June 29, 2025 • 42 mins
On the latest EP, I'm joined by Knick of Time contributor and hoop connoisseur Lee Escobedo.
We discuss the NBA Draft
Knicks drafting Diawara
Dink Pate intel
Knicks HC search plus much more!
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We discuss the NBA Draft
Knicks drafting Diawara
Dink Pate intel
Knicks HC search plus much more!
https://linktr.ee/OffTheBallPod
20$ off 1st purchase at SeatGeek promo code OTBALL
Dubby Energy 10% off
https://www.dubby.gg/discount/OTBN10?ref=NmHFlYV5ilrJRv
Ice shaker
https://www.iceshaker.com?sca_ref=654252.o3E59kHuh4
🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4840654600404992
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/off-the-ball-podcast--5631421/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Start spreading the new, the new, new new. We interrupt
our program to bring you this important lesson New York.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I love you, I love you, mem oh.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I'm trying to get out the fires away.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
The way at the cover dollar the curry back, take
a dollar. Let the laft home fuck by James Lebron.
James with the rejection, just puts it the three long go,
please are fast back out to air his.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Retire what's going on? People? Welcome to another episode of
the Off the Ball podcast with me your host Chris
lot Broun, and we got a good one today for
you guys. We're gonna discuss the NBA Draft, the Knicks
draft picks, and the knickt head coaching search, which is
still we still don't have a coach. As you see,
(01:23):
I got my guy Lee from the Nick of Times show.
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
My guy sal salute, what's going on, baby, Let's talk Nicks.
Let's talk to you draft picks.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yes, sir, yes, sir. Man happy to have you on.
You know, we've been chopping off for a little bit,
so glad to have you on the show. Just tell
me a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And what you do.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Manu is it's the first time on the pod.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It is the first time. Thank you very much, man.
It's always an honor to chop it up with other
creators and writers and thinkers about ball. I love this sport.
It's the only sport that I watch. My background is
actually playwriting, poetry, and fiction writing. So I've been journalists
for f fifteen years. Recently got into sports about the
last seven covering the Knicks, start with the Knicks on
posts and toasting blog, covering games recaps, writing about draft
(02:10):
prospects because I've been really heavy in the Dallas folt
Worth high school basketball scene for about over twenty years.
I've been going to the state tournament and following AAU
teams for a long time, so I've seen just about
every great Dallas prospect from Chris Bosh, CJ Miles, Tyrese Maxi,
all those guys. I've seen all of them come through
(02:32):
the high school field, win state championships, play AAU ball.
So I've always loved sports, but my main interest is
contemporary art and poetry and theater. So that's side where
all my passions are and what I write a lot about.
And then basketball is kind of more of a hobby.
But it's but it's getting really hot. Lately. I've been
having some opportunities now with Bleacher Report and writing essays
(02:53):
on the NBA for The Guardian, So my world is
opening up the NICT the Time Show. I've been with
them for about three years now, I think this is
my fourth season with them, so excited about growing there
as well and helping the channel. Yeah. Man, it's just
been a great experience. And now we finally have another
Dallas prospect on the Knicks, which I'm really happy to
talk about.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
First of all, though those are really uh dope accomplishments.
You know, do stuff for Bleacher Report, Nikka Time is
a very well known Knicks you know, uh you know platform,
So to be able to do stuff like that is
really dope. And like I said, I've I've liked your
work a lot, and like I said, we've been chopping
it up on Twitter for a little bit. So, like
I said, finally dope to get you on here and
(03:33):
talk about that. And like I said, you're familiarized with
you know, the Dallas area, and there's a you know,
I get We'll get right into it with the draft
and you know, obviously the Knicks selected Mohammed di Awar
with that freaty first pick. But the guy they took,
you know, an undrafted, an undrafted free agent, think pay
I would have been cool at fifty one, like he
(03:54):
was someone I had top sixty on my board and
Mahmmed di Aara, you know, I said, didn't know too
much about it. I know he was a kind of
more of an upside type of guy. But I would
have been cool with Dink. I don't think he gets
kind of a bad rap because of the numbers, Like
you just look at his splits and you're just people
automatically get turned up. And I've seen that a lot,
(04:16):
you know, with you know, people looking at him saying,
oh man, this guys efficient, blah blah blah. And I
understand that, but I obviously there's always more context to that.
But I think if if, if you can coach up Dink,
and I think, you know, obviously with how he was
with the Ignite and then that this fund, you know
that you know the spandit is no longer a thing
(04:37):
to deleague Ignite.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
He did improve his second year of Mexico City, So there.
I think there's some things to like, but you know,
a lot about Dink. That's whereally I wanted to get
you on because you you know a lot about Dank
Pay and you know, so tell me what people should
know more about Dink.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Well, we had a European stout named Ersen the Mirror
a minute of Time show last week and we were
talking with him and he was telling he was going
through all the different options of huber Nicha chose and
him and I got into a little bit of a
debate about whether the NI should go safe or go
for home run swings. He thought the Knit should go
safe because they had some guys that had a lot
(05:17):
of talent in that starting five and they needed some
positional help in the backcourt and maybe even another bid.
I thought it should be all home run picks. I
thought that we should trade to trade batch. I did
two second round picks and go for a home run
smash with both, and wouldn't you know it, we did
one of them. We didn't have to trade for we
were able to sign undrafted. I was very surprised that
(05:37):
no team to the flyer on game, and I think
it's because of what you said, which is a shooting
splits and if you look at the shooting splits. There's
more to infer. If you watched any game tape of him,
specifically in Metster City, which is the most recent tape,
you will understand why those shooting numbers were so bad. First,
let's talk about the context. He's an American player from
West Dallas, played for Pinston High School, which is where
(06:01):
the AAU team that he played for. I'm now helping
them out, so I'm at every practice we played. Last
night we went all three of our games. We'd beat
Tyres Maxie's team, his AAU team, So that was at
a knit swin for me, where knit players teams beating
the affiliate player. But the area that he's from is
very inner city. It's fairly diverse, but it's America and
(06:22):
it's first world. He's going to Mextro City, another area
that I'm very familiar with. My girlfriend had a lot
of family there, so we spent a lot of time
going to art fairs and art galleries there. It can
be fairly dangerous, especially when it's not a tourist time
of year and it's just the nationals. There is lots
of corruption, lots of crime, lots of cartel activity. So
(06:43):
from what I've gathered talking to is former AAU coaches
and families that there was a little bit of a
difficulty in the cultural adjustment. And it's hard to think
about efficiency and think about shots when shit's blown up
outside and the threat of real violence is around twenty
four to seven. That existential is very real and didn't
have a serious impact on him. I think that that
(07:03):
team would have been in America, there would have been
maybe a gradual uptick in some of the shooting splits
and percentages because you're not worried about your life or
that situations outside. Now, he's never said any of this
right his interview with Slam, the mission is basketball. I'm
taking them a basketball. He's very complementary about the culture
in the city, and I am too. It's a beautiful city,
but there's a It's not the United States, it is
(07:24):
that Sco city and there's a lot of danger there.
And I think that culture shop might have had something
to do with some of the inefficiencies that we saw.
But there is a lot of good and bad with
his game. Now. I've been had to luxury. Not many
people have. I didn't talk to all the coaches that
coached him with DFW Urban Elite. I can talk to
his family, which I have. I've been testing with him
(07:44):
the last couple of days, and there are some really
huge upsides with dat. He is an elite athlete for sure,
and I think a lot of what we saw that
were that was demanded more in the G lead. I
think what some of that developed in the G lead
in the United States with the Knicks Westchester team, which
(08:06):
I think he's going to spend the majority of his time.
With his athleticism, size, and instincts, I think right off
the bat are going to provide a very unique downhill
transition game player. Where he needs to really improve from
the tape that I watched in Medster City is his
decision making. His reads I think are a little bit
below average for someone who is a point guard, but
(08:27):
then you have been done out for his age. Kid
has only nineteen, been playing professional since seventeen, and he
wasn't someone who got in the NBA with Luca or
his European guys at nine or ten. He got it
and around the middle school high school years, and I
think it took him a while to really adjust. Positionally.
The coach put a ball in his hands, told him, Hey,
(08:48):
you can see over everybody else because if you're high
played point guard. But in reality, his still set isn't
really a point guard to me, it's more of an
off ball wing. His touch and shooting numbers shooting thirty
seven percent in the G League, I think that's indicative
and and set with uh before a defense, it's set.
That's what you're going to see with him with the
Westchester Nicks, which I think he's gonna get a lot
of reps from and benefit from. Playing off the ball.
(09:10):
I think on the ball is where he struggles, making
those reads, being able to finish in the half court sets,
being able to have pull up opportunities, whether it's beyond
the art or in the mid range. That's where the
work needs to be put in. But the athleticism, the switch,
the promise of switchability where some of the tape I watched,
he wasn't really efficient with the switches, so that a
lot of his teammates had to say, Yo, move up,
(09:31):
you know wherever it is, move up to the line
or crash out to the corner. There were some mistakes there,
missed in rotation that I think he needs. That's just
it and playing more reps with high level players, those
things that don't go up as well. But the man,
the potential with this kid is sky high. I don't
think he's a real point guard, and I don't think
that the guys we've seen in the past, the archetypes
(09:52):
of Lonso Ball, those guys come in with that size
and they have the very high I that's necessarily paid.
I think he paid can play some point and guard
some guards as well in a Lonzo Ball type situations,
but that he's more suited for an off ball role
in the wing.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
What about some of the defensive stuff, because he has
the defensive upside to potentially be a solid defender, and
in order for you know, you know, young guys, they
got to in order to crack a rotation, you're gonna
have to play some type of defense, you know, because
he might he's not gonna be able to get those opportunities,
you know, a lot of opportunities to get the ball
in his hand, you know, especially on this team potentially.
