Kemba reportedly a Knick

[HomeRunBaker]

I find this trend toward acquiring a semi-productive veteran only to sit him “to let the kids play” kind of odd TBH. Even after you factor in the contract stuff in the NBA, when you are shutting guys like Horford down it still seems like a super inefficient use of resources and kind of shitty to the player. I can’t imagine this is anything other than an unintended consequence of the CBA and wonder if they’ll address it going forward.

A couple things here.

1. I don’t see how Kemba of this year and Horford of last are related at all. The latter was a veteran shutdown on a tanking team. We’ve all seen this in the past with some variations including shutting down our own Pierce in ‘06. The former is a team trying to make a deep playoff run and replacing an unproductive 31-yr old with a 30-yr who the coach is more comfortable with in his system.

2. I mentioned this yesterday but will reinforce here. What is shitty to a 35-yr old veteran is forcing him to travel to Milwaukee, Chicago, and Detroit in the dead of winter rather than allowing him to spend a few extra months home with his family until he is moved to a contender where he can make an impact all while being paid in full. If he were 25 yeah it would be shitty bc the player is trying to establish himself and at that age only wants to ball (with the few obvious exceptions)…..but it’s different when you’re 35 and have different priorities. Priorities that likely don’t include toiling on a 20-win team while going through the NBA grind and the risk of injury that could prevent him from being traded.

 

[benhogan]

His enthusiasm at the start of the playoff bubble was something to behold, and it does indeed suck that his career is going out so early after toiling for a non-contender in Charlotte for so long. I can understand the criticism of Ainge for signing him, but I'll never understand the Kemba haters.


Agree or disagree with the approach, but Ainge (and probably Stevens) really wanted add a veteran star. If you put aside the injury risk, the signing made sense, given how much we are currently clamoring for a shooter and playmaker to pair with Jaylen & Jasyon. Hayward and Kemba gave them both, and it wasn't outlandish to expect that Kemba's knees would hold up for at least the first 1 or 2 seasons. A healthy Kemba and Hayward would have taken the pressure off Tatum in the Miami series, and Jayson certainly doesn't get schooled by Butler in the process. Doubt they would have beaten a healthy and loaded Lakers team, but a Finals trip would have been sweet nonetheless, and I'm convinced a healthy Celtics team would have pushed the Lakers to at least 6 if not 7. And anything could have happened in a Game 7.

I don't think anyone "hated" Kemba? I certainly didn't, just didn't like the signing and thought there were better alternatives that aligned with the JAYs timeline. It also had knock-on effects (which are rarely discussed around here) and probably greased GH's exit.

I mean you could find posts from me that were critical of Kemba after the Elam Game excitement. I didn't care for his handling of the All-Star game minutes when players like Jimmy Butler opted to play less. That kind of irked me but I dread exhibition All-Star games in general. Some NBA players & fanboys love AS weekend, so whatever

Kemba-ya was somewhat needed after the stink bomb Kyrie laid on the team. He was clearly a good guy, but I would never call him a team leader. A healthy Kemba for the playoffs in year 1 was a coin toss, so that's a fair argument for the Celtics being "un-lucky".

I don't want to re-litigate the Kemba signing but the dramatic decline of a smurf guard after 2 knee operations/mileage, just when the JAYs would start priming wasn't shocking. Credit to PBS for getting out of the Kemba situation as quickly as possible (first order of business after being named President). By all accounts, Danny tried hard to get out of the Kemba deal after the bubble, but no one bit.

 

[Cellar-Door]

I wonder if he wished he didn’t give up $20m to get out of OKC?

It's really something like a little over $2M I think given he was able to get 2/~18 from the Knicks and Hollinger said he doesn't believe there is any offset for that given how buyouts work. So OKC got a deal to get a full $20M savings locked in, Kemba got to shop for a high salary.

 

[benhogan]

He's not playing big minutes so if he plays the beginning of Q1/ Q3 that just means the Jays will attack him relentlessly.
Good for the C's

A Kemba/Fournier starting backcourt will put Thibs in an early grave. I'm sure Randle/Barrett won't mind taking half the shots they took last season

credit to Thibs for ending the Kemba/Fournier backcourt

 

[benhogan]

20 games into the season, once Thibs realizes KEMBA isn't walking through that door there's greater than a non-zero chance he uses his $7MM/yr PG in the role he's really built for now.

