Around the League - '24-25 Season

[Lipoli390]

KAT had 30 efficient points, 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and only 2 turnovers in the Knicks convincing win over the Bucks today. Hartenstein had 10 points and 12 rebounds with zero turnovers and only 1 foul in OKC’s win over Dallas. Westbrook had 21 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in Denver’s win today.

Meanwhile, Randle had a terrific game for us last night, scoring 18 points along with 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 turnovers. Rudy had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. I have no complaints about Randle’s game last night other than his 4 turnovers. That’s way too many turnovers from a PF but it’s one of Randle’s flaws. Rudy scored for us last night, but getting only 4 rebounds and 1 block is totally unacceptable for a center getting $40 million per year.

All of this makes me think of what might have been if TC hadn’t thrown his needless hale Mary for Rudy Gobert. That deal ultimately lead to trading KAT for Randle and Donte. Had he not traded for Rudy, we’d still have KAT. We’d also have Kessler. We would have been positioned to acquire Hartenstein. We may or may not have traded for Conley, but we could have signed Westbrook. In addition to all that, who knows who we could have ended up with via all the players and picks we traded for Rudy, not to mention the future picks we’d probably still have and the transactional flexibility we’d have as a team below the 2nd apron (probably below the 1st apron too). Maybe we could have kept Malik Beasley who is putting up terrific numbers for a surging Detroit Pistons team.

[Sundog]

Well… I’m really glad for KAT, it’s great to see him balling out that that. But as you know, Lip, the trade wasn’t KAT for Randle, it was KAT for Randle, DDV (27/10/7 against Memphis the other night) and a 1st from Detroit, which looks to be a great pick at the moment. Even with KAT showing out, that’s a great trade.

I’m not going to engage on the Rudy trade… I thought that was settled on this board after the Wolves went to the WCF last season.

[FNG]

Well… I’m really glad for KAT, it’s great to see him balling out that that. But as you know, Lip, the trade wasn’t KAT for Randle, it was KAT for Randle, DDV (27/10/7 against Memphis the other night) and a 1st from Detroit, which looks to be a great pick at the moment. Even with KAT showing out, that’s a great trade.

I’m not going to engage on the Rudy trade… I thought that was settled on this board after the Wolves went to the WCF last season.

Yeah, time to close the books on the Rudy trade. Not only did we go to the WCF and are in the playoff hunt this year, but Utah continues to be a disaster...they are 22 games back with their 10-28 record, and with Zion back with the Pels, they are destined for a last place finish in the West. Imagine the despair on this board if we were the Jazz!

But the KAT trade will continue to be a talker. He's been terrific and the Knicks are better, and meanwhile Donte has been a disappointment (until recently) and Ju has been a challenging fit. The trade seems lopsided right now...at least when you don't consider the financial aspect. But I would argue things are slowly changing:

1) Donte is starting to look like the player who was a key part of the Knicks getting to the ECF last season...love the way this guy plays!
2) Ju is also starting to look more comfortable fitting in...several triple double watches in the past month.
3) And with the Pistons being the third hottest team in the league the past couple weeks, the prospects of a mid-teens pick in a stacked draft are looking stronger
4) And finally, listening to the beat writer for the Knicks yesterday on NBA radio, there are questions in NY about both how KAT fits with Brunson (although yesterday they seemed to fit quite well...Brunson had 23 in the first quarter!) and KAT's defense.

TC had to find a way to move KAT, and we may be looking at this deal differently as time goes on.

[Q-is-here]

Well… I’m really glad for KAT, it’s great to see him balling out that that. But as you know, Lip, the trade wasn’t KAT for Randle, it was KAT for Randle, DDV (27/10/7 against Memphis the other night) and a 1st from Detroit, which looks to be a great pick at the moment. Even with KAT showing out, that’s a great trade.

I’m not going to engage on the Rudy trade… I thought that was settled on this board after the Wolves went to the WCF last season.

Yeah, time to close the books on the Rudy trade. Not only did we go to the WCF and are in the playoff hunt this year, but Utah continues to be a disaster...they are 22 games back with their 10-28 record, and with Zion back with the Pels, they are destined for a last place finish in the West. Imagine the despair on this board if we were the Jazz!

But the KAT trade will continue to be a talker. He's been terrific and the Knicks are better, and meanwhile Donte has been a disappointment (until recently) and Ju has been a challenging fit. The trade seems lopsided right now...at least when you don't consider the financial aspect. But I would argue things are slowly changing:

1) Donte is starting to look like the player who was a key part of the Knicks getting to the ECF last season...love the way this guy plays!
2) Ju is also starting to look more comfortable fitting in...several triple double watches in the past month.
3) And with the Pistons being the third hottest team in the league the past couple weeks, the prospects of a mid-teens pick in a stacked draft are looking stronger
4) And finally, listening to the beat writer for the Knicks yesterday on NBA radio, there are questions in NY about both how KAT fits with Brunson (although yesterday they seemed to fit quite well...Brunson had 23 in the first quarter!) and KAT's defense.

TC had to find a way to move KAT, and we may be looking at this deal differently as time goes on.

In Lip's defense, the Rudy trade was the "original sin" that sort of got us in the salary cap bind that eventually led to KAT's trade. So one may be doesn't happen without the other? Although in TC's defense, I don't think the new cap rules were even known at the time of the Rudy trade, right? So I agree....water under the bridge at this point.

And to Sundog's point, we made the freakin' WCF last year!!! We were legit contenders. We don't know if an Ant-KAT team minus Rudy but plus Kessler or even Hartenstein could have gone that far! In the meantime, Ant got valuable deep playoff experience early in his career.

But now back to Lip's defense....if there is another WCF appearance, it will likely be without Randle and without Rudy or with Rudy playing more of a niche role at less than 30 MPG.

[Sundog]

Very fair comments all around. Go team!

[Phenom]

Are we 100% that TC doesn't make the KAT trade even without Rudy? The salary ramifications make it an easier pill to sell but many weren't in love with KAT long term anyway, playoff performances, aging into his next contract, etc.

[60WinTim]

Are we 100% that TC doesn't make the KAT trade even without Rudy? The salary ramifications make it an easier pill to sell but many weren't in love with KAT long term anyway, playoff performances, aging into his next contract, etc.

He has barely average 50 games per season that last 4 years...

[Q-is-here]

Detroit wins @ New York! Golden State loses against Toronto! Wolves win! What a great night for Minneso.....oh, oops, never mind.

[60WinTim]

Detroit wins @ New York! Golden State loses against Toronto! Wolves win! What a great night for Minneso.....oh, oops, never mind.

Knicks were close to a comeback, but KAT with the old offensive foul in the final minute to close the door on that (along with some hot shooting from Beasley).

[Lipoli390]

Are we 100% that TC doesn't make the KAT trade even without Rudy? The salary ramifications make it an easier pill to sell but many weren't in love with KAT long term anyway, playoff performances, aging into his next contract, etc.

lol. We can’t be 100% sure of anything in life, especially what an NBA front office might have done if they hadn’t done something else. . But I’m pretty sure we’d still have KAT if we hadn’t traded for Rudy. And maybe we’d still have Beasley. .