New York Knicks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Sign Willy Hernangomez

July 5th, 2016 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 11:07am: The Knicks have formally announced Hernangomez’s signing, making it official (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 3:45pm: According to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News (via Twitter), Hernangomez’s deal will be for at least three years, which means the Knicks are using cap space to complete it.

3:00pm: After spending the first few days of July securing NBA free agents, the Knicks have shifted their focus to overseas players today. Having agreed to terms with Lithuanian forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas earlier this afternoon, New York has also struck a multiyear deal with a 2015 draftee, Spanish center Willy Hernangomez, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). The contract will be fully guaranteed, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Hernangomez, the 35th overall pick in last year’s draft, didn’t see much action during Euroleague play for Real Madrid this past season, posting averages of 4.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 10.6 minutes per Euroleague contest (10.6 games). However, the 22-year-old did shoot an impressive 64.3% from the field in his limited action.

There have been multiple reports indicating throughout the spring and summer that Hernangomez planned on joining the Knicks this offseason. A May report suggested that the 6’11” center had rejected two offers from Real Madrid, and that it would take a significant shift in momentum for him not to wind up with New York next season.

That same report in May indicated that a four-year offer would be on the way for Hernangomez, but it remains to be seen whether or not that will be the case. Contracts signed using the minimum-salary exception can’t be longer than two years, but if the Knicks use cap room to sign Hernangomez to a minimum-salary deal, which they should be able to do, it could be for up to four years.

Knicks Still Have Langston Galloway's Early Bird Rights

July 5th, 2016 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Knicks rescinded Langston Galloway‘s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent, the team still holds his Early Bird rights and could exceed the cap to re-sign him, notes Ian Begley of ESPN.com.

Knicks Re-Sign Lance Thomas To Four-Year Deal

July 4th, 2016 at 7:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FRIDAY, 2:16pm: The Knicks have officially re-signed Thomas, the team announced today (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 7:10pm: The Knicks have reached a multi-year agreement with their restricted free agent forward Lance Thomas, a league source informed Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). The contract is a four-year deal starting at around $6.1MM, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. That would make the contract worth approximately $27.3MM.

The 6’8” small forward, who has played five NBA seasons, averaged 8.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 22.3 minutes last season for New York while appearing in 59 games. He has also played for the Pelicans franchise and Thunder in his NBA career.

Thomas had received interest from the Thunder as well as the Timberwolves, Spurs, Clippers, and Pelicans in the free agent market.

Knicks Rescind Langston Galloway’s Qualifying Offer

July 4th, 2016 at 6:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have rescinded their qualifying offer to shooting guard Langston Galloway, making him an unrestricted free agent, sources told Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Galloway’s qualifying offer was worth $2.725MM.

The move was likely made to fit Brandon Jennings‘ contract offer into cap space, Begley continues. The former Bucks, Pistons and Magic point guard agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal with New York on Monday. Galloway could still re-sign with the Knicks but rescinding the QO obviously reduces their bargaining power, since they could have matched an offer when he was a restricted free agent.

Galloway appeared in all 82 games in his second season with the Knicks, though he started just seven games. He averaged 7.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.8 minutes while shooting 39.3% from the field.

The club has not renounced free agent forward Lance Thomas, so it can use Early Bird rights to sign him to a contract worth a maximum of approximately $6.2MM, Begley adds.

Several teams have shown an interest in signing Galloway, and Thomas also has a number of suitors, including the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nets and Hawks, Begley previously reported.

Knicks Sign Brandon Jennings

July 4th, 2016 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 1:07pm: The Knicks have officially signed Jennings, the team announced today (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 3:28pm: It’ll be a one-year, $5MM deal for Jennings and the Knicks, according to Goodwill (Twitter link). That could be a nice value pickup for New York if the former 10th overall pick can stay on the court in 2016/17.

3:19pm: Veteran guard Brandon Jennings has become the latest notable free agent to strike a deal with the Knicks, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides have agreed to terms. ESPN’s Marc Stein first reported (via Twitter) that the Knicks were on the verge of reaching an agreement with Jennings.

It has been a busy offseason so far for the Knicks, who kicked things off in June by acquiring Derrick Rose in a five-year player trade with the Bulls. The team has since reached agreements with Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee on four-year deals that will pay them $72MM and $48MM, respectively.

Based on those deals, the Knicks weren’t expected to have a whole lot of money left to go shopping for a backup point guard, so landing Jennings could be a coup for the team, assuming there are no other moving pieces in play. We’ll have to wait for the full terms of the deal to surface before we can evaluate it, but if he’s healthy, Jennings is capable of backing up Rose and scoring points off the bench.

Jennings, 26, has been plagued by injuries over the last two years, having missed about half the season in both 2014/15 and 2015/16. He also saw his minutes and his production take a huge hit last season in both Detroit and Orlando. He averaged just 6.9 PPG for the season, after never having scored less than 15.4 PPG in any of his six previous seasons.

As is the case with Rose and Noah, the Knicks are presumably counting on Jennings to return to health and to look a little more like his old self going forward.

