Grade the Offseason (Everything from Obi to Austin freaking Rivers)

[oballers]

Drafting Obi Toppin (#8 pick): A+

Knicks got a Top 5 talent in this draft at #8. Great pick for so many reasons.

Drafting Immanuel Quickley (late 1st round pick): A-

Extremely underrated player with a ton of talent who can help us on both ends. A+ for the player, A- overall only because he might have been available at 33. But I have no problems with getting your guy.

Signing Alec Burks (1yr/$6M): A+

For only 1 year, this is a steal of a contract for a pretty solid shooter, scorer, and playmaker.

Signing Nerlens Noel (1yr/$5M): A+

Another steal of a contract for basically another Mitch. Plenty of dunks and rim protection for 48 minutes.

Signing Elfrid Payton (1yr/$5M): F

Payton is a waste of money. Period. There is absolutely no reason to have him on the roster.

Signing Austin Rivers (3yr/$10M, only 1 guaranteed): C+

Contract is good value, but Rivers isn’t very good.

Acquiring 2nd round picks in future drafts: A+

Considering the year these picks are being accumulated in, I’m not sure how this grade could be lower. These picks will have value.

Not going ALL IN for Hayward: A+

We weren’t in position to sign Hayward to that kind of money. I think he’s a very good player, but he got a lot of money.

Not going ALL IN for FVV: D

Personally, I had no problems with giving FVV the max. He would have finally stabilized the PG position with shooting, defense, leadership, and playmaking. He’s not a perfect player by any means, but he was attainable if we offered him that contract. The reality is that big names won’t come here unless we’re respectable. Odds are high that we strikeout again next year regardless of how much space we have.

Favorite Move Drafting Toppin
Least Favorite Move Signing Payton

Overall Offseason Grade C+

We have more questions than answers after this offseason. Not trading Randle and re-signing Payton really dings this grade for me. I know we are positioning ourselves for next year and the future, but those guys do absolutely nothing for us.

Surprised you ended up w/a C+ based on the 5 A+ and 1 A- you gave them. Looks more like they scored a B+. You gave them quite a ding for not trading Randle.

[KnicksorBust]

We have assembled the worst roster in the NBA and have no chance at signing any star FAs next offseason yet some of you give them a B? LOL

Philly did that for a few seasons and now they have a core that will be a contender for a decade. Nothing wrong with a true rebuild.

[KnicksorBust]

Surprised you ended up w/a C+ based on the 5 A+ and 1 A- you gave them. Looks more like they scored a B+. You gave them quite a ding for not trading Randle.

If Obi Toppin really is an "A+" pick then we will all look back at this as a tremendous offseason. YS clearly wanted FVV to be lead guard. I can understand it though. A good PG makes everyone better.

[xxplayerxx23]

We have assembled the worst roster in the NBA and have no chance at signing any star FAs next offseason yet some of you give them a B? LOL

LOL building through the draft is what good teams do. Then after they draft their stars they grab FAs

[xxplayerxx23]

Philly did that for a few seasons and now they have a core that will be a contender for a decade. Nothing wrong with a true rebuild.

Warriors did that. They signed iggy. Then they got Durant. Not saying we’re the warriors but get a star from the draft and players look at you different

[oballers]

If Obi Toppin really is an "A+" pick then we will all look back at this as a tremendous offseason. YS clearly wanted FVV to be lead guard. I can understand it though. A good PG makes everyone better.

Yep. I really do think FVV is underrated though. Do you remember how Kyle Lowry was during his 1st 5 seasons- before he blew up? This is a similar story. Hard work and intelligence are more important than people give credit.

[YoungStuna]

Surprised you ended up w/a C+ based on the 5 A+ and 1 A- you gave them. Looks more like they scored a B+. You gave them quite a ding for not trading Randle.

Yeah they aren’t all weighed the same. Burks and Noel are ideally bench players and they are only here for one year. So their A+ doesn’t move the needle much. Not trading Randle, not really addressing PG once again, and signing Payton hurts the grade a lot.

[YoungStuna]

If Obi Toppin really is an "A+" pick then we will all look back at this as a tremendous offseason. YS clearly wanted FVV to be lead guard. I can understand it though. A good PG makes everyone better.

Yeah especially since FVV only got 4/85. I thought he’d get the max or closer to it. If we offered him 4/100 and he turned it down, well at least we tried. He’s a good PG, excellent 3PT shooter, and a tough scrappy defender who makes plays. He doesn’t get enough credit because of the talent in Toronto. I thought he might want to be “the man” in a new city.

Time will tell whether Obi is a successful NBA player, but I think that he will be. He’s going to bring a lot of excitement for this fanbase.

[nycericanguy]

If Obi Toppin really is an "A+" pick then we will all look back at this as a tremendous offseason. YS clearly wanted FVV to be lead guard. I can understand it though. A good PG makes everyone better.

agreed, it comes down to how you feel about Obi. He was the big piece.

