The Knicks Won the Title and Might Already Be Falling Apart

Shotclock Pod June 21, 2026 === Jose: ​[00:00:00] All right, it's time to talk basketball, off-season basketball. I'm Jose Salviati, editor at thePeachBasket.net. He is Steve Purciello, a longtime educator, vice principal, high school basketball coach, athletic director, and also the host of Celtic Chalk Talk. The Shot Clock Pod was born out of content in Steve's 13 Rules, random NBA thoughts articles, which he publishes weekly. Steve and I have exactly 24 minutes to discuss what's on his mind around the NBA. Today, we'll discuss his latest 13 Rules random NBA thoughts article, where he shares his random thoughts as the exciting, always exciting and interesting NBA off-season begins. Now, if you're listening to this, we're grateful. Thank you. We want you to know you're listening to one of the independent fan-driven shows on the Peach Basket Podcast Network. We're not owned by a big media company, believe me, which means what you hear comes straight from real fans who live the game every day. No agenda, no requirements, just real fans. If you believe voices like this should be heard, the best way to support us is simple. Keep listening, tell a friend [00:01:00] comment, subscribe. When this episode ends, head over to the PeachBasketPodcastNetwork.com, check out more fan-run podcasts. Head over to thePeachBasket.net, read some great articles by Steve and others, and help this independent network grow the way it started, organically, one hoops fan at a time. We're grateful that you are here. Steve, are you ready? Steve: Ready. Jose: Let's go. Yeah, it w- it wasn't an immediate response. It got me. Let's talk off-season basketball. Clock is ticking. All right. We'll start with the champs, right? The New York Knicks. They're high off of their ticker tape parade. It was pretty incredible. Star-studded event. Alicia Keys sang New York. Things were crazy and fun to watch, honestly. But now the hard part begins, right? Setting up for that repeat, that potential repeat. You and I talked about it. We said that, this championship, unlike the Thunders, unlike the Nuggets, doesn't... and neither one of [00:02:00] those c- panned out in terms of a repeat, but we thought that was the beginning of a dynasty, potentially. We don't think that about the Knicks. They've got a lot of work to do in the off-season. Run it down for us Steve: First of all, while the Knicks are, and deservedly having a parade and doing all those nice things, 29 other teams are already, starting their work and trying to figure out Jose: Right Steve: So for them, they're hitting, they're hitting the m- major part of the season 'cause the draft is coming up this week. For the Knicks, their owner, he's on a redemption tour right now because they won and he's always been criticized. People want him to sell and all that, but he's on a Jose: Yeah Steve: tour. But it's very silly remark saying he doesn't wanna go in the se- second apron. Now, I understand that. I understand not wanting to 'cause it's very restrictive. However, by saying it, tells a lot of people, I believe the Knicks are about 16 million or so [00:03:00] away from going to the second apron. You got Mitchell Robinson will be a free agent He's gonna be close to 16, but if a team went for 17 million or 18 million the Knicks have a little problem if Robinson's gonna take the most money. Then they-- that's not all. There's a couple other prominent players like Landry Shamet, who was outstanding in the off-season-- in the playoffs. He's a free agent. He was making minimum salary. y- there, there's people. Alvarado, who's got an option for four and a half million, he might give the Knicks a break and say, "Sign me for three years at three million, and I'll do it," or whatever. But again, if he takes his option, that cuts into getting closer to the second apron. So the Knicks have to make some decisions. When Dolan says that, that tells a lot of teams, "Hey, if we pony up a little bit more, maybe 20 million for Mitch Robinson, we get him." Now, what do the Knicks [00:04:00] do? They suddenly become a little bit weaker, obviously, because Mitch Robinson does a lot of great things. He can offensive rebound. He can't shoot a foul shot, but he can rebound offensively, and he's a good defender. So-- and he's a rim protector. So the Knicks need to make some decisions on that, they also have a problem with Landry Shamet. the Knicks, like I said, are about 16 million away from the second apron. They've had, I believe, eight or nine guys signed for next year. If they go the norm and go for 14, which is what most teams have, that's five more guys. The minimum salary in the NBA is about two million, a little over two. Do the math. Five times a little over two, and you're near 11 million. The Knicks have 16 million to play with. So unless they're gonna trade one of their five, there's not many ways out of this mess. they decide, "Yeah, we are gonna take a shot. We're gonna go for it next year. We're gonna pay up. If it doesn't win next [00:05:00] year, we..." And