Knicks UNLEASHED

Why Josh Hart Drives the Knicks + Giannis Rumor Breakdown + OG’s Return?

• Online Big Blue LLC • Season 1 • Episode 5

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In this episode of Knicks Unleashed, we dive into why Josh Hart is more than just a role player — he’s the emotional engine, the tone-setter, and the true heart of the New York Knicks. We break down how his grit, versatility, and never-off switch embody everything this team claims to be.

Then we tackle the growing buzz surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Knicks. Is there real smoke behind the rumors? What would a Giannis pursuit look like, and how would it reshape the franchise’s timeline and identity?

And finally, we examine what the Knicks should expect as a return on OG Anunoby — whether we're talking long-term extension value, trade potential, or the impact of a fully healthy OG back in the lineup.

Energy, analysis, passion — The Grit Behind the Garden. Tune in and get unleashed.

#knicks #nyknicks #nba

SPEAKER_01:

Drop things here just like those next three pointers. This is Tim's theory of Knicks unleashed. Wanna talk about, of course, the one nineteen one oh four win over the Charlotte Hornets. Wanna talk about Josh Hart. Wanna talk about OG Ananobi? Wanna talk about Giannis? Oh lordy geez. There's so much to talk about. After the Knicks kind of had that uh that that not kind of had that after the Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, there there was there was thought processes, there was speculation that uh, you know, we we are just still not that contender. We are still not at that point where we need to be. But like I keep telling people, it's early. Yeah, we lost that game to Boston in Boston, 123-117, but Jalen Brunson had one of those, had one of those nights. He's gonna have them every once in a while, but he had one of those nights. But what do the Knicks do? That of course they rebound quickly and go up against those Charlotte Hornets. Of course, at this point in time now, it's the 6-16 Charlotte Hornets. But we have another test against the Utah Jazz tomorrow night. Then another game, December 7th against the Orlando Magic. Then we have the quarterfinals for the NBA Cup on Tuesday, the 9th. And then the Knicks aren't seen again until December 18th. So we we have a plethora of games running in at us, quick and furious. But you know what? We're doing what we need to do. We're figuring it out. I still have all the confidence and all the faith in the world in Mike Brown. The Knicks are of course sitting at 14 and 7. Josh Hart the other night, and Josh Hart to me is literally the heartbeat of this team. I understood why they they were bringing him off the bench. He's still coming back from that finger surgery. But you can see a difference in the club the moment you injected him back into the starting lineup. And it's not just his play, it's his leadership. And of course, after the loss to the Boston Celtics, Hart came out and said, we get bored with what's working, what's winning basketball. I felt like we got bored doing that. And then when we start doing whatever, playing bad offense, giving up anything defensively, we've got to make sure we're locked in on making sure success of the team is the number one objective. I kind of think that has to be uh pointed at the three points, three pointers. And I keep saying this because I I go to many Nick Home games now. I'm gonna be there probably on Sunday, probably be there, you know, when they when they come back around on the 18th. But it's one of those things that this team lives and dies by the three. They build up these huge leads. I I go back to last Sunday's game where they had 41 points in the first. They shot 66% from the three-point line. And then all of a sudden, in that second half against, excuse me, the second quarter against the Toronto Raptors, the whole thing just fucking collapsed. And it was almost like they couldn't, they couldn't hit the ocean if they fell out of a fucking boat. But you know what? By that second half, they started figuring out how to play basketball again. They started figuring it out. Listen, you know what? Not every shot has to be a three-pointer. You are allowed to shoot the rock within two feet of the basket. It's okay. Josh Hart also came out and says, I mean, it's human nature sometimes when you get these big leads, you're up by 13, you're up by 20, something like that. Let's figure out a way to score how to get mine, not in a bad way. That's human nature. You've got to try to combat that. We've got to try to make sure that even when we're up by 15, we get up by 20, we continue to push the pace, continue to play fast, continue to play our basketball. And I think that's a great way to put it. I think that's a great way to sum it up by by the by the by the heart man. I really do. You have to find a way to continue to