thecampster

The achilles injury early last year was not as bad as reported. They wanted him working on ligament strength, joint strength and he wasn't doing so. It was part of his beef with LP. LP had work he wanted Cam to do and Cam did only enough to appease. The joint/ligament work was to improve his shot which had variations due to strength. The injury provided cover for the team to oversee his work in this area. Its why he looked bigger when he came back and over the summer. Weight work.

work ethic pre-LP firing and the faux injury he used to get in shape.

I chortled. But to be fair, if Ralphy tried tackling me like that, I would have made him eat my coonskin cap.

Hey you...yah you....come over here

Because I enjoy seeing Supes get riled up. If Knox is Ass, this makes Cam??? Cam defensive rating 2019 - 115 2020 - 113 2021 - 115 Kevin Knox defensive rating - average 2 points / 100 better. 2019 - 114 2020 - 110 2021 - 112 Cam Offensive rating 2019 - 95 2020 - 100 2021 - 104 Kevin Knox Offensive rating - average 2.67 points/100 better. 2019 - 97 2020 - 104 2021 - 106

Day drinking is dangerous...am I right?

That's fair. I mean I can't say the assessment of Knox can be fair. Think of all the players Tibbs buried in Chicago that went elsewhere and were instantly better.

I'm not sure disturbance is the right word. Like there weren't fights, but there were grumblings and words. Its was heading that way. It was a very proactive move for sure.

I'm not 100% sold on the "bad player" label.

So let me spin this a tad. 1. Assuming we resurrect Knox's career and morphs into a 15-20 minute per game solid role player. 2. Assuming Knox resigns here for a more than Solo, less than midlevel player salary (say $5 million/per). 3. Assuming Cam remains an 11 ppg type of player with good 1v1 but bad team defense but extends for $15 million + in the offseason. Is this then a good trade? If Knox makes his teammates happy, his production is only mildly less than Cam's but provides better team defense and our better players get their desired shots, opportunities....is this a good trade? If it also frees up $10 million/year in salary down the road per year is it a good trade?

2 2nds and minimum salary match.

So I wrote a beautiful post on this early this morning that somehow didn't get posted. I will try to recreate that magic now. So during this season, I've taken to watching Kevin Huerter's body language on the floor. Kevin could never win at poker, his feelings cover his face like 4 day old acne. Kevin has also started coaching on the floor for anyone noticing. He's pointing people into position, barking out defensive calls on the wing and his body language can tell you everything you want to know about who isn't playing within a team concept. Kevin is the consummate team player, coach's player. He takes direction and always try to work within the scheme (to a fault). So earlier this year I was watching a Hawk's game and the Hawks were in their mini zone they'll play on the wings. Cam set up shop to 1v1 his man with the ball on the catch. Kev was close and one handed pushed cam to the dominant right hand of the player, barking at him to deny the lane. Cam reset on the player in man on man style D. The player faked left and drove middle where there was no defender, easy bucket. Kevin's body language was that of a father who just saw his son get trucked in linebacker drills. Shoulders slumped. You see this type of thing often from Kevin when Trae shoots early in the clock, late in the game or Gallo ignores the offensive set and decides it awkward 1v1 time. It doesn't matter if the shots go in, they aren't a part of the designed game plan, the set and Kevin is a team guy, a coach's guy. He runs the set. Occasionally you'll see Kevin and sometimes Bogie demand the ball on the inbounds to run the play and get the Hawks back into running sets. Kevin's frustration with Cam was obvious on the court as you'd see his shoulders slump every time Cam received a pass at the top of the key and face up to go 1v1. Shoulders down, move to the near wing ready to crash the glass. He knew the ball movement had stopped. Same with Gallo, same with Wright bringing the ball up. Watch Kevin's body when JC gets a rebound, life springs into his body and he starts up the floor calling for the ball...why? He knows its coming. I don't blame Cam for wanting to get back to how he dominated in high school. For most of these guys, they've been the best player on their team at every level except maybe 1 or 2 years of college. They've been used to going off for 40 a night in high school. Kevin (for example) was Mr. Basketball for the state of New York his senior year. These guys are the best and being hit with the reality that you aren't is hard for most of these guys. I rated the trade a B but not on talent. I rated it based on getting back a player who has come to accept his role and the emotional beatdown Tibbs gave him. We don't need another superstar, we need a guy shooting the corner 3 at a 60% clip. We need a guy who will stop the penetration at the lane as the defensive game plan suggests. We need more buy in. We aren't huge. We don't have Jokic or Embiid and can just run over folks. We have to win as a total team concept and people not buying in have to go. I'll miss Cam but I don't think Nate will. He needs buy in and Cam was listening to the wrong people.

