New York Post, Tuesday, December 1, 2020
nypost.com
NBA TRAINING CAMP GUIDE
By MARC BERMANSince being hiredawayfrom
CreativeArtists Agency in March,
Knicks president LeonRose has
done some nice things.
Rose hiredrespected scouts, an
NBAmover and shaker named
WilliamWesley,an acclaimed
head coach inTomThibodeau and
a slewofreveredplayer-develop-
mentcoaches.
What Roseforgottodowas
upgrade last season’s 21-45 roster.
Witha rushed training camp
beginningTuesdaywith indi-
vidualworkouts, the Knicks look
a lot like last season’s edition— a
losingteam without astar in the
house.
LasVegas has pegged the Over/
Under on Knicks winsat 22 .5 ina
72 -game season—and out ofthe
playoffsfor an eighth straightyear.
Some scouts think that number is
generous.
Though draft nightwas asuc-
cesswithcollege player oftheyear
ObiToppin and Immanuel Quick-
leybeing selected, the Knicks
league-high $40 millionofcap
space didn’t amounttoa major
signing.
The club still is stuck with $18. 5
millionofcap space.Itcan carry
that payroll intothe seasonto
provide trade flexibility ifa star
beyondRussellWestbrook orVic-
tor Oladipo becomesavailable.
The added bonus is the Knicks
are set upfor astarry 20 21 freeagency with potentially $70 mil-
lionofcap space anda likely high
lottery seedfor aloaded 20 21 draft
class.
So the futureactuallylooks
cheery—thoughwe’ve heard that
sentiment many times before.
“They tooka conservativ e
approachbysigning one-year,
stopgapplayers,’’ ESPN’scap
guru andformerNets assistant
GMBobby MarkstoldThe Post.
“This isa huge yearfo r RJ[Bar-
rett], [Kevin] Knox and Obi froma
development stage.It’s important
for theyoung kidstodevelop this
season.Thatwill be the drawto
free agents.”
This wasn’tRose’s Plan A, how-
ever. WhenRose came aboard,
The Post has learned, hetalked
internallyabout hisgrandiose
plansoftradingfo r pointguard
ChrisPaul, hisformerCAA client,
tohasten therebuild.
ThenRoseplannedtosignex-
KnickCarmelo Anthony,Paul’s
buddy.Anthony also isa former
Rose clientwho rejuvenated his
career inPortland.
Accordingtoasource, Paul
wantedtostayclosetohis son inLos Angeles andwas notfeeling
the Knicks. Paulwound up being
tr adedtoPhoenix. On therecord ,
thevete ra n All-Sta r pointguar d
saida NewYorkmovewithout
the trappings ofa packed Garden
wasn’t appealing.
SoRosewent into free agency
lookingtobolster the moribund
pointguard position but lost out
on histop targets that included
Fr edVanVleet, who never gavethe
Knicksa passing glance whilere-
signing withToronto.
Rosewound up bringingback
starting pointguard ElfridPayton,
alsoa CAA client.
Rose andWesley, a formerCAA
adviserwho is closetotheKen-
tucky basketballfactory, get apass
for now.But the honeymoon will
beover if 2021 passes without a
star being drawn toNewYork.
The burning question iswheth-
era win-nowThibodeau can deal
with thisrebuildingro sterfilled
withfi vefo rmerKentucky pl ay-
ers, noneofwhom hasreached
his potential.Thibodeau is nota
patient man.
Thibodeau hasgot amajor chal-
lenge on his hands infiguring outa sensiblero tation with so many
interchangeable pieces.
There’s no surefire No. 1option.
Nostarting smallforward, point
guardorevencenter as their
smartest signee, NerlensNoel, will
battleyoungster MitchellRobin-
son.
Rosehas stayed in his bunker,
having notaddressed the media
since July, when he announced
Thibodeau’s hiring.
Under Gov. AndrewCuomo’s
COVID-19 ban for indoor sport-
ingevents,fans are notexpect-
edtobe permitted inside the
Gardenwhen theregular sea-
son starts Dec.22.
That’s bad newsfor owner
James Dolan,whohas no
revenuecoming in from
any ofhisvenues.Acouple
ofsilver liningsexistfor
Dolan, however. Helike-
lywill be on the hook
for ameagerpayroll
that won’ t come close
tohitting the $109
millionsalary cap.
And maybeeven
better:The lack
offa ns means no
cries of “Sell
TheTeam’’—
a late-season
chant that did
not sitwell with
theownerwho
has no intentions
ofdoing so.
[email protected]FLYING COACH
Knicks counting on Thibs
to make economy roster
soar past expectations
Julius
RandleElfrid
PaytonRJ
BarrettTHEOLDOLDANDTHE
NEW:TheTheKnicksreturn
largelythethesameroster
thatwasoneoneofthe
worstinthetheNBAlast
seasonbutbuthavesome
hopewithproprovencoach
TomThibodeau.Thibodeau.
GettyImages;Images;PaulJ.Bereswill;
CoreySipkin;AP