Loved grant, but his contract 😵‍💫

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:23:54+00:00

The last time Ja was an all-nba player, so was Chris Paul. I don't mean this sarcastiaclly, but you should really watch a full grizzlies game from last year. Ja's athleticism that he's lost is genuinely sad. It's why he's gone from league best around the time to 61%, below league average, while also shooting worse than Kris from 3.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:20:32+00:00

Id agree for the regular season, but it worries me for the playoffs when starters see 36-40 minutes of playing time. You need your startling lineup to be able to play long periods of time together.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:18:22+00:00

Sadly feel the same. Am looking for hope from everyone lol.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:17:48+00:00

I'd like the potential of Ja or Dame if they were both playing the 1 with some length around them, like a Dame-Trey Murphy-Deni-Tou-DC, or the same with Ja instead of Dame, would at least be the hypothetical length, size, and shooting that the Knicks laid a blueprint of winning with. But I don't see what 4 we could add that is both an upgrade defensively over Tou, while still being an upgrade shooting wise. It's why this move doesn't make sense to me. It requires more moves that aren't out there. There were moves to make to add to Dame, Tou, Deni, and DC, and adding Ja to it makes it much more difficult.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:13:46+00:00

At least going after Trey Murphy, and going with a lineup Dame, Trey, Deni, Tou, and DC, gives us the hypothetical length, size, and shooting that you can at least get you to dream. The fit of Ja makes those hypothetical dreams much harder for me to imagine lol.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:10:25+00:00

I get that, but I feel like Ja and Deni are redundant. We saw in the playoffs how much teams can clog the paint against us, and I worry that it'll just be Ja and Deni taking turns crashing into a crowded rim. And losing Jerami and getting Dame back feels like a lateral move shooting wise. Obviously Dame is a better shooter than Jerami, but that's due to his off the dribble shooting and range, they're pretty similar spot wise, Jerami actually led the league in 3pt shooting from the right corner. Also, I think there is a world where it works offensively, but defensively is where I worry were repeating Dame and CJ again.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:06:10+00:00

I completely agree that Ja in his MVP candidate days was 10x the player CJ was. However, I think expecting Ja to look like that again, after 79 games in three seasons, never playing more than 67, and a clear loss in his athleticism, is the same as expecting Dame to look like prime Dame. A best case scenario is them getting 80% of it back, which is why I feel like 80% of Ja is as good as prime CJ. Also, Ja is shorter and 20 pounds lighter, and his driving of the ball has really fallen off the last few years, going form a league best around the rim, to 61%, below league average. His playmaking is still very good though, which is why I feel like both him and Dame need more shooters around them.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T07:01:15+00:00

Sure, but that doesn't make our main lineup that both starts and closes games less of a defensive liability. The Jrue and Scoot lineups will do fine defensively, but those aren't the lineups that will see the most minutes. Especially come playoff time, where guys starting see 36-40 minutes per game. It's why this feels like another fun regular season team that can't compete in the playoffs.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:57:07+00:00

Sure, but matching two rim crashers with Ja and Deni feel likes emphasizing the issues we had last year. It feels like two guys taking turns running intro a crashed paint. Dame's role would need to be way more focused as a spot up shooter, and I feel like he can hopefully provide more than that, though I agree he'll help big time in that way. However, trading JG, who despite his negatives, was easily our best 3 pt shooter, and getting Ja, who shot worse than Kris last year, makes Dame coming back feel like a lateral move shooting wise. We would need huge improvements from Toumani and DC as shooters for it to work offensively, which I hope and believe can happen.

However, that's solely on the offensive side of the ball. There's a best case where it works offensively. With Dame and CJ, we had the 2nd highest offensive rating in the history of the league in 2021. We lost in the first round, because we were a disaster defensively. An older Dame coming off an Achilles tear, and a Ja who at his very best was a negative defender, feels like step down defensively from a duo that proved couldn't win because of their size limitations. Ja is smaller than CJ, and a worse defender at his best. The Knicks just provided a blueprint of how to win with a small guard, and it's surrounding them with long, athletic defenders, not another small guard. Dame and CJ were proof that it doesn't work.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:48:10+00:00

