We are back with another KFTV Stock Exchange, and things are interesting! This will cover January 16th to the 31st.
Welcome to the KFTV Stock Exchange! Young players in today’s NBA market are volatile. Like cryptocurrencies, they can be sky-high one day and crash back into reality the next. In this environment, it’s best not to be swept up by emotion and to remain focused on long-term trends. So read on for advice on wisely investing your time, energy, and money in the current NBA season.
Overall Team
Those strapped into James Dolan’s Wild Ride are nauseous from its highs and lows in January. Unfortunately, the second half of the month was more of the latter than the former. Nevertheless, James Dolan hopes you are at least having “fun” on his Wild Ride and that you don’t expect anything more than a first-round exit.
The second half of January started with an effortless four-game losing streak. First, they lost to the Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, then the Raptors again. Then, to add insult to injury, they ended the month with a patented heart-breaking loss to the Lakers.
On some nights, the team can look like a dark horse playoff contender. On others, they come out with zero effort or desire to win. The team’s effort has waxed and waned like a rapid lunar cycle all year.
They did notch two impressive wins against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. However, these two highs made the subsequent loss to a battered Nets team even more sickening.
During overtime against the Boston Celtics, the legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier dropped one of his most fire rhymes ever. With three words, Clyde succinctly summed up where the Knicks stand as an organization.
“Glory or purgatory?”
The Knicks won that game for whatever that is worth.
As Fans, we can see the team building up to something. There is a solid young core, solid veterans, and boat load of trade assets. The ingredients for a championship team are there, but while Leon Rose has done a solid job of setting this foundation, most of his other moves have flopped. With all his assets, is he making sure not to play his hand too early, or is he merely gun-shy? The team may make a move for the trade deadline, but if so, it’d still be hard to imagine that they elevate themselves past the middle of the pack.
KFTV Stock Status: Glory or Purgatory?
Tom Thibodeau
January has been a difficult month for Thomas J. Thibodeau Jr.
At the end of the Nets game, he ran a line-up of Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Julius Randle, and Jericho Sims. But with two minutes left, he subbed out Immanuel Quickley for RJ Barrett, who were both cooking. Quentin Grimes, who forgot his spatula in the locker room, stayed in.
Grimes had two wide-open looks from three and bricked them. After Grimes missed those shots, this question followed: why sub out Quickley and keep in Grimes? It may seem like a baffling decision, but Grimes has had a knack for hitting clutch threes, and if he hits those, then perhaps we end up singing Thibodeau’s praises (as if that would ever happen!).
Then there is the final play of the game against the Lakers. Jalen Brunson had been cooking, but Thibodeau elected to let Randle make the final play. This decision earned Thibodeau an astronomical amount of criticism. However, while it seemed counter-intuitive not to ride the hot hand, people are missing out on one crucial detail: Darvin Ham matched up Lebron James against Jalen Brunson.
Due to Julius’s unreliability in crunch time, Jalen Brunson should get the ball even if Wilt Chamberlain guards him. But, with the matchup of a fragile-legged Anthony Davis, and the ease with which Julius can draw fouls, it is a valid reason to go with him over Brunson.
The failure of the final play is more on Randle than Thibodeau. He had five seconds to get a shot off and wasted two by standing on the perimeter. Then, when the double team came, he activated Taz mode and failed to kick out the ball to a wide-open Brunson.
But staying on topic about Thibs, there was Ian Begley’s report where he wrote, “Reddish expressed displeasure to a Knick assistant coach about the way Thibodeau was using him, per people familiar with the matter. Reddish has not played since he expressed that displeasure.” Naturally, this caused an uproar in the fanbase. It was the proof in the pudding, the smoking gun, that Thibodeau is a toxic coach and needs to be fired.
Begley followed that up by saying, “Does that factor into why Thibodeau has kept Reddish out of the rotation? I don’t know the answer to that question.”
There are many moving parts between the front office, the coaching staff, and Cam and his representatives. Perhaps it is Tom Thibodeau’s fault—the guy whose rotations are notoriously win-focused—for refusing to play a player that will help him win.
