Knicks Rumors: Thomas, Ujiri, Griffin, Presti
10:42pm: The Knicks have since been in touch with Griffin and the ex-Cavs general manager will be among New York’s initial interviews, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets.
11:01am: Given how his first stint as the Knicks’ general manager went, Isiah Thomas would seem to be an extremely unlikely candidate to replace Phil Jackson for the team’s head front office job this offseason. Marc Berman of The New York Post confirmed as much on Wednesday, writing that Thomas wasn’t being considered.
However, at least one person close to the franchise isn’t so sure Thomas is entirely out of the running, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News, who says his source described the former Knicks GM as “a dark horse candidate” to fill the current opening (Twitter link). While that revelation may inspire some panic among Knicks fans, it’s worth noting that the “dark horse” descriptor suggests Thomas probably isn’t at the top of James Dolan‘s wish list.
Here’s more on the Knicks’ search for a new president of basketball operations:
- The Knicks’ interest in Raptors president Masai Ujiri is real, but Ujiri is entering the second year of a five-year, $32MM contract in Toronto, says Sam Amick of USA Today. A source close to ownership of MLSE – the group that owns the Raptors – tells Michael Grange of Sportsnet not to even bother with the Ujiri rumors, but Grange hears from an NBA source that the Knicks will nonetheless be “coming hard” for the Raptors’ president.
- Having received a second-round pick as compensation when Orlando hired away GM Jeff Weltman, the Raptors would certainly ask for even more compensation if the Knicks wanted to hire Ujiri, and New York would be very unlikely to consider that, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
- A league source informed ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that Jerry West intended to reach out to Tim Leiweke, who is running the Knicks’ search, to endorse David Griffin as a candidate for New York’s opening. According to ESPN’s report, Griffin has “long coveted” an opportunity like the Knicks’ job. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Knicks hadn’t formally reached out to Griffin or his agent, but had begun doing background research on him, per ESPN.
- Thunder president of basketball operations Sam Presti has been internally discussed by the Knicks as a possible target, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Like Ujiri, Presti is under contract with another NBA team and that club would likely require compensation, though the exact terms of his deal aren’t known.
Calipari Denies Interest In Knicks Presidency
10:15pm: Calipari has vehemently denied the report over Twitter, saying that he intends to be the coach at Kentucky for a long time.
6:01pm: Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari has reached out through intermediaries to express an interest in the Knicks’ presidency, Ian Begley of ESPN tweets.
The report is corroborated by ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk who adds, in his own tweet, that Calipari has been interested in a return to the NBA but only for the “right job.”
New York, of course, has been seeking a a replacement at the top level ever since the franchise parted ways with Phil Jackson yesterday. Already linked to the franchise have been Isiah Thomas, Masai Ujiri, David Griffin and Sam Presti.
While Calipari has seen action in the NBA before, it seems like a lifetime ago that he patrolled the sidelines for the Nets and 76ers. From 1996-1998, he managed a 72-112 record as the head coach in New Jersey.
Calipari’s NBA Debut: The 1996-97 New Jersey Nets (26-56)
The entirety of Calipari’s previous professional stint, then, came before he evolved into the college game’s most vaunted recruiter, a characteristic that makes him far more appealing than any Xs and Os experience.
Having an asset like Calipari involved with the franchise could be a boon for the Knicks, considering the sheer amount of players he has either coached or recruited over his years with Kentucky and Memphis.
Suffice it to say, all Begley’s tweet suggests is that Calipari has expressed an interest in the position and there’s no guarantee that the interest is mutual at this point in time.
Southeast Notes: Richardson, White, Kaba
The Wizards are no closer to landing Paul George than they were a week ago but recent comments from John Wall have resurrected speculation that he could possibly end up in D.C. Per CSN Mid-Atlantic’s J. Michael, there are a number of things that would need to happen for the pipe dream to become a reality, here are just a few:
For starters, the Wizards will have to come to terms with something that all of George’s other suitors have already come to terms with: they would need to build an appealing enough package of young players and assets without any guarantee that they’ll get to re-sign him next summer.
The Wizards would also need Otto Porter to be up for a sign-and-trade, something that would require him to take less money than he’s eligible for, just to pack his bags and move to Indianapolis.
Even if the Wizards did manage to land George and played him alongside Wall and Bradley Beal, however, the organization would be extremely crunched financially for the foreseeable future.
There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:
- Don’t expect the Magic to make a major splash in free agency, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. The team would need to reel off a series of moves just to clear up space for a major signing and that’s not really their focus at this point in time.
- Coming off a season in which he averaged career highs, Hawks center Mike Muscala is experiencing unrestricted free agency for the first time. He spoke with Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune about the process. “It’s crazy how basketball can change from high school to college to the NBA and what you work on, what you’re compensated for,” he said, referring to his coveted skill set as a three-point shooting big man. “I’ve found if you do things the right way — if you play the right way, if you work on your game, if you’re a good teammate — you’ll be rewarded for it.”
- The Heat will retain Okaro White and Josh Richardson, thus guaranteeing their contracts (or in White’s case, partially guaranteeing the deal he signed last season). Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes about how Richardson’s $1.5MM for 2017/18 will be locked in after Friday and how White will clinch $226K on Saturday.
- One of the major areas that the Wizards will need to improve upon next year is in their backcourt depth, J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic says. They’ve already gotten a head start in doing so with their addition of Tim Frazier.
