense," scoring 21 of his 37 points in the third alone. Oklahoma City rained hellfire from three, going 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) on its triples across this 24-minute span.
Not bad for a team that entered Sunday 25th in points scored per possession and 29th in three-point accuracy (31.8 percent), eh?
Knicks allow 145 points in regulation in a home loss to OKC. That is the highest opponent point total allowed by a Tom Thibodeau-coached Knick team. OKC hit 55 percent of its 3-point attempts (17-for-31. The Thunder entered play today ranked 29th in 3-point field goal percentage
One loss is not typically all-revealing. Letdowns happen over the length of an 82-game regular season, inexplicably blown leads and all. But this Knicks loss, like many others, featured many of the same issues that have plagued them all year—and in seasons past.
New York's defense has allowed teams to bombs away from deep without much resistance since 2022-23 tipped off. Closeouts range from half-assed to nonexistent for long stretches, and the primary offenders are exactly who you think they are.
Only the Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors allow a larger share of opponent shots to come as uncontested threes. The Knicks rank 27th overall in the frequency with which they surrender long-range attempts and don't counteract this volume with a detectable identity elsewhere.
They limit looks at the rim, but that's often a function of offenses not needing to venture inside the arc for quality shots. They neither force turnovers (26th) nor effectively crash the defensive glass (25th). The latter wart is new, though not any less damning. Julius Randle is the lone Knicks big who places higher than the 38th percentile in defensive rebounding rate.
Oklahoma City did not win the fast-break battle on Sunday (it was a 14-14 stalemate). That's something of a minor miracle. The Knicks rank inside the bottom five of both transition frequency (26th) and points allowed per possession (27th). They are dead last in points allowed per possession after committing a turnover, according to Inpredictable.
Tom Thibodeau says he’s disappointed by the “up and down nature” of the last few games for the Knicks. New York gave up 143 today and lost to the Nets Wednesday by 27.
Sitting a hair below .500 fewer than 15 games into the season shouldn't be the end of the world. But this presumes the Knicks are built to be better—that their biggest obstacles are coaching, injury concerns or work-in-progress chemistry.
Coaching comes closet to being the answer. I already called for the Knicks to fire Tom Thibodeau after their Nov. 2 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. People with clearly, let's say, vested interests in the situation weren't thrilled about it. I stand by it. My issues with him are neither original nor specific to this season.
Stubborn roster mismanagement has been his default even dating back to his Coach of the Year campaign in 2020-21, and it was on full display Sunday.
RJ Barrett picked up his fourth foul at the 9:58 minute mark of the third quarter. Thibs proceeded to sub him out for Evan Fournier.
And Barrett never saw the floor again.
Second-half minutes played in the Knicks loss to OKC Sunday:
When asked about the decision afterward, Thibs' answer predictably lacked substance:
Asked about RJ Barrett playing two minutes in the second half, Tom Thibodeau said, "We just got behind by so much that we were just looking for life. And that group that was in there (after Barrett subbed out) gave us a little bit of a spark. So that's what we went with."
That is—and I don't say this lightly—asinine logic.
Fournier has played most of this season like he deeply wants the Knicks to land Victor Wembanyama. In no world is he the answer over Barrett.
Never mind that Fournier went 0-for-3 during his 14ish second-half minutes. (He was a plus-six during this stretch, for what it's worth.) Barrett is no worse than the second most important person in this entire organization. You don't rope him to the bench for the chance to maybe, possibly, potentially win a November matinee against the Thunder.
As perhaps the preeminent Thibs supporter on this app for the last year, I’ll say that this would raise alarm bells for me if I was in the front office.
(And it’s not bc RJ was good. He wasn’t. But this feels like a coach grasping for straws & might be losing his grip on things) https://t.co/G10RGnvDdJ
Spelling Barrett for a bit amid foul trouble is one thing (and also debatable). And he hasn't turned in the most complete season.
