The Knicks Continued Their Arms Race With The Warriors By Agreeing To Deals With Brandon Jennings, Lance Thomas, And Willy Hernangomez
ESPN- Free-agent point guard Brandon Jennings has agreed to terms to join the New York Knicks, he confirmed on Twitter on Monday. A source told ESPN that the deal is for one year and approximately $5 million. The Jennings’ signing gives the Knicks a reserve guard to back up starter Derrick Rose. A six-year veteran, Jennings flashed brilliance in Milwaukee before enduring injury-riddled stints with the Pistons and Magic. He suffered a torn left Achilles in January 2015, and in the last half of the 2015-16 season with the Magic, he produced 20 points or more on three occasions, as well as a pair of double-digit assist outings.
While everyone was out sucking Golden State’s dick, burning their Kevin Durant jerseys, or just getting drunk at the beach, the ol’ Zen Master was going Michael Corleone during the baptism scene (h/t LeBron James) and putting what may be the finishing touches a roster to take down the tyrannical Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals. Yeah I know I said 2018. We are being realistic here, people.
I love the Jennings move for a few reasons. For one, I had talked myself into him a couple of years ago at the trade deadline. Sure all the sorcery that comes with lefty point guards is out there. But when he was healthy, he could play. Signing him as a bench player for one year at a cheap price is perfect. Now is there a chance him and Derrick Rose are both out for a while once December rolls around? Sure. Will I copy and paste this part of the blog while punching myself in the face once that happens? Perhaps. But still, the Knicks could be good if they get lucky with injuries (This is also basically the official slogan for the 2016-17 Knicks). A few other things I love about Jennings signing here.
1. Brandon Jennings used emojis to announce his next move instead of using the stupid Players’ Tribune.
2. Nobody can deny that Jennings has an A+ Twitter handle name and profile picture, despite somehow not being verified like he works for Barstool or something. Because anything 90s related + a Death Row Records chain = Much love from every single Knicks fan that I know.
Update: He changed his handle to @brandonjennings before this blog published. Jennings is already getting that Knicks corporate stink all over himself.
3. His nickname is The Pterodactyl. I’m not saying pterodactyls have to be your favorite dinosaur or anything. But if they aren’t in the Top 10, you are an idiot.
In addition to Jennings, the Knicks also re-signed Lance Thomas.
ESPN- Small forward Lance Thomas has agreed to re-sign with the New York Knicks on a four-year deal, sources told ESPN. The contract starts at $6.1 million in the first year and contains standard annual raises of 7.5 percent, sources said.
Thomas likely will be signed via his early Bird rights, so the Knicks will still have access to remaining cap space. Over the past two seasons, Thomas, 28, carved out a role for himself in New York as a high-energy defender with an improving outside shot. The forward averaged 8.2 points in 22 minutes per game and shot a career-high 40 percent from beyond the arc. Knicks coaches were impressed by Thomas’ professional approach, ability to defend multiple positions and dedication to improving his shooting.
Look at that. A young Knicks player that showed potential is staying with the team. The biggest knock on Lance Thomas is that he went to Duke, but for some reason he doesn’t scream “DUKE” like all the other players we hate from there. And It’s not like he did some Kyrie 11 games and done shit. Thomas was at Duke for all four years. The only real bummer yesterday was news that Langston Galloway might not be coming back.
I loved Galloway because he built himself up from a D-League player to a rotational NBA player. Granted there is a chance the Knicks still keep him. But it’s going to be tough based on cap restrictions. And lets just say that it wasn’t a good weekend for me when it came to players I loved on the Westchester Knicks.
Fuck everything.
However, Phil decided to give us another treat today by announcing yet another player will join the Knicks from the Baltic.
And if you wanted highlights of Kuzminskas with the hottest beats in Lithuania today, boy do I have a treat for you!
I’ve heard Lithuania is as beautiful in Latvia in February (just kidding, please don’t send me there). But according to my #sources (AKA the Latvian that showed Hank and I around the country while also ensuring we didn’t get robbed/murdered) Latvians and Lithuanians are brothers!
Name another website with that type of insider info. You can’t. That’s the #BarstoolDifference.
And then Woj dropped a Woj Death Star Laser Beam that just changed the entire landscape of the NBA.
Add in Slick Willy’s arrival and we will have one VERY happy 7’3″ unicorn on our team next season.
So after a very weird start to the summer, we don’t look all that terrible. Sure this is just my Knicks fan defense mechanism coming out as I talk myself into the moves. But this team could be something, right? RIGHT?!?
PG: Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings
SG: Courtney Lee, Justin Holiday, #Bakersanity(?)
SF: Carmelo Anthony, Lance Thomas
PF: Godzingis, Black Irish
C: Joakim Noah, Slick Willy
Luckily our veteran star player isn’t sending out weird cryptic tweets for no good reason.
Shit.