I don't expect they'll bench their new $78MM French import

yea, I'm declaring myself the winner of this thread

and I could still see Kemba being a low minute, bench scorer against opposing 2nd units this season

 

[HomeRunBaker]

credit to Thibs for ending the Kemba/Fournier backcourt

Who is calling the personnel shots for the Knicks these days, Mills or Perry? I’d love to be a fly on the wall in that office this week.

 

[benhogan]

Who is calling the personnel shots for the Knicks these days, Mills or Perry? I’d love to be a fly on the wall in that office this week.

my $$$ is on World Wide Wes

Duffy (RJ's agent) probably lobbed a few calls into the Knicks front office

 

[benhogan]

I wonder if the Knicks would be interested in moving Quickley

They have Burks starting at PG then Rose, Kemba,

and some kids in Grimes/McBride

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I wonder if the Knicks would be interested in moving Quickley

They have Burks starting at PG then Rose, Kemba,

and some kids in Grimes/McBride

Unless there is something going on behind the scenes it seems to me they like him in that Lou-Will role of scoring off the bench, play some combo and be a shot creator on the second unit. His two biggest minute games of 37 and 30 came in the Knicks last two games.

 

[benhogan]

Unless there is something going on behind the scenes it seems to me they like him in that Lou-Will role of scoring off the bench, play some combo and be a shot creator on the second unit. His two biggest minute games of 37 and 30 came in the Knicks last two games.

Yep, wishful thinking on my part. He had a good rookie season. Loved his measurements, shooting, year at Kentucky pre-draft

Quickley went right before Pritchard, another slot short.

FYI Steve Mills exited and Super Agent Leon Rose took over 18 mths ago, nice move by the Knicks.

 

[128]

View: https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/status/1470950685785083910

 

[128]

View: https://twitter.com/dialogicmind/status/1470947064100044811

 

[jon abbey]

If Fournier had guys like Quickley, Grimes and McBride behind him, it would be easier to bench him too, and of course the tiebreaker is the bigger financial commitment to Fournier. All three of those young guys had career highs in the past week or so at PG, as well as better D than Kemba (especially the latter two). All the young Knicks are on the Covid list now but that group looks more promising than it did before Grimes and then McBride had impact games in their only starts.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

If Fournier had guys like Quickley, Grimes and McBride behind him, it would be easier to bench him too, and of course the tiebreaker is the bigger financial commitment to Fournier. All three of those young guys had career highs in the past week or so at PG, as well as better D than Kemba (especially the latter two). All the young Knicks are on the Covid list now but that group looks more promising than it did before Grimes and then McBride had impact games in their only starts.

I like all 3 of those young Knicks and think each are going to stick in this league. One thing to be careful of however during these shorthanded G-League roster games is that young bench guy who puts up numbers bc he has free reign to do so against G-leaguers when someone on his team needs to get shots up. There could be a lot of fake outs if you only look at the box scores.

 

[benhogan]

I like all 3 of those young Knicks and think each are going to stick in this league. One thing to be careful of however during these shorthanded G-League roster games is that young bench guy who puts up numbers bc he has free reign to do so against G-leaguers when someone on his team needs to get shots up. There could be a lot of fake outs if you only look at the box scores.

While RJ/Randle received all the headlines last season, Quickley quietly was very good last season.
Immanuel should get the benefit of the doubt...Also loved Grimes pre-draft

Surprisingly, there were a few players at the end of the'21 1st round & 2nd that were interesting. What are your thoughts on Bones Hyland?

 

[HomeRunBaker]

While RJ/Randle received all the headlines last season, Quickley quietly was very good last season.
Immanuel should get the benefit of the doubt...Also loved Grimes pre-draft

Surprisingly, there were a few players at the end of the'21 1st round & 2nd that were interesting. What are your thoughts on Bones Hyland?

Bones looks like he’s gonna make it too. Like Quickley the one real benefit he has is that he is a super distance shooter. He benefits a ton by landing in a role in Denver rather than gunning aimlessly in OKC.

