Rockets Pursuing Paul George, Carmelo Anthony?
The Rockets’ acquisition of Chris Paul is now official, but the team may not be done dealing yet. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), a source tells him that the Rockets “think they are getting” Paul George or Carmelo Anthony.
Houston has been mentioned several times as a possible landing spot for George, who has made it clear he wants to leave Indiana. However, it remains to be seen whether the Rockets have enough assets to outbid rival suitors for George. Houston parted with young players (Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell), affordable veterans (Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley), and their 2018 first-round pick in today’s Paul trade. That doesn’t leave a ton of trade chips to offer the Pacers — a team like the Celtics would certainly be able to outbid Houston if they go all-in for George.
Still, the Rockets have shown in the past that they’re willing to be aggressive in trade talks for stars, even without a long-term commitment from that player. And according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, Houston would have “no qualms” about trading for George with one season left on his contract.
Although George’s preference is to sign with the Lakers in 2018, Sam Amick of USA Today writes that the Pacers forward “won’t close a window of opportunity.” According to Amick, if George were traded to the Cavaliers, he’d be open to the idea of re-signing with Cleveland in ’18 if LeBron James sticks around. If the Rockets were to acquire George, perhaps the team could pitch him on a multiyear run with Paul and James Harden.
As for Anthony, Ian Begley of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) that Paul was telling people a few days ago he’d like to play with Carmelo. Anthony’s situation is up in the air, particularly with Phil Jackson no longer in the picture in New York, but sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link) that if the Knicks do decide to part with the standout forward, they still intend to trade him rather than buy him out.
If the Rockets were to trade for George or Anthony, they’d have to send out a sizable contract in the deal. Ryan Anderson ($19,578,455 salary in 2017/18) is the most obvious trade candidate on the roster, but Indiana native Eric Gordon ($12,943,020 salary in ’17/18) could be an interesting option in talks with the Pacers.
Mutual Interest Between Jeff Teague, Knicks
There is mutual interest between the Knicks and veteran point guard Jeff Teague, who will become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
It’s not the first time we’ve heard about New York’s interest in Teague — as Begley notes, general manager Steve Mills talked to the Hawks two years ago about a potential trade for the point guard. However, the timing of the report is interesting.
[RELATED: Knicks part ways with Phil Jackson]
We learned back in March that while Teague liked New York, the Knicks’ commitment to the triangle offense would likely prevent him from seriously considering the franchise as a free agent. Since Phil Jackson is no longer heading up the Knicks’ front office, it seems likely that the team will significantly de-emphasize the triangle going forward. With no Jackson and no triangle, it’s possible that players like Teague will view New York as a more viable landing spot.
Teague, 29, had another solid season in 2016/17, averaging 15.3 PPG and a career-high 7.8 APG in what was his first – and possibly last – year in Indiana. If the Pacers move Paul George and enter a rebuilding mode, Teague is unlikely to return.
Knicks Part Ways With Phil Jackson
8:37am: The Knicks have officially parted ways with Jackson, according to an announcement from the team. The club’s statement describes it as a mutual decision.
“After careful thought and consideration, we mutually agreed that the Knicks will be going in a different direction,” Dolan said. “Phil Jackson is one of the most celebrated and successful individuals in the history of the NBA. His legacy in the game of basketball is unmatched. We wish him the best and thank him for his service to the Knicks as both a player and an executive.”
Former Raptors executive Tim Leiweke will assist the Knicks as an advisor during their search for a new head of basketball operations, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
7:54am: Dolan and the Knicks are targeting Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri for their top front office job, according to ESPN’s new NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Ujiri signed a multiyear extension with Toronto last September that tacked multiple years onto his contract beyond 2017/18, so if he’s interested in heading to New York, the Raptors would likely require compensation for their division rivals to let him out of his deal.
Ujiri, of course, has been on the other end of multiple notable Knicks trades, including the Anthony deal with Denver and an Andrea Bargnani swap with Toronto.
