Knicks Notes: Melo, Porzingis, Hernangomez, PGs
While some fans in New York may have been happy to see the Carmelo Anthony era come to an end last month, Anthony’s Knicks teammates weren’t among those that wanted to see him go. As Ian Begley of ESPN details, Anthony was the Knicks’ recipient of the Teammate of The Year award in 2017, an award voted on by his peers.
Begley passes along quotes from several of Anthony’s former teammates in New York, all of whom had nothing but praise for the veteran forward. Mindaugas Kuzminskas, for instance, wasn’t sure Anthony would know who he was when he arrived in New York last season, and was surprised when his All-Star teammate approached him with questions about his Olympic experience.
“Probably the biggest thing that I learned from ‘Melo is that even being a huge star, huge player, you can be still a great person, great teammate,” Kuzminskas said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie or a veteran. He’s going to treat you the same way.”
While Anthony received plenty of questions about his time in New York and his recent departure from the Knicks in the days leading up to Thursday’s Thunder/Knicks showdown, the newest member of the Thunder is eager to move on, telling reporters after OKC’s opening-night win that it’s time to close that chapter. “No more Knicks talk,” Anthony said, according to ESPN’s Royce Young.
Stop reading now, ‘Melo, because we’ve got more Knicks talk below…
- While there weren’t a ton of positives for the Knicks in Thursday’s loss to the Thunder, the play of Kristaps Porzingis was a bright spot. Porzingis is showing that he can be a worthy successor to Anthony, according to Ian Begley, who has the details in a story for ESPN.com.
- Another one of the Knicks’ young building blocks, Willy Hernangomez, barely saw any action in the Knicks’ opener. It was a surprising decision, but Jeff Hornacek defended the call by pointing out that Enes Kanter and Kyle O’Quinn earned playing time with their preseason performances, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “I think the coach wants to see my effort on defense,” Hernangomez said. “That’s why I have to keep working hard everyday.”
- The Knicks’ point guard situation was viewed as perhaps the worst in the league entering the season, and the club’s play on Thursday didn’t do much to change that perception. One NBA scout who spoke to Marc Berman of The New York Post suggests that the Knicks might as well throw rookie Frank Ntilikina “to the wolves” and let him play major minutes.
Knicks Sign Isaiah Hicks To Two-Way Contract
OCTOBER 20: The Knicks have officially signed Hicks to a two-way deal, the team announced today in a press release.
OCTOBER 19: The Knicks are planning to sign forward Isaiah Hicks to a two-way contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The North Carolina alum went through training camp with the Hornets earlier this month.
After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Tar Heel will look to make an impression with the franchise bouncing between the New York squad and the Knicks’ G League affiliate in Westchester.
Once the move becomes official, both of the Knicks’ two-way slots will be filled, with center Luke Kornet occupying the other one.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Hayward, Lin, Raptors
Heading into the Sixers‘ season opener on Wednesday, Joel Embiid was only expected to receive between 15 and 20 minutes of playing time, prompting the fourth-year center to sound off with his thoughts on the minutes restriction.
However, prior to tip-off, head coach Brett Brown suggested that Embiid’s minutes limit could increase quickly (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer), and Brown made good on that statement just hours later. Embiid played 27 minutes in the Sixers’ opener against Washington, which surprised the former third overall pick.
Having successfully pushed to increase his minutes – for at least one game – Embiid is now hopeful that he’ll be cleared to participate in back-to-back games, as Pompey writes at Philly.com. The Sixers’ first set of back-to-back games will take place this weekend, as the team hosts Boston on Friday before heading to Toronto for a Saturday contest.
“Yesterday I played, and my body feels great today,” the Sixers’ star center said on Thursday. “My knee feels amazing. So I feel like if I have to play today, I would play depending on how I feel. But I feel like I’m ready.”
