Knicks Notes: Ntilikina, Mudiay, Middleton, Kanter
The Knicks are about to have an overcrowded situation at point guard, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Frank Ntilikina is close to returning from a groin strain and Emmanuel Mudiay has nearly recovered from a strained left shoulder. Mudiay practiced today, tweets ESPN’s Ian Begley, while Ntilikina was held out of practice and will be re-evaluated Friday.
When they’re cleared to play, both guards will be sharing time with Dennis Smith Jr., who took over the starting role after being acquired from the Mavericks in late January, and possibly Kadeem Allen, who has impressed coaches since being signed to a two-way contract last month.
Allen could be sent to the G League once everyone is healthy, Berman notes, or the Knicks may want to see more of what he can do at the NBA level. Mudiay could be the odd man out as he’s headed toward free agency and seemingly has little prospect of re-signing in New York now that the organization has committed to Smith.
There’s more Knicks news to pass along:
- If Kyrie Irving is unavailable, New York might target Bucks swingman Khris Middleton in hopes of pairing him with Kevin Durant, Berman speculates in a separate story. Middleton had a 20-point performance in his first All-Star game, then sidestepped questions about free agency. “I’m having a great career so far — that’s all I’m worrying about,” Middleton said. “I’ll think about the summertime in the summertime. We have a lot more work to do, hopefully. We’re playing great basketball. That’s all I’m worrying about.” Because Middleton doesn’t necessarily project as a full max player, Berman suggests the Knicks could sign him and have money left over to keep DeAndre Jordan, who is a friend of Durant’s.
- The Knicks might find it more difficult to lure Durant as long as James Dolan remains the team’s owner, states Frank Isola of The Athletic. A rumor that Dolan might have interest in selling the team was dismissed as “100% false” by MSG Co. on Monday. Isola notes that the organization’s long history of failure under Dolan could make Durant think twice about coming to New York.
- Although his time with the Knicks didn’t end well, Enes Kanter would still endorse the franchise to any free agents who ask him, tweets New York sportswriter Brian Heyman. “It’s a very good organization. Good people. … Amazing city,” Kanter said. “So I think that they have a really good chance to get good superstars.”
Thunder Sign Markieff Morris
FEBRUARY 20: The signing is official, the Thunder announced on their website. Morris will make $573,295 over the next four months and will have a $427,288 cap hit, Bobby Marks posts on ESPN Now. Between Morris’ salary and luxury tax penalties, the total cost to OKC will be $2.2MM.
FEBRUARY 14: The Thunder have reached a contract agreement with free agent forward Markieff Morris, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Even after signing Richard Solomon and Scotty Hopson to 10-day deals today, Oklahoma City has an open roster spot, so no corresponding move will be required.
Morris, 29, spent most of the season with the Wizards, averaging 11.5 PPG and 5.1 RPG on .436/.333/.781 shooting in 34 games (26.0 MPG). However, conscious of their proximity to the luxury tax threshold, the Wizards opted to trade him at last week’s deadline, saving some money by sending him to New Orleans along with a future second-round pick for Wesley Johnson.
After being subsequently waived by the Pelicans, Morris – who had been recovering from a neck injury – was cleared to resume full basketball activities and reportedly drew interest from the Rockets, Raptors, and Lakers in addition to the Thunder. The Nets were among the other clubs in the mix for him, tweets Charania.
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Morris represents an intriguing addition for the Thunder, who had been on the lookout for a stretch four due to Patrick Patterson‘s inconsistent play. While Morris wasn’t exactly having a career year in Washington, he’ll be an upgrade on Patterson, assuming he’s healthy. He should also help replace the shooting previously provided by Alex Abrines, who parted ways with Oklahoma City last week.
It’s not clear whether or not the Thunder will sign Morris right away. Postponing the transaction until after the All-Star break would create some savings on OKC’s cap and projected tax bill, so if Morris is on board with it, the club may wait.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Sign Jodie Meeks To 10-Day Deal
FEBRUARY 20: The signing is official, tweets Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.
FEBRUARY 19: The Raptors will sign Jodie Meeks to a 10-day deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.
Meeks has not played in the NBA since serving a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. Per the ESPN scribe, Meeks insists that he never knowingly ingested any substances that would be considered performance enhancing.
The Wizards sent the 31-year-old to the Bucks along with a second-rounder and additional cash earlier this year. Milwaukee waived Meeks prior to him seeing any court time with the team.