You know, So what do you think about the defensive
(10:28):
potential upside because there is some there, but he had
a lot of defensive inconsistencies.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You know, in the G League, he did. It's going
to be something that he has to work on. Again.
You can't teach size. He has that, so he hasn't
learned how to utilize his size and be smarter with
his reads. And I think that he will have some
sincets guarding smaller guards just because of a six nine
since ten wingspan, he'll be able to contain some of
the point of attack that he'll be on the defensive
(10:53):
side of the ball, but he needs that's not going
to be his role in the NBA. I think he
needs to learn better at close it out on shooters
and better rotation off of ball streens. That's where I
think he needs to pick up the effort because he
has a foot speed, he has a wing span, he
has athleticism through right now, it's about adaptability. It's about
being more comfortable beyond the court and knowing your role.
Right now, his role has been kind of in fluds.
(11:13):
He wasn't really on ball a lot with that Mexico
City team. Trey Burke was on ball with that team.
He really ran the point, and Dank was more of
a catchshoot option on the perimeter, which he was pretty
good at. And I think those skills would translate into
the Westchester Knicks. But right now, I think defensively, he's
got to learn how to use his body because dude,
you sid say, yes, six nine, six ten wing span,
you're one of the tallest guards in the NBA immediately,
(11:36):
but you have to learn how to guard in space,
to play with gaps, and to be smart in rotation,
and that I think is a still set that he
has to grow up in learn of it, because besides,
he did guard one, twos and threes. Hypothetically, right we
haven't seen that efficiently efficiently yet, So.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Obviously we saw a lot of he was crazy unefficient
in that first year in the G League And I'm
in with did you league at nine obviously made a bit?
The leap you know is the second season Medical City.
What was the biggest thing you think?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (12:05):
For that for that leap and uh, obviously you mentioned
before just you know there was go to Mexico City
was crazy, but like, what do you for you what
did you see that?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:14):
What made you feel good about that? You know, him
making that leap from year one.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Of G League the year two, I think from what
I've heard a lot of it was just maturity growing
into his body, becoming more comfortable with his body and
his size and his role maturation. When we first joined
the G League to night he was seventeen years old,
I really thinking about that, baby. I was an elite
dipshit right. I was in no way playing for any
(12:38):
type of organized ball or he organized anything I was
running to actually didn't get my ass be on the daily.
So I think it's just about being a professional and
playing within a system and within the team. Because a
lot of AAU ball, some of the time you did
opportunities to go very iso and do your own thing.
It's not a lot of disciplined. It's not just fundamentals.
You're supposed to learn those things in a high school
(12:59):
program you're at. You come to AAU to show them off,
not necessarily to learn fundamentals. And I don't know if
Deep Paid has ever had a system where he's really
been entrenched in fundamentals and to learn really how to
use your body in spots, how to be a really
tight ball handler, how to really know where your teammates
are going to be on the break. And I think
(13:20):
when you get inside the free throw line, his instincts
are a little bit higher. I think that's where his
past has become more efficient and more crisper is in transition.
It's in those half court sets, which I think is
going to be to our advantage because this is not
a player I think Leon Rose would have selected if
Timms was the head coach, because there would have been
no way, never gotten reps, and I think it would
have been less likely that the system that would have
(13:42):
been ran for the Westchester Knicks wouldn't been conducive to
his skill set either. Right now, I'm hoping this next
coach that we have institutes more transition, more getting out
in the break, because it's been hot pace under TIBs.
Every single bottom that changes deep paid as an opportunity,
I think to crack the rotation next year in some
(14:02):
spot minutes. I mean there's no chance this year. Right now,
he's just fighting for a spot of a team, but
there is not playing with these awesome guys we got
in the summer league to really learn from them, especially
Tyler Kolloch is the one on specifically look at that
that will help him as an off ball player become
more comfortable and catch a shoot, which was the biggest
jump from year one year or two in the G
League with him hitting almost thirty eight percent from catching
(14:23):
shoot opportunities on the perimeter.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
And that's the thing with with with a lot of
these guys we had from last year and Dink and Diuara, Like,
now that we're going to have a more modernized coach,
who's going to you know, play a more up upscale
type of you know, op offense, Like we can actually
envision like I remember doing last year's draft and just
(14:46):
looking at guys who were tips guys, just trying to see,
all right, which players are just tips guys because we
know like he's he has a type. And now it's like,
oh this actually we can actually just draft good players
and just you know, because we know whoever the coach is,
whoever that and we'll discuss that a little bit. Whoever
the coach is, they're going to have a more modern
day approach to offense. And now we could just you know,
(15:09):
try to draft guys who are more transition type guys,
you know, so it gives you more of a advanced
thought process of what these guys could do instead of
just having all right, we just need a certain player,
because this is what Tibbs wants, you know, and Dink
is like you said, Dink would not have been that
d o R maybe because there's some defensive you know,
instincts that you know Tibbs would like, you know, obviously massive,
(15:33):
he has a seven foot great full wingspan stuff. So there,
But I think the last thing with Dink, But I
know it's crazy that people are going to be, like,
why they focus so much on a guy who is
un drafted. But you know there's a like I said,
there's a there's a lot upside and if if he hits,
I said, lee, Like, he's a top he's a lot
(15:55):
of talent. Talent alone, he's a lottery talent. And everyone
said this, been saying this for years, like he's a
lottery talent. It's just you know, maybe some bad decisions
we're going G League and stuff. But if you figure
him out, you could get something here. That's why I
think people are kind of excited about him, because the
potential is like, we could get a really solid player
(16:19):
and now even have you the draft pick on him.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah, I mean we've addressed some of the minuses. You know,
when defenses are set, he does have trouble storing. There's
not a whole lot of volume or movement shooting in
his game either, but there are some huge positives. The clips,
some of the clips I've seen of him attacking closeouts
is very, very promising. He's got a really nice floater,
(16:42):
so I think some of that intermediate game he can
find spots to store in. And there was an uptick
from the percentages finishing around the rim and his first
season with g Lead to Night it was somewhere around
thirty two percent. He increased to forty five percent with
Metster City. Now that goes down when he's start considering
the half court once defenses get set. I think it
dropped almost ten points, like thirty five percent finishing around
(17:04):
the rim on layups when defenses were set. But in
the open court, he is unstoppable.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
He's an elite athlete, and I mean elite with the
old guns, tomahawk, dunce, dunking it in, with contact, absorbing contact,
finishing through contact. He's an elite front court player.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
He might actually be the most athletic player on the
ITS roster right now, him or Mitchell Robinson.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
And we need more athleticism.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Bro I don't know what the it's so it's so
funny the Knicks entire time. I've been a fan since
the year two thousand and one. We've been the most
least athletic team, right, so many Frank Williams and Shannon
Anderson's and guys Tracey Madrady when he was absolutely put
these guys ability. And I like the fact that Leon
Rose targeted two guys with high athletic upside, and if
(17:54):
he can become an on ball threat, could be really
dangerous at the point of attack. Again, it's about decision making.
It's about becoming comfortable with his body. It's about being
knowing how to store in half court sets when the
defense is set and attuned to you, and scouting for you.
Those are the things he needs to aware on as
become more aware, as well as his reads helping his
(18:16):
teammates find easy storing opportunities. I think he has a capacity.
It's a smart kid, talented table in a ton of upside.
I think he's going to hit some of those and
eventually become a rotational piece for us next year. In
spot minutes, I like it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
I like that's what saying I'm excited about this, Like
it's weird to say you're excited about an undrafted free agent.
But I am, and I know you are, and that's
why I wanted to get you only have to talk
about But let's talk about their actual draft pick in
Muhammad Diara. And you said you don't know much about him.
I didn't know too much about him. He wasn't on
my even my top seventy board. But you know, like
(18:50):
you mentioned, he's athletic, and he has a six foot eight,
two hundred plus pounds, has a seven foot four wing span.
I think he had a nine to too stand in
you know, reach like he has tremendous physical gifts. Offensively,
there's not much there. I think he shot forty one
percent last year in France, twenty eight from three. Not
(19:12):
a good free throw shooter, but the defensive tools are
very intriguing. Athleticism and what he can do in transition,
same thing would think, like those guys, you know, we
need more athletic athleticism, and with these two guys, they
provide that. So what what can you say about Mohammad Yuara?
You know you didn't, you didn't, you didn't do much
on him, You didn't know much about him, But what
what what can you say about him.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
That you like you have to assume with Tom thibodea'don
that the strategy is going to change dramatically. I think
that incur first that you're going to see maybe some zone,
but definitely more switching, more switching one through five. And
if that's going to be the hypothetical philosophy moving forward,
you have to have the personnel who can do that.
And right now you got Michael Bridges, you got og
(19:56):
and Anobi, you got Josh Hart sometimes not consistently, and
you have Deuce and Bride. Mitchard Robinson in stretchers can
also be a great switchable defender on the perimeter too,
we've seen in the playoffs. But outside of that, very
very limited. Most of our guys are undersized. Most of
our guys have trouble navigating ball strings. So what do
you need. You need athletes with size who can defend.
(20:20):
This draft to me, is all about promise and potential.
When Tom Thibodo was here, it was about roles and responsibilities.
That outlet now should be gone. We don't have a
head coach, so we don't know what the philosophy is,
but I think the side philosophy should be maintained right
now until it coaches is signed. So get guys who
didn't play in any system who five Theoretically that destribes
(20:42):
both our French friend and deep paid. Both of these
guys are bringing six eight side really outside og Anobi,
who is really the only pro typical big wing that
we have on the roster. Now we've got two more,
but we have draft. We went out and scouted that deuce, undersized, Grimes, undersized,
Trevor Keeo is a bust. We haven't really had that
wing Uh also undersized, and Obi top and not undersized,
(21:10):
but lacked a lot defensively. You didn't never have the
strength as well to keep his man in front of
him until he developed in Indiana. But I like the
archetypal positional position we went after in this draft. Lots
and lots of and you know what at their busts.
