Macri’s Missives: Macri and Jeremy’s Perfect Knicks Offseason, Part One — The Draft

Macri’s Missives is a (usually) weekly column published on The Strickland where Jonathan Macri has a candid email exchange with a guest. Think of it like a written podcast. This week, Macri is joined by Knicks Film School and The Strickland’s own Jeremy Cohen to plot out their ideal Knicks offseason. Today: the draft.

*NOTE: This was (of course) written before the Knicks traded picks 27 and 38 for pick 23 today, so just play along!

On Mon, Nov 9, 2020 at 8:13 PM Jonathan Macri wrote:

Jeremy! Apparently it's not enough that we talk for an hour every week… no, no, no. We must give the people more.

It's almost that time. We've been filling up the podcast airwaves with every manner of pontificating, theorizing, assuming, and generally blowing smoke about what this offseason shall hold, and now it's just about here. What better time to get our stories straight.

So now that we know the general parameters — the cap, where the draft seems to be lining up, who seems realistically gettable in free agency, and at what number and for how many years — let's each have a go at playing out our perfect offseason.

I assume we should begin with the draft, but that skips right past the possibility of executing a trade under the current league year (which is about to end, after which the Knicks should have a whole lot more money to spend)... are there any such deals that would be a part of your perfect offseason?

On Wed, Nov 11, 2020 at 9:51 AM Jeremy Cohen wrote:

Hello, Jon! No longer are we merely giving people eargasms — now we give them eyegasms, too. And yes, I can tell that you are instantly regretting that you invited me on to Macri's Missives. Well, too late. You're trapped. This was always about me playing the long game, and now I have won.

What's fun about this exercise is that the outcome won't be either of our individual, preferred ways to build a team this year. Our thoughts likely aren't too far off, but this will be like if Dr. Frankenstein asked his brother-in-law, Doc Brown, to help build the monster.

As for deals before the draft, if we're throwing out reality just a bit, I would love to take on Taurean Prince's contract. He's on his rookie deal until free agency begins, which is when his extension kicks in. The Nets would probably rather use Prince as salary filler once his bigger contract begins, but we're going to ignore that.

Acquiring Prince is a tiny bit tricky. The Knicks could absorb Prince into the Marcus Morris traded player exception, but New York has all of their roster spots filled. The only player who works in this league year is Reggie Bullock. I was hoping to involve him in another trade, but you know what? Screw it. Screw it, Jon! The madness and pain of having to make compromises between the two of us is already starting to rear its ugly head. So I will send out Bullock and 38 for Prince and 19, with the intention of New York buying another second round pick when the time comes.

What say you? Any other pre-draft deals we want to facilitate before we start drafting?

On Sat, Nov 14, 2020 at 3:38 PM Jonathan Macri wrote:

See this is why, despite the obscene potty humor, I united you to do this. I co-sign your deal 100%. It's a fair exchange of assets, although I suspect the Nets would ask for 27 instead of 38. In that case, we'd be taking on $25 million worth of salary for a player worth maybe $10 million over the next two years, all for the right to move up eight spots in a weak draft, not to mention we'd be giving up a useful (and fairly paid) role player in the process. I'd say no to that.

But I don't have to, because this is OUR ideal offseason! Howyadoin.

On to the draft... for me, who we end up with is far less important than what assets we come out with. Obviously I'm talking about ways to improve our position in the 2021 draft. Before I get to my ideal trade, I'd like to say first that I'm fully cognizant of having too many picks in one draft. The Knicks already have four that are likely to be in the top 40, which is great, but only one of those presents a really juicy golden ticket (our pick). So if we're going to add to those coffers, it better have a chance of being good.

As you know, I've been wearing out the idea of upgrading the Mavs pick, but I saved one last fake trade just for this column (or I just thought of it, one of the two)... we trade the eighth pick, straight up, to Atlanta, for Dewayne Dedmon and their 2021 first round pick, completely unprotected. I say Atlanta jumps at the chance, because offloading Dedmon allows them to bring in even more salary using the sixth and eighth picks in this draft. Let's say they trade for DeMar DeRozan and Jrue Holiday (Ed. note: RIP, shit’s happening fast and furious in this 5 day NBA offseason) — literally the best case scenario. I still say that the Hawks finish no better than eighth in the East next year, which equates to the 15th pick, which most observers seem to think is roughly equal in value to the eighth pick this season.

But best case? The Trae Young/Lloyd Pierce situation implodes, and Atlanta is still worse than Orlando, Washington and maybe even Chicago. Suddenly, New York could be going into next season with something like a 1 in 5 shot at Cade Cunningham. Gimme gimme gimme.

Oh, and since we have the 19th pick now, the sting would be significantly lessened. What say you to my craziness?