that would mean Dolan would have to change his mind very quickly Jose: Yeah. As we've said before I'm a West Coast guy. I don't watch a lot of Knicks basketball. I don't know a lot about Dolan. But watching the parade and watching his speech, I thought that's, he's just a quirky dude, man. He's just a, he's just A quirky dude. A- and I say that for no o- no, no other reason other than to say it. Let's go back to what you said, which is more important. The guys that you rattled off Robinson, Shamet, Alvarado, and then another one you wrote about Jordan Clarkson. All good players, no doubt, and all had a, kinda a hand in this, but these are fringe players. I'm gonna put on my Knicks fans cap here. I think replacing players like that is gonna be a heck of a lot easier than replacing a Karl-Anthony Towns, right? It doesn't sound like it's an impossible task, right? Steve: Of course. But Mitchell Robinson, first of all, Carl- Karl Anthony Towns a good player. He's always in foul trouble. [00:06:00] Robinson kind of fills that need. Mitch Robinson, you don't lose a lot. You lose a lot of offense when he comes in for Towns, he does so many other things on the court that save you. Jose: Yeah. Steve: It's been exposed he can't shoot a foul shot, and teams will foul him if he's in there and the team's over the limit. So that's naturally a problem, and that might cost him some money. But even if the Knicks went out and got him back for 13 million, I'm using that number, they're still gonna go over Jose: Yeah Steve: goes from the core, and they're not gonna trade one of those guys. Unl- or Dolan decides, "You know what? I was stupid saying that. We'll go over and we'll take our shot next year, and then we'll deal with it." Those are the options. But what it does is for the East, team that was in the playoffs or close starts thinking about they can be had, if Robinson's not back and so on. And by the way, yeah, five [00:07:00] guys are good, but unless you got Lou Gehrig on your team, guys miss a lot of games in today's NBA. So it's Jose: Yeah Steve: It's the best way to look at it Jose: So now I'm wondering how many people that were born in the 2000s are googling Lou Gehrig. It's G-E-H-R-I-G, just if you guys Steve: Should've Jose: to look Steve: Ripken. Should've said Cal Jose: it up. That would help. That would help. Steve: It was my mistake Jose: Sorry, I- that's funny. All right, le- Steve: Yeah Jose: let's move on. But actually before we move on just a statement really. Is it realistic in this NBA to have-- to field a winning team, a w- a team with an absolute chance of winning the championship and not be in the second apron? I just don't think it is anymore Steve: That's part of what the NBA has done to make it parity, to make parity. Obviously that was the plan. And that's [00:08:00] what it's gonna be. So a- and I think the NBA naturally wants parity. You spread it around and let every team have a good year or two and, it all works nice. So Jose: yeah Steve: the second apron was created for that, but I think the shame of it is... and let's look at the Knicks. I think it's right that a team wins a title, they shouldn't have to cut money, and that's where they are. Because unless, again, unless they go there. But the point being, not the way it should be because I think a lot of people, as the season progresses, will just be saying, "Can they win it again? Can they win it again?" Jose: Sure Steve: Mitchell Robinson or Landry Shamet also, logical people sit there saying, "I don't think they can." Jose: Yeah Steve: if, let's say Anunoby turns his ankle, which he does a lot, what do you do? And again, you have no bench. So yeah, they've got some problems with that Jose: [00:09:00] All right. Let's let's let's leave the champs to enjoy the their championship. But they've definitely got a little bit of work to do, and I'm sure, or at least I hope, that the execs got all this up on a whiteboard somewhere. Steve: One, Jose: Let's go to the West. Oh, go ahead. Yeah Steve: quick, just a real quick thing. that win the title, they have trouble with... on the comeback. What people forget is everybody else is in the gym right now. Those guys are still in a party. Now, they're, Jose: Yeah, Steve: played an extra two months. What happens is the shorter off-season, injuries occur more often, and it's Jose: Yeah Steve: to get your mind back. "Oh, we gotta go through this regular season," and all that other stuff again. So that's another deterrent why Jose: Yeah Steve: why Denver, why Boston struggled to win a second title Jose: Yep. No, no doubt about it. No doubt about it. And I heard, the Lakers' runs in the '80s, they, they talked about that. It adds so much wear and tear to your body. That's why it's so hard to Steve: [00:10:00] believe Jose: only repeat, but... Hang on. Steve: Can't believe it Jose: I've-- But I told you it was coming this time. I gave you a little heads up before we started, before we hit record. Steve: ahead Jose: Let's stay in the West now or actually pivot to the West, talk about the Spurs. Now I don't think it's any stretch of the imagination that if the Spurs would've won, you and I'd be talking about a dynasty in the making, no doubt about it, I think, right? 