Latest On Knicks’ Potential Front Office Search
The Knicks are planning to make a run at top Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and Marc Stein of The New York Times reports (via his latest newsletter) that there are many around the league who believe Ujiri can be lured to New York.
Even though the Knicks have been laughable on the court, the prestige of the franchise and of winning it all in the arguably the greatest city in the world carries weight with top executives in the NBA. Entering Madison Square Garden’s latest rehabilitation project and coming out with a championship remains a unique and coveted prize.
Regardless of whom New York lands, the franchise’s next architect will face his share of challenges. It’s not certain if owner James Dolan is finally ready to give his top executive something that resembles “real autonomy,” Stein writes. Even Phil Jackson, who was relieved of his duties before his contract was up, didn’t get nearly enough freedom to make internal moves that could have impacted the culture. Stein adds that Dolan has given zero indication that he will sell the team.
In addition to Ujiri, Stein mentions R.C. Buford (Spurs), Bob Myers (Warriors) and Donnie Nelson (Mavericks) as names to keep an eye on when it comes to a potential top executive search in New York.
Otto Porter Jr. To Miss Additional Time
Otto Porter Jr. was expected to be back on the court prior to Christmas. However, his left foot woes are going to keep him out of the lineup for at least four more weeks, according to the team’s website. The Bulls indicated that Porter will “continue his period of immobilization and progress as tolerated” during that time.
That four-week mark is when the team plans on re-evaluating the small fracture in his foot, so expect Porter to sit out well into January. The wing has only played in nine games for Chicago this season because of the ailment. His averages thus far as 11.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per contest.
The Bulls enter the night 8-17 on the season. They could certainly use their starting small forward back in the lineup if they are going to make a run at the postseason, as I mentioned on the Turning Points podcast.
Chicago had high hopes for the season, but without Porter Jr. for much of the year, the team has struggled to score efficiently. Only the Knicks have a worse offensive rating than the Bulls, per NBA.com.
Warriors In No Rush To Deal D’Angelo Russell
From the time the Warriors acquired D’Angelo Russell in the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade, many around the league have been operating under the assumption that the Dubs would deal Russell once they were eligible to do so.
“It’s just going to come down to when they want to do it,” one executive tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “Could do it now. Could do it later. But they’ll do it.”
The majority of offseason signings will be eligible for a trade on December 15 (sign-and-trades like the acquisition of Russell count as a signing) and leading up to that date, one might suspect the Warriors to already be in the process of parsing the market.
However, Deveney hears that Golden State has been quiet with regard to Russell negotiations with other clubs. One rival GM doesn’t believe the Warriors are pushing for a deal.
“If it is something that they’re going to do quickly, like before the end of this month, I wouldn’t say they’re pushing for it,” one general manager said. “Maybe they have a deal in mind, maybe they’re sitting on something and laying low. But I’d be surprised. That’s not how they’d approach it, I’d think. You want to create a market if you are going to trade a player like him, you want to pit teams against each other, drive up the price. You don’t want to lock into one deal. But the market thing, that’s not really happening yet. They’re not pushing the market for him.”
Russell has struggled to stay on the court, as various injuries have limited him to just 11 games. When he has been able to suit up, he’s impressed. Russell is averaging 23.7 points per game, he’s sporting a career-high 21.6 player efficiency rating, and he leads the Warriors in NBA Math’s Total Points Added despite many of his teammates playing twice as many games as him.
It’s likely that the lack of trade talks between the Warriors and other teams doesn’t reflect a lack of interest from rivals. The franchise, which is expected to land a top pick in the 2020 draft, could be planning to keep Russell for the season and then package the point guard with the likely top-five selection for a star via trade since adding a rookie to the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green wouldn’t exactly mesh timeline-wise.
Then again, the team could keep Russell and head into next season with a three-guard rotation that is unmatched by any around the league. Deveney writes that the Warriors have let it slip that this could be their approach in talks with rival teams, though one GM says that is likely a “smokescreen” intended to make the Warriors look less eager to trade Russell.
The Wolves are among the teams expected to pursue a Russell trade. Minnesota went after him in free agency. Perhaps a package that includes Robert Covington could entice Bob Myers and Golden State’s front office.