These are chief contracts that we didn't have to trade
draft or or make huge investments for. We can keep
these guys in the G League for the entire year
(21:32):
into our system matures and these guys and more reps finance.
The best competition either of these kids have ever played
against in their entire life is going to be in
the G League with the Westchester knit. So I like
the idea conceptually, the of the promise that both of
them bring in terms of the size, the wing span
and the defensive potential. It could be scary hours in
a season or two.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yeah, Ye, Sagana jobs doing doing a good job there
at Wetchester. He's doing the good dog developing guys and
adding two more guys like that will really really uh
uh do them good service. Like I said, that's gonna
be the best development. And these obviously development guys. So
but like I said, regardless of who the coaches like,
these are guys that, like I said, we struggled a
(22:13):
lot with especially getting through screens, right you you saw
how many times we couldn't get through screens, and guys
are just wide open, you know, at the three point line,
just jacking up threes, you know. So these guys are
are big and strong that they can get through that.
And like I said, their project picks, that's fine. But
they're gonna fit who are regardless of the coaches, they're
gonna they're gonna fit, you know. So that's what I
(22:35):
like about this is like and the mindset changes with
like I said, we used to think TIBs guys who
are TIBs guys who are TIBs guys and now just no,
you just we don't have a coach. That's fine, but
we're just gonna draft players that we think are gonna
fit regardless of who the next coach is.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
You know, you know, if you think about the finals
and you look at the type of players that these
ten man rotations, everyone's a two way threat. We think
about those type of guys, the guys that really the
margins for both those teams, the Ben Shepherds or v
Cason Wallace is another Dallas prospect from richards And High school,
or the Aaron Wiggins. These guys would not pull up
above the break three point shooters, right. These guys don't
(23:11):
come in with as part of their player profile. They
had to learn to be catch and shoot threats, to
hit threes before we close out in the corners, and
all three of those guys became those threats. That's a
type of old I think both Pate and our French
friend are going to be pushed forward. Is attacker closeouts
and hit your corner threes. That's it.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Bro A.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
This is back in bench depth that we are now
adding to our team that can now play in spots
we need them, God forbid injuries happen or as development evolves.
Now we have guys to plug and play as our
system goes on year over year.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yep, I'm with you, won't you. So let's talk about
the next topic, you know, and who coaches the Knicks.
So there's obviously been abundance of names. They Nicks have
tried to probably coaches away from teams and got rejected.
And obviously there's still the j Kid thing that is
still looming around. Whether that's a thing you know that
(24:09):
we'll still figure that out. It seems I kind of
feel like they want Kid. It's just it's gonna be
really difficult to get him out there. But there's obviously
other head coaching, uh, you know guys that are in there,
you know, have coached before, like Taylor Jenkins who was
at Memphis. You know, Mike Brown, who's been around the
block a few times, you know, helped bring back the
Kings back to relevancy. You know, there's James Barrego who
(24:32):
coached you know, the Hornets for a few years. You know,
Mica Nauri that they have been half interested to, you know,
the Johnny Bryant. You know, they haven't interviewed yet for
as far as I know, but that's still a name
there too. So the nick the next k next coach?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
What do you what?
Speaker 1 (24:49):
What what philosophy? What principles do you want in the
next head coach? Like what do you need to hear
to feel good about whoever that next coach is?
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Well? I think to the front office is determined to
have a more collaborative coach, someone who listens to feedback,
someone who develops a game plan for young players to
eventually have roles with the team moving forward, not just
kind of more ambiguous like they're in the g lead,
but whenever they're gonna be called up Tims. It was
so strange, remember when Tim's like call up guys and
then send them write that down, and all they would
(25:20):
do was s on the bench. I never really understood that,
Like what was that even for? To me, you're messing
with the young players' mentality and their confidence when things
like that happen. So to me, a ten man rotation
is imperative someone who utilizes cat and bruntson together because
the assists from bruntson to cat with the lowest of
Cat's career with the Star Guard in comparison to Anthony
(25:42):
Edwards in the two man game in Minnesota, I want
to see more bid to big spacing, Robinson's being utilized
as a lot of threat by Cat. I want to
see Cat as a hybrid four or five. The ability
to play with certain players in different lineups, not stuck
the same four guys for sixty percent of the mindencity
plays in the game, but a diverse lineup that he's
playing alongside that enhances strengths based on matchups. Those type
(26:03):
of things are very important. Someone who's willing to let
the game really dictate what kind of defensive sets he's running,
what kind of offense he's running, when to know when
it get into a transition and try to force steals
and blitz a pick and roll and win, and know
when to go into his zone to try to let
their poor shooters provide long rebalance for us to get
in transition. Those type of just mindsets, you know, really
knowing the personnel and having a plan for the personnel
(26:25):
to be maximized. We never heard that from TIBs. Right.
Tips is all about what you do with the game
gives you listen to a game read and react offense.
I want to hear a real game plan and then
see it in action once the season starts, of guys
playing role as they have him before. Maybe it's Tarlaton
Towns not becoming a joker but becoming a Demanta Sabonis
and really becoming a dho option there getting guys on
(26:49):
our bench by Duson Bride or Landry Shammitt more three
point opportunit coptunities off the catch on the perimeter from
dribble handoffs. But that's something that Mike Brown I thought
was really exceptional. Let learn that from Steve Kerr and
Draymond Green and Golden State and then maximize it with
fox As and Bonus and the Kings and really became
that was the cornerstone at their offense was dribble handoff
action and it worked to perfection until it didn't when
(27:11):
de Aaron Fodx, I think that's when Mike Brown but
something like that, like these are gonna be the cornerstones
of our offense because it fits the personnel's strengths, not
their weaknesses, you know, not trying to make mckel bridges
into a three point thread or og Anenobi into an
on ball thread or trying to make Carl Anthonine talents
into a low post option and then take away he's three.
I want to see break from Jalen Brunton always since
(27:33):
that the fans have been looking for. I want to
see someone who sees the same things we do and said,
you know what, I'm gonna pick them, choose which ones
can be maximized, which ones are realistic, and then implement
that into a game plan so they become our strengths
in playoff matches.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
So who are some options do you feel like you
know best fit that mold?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Well, when you're talk about people who've been fired, there's
the strengths and weaknesses are going to be pretty apparent.
I interviewed Bernary mcbernie Bickerstaff for Nika Times substat and
got a chance to talk about him. He was Mike
Brown's first coach in Denver and Washington when Mike Brown
was even younger than me. He was in his twenties
as a video intern coordinator and an assistant coach. Once
he got to Washington and learned a lot about his background,
(28:14):
learned about his ability to adapt, which I think if
you see the type of offense he ran in Cleveland
Lebron James. It was a lot of one four flat.
It was a lot of spread offense. ISO, there's a
lot of pick and roll. Then you got to Sacramento
completely different offset, a lot of off ball movement, a
lot of downstreams, the dribble handoff that I mentioned earlier,
(28:34):
it was very different. He adapt based to his personnel.
That interests me. Mike Brown, I've always been underwhelmed by
the results, most notably the playoff results when he didn't
have Lebron, really disappointing when we went back to Cleveland,
when he was in LA, when he was in Sacramento
first round exit. He's a boring pick to me, but
I do think right assistant coach around him, he could
(28:56):
maximize Carl Anthony Towns and Joe Brunton. I'm lean on
him first because everything I've heard behind the scenes and
at Sternoly is that he's a favorite, the odds on
favorite because of a relationship that he has with world
Wide West. And I've also off the record talked to
people around both Mica and Nory and Taylor Jenkins. Taylor
Jenkins is born same to the iwas in Arlington, has
a lot of contacts here in Saint Mark's where he
(29:18):
played basketball. I've talked to some of the coaching staff
there off the record, but I think all of these
guys are high character, high IQ individuals, and I don't
think you can just judge them on their record so
far in the NBA, with the exception of Mike Brown
because he's been in multiple stops the other guys. The
only time that Michael Norrey has ever coached NBA games
is in Minnesota when Chris Frisch was only team time
(29:42):
Taylor Jenkins has been a head coach was in Memphis,
So there's a very small sample size, and both those
guys and most of the same roster for the most
part in both their tenures, with the exception of Cat leaving.
So I think there's a lot of unknown elements to
his coaching search. To me, and I'm looking at someone
who's younger, someone who has more of a less of
a generational gap in communication and empathy. Someone can really
(30:04):
reach these guys and motivate them and not lose the
locker room or be too fundamental in their approach to
instituting an offense, be a little bit more flexible. That's
what I'm really looking for. And to me, my number
one option right now is Mike and Norri. I like
the gamble On assistant. He seems to be absolutely brilliant.
That was kind of wherever came out when I was
talking to people that knew him. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, offensive mind,
(30:28):
someone who really knows how to get into the mind
of a player and get them to be bought in,
which is appealing to me. And if I had a
Cerdain choice, I would say Taylor Jenkins.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, and you know with with Nori, like if we
are going to get an assistant, like as long as
we get assistance, or if we interview assistants that have
been and get good ecosystems, right, but been around good
you know, head coaches and you know and understand what
it takes, you know. So because there's been a lot
of people who are kind of down on getting an
(30:59):
assistant coach because we are essentially we're we're close, right,
We're And then with all the injuries we've seen, Halliburton's
you know, probably gonna miss the whole season, right, Tatum's gone,
So like the East is essentially wide open. Like, so
I was like, you know, do we get a coach,
a head coach that has been around, or you know,
do we get assistant coach? And some people are afraid
(31:19):
the assistant coach route, But if you get an assistant
coach who's been around good good coaching, good culture, good ecosystems,
I think I'm not I'm cool with that. That's why
the Norrithy thing is is kind of I'm like, Okay,
I wouldn't mind that. Like, and he's a brilliant guy.