'Cause they're so young, they're so good, if they would've pulled it off, that's the conversation you and I'd be having. But they didn't win. But they're still looking really good. This is a very good team, but they do have some problems. You called out a couple of them. I wanna focus in on one, and this is the Laker reference I was preparing you for. In San Antonio, the Spurs may have a Kobe Bryant problem. What I mean by that is Dylan Harper, you called this out, has said he doesn't like coming off the bench. Neither did Kobe Bryant at the start. Now, I'm not comparing Kobe to Dylan Harper, but they got that problem. How are they gonna fix that? How are the Spurs gonna get back to where they were this season? Steve: Look, they wanna go another year as [00:11:00] is, and that means Harper's on the bench. Gotta stay there for four year-- three more years by contract. But the residual effects of him being angry might carry over, where he asks to get out or whatever. The modern player, they're, they're concerned about themselves and very little of anything else. And this is a situation that they've gotta, they've gotta, look at. And the other piece to that is De'Aaron Fox is obviously the guy that goes 'cause he makes a lot of money, and he really wasn't worth Jose: Sure Steve: Right now his market value's not high. He-- They gotta build some value up for him before they dump him, that means he's gotta play, and he's gotta play well. So they-they're in a quandary. The other thing I wrote and I wanted to add, and it's very important, the smartest thing they can do is go out and get a legit four that, that is physical and will protect Wembanyama. Like [00:12:00] when the Knicks had Charles Oakley and Jose: Yeah Steve: protected Patrick Ewing. And there's two people out there, I don't think-- I don't know if Draymond Green would go unless Golden State throws in the towel and Jose: Interesting Steve: Stewart is out there to be had, Isaiah Stewart would be the perfect... Because instead of Wembanyama getting those fouls, those flagrant fouls, it would be Stewart protecting him. people have to understand, because Wembanyama's bigger and better than everybody, he's taking a beating every night. And if he's got a protector, and Isaiah Stewart probably is the toughest guy in the NBA. And, that would be the savior to keep Wembanyama, A, on the court and B, out, out of, out of trouble. that would be an important piece to it Jose: Yeah. I, a- and it would give the NBA the two best nicknames in, in, on, on one team with The Alien and Beef Stew. I just think that's a win [00:13:00] right there for all NBA fans everywhere. I love that. I'm gonna go back to Dillon Harper because that is a legitimate problem. You gotta be, y- y- you gotta keep your pl- your best player happy. And Dillon Harper's not the best player, but he was the second-best player on that team in terms of points per game. Steve: Yeah Jose: and I'm looking back again to Kobe. Kobe's first two years, he got into, some arguments with Del Harris. I believe he made an All-Star game coming off the bench. This guy wanted to start, had the resume to start. The Lakers wouldn't start him. He started seven games his first two years, a- and he played o- you know, 160 games, give or take. So the Lakers gave him some time. 17, 18-year-old kid, too, at the t- at the p- at that point. You said it before, it's a different era. It's a different makeup. Teams now and players now, it's different. Can the Spurs say to Dillon Harper, "No, you're c- you're coming off the bench," a- and survive [00:14:00] that? That could be problematic, yeah? Steve: I don't know his tie with the San Antonio area. I do know he grew up in New Jersey, and like most people, he probably grew up a Knick fan that live in that area. Jose: Sure. Steve: So there could be, that whole pull, "Let me go home." There's a lot of things. Now, right now the Knicks, couldn't use him but... they could always use him, but they don't have, but in a couple years that could be another thing that weighs into it, and you don't want him to be, to be upset. And if he's smart, he realizes as long as they pay him, he's in a great situation. He, he-- them and Castle and Wembanyama, what a big three that is. Who knows what goes on in his mind though, and who knows who he's hanging around with and all the other stuff that goes with it Jose: Yeah. We've talked about it before, the [00:15:00] toughest job in the NBA is the GM, and this is where they make their money, right? Right now is the start of it. This is where they make their money. You talked about the Spurs need an enforcer. No need to rehash that. Again, I love the idea of Beef Stew. I think that'd be awesome. Let's go back to the East. You wrote that you're getting tired of the Giannis stuff, and there's always somebody at the start of the off-season who we know had been dangling for forever and one of two