As we patiently wait for the Knicks to host the Wiz Kiz on Thursday\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2026here are the latest quotables from around Tarrytown and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
On the Knicks\u2019 lack of physicality against Philadelphia:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat bothers me is our lack of physicality throughout the ball game, and that\u2019s the whole roster up and down. We weren\u2019t great on the ball physically and we weren\u2019t great with our defensive positioning physically.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest of the [issues are] coach talk. It\u2019s real, but it\u2019s coach talk that we\u2019ll clean up watching film and all that stuff. I can\u2019t help with the physicality. That they\u2019ve gotta find individually, which will then turn into collectively, and that\u2019s how you find minutes. That\u2019s how you make the team. That\u2019s how you contribute in a way where some of those other mistakes can be \u2018OK, we\u2019ll get better in that area and we\u2019ll get better in this area.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the physicality, we have to do a better job of that from top to bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Knicks making the game easy for the 76ers:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got to wherever they wanted to when it comes to getting to their spots and getting good shots. We didn\u2019t contest, we didn\u2019t rear-view challenge and we made the game easy for them. We just turned and took a step to the rim and they came right over our back and got the offensive rebound, so that I\u2019m concerned about and I don\u2019t want to see happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Knicks\u2019 poor 3-point shot selection:<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care if we go 0 for 40. We took 41 and 33 of those [threes] weren\u2019t sprays. And that\u2019s not how we play.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the importance of the Knicks\u2019 preseason opener:<\/p>\n
\u201c[I put] a good amount [of stock in this preseason game]. Obviously being results-based is not necessarily a focus, but it\u2019s like process-driven and making sure the details are there and doing all the right things. I think those are the things you need to be concerned about, results-based not so much. Obviously we want to win but make sure the process is right.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the second apron being used as an excuse by teams when navigating free agency:<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard that all summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
On being surprised by his diminished free-agent market:<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very surprised. I played every single game last year, played meaningful minutes the whole year. Thought I did decently or good enough in my role that I was given. But when free agency started, that wasn\u2019t the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
On proving himself while competing for a Knicks roster spot:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got to prove yourself every year. I\u2019ve been on eight teams in nine years. Every year you got to prove yourself, prove you\u2019ve gotten better. But with this team obviously the first and second units are pretty set, I\u2019d say. So obviously I\u2019d have to provide a winning attitude. I\u2019m fighting for a job right now. So any role they give me, I\u2019d be happy to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
On returning to New York after previously playing for the Nets during the KD era:<\/p>\n
\u201cI love New York. Obviously playing in Brooklyn, they\u2019re little brother to the Knicks even if, at the time, they weren\u2019t that good and we were really good. New York\u2019s always a place I loved, loved winning, loved being around. When I got the call, I was like, \u2018Yeah, for sure.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n
On wanting to play for a contender:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you know, at this point in my career, only contending teams look for me. So I\u2019m just trying to compete for a championship. Go back to back and help them win again.\u201d<\/p>\n
On fighting for a guaranteed roster spot:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is what it is right now. I thought I played well enough last year to be in the running for a guaranteed job. But now I just got to show my work throughout the summer and my veteran leadership somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n
On seeing the 76ers as a threat to the Knicks:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sixers can make a title run. The Sixers are the team to watch out for if you\u2019re the New York Knicks. To me, it\u2019s clearly about the Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers.\u201d<\/p>\n
On James Dolan and the lack of extensions for Leon Rose and William Wesley:<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me put everybody in New York on blast. That damn James Dolan is getting in the way again. We have some concerns. First of all, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s news or not. Where the hell is the extension for Leon Rose? Where the hell is the extension for Worldwide Wes, William Wesley? Worldwide Wes and Leon Rose ended a 53-year drought and brought a championship to New York. Where\u2019s their extension? Where is it? That\u2019s number one.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Knicks\u2019 current contract offer to Karl-Anthony Towns:<\/p>\n
\u201cNumber two, I\u2019m not going to tell you that Karl-Anthony Towns deserves the max. I understand that you got Brunson and Anunoby coming down the pike, but you don\u2019t disrespect that man by cutting him short by $77 million. You don\u2019t do that. You give him a respectable offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou give him an offer that says, \u2018Okay, listen. We need you to take this hit. Jalen Brunson took this hit. We need you to do it, too.\u2019 So, it ain\u2019t $277 million. It might be $225-$227 million, something along those lines because Brunson took a hit, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might not like it, but it\u2019s not disrespectful. You\u2019re saying, \u2018Listen, I got the cats that you want to keep with you. I\u2019m going to have to touch that second apron. I\u2019m going to have to take care of your other cats.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Knicks needing to take care of Jalen Brunson first:<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we know you got to, to use his term, Big Body Brunson. We got to take care of him. That\u2019s what we can\u2019t go to Brunson and ask him to take another cut. The man delivered the chip, and he was the superstar that did it. Okay, he is the franchise. There will be a statue erected outside of Madison Square Garden for that man one day. He erased a 53-year drought.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, we got to take care of Brunson. So, we might need y\u2019all to take some hits, but you don\u2019t disrespect him.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the Knicks\u2019 history and Towns\u2019 value to the championship team:<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 53 years, the New York Knicks didn\u2019t do anything but pass gas and try to tell us it was perfume. That\u2019s what they did. They stunk up the joint year after year after year, and they finally won the chip.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKarl-Anthony Towns has everything to do with that. I\u2019m not telling you that he ain\u2019t worth\u2014first of all, he\u2019s worth the $277 million in today\u2019s NBA economy. It\u2019s just that, in light of other people you have to take care of, it\u2019s going to call for some level of sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you don\u2019t disrespect him. Karl-Anthony Towns deserves more money, and most importantly, he deserves to be respected and appreciated. And I\u2019mma tell you why: New York has a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
On his concerns about James Dolan after the Knicks\u2019 championship:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got a problem because that same damn James Dolan that stunk up the joint for years running the New York Knicks franchise finally, after 27 years at the helm, won a chip.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t surprise me at all if his mentality is, \u2018All right, I delivered a chip. So now we can wait another quarter century before we win it again.\u2019 He\u2019s the kind of person that\u2019ll have that kind of attitude and take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n
On what he sees as a broader problem with Knicks ownership:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m speaking to a bigger problem. I\u2019m speaking to a level of arrogance and dismissiveness on the part of the ownership that\u2019s focused on the fact that he\u2019s a champion now and not really reflecting on the years of ineptitude that he exercised running this franchise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if Karl-Anthony Towns isn\u2019t taken care of, it sends the wrong message: \u2018we don\u2019t necessarily take care of our own.\u2019 You see what I\u2019m saying? And that\u2019s where it\u2019ll lead to you not winning for the next quarter-century and beyond when you ignore your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven when the Lakers struggled, the Buss family always took care of the people who took care of them. That is what James Dolan has to remember.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeon Rose deserves his money. Worldwide Wes deserves his money. Brunson and Anunoby deserve their money. Karl-Anthony Towns deserves the money. They clearly made money for James Dolan this past season. Yeah, they made money for him. Let\u2019s be clear.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As we patiently wait for the Knicks to host the Wiz Kiz on Thursday\u2026 \u2026here are the latest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":853108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3768],"tags":[7,304,2964,6,1136,191,3810,3806],"class_list":["post-853107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-knicks","tag-basketball","tag-knicks","tag-knicks-news","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkknicks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/117400204982499673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}