His performances are littered with drives to planned destinations unknown and frustratingly inconsistent defense, and he was 2-of-10 when Thibs took him out on Sunday. But his play over the previous seven games warranted benefit of the doubt:
To Thibs' credit, he did at least dust off Quentin Grimes to chase around SGA.
Oh, wait, no he didn't.
Because Grimes is "situational." Because his conditioning isn't up to snuff. Because he suffered a left foot injury that's largely kept him out of the rotation. And because the Knicks are clearly too good to give him reps outside garbage time. And also because Grimes might still, you know, be injured. In which case, uh, why is he "situational" rather than just out?
I'll be honest. It's my job to know and understand these things, but I just don't totally get this Quentin Grimes situation. He's available. He's played today. He's healthy. Couldn't tell you why they're not trying him on SGA.
Transparency is not the Knicks' preferred mode of operation, so Grimes' status might be above Thibs' pay grade. The lack of invention behind lineups and rotations is not.
Remember when he really, actually played Randle and Obi Toppin together for 10 glorious minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers on Nov. 4? And how the Knicks were a plus-14 during that span? And how they came from behind to beat the Sixers? The duo has logged 32 total minutes since—and didn't play together against the Thunder.
Spare me the plus-minus (minus-28). It is skewed heavily by the Nov. 5 loss to the Boston Celtics. The sample overall is too small to be deemed conclusive. It's on Thibs to make it conclusive.
Mitchell Robinson is out with a right knee injury. Thoroughly explore the pairing for crying out loud, especially if it ensures Toppin never winds up logging fewer than eight minutes in a game...like he did against the Thunder. (Yes, his court time is up during Robinson's absence. No, that doesn't make this excusable.)
By the way: Thibs should be criticized for not experimenting elsewhere.
Continuing to deem Toppin-Randle a break-in-case-of-emergency pairing receives most of the attention, but nearly 90 percent of Barrett's possessions have still come alongside Randle. And heaven forbid Thibs play more than two of his perimeter youngsters at a time:
If you're like me, you probably saw Cam and Quickley defending their asses off amidst the chaos and thought, "what would the two of them look like next to RJ? How could they help him?"
The trio of IQ-Reddish-RJ has played 4 minutes together this entire season. Think about that.
This stuff matters, because self-discovery matters. The Knicks are not title contenders. Right now, they aren't even a play-in team. Developing kids and plumbing unproven lineups should be at the top of their to-do list.
And yet, while Thibs deserves plenty of blame, the front office of team president Leon Rose and his primary decision-makers have not done nearly enough to justify keeping their jobs.
Maybe they have a problem with the way Thibs coaches the roster. They're also the ones who assembled it—who rushed to extend Randle after an outlier 2020-21 campaign, who gave Fournier three guaranteed years, and who, worst of all, continue to give Thibs a depth chart that allows him to overindulge his commitment to veterans and rigidity disguised as continuity.
Armchair idiots like myself can call for Thibs' job. And if we're being honest, we know this ends with him losing it:
"If you have another few of those games on this trip where the Knicks just look terrible, I think there's going to be a big change made, whether it's Thibodeau or something else" https://t.co/9VKFOyvi2Y
Still, Thibs isn't the only problem. He probably isn't even the biggest problem. Another coach could take over and prioritize development or functional flexibility, and that won't rescue the Knicks from the carefully crafted vague position they're in now.
Jalen Brunson is their best player. He's really good. But you can only go so far as a team when your best player is maybe a top-50 guy.
That's why New York is biding its time to trade for a superstar, silly goose! As Shams Charania noted during an appearance on FanDuel TV, "executives around the league" believe that "the Knicks are kind of hoarding" their first-round picks and "just waiting for that next megastar to become available" (h/t Posting and Toasting).
This theory, though a titillating headline, is just making fine powder out of a record already broken down into smithereens. Acquiring a star has supposedly been this front office's plan all along. They then proceeded to...not acquire Donovan Mitchell, a star who wanted to play in New York.