His infamous “we needed size” quote, his justification for playing Fournier over Reddish, was as tone-deaf as coloring the Empire State Building green and white for the Philadelphia Eagles. Under a different light, it could be a sardonic call for help.
As a fanbase, we don’t know why Cam isn’t playing, and this lack of knowledge has led to the blame falling directly on Thibodeau’s shoulders. Business can get nasty, especially NBA business. It is worth considering that he may not be at fault for the Cam disaster. The way some fans deem him guilty, they must have an omnipotent knowledge of the locker room.
This isn’t the first time Cam estranged himself from a front office. He had his moments to shine in the rotation. There was very little chance Cam would play more minutes than Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes, both of whom are Thibodeau’s golden children. Nor would he play over RJ Barrett, the 100-million-dollar man.
So who is at fault for this situation? Is Thibodeau freezing out a talented young asset? Is Cam playing diva? Or is it the front office’s fault for trading for him in the first place, especially since it was clear from day one that he didn’t fit in the rotation?
Now, with all that said, we know that Thibodeau’s late-game offense is still atrocious. Ad Infinitum, the team drained the clock until about ten seconds left and then rushed themselves into a poor shot or turnover. So instead of playing to win, the team has played not to lose. Thibodeau also elected to play Fournier over Grimes to close out the Raptors game, which had me gritting my teeth.
I must seem like an extreme Thibodeau apologist, but his stock is at times (often, dare I say) over-criticized. Is Tom Thibodeau the coach of the future, one that will lead the Knicks to championship contention? No. Would I be upset if he is fired tomorrow? I’d be worried that the grass isn’t always greener.
He’s a solid coach with flaws, but he’s a symptom, not a cause, of this team’s mediocrity. These takes will have me covered in tomatoes like I’m in the Tomatina festival. I can already see them blotting out the sun. Well, at least I brought my orange and blue raincoat.
KFTV Stock Status: Underrated
Isaiah Hartenstein
Last time I discussed Isaiah Hartenstein, I wrote that since his value was nearly at the bottom, it could be worth taking stock in him because it couldn’t possibly go any lower. After struggling for a while, Isaiah found a groove, and his production significantly increased in the second half of January. He has been more aggressive in his drives, defense, and rebounding, including a game-saving block against Donovan Mitchell that sealed a win against the Cavaliers.
Against the Lakers, he logged 40 minutes, scored 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting, and grabbed 16 rebounds, seven of which were offensive. He had two key tip-outs that could have changed the game’s outcome if his teammates didn’t recklessly hoist up threes, but the effort and the hustle were there.
After the win against the Cavaliers, he addressed the media: “I know myself. I’m not playing as well as I’m supposed to be playing. I feel like I’m letting the fans down, the city down a little bit. But I’m just going to keep getting better because I know I can do it. So it’s just trying to get better and represent New York.”
This type of introspection indicated high character and a willingness and desire to improve. It can’t be easy to play in Madison Square Garden, and though it may be risky, fans can take stock of the idea that he has overcome his jitters and can continue this valuable production once Mitch returns.
KFTV Stock Status: Hart-ing Up (I’m sorry, that was bad)
Miles McBride
Miles McBride is like a worse Elfrid Payton. That may sound like a roast, but I mean it as an honest and respectful evaluation of McBride as a player. Elfrid Payton was a solid player. His shooting form may have made me want to cover my eyes, but he was a capable starting point guard and a big reason for the team’s success in 2020-21. Sadly, Elfrid Payton doesn’t get enough respect or credit from Knicks fans.
(I’ll never forget the time he scored 27 points on 12-16 shooting against the soon-to-be-champion Bucks; this game signaled a turning point for the franchise—from a smelly dumpster fire to an ashen trash receptacle, but I digress.)