The Knicks figure to have renounce the rights to one or two of the free agents they’d wanted to re-sign in order to make room for Jennings. Derrick Williams, Langston Galloway, and Lance Thomas are candidates to be let go, with Williams likely heading that list.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Knicks Interested In Tim Frazier

July 4th, 2016 at 9:37am CST by Luke Adams

One of the players on the Knicks‘ list of inexpensive guard targets is Tim Frazier, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Frazier is a Pelicans restricted free agent, so New Orleans would have an opportunity to match an offer sheet. Meanwhile, New York only has about $5MM – or less – in cap room remaining, and may look to create a little more space via trade(s), per Begley.

Knicks Favorites To Sign Lance Thomas

July 4th, 2016 at 12:15am CST by Luke Adams

While the Nuggets continue to pursue Dwyane Wade, the Knicks and Bulls appear to be unlikely suitors for the veteran guard after having committed significant chunks of leftover cap room to other players, writes ESPN’s Marc Stein. Wade’s reps have also reached out to the Mavericks, and a meeting with the Bucks is expected to take place this week, but it would still be a surprise if the former Finals MVP signs with any team besides the Heat.

The odds of Lance Thomas re-signing with the Knicks are “better than 50-50,” a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. According to that source, Thomas has received at least two offers that would exceed what the Knicks could give him, but the forward’s preference is to remain in New York. In addition to previously-reported suitors like Minnesota and Oklahoma City, the Spurs, Clippers, and Pelicans are also interested in Thomas, per Berman.
Having reached deals with a center (Joakim Noah) and a shooting guard (Courtney Lee), the Knicks‘ next priority will be finding a viable backup at point guard, writes Newsday’s Al Iannazzone.

Heat Notes: Johnson, Wade, Haslem, McRoberts

July 3rd, 2016 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The poison-pill contract that the Nets offered to Tyler Johnson will be difficult for Miami to match, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Johnson will receive $50MM over for years, but the deal is heavily backloaded so that most of the money comes in the third and fourth seasons. The payout is $5.628MM in the first season and $5,881,260 in the second, followed by $18,858,765 in season three and $19,631,975 in season four. The Heat already have $70.3MM committed for the 2018/19 season among Chris Bosh, Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic. Miami will also need cap space in those years to keep Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson. Heat officials will have three days to make their decision once Johnson signs his deal with Brooklyn, but Whiteside and Richardson have already posted farewell messages on social media (Twitter links).

There’s more tonight out of Miami:

The Bucks will meet with Dwyane Wade sometime after the Fourth of July, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Wade began looking at other teams after being unhappy with Miami’s initial contract offer. Milwaukee doesn’t have room to sign Wade to the deal he wants, but it could if it finds a taker for Greg Monroe (Twitter link).
If the Heat give approximately $20MM to Wade and don’t land Kevin Durant, they will have to fill the roster with a $2.9MM room exception and minimum contracts, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Most of the room exception may be needed to re-sign Udonis Haslem. Miami hasn’t pursued Gerald Green since free agency began, but he could become an option if there’s nobody better at a minimum salary. The team appears to have no interest in bringing back Dorell Wright.
Miami may want to think twice about sacrificing Josh McRoberts for cap room, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The Heat may have to move his nearly $5.8MM salary for 2016/17 to create enough cap space to meet Wade’s demands, but if they keep the veteran big man, he might be the starter at power forward next season if Bosh isn’t healthy.

And-Ones: Gasol, Ginobili, Barnes

July 3rd, 2016 at 2:40pm CST by Will Joseph

The market for Pau Gasol appears to be around $18-22MM per year with the Raptors, Bulls, Blazers, Wolves and Spurs among the teams talking with him, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Of those teams, the Wolves have made an “aggressive” two-year offer to reunite Gasol with his former coach Tom Thibodeau, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports. It is unclear whether or not Gasol will wait for Kevin Durant to make a decision before pulling the trigger on his own move, Shelburne adds. The Blazers may have a two-year deal worth $40MM out there for Gasol, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Here’s more news from around the league:

Manu Ginobili, who announced he intends to play this season, plans to re-sign with the Spurs, but the two sides have yet to begin negotiations, Ginobili’s agent Herb Rudoy told Jeff McDonald of of the San Antonio Express-News. Rudoy has fielded calls from multiple teams gauging interest in his client since Ginobili’s announcement, McDonald reports. However, most teams strongly believe the veteran will reach a deal with the Spurs, McDonald adds.
Matt Barnes has received interest from the Clippers, Kings, Mavs and Warriors, Shelburne reports.
Derrick Williams‘ future with the Knicks is uncertain because New York could have only about $5MM in available cap space and Williams would likely be able to fetch a larger sum elsewhere, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays.

Noah, Carmelo Involved In Knicks' FA Recruiting

July 3rd, 2016 at 12:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks struck a four-year deal with Courtney Lee on Saturday, and according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, new Knick Joakim Noah played a key role in recruiting the free agent shooting guard. “Noah has been talking to him since [Friday], and Courtney decided he wanted to be with the Knicks and they found common ground [in terms of salary],” the source said.
Like Noah, Carmelo Anthony has been involved in the Knicks‘ recruiting offers and has been in touch this week with the team’s front office, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, who notes that Anthony’s involvement is a sign that he’s pleased with the direction of the franchise.