7:40am: The Knicks are expected to formally announce on Wednesday that they’re parting ways with president of basketball operations Phil Jackson, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. The news comes on the heels of a report late on Tuesday night that Knicks owner James Dolan was weighing Jackson’s future with the franchise.
According to Shelburne, conversations about Jackson’s future “accelerated” in recent days after the organization decided that it wouldn’t buy out Carmelo Anthony. Jackson has been vocal for most of the year about his desire to move on from Anthony, but with Carmelo unwilling to waive his no-trade clause and the Knicks not open to accommodating a buyout, the two sides were at a stalemate.
[RELATED: Knicks resisting engaging in buyout talks with Carmelo Anthony]
Since Anthony seemingly wasn’t going anywhere, and it had become clear that Jackson didn’t intend to remain with the Knicks beyond the two years left on his contract, it made more and more sense for the two sides to go their separate ways, as Shelburne details.
While the public feud with Anthony was a key factor in Jackson’s departure, he made several other questionable moves during his tenure as Knicks president, including signing Joakim Noah to a $72MM+ contract last summer and seriously considering trading Kristaps Porzingis after the young Latvian skipped his exit meeting at the end of the 2016/17 season.
The decision on Jackson’s future represents an about-face for Dolan. Despite the fact that some people close to him had been urging him to move on from Jackson for some time, per ESPN, the Knicks owner exercised his side of Jackson’s option earlier this year, locking him in for the final two years of his contract. Assuming the two sides didn’t reach some sort of buyout agreement, the Knicks will remain on the hook for a reported $24MM for Jackson’s final two years.
With Jackson no longer in the picture in New York, it’s possible that Anthony will become more open to a trade, having outlasted the team president and “won” the feud. However, it seems more likely that GM Steve Mills, who will run the show in the interim, will put less pressure on Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, allowing him to remain with the Knicks. I would expect that the team no longer intends to run the triangle offense going forward either.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
James Dolan Weighing Phil Jackson’s Future With Knicks
Knicks owner James Dolan is weighing the future of team president Phil Jackson in New York, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Wojnarowski, a final decision on Jackson’s future has not been made, but Dolan is “harboring uncertainties” about the job the Hall of Fame coach is doing in the Knicks’ front office.
Jackson’s performance as the Knicks’ president of basketball operations has been increasingly questioned within the last year as he became entangled in a public feud with Carmelo Anthony. Despite the fact that the star forward holds a no-trade clause, Jackson has publicly suggested he’d like to move on from Anthony, creating an unusual standoff as the new league year approaches.
The Anthony situation – along with a series of questionable roster moves that included a four-year, $72MM+ commitment to Joakim Noah – wasn’t enough to stop Dolan from exercising his side of Jackson’s option to keep him under contract through 2018/19. However, according to Wojnarowski, the Knicks owner has become “increasingly concerned” about Jackson’s fitness for the job and for the long-term future of the franchise.
The highlight of Jackson’s tenure with the Knicks so far was his pick of Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft. However, even that success story has taken an unexpected turn in recent months.
Frustrated with the Knicks’ dysfunction, Porzingis skipped his exit meeting with the franchise at season’s end, and Jackson responded by making the big man available in trade talks leading up to the draft. While Porzingis remains a Knick, Jackson’s willingness to seriously entertain trade possibilities appears to have been a red flag for Dolan.
According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Knicks sources expect clarity on Jackson’s future to come in some form on Wednesday morning. If the team does decide to shake up its front office, the timing will be less than ideal — free agency officially gets underway in less than 72 hours.
Atlantic Notes: Rose, Zizic, Bradley, Iguodala
The Knicks have legitimate interest in re-signing Derrick Rose, reports Ian Begley of ESPN. At 28 years old, Rose will be a free agent for the first time in his career in the coming days. The report also states that the Knicks are not interested in paying large salaries for any free agents, so that may play a role in whether Rose re-signs with the team. The Knicks are also keen on ensuring Rose’s health, as the point guard’s career has been riddled with injuries both major and minor.