things happen. The shoe drops and there's a trade, and we get to dismantle it and talk about it, or nothing happens and they're back with their team, and y- it's weird. I think it's a safe bet, and I want your thoughts obviously, that Giannis will get moved. It's just a question of, where and why it's taking so long. What do you think? Steve: I don't think his value is as high as the Bucks think it is. I think that's really simple. And I think it's gotta-- they've gotta r- do something by Tuesday or Wednesday b- by the draft, I believe that's Tuesday. Because if they don't, they lose draft picks that they would get in the Giannis deal, and it puts them one year [00:16:00] further, behind in the rebuilding. So it has to be done, this week or they got a problem. Unless they plan on offering him the big contract, he takes it and he stays with them. But I don't know if anybody's gonna be happy with that. We saw what it looked like this year. So th- that's an issue. W- could be trying to get Mi- Miami to go higher and offer more. That could be part of it and, right up until the draft and then, do that. Or don't know, they... and Boston, supposedly with Jaylen Brown. It-- Jose: Yeah Steve: out there. Now, to me, if you trade, and I go back, again, being an old-timer, I go back to when Wilt got traded from Philly to the Lakers. Wilt is the best guy in the deal. And I believe Archie Clark or I, anyway, the players that were involved were-- didn't compare to Wilt. They're not going to. And if Miami trades what they're offering, you're not getting anything comparable unless [00:17:00] Khalil Ware turns into a star. You're not getting anything comparable. So I don't know. And you put those three guys on the Bucks that they're offering, and Jaquez and Hero and Khalil Ware. What does that do? Does that maybe put the Bucks at 30 wins? It's not enough even to get in the playoffs. Unless Ware, really becomes a better player than what we think. But it, it's just... It, to me, you're in a bad spot somebody swoops in at the last minute. And to be honest with you, if Boston is offering Jaylen Brown, wouldn't give him anything else. Because you're taking a risk on Giannis being hurt. Giannis is two years older than Brown. Y- there's a lot of factors there. Yeah, Giannis is a better player, but he's gotta be on the court. So Milwaukee thinks they have this tremendous trade chip. They don't. And they have a real good chip, but not a great one Jose: Yeah. [00:18:00] And for the record you nailed it. Wilt Chamberlain was traded in exchange for Darrell Imhoff, Archie Clark, and Jerry Chambers. All not household names Steve: Archie Clark was a pretty good player. He might have even made an All-NBA team. I don't know if he did, but he was a good player. Darryl Imhoff was a journeyman center who started out with the Knicks, by the way. But yeah, they were not, the three of them don't compare. But Wilt wanted out of Philly. He forced that trade and he went to LA Jose: Yeah. The start of the player movement we enjoy today. I- I've been following the topics that you hit, but I'm gonna skip one because we talked about the Celtics and we talked about the possible trade Jaylen Brown and Giannis. And I gotta say, I'm used to the Boston Celtics being, the franchise that you look up to, the franchise where things are crystal clear, the franchise that, there's no muddiness, there's no murkiness, there's no confusion about who's running what. It [00:19:00] just it's an orderly franchise. But right now, things are as clear in Boston as or darn it, I messed up my segue. Things haven't been this muddy in Boston since the Boston Tea Party. I worked hard on that one, and then I butchered it. Steve: you gotta look at it, you gotta look at it in a way, and I knew you'd get to knock in on Boston but you gotta look at it this. With Brown and Tatum and the people around him, if you work around the edges, they're not good enough to win it. So now you've gotta sit there and say, "Okay, what can we do to push us to a level where we can win it?" And by that means winning the East, but more important, beating one of those monsters in the West. So you think about this, look, Brown and Tatum come back and they're in their prime, but [00:20:00] the rest of the team around them isn't nearly as good as a couple years ago when they won a title. So you gotta do something and you gotta figure this out and you've gotta make a step. If-- Or if you don't go for it, Tatum and Brown get a year or two older, then they're on the downside. And then what? So it's either all or nothing. Push the chips in or you don't. I don't necessarily agree with going for Giannis. I don't agree because of his health, but I understand what they're thinking. They have, they have-- It's either that or they deal Derrick White. Now, my feeling on Derrick White I think he... Great Celtic, great player for Boston. The ultimate role player, does everything on the court. However, he shot 32.7% last year from three. Is that the beginning? He'll be 32 when the season starts. Is that the beginning? And