score. You have to find a way. To me, like I said before, this is a rhythm and flow offense. This is the type of offense that Mike Brown was a part of in Golden State. But if you watch those Golden State teams, not every shot was a three-pointer. I remember Sunday against the Raptors in that second quarter going, don't shoot the fucking three. But of course they did. There's this is a long season. This team currently sits three and sixth in the road, but they are 14 and 7, like I said. We're gonna get OG on and Obi back sooner than we possibly thought. And we're gonna talk about it in a minute. But Josh Hart also said, I think it's frankly just kind of stupidity to play one style of basketball. Get up by 15, get up by 20 points leans, and then abandon what got you there, he mitts. We've got to make sure we continue to focus on that and build off of it. In other words, you gotta do different things. Sooner or later, people are gonna collapse on the three. Sooner or later, you are gonna have a team, you know, get in your face. Sooner or later, they're gonna abandon, you know, guarding the big bodega underneath. You're gonna have to figure this out, and you're gonna have to figure out what works. You're gonna have to figure out how you can continue to move the ball around, get the best look, and put your playmakers in a position in reference to Brunson and of course the big cat. And you've got to figure out a way to put them in a position where they can score. And that's what you have to do. And that and that's kind of what Hart is saying. And you know what? You have to understand that this is still a work in progress. I know everyone wants to move on. I know everyone wants to take a look at getting maybe Giannis, but you're gonna have to blow up the team to do this. But the Knicks did get some good news, according to NBA Insider Robert Morrows, who broke the news on social media. It's critical update, says the New York Knicks, OG Ananobi, is targeting a return to December 7th home game against the Orlando Magic. That's big news for the Knicks. They have been playing a little bit depleted. Of course, uh OG Ananobi suffered that left hand string strain. I think it was on November 14th during the first quarter against Miami. He grabbed it after missing up a layup on a fast break and immediately went out of the game. He's been slowly working his way back on November 30th. They were saying that he had progressed to uh controlling contract, excuse me, contact workouts on three-on-three scrimmages. Now, OG, like I said, he he's had he's he's he's been he's been consistently what we needed him to be since he's been here. He's averaging 15.8, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists while shooting, 47.6% from the field. He is a guy that's got that two-way impact. He is the guy that I think is critical to the Knicks' success this year because not only is he going to give you that athleticism, we know for a fact that he's gonna be a D guy. He's a two-way basically a two-way weapon. Now, while the team has gone five and two without him, you know, that's that's that's that to me is a blip. I don't think, like I said, I think this team has enough parts. It has a good enough starting, or I should say a good enough starting five, and a good enough depth in reference to having eight guys are playing an eight man, even potentially nine-man rotation. Um, and I think we can just we can look at it that way. Because like I said, if I love I love Miles McBride. I love, I would like to see him come off the bench more. Jordan Clarkson, he just needs to find a consistent rhythm. Tyler, we're we're still gonna have to figure out the backup point guard position. I I can't sit there with Tyler and look at Tyler with with confidence now that Landry Shaman is out for a while with his dislocated shoulder. I can't look at him with full confidence to be that, to be that scorer, to be that facilitator coming off the bench. But like I said, when you're still rolling out Bridges, Hart, Carl Anthony Towns, Brunson, and McBride, and you still have Clarkson coming off the back end. I like Gershon. Gershawn to me has just got to figure out his role on this team. He's been a little bit of a disappointment in my mind in reference to the way he has been playing. But like I said, I think he's playing himself into this team. And I think that's the way he's gonna have to, I think that's the way he's gonna have to look at this, and that's the way he's gonna have to kind of figure it out. And I think he can do it. I like I said, I think he's gonna, after watching him play in Philadelphia a bunch of times last year, I do think it's gonna be a interesting combination. And like I said, with the uh Utah Jazz coming in tomorrow at 7 30, this is it's another test for the Knicks. It's it's another question that you know, can they continue to keep that home success and those home