Here’s what else you need to know from the Atlantic division:
- The Celtics‘ 2016 draft pick, Ante Zizic, arrived in Boston and will begin practicing with the team this week, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Zizic was drafted 23rd overall and played the 2016/17 season in the EuroLeague with the Turkish club, Darussafaka Dogus, where he was coached by David Blatt. “I took him downtown last night a little bit,” Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge said. “He’s just doing things like getting workouts in, getting medical stuff, physicals done, all that type of stuff. He’s ready for summer league.”
- Despite being named in several blockbuster trade rumors, Avery Bradley remains unfazed, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England. “I try not to worry about it too much because it’s out of my control at the end of the day,” Bradley said, adding, “It’s part of the business, man. You just got to accept and understand that your name is going to be thrown in trade talk. You can get traded at any time. You just have to be prepared and focus on just being the best player that you can be.”
- As passed along earlier, the 76ers are one of the seven teams from which Andre Iguodala is drawing interest. Iguodala spent the first eight seasons of his career in Philadelphia.
Knicks Resisting Engaging In Buyout Talks With Carmelo Anthony
With the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony seemingly at a stand-off when it comes to a potential trade, there has been increased speculation in recent weeks that the two sides could explore a buyout. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links), Anthony’s camp has indeed attempted to engage the Knicks in buyout discussions, but the Knicks have thus far been resistant to going down that road.
Anthony has stated all year that his preference is to remain in New York, and Stein notes that Carmelo’s camp has acknowledged that preference even as they attempt to engage the Knicks in potential buyout talks. Since he holds a no-trade clause, Anthony has plenty of leverage in the situation — even if Phil Jackson wants to move his leading scorer, Carmelo has to give his approval in order for a deal to be finalized.
If the Knicks were to buy out Anthony, Carmelo would have the opportunity to join the team of his choice without that club giving the Knicks any assets in a trade. Stein’s report says that a buyout would clear the way for the veteran forward to sign with the Cavs, so it’s possible that joining LeBron James in Cleveland would be Anthony’s preferred option, should he reach free agency.
As Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets, the Knicks would obviously prefer to trade Anthony and view releasing him or buying him out as “unfavorable” options. If Anthony remains unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to accommodate a deal though, New York will have to seriously consider whether it makes more sense to buy out the 33-year-old or to hang onto him during the club’s rebuild.
Cavs Rumors: Trade Talks, Shumpert, Frye, Billups
Although an ESPN report classified pre-draft trade talks between the Cavaliers, Nuggets, and Pacers regarding Paul George and Kevin Love as “serious,” Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com spoke to a source who downplayed the rumor, suggesting a deal was never close and is unlikely to happen now.
Vardon suggests that the Pacers “obviously weren’t interested” in their end of the potential trade, which is corroborated by Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. According to Amico, the Cavaliers and Nuggets both wanted to get something done, but the Pacers were hesitant. Amico notes that the exact details of the proposed offer aren’t known, but Indiana likely would’ve received one player from Cleveland and at least two from Denver, including Kenneth Faried.
Here’s more from out of Cleveland:
- The Cavs are having trouble finding teams willing to take on the contracts of Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye, according to Amico, who says Cleveland would like to move both players before training camp. One GM of a lottery team tells Amico that his club may be willing to trade for Frye later, but only after waiting to see how his roster takes shape in free agency. Amico adds that Shumpert may have been discussed in talks with the Pacers.
- The Cavaliers have discussed a possible three-way trade with the Knicks, but Carmelo Anthony‘s stand-off with Phil Jackson appears to be complicating New York’s chances of getting anything major done, says Amico.
- In a piece for Basketball Insiders, James Blancarte wonders if Love is being undervalued by NBA fans and observers. If that’s the case, NBA execs may be guilty of it too — Amico writes that teams have thus far been unwilling to offer a ton for Love since it’s widely known the Cavs are looking to move him.
