Poll - The KAT Trade

[Wolvesfan21]

Talent... and chemistry... and fit... I don't think the Wolves won the trade.

But, it's impossible to ignore the financial side of this trade. It's HUGE... and the primary reason for it happening. We all knew the Wolves were hamstrung with the Towns' contract and the impending second apron. It would have crippled adding much of anything to a team already very short on draft assets.

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Now, if Randle hits 36% of this threes at his normal volume... and Reid and Devincizo remain around 40%... great!

But what if Randle keeps dribbling for 6 seconds every time he touches the ball? Towns' was a good fit for Edwards. Time will tell how things work out for Randle. He's immensely talented in his own way, but it's hard to ignore the spacing and hogging issues that could pose problems with Edwards and others.

In the end, Devincoiafdjcenzo might be the best asset considering his contract. The rub is whether it's fool's gold right now or he's one of those later bloomers who turns himself into a helluva player after bouncing around the L for a bit.

Actually I don't think KAT and Ant worked well together. Did you ever see a good on court chemistry? Rarely did they assist each other. It was one of my big gripes, that they didn't work well at all together. It was more of a my turn, your turn bit.

In fact the best (net ratings) two man pairings and three man trios for the Wolves last season all excluded KAT (he was out of the top 5 in both). It was Naz and Rudy, Rudy and Ant, Ant and Naz, etc... KAT wasn't at all our "second star" player he was being paid to be. DDV and JR can easily if not more then replace his offense for sure. The only question I have is defense with the non Rudy minutes. Our offense is going to get alot better though. I see both top 5.

[Leado01]

I will vote after Jan 1st

[FNG]

I will vote after Jan 1st

This is probably the most realistic take in the thread. But we are all instant gratification fans who want to analyze things "right now", so let's revisit this thread 13 games in.

My original take was that this trade made us better...certainly long term, and probably short term. I didn't write it, but I also thought it would be slightly positive for the Knicks. After the first 3 weeks of the season, I think it's pretty clear that both teams are currently worse after the trade. Two teams that went to their conference championship series last year are struggling to stay above .500. Is it a natural result of trying to incorporate new players into their rotations? Maybe. I do think both teams are going to play much better the rest of the way. But I don't know that either team will be as good as they were last year.

KAT: He's statistically having the best offensive season of his career...he's been terrific. But Kek I believe has pointed out that he is really struggling on defense, and the Knicks are clearly not as good as they were last year. Notably they won last night to get back to .500, but KAT was out!

Randle: His bully ball, sometimes clumsy offensive style along with his inconsistent defense is frustrating many of us here. But I will note he seem to consistently put up 20 points and 5 assists every night without me really noticing. He is also scoring more efficiently than any previous season. But my concerns are his defense, his lack of chemistry so far with Ant (I don't know who to blame this on) and his poor rebounding...almost 3 RPG fewer than his career average.

DiVo: Probably the biggest Wolves disappointment this year. He is been one of my favorite players in the Association, but Cool warned as that the last two seasons may have been a mirage. Sure enough, he is having his worse season since his one very bad season with Milwaukee. I might argue that while the results aren't good, I never question his effort. I'm still optimistic that his shooting is going to gradually return to his mean, and that his improvement will perhaps make us a better team than we were last year.

So I remain hopeful, but it's clear that both teams are worse 13 games in.

[Wolvesfan21]

I will vote after Jan 1st

This is probably the most realistic take in the thread. But we are all instant gratification fans who want to analyze things "right now", so let's revisit this thread 13 games in.

My original take was that this trade made us better...certainly long term, and probably short term. I didn't write it, but I also thought it would be slightly positive for the Knicks. After the first 3 weeks of the season, I think it's pretty clear that both teams are currently worse after the trade. Two teams that went to their conference championship series last year are struggling to stay above .500. Is it a natural result of trying to incorporate new players into their rotations? Maybe. I do think both teams are going to play much better the rest of the way. But I don't know that either team will be as good as they were last year.

KAT: He's statistically having the best offensive season of his career...he's been terrific. But Kek I believe has pointed out that he is really struggling on defense, and the Knicks are clearly not as good as they were last year. Notably they won last night to get back to .500, but KAT was out!

Randle: His bully ball, sometimes clumsy offensive style along with his inconsistent defense is frustrating many of us here. But I will note he seem to consistently put up 20 points and 5 assists every night without me really noticing. He is also scoring more efficiently than any previous season. But my concerns are his defense, his lack of chemistry so far with Ant (I don't know who to blame this on) and his poor rebounding...almost 3 RPG fewer than his career average.

DiVo: Probably the biggest Wolves disappointment this year. He is been one of my favorite players in the Association, but Cool warned as that the last two seasons may have been a mirage. Sure enough, he is having his worse season since his one very bad season with Milwaukee. I might argue that while the results aren't good, I never question his effort. I'm still optimistic that his shooting is going to gradually return to his mean, and that his improvement will perhaps make us a better team than we were last year.