Whether mortgaging the farm for him was the right call is a separate matter. The Knicks were "literally one first-round pick away” or "a Quentin Grimes away" from making it happen, according to Charania. In reality, New York is probably better off. The Cleveland Cavaliers were one trade away from imminent, if not instant, title contention. The Knicks were not, and draining their asset pool could have locked them into a glitzier-looking bubble of mediocrity they're drifting within now.
But what does it say that New York was prepared to give up so much just to chase early playoff exits? That Mitchell was the first of multiple stars? Good luck with that. The superstar trade market isn't conducive to acquiring more than one.
Landing Mitchell and Rudy Gobert drained draft-pick caches in Cleveland and Minnesota, respectively. Ideally, you should have at least one star or future star in place before going all-in for another.
The Knicks don't have that player. Barrett is the closest they get to a blue-chip cornerstone, and he's apparently not a lock to play over Evan Fournier when Thibs is searching for life.
It is here where New York differs from so many other not-good teams. Oklahoma City has its timeline (SGA, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren). The Houston Rockets have their timeline (Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengün). The Magic have theirs (Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, maybe Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr.). The Detroit Pistons have theirs, too (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren).
So on and so forth. It doesn't matter whether you believe in the long-term viability of these young cores. They exist, and their teams are built around optimizing and prioritizing their development. The Knicks front office hasn't done that for their young guys. And worse, they haven't put the team in a position to find that pole-star prospect.
Skirting an actual rebuild, while questionable, is not without merit when you're in the star-acquisition game. The Knicks don't appear married to that, either.
Mitchell alone wouldn't have vaulted them into contention, but there are maaaybe five players in the league who would—and none of them are on the verge of getting dealt. Meanwhile, the Knicks themselves seem to know they won't stumble into star arrivals during free agency. Red-carpet names aren't leaving via the open market anymore, and we sure as hell know New York's front office hasn't amassed all those first-rounders to draft and develop.
Much of this could be forgiven if the Knicks were at least invested in fully, coherently exploring the hand they have now. They're not. We wouldn't be here, discussing yet another meltdown that wanted for rhyme and reason if they were.
CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 24: Head Coach Tom Thibodeau, President Leon Rose, and General Manager Scott Perry of the New York Knicks look on during the 2021 NBA Draft Combine on June 24, 2021 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
Is New York rebuilding? Open to it? Are the Knicks devoted to the superstar chase? Worried about re-entering the top six of the East first and figuring out the rest later? Do they aspire to have a Charlotte-esque monopoly on the nine through 11 seeds?
These are basic questions, and the inability for New York to answer them is equal parts maddening and longstanding. It's also not surprising.
Fundamental directions are mirrored in how a franchise is built and managed.
Built by Leon Rose, managed Tom Thibodeau, these Knicks are the spitting image of an organization that hasn't the faintest idea of what it's doing or where it's going.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
The start of the 2022-23 NBA season has been rather uneventful for the New York Knicks. Whether that's a positive or negative depends on your perspective and...
NBA Twitter Roasts Knicks for 'Flat' Play in Blowout Loss to Nets
Nov 10, 2022
Brooklyn Nets' Edmond Sumner (4) defends New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The New York Knicks entered Wednesday's road game against the Brooklyn Nets as the NBA's most average team, as KnicksMuse and John Hollinger of the Athletic noted:
The Knicks this year
Record: 5-5 (.500) Against above .500 teams: 0-5 Against below .500 teams: 5-0 Points Scored: 1150 Points Allowed: 1150 AST per game: 15th BLK per game: 15th +/- of 0 pic.twitter.com/5KRtvdCueG
Are the Knicks a simulation? They are now 5-5 with a +0.0 point differential. They are 16th in offense, 16th in defense, and 15th in SRS. They have played five home games and five road games. They are 1-1 in overtime.
