Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 53. (Read 912170 times)

Especially after winning in the 2022 3-point shootout.

This is so true and I think many veteran forwards/centers did point that out on national television. Barkley was one. The attack on the paint which is being done by KAT as a normal thing has lessened.
Although it's nice to see a big man shooting outside, it doesn't mean he will be so predictable by doing it over and over again. NBA players become great when they are unpredictable and they easily get past someone when the defender has no idea what he will do. Against the Mavs, it's so obvious that he will just keep on shooting threes because he ain't even trying to attack. Not until Game 4 that he changed it. KAT made 25 points in that game but that's because he started by attacking the paint first with layups. That probably confused his defender because he ain't waiting for the ball outside anymore.

I bet JB will still handle everything but KAT must become more aggressive inside for offensive rebounds, that height will be a waste if he keeps his foot in the 3-point line.

There were like the fab 4 before them with CWebb at Jalen Rose with Michigan State as they revolutionized college basketball as they were one of the first teams to wear those baggy close in the 90's. As we remember, the norm back them is the "short shorts".

That's why it's saddened their fans in Villanova to see Donte leave the Knicks after a great first year with them.

But he shouldn't be, he will go on the West again to be with a contender team with Anthony Edwards. Yes, we might see more playing time with Naz Reid, he has also some crazy stats in the 3 point line.

Sure it's a win win because the Wolfes don't really need/use KAT properly. They will move Naz Reid in the starting lineup for him. It's a great alternative since Naz was voted best 6th man last season and improved his game a lot lately.
The biggest factor for this trade for the Wolfes was the money aspect anyway. With KAT they would still have 3 max players on the roster which costs them A LOT. They they have more flexibility and don't need to fear the problems the new cba is bringing if you are spending too much.

With KAT on the roster the salary would have been crazy high.

Could be a win-win situation for both teams. That will only depend If the trade improves their game in general or it will become worse.
KAT wasn't just so effective with the Timberwolves roster and I think they don't have much of a choice as only KAT might be the only piece that will get them a better trade offer.
I have a feeling that the Wolves will gonna improve this season with Julius Randle acquisition.

Conley is a great PG, but they definitely need a solid backup since he’s not getting any younger. They should also limit his minutes, as his defense has become a problem. Opponents often target him due to his size..just like when Luka goes up against him. Luka would easily dominate Conley in those matchups.

I’d do the same if I were Thibs. KAT can generate his own offense, but he doesn't always make the smartest decisions on the floor. When he developed his outside shooting, I noticed his aggressiveness in attacking the paint started to fade. That’s an issue they need to resolve with the new team, he should take fewer outside shots and focus more on inside offense and defense. IIRC, his shooting attempts were one of the reasons they lost to Dallas; he took a lot of shots that didn’t go in.

Thanks for correcting me for this one. I didn't consider the current roster of Minnesota by the time I'm making this post, but thanks.

Anyway, with how stacked the roster of Minnesota will be, he will be on the 2nd unit of the team alongside Naz Reid and others. I believe the starting 5 of the Timberwolves right now will be Conley, Edwards, Randle at 3, McDaniels at 4, Gobert at 5. What bothers me right now is that, why the Wolves didn't try to get a PG right now? I mean Conley is a reliable PG, and they might have Rob Dillingham as their back-up PG, but he's a rookie hence, I will not rely on him that much. He's more of a shooter than a passer as well.

If I'm Coach Thibs, I will not rely that much on KAT especially on offense. I mean you have Brunson, Bridges, and Anunoby out there that are more reliable on offense and can step up in the most crucial moments than KAT that can choke at any moment. He can be a reliable defender which he must focusing with because in terms of offense, the Knicks have so many players that can step up offensively.

The Knicks are now at the top 5 to win a title based on sportsbooks and why not? I mean they're better right now with the new acquisitions. I will not be surprised if they will be the ones that will compete in the NBA Conference Finals this season.

What they did was the right move; having Gobert in the paint provides solid protection, so now they have a dedicated defensive anchor, allowing others to drive in and shoot from outside. The Wolves have great three-point shooters, and last season, they even surprised me by beating the Nuggets. Their main struggle was making adjustments against Dallas, and because of that we had a bad Finals match up.

It'll be exciting to see what adjustments the team would make, but adding DiVincenzo is a good move since he's a reliable role player, even back when he was with the Warriors. The decision with Randle is a bit risky, as he’s recovering from a serious injury, and as we know, when players take a long break due to injury, it can be tough to get back to top form right away.

Same here, I’ve only heard it from the commentators during the playoffs; you can really see their good chemistry. But this big 3 won’t be playing together next season. They played well but just fell short, which is why they decided to bring in KAT...they believe he’s the missing link to becoming champions.

 Hopefully, KAT stays healthy, because his contributions will be huge come playoffs, especially with the Knicks already showing strong teamwork and having a solid PG like Brunson.


ctto

Well, not everyone should like KAT. Some people don't like his style of play. Everyone has their own vision and understanding of the game, players and the whole team. Is it just me, or are the requirements getting stricter every year? A basketball player must have certain skills to be noticed and acquired by a world-famous team. Yes, I understand that money solves many of the main problems now, but still... You need to not only be able to buy players, but also be able to spot talent in others.

I didn't follow them with their careers on Villanova but it seems a lot of discussions about them being reunited in the Knicks.

But that's life, not everyone gets to stay in the team and maybe after or during this season another one or two will be stripped away from the Knicks from these Villanova boys.