As we wait to see how the 76ers handle Embiid, let’s check in on a few more Atlantic notes…
- Asked about Gordon Hayward‘s potential return, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on Thursday that it’s too early to put a timetable on the forward’s recovery, as Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald details. “I think it’s just safe to say that we’re not counting on him this year and go from there,” Ainge said. “Just take the pressure off him and let him heal correctly is the most important thing and not even really talk about when he should return to play. That’ll work itself out over time.”
- Ainge, who said the Celtics are exploring possible roster additions, added that the club is “not in a major rush” to make any moves, per Bulpett.
- Brian Lewis of The New York Post spoke to orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Gladstone about the outlook for Nets guard Jeremy Lin‘s recovery from his season-ending knee injury.
- The Raptors will face an interesting balancing act this season as they focus on both short-term success and long-term development of their younger players, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. That balancing act got off to a promising start on Thursday, with youngsters like Delon Wright and OG Anunoby playing key roles in Toronto’s win over Chicago.
Key In-Season Dates For 2017/18
With the 2017/18 NBA season underway, our calendar of key 2017 preseason dates can be retired in favor of a list of important in-season dates for the ’17/18 campaign. Here’s a breakdown of the deadlines and events that will influence player movement for the next several months across the NBA:
October 21
- NBA G League draft.
October 31
- Deadline for teams to exercise rookie scale options for 2018/19.
November 3
- NBA G League season begins.
December 1
- Priority order for waiver claims is now based on 2017/18 record, rather than 2016/17 record. Teams with the worst records receive the highest waiver priority.
December 15
- Most offseason signees become eligible for inclusion in trades.
January 5
- First day teams can sign players to 10-day contracts.
January 7
- Last day to waive non-guaranteed NBA contracts before they become guaranteed for the rest of the season. Salaries officially guarantee on January 10 if players haven’t cleared waivers before that date.
January 15
- Most other offseason signees become eligible for inclusion in trades.
- Last day to apply for a disabled player exception.
- Last day to sign a two-way contract.
January 20
- Salaries for all two-way contracts become fully guaranteed.
February 1
- Former first-round picks who were stashed overseas may sign rookie scale NBA contracts for the 2018/19 season.
February 8
- Trade deadline (2:00pm CT).
February 18
- All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
February 28
- Last day for contract renegotiations.
March 1
- Last day a player can be waived by one team and remain eligible to appear in the postseason for another team.
March 12
- Last day to use a disabled player exception.
April 11
- Last day of the regular season.
- Last day players can sign contracts for 2017/18.
- Last day two-way contracts can be converted to standard NBA contracts.
- Luxury tax penalties calculated based on payroll as of this day.
April 13
- Playoff rosters set (2:00pm CT).
April 14
- Playoffs begin.
Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ and NBA.com were used in the creation of this post.
Hoops Rumors’ 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker
With the 2017/18 NBA regular season underway, the 2017 offseason has officially come to an end, and Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players signed new contracts over the last several months.
To that end, we present our Free Agent Tracker, a feature we’ve had each year since our inception in 2012. Using our tracker, you can quickly look up deals, sorting by team, years, salary, and a handful of other variables.
A few notes on the tracker:
- Contract years and dollars are sometimes based on what’s been reported to date, so in a few cases those amounts may be approximations rather than official figures. Listed salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either — deals marked with a † symbol are primarily non-guaranteed.
- Two-way contracts and draft pick signings aren’t included in the tracker.
- Click on a player’s name for our full report on his deal.
- If you’re viewing the tracker on mobile, be sure to turn your phone sideways to see more details.
- Now that the offseason has come to an end, we won’t be continuing to update the tracker with in-season moves.
Our 2017 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the desktop site. You can find it on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.
Our lists of free agents by position/type and by team break down the NBA players who have yet to reach contract agreements, or who were waived after being signed.
Blazers Sign Wade Baldwin To Two-Way Contract
OCTOBER 20: The Blazers have officially signed Baldwin to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.
OCTOBER 19: The Blazers and free agent point guard Wade Baldwin have agreed on a two-way deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The 21-year-old was waived by the Grizzlies earlier in the week.