- Second-round draft pick Alpha Kaba will play with the Hawks‘ summer league team before deciding where to play next season, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
Hornets Notes: Point Guards, Howard, Karnowski
The Hornets are expected to target point guards through free agency, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes, especially after the franchise elected to part ways with Ramon Sessions earlier today.
“Backup point guard has to be No. 1 priority,” general manager Rich Cho said. “Ideally, someone who can play with and without Kemba Walker, who plays both ends of the floor.”
Worth noting is that Charlotte’s 2016/17 third-string point guard, Brian Roberts, is also a free agent this summer and may not return. That could mean that the Hornets’ front office will turn their attention to the prominent names available on the market.
All of Darren Collison, Patty Mills and Shaun Livingston will be free agents but Bonnell wonders if they may be too pricey for what the Hornets currently have available. If that’s the case, cheaper options like Michael Carter-Williams and Shelvin Mack could be in play.
Traditionally, head coach Steve Clifford likes to retain three point guards and three centers on the roster, Bonnell notes, so it’s almost inevitable that the team will add somebody. The question is, with limited cap flexibility thanks to a busy 2016 offseason, who that may be.
There’s more from the Hornets:
- After starting his career as a mainstay with the Magic, Dwight Howard has bounced around from franchise to franchise. Dating back to his final year in Orlando, Howard has played for four teams in six seasons. The big man tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he’ll “hopefully” end his career in North Carolina.
- Don’t rule out Dwight Howard as an offensive option in the pick-and-roll. “Go back to my time in Orlando. We used a lot of of pick and rolls,” the big man said, addressing critics in an interview with Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “It’s not that I don’t want to set screens. People just used that to have something negative to say.”
- Consider undrafted big man Przemek Karnowski a dark horse candidate to land a two-way contract, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes in a mailbag with readers.
Celtics Extend Qualifying Offer To Olynyk
The Celtics have extended a qualifying offer to Kelly Olynyk, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe tweets. The 26-year-old center is coming off a year in which he posted 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Given Boston’s position in the middle of some serious free agency pursuits, it’s worth noting that the C’s retain the ability to rescind the offer so long as Olynyk doesn’t accept it first, Himmelsbach adds.
Considering that Olynyk is slated to become a restricted free agent if he doesn’t, it’s unlikely that he would accept the one-year, $7.7MM qualifying deal.
Olynyk is a sharpshooting big man that can make an impact from beyond the arc, a combination in particularly high demand these days, but he doesn’t contribute much outside of his niche.
Regardless, whether or not Boston chooses to match any offer that Olynyk can scrounge up on the open market will largely depend on their success finessing a big name or two over to Beantown this offseason.
Blake Griffin To Meet With Suns
All-Star forward Blake Griffin is scheduled to meet with the Suns this Saturday, a league source tells Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times. After exercising his early termination option last week, Griffin will hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
Although the Clippers remain optimistic about signing Griffin even after the Chris Paul trade, the 28-year-old forward could very well bring a formal end to Lob City by signing a deal elsewhere.
The Suns boast an intriguing young core with Devin Booker and Josh Jackson and could look to climb out of the lottery with the addition of an established star like Griffin. Griffin averaged 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season in a third consecutive injury-plagued campaign.
Gordon Hayward Declines Player Option
Coveted free agent Gordon Hayward has officially notified the Jazz that he’s declining his player option, Marc Stein of ESPN tweets. The announcement is a mere formality considering that the basketball world has already moved on to debating which possible suitor he’ll visit first.
Per Stein in another tweet, Hayward will meet with the Heat first, then the Celtics and finally the Jazz. For more details about the upcoming recruiting appointments, consider clicking over to our previous Hoops Rumors report from earlier in the day.
Hayward, now an official free agent, averaged 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the Jazz and is among the most prized, reasonably attainable, players on the market.
David Lee Declines Player Option
As expected, Spurs big man David Lee has turned down his player option, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 34-year-old big man will hit the open market after posting a solid year off the bench for San Antonio.
After playing the 2016/17 campaign on a minimum salary contract, Lee is in line for a raise should he seek one, although his decision to opt out echoes that of fellow Spurs big man Pau Gasol and could possibly just be a means of freeing up cap flexibility for San Antonio.
In 18.7 minutes of action this year, Lee posted 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
Hornets To Decline Team Option On Ramon Sessions
The Hornets won’t keep veteran guard Ramon Sessions for another season, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
Charlotte has elected not to exercise its team option on Sessions, which was worth nearly $6.3MM for 2017/18. Sessions is expected to remain on the roster until midnight in case a trade materializes, then will become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow night.
Sessions, who turned 31 in April, inked a two-year deal with the Hornets last summer that contained the team option. He played a career-low 16.2 minutes per game this season, and his scoring average dipped to 6.2 points per night.
Fellow backup point guard Brian Roberts is also a free agent, Bonnell notes, so the Hornets will have to address that position on the open market.
Clippers Waive Darrun Hilliard
Darrun Hilliard, part of the package the Clippers received from Houston in Wednesday’s Chris Paul trade, has been waived, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
Hilliard began Wednesday in Detroit, where he had spent the past two seasons with the Pistons. His non-guaranteed $1,471,382 salary for next season made him a target for the Rockets, who were looking for easily waived players to help match Paul’s salary. Houston acquired Hilliard for cash considerations and sent him to L.A.
The 38th pick in the 2015 draft, Hilliard spent much of the past two years in the G League. He got into 39 games with the Pistons this season, averaging 3.3 points in 9.8 minutes per night.