You know, he knows, he knows offense and stuff. So
(31:39):
that that's the name that I actually wouldn't be opposed to.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
You know, if you think about the first coaching search
that happened in twenty twenty with Leon Rose, Mike Woodson
was one of the guys that was interviewed for that
coach and he ended up taking the assistant role. I
think there's a similar philosophy here where maybe not with
all the guys I've interviewed, I don't think they would
ever ask Jason Kidd, do you want to be the
assistant to Mike and Nory I? In the Mike Brown situation,
(32:04):
potentially even the Taylor Jenkins certainly James Barrego. I think
there's a conversation if we don't choose you, would you
be interested in backing up the guy that we do choose. Now,
that's very interesting, Mike and Norory becomes way more exciting
as a prospect. If Mike Brown a guy who's coaching
the finals, coach Lebron, James is his sideline, his lead assistant,
(32:26):
the same way he was for Steve Kerr and going
state and bring those principles that know how, that playoff experience,
knowing what adjustment Steve Kerr made and in the finals
run to win a championship and what he did, and
that is super exciting in me. I think that's a
mistake that Leon Rose would not make again, is laying
Tom Thibodeaux bringing all his bum ass friends to the
end of the bench. These guys, I'm not saying they
(32:46):
didn't do anything behind the scenes, because they certainly did.
But I didn't see enough change from Tibbs year every
year to trust those guys to not be anything more
than yes man. I went some different voices with different backgrounds,
backing up wherever we choose to actually had this time
Alite assistant instead of is our best players? Daddy gonna
be the new head coach if we fire TIBs, that
(33:06):
has to be never again. Bro. That was embarrassing which
Leon Rose did because Rick Brunson's a bum and he's
the last I would want coach in this next team.
We need someone who can really take over and provide
a set of principles kind of like what Dead Christie
did for Mike Brown, a set of principles enhance a
part of a game that was lacking previously, in that
(33:27):
case defense, right. I would love to see that institute
in this new Knits head coach.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Yeah for sure. And I think that was the thing
with TIBs too, is as assistance, like who he had
around him, like those like I'm pretty certain a lot
of those guys won't be on any benches next year,
you know. And yeah, you know, so that was another
thing like and listen, player development is crucial and I
don't think we had that. And I think whoever the
(33:54):
next coach is, they're going to bring in their guys
or who because we don't have a lot to We
don't have to a lot to play with in freegency right, Essentially,
vet men type of guys right, so we can't really
get a massive piece to help us. But the guys
we drafted last year, the two guys we got this year,
those are going to be integral parts and on our
(34:15):
you know, for our bench. So if we can get
the right guys whoever the coaches around that guy around
the head coach, that's going to be crucial because those
guys are gonna be very very important and you know,
on how far we can go, So that's important. I
don't think Tibbs had those right guys around him, and
that's kind of why we didn't make the finals. And
(34:36):
I think that's why they made the move, Like, hey,
it may take us a minute to find a coach,
but we we definitely need to pivot from this from
Tibbs regardless, we have to make this pivot. So, you know,
I understand the move like I did like Tibbs. I'm
more of like because we were bad and he kind
of make it relevant and I appreciate that. But I
understood the move one percent. Understood the move and why
(34:59):
they did it. Yes, they may have not had the option.
I think they did not have the option, but they
you know, they couldn't get that guy immediately. But I
understand the pivot and you know, whoever that next coach
is is gonna have a more up to date offensive philosophy.
So I was always cool with letting go of TIBs.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
And you know, you know what we have bro that
maybe only five other teams in the NBA have. We
have a real superstar. We have a real first option.
And that's why I was never adamant about firing TIBs.
I thought we could win a hip despite of TIBs.
I didn't like him, but I respected him and I
saw that Jaylen Brunson, Yeah, that's basketball of his career
under him and grew into a superstar. So it's like,
(35:39):
why change if it's working. But once we did, it's
one of the reasons I'm confident in this coaching search.
No matter who we picked, I think we're still a
championship contender because we got Jalen at being Brunson on
the roster. And as long as Jalen Brunson is on
this roster, we don't have a shot to win a chip.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
And the starting five is cool, like regardless of the coaches,
like they're gonna do their thing. It's what I think
the head coach is gonna do with the guys on
the bench. You know, how, who's going to be in
that rotation. How are you going to expand a rotation?
How are they going to develop? Because that's the difference.
Thirty five is cool where we're gonna be all right regardless,
but as who's going to be there to develop these
(36:16):
guys to help us, because that's going to be the key.
We sold the teams in the finals. They went nine
to ten deep, you know, and that's why they were
in the finals. So I think that's going to be crucial.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
My biggest caveat about who we hire to me is
in game adjustments. Timbs was willing. He showed to make
the end game adjustments necessary to win a game or
to win a series. Sometimes it came a little bit
too late in my opinion. Yes, I think you would
have made those adjustments in game one or early in
game two. Series that win six could have done five, series,
(36:46):
that win five could have done four, And I think
we would have had more time to rest, more time
to prepare, and more time to plan for that next
round if you would have done those moves sooner. That
stubbornness to me is what needs to be eliminated from
nets head coach. The willingness to make the right move
when it's in real time is going to be CRUI
So as a winger, Chip.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I'm with you. I'm with you one hundred percent. Man,
a few more minutes before I let you go. Man,
appreciate you coming on the pod.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
It's always good, you know, to talk to you, and
now we're doing it live on the podcast. But what
are your what are you looking forward to for summer
League with the Knicks? Like, what do you want to see?
I know it's summer League, and you know, it's kind
of like when in baseball, you you know it's spring
training and you know we always tend to overhype you know,
(37:32):
good performances. But what do you want to see it
in summer lan? I know we don't have a coach
and we don't even know, but what are some things
you're looking forward to see with some of the gung
guys from last year and stuff?
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Yeah, there's that Three things that came top of mind.
I want to see Tyer Koloch on defense. I want
to see if he's taking criticism and really worked on
his body and worked on this conditioning, work on this
lateral movement to stay in front of the dive that
he's starting, because we know what he can pass, we
know he has a vision, we know he's re's are exceptional.
It's a great three point shot as well. I want
(38:03):
to see the defense. His Dad's going to be the
make or break component to him earning real minutes as
a backup guard next season in the rotation. Now in
the bench, but if he wants to be a rotation player,
he's got to become better on defense. That's number one.
Number two has become dat yat. I got to see
more aggressiveness sometimes a loader I wasn't really impressed with
in the minutes that he was in than other times
(38:25):
I clashes where he was in rotation, he was pretty
good and stay in front of his the fender off
of a switch. I was impressed. The three point shot
athleticism is there. I want to see himttack closeouts with
more purpose. I want to see him look for his
teammates as well, and that just always go for the
ISO one on one opportunity. So that's number two. Number three.
I want to see aerial, hot, porty outside drop coverage
(38:46):
when he came in the expectation and his minutes was
to play and drop. I want to see how he
does guard in the perimeter. Can he be Mitch light,
because Mitch has shown a lot of potential guarding the
three point line, even blocking three point shots. We love
to see how Aero Party manages that. Also, how he
manages navigating big the big strings too. Can he stay
in front of his man? Can he be a real
(39:07):
threat at the level contain the point of attack we'll see.
We've seen him in Drop. He was decent at it.
He wasn't as good as Sims in my opinion as
a rent protector, but I want to see how he
can get a little bit further away from the basket
guarding threes and fours and ISO attempts. So those are
three things I'm gonna be looking at because they're all talented,
they all have very high potential in my opinion, in
puting Kevin mccoller, but those three guys, to me, I
(39:29):
think have the three best shots of pratt and rotation
with the emphasis on hot forty and the comb really
being rotation pieces next.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Season, especially to Coleman. That was their first round pick,
you know, so they you know, and we need wing,
you know, wing dep up the bench. So he's going
to be he and like I said, Colic too what
he can do, you know, because he he'll dictate whether
they need to get a legit backup point guard, another
bull handling, So you know that's gonna be important. But
I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to But
my guy Lee appreciate you. Man, this was a lot
(39:58):
of fun, you know, so well before we sign off, brother,
we're definitely gonna be doing this again. So I'm definitely
gonna have you back on the pod for sure. But
tell the people where they could find you. Any projects
you got going I know you got a lot of
things going on, man, you're a busy man. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
I got some articles churning out for Bleacher Report, some
more my social issues on race and stuff. They're gonna
be starting up in July, and I'm really excited about.
Kind of similar to what I do with The Guardian,
where I look at social issues that intersect with basketball
and I write about them from my perspective, I'll be
doing that with Bleacher Report here starting later in the summer.
And then at the Time Show. We just launched our
(40:35):
new show with for Ebony Liberty Latte, so she'll be
Her first episode came out yesterday, so she'll be pushing
that one forward, and then Kot will be covering summer
lead for Agency in the head coaching search all summer long.
To find me on Twitter at underscore listavido l E
E E S E L B E d O.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
I'll be dropping some new poetry soon as well. I
had thirteen poems published this year, so I'm gonna keep
that momentum as well.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
There you go, my guy, There you go. You know,
like I said, it's we've been We've been chopping it
up on X for a little bit, and now we
finally get to talk to face to face, you know,
so I appreciate you man. You know, you're one of
the better hoop minds and I always respect you know,
dope hoop mine. So like I said, I had to
get you on the pod to talk about, you know,
the next draft. You know, you said you knew a
(41:20):
lot about Dink paid, so that's why ones get you
on here. You got a lot of intel on Dink.
So hopefully people watching can get the better understanding of
Dink and and what we could potentially be getting, you know,
because we might we might have a diamond in the rough,
you know, so we'll see you know, and yep, I
hope we do it. In the next coaching search, we'll
see you know who will be the next Nick coach.
But guys, but Lee appreciate you. Make sure to follow
(41:42):
me I off the ballpod. Make sure to like, subscribe,
comment on the YouTube channel. Make sure to follow on
all social media platforms and all podcast platforms. But on
that note, be well, be safe, take care, peace and
love everyone. Yeah h start spreading the new new, new New.