- The Cavs still have no resolution on their front office situation. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported on Sunday evening (via Twitter) that talks between the team and Chauncey Billups were ongoing, with no immediate resolution anticipated. Nearly two full days later, there have been no real updates. Cleveland reportedly offered Billups a five-year deal to become the team’s new president of basketball operations.
New York Notes: Knicks, Rubio, Nets, Redick
The Knicks, who explored a possible Ricky Rubio deal at the trade deadline, talked internally prior to the draft about revisiting their pursuit of Rubio, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Nothing came of those talks on draft night, and New York nabbed its point guard of the future in Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 overall pick.
Still, Rubio reportedly remains on the trade block, and Ntilikina likely won’t be ready to step into the starting lineup right away, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the Knicks to see if they make a move for Rubio or another point guard when the new league year begins.
Here are a few more notes on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- The Nets continue to be cited as a probable suitor for J.J. Redick, with Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reporting that multiple league sources expect both the Nets and Sixers to make a “hard push” for the free agent guard.
- The Nets had $3.4MM available to use in draft-day deal, but GM Sean Marks didn’t see any prospects worth trading into the second round to acquire, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. As Lewis notes, Brooklyn has until this Friday to use that cash before spending resets for the 2017/18 league year.
- French big man Louis Labeyrie, whose draft rights belong to the Knicks, will play on the team’s Summer League squad for the third straight July, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman suggests the 2014 second-rounder could have a better chance to earn an NBA contract this time around, with the Knicks in rebuilding mode.
- Earlier today, our Mark Suleymanov rounded up the highlights of the Nets‘ D’Angelo Russell/Timofey Mozgov introductory presser in Brooklyn.
Brogdon, Saric Headline 2016/17 NBA All-Rookie Teams
The NBA has announced its All-Rookie teams for the 2016/17 season, with Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon and Sixers forward Dario Saric headlining the First Team. Brogdon and Saric were the only two players who were unanimously named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.
Here’s the full breakdown of this year’s All-Rookie squads:
First Team:
- Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks)
- Dario Saric (Sixers)
- Joel Embiid (Sixers)
- Buddy Hield (Kings)
- Willy Hernangomez (Knicks)
Second Team:
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
- Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
- Marquese Chriss (Suns)
- Brandon Ingram (Lakers)
- Yogi Ferrell (Mavericks)
Brogdon, Saric, and Embiid are the finalists for the 2016/17 NBA Rookie of the Year award, which will be announced later tonight during the league’s TV broadcast on TNT.
Knicks Notes: Rose, Artis, Porzingis
After impressing the Knicks in his exit interview, Derrick Rose may have secured himself a spot with the franchise next season, Charley Rosen of FanRag Sports writes. The free agent guard will, however, have to make some adjustments should the team re-sign him.
Rosen notes that Rose will have to learn to make quicker decisions with the ball and limit the amount of times he penetrates without a plan, something he was able to do with ease during the early stages of his career.
Should the veteran enthusiastically buy into the triangle and hone up his defense in a follow up season with the franchise, he could be the team’s short-term answer at point guard until rookie Frank Ntilikina is ready to take on a larger role.
There’s more out of New York:
- When the Knicks signed undrafted rookie Jamel Artis to a partially guaranteed deal this week, they landed a player who is eager to fill a role in the triangle offense, Adam Zagoria of FanRag Sports writes. “I’ll fit in that system very well. I’m a versatile player and I’m a shooter, so I can space the floor in the triangle,” he said.
- Count Malik Monk‘s poor fit within the triangle as one of the major reasons why the Knicks didn’t select him with their eighth overall pick, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders writes. Frank Ntilikina, on the other hand, is precisely the type of player Phil Jackson prefers as his lead guard.
- Team president Phil Jackson is wary of building a future together with Kristaps Porzingis after the 21-year-old famously blew off his exit meeting with the franchise, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The worry, Berman notes, is to what extent Porzingis could damage the organization with future acts of rebellion.