I was super high on Quickley early last year as his game was clearly curbed by combination of the college rules, Cal’s system and having to share the all with Maxey. The kid is a great shooter but has issues with decision making and shot selection. He seems like the ideal LouWill/Clarkson clone but he’s way to young to settle for that role so it may take time for him to reach his full potential. He’s a guy, like the two mentioned, who can be a great get in a couple of years once he figures things out.

 

[128]

Kemba is turning back the clock tonite:

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360304

Career game for HRB's guy Kispert, too.

 

[bigq]

Kemba is turning back the clock tonite:

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360304

Career game for HRB's guy Kispert, too.

He's probably good for a couple of those this season. Particularly right now when rosters are thinned by Covid. But my goodness Fournier's line (1-10 from the field including 1-8 from three and numerous turnstiles on defense) is ugly. I am glad the Celtics didn't try to match that salary.

 

[chilidawg]

Kemba is turning back the clock tonite:

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360304

Career game for HRB's guy Kispert, too.

A few weeks off for Kemba seem to have done him good.

 

[benhogan]

A few weeks off for Kemba seem to have done him good.

I'm surprised Thibs can't just give Kemba the role of small minutes' microwave off the bench.

limits his wear n tear & doesn't get as exposed defensively by 2nd stringers

The Kemba/Fournier, starting backcourt, was a recipe for disaster from the moment the ink dried on those deals

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

A few weeks off for Kemba seem to have done him good.

Kemba's going to need a few months off after Thibs is done with him. 37 minutes versus Cs; 40 minutes versus DET; and 43 minutes last night. I guess Thibs is ramping Kemba up so that he can go all 48 one of these nights.

edit; someone on Reddit wrote the following; I've not verified it but it sounds correct: "With his 44 points coming in a loss tonight, Kemba Walker's teams are now 5-14 (.263) when he scores 40 or more. That passes Bradley Beal (8-22; .267) for the worst winning percentage in 40-point games in NBA history (min. 10 games)."​

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Career game for HRB's guy Kispert, too.

Incredible!! Four 3’s in 33 min against the perimeter close out length of Kemba and Fournier. Kids got a future! (snarky lol)

 

[jon abbey]

I'm surprised Thibs can't just give Kemba the role of small minutes' microwave off the bench.

limits his wear n tear & doesn't get as exposed defensively by 2nd stringers

The problem is that NY when healthy have a lot of guards who fit this role and who get exposed when starting. Rose is out for two months now which thins the herd a bit.

 

[benhogan]

The problem is that NY when healthy have a lot of guards who fit this role and who get exposed when starting. Rose is out for two months now which thins the herd a bit.

I don't follow them enough but Quickley's defense has to be an upgrade (from KW/EF) right?

You can't start these two, Grimes/McBride, but both came into the League with a "good defense" pedigree. How have they been?

I actually don't see those 3 youngsters as anything like Kemba, but you know the Knicks a lot better than myself

Burks reminds me of a Kemba-lite offensive sparkplug

 

[jon abbey]

Grimes and McBride have barely played, I meant Rose and Quickley and Burks, who all played together coming off the bench last year very successfully. Quickley could maybe start once he’s back from Covid, NY’s problem continues to be finding a closing lineup that isn’t horrendous defensively (last night giving up 124 points to a Beal-less Wizards team).

 

[128]

View: https://twitter.com/fredkatz/status/1477077944615030788?s=11

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

View: https://twitter.com/fredkatz/status/1477077944615030788?s=11

From this NY Post story, it wasn't that KW "hurt" his knee durimg warmups, it was that KW started warming up and "something didn't feel right". Or as Thibs put it:

​

“It was last minute,’’ Thibodeau said. “He was warming up, and something didn’t feel right. So, I haven’t talked to the trainers yet. It was a last-minute scratch.’’ ​

​

* * * *​

​

Asked if this was serious, Thibodeau said, “I don’t know, because he started his warm-up, and then he stopped. And then [trainer] Anthony [Goenaga] was looking at him and just felt, let’s get him examined, and then we’ll go from there.’’ ​

After not playing for 10 games, Thibs plays Kemba:

37:21
39:58
43:00
40:21
33:13
19:52 (back-to-back)

What could be the problem?