(42:13):
We interrupt our program to bring you this important message
New Yawn.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
I love you, I love New York. Appreciate
Start spreading the new, the new, new new. We interrupt
our program to bring you this important lesson New York.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I love you, I love you, mem oh.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
I'm trying to get out the fires away.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
The way at the cover dollar the curry back, take
a dollar. Let the laft home fuck by James Lebron.
James with the rejection, just puts it the three long go,
please are fast back out to air his.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Retire what's going on? People? Welcome to another episode of
the Off the Ball podcast with me your host Chris
lot Broun, and we got a good one today for
you guys. We're gonna discuss the NBA Draft, the Knicks
draft picks, and the knickt head coaching search, which is
still we still don't have a coach. As you see,
(01:23):
I got my guy Lee from the Nick of Times show.
What's going on?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
My guy sal salute, what's going on, baby, Let's talk Nicks.
Let's talk to you draft picks.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yes, sir, yes, sir. Man happy to have you on.
You know, we've been chopping off for a little bit,
so glad to have you on the show. Just tell
me a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And what you do.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Manu is it's the first time on the pod.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
It is the first time. Thank you very much, man.
It's always an honor to chop it up with other
creators and writers and thinkers about ball. I love this sport.
It's the only sport that I watch. My background is
actually playwriting, poetry, and fiction writing. So I've been journalists
for f fifteen years. Recently got into sports about the
last seven covering the Knicks, start with the Knicks on
posts and toasting blog, covering games recaps, writing about draft
(02:10):
prospects because I've been really heavy in the Dallas folt
Worth high school basketball scene for about over twenty years.
I've been going to the state tournament and following AAU
teams for a long time, so I've seen just about
every great Dallas prospect from Chris Bosh, CJ Miles, Tyrese Maxi,
all those guys. I've seen all of them come through
(02:32):
the high school field, win state championships, play AAU ball.
So I've always loved sports, but my main interest is
contemporary art and poetry and theater. So that's side where
all my passions are and what I write a lot about.
And then basketball is kind of more of a hobby.
But it's but it's getting really hot. Lately. I've been
having some opportunities now with Bleacher Report and writing essays
(02:53):
on the NBA for The Guardian, So my world is
opening up the NICT the Time Show. I've been with
them for about three years now, I think this is
my fourth season with them, so excited about growing there
as well and helping the channel. Yeah. Man, it's just
been a great experience. And now we finally have another
Dallas prospect on the Knicks, which I'm really happy to
talk about.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
First of all, though those are really uh dope accomplishments.
You know, do stuff for Bleacher Report, Nikka Time is
a very well known Knicks you know, uh you know platform,
So to be able to do stuff like that is
really dope. And like I said, I've I've liked your
work a lot, and like I said, we've been chopping
it up on Twitter for a little bit. So, like
I said, finally dope to get you on here and
(03:33):
talk about that. And like I said, you're familiarized with
you know, the Dallas area, and there's a you know,
I get We'll get right into it with the draft
and you know, obviously the Knicks selected Mohammed di Awar
with that freaty first pick. But the guy they took,
you know, an undrafted, an undrafted free agent, think pay
I would have been cool at fifty one, like he
(03:54):
was someone I had top sixty on my board and
Mahmmed di Aara, you know, I said, didn't know too
much about it. I know he was a kind of
more of an upside type of guy. But I would
have been cool with Dink. I don't think he gets
kind of a bad rap because of the numbers, Like
you just look at his splits and you're just people
automatically get turned up. And I've seen that a lot,
(04:16):
you know, with you know, people looking at him saying,
oh man, this guys efficient, blah blah blah. And I
understand that, but I obviously there's always more context to that.
But I think if if, if you can coach up Dink,
and I think, you know, obviously with how he was
with the Ignite and then that this fund, you know
that you know the spandit is no longer a thing
(04:37):
to deleague Ignite.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
He did improve his second year of Mexico City, So there.
I think there's some things to like, but you know,
a lot about Dink. That's whereally I wanted to get
you on because you you know a lot about Dank
Pay and you know, so tell me what people should
know more about Dink.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Well, we had a European stout named Ersen the Mirror
a minute of Time show last week and we were
talking with him and he was telling he was going
through all the different options of huber Nicha chose and
him and I got into a little bit of a
debate about whether the NI should go safe or go
for home run swings. He thought the Knit should go
safe because they had some guys that had a lot
(05:17):
of talent in that starting five and they needed some
positional help in the backcourt and maybe even another bid.
I thought it should be all home run picks. I
thought that we should trade to trade batch. I did
two second round picks and go for a home run
smash with both, and wouldn't you know it, we did
one of them. We didn't have to trade for we
were able to sign undrafted. I was very surprised that
(05:37):
no team to the flyer on game, and I think
it's because of what you said, which is a shooting
splits and if you look at the shooting splits. There's
more to infer. If you watched any game tape of him,
specifically in Metster City, which is the most recent tape,
you will understand why those shooting numbers were so bad. First,
let's talk about the context. He's an American player from
West Dallas, played for Pinston High School, which is where
(06:01):
the AAU team that he played for. I'm now helping
them out, so I'm at every practice we played. Last
night we went all three of our games. We'd beat
Tyres Maxie's team, his AAU team, So that was at
a knit swin for me, where knit players teams beating
the affiliate player. But the area that he's from is
very inner city. It's fairly diverse, but it's America and
(06:22):
it's first world. He's going to Mextro City, another area
that I'm very familiar with. My girlfriend had a lot
of family there, so we spent a lot of time
going to art fairs and art galleries there. It can
be fairly dangerous, especially when it's not a tourist time
of year and it's just the nationals. There is lots
of corruption, lots of crime, lots of cartel activity. So
(06:43):
from what I've gathered talking to is former AAU coaches
and families that there was a little bit of a
difficulty in the cultural adjustment. And it's hard to think
about efficiency and think about shots when shit's blown up
outside and the threat of real violence is around twenty
four to seven. That existential is very real and didn't
have a serious impact on him. I think that that
(07:03):
team would have been in America, there would have been
maybe a gradual uptick in some of the shooting splits
and percentages because you're not worried about your life or
that situations outside. Now, he's never said any of this
right his interview with Slam, the mission is basketball. I'm
taking them a basketball. He's very complementary about the culture
in the city, and I am too. It's a beautiful city,
but there's a It's not the United States, it is
(07:24):
that Sco city and there's a lot of danger there.
And I think that culture shop might have had something
to do with some of the inefficiencies that we saw.
But there is a lot of good and bad with
his game. Now. I've been had to luxury. Not many
people have. I didn't talk to all the coaches that
coached him with DFW Urban Elite. I can talk to
his family, which I have. I've been testing with him
(07:44):
the last couple of days, and there are some really
huge upsides with dat. He is an elite athlete for sure,
and I think a lot of what we saw that
were that was demanded more in the G lead. I
think what some of that developed in the G lead
in the United States with the Knicks Westchester team, which
(08:06):
I think he's going to spend the majority of his time.
With his athleticism, size, and instincts, I think right off
the bat are going to provide a very unique downhill
transition game player. Where he needs to really improve from
the tape that I watched in Medster City is his
decision making. His reads I think are a little bit
below average for someone who is a point guard, but
(08:27):
then you have been done out for his age. Kid
has only nineteen, been playing professional since seventeen, and he
wasn't someone who got in the NBA with Luca or
his European guys at nine or ten. He got it
and around the middle school high school years, and I
think it took him a while to really adjust. Positionally.
The coach put a ball in his hands, told him, Hey,
(08:48):
you can see over everybody else because if you're high
played point guard. But in reality, his still set isn't
really a point guard to me, it's more of an
off ball wing. His touch and shooting numbers shooting thirty
seven percent in the G League, I think that's indicative
and and set with uh before a defense, it's set.
That's what you're going to see with him with the
Westchester Nicks, which I think he's gonna get a lot
of reps from and benefit from. Playing off the ball.
(09:10):
I think on the ball is where he struggles, making
those reads, being able to finish in the half court sets,
being able to have pull up opportunities, whether it's beyond
the art or in the mid range. That's where the
work needs to be put in. But the athleticism, the switch,
the promise of switchability where some of the tape I watched,
he wasn't really efficient with the switches, so that a
lot of his teammates had to say, Yo, move up,
(09:31):
you know wherever it is, move up to the line
or crash out to the corner. There were some mistakes there,
missed in rotation that I think he needs. That's just
it and playing more reps with high level players, those
things that don't go up as well. But the man,
the potential with this kid is sky high. I don't
think he's a real point guard, and I don't think
that the guys we've seen in the past, the archetypes
(09:52):
of Lonso Ball, those guys come in with that size
and they have the very high I that's necessarily paid.
I think he paid can play some point and guard
some guards as well in a Lonzo Ball type situations,
but that he's more suited for an off ball role
in the wing.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
What about some of the defensive stuff, because he has
the defensive upside to potentially be a solid defender, and
in order for you know, you know, young guys, they
got to in order to crack a rotation, you're gonna
have to play some type of defense, you know, because
he might he's not gonna be able to get those opportunities,
you know, a lot of opportunities to get the ball
in his hand, you know, especially on this team potentially.
You know, So what do you think about the defensive
(10:28):
potential upside because there is some there, but he had
a lot of defensive inconsistencies.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You know, in the G League, he did. It's going
to be something that he has to work on. Again.
You can't teach size. He has that, so he hasn't
learned how to utilize his size and be smarter with
his reads. And I think that he will have some
sincets guarding smaller guards just because of a six nine
since ten wingspan, he'll be able to contain some of
the point of attack that he'll be on the defensive
(10:53):
side of the ball, but he needs that's not going
to be his role in the NBA. I think he
needs to learn better at close it out on shooters
and better rotation off of ball streens. That's where I
think he needs to pick up the effort because he
has a foot speed, he has a wing span, he
has athleticism through right now, it's about adaptability. It's about
being more comfortable beyond the court and knowing your role.
