Becky Hammon Says Knicks Don't Have A Real Superstar, Roasts Jalen Brunson: 'He's Too Small.'

Hammon says Stephen Curry is the exception, as he is simply the greatest shooter of all time. As for whether her philosophy holds true, I'd say it does, for the most part.

The only smaller players that you can really think of who led their team to a title in the last 40-odd years would be Curry, Dwyane Wade, and Isiah Thomas. All three are all-time greats and players like them don't come around too often.

You could also maybe make an argument for Chauncey Billups to be on that list, but he was more of a cog in that Detroit Pistons system. It was their defense that won them the championship in 2004, but even if I do include him, that's still just four players.

Brunson has been great, with averages of 25.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game this season, but he is nowhere near as good as Curry, Wade, or Thomas. Unlike Billups, he isn't on a team that is regarded as one of the greatest from a defensive standpoint either.

I think Brunson can be a fantastic second option on a title-contending team, but he can't be the first option. There's a reason why many feel that the Knicks, who are 16-11 this season, need to find a way to bring in a superstar.

If they don't, they'll just be a good team that wins close to 50 games every season and at best, makes the Conference Semifinals. Considering the recent history of the Knicks, that might still be great for them, but they won't be winning titles with this core.

Becky Hammon Is Standing By Her Comments

While I agree with Hammon, that's not necessarily the case for many others. She received a fair bit of hate for those comments and felt compelled to release a statement to make it clear she does love Brunson's game.

"For the record… I love Jalen Brunson’s game!!" Hammon wrote. "He used to give us/Spurs WORK when he played with Dallas..!! I love when undersized players give the league BUCKETS! He’s got a great mind and feel for the game!! GREAT MIND. GREAT FEEL. He was passed over in the first round, and then got to the league and showed out.. he’s not a good NBA player, he’s a GREAT NBA player.. much respect. He’s an All-Star and will be an All-NBA performer.

Hammon is standing by her initial comments, though. The 46-year-old stated she can't put Brunson in the same breath as the likes of Curry and LeBron James.

"I stand by my statement that I can’t put him in a LeBron, Steph, (Joel) Embiid, type of 1A tier player, and that if your best player is the smallest player on the court, you (probably) won’t win a CHAMPIONSHIP," Hammon wrote in the latter stages of her letter. "This game favors the tall -wish it didn’t .. BUT it does."

I honestly struggle to comprehend why she was criticized for her initial comments. Hammon made a lot of sense and spoke about what the history of the game has shown us. Maybe she should have mentioned the other exceptions like Thomas and Wade, but that's about it.