Russell is in the first year of the four-year, max deal he inked this past offseason. Where he finishes that contract is anyone’s guess.
Sixers Notes: Road Woes, Embiid, Clarkson
The Sixers traveled to Washington on Thursday and got ambushed by the Wizards’ high-powered offense. The loss brings the team’s record to 5-7 on the road (Philadelphia is 10-0 at home) and coach Brett Brown was asked about the team’s difference in play home vs. away.
“I have no idea,” Brett Brown told Hoops Rumors and other media in attendance at the Capital One Arena on Wednesday night. Brown added that the team was too careless both in its turnovers and in allowing Davis Bertans (7-of-13 from behind the arc) to get space early in the contest.
“Some of it you shake your head and you give Bertans a lot of credit,” Brown said after the game. “Some of the shots that he was making you give him some credit. When you go back and you do coach stuff, and you look at it, I think the separation that he received was too careless. That’s what the game was telling you, you got it going. I didn’t think that we responded from a sense of urgency standpoint like we needed to.”
Here’s more from Philadelphia:
- Tobias Harris, who re-signed with Philly on a five-year deal this offseason, pinpointed the Sixers’ defense as an area that let them down on Thursday night. “We should not be losing,” Harris told Hoops Rumors and other media members in attendance. “There is a high expectations for our group, for our team. There are expectations to win on the road, at home. Just come out every night and play to win and to win a game. Tonight, [there is] big frustration just on how we defended, because it was like they were just picking and choosing whatever they wanted, so that is the big frustration.”
- The game in Washington was a physical one in the paint with Moritz Wagner, Bertans, and Ian Mahinmi making Joel Embiid work for everything he got in the paint. After the contest, Embiid was experiencing hip soreness and he’s been ruled out of Saturday’s game vs. the Cavs with a left hip contusion, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter link).
- Sam Amico of SI.com hears that the Sixers are among the teams interested in Jordan Clarkson. There’s no indication on whether Cleveland is interested in dealing the combo guard.
Cavaliers Listening To Offers For Kevin Love
It’s become part of a fall tradition like no other in Cleveland. The weather gets cold, the Browns inch closer toward elimination from the postseason (check out Pro Football Rumors for the latest on the NFL club), and the Kevin Love trade rumors heat up.
Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Cavaliers are indeed ready to listen to offers for the big man, as he explained on ESPN’s NBA Countdown (h/t Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated).
“I’m told that Cleveland is ready now to listen to offers on Kevin Love as we get to that December 15 date and then the February trade deadline,” Woj said on the telecast.
Love is in the first year of a four-year, $120.4MM extension he signed back in 2018. Wojnarowski said a number of teams in both conferences could have interest in the power forward and if a deal happens, expect it to come after December 15 when many of the league’s offseason signings are eligible to be dealt.
The Cavaliers have always been willing to listen to offers for Love, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets. According to Fedor, the team isn’t actively shopping the five-time All-Star, though if the right deal presents itself, Love will be on a new team.
Knicks Notes: Fizdale Fallout, Potential Long-Term Replacements
The Knicks fired David Fizdale earlier today while also relieving Keith Smart of his duties as assistant coach. The move comes after a 4-18 start, which ties a record for worst in franchise history.
While Fizdale repeatedly told reporters that he had owner James Dolan’s backing, Jabari Young of CNBC.com hears from an agent who represents coaches around the league that the firing was “inevitable.” Assistant coach Mike Miller will now take over as the interim head coach with 60 games to go in the season.
Former Warriors coach and Knicks guard Mark Jackson has been linked to the team as a long-term candidate for the role (any major hire is likely to come in the offseason) and Young reports that Spurs assistant Becky Hammon would be interested in the job should the team be willing to offer her a long-term deal. Young mentions four or five years as the necessary length of the contract.
Young also mentions former Coach of the Year (2007) Sam Mitchell as a good candidate for the short-term, as Mitchell has a reputation for getting top effort out of players.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Jeff Van Gundy, Jason Kidd, and Tyronn Lue are among the former NBA coaches that Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic names as options for the Knicks. Vorkunov also lists several potential candidates without former head coaching experience, such as Jarron Collins, Stephen Silas, and Ettore Messina.