Right now, his role has been kind of in fluds.
(11:13):
He wasn't really on ball a lot with that Mexico
City team. Trey Burke was on ball with that team.
He really ran the point, and Dank was more of
a catchshoot option on the perimeter, which he was pretty
good at. And I think those skills would translate into
the Westchester Knicks. But right now, I think defensively, he's
got to learn how to use his body because dude,
you sid say, yes, six nine, six ten wing span,
you're one of the tallest guards in the NBA immediately,
(11:36):
but you have to learn how to guard in space,
to play with gaps, and to be smart in rotation,
and that I think is a still set that he
has to grow up in learn of it, because besides,
he did guard one, twos and threes. Hypothetically, right we
haven't seen that efficiently efficiently yet, So.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Obviously we saw a lot of he was crazy unefficient
in that first year in the G League And I'm
in with did you league at nine obviously made a bit?
The leap you know is the second season Medical City.
What was the biggest thing you think?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (12:05):
For that for that leap and uh, obviously you mentioned
before just you know there was go to Mexico City
was crazy, but like, what do you for you what
did you see that?
Speaker 2 (12:13):
You know?
Speaker 1 (12:14):
What made you feel good about that? You know, him
making that leap from year one.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Of G League the year two, I think from what
I've heard a lot of it was just maturity growing
into his body, becoming more comfortable with his body and
his size and his role maturation. When we first joined
the G League to night he was seventeen years old,
I really thinking about that, baby. I was an elite
dipshit right. I was in no way playing for any
(12:38):
type of organized ball or he organized anything I was
running to actually didn't get my ass be on the daily.
So I think it's just about being a professional and
playing within a system and within the team. Because a
lot of AAU ball, some of the time you did
opportunities to go very iso and do your own thing.
It's not a lot of disciplined. It's not just fundamentals.
You're supposed to learn those things in a high school
(12:59):
program you're at. You come to AAU to show them off,
not necessarily to learn fundamentals. And I don't know if
Deep Paid has ever had a system where he's really
been entrenched in fundamentals and to learn really how to
use your body in spots, how to be a really
tight ball handler, how to really know where your teammates
are going to be on the break. And I think
(13:20):
when you get inside the free throw line, his instincts
are a little bit higher. I think that's where his
past has become more efficient and more crisper is in transition.
It's in those half court sets, which I think is
going to be to our advantage because this is not
a player I think Leon Rose would have selected if
Timms was the head coach, because there would have been
no way, never gotten reps, and I think it would
have been less likely that the system that would have
(13:42):
been ran for the Westchester Knicks wouldn't been conducive to
his skill set either. Right now, I'm hoping this next
coach that we have institutes more transition, more getting out
in the break, because it's been hot pace under TIBs.
Every single bottom that changes deep paid as an opportunity,
I think to crack the rotation next year in some
(14:02):
spot minutes. I mean there's no chance this year. Right now,
he's just fighting for a spot of a team, but
there is not playing with these awesome guys we got
in the summer league to really learn from them, especially
Tyler Kolloch is the one on specifically look at that
that will help him as an off ball player become
more comfortable and catch a shoot, which was the biggest
jump from year one year or two in the G
League with him hitting almost thirty eight percent from catching
(14:23):
shoot opportunities on the perimeter.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
And that's the thing with with with a lot of
these guys we had from last year and Dink and Diuara, Like,
now that we're going to have a more modernized coach,
who's going to you know, play a more up upscale
type of you know, op offense, Like we can actually
envision like I remember doing last year's draft and just
(14:46):
looking at guys who were tips guys, just trying to see,
all right, which players are just tips guys because we
know like he's he has a type. And now it's like,
oh this actually we can actually just draft good players
and just you know, because we know whoever the coach is,
whoever that and we'll discuss that a little bit. Whoever
the coach is, they're going to have a more modern
day approach to offense. And now we could just you know,
(15:09):
try to draft guys who are more transition type guys,
you know, so it gives you more of a advanced
thought process of what these guys could do instead of
just having all right, we just need a certain player,
because this is what Tibbs wants, you know, and Dink
is like you said, Dink would not have been that
d o R maybe because there's some defensive you know,
instincts that you know Tibbs would like, you know, obviously massive,
(15:33):
he has a seven foot great full wingspan stuff. So there,
But I think the last thing with Dink, But I
know it's crazy that people are going to be, like,
why they focus so much on a guy who is
un drafted. But you know there's a like I said,
there's a there's a lot upside and if if he hits,
I said, lee, Like, he's a top he's a lot
(15:55):
of talent. Talent alone, he's a lottery talent. And everyone
said this, been saying this for years, like he's a
lottery talent. It's just you know, maybe some bad decisions
we're going G League and stuff. But if you figure
him out, you could get something here. That's why I
think people are kind of excited about him, because the
potential is like, we could get a really solid player
(16:19):
and now even have you the draft pick on him.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah, I mean we've addressed some of the minuses. You know,
when defenses are set, he does have trouble storing. There's
not a whole lot of volume or movement shooting in
his game either, but there are some huge positives. The clips,
some of the clips I've seen of him attacking closeouts
is very, very promising. He's got a really nice floater,
(16:42):
so I think some of that intermediate game he can
find spots to store in. And there was an uptick
from the percentages finishing around the rim and his first
season with g Lead to Night it was somewhere around
thirty two percent. He increased to forty five percent with
Metster City. Now that goes down when he's start considering
the half court once defenses get set. I think it
dropped almost ten points, like thirty five percent finishing around
(17:04):
the rim on layups when defenses were set. But in
the open court, he is unstoppable.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
He's an elite athlete, and I mean elite with the
old guns, tomahawk, dunce, dunking it in, with contact, absorbing contact,
finishing through contact. He's an elite front court player.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
He might actually be the most athletic player on the
ITS roster right now, him or Mitchell Robinson.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
And we need more athleticism.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Bro I don't know what the it's so it's so
funny the Knicks entire time. I've been a fan since
the year two thousand and one. We've been the most
least athletic team, right, so many Frank Williams and Shannon
Anderson's and guys Tracey Madrady when he was absolutely put
these guys ability. And I like the fact that Leon
Rose targeted two guys with high athletic upside, and if
(17:54):
he can become an on ball threat, could be really
dangerous at the point of attack. Again, it's about decision making.
It's about becoming comfortable with his body. It's about being
knowing how to store in half court sets when the
defense is set and attuned to you, and scouting for you.
Those are the things he needs to aware on as
become more aware, as well as his reads helping his
(18:16):
teammates find easy storing opportunities. I think he has a capacity.
It's a smart kid, talented table in a ton of upside.
I think he's going to hit some of those and
eventually become a rotational piece for us next year. In
spot minutes, I like it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
I like that's what saying I'm excited about this, Like
it's weird to say you're excited about an undrafted free agent.
But I am, and I know you are, and that's
why I wanted to get you only have to talk
about But let's talk about their actual draft pick in
Muhammad Diara. And you said you don't know much about him.
I didn't know too much about him. He wasn't on
my even my top seventy board. But you know, like
(18:50):
you mentioned, he's athletic, and he has a six foot eight,
two hundred plus pounds, has a seven foot four wing span.
I think he had a nine to too stand in
you know, reach like he has tremendous physical gifts. Offensively,
there's not much there. I think he shot forty one
percent last year in France, twenty eight from three. Not
(19:12):
a good free throw shooter, but the defensive tools are
very intriguing. Athleticism and what he can do in transition,
same thing would think, like those guys, you know, we
need more athletic athleticism, and with these two guys, they
provide that. So what what can you say about Mohammad Yuara?
You know you didn't, you didn't, you didn't do much
on him, You didn't know much about him, But what
what what can you say about him.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
That you like you have to assume with Tom thibodea'don
that the strategy is going to change dramatically. I think
that incur first that you're going to see maybe some zone,
but definitely more switching, more switching one through five. And
if that's going to be the hypothetical philosophy moving forward,
you have to have the personnel who can do that.
And right now you got Michael Bridges, you got og
(19:56):
and Anobi, you got Josh Hart sometimes not consistently, and
you have Deuce and Bride. Mitchard Robinson in stretchers can
also be a great switchable defender on the perimeter too,
we've seen in the playoffs. But outside of that, very
very limited. Most of our guys are undersized. Most of
our guys have trouble navigating ball strings. So what do
you need. You need athletes with size who can defend.
(20:20):
This draft to me, is all about promise and potential.
When Tom Thibodo was here, it was about roles and responsibilities.
That outlet now should be gone. We don't have a
head coach, so we don't know what the philosophy is,
but I think the side philosophy should be maintained right
now until it coaches is signed. So get guys who
didn't play in any system who five Theoretically that destribes
(20:42):
both our French friend and deep paid. Both of these
guys are bringing six eight side really outside og Anobi,
who is really the only pro typical big wing that
we have on the roster. Now we've got two more,
but we have draft. We went out and scouted that deuce, undersized, Grimes, undersized,
Trevor Keeo is a bust. We haven't really had that
wing Uh also undersized, and Obi top and not undersized,
(21:10):
but lacked a lot defensively. You didn't never have the
strength as well to keep his man in front of
him until he developed in Indiana. But I like the
archetypal positional position we went after in this draft. Lots
and lots of and you know what at their busts.
These are chief contracts that we didn't have to trade
draft or or make huge investments for. We can keep
these guys in the G League for the entire year
(21:32):
into our system matures and these guys and more reps finance.