Baldwin will join a Portland franchise that has done a particularly good job developing guards over the years, most notably their star backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. Considering Baldwin’s potential heading into his rookie campaign as a first-round pick last season, it will be interesting to see if the change of scenery serves him well.
Baldwin averaged just 3.2 points per game in limited time on the court last season but spent the summer in competition with Andrew Harrison for a role off the bench in Memphis. In Portland, Baldwin will set out to steal minutes from incumbent backup Shabazz Napier if and when he gets a shot with the NBA club.
While Baldwin’s contract will be a two-way deal, the Blazers currently lack a direct G League affiliate, so it’s not yet clear which G League club he’ll suit up for this season.
2017 Offseason In Review: Miami Heat
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2017 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2017/18 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Miami Heat.
Signings:
- James Johnson: Four years, $60.002MM. Fourth-year player option.
- Dion Waiters: Four years, $47.3MM.
- Kelly Olynyk: Four years, $45.611MM. Fourth-year player option.
- Jordan Mickey: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year team option.
- Udonis Haslem: One year, minimum salary.
- Derrick Walton Jr.: Two-way contract. One year. $50K guaranteed.
Camp invitees:
- Larry Drew II: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10. (Waived)
- Erik McCree: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10. (Waived)
- Matt Williams: One year, minimum salary. Summer contract. (Converted to two-way contract)
- DeAndre Liggins: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. (Waived)
- Tony Mitchell: One year, minimum salary. Non-guaranteed. (Waived)
Trades:
- Acquired A.J. Hammons from the Mavericks in exchange for Josh McRoberts, the Heat’s 2023 second-round pick, and cash ($5.1MM).
Draft picks:
- 1-14: Bam Adebayo — Signed to rookie contract.
Extensions:
- Josh Richardson: Four years, $41.965MM.
Departing players:
- Luke Babbitt
- Chris Bosh (waived; medical retirement)
- Josh McRoberts
- Willie Reed
Other offseason news:
- Purchased a controlling interest in the Sioux Falls Skyforce; will now own and operate the G League affiliate.
- Rodney McGruder to miss three to six months with leg injury.
- Exercised 2018/19 rookie scale option on Justise Winslow.
Salary cap situation:
- Used up cap room. Now operating over the cap, but well under the tax. Carrying approximately $100MM in guaranteed team salary. Room exception ($4.328MM) still available.
Check out the Miami Heat’s full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
An annual threat to land the top players on the free agent market, the Heat are an appealing possible destination for stars for a variety of reasons, including the head coach, the management team, the culture, and – not least of all – the climate. As such, it’s no surprise that the front office went after Gordon Hayward this offseason — the All-Star forward wasn’t the best free agent on the market, but he was probably the best one who legitimately considered changing teams.
For the second straight year, however, the Heat secured a meeting with the summer’s top free agent, only to be eliminated from consideration early. A year ago, Kevin Durant passed on the allure of South Beach, and this time around, Hayward’s decision ultimately came down to Utah vs. Boston.
A lack of recent success chasing stars won’t necessarily diminish Pat Riley‘s enthusiasm for pursuing them in future offseasons, but it did force him to change directions this year. Rather than locking up a bunch of players to one-year contracts and rolling over their cap space to the summer of 2018, the Heat made lucrative, long-term commitments to a handful of players after missing out on Hayward.
James Johnson went from a one-year deal worth $4MM to a four-year deal worth $60MM. Dion Waiters, coming off a contract that paid him less than $3MM for one year, inked a four-year pact worth $47MM+. Josh Richardson wasn’t a free agent, but he got a new contract too, signing an extension that will bump his salary from the minimum this year to more than $10MM annually for the next four seasons.
It’s an intriguing strategy for the Heat, one that probably eliminates any chance they had of making a free agent splash in 2018. There are many movable contracts on the roster, so targeting stars on the trade market will still be an option. But Miami’s Plan B this summer suggests that Riley – in the years between legit title contention – is far more comfortable putting together a solid, but unspectacular, roster capable of making the playoffs than he would be blowing things up in search of potential star power in the draft.