So I remain hopeful, but it's clear that both teams are worse 13 games in.

It's not a good start but it is a long season. As I predicted KAT is struggling as a starting 5, no surprise. He either fouls too much or doesn't provide good enough rim protection. Yes he is pretty great on offense, but having a starting center who is at best avg on defense isn't a good situation. Not only that come playoff time teams can and will target him to get him into foul trouble. Then what? He's off the floor and when he is, he can't defend with any aggression.

As far as our side. DDV has underperformed quite a bit. I think we are 7th or so on offense right now (so I heard on a video recently). I still see us getting to top 5 status once things start clicking for guys, Jaden and Conley have been way below their norms also. That's 3 guys playing bad on offense so we have a ton of upside.

I was worried about our defense dropping off when Rudy was out. But man the starters are not playing up to standard either. I think last I heard we were 9th or so in defensive rating. (not sure which stats) Not where we were last year and the non Rudy minutes are tough on defense.

Keep in mind KAT gets paid max money and this deal also helps us to potentially make more moves down the road. Plus a possible 1st from Detroit. So sure, 13 games in. Not great. I still think long term it is and will be.

[Q-is-here]

I will vote after Jan 1st

This is probably the most realistic take in the thread. But we are all instant gratification fans who want to analyze things "right now", so let's revisit this thread 13 games in.

My original take was that this trade made us better...certainly long term, and probably short term. I didn't write it, but I also thought it would be slightly positive for the Knicks. After the first 3 weeks of the season, I think it's pretty clear that both teams are currently worse after the trade. Two teams that went to their conference championship series last year are struggling to stay above .500. Is it a natural result of trying to incorporate new players into their rotations? Maybe. I do think both teams are going to play much better the rest of the way. But I don't know that either team will be as good as they were last year.

KAT: He's statistically having the best offensive season of his career...he's been terrific. But Kek I believe has pointed out that he is really struggling on defense, and the Knicks are clearly not as good as they were last year. Notably they won last night to get back to .500, but KAT was out!

Randle: His bully ball, sometimes clumsy offensive style along with his inconsistent defense is frustrating many of us here. But I will note he seem to consistently put up 20 points and 5 assists every night without me really noticing. He is also scoring more efficiently than any previous season. But my concerns are his defense, his lack of chemistry so far with Ant (I don't know who to blame this on) and his poor rebounding...almost 3 RPG fewer than his career average.

DiVo: Probably the biggest Wolves disappointment this year. He is been one of my favorite players in the Association, but Cool warned as that the last two seasons may have been a mirage. Sure enough, he is having his worse season since his one very bad season with Milwaukee. I might argue that while the results aren't good, I never question his effort. I'm still optimistic that his shooting is going to gradually return to his mean, and that his improvement will perhaps make us a better team than we were last year.

So I remain hopeful, but it's clear that both teams are worse 13 games in.

It's not a good start but it is a long season. As I predicted KAT is struggling as a starting 5, no surprise. He either fouls too much or doesn't provide good enough rim protection. Yes he is pretty great on offense, but having a starting center who is at best avg on defense isn't a good situation. Not only that come playoff time teams can and will target him to get him into foul trouble. Then what? He's off the floor and when he is, he can't defend with any aggression.

As far as our side. DDV has underperformed quite a bit. I think we are 7th or so on offense right now (so I heard on a video recently). I still see us getting to top 5 status once things start clicking for guys, Jaden and Conley have been way below their norms also. That's 3 guys playing bad on offense so we have a ton of upside.

I was worried about our defense dropping off when Rudy was out. But man the starters are not playing up to standard either. I think last I heard we were 9th or so in defensive rating. (not sure which stats) Not where we were last year and the non Rudy minutes are tough on defense.

Keep in mind KAT gets paid max money and this deal also helps us to potentially make more moves down the road. Plus a possible 1st from Detroit. So sure, 13 games in. Not great. I still think long term it is and will be.

I don't know how Connelly does it, but he has to figure out a way to jettison Randle before the trade deadline, assuming we can get something of value in return. But in order to get value in return, Finch has to play him and try to maximize his impact. That's just how it's going to be for now, but I can't imagine Randle being on this team in '25/26, even if he makes it through this season. Him and Reid are redundant at a macro level - both are scoring PFs that can't defend and can't play Center - but Reid is a better fit on a micro level with his outside shooting and quick decision making.

As for DDV, I still have faith. It's hard for me to believe that a player that shot 40% on over 1,000 3-point attempts over two seasons suddenly can't shoot (and yes, nightmarish images of Mike Miller come flashing before my eyes). He's in a slump - better now than late in the season.

Meanwhile, the Knicks are a disappointing 6-6 after the trade with KAT, which puts them......4th in the Eastern Conference!!! How pathetic is the Eastern Conference once again! The Knicks would be 10th in the West! So may be the Knicks aren't doing all that bad when you just zoom in on Conference standings.