New York Knicks - Press Conference

[Inner_GI]

Inner_GI: Good morning everyone. Thanks for making the trip. I wanted to start off by recapping last season briefly. We started the season without our #1 overall pick, and it put the team behind the 8-ball all season. By the time we had a healthy team it was too late to get back in the playoff picture, but I am very proud of the way the team played in the second half of the season. Having vets like Wesley Matthews made a big difference to our team. Kent Bazemore was allowed to shine off the bench, and even got to experiment with him playing the SF position. Nikola Jokic looked great, and if not for the injury, was probably the best rookie last year. We are excited to see his second season in the NBA.

We finished the season 29-53. We plan to be way better than that this coming season.

Owner - Scott Roberts: Thank you Inner_GI for the opening remarks. I usually don't make this for pre-season press conferences, but this year is different. At the end of last year, I told Inner_GI it was time the New York Knicks started winning games again, and to do whatever it takes to do that. I'm very excited we finally worked on a trade for Luc Mbah A Moute. I've admired his game for a long time. The trade up to get Chet Dooley, the second best PG in the draft, was a stroke of genius. I'm happy with the new direction of the New York Knicks, and I hope the fans are as well. Thanks everyone.

Inner_GI: So what are the Knicks plans for this season? Win. Our new starting lineup boasts a lot more defensive fortitude without sacrificing any offensive punch. We made a move to sure up the SF and PF spots by trading Kentavius to the Wizards. Kentavius was a nice prospect for our team, but he was redundant behind Bazemore and Matthews. We trade a luxury for a need. Next, we paid the Nets some cash to swap #7 adn #6 in the draft to select the PG of the future, Chet Dooley, who will learn from Jeremy Lin. In free agency we re-signed Chandler Parsons to a 4 year $51.6M deal. Which was fair market value for a player like Chandler. We rounded out our team with the signings of Tyrus Thomas, Reggie Evans, and Glen Davis to sure up the PF and C bench positions. We were very happy with FA this year.

Next, Training Camp. By some miracle, the new head trainer managed to get these players to come in early and stay late to improve their games. The biggest improvements in training camp came from:

-- Jeremy Lin +42
-- Chandler Parons +37
-- Kent Bazemore +31
-- Chet Dooley +29 (Blue Potential, PAS B --> A, PSD D --> C (WHAT?), PRD B --> A, STL B --> A, BLK D --> C)
-- Nikola Jokic + 19

Projected Lineup:

C - Nikola Jokic
PF - Luc Mbah A Moute
SF - Chandler Parsons
SG - Wesley Matthews
PG- Jeremy Lin
6th - Kent Bazemore
7th - John Henson
8th - Chet Dooley

Any questions?

[NOLa.]

As a fellow GM who has been trying to acquire Mbah a Moute for a few seasons now, let me note how jealous I am of you.

Does Mbah fill a need that was lacking in your team? Knicks are not known for defense, so how much will you rely on him to be your defensive shutdown guy?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Inner_GI]

As a fellow GM who has been trying to acquire Mbah a Moute for a few seasons now, let me note how jealous I am of you.

Does Mbah fill a need that was lacking in your team? Knicks are not known for defense, so how much will you rely on him to be your defensive shutdown guy?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As someone who has tried for 3 seasons to get Luc, I understand your pain.

He's 100% our shutdown guy. He lost a step in quickness this offseason, but he will still be our go to defensive anchor at the PF or SF position. We are most likely going to play around with the lineup to see which combination of Luc, Henson, and Parsons we roll with at the PF and SF position. For preseason we are going to see how the defense performs with a Luc/Parsons lineup.

[WigNosy]

After an expensive RFA last year (Lin) you got what most felt was a pretty sweet deal on Chandler Parsons. How much did that aid your Mbah a Moute acquisition?

[Inner_GI]

After an expensive RFA last year (Lin) you got what most felt was a pretty sweet deal on Chandler Parsons. How much did that aid your Mbah a Moute acquisition?

I think it was actually the opposite. We acquired Mbah a Moute before RFA (to avoid the cap hold) just in case Parsons got a deal that we couldn't afford. Acquiring Luc allowed us to offer what we felt Parsons was worth, and we are very excited that he decided to remain a New York Knick. Getting both was always the plan, but in the past my FA plans have never worked out. This New York Knicks team is almost entirely built on trades.

Matthews, Parsons, Lin, Henson, Luc, and even Chet have been acquired via trades the past 2 seasons. So far so good. Time to win some games.

[JNR]

GWR: You've already touched on it briefly, but what do you think is behind Chet Dooley's impressive camp? Has he seemed to bond with fellow PG Jeremy Lin?

[Inner_GI]

GWR: You've already touched on it briefly, but what do you think is behind Chet Dooley's impressive camp? Has he seemed to bond with fellow PG Jeremy Lin?

In our exit interviews last season, I had a pretty frank conversation with Jeremy Lin. He needed to take the game and this team seriously. After trading up to draft another PG, both Lin and Dooley came in to work this offseason. Competition at a position brings out the best in both players.

[Darth Vegito]

What do you think about your new division and your chances of competing for the division crown this season? Will it be a one team Raptors show in the Atlantic or you hoping to make it interesting right out of the gate?

[WigNosy]

How soon until Jokic becomes an all-star?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: The New York Knicks look to be in pretty good shape for a little while. Is there a specific area where you're focused on improving the team as the next immediate priority?

[Inner_GI]

What do you think about your new division and your chances of competing for the division crown this season? Will it be a one team Raptors show in the Atlantic or you hoping to make it interesting right out of the gate?

We should be able to make it interesting, but this team doesn't know how to win yet. I expect that to take time for these players to adjust to what it takes to win consistently in this league. Winning the division would be a great achievement for this team.

[Inner_GI]

How soon until Jokic becomes an all-star?

2-3 more seasons if we want to be cautious, but when you look at Centers in the East, if Jokic puts up 18-10 he might have a legit shot at an ASG appearance this season.

[Inner_GI]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: The New York Knicks look to be in pretty good shape for a little while. Is there a specific area where you're focused on improving the team as the next immediate priority?

Right now it's all about defense. We have 3 really good offensive players in Lin, Matthews, and Jokic, but this team has struggled to defend and rebound the ball. That is why we moved Kentavius to Washington for Luc Mbah A Moute. We will need to find the best balance of defense and offense between Luc, Jenson, Parsons, and Bazemore as our role players.

Into the season, I think you could see us make some moves that focus on rebounding and defense at the expense of future picks if the team is performing well.

[Bowtothebill23]

You've talked a lot about your goals, but what would have to happen for this season to be considered a disappointment to you?

[Inner_GI]

You've talked a lot about your goals, but what would have to happen for this season to be considered a disappointment to you?

We miss the playoffs. Plain and simple. Missing the playoffs this year is unacceptable.

[Inner_GI]

InnerGI, you may claim 5 points for your presser.