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Latest On Kevin Durant

June 21st, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant released his new KD9 signature shoe on Monday, and with reporters in attendance, the conversation eventually turned to Durant’s looming free agency. As Royce Young of ESPN.com details, the former MVP said that his free agency will be a “basketball decision.” Asked to clarify that answer, Durant explained that it’s not necessarily about moving to a bigger market, or landing the biggest contract.

“Just who I’m going to be playing with and the people I’m going to be around every single day, that’s what it’s all about for me,” Durant told ESPN.com. “You tend to hear about the market and the opportunities you can get off the basketball court, but I’m blessed, man, to be making what I make as a basketball player.

“And I’m doing this in Oklahoma City,” Durant continued. “I don’t care about commercials, I don’t really care about this s—, I just want to hoop. But this comes with it and I got all this being in Oklahoma City. So all that stuff doesn’t really matter to me. It’s all about who I’m gonna play with, what type of people I’m going to be around every single day and I’ll go from there.”

While Durant hasn’t been looking ahead to July 1st to figure out his plan for free agency, a number of teams around the NBA are hoping to make face-to-face pitches to him at that point, and it sounds like at least a few will have that opportunity. A source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that Durant, who had considered holding meetings in New York, will likely meet with suitors in Los Angeles once the recruiting period begins.

That same source suggests to Isola that if Durant decides not to re-sign with the Thunder, the Warriors look like the biggest threat to land him. Isola also writes that OKC viewed the Knicks as a major threat for Durant at one point, but haven’t been as concerned about New York since Derek Fisher was ousted as the team’s head coach.

Wherever he lands in free agency, Durant plans on being a part of USA Basketball’s Olympic squad later in the summer, as we heard over the weekend.

Arron Afflalo, Derrick Williams To Opt Out

June 21st, 2016 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Arron Afflalo will turn down his player option with the Knicks for the 2016/17 season, opting to explore the free agent market in July, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops and The Associated Press (Twitter link). Afflalo’s decision on his player option had been due this Wednesday.

By opting out, Afflalo will forfeit an $8MM salary for the coming season, under the assumption that he’ll be able to land a bigger deal on the open market. While there’s a possibility he’ll return to New York, plenty of teams around the NBA will have cap room and could target the veteran shooting guard as a more affordable alternative to the players who will earn max deals.

Afflalo, 30, signed with the Knicks last summer as a free agent, and averaged 33.4 minutes in 71 regular season contests for the team. Most of his averages for the 2016/17 season, including 12.8 PPG, a .443 FG%, and a .382 3PT%, were very similar to his career marks.

Even before Afflalo made his decision, the Knicks had been prioritizing backcourt additions this offseason. The club had been preparing for Afflalo to test the market, with new head coach Jeff Hornacek suggesting earlier this month that he expected the former UCLA standout to “see what’s out there.”

Meanwhile, Derrick Williams, who has a $4.598MM player option for 2016/17 and whose decision was also due by tomorrow, will also opt out of his contract, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The former second overall pick had arguably his best NBA season in 2015/16, setting career highs in points per 36 minutes (18.7), field goal percentage (.450), and a few other categories, as a part-time contributor for the Knicks.

With Afflalo and Williams no longer on the books for next season, the Knicks now have $56MM+ committed to seven players, not taking into account qualifying offers or cap holds for pending free agents. The salary cap is projected to land in the $94MM range.

Pacific Notes: Walton, Rondo, Cousins, Clippers

June 19th, 2016 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Walton has managed to stay focused on his duties as lead assistant with the Warriors, even as his head coaching job with the Lakers awaits, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walton had his first interview on April 18th — more than two months ago — when he had a phone conversation with Knicks president Phil Jackson. “Luke is a real loyal guy,” said fellow Golden State assistant Ron Adams. “And he’s real loyal to the Golden State Warriors — has been since he was named coach of the Lakers. It might be hard for people to understand that. I would say he’s atypical in that regard. A lot of people, if a team would’ve allowed what the Lakers allowed, I think [the person] would’ve been more fixated on that team than this team. That’s not Luke. That’s not what Luke has been.” Walton will coach his final game with the Warriors tonight, then will likely be introduced as the Lakers’ new coach later this week.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kings point guard Rajon Rondo pronounced himself fully healthy as he prepares for his second straight year of free agency, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rondo signed a one-year deal with Sacramento last summer, which gave him a first-hand view of the turmoil in the organization, especially between DeMarcus Cousins and former coach George Karl. “Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted it as an exit [missing the playoffs], but I was able to bounce back, I believe,” Rondo said. “I am very healthy. I’ve been working extremely hard on my body and my game. I’m 30 years old and I feel great.” Rondo’s numbers had declined since tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament in 2013, but he bounced back to average 11.9 points and 11.7 assists per game this season.
Cousins’ younger brother, Jaleel, worked out for the Kings on Saturday, according to James Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The 6-11, 250-pound center was a senior this season at South Florida.
Dee Brown and Pat Sullivan have emerged as assistant coaching candidates with the Clippers, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kevin Eastman, a longtime assistant to Doc Rivers, announced his retirement earlier this week.
The Clippers will hold two workouts Monday, tweets Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. The morning session will feature Alabama’s Retin Obasohan, Miami’s Sheldon McClellan, Kentucky’s Alex Poythress, Maryland’s Jake Layman, Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu and UNLV’s Stephen Zimmerman. Working out in the afternoon will be Tulsa’s James Woodard, West Virginia’s Jaysean Page, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw, Louisiana’s Alex Hamilton, SMU’s Markus Kennedy and Iowa’s Jared Uthoff.