[Kinkotheclown]

Surprised you ended up w/a C+ based on the 5 A+ and 1 A- you gave them. Looks more like they scored a B+. You gave them quite a ding for not trading Randle.

TMML

I thought the same when I read it.


Stuna, thank you for the clarification regarding the weighting of your grading rubric

[Kinkotheclown]

If Obi Toppin really is an "A+" pick then we will all look back at this as a tremendous offseason. YS clearly wanted FVV to be lead guard. I can understand it though. A good PG makes everyone better.

I agree about the PG.
Personally, I think that can also have a great deal to do with the type of players on the floor and the chemistry
What I mean is not every good PG will be good or successful with just any team.

It's why I've been bishing about the Knicks creating an identity and a team mentality for the better part of 2 decades.
Maybe this year its that ball rolling?

[Blue Seats]

Not a "grades" guy, particularly before any of these new guys play a single game with the new coach and staff, but I am happy with the offseason. I think the new organization is trying to do things the right way. Not going for the traditional quick fix (Hayward, FVV who would not put us anywhere near over the top) that screws us in the future. Happy we are acquiring assets and not pissing them away. Maintaining cap flexibility for next year's improved FA group when it may actually bring us a step or two forward. I would have liked to have seen a better point guard acquisition but there isn't much out there. Better to see what we have in Frank, DSJ et al and let the chips or ping pong balls fall where they may. Though there won't be tanking with Thibs which is good.

[AI]

Drafting Obi Toppin (#8 pick) - C
Deni was BPA and fell to us yet we went with Toppin. A pick that could arguably be defended if we had a plan in FA but we ended up signing Payton and other turds.

Drafting Immanuel Quickley (late 1st round pick) - B
I actually like Quickley and think he might end up being much better than anyone anticipated. That being said, there were some players still on the board that made a lot of sense for us.

Signing Alec Burks (1yr/$6M) - B+
Good signing, it’s another 1-year deal though. I honestly don’t get those type of deals for a rebuilding team.

Signing Nerlens Noel (1yr/$5M) - B+
Solid signing, great backup C. Only reason this doesn’t get an A is because it’s a 1 year pact.

Signing Elfrid Payton (1yr/$5M)- F
**** Scott Petty, that is all I have to say.

Signing Austin Rivers (3yr/$10M, only 1 guaranteed) - B+
Good rotation piece on a cheap deal.

Acquiring 2nd round picks in future drafts - A+

Not going ALL IN for Hayward - B+
Been reported that we raised our offer to the 4 years/$100M range. That’s pretty much where I would have drawn the line too.

Not going ALL IN for FVV - B+
Similar to what happened with Brogdon, we might look back at Fred’s deal in a year and look at it as a bargain. That being said, just because we need a PG doesn’t mean we should spend our $ on anybody. Fred’s small and inefficient overall. I’m worried about how he’d like out of Toronto’s system and on a team where he’d be required to do much more.


Favorite Move - Probably acquiring picks and signing Noel.
Least Favorite Move - I have two.
1. Not pursuing Beasley/Bogdanovic harder. I believe we could have acquired one if we really wanted to.
2. Re-signing Elfriid Payton, **** Scott Perry.

Overall Offseason Grade - C+

[ShadyOne]

Not a "grades" guy, particularly before any of these new guys play a single game with the new coach and staff, but I am happy with the offseason. I think the new organization is trying to do things the right way. Not going for the traditional quick fix (Hayward, FVV who would not put us anywhere near over the top) that screws us in the future. Happy we are acquiring assets and not pissing them away. Maintaining cap flexibility for next year's improved FA group when it may actually bring us a step or two forward. I would have liked to have seen a better point guard acquisition but there isn't much out there. Better to see what we have in Frank, DSJ et al and let the chips or ping pong balls fall where they may. Though there won't be tanking with Thibs which is good.

Who do you really want from next years FA? Honestly, I don’t see many players that make sense for us. And there will be a lot more teams with money. I’m really not seeing many guys that I’d target. Or that would be realistic gets for us. And we still pretty much need guards.

[smood999]

Who do you really want from next years FA? Honestly, I don’t see many players that make sense for us. And there will be a lot more teams with money. I’m really not seeing many guys that I’d target. Or that would be realistic gets for us. And we still pretty much need guards.

There are a lot of options beyond the top players. I know that it’s frustrating to have to wait another year before they do anything, but taking into account the bigger picture, this can prove to be very smart on their part.

After next summer, there’s no excuse though.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...1?platform=amp

Also the difference between next year and past years when they’ve tried this is that it’s not all about the number one pick and it’s not all about just the 2 or 3 best free agents. They can drop to 5 or 6 in the draft and still be fine and depending on who they draft and the development of RJ, Mitch and Obi, tier 2 and 3 free agents will be fine.