Optimizing the Knicks’ Offseason

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!

The New York Knicks are entering yet another pivotal offseason. 

There are a myriad of decisions to be made by the front office: which free agents to add, which current team options to accept or decline (which they did today), and how many minutes to play each player per game once the season actually tips off. Luckily for them, they have a lot of flexibility — they have control over how they use their salary cap, roster spots, and minutes allocations throughout the season. 

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To Be Frank: A Ntilikina Deep Dive

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!

Hello. Welcome. I see you’re here to read a deep dive about Frank Ntilikina. I sincerely respect the decision.

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No All-Rookie? No problem: Projecting RJ Barrett’s future

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Note: this post was originally published for The Strickland. Give them a click!

The third pick in the 2019 NBA draft failed to make an All-Rookie team.

However, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Knicks fan that was significantly disappointed by RJ Barrett’s rookie season. Though he didn’t exactly light up the league immediately like Ja Morant or Zion Williamson, RJ showed a little bit of everything in what was a significantly featured role for the Knicks. Operating at an incredibly high volume, he filled up the stat sheet like few other rookies in the league – and few veterans on his own team:

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To Trade or Not to Trade?

by Justin Halpern and John Smith, posted in Baseball

In today’s MLB, it feels like superstar players are being traded every year. Teams are looking to jumpstart a rebuild, and the best way to do that is often by trading their best player. However, how often does a team actually get a return value worthy of the superstar himself? In this study, we looked to identify potential superstars who could be traded in the future and what their ideal return package should look like. 

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#SportsLawSimplified: Washington’s Trademark Fumble

by Sean Fener, posted in Football, NFL Football, Sports Law

On July 13, 2020, the Washington NFL Team formally announced that, following the team’s internal review of the “appropriateness” of the team name, they will be retiring the Redskins name. It seems NEVER (team owner Dan Snyder told us to use caps) changing the name really just meant seven years.

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Tanking is Over, Long Live the Process

by RJ Garcia, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Tanking has been a pest for the NBA for over a decade, but no team embraced tanking as blatantly as the Philadelphia 76ers. 47 wins over 246 games, winning one out of every five games over three years, was rewarded with four young players with very cheap rookie contracts: Joel Embiid (4 years / $20M), Jahlil Okafor (4 years / $21M), Ben Simmons (4 years / $27M), and Markelle Fultz (4 years / $37M). 

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Optimizing the Best NBA Expansion Team

by Derek Reifer, posted in Basketball, NBA Basketball

Assuming league recovery post-COVID-19, an expansion team (or more) in the NBA feels like more of a “when” than an “if”. Growing team valuations, marketable superstars, and worldwide interest has turned basketball into the sport of the future, and there are plenty of places that could use a squad (looking at you, Seattle).

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Making the Switch: Which Starters Should Come Out of the Bullpen?

by Derek Reifer, posted in Baseball, MLB Baseball, Youth Baseball

All MLB pitchers were starters at one point in their careers.

Growing up through Little League, college, and the Minor Leagues, anyone who is eventually good enough to pitch in the majors was likely the superstar ace of most of their previous teams. However, at the highest of levels, many pitchers have to make concessions to their new reality – the fact that they may be better served – and better serve their teams –  coming out of the bullpen as relievers.

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