I admire McBride’s game. His defense and intangible skills never waver. He fights every possession, and his energy is what this team needs. However, like Elfrid Payton, his three-point jump shot has a catapult-like hitch. Comparing the entirety of Elfrid Payton’s 2020-21 season and McBride’s 2022-23 season, we see almost a mirror image in terms of three-point shooting.
Payton shot 98 three-pointers and converted on 28 of them for 28.6 percent accuracy. Meanwhile, McBride shot 90 and converted on 20 for 25.6 percent. With these almost equal sample sizes, we can ascertain that McBride is a worse shooter than Payton.
We can also see the differences in their games. Payton was a maestro at getting to the rim and shot threes sparingly. McBride doesn’t have the speed or craftiness to break down defenses like Payton, so he shoots a higher volume from the arc. And it’s not like McBride’s looks are heavily contested. Jacques Vaughn matched Kyrie Irving up against McBride, and Kyrie might as well have been laying in a hammock in Aruba for all the rest he got on defense.
That said, his defense can be a game-changer. We saw him snatch three steals against the Boston Celtics. In the fourth quarter, he caused Malcolm Brogdon to cough up the ball, which led to a crucial Quickley and-one.
McBride doesn’t need to do much to be a net-positive player. If he can convert on a higher percentage of three-pointers, enough to hit one or two a game, along with a few more points, he can provide valuable minutes off the bench. But as of right now, his defense alone isn’t enough to justify more than ten minutes per game.
I respect McBride as a player, but to honestly evaluate him right now, I don’t see much reason to buy stock in his game. Should a trade happen, which is seemingly inevitable at this point, then McBride will be the first to lose his spot in the rotation.
KFTV Stock Status: Elfrid Payton Lite
Obi Toppin
After his unfortunate injury, Obi Toppin took a couple of games to regain his confidence. From the Atlanta game onward, he averaged 8.2 points on .577/.571/.750 shooting splits.
A positive note is his three-point shooting. We saw him knock down four shots out of five against the Raptors. Against the Celtics, a nasty pump-fake sidestep three swished cleanly through the net. His improvement from the arc is not an aberration, but the extent of it is.
As has been the story of his career, Toppin is limited by his meager role. Holders of stock in Obi Toppin need diamond hands as the trade deadline nears because there is a great chance he gets traded.
KFTV Stock Status: Hold on for Dear Life
Julius Randle
The Julius faithful returns are greater than their wildest dreams. He is having an excellent year so far. Some claim he is playing better than he did in his 2020-21 All-NBA year. Comparing the pre-all-star stats of that year with this year reveals that the numbers are similar. His base stats are better for the 2020-21 year. However, he already logged 500 more minutes this year, and his usage rate is higher.
Moreover, he dominates more, using his brute strength to draw more free throws. He has also made twice as many three-pointers this year (139) than before the all-star game in 2020-21 (69).
Julius has overcome many demons in his time in New York, but it is clear that he still folds in crunch time. In overtime games this year, he has shot 5-15. Also, throughout all overtime games, he has logged five turnovers and only one assist. It is clear this his decision-making suffers when the pressure is high. We’ve seen it so much at this point that it is not an aberration.
We have seen how resilient Randle can be, and hopefully, he can get used to the pressure when, or if, playoff time comes around. He has grown from his failures, and the Randle faithful, already accustomed to his ups and downs, could win big or crash hard in April.
KFTV Stock Status: High, but Liable to Crash
This Just In: Paper Hands Already Dumping Their RJ Stock… Again.
RJ Barrett, the 22-year-old, third overall draft pick, struggled again in January. This time, his defense was the culprit. His defense has been subpar all year, but it hit a new low against the Lakers. His lack of energy and effort saw him benched for the fourth quarter and overtime. He deserved this.
But, like clockwork, a few struggles, and people are ready to boot him out. But we’ve already been here before, haven’t we? RJ has worked through all adversity he has faced in his young career. His stock took a hit, but savvy investors see this as a time to add more to their bag.
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out Alex on New York Post x SNY on RJ Barrett’s benching and if the Knicks should make a move before the trade deadline.
