New York Notes: Jack, Noah, Knicks, Nets

In the view of Marc Berman of The New York Post, it may be time for the Knicks to cut ties with Jarrett Jack. The veteran point guard has been solid this season, but he’s expected to cede playing time to Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina, and Trey Burke down the stretch. So if his agents sense that there would any interest in Jack from playoff teams, cutting him by March 1 and letting him catch on with another team would be the right thing to do, Berman says.

Among Berman’s other late-season tips for the Knicks? Reduce Kyle O’Quinn‘s minutes and explore bringing Joakim Noah back into the fold. Even if Noah isn’t part of the team’s long-term plans, getting him some playing time and showing other teams that he still has something left in the tank could improve the Knicks’ chances of eventually moving him in a trade.

Here are a few more notes out of New York:

• In a separate piece for The Post, Berman assigns midseason grades to the Knicks players, along with Hornacek (C-) and the front office (B). Noah receives Berman’s only failing grade, while Michael Beasley (B+) and Enes Kanter (B+) earned the highest marks.
• Elsewhere at The New York Post, Brian Lewis has a report card of his own for the Nets, with Spencer Dinwiddie (A) leading the way. Several of Brooklyn’s offseason and mid-season acquisitions received mediocre grades or worse, including D’Angelo Russell (C-), Allen Crabbe (C-), Nik Stauskas (D), Jahlil Okafor (D), and Timofey Mozgov (F).
• Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is considering making lineup and rotation changes when his team returns from the All-Star break, tweets Lewis. “We’re in a rut right now,” Atkinson said. “I want to continue on an upward swing, not the downward swing we’re on.”
• Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News breaks down a tanking race to the bottom that includes both the Knicks and Nets.
• On Monday night, we passed along word that the Knicks will sign free agent swingman Troy Williams to a 10-day contract.