fires burning? I think they can. Now, one thing that we would be remiss if we didn't discuss is, of course, Giannis. Giannis's agent came out the other day and basically spoke to the Bucs and said, hey, listen, we we gotta figure out what's going on here. We got to discuss the future of Giannis in Milwaukee. And it's one of those things that he is a player on a different level. And he is a guy that if he came to New York in the right circumstance, could be that that catalyst, that that push, that, that push into not only a later round drive into the playoffs, but into the NBA championship. Um Giannis, of course, on Wednesday, he uh was it uh yeah, it was yesterday, was Wednesday, he exited with a right calf strain in the first quarter, and that was in the uh Bucks 113-109 win. But he is a guy that if we bring him into the Big Apple and we keep some of these pieces, it's gonna be something different. It's gonna be something that that is gonna be crazy. But the problem is there are a lot of problems. There are a lot of problems with his trades because of the fact that the Knicks gave up fifth five for first rounders for, of course, bridges. And per the NBA rules, you cannot have or give up consecutive first-round picks. And I love it because that rule was instituted because of the New York Knicks. So you're gonna have to find a way to make this fit. And the first thing you're gonna have to do is you're gonna have to move on from Carl Anthony Towns. That's gonna be that's gonna have to be included in the package. There's gonna have to be another significant player added, maybe OG Ananobi or Bridges. But which one can you can can you move on from? Bridges can't be traded until February due to his recent contract extension. So if you're gonna make that move and OG Ananobi's coming back, are you gonna have to package Carl Anthony Towns and OG Ananobi to go get Giannis? The Knicks are gonna have to throw in some first-round picks, but the Knicks are limited in first-round picks. You know, they're they're they are right now, they have um the 2026 Wizards first-round pick, but that is protected. They they're they're not gonna they they can do pick swaps, I would have to say. And you would have to you could do pick swaps in either 2028, 2030, and 2032. And the the only the only thing I don't like about that is the fact if they try to do next, if they try to do pick swaps like that, especially in 2020 and 2020, we don't know what this team's gonna look at. And also you gotta look at the salary cap situation, which is kind of tight. You know, we're we're we're hitting we're hitting where we don't want to be. So you're gonna have to fit that's gonna add to the the complexity of the of the trade itself. And of course, Giannis is coming out with the hamstring, I mean, excuse me, with the calf strain. It's just a calf strain, but it's one of those things that there's so many moving pieces that the Knicks would have to figure out just to move on, just to move on for and move on from where we are and get someone like Giannis. I don't know, because I also think the Lakers, the Raptors, especially the way they're playing, and maybe the Rockets could be involved in this situation situation. You also gotta watch out for those fucking Miami Heats. Those Miami Heat guys are just are just fucking killers. Now, Giannis, of course, says his destination is New York, but who doesn't want to go to the Big Apple? So, I mean, I I figure this, unless you're gonna make a move right away, you're gonna have to with OG Ananobi and Carl Anthony Towns. If you're gonna wait, you're gonna have to wait until February to do with Bridges. And like I said, we really, we really, when no, we if, and the one thing about the wizard pick, the one thing I didn't like about that trade, that it's a top eight protected pick. And at this point in time, which would eventually convert into two second rounders if if they don't get to pick this year, the Knicks. I always thought that was kind of uh I always thought that was kind of a stupid trade by the Knicks, but that's that's just the way it is. You may have to get a third team involved also. And are you gonna have to maybe move Bridges, Towns, and OG Ananobi? And honestly, if the Bucs are a team that looks like they're gonna start tanking, why would you want to take out on the contracts of Towns and Oji Ananobi anyways? There is so many moving parts to that trait. I don't even know what to talk about. But you know what, Nick fans? This is Tim, this is New York Knicks Unleashed. Hope you're gonna enjoy this. We're gonna try to do this almost on a daily pod with Nick information left and right. We're also gonna put it up on the YouTube channel as soon as we get the YouTube channel situated. Hope you enjoy the new pod cover, because I enjoyed having the team make it. So, as always, this is Tim. This is New York Knicks Unleashed, and I'm out of here.