MikeDrop Weekly: 5 Things (4/11)

1. Michael Malone and the Knicks 

I am NOT a fire Thibs guy. I love Tom Thibodeau and truly appreciate everything he has done for the Knicks. After 20 years of misery, it's nice being in the playoffs every year, and even winning playoff series'. 

But here's the thing - Michael Malone, who was just fired by the Nuggets, is a championship-winning coach. He was born and raised in New York. He got his first NBA job in 2001, as an assistant with the Knicks. His father Brendan Malone, spent 7 years as a Knicks assistant coach, across 3 different tenures. New York City, and the Knicks, are in Malone's blood. 

I'm not firing Thibs just to fire him. But I would fire him, to hire Michael Malone. And I wouldn't even think twice about it... 

2. NIL is NOT ruining college sports

I plan on getting into this topic in depth on a future podcast and/or article, but I have very little problem with NIL. Pay the kids! Their worth is whatever boosters think it is. The ROI on these deals are atrocious, unless you win it all. 

The issue isn't NIL, it's the transfer portal. While NIL is being discussed and attempts are being made to create some sort of rules, the portal feels much easier to regulate. The portal is also why NIL is out of control. 

Players are tweeting "RUN IT BACK" and then a week later announce they are transferring. Why do we think that is? Because the money is being doubled, and they are being poached. 

The rule should be - 1 transfer to play immediately. Anything else has consequences of sitting out a year, or X number of games (pending clearly outlined and regulated exceptions). If you continue to allow players to transfer unlimited amounts, that's when "pay for play" really comes into affect and kids play for 3-4, even 5(!) different schools. If you eliminate "tampering" and "poaching", you reduce NIL totals. Right now, schools are paying more because they need to persuade kids to leave a situation they may not want to leave. 

3. Stop Publishing "too early top 25s" 

In the old days, I used to love this content. It was fun seeing which players are departing and who is coming in. Who are the breakout guys to watch for, replacing the departing upperclassmen? 

Now, it's meaningless. The portal is still open, so this is just a waste of time. 80% of rosters are turning over, how can anyone know anything in early April? 

Perfect example of the silliness of this exercise? Jon Rothstein, whom I love, published a top 45 and had Cincinnati at #33. Since publishing that article Tuesday morning, 3/5 of the players listed under "projected starters" have entered the portal. None of whom, by the way, were a surprise. 

4. BYU...off the schneid? 

BYU has the unfortunate distinction on appearing in the most NCAA Tournaments (32) without a Final Four appearance. 

Contradictory to point 3, I love BYU in 2026 and can see them getting off the schneid, and getting to the Final Four. They are +1800 to win the 2026 Championship on DraftKings. 

In comes #1 recruit AJ Dybantsa, along with 2 other top 100 freshman. Richie Saunders, the great, great grandson of the inventor of tator tots will return. And they are adding one of the top transfers, Baylor PG Rob Wright. 

5. Why does the NBA have divisions? 

In the NFL and MLB, division winners are guaranteed a playoff spot and hosting a first round series. 

In the NBA, are we about to see a team hang a banner and possibly miss the playoffs?? 

The top 3 teams in the South are the Magic, Hawks and Heat who will all appear in the Play-In. That means, technically, even though the Magic lead the division, they are currently the 7 seed and could theoretically miss the playoffs. 

What's even the point of having these divisions now?