Community Shootaround: Derrick Rose On The Knicks?

June 18th, 2016 at 6:48pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Knicks are reportedly having internal discussions about adding Derrick Rose to the team. Point guard is clearly a need for New York, as trotting Jose Calderon out on the floor as the starting point guard when he’ll be 35-years-old next season clearly isn’t a favorable option. If the franchise wants to add a talented point guard this offseason, it could do worse than Rose.

The 2010/11 MVP has one year and $21.3MM left on his deal and although that’s a bit of an overpay based on Rose’s health and level of play these past few seasons, the contract isn’t a hindrance to acquire him. If Rose can stay healthy, New York is easily challenging for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. If it doesn’t work out, New York still hasn’t clogged up its cap sheet long-term and can enter the 2017 offseason searching for another option with money to spend.

So here’s tonight’s topic: If the Knicks are going to make an attempt to trade for Rose, what kind of package should they offer the Bulls?

Jerian Grant would probably need to head to Chicago and New York would likely want to offload some salary in the deal. Robin Lopez is a nice player, but Kristaps Porzingis‘ future should be at the five spot, so the Knicks may be open to trading its starting center. The Bulls presumable would want a future first, but if I was New York, I’d only offer a heavily protected pick, possibly one that’s top-20 protected.

Those are my parameters for a Rose-to-New York deal, tell us yours as well as your thoughts and opinions on Rose’s fit in the Big Apple in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!

Knicks Internally Discuss Derrick Rose Trade

June 17th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Knicks eyeing backcourt upgrades this offseason, one potential trade target the team has talked about is Derrick Rose, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPN.com. According to Begley, it’s not clear how serious New York’s interest in Rose is, but the team has internally discussed the possibility of a trade.

Point guard is an area of need for the Knicks, whose incumbent starter at the position is 34-year-old Jose Calderon. The team figures to be involved in the free agent market as it attempts to address the position, but Rose could be a solid fallback option if New York’s top free agent targets sign elsewhere.

There’s no guarantee that the Bulls will trade Rose this summer, but at least one recent report suggested that people around the league think it’s a real possibility. That same report indicated that Chicago will be much more inclined to move Rose rather than Jimmy Butler this offseason. Rose is entering the final year of his contract and is set to earn a $21.323MM salary in 2016/17.

Of course, if Chicago does decide to move Rose, the team won’t give him up for nothing, and the Knicks aren’t exactly loaded with potential trade chips. With the salary cap expected to spike to $92MM+ this offseason, simply clearly Rose’s salary won’t be as advantageous for the Bulls as it might have been in the past, particularly since he only has one year left on his deal.

While Rose has been plagued by injuries since his MVP campaign in 2010/11, he managed to stay on the court for 66 games this past season, his highest mark in five years. In those games, he recorded averages of 16.4 points and 4.7 assists, shooting .427 from the floor.

Latest Draft News

June 16th, 2016 at 10:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held in Brooklyn, New York next Thursday:

The Nuggets have a group workout scheduled on Friday for Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova), Isaia Cordinier (France), Petr Cornelie (France) and Majok Deng (Louisiana-Monroe), the team announced via press release.
Denver held an individual workout today for swingman Timothe Luwawu, the team announced. The Frenchman averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 steals in 31.1 minutes for Mega Leks of the Serbian League this past season.
The Hornets have a group workout scheduled for Friday with Thon Maker (Australia), Marcus Paige (North Carolina), Joel Bolomboy (Weber State), Patricio Garino (George Washington) and Melvin Johnson (VCU), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter).
Former Auburn small forward Tyler Harris has a workout scheduled with the Raptors on Sunday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (Twitter link).

Unsigned Draft Picks: Atlantic Division

June 16th, 2016 at 9:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

As the 2016 NBA draft rapidly approaches the term draft-and-stash will be mentioned quite often in regard to international players and late second-rounders. While some of these athletes will eventually sign with an NBA team, it seems like the majority of them stay overseas and never make it to the league. Those players in the latter category aren’t without value as they become trade assets for the teams holding their rights.

