Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

Hardaway is an interesting prospect and an absolute, hands-down first round talent. He’s athletic, can play both backcourt positions and is adept at getting into seems and making plays. He’s also, like his father who hit big shots against the Knicks my entire 20s basically, isn’t afraid to pull the trigger. That sort of confidence is what I love about this kid as well as his catch and make skills. Trey Burke was the star down the stretch in the tournament and that sort of pushed Hardaway to the side, but he had plenty of moments this year that makes me think he has special scoring ability.

My biggest concern is his defensive abilities to guard any position let alone 2 or 3. I do like his rebounding ability and how many times he took the initiative to go get the ball so he could trigger the offense. There’s no question Hardaway would be a very solid fit if he’s there at 24 going forward, but I don’t know he has the NBA-ready defensive skills to fit right into Mike Woodson’s  rotation next season.

Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

With the retirement of Jason Kidd and the decision to bring Pablo Prigioni seemingly up in the air Glen Grunwald has some serious decisions to make going forward. One of the biggest positives this year for me was the team’s ability to value possessions to ensure the ball ended up in the hands in the hands of one of the league’s best scorers.

The Carmelo Anthony supporter will look at this as a good thing, while his detractors will point to the structure of the offense as a big reason why they sputtered against Indiana. Let’s be honest, the biggest disappointment was the Knicks fighting for a 2 seed and peaking in April only to see the more playoff experienced Pacers take a 3-1 stranglehold on the Conference semifinals after wrestling Game 1 and home court advantage away from New York.

Were the Knicks favorites in that series? Hard to say, but it isn’t hard to look back to a year ago and gain valuable perspective. I think every fan would have signed last July for 54 wins an Atlantic Division title. They would have signed for a first round beating of Boston and a 3-1 season record against the heat.

They would have signed for JR winning 6th man and Melo finishing second team All-NBA and 3rd in MVP voting.

Here’s where Grunwald’s challenge comes in my mind. Losing Kidd is a big loss from a turnover perspective. Kidd played over 2000 minutes this year, too many in everyone’s mind, yet had only 76 turnovers exactly 1 per game in 27 minutes. That’s incredible coming from a starter at the guard position in this league. Prigioni had 86 turnovers in over 1200 minutes. If I’m Grunwald I’m making sure that if I don’t bring Prigioni back I’m bringing a player in with a similar mindset. That said if I’m Grunwald I’m definitely bringing him back.

We know the team has holes. I’d honestly be very leery about committing major minutes to both JR Smith and Iman Shumpert together. It’s a tough spot because money will be a major factor and they have to make a decision with Smith immediately. If Shumpert is your shooting guard of the future then you have to increase his minutes in order to get more production. Entering his third year you have to see what the kid can do assuming he’s healthy but if you play him and JR together, two players who are fast and athletic will you have the same success protecting the ball and ensuring what was created this year?

Maybe I’m overvaluing turnovers here but keeping teams out of transition is a major key for their bigs. Giving up more easy baskets blurs an already fine line especially in winning the division, a goal that needs to continue to be job one. Rajon Rondo will be back and the Celtics will be back. The Nets are still strong and the post Rudy Gay Raptors could take a step forward making the division that must more competitive.

Decisions like these, as minor as they seem, are why executives get paid the big bucks. The team had success and this year proved a concept.

The devil is in the details.

Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

This is a great illustration and one that proves Prigioni’s true worth without attaching a metric value. Moving the ball and getting into an offensive set before the defense is set causes mismatches and miscommunication. One of Mike Woodson’s most questionable decisions during the playoffs was sitting Prigs for long stretches and thus missing out on the subtle things he brings both offensively and defensively.

I think bringing him back is an absolute no-brainer and I’m surprised as to why the Knicks have held decisions so close to the vest. Per dollar he is as valuable as any rotation player in the league as far as I’m concerned.

Tommy Dee, theKnicksBlog.com

Withey, to me, is a more skilled Mozgov. That’s a comparison that I pegged on him when I first saw him several years back. Since then his base has gotten much stronger and he’s developed some trusted post moves. Like Steven Adams, it’s far from a guarantee that Withey will be around for the Knicks at 24, but the polished Kansas big would be an immediate rotation player and someone who you could effectively pair with Melo against rotation players on the other team and not lose really anything on either side of the ball, but especially defensively.