- The firing of Fizdale won’t clean up the Knicks’ issues, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today explains. Zillgitt believes that the front office should shoulder the blame for putting together this roster and simply expecting Fizdale to produce results with it.
- Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post argues that the Knicks should fire team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry. The regime put together a plan of signing big-name free agents and failed to deliver.
The Latest On Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry has undergone another surgery on his broken left hand, Scott Cacciola of the New York Times reports. The latest surgery is to remove the pins that were inserted in his hand during the first procedure earlier this year.
Curry is still expected to be re-evaluated in February. There were whispers that Curry would not play again this season. The Warriors have refuted such reports and Curry told the media last that month that he “definitely” expected to play again during the 2019/20 season.
“I definitely expect to be ready to play — I don’t know when … I’m excited that the rest of the season isn’t lost,” Curry said.
The Warriors are 4-19 on the season, so even if Curry returns, it’s not a given that he plays big minutes for the rest of the year. The team may be better off resting the point guard and gearing up for a 2020/21 campaign where he and Klay Thompson are both expected to be healthy.
Mike Miller To Become Knicks’ Interim Coach
In the wake of David Fizdale’s firing, the Knicks have made a decision on who will lead the team for the remainder of the season. Mike Miller will be promoted to interim coach, as Shams Charania of The Athletic relays on Twitter.
[RELATED: Knicks fire head coach David Fizdale]
Miller (not to be confused with former NBA player Mike Miller) was the G League Coach of the Year back in the 2017/18 season. He spent four seasons leading the Westchester Knicks before being promoted to the NBA’s bench as an assistant on Fizdale’s staff. Miller has 60 games left in the season to make his mark on the Knicks.
Charania also reports that former NBA player Keith Bogans will become an assistant on Miller’s staff. Bogans had been on the team’s coaching staff in Westchester.
Knicks Fire Head Coach David Fizdale
After starting the season with a record of 4-18, the Knicks have fired coach David Fizdale, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports. The team also fired assistant coach Keith Smart.
New York had another embarrassing loss on Thursday at home vs. the Nuggets, falling 129-92 to Denver and becoming only the seventh team in NBA history to lose back-to-back games by 35 points or more. Fizdale labeled the team’s effort “sickening” after the game, and was also asked by the media if the Knicks’ struggles would fall on him.
“I don’t care about all of that, I don’t even think about that really,” Fizdale said.
Back when he took the gig in 2018, Fizdale chose New York over other offers, such as positions in Charlotte, Phoenix, and Atlanta, Wojnarowski adds. Perhaps another franchise would have been more patient with Fizdale, but nevertheless, the coach finishes his New York stint with a record of 21-83.
According to Wojnarowski, Fizdale’s .202 winning percentage is the fifth-worst mark for a head coach with a single team (minimum 100 games) over the last 30 years.
Fizdale has appeared to be on the hot seat for much of the season, particularly after a November 10 postgame press conference in which executives Steve Mills and Scott Perry publicly discussed their disappointment in the club’s slow start to the season.
Fizdale becomes the first head coach to be fired during the 2019/20 NBA season, and will be replaced in the interim by Mike Miller (not the former NBA player), as we detail in a separate story. Since Fizdale was only in the second season of a four-year, $22MM deal, the Knicks will be on the hook for his remaining salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Al Horford Discusses Last Season’s Celtics
Al Horford isn’t surprised that the Celtics are performing better this season than they did last year when he was was still on the team, as he tells Steve Bullpett of the Boston Herald.
“Well, with coach [Brad] Stevens it doesn’t surprise me,” said Horford, who signed a four-year deal with the Sixers last summer. “Coach, you know, he’s going to put everyone in position to be successful. I mean, even the year that we were there that Kyrie [Irving] and Gordon [Hayward] were missing and we had Shane Larkin starting or Semi [Ojeleye], he figured out how to do the most with what he had. So I’m not surprised by this.”
Horford added that last year’s squad simply had too much talent on it and not enough minutes – or basketballs – to go around, which he feels isn’t a sustainable model to win over the long-term.
“Last year was just too much,” Horford said. “There were too many guys for coach to satisfy everyone.”
The Celtics enter the night with a record of 14-5, putting them slightly ahead of the 15-6 Sixers in the Eastern Conference standings.