That's what many of the Knicks have said and they think that Wolves are the ones that won this trade. But the Knicks won't do something like this if they don't think that the player they are getting won't fit to their program and playstyle. We as fans can only do so much to the team and hope that this is going to be an actual good decision that will make them consistent for this upcoming season and I agree, hopefully KAT remains healthy.

I also see that way, maybe the reason why they added Donte for that trade as they can't risk that small lineup hopefully it adds up and this trade will materiliaze to them, with Brunson's ledership I'm pretty sure KAT will get his use of it, they just need to jive / blend their game and create a good chemistries with each other.

In terms of Reid, that's possible to become a starter since the coach is fan of a twin tower set up, now that both KAT and Anderson are no longer with the team Reid will take that position as he's very familiar with that system.

This is a good question.

Who won the Knicks-Wolves blockbuster? And how does it impact the NBA's title picture?
https://sports.yahoo.com/who-won-the-knicks-wolves-blockbuster-and-how-does-it-impact-the-nbas-title-picture-003045406.html

No one could say what could happen at this point. Didn't many basketball fans and analysts also question the pair of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic? They didn't believe it would work and they ate all that they said while watching them play in the Finals.
The thing about trades is that it could work out or not and I think it will depend on the team. Luka accepted Kyrie and vice versa. Kyrie stepped back for Luka because he knew he was the leader of the team and respect was created.
We will see if KAT could be the same with JB, he is a star and so is JB but there should be no friction when it comes to leadership.

It's just disappointing about the Villanova Boys. We really thought that lineup would come together. Now only Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart are left. But in case all four Villanova Boys end up on the same team, one of them would surely end up on the bench and that's Donte DiVincenzo. I don't see all four of them being effective together or as part of the starting five. That's why I can say that this trade between Minnesota and New York is a win-win for both teams. The Wolves don't need another center since they already have Gobert and Naz Reid, who are reliable. I think Naz Reid will be a starter this season.

Yeah I wouldn't call KAT past his prime, same with randle I think both are right in the middle of it.  Staying on the court will determine who got the better of the trade.  Knicks upgraded theor 5 but got extremely weak at the 4 behind OG.  OG has his own injury issues.  I think that will be huge here too.  If OG stays healthy losing randle won't be that huge. 

And with the Detroit pick, yeah ultimately it might just convey into 2nd round picks because of the protections attached to it.

To be fair, there is a potential that Derrick Rose could be the youngest MVP of his time and not make it to hall of fame.

I still think he should, but when you look at his career, aside from his very first years, there isn't really anything hall of fame worth, and you do not give a few years a hall of fame entry, usually it is for a career, and that dude didn't play good at all for over ten years, that's something that's hard, he has been injured beyond repair.

Brandon Roy for example knew that his time was up and just left, he won't be getting any hall of fame chances, because he left, and knew he couldn't play.

Derrick Rose couldn't stop, didn't feel like stopping, hell even Greg Oden realized his body wasn't taking it, and instead of being injured for many years and not play any games and just have few more games, he just quit.

Derrick Rose was phenomenal when he played and was healthy, but that dude definitely doesn't deserve neither a jersey retirement nor a hall of fame. I know I might be sounding a little harsh, like I hate him or something, but I don't, he was a cool player to watch and I liked him when he played good but that was just a few seasons at best, no need to glorify a few seasons this much.

This is I think the latest depth chart of Wolves https://www.espn.com/nba/team/depth/_/name/min DiVincenzo is listed in second unit which and they need major contributor coming off the bench. The starting five of Wolves is solid and If Randle will be questionable then I guess Naz Reid will be his replacement since they already test out how efficient this guy when they need solid player to step up for their team.

Even though Wolves lose KAT they are still an exciting team since their new added player is well known contributor for their past team so with their latest movement there's no doubt that they became a title contender again.

I doubt that, because if you look at this career stats, *** https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/divindo01.html).. His MP last season was 29.1, the highest in his career,  and we don't even know if he'll be a starter with the Wolves.

They should do it. I mean Derrick Rose has been a big help towards their run during his prime. Most of his achievements as well is when he's on Chicago and many fans love him as well. I will not be surprised if they will announce it this year or at least this 2024-2025 NBA Regular season. He deserves that achievement - to retire his #1 jersey. I hope they will do it like what they did to Vince Carter.

That posterized by Dragic is one of his most nasty plays during his prime. Until now, I'm still questioning myself "Why did Dragic did that?"

I said that the Knicks won this trade just because they got a reliable big that could help them defend the paint and I think that's still the case until now for me. I respect the opinion though since the Wolves got an all-star player and at the same time, a reliable three-point shooter as well in DiVincenzo, but they need to do it because having 3 bigs on one team isn't good for them and they need to get rid of that huge contract that KAT got. With Randle being a free agent next year, they might just let him leave the team or resign depending on his performance this season.

As for Brunson, he will just get over it like you said. I believe that he expected that there will be at some point where they will play with different teams. At the end of the day, they're still friends and I also believe that DiVincenzo will have more playing time in Minnesota than in New York.

That’s good to hear, and hopefully, the Bulls recognize this because, in my opinion, D. Rose deserves recognition in the NBA. No player wants to get injured, and during his prime, D. Rose was truly remarkable. He wasn’t afraid to go up against the big guys, never played it safe to avoid injury. With all his effort and love for the team, he deserves that reward. And honestly, after the Bulls, there wasn’t any other team where D. Rose made such a significant impact.