While many players fail to work out the way teams expect them to, they can at least become tradeable assets for teams that don’t want to part with a future second-round pick in a deal. Each team must give up something in a trade, which is why many swaps include top-55 protected second-round picks. Older draft rights held players who clearly will never come over to the NBA are essentially the same as flipping those heavily protected second-rounders, for all intents and purposes.

Listed below are the current unsigned draftees for the teams of the Atlantic Division:

Boston Celtics

Colton Iverson — Selected No. 53 overall in 2013.
Ben Pepper — Selected No.55 overall in 1997.
Josip Sesar — Selected No. 47 Overall in 2000.
Marcus Thornton — Selected No. 45 overall in 2015.

Brooklyn Nets

Christian Drejer — Selected No. 51 overall in 2004.
Juan Pablo Vaulet — Selected No. 39 overall in 2015.

New York Knicks

Guillermo Hernangomez — Selected No. 35 overall in 2015.
Louis Labeyrie — Selected No. 57 overall in 2014.

Philadelphia 76ers

Chukwudiebere Maduabum — Selected No. 56 overall in 2011.
Vasilije Micic — Selected No. 52 overall in 2014.
Dario Saric — Selected No. 12 overall in 2014.

Toronto Raptors

DeAndre Daniels — Selected No. 37 overall in 2014.
DeeAndre Hulett — Selected No. 46 overall in 2000.

Porzingis Is Fan Of New Coach Jeff Hornacek

June 16th, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Power forward Kristaps Porzingis was surprised when the Knicks hired Jeff Hornacek, but believes the new head coach can maximize the talent that is on the team’s roster, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s a very smart coach. He knows how to use his players and that’s exactly what we need,” Porzingis said of Horncek. “And we’ll see if we can get some more players this offseason. But I think we have enough talent and having [Carmelo Anthony] makes everybody better. So if we know how to go from there, using Melo, myself and involving everybody, using everybody’s strengths and putting it all together, then we’ll be a different team. We’ll be able to succeed.”

Knicks Conducting Workouts, Eyeing Andy Greer

June 16th, 2016 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks don’t have a pick in this year’s draft, but they plan to acquire one, and continue to bring in prospects for pre-draft workouts. According to a pair of reports from Ian Begley of ESPN.com, New York worked out Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette), Cat Barber (N.C. State), and Chris Fowler (Central Michigan) on Wednesday.
New Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek is eyeing Raptors assistant Andy Greer as a potential addition to his staff in New York, says ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links). According to Stein, Toronto is making a strong effort to hang onto Greer, who has also drawn interest from the Timberwolves.

Western Notes: Conley, Bogdanovic, Jazz Arena

June 14th, 2016 at 8:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

There is growing concern in the Grizzlies‘ front office that point guard Mike Conley might leave the team in free agency this summer, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The 28-year-old will be the top point guard on the market after spending nine years in Memphis. Begley says Grizzlies part-owner Justin Timberlake will appear in a video presentation trying to convince Conley to remain with the team. Begley presents the item as possible good news for the Knicks, but it’s equally positive for all the teams planning to pursue Conley, and very negative for Memphis, which is hoping to keep the core of its perennial playoff team together. The Grizzlies still have the advantage of being able to offer Conley a five-year contract worth about $124MM, while other teams are limited to four years in the neighborhood of $92MM.

There’s more news from the Western Conference:

The Suns will negotiate with 2014 first-round pick Bogdan Bogdanovic now that his Turkish League season is over, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. This is the last season that Bogdanovic would be required to sign a rookie contract that would give him a salary of about $5.7MM over four years. If he waits until next offseason, Bogdanovic is free to negotiate any amount, starting with his draft year’s rookie salary scale.
A request for $22.7MM in public funding for renovations to Utah’s Vivant Arena was approved today by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City, writes Jasen Lee of The Deseret News. The money, which will be awarded though tax increment financing over the next 25 years, makes up 18% of the total cost of the proposed $125MM project. It will include safety and security improvements, heating and air conditioning upgrades, a new solar panel system and plaza, concession, seating and premium suite improvements.
The Mavericks are planning a free agent camp June 22nd with Arnett Moultrie, Bobby Brown, Dominic McGuire and Nick Minnerath among the players invited, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who played two games for the Knicks this season, also received an invitation but has not confirmed that he will attend the camp (Twitter link).
The Spurs will hold a free agent camp Wednesday, Kennedy tweets, with Chris Copeland, Adonis Thomas, Victor Rudd, Scott Suggs, J.J. O’Brien and Darius Adams among those expected to attend.
The Timberwolves have had workouts for several veteran free agents, including Jimmer Fredette, Phil Pressey, Marquis Teague, Ryan Boatright, Mike James, Ra’shad James, Mark Lyons and Aaron Craft, tweets international journalist David Pick.