The best competition either of these kids have ever played
against in their entire life is going to be in
the G League with the Westchester knit. So I like
the idea conceptually, the of the promise that both of
them bring in terms of the size, the wing span
and the defensive potential. It could be scary hours in
a season or two.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yeah, Ye, Sagana jobs doing doing a good job there
at Wetchester. He's doing the good dog developing guys and
adding two more guys like that will really really uh
uh do them good service. Like I said, that's gonna
be the best development. And these obviously development guys. So
but like I said, regardless of who the coaches like,
these are guys that, like I said, we struggled a
(22:13):
lot with especially getting through screens, right you you saw
how many times we couldn't get through screens, and guys
are just wide open, you know, at the three point line,
just jacking up threes, you know. So these guys are
are big and strong that they can get through that.
And like I said, their project picks, that's fine. But
they're gonna fit who are regardless of the coaches, they're
gonna they're gonna fit, you know. So that's what I
(22:35):
like about this is like and the mindset changes with
like I said, we used to think TIBs guys who
are TIBs guys who are TIBs guys and now just no,
you just we don't have a coach. That's fine, but
we're just gonna draft players that we think are gonna
fit regardless of who the next coach is.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
You know, you know, if you think about the finals
and you look at the type of players that these
ten man rotations, everyone's a two way threat. We think
about those type of guys, the guys that really the
margins for both those teams, the Ben Shepherds or v
Cason Wallace is another Dallas prospect from richards And High school,
or the Aaron Wiggins. These guys would not pull up
above the break three point shooters, right. These guys don't
(23:11):
come in with as part of their player profile. They
had to learn to be catch and shoot threats, to
hit threes before we close out in the corners, and
all three of those guys became those threats. That's a
type of old I think both Pate and our French
friend are going to be pushed forward. Is attacker closeouts
and hit your corner threes. That's it.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Bro A.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
This is back in bench depth that we are now
adding to our team that can now play in spots
we need them, God forbid injuries happen or as development evolves.
Now we have guys to plug and play as our
system goes on year over year.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yep, I'm with you, won't you. So let's talk about
the next topic, you know, and who coaches the Knicks.
So there's obviously been abundance of names. They Nicks have
tried to probably coaches away from teams and got rejected.
And obviously there's still the j Kid thing that is
still looming around. Whether that's a thing you know that
(24:09):
we'll still figure that out. It seems I kind of
feel like they want Kid. It's just it's gonna be
really difficult to get him out there. But there's obviously
other head coaching, uh, you know guys that are in there,
you know, have coached before, like Taylor Jenkins who was
at Memphis. You know, Mike Brown, who's been around the
block a few times, you know, helped bring back the
Kings back to relevancy. You know, there's James Barrego who
(24:32):
coached you know, the Hornets for a few years. You know,
Mica Nauri that they have been half interested to, you know,
the Johnny Bryant. You know, they haven't interviewed yet for
as far as I know, but that's still a name
there too. So the nick the next k next coach?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
What do you what?
Speaker 1 (24:49):
What what philosophy? What principles do you want in the
next head coach? Like what do you need to hear
to feel good about whoever that next coach is?
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Well? I think to the front office is determined to
have a more collaborative coach, someone who listens to feedback,
someone who develops a game plan for young players to
eventually have roles with the team moving forward, not just
kind of more ambiguous like they're in the g lead,
but whenever they're gonna be called up Tims. It was
so strange, remember when Tim's like call up guys and
then send them write that down, and all they would
(25:20):
do was s on the bench. I never really understood that,
Like what was that even for? To me, you're messing
with the young players' mentality and their confidence when things
like that happen. So to me, a ten man rotation
is imperative someone who utilizes cat and bruntson together because
the assists from bruntson to cat with the lowest of
Cat's career with the Star Guard in comparison to Anthony
(25:42):
Edwards in the two man game in Minnesota, I want
to see more bid to big spacing, Robinson's being utilized
as a lot of threat by Cat. I want to
see Cat as a hybrid four or five. The ability
to play with certain players in different lineups, not stuck
the same four guys for sixty percent of the mindencity
plays in the game, but a diverse lineup that he's
playing alongside that enhances strengths based on matchups. Those type
(26:03):
of things are very important. Someone who's willing to let
the game really dictate what kind of defensive sets he's running,
what kind of offense he's running, when to know when
it get into a transition and try to force steals
and blitz a pick and roll and win, and know
when to go into his zone to try to let
their poor shooters provide long rebalance for us to get
in transition. Those type of just mindsets, you know, really
knowing the personnel and having a plan for the personnel
(26:25):
to be maximized. We never heard that from TIBs. Right.
Tips is all about what you do with the game
gives you listen to a game read and react offense.
I want to hear a real game plan and then
see it in action once the season starts, of guys
playing role as they have him before. Maybe it's Tarlaton
Towns not becoming a joker but becoming a Demanta Sabonis
and really becoming a dho option there getting guys on
(26:49):
our bench by Duson Bride or Landry Shammitt more three
point opportunit coptunities off the catch on the perimeter from
dribble handoffs. But that's something that Mike Brown I thought
was really exceptional. Let learn that from Steve Kerr and
Draymond Green and Golden State and then maximize it with
fox As and Bonus and the Kings and really became
that was the cornerstone at their offense was dribble handoff
action and it worked to perfection until it didn't when
(27:11):
de Aaron Fodx, I think that's when Mike Brown but
something like that, like these are gonna be the cornerstones
of our offense because it fits the personnel's strengths, not
their weaknesses, you know, not trying to make mckel bridges
into a three point thread or og Anenobi into an
on ball thread or trying to make Carl Anthonine talents
into a low post option and then take away he's three.
I want to see break from Jalen Brunton always since
(27:33):
that the fans have been looking for. I want to
see someone who sees the same things we do and said,
you know what, I'm gonna pick them, choose which ones
can be maximized, which ones are realistic, and then implement
that into a game plan so they become our strengths
in playoff matches.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
So who are some options do you feel like you
know best fit that mold?
Speaker 2 (27:51):
Well, when you're talk about people who've been fired, there's
the strengths and weaknesses are going to be pretty apparent.
I interviewed Bernary mcbernie Bickerstaff for Nika Times substat and
got a chance to talk about him. He was Mike
Brown's first coach in Denver and Washington when Mike Brown
was even younger than me. He was in his twenties
as a video intern coordinator and an assistant coach. Once
he got to Washington and learned a lot about his background,
(28:14):
learned about his ability to adapt, which I think if
you see the type of offense he ran in Cleveland
Lebron James. It was a lot of one four flat.
It was a lot of spread offense. ISO, there's a
lot of pick and roll. Then you got to Sacramento
completely different offset, a lot of off ball movement, a
lot of downstreams, the dribble handoff that I mentioned earlier,
(28:34):
it was very different. He adapt based to his personnel.
That interests me. Mike Brown, I've always been underwhelmed by
the results, most notably the playoff results when he didn't
have Lebron, really disappointing when we went back to Cleveland,
when he was in LA, when he was in Sacramento
first round exit. He's a boring pick to me, but
I do think right assistant coach around him, he could
(28:56):
maximize Carl Anthony Towns and Joe Brunton. I'm lean on
him first because everything I've heard behind the scenes and
at Sternoly is that he's a favorite, the odds on
favorite because of a relationship that he has with world
Wide West. And I've also off the record talked to
people around both Mica and Nory and Taylor Jenkins. Taylor
Jenkins is born same to the iwas in Arlington, has
a lot of contacts here in Saint Mark's where he
(29:18):
played basketball. I've talked to some of the coaching staff
there off the record, but I think all of these
guys are high character, high IQ individuals, and I don't
think you can just judge them on their record so
far in the NBA, with the exception of Mike Brown
because he's been in multiple stops the other guys. The
only time that Michael Norrey has ever coached NBA games
is in Minnesota when Chris Frisch was only team time
(29:42):
Taylor Jenkins has been a head coach was in Memphis,
So there's a very small sample size, and both those
guys and most of the same roster for the most
part in both their tenures, with the exception of Cat leaving.
So I think there's a lot of unknown elements to
his coaching search. To me, and I'm looking at someone
who's younger, someone who has more of a less of
a generational gap in communication and empathy. Someone can really
(30:04):
reach these guys and motivate them and not lose the
locker room or be too fundamental in their approach to
instituting an offense, be a little bit more flexible. That's
what I'm really looking for. And to me, my number
one option right now is Mike and Norri. I like
the gamble On assistant. He seems to be absolutely brilliant.
That was kind of wherever came out when I was
talking to people that knew him. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, offensive mind,
(30:28):
someone who really knows how to get into the mind
of a player and get them to be bought in,
which is appealing to me. And if I had a
Cerdain choice, I would say Taylor Jenkins.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
Yeah, and you know with with Nori, like if we
are going to get an assistant, like as long as
we get assistance, or if we interview assistants that have
been and get good ecosystems, right, but been around good
you know, head coaches and you know and understand what
it takes, you know. So because there's been a lot
of people who are kind of down on getting an
(30:59):
assistant coach because we are essentially we're we're close, right,
We're And then with all the injuries we've seen, Halliburton's
you know, probably gonna miss the whole season, right, Tatum's gone,
So like the East is essentially wide open. Like, so
I was like, you know, do we get a coach,
a head coach that has been around, or you know,
do we get assistant coach? And some people are afraid
(31:19):
the assistant coach route, But if you get an assistant
coach who's been around good good coaching, good culture, good ecosystems,
I think I'm not I'm cool with that. That's why
the Norrithy thing is is kind of I'm like, Okay,
I wouldn't mind that. Like, and he's a brilliant guy.