Branch Rickey always said, "You get [00:21:00] rid of a guy a year before than the year after." So my mind says maybe Derrick White and, you try to get enough back for him that'll push you to it. But Boston's gonna do what Boston's gonna do and... But they do, they wanna win it. They've got to get better win it Jose: Yeah. I, and again coming in a- as a West Coast guy, why has the team soured on Tatum and Brown? This t- this is a team that just won. I get that you, you said the team around them isn't as good, but who cares? A- as, if you can get that core that play really well together, se- seem to be, work well together on, on court, off court. They won a championship, for goodness sakes. Why have they soured on that duo? Steve: You-- maybe out where you are, it's good to be the second-best team. This is Boston. They always wanna be the best. Jose: Okay Steve: if they come in and they lose in the finals, that's not a good [00:22:00] year. So they... and right now the window's open with Tatum, as long as he's healthy, and you get somebody else with him, you, you have a fighting chance. So it's a little bit different way they look at it. Some teams that have not been good are very happy to finish in fourth and maybe win a ga- a couple games in the playoffs and, and so on. is not the way they think. And the goal here is to get 'em back. Now, in a couple years, Tatum's old, and if Brown's still around there, old, then you figure something out. But until then, you gotta, y- you gotta do whatever you can to get better. In the playoffs, Queta, who had a great year, can't guard physical centers, you gotta fix that, 'cause if you're gonna do this again, you're gonna have the same result. That, that's one of the many things that has to be fixed. You hope that some of the younger players get better with another year. [00:23:00] But I don't see any Jrue Hollidays walking around. I don't see those kind of players around Boston. I don't see even Porzingis or Al Horfords walking around. So you're not as good. and or Lou Cornett. So I just... You're not as good. You've got to do something unless you wanna become the third seed and get knocked out in the second or third round. It's the way that's how Boston thinks Jose: All right. So they've soured on the duo in terms of n- feeling that they can win it again. They just don't think that they're enough to do it again Steve: I think... no. I don't think they soured on him, and they would gladly do it, but they've gotta get a better, they've gotta get a better infrastructure around him, around them, They trade Brown and try to get deeper. Those are the choices. Jose: Yeah Steve: that's where it comes up. And, the one other thing, too, the teams often do, Boston is a real good defensive [00:24:00] team. When teams like this are getting older and they're still trying to get back into it, they'll make trades, but they'll lose their core. Boston's core is the defense. They don't wanna lose that, so you don't wanna go out, though, and get somebody... Giannis is a good defender, don't wanna get somebody out there who's an offensive player that doesn't defend, now you're going backwards and you're compromising, trying to p-put pieces together to win. And I don't know if that's a good thing. The way Boston's built, then you're gonna lose that. That's where a lot of teams fall apart Jose: Interesting. All right. No, that makes sense. Boston's got the 27th and the 40th overall pick. There've been some nuggets at at certainly at 27. That's a good spot, and it's apparently a pretty deep draft. Yeah. Do you think they can get healthy there? Steve: I think the bigger thing is, and I think this guy can be a star in a couple years, is [00:25:00] Hugo Gonzalez can develop into something. And I think they've gotta hope a guy like Shireman develop and become a sixth or seventh player. he's close to that, but he's needs some work. He needs things that have to improve. Hugo just has to become a better offensive player. Defensively, he's a pest. I think those two could develop into something, but we go back again to the big thing. There's no big. Queta is the only big, and he's not physical enough. That we can keep talking about that all day, but that's where the problem lies Jose: Got it. All right. Fair enough. For more on this topic, no doubt, make sure to listen to Celtic Chalk Talk, which drops new episodes every Monday. Lots to talk about a- and I'm sure all of these su- subjects will come up there. But that's it. Our time is up. You heard the shot clock go off. We have yet another shot clock violation. Make sure to read Steve's entire 13 Rules article, where he dives deeper into Ja Morant Ja [00:26:00] Morant rather, and Tiago Splitter a guy that I enjoyed watching play. And he's got a head coaching opportunity in Chicago. Didn't get a chance to talk about that, but read about that. We'll link Steve's article wherever you are watching or listening to the show today. And join us next week for more random NBA thoughts on the Shot Clock Pod. All right. Thanks, Steve. We'll talk then Steve: Take care