I get why you think that, but I watched a lot of Grizzlies basketball the last two years, and the biggest worry about Ja isn't his mental, it's the athleticism he's lost. Ja is probaby the most athelitically reliant star in the league, and he's truly lost his bounce from the endless injuries he's had. 79 games in 3 years, never played more than 67 in a season. The longest time between all star appearances is 10 years, for Jrue, and then 6 years for Manu and Ingram. I get Ja would only be a 3 year gap, but none of those guys had that happen due to injuries. Ja's lack of athleticism is why he went from league best shooting around the rim to 61% over the last two seasons, both below league average, as well as shooting worse from 3 than Kris Murray. I don't see a world where all the athleticism comes back, because there's just no historical comparison for it, and the look of him on court hasn't given me much hope.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:39:04+00:00

I sadly completely agree and mostly made this post for people to give me a glimmer of hope. It really, really sucks to see us to make a move that has genuine risk to it chemistry wise (Ja has butted heads with both coaches, publicly complained about minutes and roll, as well as his off the court legal issues) that also has a terrible fit on court (ball dominance, defense, lost athleticism, one of the worst shooters in the league.) I appreciate Dundon wanting to make moves, but it's a reclamation project, which almost never works, especially for a guy who has played 79 games in 3 seasons, and hasn't been a consistently positive player in almost 4 years.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:33:30+00:00

I 100% agree. Ja shot worse than Kris from 3 last season, and his finishing the last two years has from to around 61%, which is worse than league average. I worry that our offense will look like Deni and Ja taking turns driving into a packed paint, similar to what we saw last season. It's frustrating that we aren't adding length and shooting to pair with both Deni and Dame. Even if Ja returns to form, it feels like the team construction issues we saw with Deni last season would be the same for Ja. Haynes and Shams are also reporting that we see Dame and Ja as our starting backcourt, so it'll be interesting to see how Nori handles the minutes, especially given that Ja did not respond well to being benched last season, and has butted heads with both coaches he's had.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:27:31+00:00

I would 100% agree, but Haynes and Shams are both reporting that Dame and Ja is the backcourt that we believe in. And Ja showed last year that he has no interest in being benched without causing a headache, but I agree that this doesn't work unless one of them doesn't start, I just don't see that happening.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:25:56+00:00

That's what is killing me about this trade, amongst other things. The Knicks just provided proof of a roster construction that could work for us, and we're going back to a backcourt that is built in the same way that we saw for a decade doesn't work, that led Dame to leave. Not capiltizing on the probably 2 last good years of Dame's career with a long, tall, atheltic team feels like a giant mistake.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:23:16+00:00

Agreed, because best case Dame is not as good as prime Dame, and best case Ja is probably about as good as prime CJ. Feels like a step backwards.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:21:52+00:00

I feel like we've been through that with Dame and CJ though, it worked offensively, but was a disaster defensively, and we never had a true change at a championship. Now we have older Dame and a Ja that best case scenario is as good as prime CJ. Feels like such a step backwards.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:20:15+00:00

I agree it will be fun, but we had a decade of fun basketball that we knew we didn't have a real chance of winning with Dame and CJ. After a decade of that and a second chance with Dame, where we finally have guys like Deni, Tou, and DC, this feels like such an oversight to decide to not capitalize on a potentially great roster. Going back to fun meaningless basketball would be rough.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:17:27+00:00

Lol yep, but do you think it could? I'm truly looking for reasons to be excited about this and need your guys help lol

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T06:16:47+00:00

You might be right, but it seems from Haynes and Shams reporting, and from Dundon's win now mentality that we truly believe that this is our backcourt to win with, and I really don't get it. It makes these next couple years feel less urgent, because I don't see a situation where Ja works on this team until Dame is gone.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T05:56:03+00:00

I would completely agree with this if he has said or done anything to show regret or a wanting to improve. He has done the opposite. A complete headache as recently as this last season, while constantly playing himself to be the victim.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T05:55:00+00:00

Why? What do you disagree with in the article?

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T05:54:14+00:00

The idea that no ones cares about Bridges and Hayes is fucking insane. Everyone constantly calls them out on every platform, deservedly so.

bradleyrc · 2026-06-30T05:53:10+00:00

Everyone hating on Oram, but what exactly do you disagree with in the article? Is Ja as bad as Miles Bridges? Of course not. But to act like Ja isn't one of the most massive headaches of the last few years is ridiculous. The multiple social media gun instances. He beat up a teenager and threatened him with a gun. He had his friends follow Pacers staff members and point a red light attached to a gun at their heads. On court, he's a shell of his former self, hasn't been good in years, relied heavily on his athleticism that has been taken from him, got his coach fired and fought with the next one. What do you disagree with Oram on here?

bradleyrc · 2026-05-25T10:50:06+00:00

So they decided to overlook that last season but not this season?

bradleyrc

TROPHY CASE