Toronto’s depth was depleted after sending Delon Wright to the Grizzlies in the Marc Gasol deal and watching Fred VanVleet undergo surgery on his injured hand. Meeks worked out for Toronto earlier in the week and the franchise feels the former Kentucky Wildcat could contribute off the bench because of his shooting ability, Woj notes.
By signing Meeks, the Raptors will officially get back up to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 players. Toronto dipped to just 10 players at the trade deadline, but has since signed Malcolm Miller, Chris Boucher, and Jeremy Lin. Meeks will be the club’s 14th man.
Sixers Notes: Harris, Fultz, Brown, Z. Smith
Tobias Harris has been traded five times since entering the NBA in 2011, but he probably could have ensured stability with the Clippers if he had accepted an $80MM extension offer last summer. However, Harris tells Jonathan Gold of The Washington Post that he was willing to take the gamble in hopes of landing a max deal as a free agent this summer.
“Eighty million is a lot of money,” Harris said. “People said, ‘How you turn that down?’ . . . Look, I know my trajectory. I know when to bet on myself. We looked at the salary cap, looked at free agents, and with all the work I put in, we thought I’d be one of the top guys.”
The acquisition of Harris means “The Process” is now complete in Philadelphia, Gold adds. The team has entered win-now territory and is no longer focused on developing young talent, something it emphasized by trading former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz to Orlando. Harris marked the second aggressive move of the season for the Sixers, who swung a deal in November to acquire Jimmy Butler and are now poised for a playoff run with one of the most talented starting fives in the league.
“I feel like this is the third team I’ve coached this season,” coach Brett Brown said, reflecting on the two major trades.
There’s more from Philadelphia:
- Brown doesn’t believe Fultz was being disrespectful with comments he made at his introductory press conference with the Magic, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “It just excites me to know that I have a coach that’s going to push you to be better and not just going to tell you what you want to hear,” Fultz told reporters, while adding that he looks forward to a “fresh start.” Brown said he has talked to Fultz since then and was assured it wasn’t intended as a swipe at the Sixers’ coaching staff. “He’s a good kid,” Brown said. “He’s a good young man, and, truly, we wish him well.”
- First-round pick Zhaire Smith probably won’t play for the Sixers this season, but may see some G League action, Pompey tweets. Smith participated in practice today and is considered about 60% recovered from a Jones fracture in his left foot (Twitter link).
- Although the Sixers’ approach to rebuilding has drawn criticism from many circles, including the commissioner’s office, the franchise has been able to assemble a contender fairly quickly, notes Derek Bodner of The Athletic.
Hawks Promote Jaylen Adams To 15-Man Roster
FEBRUARY 20: The move is official, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
FEBRUARY 13: The Hawks are signing two-way player Jaylen Adams to a standard NBA contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). It won’t be a straight conversion either, as Adams is expected to receive a partial guarantee for 2019/20 in addition to a guaranteed rest-of-season salary, per Wojnarowski.
Adams, 22, reached a two-way contract agreement with the Hawks last summer shortly after he went undrafted out of St. Bonaventure.
The rookie guard hasn’t received much playing time in Atlanta this season, appearing in just 10 games (4.5 MPG) for the NBA club. However, he has played well for the Erie BayHawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate. In 19 NBAGL contests, Adams has posted 15.8 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.7 SPG on .406/.356/.745 shooting.
The Hawks have made several roster moves within the last week, waiving four players in total: Daniel Hamilton, Jabari Bird, Shelvin Mack, and Jeremy Lin. The series of transactions left the club with just 12 players under contract. Atlanta has two weeks to get back up to at least 14 players, and will likely fill all the openings on its 15-man roster eventually.
Unfortunately, the Hawks won’t be able to replace Adams’ two-way contract — the deadline to sign players to two-way deals passed last month, so Alex Poythress will be Atlanta’s only two-way player once Adams’ promotion is official.
Community Shootaround: Anti-Tanking Measures
As we relayed on Saturday, Adam Silver criticized the practice of tanking during his annual All-Star press conference, calling it “corrosive” for NBA franchises. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revisits Silver’s comments today, noting that the NBA commissioner referred to the concept of relegation in soccer leagues when he discussed tanking.
“People who are familiar with the operation of other leagues, you understand now why there’s relegation,” Silver said. “Because you pay an enormous price if you’re not competitive. I think, again, for the league and for our teams, there’s that ongoing challenge of whether we can come up with yet a better system.”