You know, he knows, he knows offense and stuff. So
(31:39):
that that's the name that I actually wouldn't be opposed to.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
You know, if you think about the first coaching search
that happened in twenty twenty with Leon Rose, Mike Woodson
was one of the guys that was interviewed for that
coach and he ended up taking the assistant role. I
think there's a similar philosophy here where maybe not with
all the guys I've interviewed, I don't think they would
ever ask Jason Kidd, do you want to be the
assistant to Mike and Nory I? In the Mike Brown situation,
(32:04):
potentially even the Taylor Jenkins certainly James Barrego. I think
there's a conversation if we don't choose you, would you
be interested in backing up the guy that we do choose. Now,
that's very interesting, Mike and Norory becomes way more exciting
as a prospect. If Mike Brown a guy who's coaching
the finals, coach Lebron, James is his sideline, his lead assistant,
(32:26):
the same way he was for Steve Kerr and going
state and bring those principles that know how, that playoff experience,
knowing what adjustment Steve Kerr made and in the finals
run to win a championship and what he did, and
that is super exciting in me. I think that's a
mistake that Leon Rose would not make again, is laying
Tom Thibodeaux bringing all his bum ass friends to the
end of the bench. These guys, I'm not saying they
(32:46):
didn't do anything behind the scenes, because they certainly did.
But I didn't see enough change from Tibbs year every
year to trust those guys to not be anything more
than yes man. I went some different voices with different backgrounds,
backing up wherever we choose to actually had this time
Alite assistant instead of is our best players? Daddy gonna
be the new head coach if we fire TIBs, that
(33:06):
has to be never again. Bro. That was embarrassing which
Leon Rose did because Rick Brunson's a bum and he's
the last I would want coach in this next team.
We need someone who can really take over and provide
a set of principles kind of like what Dead Christie
did for Mike Brown, a set of principles enhance a
part of a game that was lacking previously, in that
(33:27):
case defense, right. I would love to see that institute
in this new Knits head coach.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Yeah for sure. And I think that was the thing
with TIBs too, is as assistance, like who he had
around him, like those like I'm pretty certain a lot
of those guys won't be on any benches next year,
you know. And yeah, you know, so that was another
thing like and listen, player development is crucial and I
don't think we had that. And I think whoever the
(33:54):
next coach is, they're going to bring in their guys
or who because we don't have a lot to We
don't have to a lot to play with in freegency right, Essentially,
vet men type of guys right, so we can't really
get a massive piece to help us. But the guys
we drafted last year, the two guys we got this year,
those are going to be integral parts and on our
(34:15):
you know, for our bench. So if we can get
the right guys whoever the coaches around that guy around
the head coach, that's going to be crucial because those
guys are gonna be very very important and you know,
on how far we can go, So that's important. I
don't think Tibbs had those right guys around him, and
that's kind of why we didn't make the finals. And
(34:36):
I think that's why they made the move, Like, hey,
it may take us a minute to find a coach,
but we we definitely need to pivot from this from
Tibbs regardless, we have to make this pivot. So, you know,
I understand the move like I did like Tibbs. I'm
more of like because we were bad and he kind
of make it relevant and I appreciate that. But I
understood the move one percent. Understood the move and why
(34:59):
they did it. Yes, they may have not had the option.
I think they did not have the option, but they
you know, they couldn't get that guy immediately. But I
understand the pivot and you know, whoever that next coach
is is gonna have a more up to date offensive philosophy.
So I was always cool with letting go of TIBs.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
And you know, you know what we have bro that
maybe only five other teams in the NBA have. We
have a real superstar. We have a real first option.
And that's why I was never adamant about firing TIBs.
I thought we could win a hip despite of TIBs.
I didn't like him, but I respected him and I
saw that Jaylen Brunson, Yeah, that's basketball of his career
under him and grew into a superstar. So it's like,
(35:39):
why change if it's working. But once we did, it's
one of the reasons I'm confident in this coaching search.
No matter who we picked, I think we're still a
championship contender because we got Jalen at being Brunson on
the roster. And as long as Jalen Brunson is on
this roster, we don't have a shot to win a chip.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
And the starting five is cool, like regardless of the coaches,
like they're gonna do their thing. It's what I think
the head coach is gonna do with the guys on
the bench. You know, how, who's going to be in
that rotation. How are you going to expand a rotation?
How are they going to develop? Because that's the difference.
Thirty five is cool where we're gonna be all right regardless,
but as who's going to be there to develop these
(36:16):
guys to help us, because that's going to be the key.
We sold the teams in the finals. They went nine
to ten deep, you know, and that's why they were
in the finals. So I think that's going to be crucial.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
My biggest caveat about who we hire to me is
in game adjustments. Timbs was willing. He showed to make
the end game adjustments necessary to win a game or
to win a series. Sometimes it came a little bit
too late in my opinion. Yes, I think you would
have made those adjustments in game one or early in
game two. Series that win six could have done five, series,
(36:46):
that win five could have done four, And I think
we would have had more time to rest, more time
to prepare, and more time to plan for that next
round if you would have done those moves sooner. That
stubbornness to me is what needs to be eliminated from
nets head coach. The willingness to make the right move
when it's in real time is going to be CRUI
So as a winger, Chip.
Speaker 1 (37:05):
I'm with you. I'm with you one hundred percent. Man,
a few more minutes before I let you go. Man,
appreciate you coming on the pod.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Bro.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
It's always good, you know, to talk to you, and
now we're doing it live on the podcast. But what
are your what are you looking forward to for summer
League with the Knicks? Like, what do you want to see?
I know it's summer League, and you know, it's kind
of like when in baseball, you you know it's spring
training and you know we always tend to overhype you know,
(37:32):
good performances. But what do you want to see it
in summer lan? I know we don't have a coach
and we don't even know, but what are some things
you're looking forward to see with some of the gung
guys from last year and stuff?
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Yeah, there's that Three things that came top of mind.
I want to see Tyer Koloch on defense. I want
to see if he's taking criticism and really worked on
his body and worked on this conditioning, work on this
lateral movement to stay in front of the dive that
he's starting, because we know what he can pass, we
know he has a vision, we know he's re's are exceptional.
It's a great three point shot as well. I want
(38:03):
to see the defense. His Dad's going to be the
make or break component to him earning real minutes as
a backup guard next season in the rotation. Now in
the bench, but if he wants to be a rotation player,
he's got to become better on defense. That's number one.
Number two has become dat yat. I got to see
more aggressiveness sometimes a loader I wasn't really impressed with
in the minutes that he was in than other times
(38:25):
I clashes where he was in rotation, he was pretty
good and stay in front of his the fender off
of a switch. I was impressed. The three point shot
athleticism is there. I want to see himttack closeouts with
more purpose. I want to see him look for his
teammates as well, and that just always go for the
ISO one on one opportunity. So that's number two. Number three.
I want to see aerial, hot, porty outside drop coverage
(38:46):
when he came in the expectation and his minutes was
to play and drop. I want to see how he
does guard in the perimeter. Can he be Mitch light,
because Mitch has shown a lot of potential guarding the
three point line, even blocking three point shots. We love
to see how Aero Party manages that. Also, how he
manages navigating big the big strings too. Can he stay
in front of his man? Can he be a real
(39:07):
threat at the level contain the point of attack we'll see.
We've seen him in Drop. He was decent at it.
He wasn't as good as Sims in my opinion as
a rent protector, but I want to see how he
can get a little bit further away from the basket
guarding threes and fours and ISO attempts. So those are
three things I'm gonna be looking at because they're all talented,
they all have very high potential in my opinion, in
puting Kevin mccoller, but those three guys, to me, I
(39:29):
think have the three best shots of pratt and rotation
with the emphasis on hot forty and the comb really
being rotation pieces next.
Speaker 1 (39:35):
Season, especially to Coleman. That was their first round pick,
you know, so they you know, and we need wing,
you know, wing dep up the bench. So he's going
to be he and like I said, Colic too what
he can do, you know, because he he'll dictate whether
they need to get a legit backup point guard, another
bull handling, So you know that's gonna be important. But
I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to But
my guy Lee appreciate you. Man, this was a lot
(39:58):
of fun, you know, so well before we sign off, brother,
we're definitely gonna be doing this again. So I'm definitely
gonna have you back on the pod for sure. But
tell the people where they could find you. Any projects
you got going I know you got a lot of
things going on, man, you're a busy man. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
I got some articles churning out for Bleacher Report, some
more my social issues on race and stuff. They're gonna
be starting up in July, and I'm really excited about.
Kind of similar to what I do with The Guardian,
where I look at social issues that intersect with basketball
and I write about them from my perspective, I'll be
doing that with Bleacher Report here starting later in the summer.
And then at the Time Show. We just launched our
(40:35):
new show with for Ebony Liberty Latte, so she'll be
Her first episode came out yesterday, so she'll be pushing
that one forward, and then Kot will be covering summer
lead for Agency in the head coaching search all summer long.
To find me on Twitter at underscore listavido l E
E E S E L B E d O.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
I'll be dropping some new poetry soon as well. I
had thirteen poems published this year, so I'm gonna keep
that momentum as well.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
There you go, my guy, There you go. You know,
like I said, it's we've been We've been chopping it
up on X for a little bit, and now we
finally get to talk to face to face, you know,
so I appreciate you man. You know, you're one of
the better hoop minds and I always respect you know,
dope hoop mine. So like I said, I had to
get you on the pod to talk about, you know,
the next draft. You know, you said you knew a
(41:20):
lot about Dink paid, so that's why ones get you
on here. You got a lot of intel on Dink.
So hopefully people watching can get the better understanding of
Dink and and what we could potentially be getting, you know,
because we might we might have a diamond in the rough,
you know, so we'll see you know, and yep, I
hope we do it. In the next coaching search, we'll
see you know who will be the next Nick coach.
But guys, but Lee appreciate you. Make sure to follow
(41:42):
me I off the ballpod. Make sure to like, subscribe,
comment on the YouTube channel. Make sure to follow on
all social media platforms and all podcast platforms. But on
that note, be well, be safe, take care, peace and
love everyone. Yeah h start spreading the new new, new New.
(42:13):
We interrupt our program to bring you this important message
New Yawn.
Speaker 2 (42:17):
I love you, I love New York. Appreciate
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