The Knicks would have settled for "average" Wednesday but instead looked like the unquestioned worst team in basketball in the first half, which saw the Nets jump out to a 69-44 lead en route to a 112-85 win for the visitors.
Julius Randle excelled with 19 first-half points en route to 24 overall, but the rest of the team combined for just 25 points before halftime. Jalen Brunson only had four points and one assist, and RJ Barrett scored just five through the first 24 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Nets led wire-to-wire and took a 24-8 lead to start the game. Kevin Durant finished the half with 15 points and nine assists, while Edmond Sumner (15 points) and SethCurry (14 points) combined with KD to score as many points as the entire Knicks team over the first half.
It only got worse for the Knicks in the fourth quarter, when they scored just two points in the first 7:23 and five in the first nine minutes before a trio of garbage-time threes for 14 points in the final frame.
New York ended the game shooting 32.2 percent from the field and 12-of-43 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Durant ended up with a 29-point, 12-assist, 12-rebound triple-double, while Sumner (18 points in 19 minutes) and Curry (23 minutes in 23 minutes) did incredible damage despite neither Net even playing half the game.
This was an unmitigated disaster for a Knicks team against a Nets squad in turmoil, given the ongoing Kyrie Irving saga and suspension as well as the parting of ways with head coach Steve Nash.
But in his first game without the "interim" tag, new head coach Jacque Vaughn has his team playing great basketball (3-1 since taking over). The same can't be said for head coach Tom Thibodeau and his Knicks, who dropped to 5-6.
Here's how some of Twitter reached to the Knicks' performance.
Nets lead Knicks, 69-44, at the half. Was reminded that no one played last night because of elections, so you can’t say the Knicks are tired in the second game of a back-to-back. Nets just playing harder and batter at both ends of the floor. Quality basketball in Brooklyn. #NBA
The Knicks should be favored in upcoming home games against the young and rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder and the Detroit Pistons, but they will have to play much better shortly if they are to survive an impending five-game Western Conference road trip, which starts Nov. 15 against the Western Conference-leading Utah Jazz.
NBA Rumors: Execs Believe Knicks Are 'Hoarding' Draft Picks for 'Megastar' Trade
Nov 9, 2022
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 06: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) New York Knicks president Leon Rose (C) watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Madison Square Garden on March 06, 2020 in New York City. The Thunder defeated the Knicks 126-103. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The New York Knicks have a stockpile of eight first-round draft picks, and the team is reportedly being patient with how those picks will be used to bolster the roster.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Wednesday that executives around the NBA believe the Knicks are "kind of hoarding those first-round picks just waiting for that next megastar to become available" in a potential trade.
The Knicks made three trades during the 2022 draft to secure three future first-round picks and create $18 million in cap space. New York chose not to use its draft capital to pull the trigger on a trade for three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who wound up being sent from the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for three players, three first-round picks and two pick swaps.
"For whatever reason, they did not believe that Donovan Mitchell was a guy they wanted to go fully, fully all-in on. ... You choose that you'd rather keep all the picks and all the flexibility," Charania said. "And you have to give [team president] Leon Rose credit for this: They've built up those assets necessary to when whoever that megastar is [available], they'll be right there for him."
Exercising patience isn't something the Knicks have been known for historically, as there have been instances in which the franchise sacrificed future assets in exchange for minimal immediate gain. While the regime under Rose and general manager Scott Perry should be commended for not falling into that trend, the New York fanbase has been starved for a superstar player since Carmelo Anthony was traded in 2017.
Through the early part of the 2022-23 season, the Knicks are a middling team with a 5-5 record. Julius Randle leads the team with 20.1 points and 8.9 rebounds, while prized free-agent signing Jalen Brunson is averaging 19.7 points and a team-high 7.3 assists.
The Knicks will look to get above .500 when they visit the Brooklyn Nets (4-7) on Wednesday night.
