First, a disclaimer: I interviewed with two Knicks under false pretenses.
I informed them, incorrectly, that the NBA was awarding $1 million to each member of Adam Silver’s winning “in-season tournament” team. In reality, the winners each receive $500,000.
This is new to everyone, including journalists.
Nonetheless, the premise of my story – and the interviews – remains the same. I found it interesting that the price disproportionately rewards players at the bottom of the list.
What does that mean?
Take Ryan Arcidiacono, for example. If his contract is guaranteed – which will only be the case if he’s still on the roster after January 10 – he’ll make just over $2.5 million this season, according to SalarySwish (a Sports+ friendly site). .
To us regular folks, $2.5 million is a bank, bro (shout out to “Step Brothers”). But for an NBA player, that’s literally the least a veteran can earn. This is also about 1/10th of the salary of teammates Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett.
So for Arcidiacono, a $500,000 bonus is significant. He also wouldn’t need to play a single second in the tournament to receive this money.
What would the 29-year-old do with this extra bread? Be practical, of course.
“I’ll probably try to pay off my mortgage,” Arcidiacono said. “Like the house I bought with my wife, that would probably be the one where I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t have a good interest rate, so I’m going to pay this.’”
Intelligent man. Interest rates are brutal these days.
Arcidiacono, who also aspires to start his own coffee shop (he’s an aspiring barista), understands that some of his teammates could afford to make more glamorous purchases with the money.
“I guarantee you if you ask other people who make a lot more money than me, they’ll tell you, ‘I buy ‘X’ car or ‘X’ watch,'” said Arcidiacono, whose Salary as a rookie in 2016 was $75,000, according to Spotrac. “For me, it’s like, OK, let me get out of this mortgage.”
Dylan Windler, the Knicks’ small forward at the end of the bench, is in a similar situation. The 27-year-old’s contract this season is worth just over $2 million if it’s not canceled by Jan. 10, meaning $500,000 would be a 20-25 percent bonus.
Like Arcidiacono, Windler thinks about property. He recently purchased land in Tennessee and may reduce his mortgage. An accounting graduate of Belmont University, Windler also wants to add to his investment portfolio.
“I’m very interested in finance and math in general,” he said, adding, “I can’t complain about a little extra money.”
Of course, the Knicks would have to win it all (or, as the league calls it, the “NBA Cup”) to take home the top prize. That would require coming out of group play, which begins Friday against the Bucks.
To advance to the playoffs, the Knicks would either have to win their group (which also includes the Heat, Wizards and Hornets) or earn a wild card spot. It’s very European football, which should be Silver’s view given England’s FA Cup success.
But among the differences with the FA Cup, it is the players in the NBA’s in-season tournament, not the teams, who are financially rewarded for winning. And it’s not just the champions.
Here is the breakdown of NBA prize money:
Players from a team that loses in the quarterfinals: $50,000
Players from a team that loses in the semi-final: $100,000
Players from a team that loses in the championship: $200,000
Players from a team that wins the championship: $500,000
“I think it’s good to motivate guys to play and really want to win,” Windler said. “Obviously it’s a nice bonus if you end up winning this tournament.”
Inside a Knicks free agency pitch
Before the Knicks selected Donte DiVincenzo in free agency, Tom Thibodeau and Leon Rose called up their longshot targets.
Bruce Brown, the NBA champion and defensive-minded tight end, recently told the Post that his meeting with Rose and Thibodeau was a FaceTime conversation and included a pitch to “do the little things to help them win.”
Apparently, Thibodeau, in particular, was a longtime Brown enthusiast. Brown’s experience is just a small window into how the Knicks are handling free agency, as Rose isn’t speaking publicly and Thibodeau redirects most roster questions to a front office that won’t answer them. not.
At least in Brown’s case, Thibodeau and Rose were spearheading the debate.
“Thibs has always been a fan of mine, even in the draft when he was with Minnesota,” said Brown, a second-round pick in 2018. “And every time I played against him, we had some communication. But this is the first time I’ve had a chance.
In the end, the Knicks had no chance. They could only offer the mid-level exception at around $12.4 million per year, and Brown accepted a two-year, $45 million offer from the Pacers.
“But it was cool,” Brown said, “[Rose and Thibodeau] were saying to come in and be an advocate. Do the little things to help them win. But I went in a different direction.
Brown, 27, showed his value with the Nets in 2020-21 and 2021-22, but was not prioritized by the organization and left for the Nuggets in 2022. Brown had hinted at powerful forces working against him with the Nets, who immediately sparked speculation that Kevin Durant was not a fan.
“To be honest, I don’t think it was the Nets front office organization that made that decision, because from what I heard, they wanted me back,” Brown told the “Dan LeBatard Show”.
Whatever the reason, it was Brooklyn’s mistake. Brown went on to help the Nuggets win the title, including a breakthrough performance in Game 4.
He’s now paid well to start for the Pacers, who are 2-2 to start the season. Brown is averaging 12 points on 48.6% shooting (50% from 3).
The Knicks spent their entire mid-level exception (4 years, $50 million) on DiVincenzo, the backup guard who is averaging eight points on 41.2 percent shooting in five games.
Three points after the Cavs’ defeat on Wednesday
1. “You have to be in shape to play for Thibs,” Barrett said two years ago. “This is non-negotiable.”
Thibodeau’s reputation for fostering high-level conditioned teams continued through his first three seasons with the Knicks. They won in part because they played harder than everyone else. And to play hard, you have to be in shape.
But I don’t see that very early in this season’s version.
We’ve now seen the Knicks with tired legs twice in the second game of a back-to-back. The first time — a 96-87 loss to the Pelicans last week — had the built-in excuse that the opponent was going into the contest with two days off.
But Wednesday’s blasé effort? The Cavs, like the Knicks, played the day before and traveled the same miles to get to MSG. Perhaps the fatigue was to be expected after a rather uninspiring pre-season. It was very different from Thibs how much the Knicks didn’t care about the preseason. Now the starters are tired and missing shots.
2. Julius Randle shot 3 of 15, which is obviously bad. But it was the defense that stood out to me – and two plays in particular.
With the game on the line in the final three minutes, Randle saw his man set a screen to free Donovan Mitchell and simply… gave up. Mitchell was wide open for the trio that gave the Cavs a 5 lead because Randle didn’t bother to compete. He backed away and didn’t keep anyone.
On the Cavs’ next possession, Mitchell grabbed a rebound on his own miss because Randle and Immanuel Quickley were floating with their arms down and not even thinking about boxing out. Game over.
These are the kinds of things that infuriate Knicks fans. Randle can’t let his defensive effort die with his shooting. This happens too often.
3. Barrett was missed. The 23-year-old (can you believe he’s still only 23?) has arguably been the team’s best player this season, but he missed Wednesday’s loss due to soreness Knee.
Without Barrett, the Knicks shot 35% overall (yuck) and 17% from 3 (suckier). Aside from Barrett and Quickley, no one is playing well on offense for the Knicks, including Jalen Brunson.
2023-11-02 13:09:42
#Knicks #winnings #Deadline
