Atlantic Notes: Grant, Knicks, Celtics, Young

Part of the reason that the Knicks dealt Tim Hardaway was because they felt Jerian Grant fit the team’s style of play better than him, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork tweets. “We thought Timmy’s got a good chance to be an NBA pro, but [Grant’s] more in tune with how we want to play,” president of basketball operations Phil Jackson said.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

• Kristaps Porzingis has impressed so far in workouts with the team, Begley writes in a full length piece. “We’re very pleased with his attitude, the way he approaches work, [and] his appetite for it,” Jackson said. “He’s been very receptive to the work it takes to become an NBA player, strength training, trying to bulk up and do all those things.”
• James Young was sent down to the Maine Red Claws, the D-League affiliate of the Celtics, 11 times last season and according to president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, he drew rave reviews, Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports tweets. “I had numerous coaches tell me James Young was the best prospect they’™ve ever seen in the D-League.”
• Young spent the majority of the summer working on his one-on-one defense, Josue Pavon of WEEI writes. Coach Brad Stevens believes his work paid off. “He’™s really improved his defensive abilities,” said Stevens. “His defensive awareness was great in summer league and he’s a guy that we know offensively has some skill and some talent. The other thing about James that I’™m excited about is he’™s bigger and stronger and he’s only 20 years old.”