As Windhorst acknowledges, there’s no chance that the NBA would consider a system that relegates the league’s worst teams to the G League each season. But Windhorst believes that Silver and the league office would consider instituting anti-tanking measures that go beyond simply adjusting the lottery odds, since those changes have proven to be largely ineffective when it comes to dissuading tanking.
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What sort of changes could the NBA consider? Windhorst suggests that the teams at the very bottom of the league’s standings could have their payouts from the league-wide revenue pool cut back or eliminated altogether for that season. Alternately, those clubs could be penalized by having their available cap room or exceptions temporarily reduced, Windhorst suggests.
It’s not clear whether the NBA is actually considering possibilities along those lines, but Silver’s reference to a “better system” suggests that the league isn’t necessarily satisfied with the current format, despite the recent tweaks.
With the NBA constantly on the lookout for ways to discourage tanking, we want to know how you’d address the issue. Is the current lottery format satisfactory? Are there changes you’d make to that system? Are there outside-the-box suggestions like Windhorst’s that you’d like to see instituted?
Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!
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Knicks Sign Henry Ellenson To 10-Day Deal
FEBRUARY 20: The Knicks have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Ellenson to a 10-day contract.
FEBRUARY 19: The Knicks will sign Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Detroit selected Ellenson with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2016 draft, but he never saw much action for the franchise, playing in a total of 59 games. He was waived by the team shortly after the trade deadline to make room for Wayne Ellington.
The decision to add Ellenson aligns with the Knicks recent strategy of adding former first-round picks who have fallen out of favor with their previous club. Dennis Smith Jr., Emmanuel Mudiay, Noah Vonleh, and Mario Hezonja are all other teams’ recent first-rounders that currently reside in New York.
The Knicks have been below the roster minimum of 14 players since waiving Enes Kanter and Wesley Matthews after the trade deadline, but will get back to the minimum by signing Ellenson and John Jenkins, who has reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with the team.
And-Ones: B. Johnson, Free Agents, G. Davis
Former first-round pick Brice Johnson will continue his basketball career in Puerto Rico, according to an announcement from the Baloncesto Superior Nacional de Puerto Rico (Twitter link). The league confirmed that Johnson has signed with Indios de Mayaguez.
Johnson, who is still just 24 years old, was the 25th overall pick in the 2016 draft, but failed to develop into a rotation player during stints with the Clippers and Grizzlies. Johnson hasn’t been on an NBA roster since he was released by Memphis last March.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Discussing the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders camps during All-Star weekend, commissioner Adam Silver said he’d like the league to take a more active role when it comes to developing basketball prospects in America and around the world. “If we get to them, boys and girls, at a younger age, we can begin teaching them not just fundamentals but the values of this game, helping them build character around the game, teaching them about their bodies, and teaching them the importance of nutrition and sleep and stretching and physical fitness,” Silver said, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic.
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz shared their impressions of several of the players who established themselves as long-term NBA prospects at this weekend’s Basketball Without Borders Global Camp.
- Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype identifies several of the notable free agents who were on an NBA roster earlier this season, singling out veterans like Carmelo Anthony, Omri Casspi, Greg Monroe, and Marcin Gortat.
- Former NBA big man Glen Davis avoided jail time for marijuana charges by agreeing to pay a $15K fine, according to an Associated Press report. Davis, 33, last played in the NBA with the Clippers during the 2014/15 season.
Joel Embiid, Furkan Korkmaz Sidelined For Sixers
The Sixers formally issued a pair of injury updates today, and neither one is great news for the team.
According to the club, Joel Embiid is experiencing soreness in his left knee and will undergo physical therapy treatment. While an MRI revealed no structural damage, Embiid will be held out of action for a few games for load management purposes and is expected to be re-evaluated in about a week, per the 76ers.
If Embiid is able to return to action in a week, he’d miss games against the Heat, Trail Blazers, and Pelicans, and would be in line to get back on the court next Thursday for a nationally televised showdown in Oklahoma City.
Meanwhile, the Sixers will also be without another rotation player – albeit a less crucial one – for the foreseeable future, as Furkan Korkmaz has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee. The Sixers are currently assessing treatment options, with surgery among the potential pathways under consideration. For now, Korkmaz has been ruled out definitely.
Jonah Bolden, Boban Marjanovic, and Amir Johnson are among the candidates to receive some extra playing time in Embiid’s absence, while Korkmaz’s injury may give the Sixers the opportunity to take a longer look at a couple of their newest additions, Jonathon Simmons and James Ennis.