On Sat, Nov 14, 2020 at 9:04 PM Jeremy Cohen wrote:

Before I answer that question, I think one thing we probably should have established from the get-go is what our short-term and long-term goals are. Is the goal to aim for a top five pick in 2021, or do we want to make this team more competitive than that? Do we want to open up cap space exclusively in 2022, or do we want to also focus on some flexibility in 2021?

Back to your proposal. What you're suggesting totally has merit. This isn't a great draft, so why not try again next year when the draft is better? The Hawks probably push for pick protections (top-10 protected?) — is that enough for us, the Knicks braintrust, to go through with this deal?

By my count, if we want to create max cap space with Prince on the books and without stretching anyone, we would have $31,344,217 in cap space. If we swap out the eighth pick this year and swap in Dedmon, we're left with $22,872,924. We only have four roster spots and we will have already taken on two salary dumps for, as you pointed out, the chance to move up eight spots — and now we're swapping out the eighth pick this year for the equivalent of the eighth pick next year. I feel like we have to ask ourselves what we're doing that isn't a... neutral move? But maybe if we determined something that swung in New York's favor, it wouldn't actually happen? We'll take our chances on the Hawks underperforming.

On one hand, it seems that (to public knowledge) the Knicks have only been working out players likely to be on the board until 15. Yet on the other hand, Walt Perrin was prepping with the Jazz to pick in that range.

So, Jon, I'll kick it back to you before I make my next move. If we're interested in a one-year nose dive while still trying to make the core a bit better, I'm interested. If we want a more measured approach, one where we're trying to show more progress and play meaningful games towards the end of the season, I'm quite hesitant. Based on the Dedmon offer, I think I know where your head is at, and I believe we can find success with either path… But I'm going to leave this decision in your hands.

On Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 9:25 AM Jonathan Macri wrote:

Since we're talking about OUR perfect offseasons, I think my personal goal is to toe the line between competitiveness and the possibility of a top pick. As in, it's mid-March, the team has clearly taken strides, but isn't SO high in the standings that a good old fashioned, late-season tank is off the table. Then again, is there ANY scenario where this team is anything better than in the vague shouting distance of an 8-seed, almost regardless of what they do? I guess we should hold this thought. Either way, to me, it's far more important to show progress early in the season than late (although I'd take either over neither if I had to choose).

Anyway, Atlanta can fuck all the way off with any protections. If they say no? They say no. But that's my ideal trade. Also, I should have been clearer that we're NOT sending the Mavs '21 pick back in this deal. How about we compromise and send back the Mavs '23 pick? That seems fair. In any case, I hear your argument about this being a lateral move, but I'd take the risk. I really don't trust Atlanta.

So where does that leave us? I've just dealt away our top pick, so that stinks. At 27 and 38, I want two players who can help me this year, and in my perfect world, that's Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman. And let's get Sam Merrill in here as an undrafted free agent. I'd suggest taking a higher upside lotto ticket at one of those spots, but I really don't see one I love. If Poku fell? Sure. But he ain't falling. And honestly, even if Cole Anthony was there at 27, I'd rather have Bane.

What are your thoughts?

On Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 7:21 PM Jeremy Cohen wrote:

Damn it, Jon, are you asleep at the wheel?! We traded 27 for 19 like two minutes ago!

At this point I'd be surprised if Bane fell to 27, but he could definitely be on the board at 19. There's also the option of Josh Green at 19, especially if Bane is gone by then. A versatile wing who can perform well on- and off-ball and has upside as a shooter? I'd take that.

Tillman at 38 would be quite nice, and if the Knicks are able to get a quality point guard, pick-and-rolls with Tillman would be quite enjoyable. And considering how bad New York's defense has been for years, Tillman would be a high quality addition. It's hard not to crave a player like Immanuel Quickley at 38 though. In the most unique draft process ever, having first hand knowledge of someone thanks to an established relationship with Kenny Payne can pay dividends. The shooting! The floaters! The quickness! Tillman might be the head, but Quickley feels like the heart.

Hard agree on Merrill if he isn't drafted. I'd still love to buy another second round pick from a cash-strapped team (Pelicans??? Bulls???) and take another stab at this draft class. Although if there's no G-League, roster spots will come as a premium. Four picks means four roster spots! How do we develop players without the ability to play?! The world may never know.

On Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 9:53 PM Jonathan Macri wrote:

I love all of this (and hopefully, unlike me, Scott Perry won't forget what picks he has).

Well I think that's good for now... let's take the next 24 hours to see how the draft unfolds, sit back, assess our position, and tackle free agency with a clear sense of what the roster looks like on Thursday morning.

Giddy up baby.