You caught me

All I'm saying is that its a good thing I don't drink or I'd be typing all sorts of crap late at night on here.

Screw it. There are a few offers on the table for JC and the JC is available after Friday talk is valid.....but....there are a number of possible moves out there right now and this can go a few ways. As I stated 2 weeks ago, Bogie has been inquired about by a few teams and its possible he could be moved as well as part of a big deal with filler or possibly JC..... okay Camp...exhale, breathe....go on. The Philly thing is very hot and the move on Cam was about gathering assets that would be used in that or another deal. But know that pick and or both could/should be moved in a subsequent deal (nothing imminent tonight). There is a multi-team deal that is possible but other teams aren't as hot to get something done as we are. The rooks are not safe in this talk. Teams want one thrown in....interestingly Coops name comes up more than JJ's. There is very little interest around the league in Dieng or Wright except as salary filler but both have been discussed. The league seems to be in some state of belief that we're in a fire sale. The phone can't stop ringing about Kevon. He's as hot a commodity as anyone. He's as close to safe as Trae/Capela but can be had if wow'd. The league loves Huerter.

I'm not calling Cam a cancer, but he had a different agenda than the team and 1 player going his own way can ruin chemistry. I'm not sure Knox is staying here (he might be backfill at PF for another trade involving Gallo ) but he might just be filler on another trade. Just passing through. But the skinny on Knox is that he gives effort (I posted an article on this earlier) and will work on his flaws, is coachable. Last season's conflict between LP and Cam was centered on Cam not wanting to work on the things LP wanted him to work on (ligament strength, his core, shooting fundamentals) that he eventually worked on for Nate. I'd rather have a guy buy in (I believe Knox will) than a guy with more skills but only out for himself. Team > individual every time.

This comment is what I'm referring to. Might want to reread it.

No that's what I said but missing the bit about him putting in less effort, being selfish. They wouldn't say that but it will come out. His people insisted on testing the trade market like I said.

If you're waiting on something significant to happen, you could pop a Viagra????

You would do well to read this article on the head scratching reduction in playing time of Kevin Knox. From January last year. https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2021/1/19/22239261/the-incremental-improvement-of-kevin-knox "As of Tuesday morning, Knox was second in the NBA in corner threes among players who have taken at least 20 such shots (15-26, 57.7%), behind only Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Los Angeles Lakers (13-21, 61.9%). Last season, Knox finished 13-51 on corner threes (25.5%). As a rookie, he was 30-80 from the corner (37.5%). Thus, he’s on pace to shoot more corner threes while hitting a higher percentage than ever before." "Not only is Knox playing a more efficient style of offense, he’s hustling. Proof of that can be seen on the margins. For instance, he’s tied for first on the Knicks with 6 defensive loose balls recovered this year, and tied for fourth on the team in overall loose balls recovered. Last year, Knox recovered 6 defensive loose balls and 23 total loose balls for the year, good for 12th and tied for 9th on the team, respectively. Not that he’s some crazy defensive menace, but, much like the rest of the team, Knox has displayed clear improvement on that side of the ball. His defensive rating (108 exactly) is the best of his young career, and while it’s only slightly better than last year (108.6), it’s significantly better than his rookie season (115). The defensive rating stat estimates the points a player allows per 100 possessions, so lower numbers are better. He has contributed to an improved team defense: the Knicks at large are ranked fifth in the NBA in defensive rating. They finished last season 23rd in the NBA in defensive rating." FYI, Cam's defensive rating is 113.8. If you are making the argument of why Cam for Knox, an argument can be made that he's a more efficient player and makes less mistakes (not a better player or prospect).

For example this nugget:

I've already reviewed some of the 2018 draft talk thread and the summer league threads....might wanna go back and look.

Expect some media tidbits about Cam to drop in the coming days. Next 3 bad turnover game Cam has, expect the New York media to eat him alive. They aren't nearly as good at keeping secrets as the Atlanta media.

I'm thinking I'm going to check in on this thread in a few days to see what everyone thinks.

Another thought here, if Simmons is coming, that's an even more crowded wing position.