Southeast Notes: Schroder, Oubre Jr., Carter-Williams
It wasn’t long ago when Hawks guard Dennis Schroder was regarded as an up-and-coming star. Lately, however, the market has soured on the German export. In a fan mailbag column, Chris Mannix of The Vertical writes that there’s a toxicity surrounding the 24-year-old that has limited his trade value.
Given that newly appointed Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk has been dead set on clearing cap room and maintaining financial flexibility, it seems logical that he would be looking to unload the final four years of Schroder’s contract. In reality, however, it may not be so simple.
While the idea of finding a buyer for Schroder a season or two seemed incredibly easy, concerns around the league about the guard’s maturity – especially after a recent assault charge – have limited what the Hawks could get for him.
In that case, Mannix writes, unless the Hawks want to give the 17.9-point-per-game guard away for next to nothing, they’d be better off sticking with him and hoping that he matures into a player they’re comfortable building around.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Point guard Michael Carter-Williams will have to wait to make his debut with the Hornets. Although the guard was recently cleared for contact, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports that he suffered a setback on Monday that will bump back his timeline.
- If Kelly Oubre can play as he did in Washington’s season opener, he may well find a bigger role than the one he saw with the Wizards last season. As Candace Buckner of the Washington Post writes, Oubre thrived when he subbed in for Jason Smith, making a strong case to earn more minutes in a small ball version of the team’s lineup.
- The Hawks have named Michelle Leftwich their new vice president of salary cap administration, Marc Stein of the New York Times writes. She’ll work alongside general manager Travis Schlenk.
Pacific Notes: Green, Kings, Clippers
The results from Draymond Green‘s MRI have come back negative, Chris Haynes of ESPN writes. The Warriors forward injured his knee in Tuesday’s season opener, missing the entire fourth quarter.
While it’s likely Green misses time as a result of the injury that had him limping in the team’s first game, the good news for the Warriors is that there was no structural damage that would necessitate a longer absence.
In 76 games for the Warriors last season, Green averaged 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists. If Golden State is going to survive an even stronger Western Conference than last year’s they’ll need to do it at full health.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Kings won’t be a playoff team in 2017/18 but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be successful, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. With so many new faces on the roster, the club will be happy to develop their young players and see a true culture shift.
- The Clippers are finally (mostly) healthy and head coach Doc Rivers is eager to see how they perform together under the spotlight of the regular season, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes.
- According to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, the Clippers view Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan as Clippers for life. The recently promoted executive spoke extensively about his role with Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register.
Knicks Notes: Measuring Success, Height, Hardaway Jr.
The Knicks may not be a likely bet to contend for a playoff spot without Carmelo Anthony but that doesn’t mean that the season can’t still end up being worthwhile. Marc Berman of The New York Post spoke about the state of the franchise with analyst and former New York guard Greg Anthony.
This year, the broadcaster says, the team will need to gain confidence, establish leadership and grow team chemistry, whether they find themselves in the hunt for a postseason bid or not.
Regardless of the team’s win total, however, the organization’s new front office tandem of Steve Mills and Scott Perry will be under the microscope. After the disappointing reign of Phil Jackson, Berman writes that it will be hard for them to be any worse.
There’s more from the Knicks:
- There’s a good chance that Kristaps Porzingis will one day be the face of the Knicks franchise but head coach Jeff Hornacek thinks that his 22-year-old star will need to grow into that role in time, Ian Begley of ESPN writes.
- The Knicks are an unusually tall team at a time when some of the NBA’s most successful franchises are going small, Mike Vorkunov of the New York Times writes.
- When summer signee Tim Hardaway Jr. was shipped off from the Knicks to the Hawks and then demoted to the team’s G League affiliate, it served as a wake up call, the guard told Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “[Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer] putting me down there just made me realize you got to work hard, man. You can’t come here expecting to play. I thought I was going to come in and play. I realized I had veterans in front of me that I had to outwork and compete each and every day. Once I got better he trusted me in that process and it got me to where I am right now.”